Thursday, October 18, 2007
Most of the attention about the coming leadership gap has been focused on the nonprofit sector and very little attention has been paid to how the philanthropic sector will react to those same generational demographics. In stark contrast to this trend, the Minnesota Council on Foundations did an entire newsletter this summer on generational changes in the field of philanthropy. If you are interested in this topic or are trying to develop strategies to help your foundation come through this transition with flying colors, check out the issue here.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
At EPIP, we have been busy planning for the upcoming year – chapter leader conference calls, more newsletters, website restructuring, revitalizing the blog (one result of this planning is this entry), and on…In doing research on other philanthropy blogs, I have read intriguing entries at GiveWell (http://blog.givewell.net/) and http://insidefoundations.blogspot.com/ - they both tackle one aspect of working in foundations: the decision making process for making grants. GiveWell identified 4 funding areas and are very open about their decision making process – indeed, writing about it frequently on the blog – the challenges, the specific proposals that are sent, the reasons for their decisions. Mysterious M writes about their experience as a program associate and the challenges of working inside a foundation (the foundation is going through a restructuring process in addition to grantmaking). Do you work at a foundation? What is your experience? To what extent is your foundation transparent? What, if any, changes would you make?
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Thinking about Philanthropy and its Roles
I read a post on New Voices in Philanthropy coincidentally the night the bridge collapsed in Minneapolis because I wanted to reference Trista’s blog in the upcoming EPIP newsletter. That night she had posted a question about what philanthropy should do in response and her question was embedded in my mind the day after as I listened to coverage of the bridge collapse in Minneapolis. Especially when I was driving around Denver and witnessed two news crews filming bridges over I-25 that were crumbling - ah, the sensationalist press.
I think another role not mentioned in her post is how foundations can affect policy change. Specifically, within the government's taxing structure, which continually has a negative spin to it by politicians and the press. The government needs money to prevent tragedies like this and the way government is funded is through taxes. Of course, some would argue that government wastes the money it has. Funding advocacy groups or watchdog groups who could step in with some oversight could be another role for philanthropy. Or, we could just rely on our systems of checks and balances.
What is your experience with public policy change? Should foundations have a role? If so, what should it be?
I read a post on New Voices in Philanthropy coincidentally the night the bridge collapsed in Minneapolis because I wanted to reference Trista’s blog in the upcoming EPIP newsletter. That night she had posted a question about what philanthropy should do in response and her question was embedded in my mind the day after as I listened to coverage of the bridge collapse in Minneapolis. Especially when I was driving around Denver and witnessed two news crews filming bridges over I-25 that were crumbling - ah, the sensationalist press.
I think another role not mentioned in her post is how foundations can affect policy change. Specifically, within the government's taxing structure, which continually has a negative spin to it by politicians and the press. The government needs money to prevent tragedies like this and the way government is funded is through taxes. Of course, some would argue that government wastes the money it has. Funding advocacy groups or watchdog groups who could step in with some oversight could be another role for philanthropy. Or, we could just rely on our systems of checks and balances.
What is your experience with public policy change? Should foundations have a role? If so, what should it be?
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Top 10 Reasons Why Philanthropy Blogging is Important to the Future of Foundations
I started a blog about next generation philanthropy issues because I was having such a great time taking about the issues of the philanthropic sector at Minnesota’s monthly EPIP lunches and was very disappointed that there wasn’t another place where those conversations were happening. After talking to Jessica at the Future Leaders in Philanthropy blog at an EPIP conference about blogging’s role in developing a voice for this generation’s leaders, I decided to write my own. Creating my blog and interacting with the community it has created has not only been a great experience for me personally but I think it is part of a trend that is important to the sector as a whole. The top 10 reasons why blogs are good for the future of foundations:
- Traditional media doesn’t really give a hoot about what happens in the foundation world. Buffet gifts aside, it is hard to find consistent coverage of the sector, blogs fill that void.
- Blogs identify trends. New ideas that are bubbling up in the sector (or old ideas that are being reconsidered) first show up in blogs. Topics like rethinking the term “nonprofit”, should nonprofits play a role in election campaigns, and the public relations problem of Gen X are all being discussed on philanthropy blogs right now.
- Foundations are notoriously secretive and blogs are very open. Blogging about the field lifts that curtain so everyone can see Oz and as scary as that is, it makes us better at our jobs.
- Nonprofits are looking for clues about how foundations operate. Blogs give insight into the people behind the letterhead.
- Blogs invite participation. Participation creates new and better ideas than closed door brainstorming sessions.
- Blogs are timely. Traditional philanthropic media is usually monthly or quarterly, blogs can report quickly on things that are important to the field.
- Blogs give power to the young and tech savvy. You don’t have to have the budget for a newsletter to be heard anymore and that levels the playing field for young people.
- Readers vote with their clicks about what content is important to them. Good bloggers take reader statistics to heart and that increases the amount of relevant stories about philanthropy published over time.
- Blogs make writers become more introspective about their reasoning. Writing about your beliefs and decision-making process keeps you accountable and forces you to look in the mirror.
- Social Change is messy and so are blogs. You can’t change the world by making a proclamation from a mountaintop, you need to get in the mud and get to work. Blogs have an “all hands on deck” feeling and I think that is the only way we are going to make real change.
Trista Harris, Chair of EPIP-MN, is a Program Officer at the Saint Paul Foundation and is the voice behind www.newvoicesofphilanthropy.org, a blog about next generation philanthropy issues.
Friday, August 10, 2007
The Intrinsic Value of EPIP:
(You get way MORE than what you pay for!)
(You get way MORE than what you pay for!)
1. In my personal view foundations (private, independent, and community) in general have a liberal connotation to them (despite the types of grants they make!) simply because of their definition. Given this feeling, one can assume that opportunities for leadership, professional development and personal growth must be abundant for foundation employees. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Opportunities for leadership and professional development vary from one extreme to another from one foundation to another and the mission of the organization has nothing to do with it. Real opportunities to work on projects that involve organizational sustainability, strategic growth and development are few and far in between. When I first viewed the EPIP Board nomination form, I saw these opportunities reflected there, ones that I greatly lacked in my existing position as an emerging grant maker.
You don't have to be a Board member to access these opportunities. Opportunities abound for all EPIP members to take on a leadership role in their local chapters, organizations and communities. These opportunities can take the role of recruiting new members, helping your local chapter grow (sustainability, strategic planning etc) or just being an EPIP ambassador!
So there you go folks, I am definitely making the most of my membership. Are you?
EPIP Board of Advisors
Monday, July 30, 2007
Foundation Fellowships to be Highlighted at Community Foundations
Speaking of next gen programming at Council on Foundations conferences...
If you are headed to the Fall Conference for Community Foundations this September, be sure to check out our good friends from the San Francisco Foundation and their session on multicultural fellowships in philanthropy.
"This panel will explore foundation approaches to addressing the leadership deficit through a multicultural fellowship lens."
The San Francisco Foundation has been running their apprenticeship program -- bringing diverse young people into the foundation field -- for 25 years! Let me repeat that. 25 YEARS. The program is older than some EPIP members! So big props to the golden gate crew.
Rusty
Speaking of next gen programming at Council on Foundations conferences...
If you are headed to the Fall Conference for Community Foundations this September, be sure to check out our good friends from the San Francisco Foundation and their session on multicultural fellowships in philanthropy.
"This panel will explore foundation approaches to addressing the leadership deficit through a multicultural fellowship lens."
The San Francisco Foundation has been running their apprenticeship program -- bringing diverse young people into the foundation field -- for 25 years! Let me repeat that. 25 YEARS. The program is older than some EPIP members! So big props to the golden gate crew.
Rusty
Philanthropy's Next Gen Reach Toward the Summit
Greetings once again from EPIP headquarters. I have exciting news!
EPIP and our colleague colleague orgs, Resource Generation and 21/64 , are taking a lead to ensure there is excellent programming and outreach geared toward emerging and next gen leaders at the "Philanthropy Summit" (May 4-7, 2008 in the Washington, DC area).
The Summit will be a "mega-conference" that will, for the year 2008, replace the Council on Foundations traditional three meetings [the family foundation, community foundation, and annual conferences].
Our groups are working in coalition with the Summit-planners to design pre-conference activities, concurrent sessions, and side programs that meet the needs of emerging leaders, and raise the important (inter-) generational issues of the day in the broader conference discussion.
