Professional Development
Three Ways to Get Creative About Learning at Your Organization
In class, I learned about motivating employees and the value of a learning organization, and started thinking about tools I could use to encourage a learning culture. Here are a few ideas I came up with that you might be interested in utilizing in your own organization.
1. Postcards. I turned a …
The Complete Guide to Grantmaking Basics: A Field Guide for Funders
Publication
The Complete Guide to Grantmaking Basics brings together and updates the information, guidance, and tips found in Grantmaking Basics I and II with more essential tools for grantmakers. This book is a practical guide to honing your grantmaking effectiveness and adapting to the changing nonprofit…
Pathway to Leadership
The study and practice of leadership has been on my mind for the past several months. Since July, I’ve been fortunate to participate in the Career Pathways Program through the Council on Foundations.
It’s a leadership program that has been designed to prepare candidates to compete for and earn…
Five Technology Tools to Make Your Work Life Easier
I recently had the opportunity to connect with several young nonprofit professionals at a lunch meeting. After learning about issues several were facing that ended up complicating work with grantees, I immediately suggested several free technology tools that could streamline their current work.…
Staffing Models and Board Engagement: Two Vital Assets for Growing Community Foundations
For today’s post, we’ve asked two leaders to weigh in on topics of interest to young, growing community foundations. Their organizations—Kern Community Foundation and The Community Foundation of Mendocino County—participated in Community Foundations Initiative II, a multiyear initiative by The…
Getting off the (CEO) Track
While I have enjoyed making the contacts and hanging out in the CEO track sessions, I decided to session hop on Monday afternoon.
I found, that while well meaning, the CEO air was a tad rarefied and discussion aimed high-brow as my colleagues discussed high-impact investments and donor…
A Two-Way Street on Dialogue and Leadership
After my time at the Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP) conference this past week, I walked away with a lot of reflection points. What struck me most about the conversations I experienced, both during the sessions and with colleagues, was that they were not just about vision, change, and…
Another Openin’, Another Show… (With Apologies to Cole Porter)
The beginning of opening session is just a few short minutes away. I arrive early to find a seat while trying to avoid the strobe light clearly flashing above my head. As I loiter in the lobby, here are some general impressions thus far.
I will not get to every session I want to hit, and need to be…
“Passionaries” Connect in L.A. to Create New Realities
Each one of us has 86,400 seconds per day to live, work, love, play and/or fritter away. Indeed time is the nonrenewable resource. Threaded through the last weeks, I have reached out to colleagues in the foundation sector to be sure that my time at the Council of Foundations Annual Conference is…
Together, We’re Better
The Council on Foundations Annual Conference brings together grantmakers from all over the world to learn from each other and discuss best practices and critical issues in philanthropy. There is something for everyone at this conference, and the energy of all of us together is powerful and…
Deadline for Career Pathways Program Approaching
The application deadline for the third class of the Council on Foundations’ Career Pathways Program is March 21. Individuals with diverse backgrounds seeking career advancement in the field of philanthropy are encouraged to apply.
In two short years, the Career Pathways program has established…
Foundation Demographics: Is philanthropy keeping up with our society?
The Council on Foundations (COF) recently released the 2011 Grantmakers Salary and Benefits Report. The sample includes 910 total foundations of which 544 are COF members. As Rick Cohen notes on his piece about the survey, the survey suffers from the limitations of self-reporting, as do most all of…
The F and S Words: Failure and Success
At the Council on Foundations Global Grantmaking Institute (GGI), participants grappled with the fact that wicked problems do not have single-sourced solutions, nor is there a clearly demarcated path leading to success in overcoming these problems. Our esteemed faculty gently but ever so…
Anatomy of a Global Grantmaker
At the Council on Foundations’ Global Grantmaking Institute (GGI) this week, participants are examining the essentials in the effective global grantmaker’s toolkit: our hearts, minds, stomachs, and ears.
First, let’s talk about the hearts and minds. Reflecting on the seeds of America’s fight for…
Learning from our Peers: Fusion Family Foundation Conference
I had the privilege this week to join my first Council on Foundations Family Philanthropy Conference. It was a remarkable gathering of some 600 philanthropic leaders and advisers from across the U.S. and international Foundations. The program and various highlights are detailed on the conference…
What the Family Conference Reminded Me
I had the pleasure of spending the past four days in Miami Beach at the Council on Foundations’ annual Family Philanthropy Conference.
There was alot to experience there, but I’d have to say that — as usual at these kind of gatherings — the highlight was spending time with my fellow attendees.
The…