This is exciting news for emerging practitioners, and for the field. As the workforce and leadership implications of generational change have slowly dawned on the nonprofit and philanthropy establishment in the last year (slowly becoming urgent), our networks -- established by Gen X and the Millennials philanthropic practitioners over the last 5-10 years -- are now well positioned to partner in such efforts.
You will be hearing from us over the coming year with more information as the next gen reaches toward the summit -- the Philanthropy 2008 Summit, that is.
Rusty
Greetings once again from EPIP headquarters. I have exciting news!
EPIP and our colleague colleague orgs, Resource Generation and 21/64 , are taking a lead to ensure there is excellent programming and outreach geared toward emerging and next gen leaders at the "Philanthropy Summit" (May 4-7, 2008 in the Washington, DC area).
The Summit will be a "mega-conference" that will, for the year 2008, replace the Council on Foundations traditional three meetings [the family foundation, community foundation, and annual conferences].
Our groups are working in coalition with the Summit-planners to design pre-conference activities, concurrent sessions, and side programs that meet the needs of emerging leaders, and raise the important (inter-) generational issues of the day in the broader conference discussion.
This is exciting news for emerging practitioners, and for the field. As the workforce and leadership implications of generational change have slowly dawned on the nonprofit and philanthropy establishment in the last year (slowly becoming urgent), our networks -- established by Gen X and the Millennials philanthropic practitioners over the last 5-10 years -- are now well positioned to partner in such efforts.
You will be hearing from us over the coming year with more information as the next gen reaches toward the summit -- the Philanthropy 2008 Summit, that is.
Rusty
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Ford, Kellogg & San Francisco Foundation Leaders Headline Intergenerational Discussions at Council Conference
It was a breath of fresh air. Amongst the vast sea of classroom set-up conference rooms, stuffy panels of Baby Boomer talking heads, and heavily abbreviated Q&A sessions, here was a room of emerging leaders seated in a circle, talking informally -- with plenty of time for real questions and conversation. And the speakers listened first, and offered no written speeches or canned opening comments.
Susan Berresford, President of the Ford Foundation; Sterling Spiern, President and CEO of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Sandra Hernandez, MD, President of the San Francisco Foundation, and Barbara Eirenreich, the esteemed author and journalist. These four leaders met with emerging philanthropy leaders for inter-generational dialogue at a series of "Emerging Leaders Salons," a new feature that premiered at the Council on Foundations 2007 Annual Conference in Seattle this April.
Conceptualized by Conference Chair Ralph Smith (Annie E. Casey Foundation), the Salons were co-sponsored by the Council on Foundations (COF) and Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP). These intimate sessions created new unique and valuable networking and inter-generational learning spaces for next generation foundation leaders.
Discussion topics included foundations and race in America; moving agendas through foundations; engaging young professionals in foundations and grantmaking; building meaningful and effective careers in philanthropy; staying grounded while sitting at the top of funding institutions; and striking the balance between work and life.
Speakers were selected from the Conference's confirmed speakers by polling leaders of EPIP to learn with whom they would most like to talk.
It was a breath of fresh air. Amongst the vast sea of classroom set-up conference rooms, stuffy panels of Baby Boomer talking heads, and heavily abbreviated Q&A sessions, here was a room of emerging leaders seated in a circle, talking informally -- with plenty of time for real questions and conversation. And the speakers listened first, and offered no written speeches or canned opening comments.
Susan Berresford, President of the Ford Foundation; Sterling Spiern, President and CEO of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Sandra Hernandez, MD, President of the San Francisco Foundation, and Barbara Eirenreich, the esteemed author and journalist. These four leaders met with emerging philanthropy leaders for inter-generational dialogue at a series of "Emerging Leaders Salons," a new feature that premiered at the Council on Foundations 2007 Annual Conference in Seattle this April.
Conceptualized by Conference Chair Ralph Smith (Annie E. Casey Foundation), the Salons were co-sponsored by the Council on Foundations (COF) and Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP). These intimate sessions created new unique and valuable networking and inter-generational learning spaces for next generation foundation leaders.
Discussion topics included foundations and race in America; moving agendas through foundations; engaging young professionals in foundations and grantmaking; building meaningful and effective careers in philanthropy; staying grounded while sitting at the top of funding institutions; and striking the balance between work and life.
Speakers were selected from the Conference's confirmed speakers by polling leaders of EPIP to learn with whom they would most like to talk.
Friday, April 20, 2007
It's Springtime, and EPIP is Blossoming!
It's the first day of spring 2007 in New York City that really feels like spring. The nor'easter has gone east of the East Coast. The sun is out, umbrellas and gloves are in their drawers.
In addition to flowers, Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy is blossoming. Last week, we convened our 2007 national gathering of our chapter leaders (we call it our Chapter Leader Gathering, for obvious reasons).
The first day of the Gathering offered a "big picture" of philanthropic theory and practice. We heard from Robert L. Payton, Professor Emeritus of Philanthropic Studies at Indiana University... in fact, as he emphasized, the first-ever professor of Philanthropic Studies. As much as philanthropic traditions and ideas are integral to our society, they have only become a (inter-disciplinary) field of study in the last several decades. We also discussed EPIP's in-housed Philanthropology™ curriculum, a pilot effort to offer boundary-breaking indepth philanthropic studies specifically for emerging grantmakers.
Our second day was focused on building up skills and offering program and partnership ideas for chapter leaders to bring to their communities.
Sessions on ethics in grant making and fundraising were led by folks from The Grantmaking School and The Fund Raising School, respectively.
There were interactive trainings on Member Recruitment and Chapter Governance. A discussion on how EPIP Chapters can and do work with Regional Associations of Grantmakers featured staff from Indiana Grantmakers Alliance and the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers.
An important roundtable on ideas and tools for "racial justice philanthropy" featured staff from Resource Generation, and JustPhilanthropy.org.
A special series of roundtables focused on how EPIP chapters can leverage their networks to increase philanthropic investment in next generation leadership for nonprofits and social change. Chapter leaders had the chance to learn about the work of EPIP partner organizations working on these issues: Idealist.org Nonprofit Sector Workforce Coalition, Public Allies, Resource Generation, and Young Nonprofit Professionals Network.
On day three, we focused on reflection and planning, to help chapter leaders bring their newfound ideas, skills and connections back to their local EPIP networks.
Many thanks to our host and convener, the Third Millennium Leadership and Philanthropy Initiative of the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy.
Thanks to the folks who staffed and facilitated the Gathering: Dr. Diane Johnson, Kalpana Krishnamurthy, and Jennifer Kramer-Wine.
And thanks to our sponsors and supporters: Lumina Foundation for Education, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, The Lilly Endowment, Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers, and Indiana Grantmakers Alliance.
This summer we will make a report available on our website that provides more detail about the education and skills-building that took place at the Gathering.
We already know about two online outcomes:
New Voice of Philanthropy Blog
One of our chapter leaders, Trista Harris of EPIP Minnesota, was so inspired that she planted the seeds of a new blog called "New Voices of Philanthropy."
http://www.newvoicesofphilanthropy.blogspot.com
Troubling Questions on Future Leadership for Nonprofits
Jessica Stannard-Friel is one of the founders of the blog Future Leaders in Philanthropy, and she is a New York City EPIP chapter leader and a new EPIP Board of Advisors member. Taken by the next generation nonprofit leadership issues addressed during the Gathering, Jessica posted a two-part article on the site OnPhilanthropy, where she discusses the challenges facing next generation leadership in nonprofits and philanthropy.
http://www.onphilanthropy.com/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=7039
Some photos from the Gathering:
Over 50 chapter leaders and other EPIP leaders and partner organization reps had a productive, effective, outcomes-oriented meeting. Oh yeah, and we had fun too!
At the end of the Gathering, the EPIP Board of Advisors met in-person for the first time in 2007.
As a part of the Gathering, we had a pre-conference of our Professional Development Fund Awardees. Patrick Corvington of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and Tina Gridiron Smith of the Lumina Foundation for Education, talked with the awardees on a panel of senior foundation leaders of color.
Willis Bright of the Lilly Endowment, one of the Gathering's sponsors, offered thoughtful comments at our opening reception. Here EPIP's Rusty Stahl presents Willis with an EPIP-branded shoulder bag stuffed with EPIP goodies.
Photos: Mark A. Lee, Great Exposures
It's the first day of spring 2007 in New York City that really feels like spring. The nor'easter has gone east of the East Coast. The sun is out, umbrellas and gloves are in their drawers.
In addition to flowers, Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy is blossoming. Last week, we convened our 2007 national gathering of our chapter leaders (we call it our Chapter Leader Gathering, for obvious reasons).
The first day of the Gathering offered a "big picture" of philanthropic theory and practice. We heard from Robert L. Payton, Professor Emeritus of Philanthropic Studies at Indiana University... in fact, as he emphasized, the first-ever professor of Philanthropic Studies. As much as philanthropic traditions and ideas are integral to our society, they have only become a (inter-disciplinary) field of study in the last several decades. We also discussed EPIP's in-housed Philanthropology™ curriculum, a pilot effort to offer boundary-breaking indepth philanthropic studies specifically for emerging grantmakers.
Our second day was focused on building up skills and offering program and partnership ideas for chapter leaders to bring to their communities.
Sessions on ethics in grant making and fundraising were led by folks from The Grantmaking School and The Fund Raising School, respectively.
There were interactive trainings on Member Recruitment and Chapter Governance. A discussion on how EPIP Chapters can and do work with Regional Associations of Grantmakers featured staff from Indiana Grantmakers Alliance and the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers.
An important roundtable on ideas and tools for "racial justice philanthropy" featured staff from Resource Generation, and JustPhilanthropy.org.
A special series of roundtables focused on how EPIP chapters can leverage their networks to increase philanthropic investment in next generation leadership for nonprofits and social change. Chapter leaders had the chance to learn about the work of EPIP partner organizations working on these issues: Idealist.org Nonprofit Sector Workforce Coalition, Public Allies, Resource Generation, and Young Nonprofit Professionals Network.
On day three, we focused on reflection and planning, to help chapter leaders bring their newfound ideas, skills and connections back to their local EPIP networks.
Many thanks to our host and convener, the Third Millennium Leadership and Philanthropy Initiative of the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy.
Thanks to the folks who staffed and facilitated the Gathering: Dr. Diane Johnson, Kalpana Krishnamurthy, and Jennifer Kramer-Wine.
And thanks to our sponsors and supporters: Lumina Foundation for Education, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, The Lilly Endowment, Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers, and Indiana Grantmakers Alliance.
This summer we will make a report available on our website that provides more detail about the education and skills-building that took place at the Gathering.
We already know about two online outcomes:
New Voice of Philanthropy Blog
One of our chapter leaders, Trista Harris of EPIP Minnesota, was so inspired that she planted the seeds of a new blog called "New Voices of Philanthropy."
http://www.newvoicesofphilanthropy.blogspot.com
Troubling Questions on Future Leadership for Nonprofits
Jessica Stannard-Friel is one of the founders of the blog Future Leaders in Philanthropy, and she is a New York City EPIP chapter leader and a new EPIP Board of Advisors member. Taken by the next generation nonprofit leadership issues addressed during the Gathering, Jessica posted a two-part article on the site OnPhilanthropy, where she discusses the challenges facing next generation leadership in nonprofits and philanthropy.
http://www.onphilanthropy.com/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=7039
Some photos from the Gathering:
Over 50 chapter leaders and other EPIP leaders and partner organization reps had a productive, effective, outcomes-oriented meeting. Oh yeah, and we had fun too!
At the end of the Gathering, the EPIP Board of Advisors met in-person for the first time in 2007.
As a part of the Gathering, we had a pre-conference of our Professional Development Fund Awardees. Patrick Corvington of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and Tina Gridiron Smith of the Lumina Foundation for Education, talked with the awardees on a panel of senior foundation leaders of color.
Willis Bright of the Lilly Endowment, one of the Gathering's sponsors, offered thoughtful comments at our opening reception. Here EPIP's Rusty Stahl presents Willis with an EPIP-branded shoulder bag stuffed with EPIP goodies.
Photos: Mark A. Lee, Great Exposures
Friday, September 16, 2005
Race & Philanthropy in the 3rd Millennium...
I just returned to New York from a brief trip to Indianapolis, where I brought the EPIP perspective to my first meeting of the Advisory Committee for Third Millennium Philanthropy & Leadership Initiative (its nickname is simply 'Millennium').
This is an exciting new 5-year Kellogg Foundation funded initiative at my alma mater, the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy. It is designed to faciliate access to, and equip women and people of color for leadership roles in philanthropy, as well as to attract and cultivate succeeding generations of philanthropic leaders. While the initiative is still taking shape, it has a lot of potential.
The Kellogg, Charles Stewart Mott, and Ford foundations all invest in the health of the philanthropic sector itself, along with the Surdna Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and a slim few others. But the first three I listed have all shifted in recent years to focus on some iteration of race and diversity issues within philanthropy.
At Kellogg, they have retooled their whole Philanthropy and Volunteerism program to unleash the resources of women, people of color and young people. Mott has allocated a significant portion of its nonprofit sector funding stream to look at racial diversity (this program funds EPIP's Professional Development Fund). And Ford created a program on "Community Philanthropy, Race and Equity in the American South." That program provided start-up funds to EPIP, and remains our major funding partner.
It is a fascinating process to see how these national foundations find synergy amongst their programs, how they put their own stamps on the issues, and how the academic centers, affinity groups, and others in the field respond and react in the ongoing fundraising ballet.
One of the resources I learned about at the meeting is a new report called Short Changed. Prepared by the Applied Research Center, this is a study of the levels and ways that foundations have been providing support for racial justice work and efforts in communities of color, particularly noting that such giving has been proportionately decreasing in recent years.
For more resources on Philanthropy and Diversity/Race, visit the links page of the Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity.
Unfortunately I cannot provide a link to Millennium b/c the Center has yet to mention it on their website (?!) To learn more about the initiative, contact Sheryl Forte, Millennium Program Coordinator, at 317-278-8989 or slforte@iupui.edu. Or get in touch with the Center and ask them why they are not telling the whole world wide web about Millennium.
I will keep you informed about how the Millennium moves forward. I am hopeful that EPIP will be able to partner with this initiative in a number of ways. Thanks to Larry Smith for inviting me to represent my take on the needs of emerging practitioners in philanthropy through the Advisory Committee.
Rusty
I just returned to New York from a brief trip to Indianapolis, where I brought the EPIP perspective to my first meeting of the Advisory Committee for Third Millennium Philanthropy & Leadership Initiative (its nickname is simply 'Millennium').
This is an exciting new 5-year Kellogg Foundation funded initiative at my alma mater, the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy. It is designed to faciliate access to, and equip women and people of color for leadership roles in philanthropy, as well as to attract and cultivate succeeding generations of philanthropic leaders. While the initiative is still taking shape, it has a lot of potential.
The Kellogg, Charles Stewart Mott, and Ford foundations all invest in the health of the philanthropic sector itself, along with the Surdna Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and a slim few others. But the first three I listed have all shifted in recent years to focus on some iteration of race and diversity issues within philanthropy.
At Kellogg, they have retooled their whole Philanthropy and Volunteerism program to unleash the resources of women, people of color and young people. Mott has allocated a significant portion of its nonprofit sector funding stream to look at racial diversity (this program funds EPIP's Professional Development Fund). And Ford created a program on "Community Philanthropy, Race and Equity in the American South." That program provided start-up funds to EPIP, and remains our major funding partner.
It is a fascinating process to see how these national foundations find synergy amongst their programs, how they put their own stamps on the issues, and how the academic centers, affinity groups, and others in the field respond and react in the ongoing fundraising ballet.
One of the resources I learned about at the meeting is a new report called Short Changed. Prepared by the Applied Research Center, this is a study of the levels and ways that foundations have been providing support for racial justice work and efforts in communities of color, particularly noting that such giving has been proportionately decreasing in recent years.
For more resources on Philanthropy and Diversity/Race, visit the links page of the Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity.
Unfortunately I cannot provide a link to Millennium b/c the Center has yet to mention it on their website (?!) To learn more about the initiative, contact Sheryl Forte, Millennium Program Coordinator, at 317-278-8989 or slforte@iupui.edu. Or get in touch with the Center and ask them why they are not telling the whole world wide web about Millennium.
I will keep you informed about how the Millennium moves forward. I am hopeful that EPIP will be able to partner with this initiative in a number of ways. Thanks to Larry Smith for inviting me to represent my take on the needs of emerging practitioners in philanthropy through the Advisory Committee.
Rusty
Friday, September 09, 2005
Think NOLA, Act Locally: An Excerpt from the Meyer Foundation's e-newsletter:
"Hurricane Katrina surfaced in a very dramatic way the issue of persistent poverty in our nation and reminds us of the poor in own region. Were disaster to strike Greater Washington, many of our most vulnerable neighbors would face challenges similar to those faced by the people of the Gulf states.
"Over the coming weeks and months we will all seek answers to questions raised by the experience of Hurricane Katrina. What more can we do to ensure an effective response to a possible disaster in our region? How can we ensure that our most vulnerable neighbors are cared for when disaster strikes and each day as they face challenges to meet basic needs? What are the broader lessons for foundations, nonprofits, and others who seek to help?"
"Hurricane Katrina surfaced in a very dramatic way the issue of persistent poverty in our nation and reminds us of the poor in own region. Were disaster to strike Greater Washington, many of our most vulnerable neighbors would face challenges similar to those faced by the people of the Gulf states.
"Over the coming weeks and months we will all seek answers to questions raised by the experience of Hurricane Katrina. What more can we do to ensure an effective response to a possible disaster in our region? How can we ensure that our most vulnerable neighbors are cared for when disaster strikes and each day as they face challenges to meet basic needs? What are the broader lessons for foundations, nonprofits, and others who seek to help?"
Samantha Bickham: EPIP Member & NOLA Evacuee
Samantha Bickham is an EPIP member and former program officer at the Community Foundation of Greater New Orleans. She was the first recipient of a scholarship from the EPIP Professional Development Fund (Spring 2004), through which she attended a seminar of The Grantmaking School. I met through Linetta Gilbert, EPIP's program officer at the Ford Foundation, who came to Ford from the Community Foundation in NOLA. I usually see Samantha a couple times a year at the community foundations and Southeastern Council of Foundations conferences.
Here is a report on Samantha and her family's (thankfully) safe status. It was sent in by Wanda Jenkins, an EPIP member at the Community Foundation of Chatahoochee Valley (near Atlanta).
For those of you who have not had about Samantha Bickham's status, she is safely in Tyler, Texas with family.
I finally spoke with her last night and she is doing well considering the circumstances.
As you may know, Samantha was a 2004 Hull Fellow and formerly a program officer with the Greater New Orleans Community Foundation. Additionally, Samantha has just recently ventured into the entrepreneurial world by starting her own consulting business.
She was able to leave New Orleans with her mother and brother on Sunday; however, she has lost everything. Personal vehicle, furniture, clothing, EVERYTHING.
But in true Samantha style, she remains in good spirits. If those of you that have had the pleasure of meeting her, you know that she has an electric personality and is truly a wonderful person. I hope that while we are supporting evacuees everywhere, that we can find it in our heart to reach out and support to our own sister in philanthropy in her time of need.
If you want to know Samantha and want to contact her, or if you want to reach out and offer words of support or other resources, email rusty@epip.org for her phone numbers.
Samantha Bickham is an EPIP member and former program officer at the Community Foundation of Greater New Orleans. She was the first recipient of a scholarship from the EPIP Professional Development Fund (Spring 2004), through which she attended a seminar of The Grantmaking School. I met through Linetta Gilbert, EPIP's program officer at the Ford Foundation, who came to Ford from the Community Foundation in NOLA. I usually see Samantha a couple times a year at the community foundations and Southeastern Council of Foundations conferences.
Here is a report on Samantha and her family's (thankfully) safe status. It was sent in by Wanda Jenkins, an EPIP member at the Community Foundation of Chatahoochee Valley (near Atlanta).
For those of you who have not had about Samantha Bickham's status, she is safely in Tyler, Texas with family.
I finally spoke with her last night and she is doing well considering the circumstances.
As you may know, Samantha was a 2004 Hull Fellow and formerly a program officer with the Greater New Orleans Community Foundation. Additionally, Samantha has just recently ventured into the entrepreneurial world by starting her own consulting business.
She was able to leave New Orleans with her mother and brother on Sunday; however, she has lost everything. Personal vehicle, furniture, clothing, EVERYTHING.
But in true Samantha style, she remains in good spirits. If those of you that have had the pleasure of meeting her, you know that she has an electric personality and is truly a wonderful person. I hope that while we are supporting evacuees everywhere, that we can find it in our heart to reach out and support to our own sister in philanthropy in her time of need.
If you want to know Samantha and want to contact her, or if you want to reach out and offer words of support or other resources, email rusty@epip.org for her phone numbers.
Friday, September 02, 2005
Man-Made Natural Disasters?
A few months back, NYC Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy held a roundtable discussion on how foundations can make grants in response to disasters with a social justice lens. The event was timely then, due to the tsunami that struck Asia. It was a fascinating conversation, featuring senior and emerging leaders from the Red Cross, CitiGroup Foundation, the Foundation Center, Give to Asia, and related groups.
One of the more remarkable comments that lodged in my memory, which came from one of the mentors in the NYC EPIP Mentoring Program, went something like this:
"Every natural disaster is a man-made disaster."
It is the human decisions and policies (regarding thing like zoning and real estate, water use, public transportation, poverty, infrastructure investment) that determine the human costs of naturally-created events.
In the case of the tsunami, decisions about where to build (and re-build) villages and homes -- where poor people could afford to build (i.e. in known dangerous areas), where wealthier people would never build, where government allow developers to build -- then has a tremendous impact on who was killed, made homeless, etc. When foundations and other donors attempted to respond, those thinking about how to avoid a repetition of the disaster had to consider what equitable rebuilding would mean.
As part of my previous job, I worked on a grantmaking program that supported community organizations in a number of states in the South. Through this work, I had the opportunity to travel to Mississippi, Alabama and elsewhere in the region. I heard stories first hand from community leaders that flatly laid out the economic and racial disparity, and the reactionary politics and policies, that are very much alive today in the South.
Clearly the social aftershocks of Katrina have been this bad in large part due to the under-development, entrenched poverty, and continuous institutionalized racial segration. Many of the human effects of this natural disaster were likely man-made.
Of course, this does not just apply to the South. The line of cars clogging the highways to get out of town before the storm were evidence of the generally severe individualism of this society. Who would have thought of getting buses or trains or caravans or carpools to help people without cars or other resources out of town? But if cities and regions invested in regional rail or other forms of public transportation, more people probably would be able to get out of such situations in timely, affordable ways.
So while the natural disaster calls for recovery and rebuilding, the man-made disaster calls for rethinking our society's investments in urban and rural areas, and the new ways in which we need to address poverty and disenfranchisement.
A Sept 1 column, The Storm After The Storm, by David Brooks column in The New York Times more eloquently describes how "(f)loods wash away the surface of society, the settled way things have been done. They expose the underlying power structures, the injustices, the patterns of corruption and the unacknowledged inequalities." I would encourage readers to post comments with your own thoughts on these matters, and invite any EPIP members in the Mid-South or the South at large to add comments.
A few months back, NYC Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy held a roundtable discussion on how foundations can make grants in response to disasters with a social justice lens. The event was timely then, due to the tsunami that struck Asia. It was a fascinating conversation, featuring senior and emerging leaders from the Red Cross, CitiGroup Foundation, the Foundation Center, Give to Asia, and related groups.
One of the more remarkable comments that lodged in my memory, which came from one of the mentors in the NYC EPIP Mentoring Program, went something like this:
"Every natural disaster is a man-made disaster."
It is the human decisions and policies (regarding thing like zoning and real estate, water use, public transportation, poverty, infrastructure investment) that determine the human costs of naturally-created events.
In the case of the tsunami, decisions about where to build (and re-build) villages and homes -- where poor people could afford to build (i.e. in known dangerous areas), where wealthier people would never build, where government allow developers to build -- then has a tremendous impact on who was killed, made homeless, etc. When foundations and other donors attempted to respond, those thinking about how to avoid a repetition of the disaster had to consider what equitable rebuilding would mean.
As part of my previous job, I worked on a grantmaking program that supported community organizations in a number of states in the South. Through this work, I had the opportunity to travel to Mississippi, Alabama and elsewhere in the region. I heard stories first hand from community leaders that flatly laid out the economic and racial disparity, and the reactionary politics and policies, that are very much alive today in the South.
Clearly the social aftershocks of Katrina have been this bad in large part due to the under-development, entrenched poverty, and continuous institutionalized racial segration. Many of the human effects of this natural disaster were likely man-made.
Of course, this does not just apply to the South. The line of cars clogging the highways to get out of town before the storm were evidence of the generally severe individualism of this society. Who would have thought of getting buses or trains or caravans or carpools to help people without cars or other resources out of town? But if cities and regions invested in regional rail or other forms of public transportation, more people probably would be able to get out of such situations in timely, affordable ways.
So while the natural disaster calls for recovery and rebuilding, the man-made disaster calls for rethinking our society's investments in urban and rural areas, and the new ways in which we need to address poverty and disenfranchisement.
A Sept 1 column, The Storm After The Storm, by David Brooks column in The New York Times more eloquently describes how "(f)loods wash away the surface of society, the settled way things have been done. They expose the underlying power structures, the injustices, the patterns of corruption and the unacknowledged inequalities." I would encourage readers to post comments with your own thoughts on these matters, and invite any EPIP members in the Mid-South or the South at large to add comments.
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Philanthropic Response(s) to Katrina
Right now, there is a flurry of philanthropic chatter -- mostly well intentioned -- on the web regarding Katrina. While governments are the main mode of actions, Americans - and even their governments - continue to rely on civil society organizations such as foundations and relief organizations to both express their will to help, their need to 'do something,' and to meet real needs on the ground. Even at this early date, President Bush has called on his father and President Clinton (the one man 'NGO' himself) to bring in private funding!
Certainly philanthropy -- both individual and institutional -- will have a role to play in short-term relief, mid-term recovery, and long-term rebuilding. This will encompass everything along the continuum of philanthropy: from self-help to mutual aid, from charity, and community building, to long-term institution building, cultural creation and social change. Let us hope, at least.
For those interested in the foundation community's responses, the Southeastern Council on Foundations is seeking out colleagues, and providing giving information. Visit http://www.secf.org.
The NC-based Babcock Foundation, one of the few progressive, regional foundations in the South, sent out an email listing the following organizations:
Enterprise Corporation of the Delta:
Right now, there is a flurry of philanthropic chatter -- mostly well intentioned -- on the web regarding Katrina. While governments are the main mode of actions, Americans - and even their governments - continue to rely on civil society organizations such as foundations and relief organizations to both express their will to help, their need to 'do something,' and to meet real needs on the ground. Even at this early date, President Bush has called on his father and President Clinton (the one man 'NGO' himself) to bring in private funding!
Certainly philanthropy -- both individual and institutional -- will have a role to play in short-term relief, mid-term recovery, and long-term rebuilding. This will encompass everything along the continuum of philanthropy: from self-help to mutual aid, from charity, and community building, to long-term institution building, cultural creation and social change. Let us hope, at least.
For those interested in the foundation community's responses, the Southeastern Council on Foundations is seeking out colleagues, and providing giving information. Visit http://www.secf.org.
The NC-based Babcock Foundation, one of the few progressive, regional foundations in the South, sent out an email listing the following organizations:
Enterprise Corporation of the Delta:
c/o Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund
You can contact ECD at (601) 944-1100 or you can go to their website for more information (www.ecd.org).
Louisiana ACORN is a statewide community organizing group with local members throughout LA. It is affiliated with the national ACORN org. Anyone who wishes to make a contribution, send in your donation to:
Southern Mutual Help Association, Inc.
Southern Mutual Help Association in
The Greater New Orleans Foundation has established a fund to receive on-line contributions for hurricane relief in that community. Go to the foundation's website (www.gnof.org) and click on Hurricane Katrina Recovery Fund.
The Hurricane Katrina Displaced Residents Fund ? will benefit those individuals evacuated to
Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund
You can also make an online contribution at http://www.braf.org and click on Hurricane Katrina Relief Page link.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Snapshot of recent work, to bring you up-to-date...
Long time, no post. Sorry this blog has been stale for a season - I am shopping to cook up some spicy new ingredients to make your mouth water! But I thought I would start with some meat and potatoes, to work up an appetite. So here is a healthy (but not too filling) portion of news on what Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy has been up to.
1. The Professional Development Fund! In late 2004, the Mott Foundation provided a grant to create our Professional Development Fund, which provides diverse emerging foundation professionals in our membership partial funding to get to funder conferences and trainings of their choice. To date, we have sent four members to a conference of Grantmakers for Education, a 3-day course on reviewing proposals put on by The Grantmaking School, and the Institute for New Grantmakers put on by the Council on Foundations. We just closed our 3rd round of applications, and by the end of the calendar year, we will have sent a total of 11 people to a variety of conferences!
2. Philanthropology! We continued to roll-out pilot versions of our Philanthropology workshops...
In March, consultant Omisade Burney-Scott and myself were in Durham and Greensboro, North Carolina to facilitate two well-attended Philanthropology "201" workshops on "paradoxes in philanthropy." One was for an audience of foundation professionals, the other on undergraduate and graduate students in the Triangle Area. These events kicked-off our efforts to expand our presence and activities in North Carolina, and Omisade has been working to build local partnerships toward that end.
During April, the Los Angeles EPIP group held a 201 workshop on "Bringing Culture, Color and Community to Philanthropy: Innovative Cases of Social Justice Philanthropy in Los Angeles." This panel discussion focused on innovative models of giving and fundraising in Los AngelesÂ’ Korean, Mexican and African American communities.
In May, Omisade and I headed to Atlanta, where we lead a similar workshop for constituents in the big ATL. The workshop was co-sponsored by the Southeastern Network of African Americans in Philanthropy (SNAAP, which I readily admit is a much catchier acronym than EPIP), and hosted in an amazing loft space at the Georgia Justice Project. We were aided in planning by Milano Harden, a consultant and former foundation staffer locally. Milano later joined our staff team as a consultant, and has been following-up on the workshop to get an EPIP chapter started in Atlanta.
NYC EPIP held 3 Philanthropology workshops in late spring! The first, a 101 series session, focused on the various forms and types of foundations. The 201 session looked at paradoxes in philanthropy, with a focus on funding women's human rights.
The third NYC workshop was our first attempt at a 301 session on "transforming philanthropy." This was a joint effort between the chapter and the national office, and was co-sponsored by Resource Generation. It brought together about a dozen young wealthy donors and a dozen young foundation professionals to share their perspectives on giving, raising, and being asked for $. Not small talk, really. But by the end of the session, everyone was speaking frankly and honestly! We will continue to partner with Resource Generation to put on more dialogue sessions like this across the country.
This fall, Bay Area EPIP will hold their 2nd annual Philanthropology 201 session!
3. Chapter Leader Gathering! In April, EPIP held our first Chapter Leader Gathering, which brought together 30 folks from our chapter steering committees, start-up chapter efforts, and Board and staff.
It was a watershed moment for everyone! While representatives from each chapter site have been meeting monthly by phone for more than a year, they had never met in person -- the buzz, energy, relationships and fun we had were only possible in person.
We were lucky to have great facilitators in Jose Montano and Sally Lew, and the logistical skills of our consultant Jennifer Kramer-Wine. And guest sponsors included GrantCraft, The Grantmaking School, Resource Generation, and the Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training (cleverly acronymed "GIFT" -- again, definitely more catchy than EPIP). A report on the Gathering is forthcoming, and we are planning to make this happen annually - the next one will take place in May in Pittsburgh, PA.
4. Chapter Capacity! More recently, we hired Elizabeth Cuccaro, a former Foundation Center researcher, as our first NYC EPIP Chapter Organizer. Working out the national office through a grant from the New York Community Trust, Elizabeth is supporting the chapter's steering committee, mentoring committee and program committee. This has helped to establish a partnership with the New York Regional Association of Grantmakers (lovingly referred to as NYRAG) to expand the chapter's successful Mentoring Program.
So that is the latest from your Friendly Neighborhood EPIP... Ok, that doesn't really slide off the tongue, but I am trying to make our weird little acronym work... I hope this update at least quenches your thirst for the moment. Someone please post comments! And I am going to work on making my next posts full of evenarteryrterry-clogging goodness.
Yours,
Rusty
Long time, no post. Sorry this blog has been stale for a season - I am shopping to cook up some spicy new ingredients to make your mouth water! But I thought I would start with some meat and potatoes, to work up an appetite. So here is a healthy (but not too filling) portion of news on what Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy has been up to.
1. The Professional Development Fund! In late 2004, the Mott Foundation provided a grant to create our Professional Development Fund, which provides diverse emerging foundation professionals in our membership partial funding to get to funder conferences and trainings of their choice. To date, we have sent four members to a conference of Grantmakers for Education, a 3-day course on reviewing proposals put on by The Grantmaking School, and the Institute for New Grantmakers put on by the Council on Foundations. We just closed our 3rd round of applications, and by the end of the calendar year, we will have sent a total of 11 people to a variety of conferences!
2. Philanthropology! We continued to roll-out pilot versions of our Philanthropology workshops...
In March, consultant Omisade Burney-Scott and myself were in Durham and Greensboro, North Carolina to facilitate two well-attended Philanthropology "201" workshops on "paradoxes in philanthropy." One was for an audience of foundation professionals, the other on undergraduate and graduate students in the Triangle Area. These events kicked-off our efforts to expand our presence and activities in North Carolina, and Omisade has been working to build local partnerships toward that end.
During April, the Los Angeles EPIP group held a 201 workshop on "Bringing Culture, Color and Community to Philanthropy: Innovative Cases of Social Justice Philanthropy in Los Angeles." This panel discussion focused on innovative models of giving and fundraising in Los AngelesÂ’ Korean, Mexican and African American communities.
In May, Omisade and I headed to Atlanta, where we lead a similar workshop for constituents in the big ATL. The workshop was co-sponsored by the Southeastern Network of African Americans in Philanthropy (SNAAP, which I readily admit is a much catchier acronym than EPIP), and hosted in an amazing loft space at the Georgia Justice Project. We were aided in planning by Milano Harden, a consultant and former foundation staffer locally. Milano later joined our staff team as a consultant, and has been following-up on the workshop to get an EPIP chapter started in Atlanta.
NYC EPIP held 3 Philanthropology workshops in late spring! The first, a 101 series session, focused on the various forms and types of foundations. The 201 session looked at paradoxes in philanthropy, with a focus on funding women's human rights.
The third NYC workshop was our first attempt at a 301 session on "transforming philanthropy." This was a joint effort between the chapter and the national office, and was co-sponsored by Resource Generation. It brought together about a dozen young wealthy donors and a dozen young foundation professionals to share their perspectives on giving, raising, and being asked for $. Not small talk, really. But by the end of the session, everyone was speaking frankly and honestly! We will continue to partner with Resource Generation to put on more dialogue sessions like this across the country.
This fall, Bay Area EPIP will hold their 2nd annual Philanthropology 201 session!
3. Chapter Leader Gathering! In April, EPIP held our first Chapter Leader Gathering, which brought together 30 folks from our chapter steering committees, start-up chapter efforts, and Board and staff.
It was a watershed moment for everyone! While representatives from each chapter site have been meeting monthly by phone for more than a year, they had never met in person -- the buzz, energy, relationships and fun we had were only possible in person.
We were lucky to have great facilitators in Jose Montano and Sally Lew, and the logistical skills of our consultant Jennifer Kramer-Wine. And guest sponsors included GrantCraft, The Grantmaking School, Resource Generation, and the Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training (cleverly acronymed "GIFT" -- again, definitely more catchy than EPIP). A report on the Gathering is forthcoming, and we are planning to make this happen annually - the next one will take place in May in Pittsburgh, PA.
4. Chapter Capacity! More recently, we hired Elizabeth Cuccaro, a former Foundation Center researcher, as our first NYC EPIP Chapter Organizer. Working out the national office through a grant from the New York Community Trust, Elizabeth is supporting the chapter's steering committee, mentoring committee and program committee. This has helped to establish a partnership with the New York Regional Association of Grantmakers (lovingly referred to as NYRAG) to expand the chapter's successful Mentoring Program.
So that is the latest from your Friendly Neighborhood EPIP... Ok, that doesn't really slide off the tongue, but I am trying to make our weird little acronym work... I hope this update at least quenches your thirst for the moment. Someone please post comments! And I am going to work on making my next posts full of evenarteryrterry-clogging goodness.
Yours,
Rusty
Saturday, December 25, 2004
Give and Get - Philanthropy meets December.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays, everyone.
In the spirit of birth, re-birth and renewal implicit in Hannukah, Christmas and the New Year holidays, I hope to get this blog reactivated in the new year.
This time of year is always interesting, with its uniquely American mix of giving and getting, religion and capitalism, consumerism and marketing (particularly aimed at kids). The very notion of a Spirit of Christmas is clearly seperated from a spirit of Christianity or Christ and his beliefs. While the various strains of Christianity offer differing solutions to and interpretations of earthly rewards and wealth (and how they relate to Heavenly rewards), it seems to me that mainstream American Christmas has clearly been segmented off from serious religious meaning, and is used by business as a hyper-market moment.
It is almost ironic, then, that all businesses and services seem shut down on Christmas day itself -- like the great feeding frenzy must allow people a brief non-commercial time/space to take a breath, be with family, and purge ourselves of all the things we have purchased through a secondary orgy of giving.
Which leads us to philanthropy (you were wondering where this rant was going, no?). There are (at least) two types of philanthropy going on during this season: inter-personal gift exchange, and organized, organizational fundraising/giving. You can see the prior going on in many homes and workplaces. The latter is often highlighted in the human interest stories of newspapers and television news. The nonprofit sector gets just as worked up in December as the for-profit community! This is the time when individuals and families -- low-income, middle-class and upper-class -- write checks to the "charities" and causes (i.e. nonprofit organizations) about which they care (and also to many that send them direct mail or use other fundraising tools to reach them).
Both the individual and organizational giving and getting bring with them a variety of challenges and questions. Amongst the most serious are the issues of motivation and appropriateness. Why do we give what we give to whom we give? How is it done? In what spirit (to use an over-used phrase) is it given? When do we get or expect to get in exchange?
Just glance at the business reports and it takes little guess work to understand the motivations of businesses and corporations during this season. They cash in all the year-round branding and marketing NOW -- hoping that their products will be the It thing with the 0-18 crowd and their parents. When credit card debt goes up, so do their earnings and stock shares.
The motivations of nonprofits are also related to marketing and earning -- they cash-in less on the cycle of giving in which our consumer-selves live, and more on the moral and humane side of our citizen-selves. What do we care about outside of our family and friendship circles? How do we create our selves, and meaning about ourselves and our world, when we voluntarily donate to organizations that deal with poverty, environment, culture, justice, and pressing community and social issues?
Much has been written on these matters by much more knowledgable and experienced people than myself. As a great first place to looks, I recommend the writings of Paul G. Schervish, a prof at Boston College's Center on Wealth and Philanthropy. You can find his and others' research and articles on Motivations for Charitable Giving at http://www.bc.edu/research/swri/publications/by-topic/motivation/.
Be thankful for all our gifts (you can always return those you don't need),
Rusty
Note: This entry represents personal opinion, and not any stand taken by or opinion of Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy as an organization.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays, everyone.
In the spirit of birth, re-birth and renewal implicit in Hannukah, Christmas and the New Year holidays, I hope to get this blog reactivated in the new year.
This time of year is always interesting, with its uniquely American mix of giving and getting, religion and capitalism, consumerism and marketing (particularly aimed at kids). The very notion of a Spirit of Christmas is clearly seperated from a spirit of Christianity or Christ and his beliefs. While the various strains of Christianity offer differing solutions to and interpretations of earthly rewards and wealth (and how they relate to Heavenly rewards), it seems to me that mainstream American Christmas has clearly been segmented off from serious religious meaning, and is used by business as a hyper-market moment.
It is almost ironic, then, that all businesses and services seem shut down on Christmas day itself -- like the great feeding frenzy must allow people a brief non-commercial time/space to take a breath, be with family, and purge ourselves of all the things we have purchased through a secondary orgy of giving.
Which leads us to philanthropy (you were wondering where this rant was going, no?). There are (at least) two types of philanthropy going on during this season: inter-personal gift exchange, and organized, organizational fundraising/giving. You can see the prior going on in many homes and workplaces. The latter is often highlighted in the human interest stories of newspapers and television news. The nonprofit sector gets just as worked up in December as the for-profit community! This is the time when individuals and families -- low-income, middle-class and upper-class -- write checks to the "charities" and causes (i.e. nonprofit organizations) about which they care (and also to many that send them direct mail or use other fundraising tools to reach them).
Both the individual and organizational giving and getting bring with them a variety of challenges and questions. Amongst the most serious are the issues of motivation and appropriateness. Why do we give what we give to whom we give? How is it done? In what spirit (to use an over-used phrase) is it given? When do we get or expect to get in exchange?
Just glance at the business reports and it takes little guess work to understand the motivations of businesses and corporations during this season. They cash in all the year-round branding and marketing NOW -- hoping that their products will be the It thing with the 0-18 crowd and their parents. When credit card debt goes up, so do their earnings and stock shares.
The motivations of nonprofits are also related to marketing and earning -- they cash-in less on the cycle of giving in which our consumer-selves live, and more on the moral and humane side of our citizen-selves. What do we care about outside of our family and friendship circles? How do we create our selves, and meaning about ourselves and our world, when we voluntarily donate to organizations that deal with poverty, environment, culture, justice, and pressing community and social issues?
Much has been written on these matters by much more knowledgable and experienced people than myself. As a great first place to looks, I recommend the writings of Paul G. Schervish, a prof at Boston College's Center on Wealth and Philanthropy. You can find his and others' research and articles on Motivations for Charitable Giving at http://www.bc.edu/research/swri/publications/by-topic/motivation/.
Be thankful for all our gifts (you can always return those you don't need),
Rusty
Note: This entry represents personal opinion, and not any stand taken by or opinion of Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy as an organization.
Wednesday, June 02, 2004
Yours Comments Here!
Please note - Thanks to upgrades to this Blog service, you can now post comments for any and all entries on epip.blogspot.com! I would encourage EPIP members and other readers to do just that - for too long now this blog has been a one-way street - very unlike philanthropy, which is a two-way process. I look forward to hearing from you!
Please note - Thanks to upgrades to this Blog service, you can now post comments for any and all entries on epip.blogspot.com! I would encourage EPIP members and other readers to do just that - for too long now this blog has been a one-way street - very unlike philanthropy, which is a two-way process. I look forward to hearing from you!
Wednesday, May 19, 2004
There are a couple new philanthropy-oriented blogs out there along with yours truly. It turns out that EPIP is one of the philanthropy blog pioneers!
Philanthropoid: Give and Take
http://philanthropoid.typepad.com/giveandtake/
"Ruminations on philanthropy, charity, generosity---the business of doing good."
Philanthropy 2225
http://philanthropy.blogspot.com/ (published by Research, analysis and provocation on future directions for philanthropy, from Lucy Bernholz of Blueprint Research & Design, Inc. a Bay Area-based consulting firm serving philanthropic foundations.
Philanthropoid: Give and Take
http://philanthropoid.typepad.com/giveandtake/
"Ruminations on philanthropy, charity, generosity---the business of doing good."
Philanthropy 2225
http://philanthropy.blogspot.com/ (published by Research, analysis and provocation on future directions for philanthropy, from Lucy Bernholz of Blueprint Research & Design, Inc. a Bay Area-based consulting firm serving philanthropic foundations.
Sunday, May 16, 2004
EPIP PHILANTHROPOLOGY PROGRAM SPRINGS INTO ACTION IN SPRING 2004
In National EPIP News...
April 27, 2004 - An over-flowing inter-generational crowd of more than 150 grantmakers participated in an EPIP Philanthropology workshop at the Council on Foundations 55th Annual Conference, in Toronto. The workshop, titled "The Power To Be Authentic: Leadership Development At Work In Foundations," was developed in partnership with the GrantCraft Project. Featuring 3 seasoned and 3 emerging philanthropic leaders as speakers and facilitators, the workshop engaged participants in small group discussions about taking on the difficult role of grantmaker, and leading from the middle of their organizations. At the same conference, EPIP held a Young Grantmakers Reception at Toronto City Hall. The reception, attended by over thirty conference-goers, was co-sponsored by Changemakers, GrantCraft, Resource Generation, the Young Donor Organizing Alliance. It was hosted by the Toronto Youth Cabinet, which represents the needs of young people in City government.
News From EPIP Chapters...
May 4, 2004 - New York City EPIP held its second annual EPIP Philanthropology 101 Workshop, and its first Philanthropology 201 Workshop. The 101 session, geared toward grantmakers with less than 1 year in the field, provided factual and personal perspectives on how different models of foundations and giving vehicles operate and support social change. Speakers represented a variety of types of public and private foundations. The 201 Workshop focused on challenges and opportunities that both grantmakers often face as they take on their roles and lead from the middle. Questions discussed include: How can I leverage my experience within my organization? How can I maintain strong relationships with the non-profit community I support? How can I play a role in managing and implementing social change from within my organization? Special emphasis was placed on helping participants to "find their voice" as a young person in philanthropy.
Here's what participants thought of the NYC EPIP Workshops:
"The workshop offered a chance to reflect on the human relations side of working in foundations, rather than the techno-legal traps we often get sucked into. We all have the "skills" we need for this work -- or can learn them -- it's only in a forum like this that we can unpack the experience of living and working in this industry."
"The workshops were a great opportunity to connect with other young professionals working in the field of philanthropy. It was helpful to learn more about different perspectives in grantmaking."
"I wanted a chance to exchange stories, to be together with talented and generous people -- that wish was fulfilled."
"Overall - GREAT workshop and I also appreciate how friendly the EPIP Steering Committee and volunteers are."
April 15, 2004 - Bay Area EPIP held its first EPIP Philanthropology 201 Workshop, entitled "Power, Money, & Public Service: The Philanthropic Balancing Act." Hosted by the San Francisco Foundation Center, an EPIP partner organization. The session featured as speaker Carol Cantwell (Agape Foundation), Charles Fields (San Francisco Foundation), EPIP Board of Advisors member Laura Loescher (Changemakers), Kavita Ramdas (Global Fund For Women) and Jason Sanders (Tides Foundation). The panel was moderated by the Foundation Center's Janet Camerena.
Here's what participants are saying about the Bay Area EPIP Workshop:
"It was extremely valuable to have a space to discuss power dynamics in foundations, a significant issue that is often not discussed."
"Really solid panelists. Great big picture conversation."
"It reminded me that there are a lot of other people MY AGE out there in the philanthropic world who want to make changes and are as excited about philanthropy as I."
"It made me realize that we should be working toward some kind of ethics code for funders (and maybe even for grantees in discussions with grantees)."
"[Other philanthropy workshops] are more nuts-and-bolts, and geared much more to tools for private foundations and trustees. The thoughtful inquiry that EPIP aims to cultivate is unique."
Coming To An EPIP Chapter Near You...
May 19, 2004 - EPIP New England will hold a Philanthropology 201 Workshop titled "An Introduction to Social Justice Philanthropy," which will be hosted by Merrill Lynch. The workshop will feature Susan Ostrander, a professor of sociology at Tufts University. Prof. Ostrander teaches courses on social inequalities, community organizing, gender, and nonprofit organizations and democracy. For details , go to epip.org/newengland.htm, or email Tamara Bates at tb@schottfoundation.org.
May 27, 2004 - EPIP DC will hold its Official Launch Event, and the first in its "Feed-Your-Brain" Series. The event will be hosted by the Stuart R. Mott Charitable Trust, and will feature Deepak Bhargava, Executive Director of the Center for Community Change, who will speak about what foundations can do to actively promote social change.
For more information, go to epip.org/washdc.htm or RSVP at dc@epip.org.
In National EPIP News...
April 27, 2004 - An over-flowing inter-generational crowd of more than 150 grantmakers participated in an EPIP Philanthropology workshop at the Council on Foundations 55th Annual Conference, in Toronto. The workshop, titled "The Power To Be Authentic: Leadership Development At Work In Foundations," was developed in partnership with the GrantCraft Project. Featuring 3 seasoned and 3 emerging philanthropic leaders as speakers and facilitators, the workshop engaged participants in small group discussions about taking on the difficult role of grantmaker, and leading from the middle of their organizations. At the same conference, EPIP held a Young Grantmakers Reception at Toronto City Hall. The reception, attended by over thirty conference-goers, was co-sponsored by Changemakers, GrantCraft, Resource Generation, the Young Donor Organizing Alliance. It was hosted by the Toronto Youth Cabinet, which represents the needs of young people in City government.
News From EPIP Chapters...
May 4, 2004 - New York City EPIP held its second annual EPIP Philanthropology 101 Workshop, and its first Philanthropology 201 Workshop. The 101 session, geared toward grantmakers with less than 1 year in the field, provided factual and personal perspectives on how different models of foundations and giving vehicles operate and support social change. Speakers represented a variety of types of public and private foundations. The 201 Workshop focused on challenges and opportunities that both grantmakers often face as they take on their roles and lead from the middle. Questions discussed include: How can I leverage my experience within my organization? How can I maintain strong relationships with the non-profit community I support? How can I play a role in managing and implementing social change from within my organization? Special emphasis was placed on helping participants to "find their voice" as a young person in philanthropy.
Here's what participants thought of the NYC EPIP Workshops:
"The workshop offered a chance to reflect on the human relations side of working in foundations, rather than the techno-legal traps we often get sucked into. We all have the "skills" we need for this work -- or can learn them -- it's only in a forum like this that we can unpack the experience of living and working in this industry."
"The workshops were a great opportunity to connect with other young professionals working in the field of philanthropy. It was helpful to learn more about different perspectives in grantmaking."
"I wanted a chance to exchange stories, to be together with talented and generous people -- that wish was fulfilled."
"Overall - GREAT workshop and I also appreciate how friendly the EPIP Steering Committee and volunteers are."
April 15, 2004 - Bay Area EPIP held its first EPIP Philanthropology 201 Workshop, entitled "Power, Money, & Public Service: The Philanthropic Balancing Act." Hosted by the San Francisco Foundation Center, an EPIP partner organization. The session featured as speaker Carol Cantwell (Agape Foundation), Charles Fields (San Francisco Foundation), EPIP Board of Advisors member Laura Loescher (Changemakers), Kavita Ramdas (Global Fund For Women) and Jason Sanders (Tides Foundation). The panel was moderated by the Foundation Center's Janet Camerena.
Here's what participants are saying about the Bay Area EPIP Workshop:
"It was extremely valuable to have a space to discuss power dynamics in foundations, a significant issue that is often not discussed."
"Really solid panelists. Great big picture conversation."
"It reminded me that there are a lot of other people MY AGE out there in the philanthropic world who want to make changes and are as excited about philanthropy as I."
"It made me realize that we should be working toward some kind of ethics code for funders (and maybe even for grantees in discussions with grantees)."
"[Other philanthropy workshops] are more nuts-and-bolts, and geared much more to tools for private foundations and trustees. The thoughtful inquiry that EPIP aims to cultivate is unique."
Coming To An EPIP Chapter Near You...
May 19, 2004 - EPIP New England will hold a Philanthropology 201 Workshop titled "An Introduction to Social Justice Philanthropy," which will be hosted by Merrill Lynch. The workshop will feature Susan Ostrander, a professor of sociology at Tufts University. Prof. Ostrander teaches courses on social inequalities, community organizing, gender, and nonprofit organizations and democracy. For details , go to epip.org/newengland.htm, or email Tamara Bates at tb@schottfoundation.org.
May 27, 2004 - EPIP DC will hold its Official Launch Event, and the first in its "Feed-Your-Brain" Series. The event will be hosted by the Stuart R. Mott Charitable Trust, and will feature Deepak Bhargava, Executive Director of the Center for Community Change, who will speak about what foundations can do to actively promote social change.
For more information, go to epip.org/washdc.htm or RSVP at dc@epip.org.
Thursday, March 11, 2004
EXCITING EPIP PROGRAM AT COUNCIL ON FOUNDATIONS ANNUAL CONFERENCE IN TORONTO
Will you be in Toronto for the Council on Foundations Annual Conference?
If you answered "Yes" to that question, then you are invited to the EPIP Annual Program...
If you will be at the conference - email me and let me know. If you are interested in helping to organize our reception, or having your organization co-sponsor the reception, let me know that as well.
WORKSHOP
The Power To Be Authentic: Leadership Development at Work in Foundations
Tuesday, April 27, 2004, 11-12:30 AM
Co-Sponsored by EPIP & GrantCraft
This year EPIP and the GrantCraft Project are co-organizing a very exciting workshop, that will help participants to understand how to take on their
role in their organizations and to lead "from the middle." It will also help those in senior and junior positions to think about how they can either ask
for or provide the support needed by staff to take on their challenging roles. GrantCraft, a project of the Ford Foundation, is a source of practical wisdom for grantmakers on the tools and techniques of effective grantmaking.
The workshop will feature an inter-generational cast of facilitators, speakers and respondents:
Emerson Beyer, Program Associate, GrantCraft Project, Ford Foundation
Omisade Billie Burney, Program Director, The Warner Foundation
Jan Jaffe, Director, GrantCraft Project, Ford Foundation
George Penick, President, Foundation for the Mid-South
Dr. William Richardson, President & CEO, W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Molly Schultz, Program Manager, Jewish Funders Network
Rusty Stahl, Executive Director, Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy
Stephanie Yang, Program Officer, The Women's Foundation of California
RECEPTION
Mingle with Peers & Toronto Youth Activists
Tuesday, April 27, 2004, 7-9:30 PM [roughly]
Location: Toronto City Hall Rotunda [pending approval]
Co-Sponsors: Changemakers, GrantCraft, Resource Generation
We are very happy to once again this year co-sponsor our reception with our colleague organizations Changemakers and Resource Generation, with the addition of co-sponsor GrantCraft this year.
The reception will take place Tuesday evening, and our request for use of the Toronto City Hall Rotunda has been supported by the office of Olivia Chow, Toronto City Councillor & Youth Advocate, who is our invited speaker. We have also invited emerging practitioners in philanthropy and some youth activists from the Toronto area to join us and welcome us to their city! It should be a great evening of networking and fun.
Will you be in Toronto for the Council on Foundations Annual Conference?
If you answered "Yes" to that question, then you are invited to the EPIP Annual Program...
If you will be at the conference - email me and let me know. If you are interested in helping to organize our reception, or having your organization co-sponsor the reception, let me know that as well.
WORKSHOP
The Power To Be Authentic: Leadership Development at Work in Foundations
Tuesday, April 27, 2004, 11-12:30 AM
Co-Sponsored by EPIP & GrantCraft
This year EPIP and the GrantCraft Project are co-organizing a very exciting workshop, that will help participants to understand how to take on their
role in their organizations and to lead "from the middle." It will also help those in senior and junior positions to think about how they can either ask
for or provide the support needed by staff to take on their challenging roles. GrantCraft, a project of the Ford Foundation, is a source of practical wisdom for grantmakers on the tools and techniques of effective grantmaking.
The workshop will feature an inter-generational cast of facilitators, speakers and respondents:
Emerson Beyer, Program Associate, GrantCraft Project, Ford Foundation
Omisade Billie Burney, Program Director, The Warner Foundation
Jan Jaffe, Director, GrantCraft Project, Ford Foundation
George Penick, President, Foundation for the Mid-South
Dr. William Richardson, President & CEO, W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Molly Schultz, Program Manager, Jewish Funders Network
Rusty Stahl, Executive Director, Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy
Stephanie Yang, Program Officer, The Women's Foundation of California
RECEPTION
Mingle with Peers & Toronto Youth Activists
Tuesday, April 27, 2004, 7-9:30 PM [roughly]
Location: Toronto City Hall Rotunda [pending approval]
Co-Sponsors: Changemakers, GrantCraft, Resource Generation
We are very happy to once again this year co-sponsor our reception with our colleague organizations Changemakers and Resource Generation, with the addition of co-sponsor GrantCraft this year.
The reception will take place Tuesday evening, and our request for use of the Toronto City Hall Rotunda has been supported by the office of Olivia Chow, Toronto City Councillor & Youth Advocate, who is our invited speaker. We have also invited emerging practitioners in philanthropy and some youth activists from the Toronto area to join us and welcome us to their city! It should be a great evening of networking and fun.
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