Bread & Butter

We Exist, Therefore . . .

Wednesday, December 9, 2009 by Suzanna Stribling

Like my earlier post about the death of conferences, many have predicted the decline of associations in light of the many online, tailored connections that professionals now enjoy. For those of us working in philanthropy, where it seems a new association or “affinity group” pops up every day, this is news indeed.

So I ask myself, why do associations exist? Why does SECF exist? (Full disclosure: I’ve just sat for the Certified Association Executive exam so I've been thinking a lot about this...

Kevin Holland, on his blog Associations Inc., says: “Associations do not exist to "associate." They exist to promote the interests of the constituencies they represent.” He calls associations to task for merely duplicating “best practices” across various types of associations – meetings, newsletters, blogs, etc. – without really learning about the unique needs of their respective members and finding the point of collective leverage for them.

This year, SECF has spent a lot of time crafting a new strategic plan to better serve the private foundations, family foundations, community foundations and corporate grantmakers who gather under the SECF umbrella to promote their common interests. One of its elements is about just that – promoting the interests of philanthropy in the southeast by supporting the development of state-based grantmaker associations.

Why? Because if philanthropy is going to have a strong voice, it must mirror the political structure we live in – the federal, state, local model. Grantmakers must come together along geographic lines, not because they don’t also need to work globally, but because that’s where the point of leverage is. Associations work along a continuum, from technical assistance to one member to policy action on behalf of the whole. All the elements of association work are helpful to a field but it’s that work to congeal the collective voice that is most challenging and holds the most rewards.

We are your association. You pay your dues every year. Why do you think it’s important for us to exist?

Community Foundations -- Linchpins in the Philanthropic Infrastructure

Tuesday, December 8, 2009 by Suzanna Stribling

Leslie Lilly, President & CEO of the Community Foundation of Palm Beach and Martin Counties, recently posted an excellent opinion piece in the Sun Sentinel, noting the importance of community foundations' contributions in Florida and across the country.

I have been fascinated by community foundations since I started working in the field back in the mid-80's. At the time, I was in New Haven, Connecticut, where the local community foundation, under the leadership of Helmer Ekstrom, was forging new ground in a number of social areas and bridging the difficult donor chasm of Town and Gown in a community where Yale University dominates the landscape.

Shortly after that, I had the pleasure of working for Alicia Philipp at the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta when she hired me to help launch what's now the Georgia Center for Nonprofits. Alicia has a long history of incubating important missions, from the arts fund to AIDS fund to the women's foundation -- she's the walking example of Mr. Woodruff's famous remark about how much can be accomplished when folks aren't concerned about getting the credit.

Since that time I've watched the community foundation field grow at a tremendous rate and continue to mature in ways both expected and surprising. In the current environment, across the South, community foundations have played an important leadership role. Not only do they raise and distribute much-needed unrestricted cash to the front lines, they have convened difficult conversations, challenged donors to think in new ways about the needs of their communities, and led the way in listening and responding to local nonprofits.

At SECF, our membership includes all kinds of community foundations -- small ones, big ones, old and new ones. But whether they are powerful players or struggling nonprofits, they have become key ingredients in the broader recipe for a healthy philanthropic community. We value community foundations and recognize the vital role they play in our field -- bridging donors and nonprofits in flexible ways and helping lead other foundations in their communities with new grantmaking knowledge and skills.

Here's to another year of health and growth for CFs!

New Leadership in Foundations is on the Move

Tuesday, December 8, 2009 by Suzanna Stribling

In this week's Chronicle of Philanthropy, Pablo Eisenberg exhorts foundations to take a closer look at their program officers when looking to hire new talent, noting a recent Council on Foundations report that over 80% of foundation leaders hired between 2004 and 2008 came from outside the foundation.

Here at SECF, we couldn't agree more and we're doing something about it. Our Hull Fellows program, a leadership development effort launched in 2001 and aimed at those new to philanthropy, now boasts over 150 alumni. This year, as part of our new strategic plan, we'll be reinventing the program, under the leadership of Kathryn Dennis, President of the Community Foundation of Central Georgia. We'll be adding an annual mentoring component, matching seasoned foundation leaders with those new in the field and connecting alumni in new ways that allow them to continue learning and growing together.

We believe leadership development is key to a strong philanthropic environment and we want our members to be well-versed in the broad array of knowledge, skills and strategies it takes to be a visionary grantmaker. Gene Cochrane, President of The Duke Endowment, is helping us craft new ways to develop and deliver strong programs in this area. With the help of our extraordinary members and their willingness to give of their time and talents to each other, we'll be working to develop the next generation of philanthropic leaders in the South . . .

from the inside out! Stay tuned!

Our Conference is Not Dead!

Friday, October 30, 2009 by Suzanna Stribling

In the race up to our annual meeting in Memphis, I was startled to find in my inbox a link to Nathaniel Whittemore’s post “The Conference is Dead…(Does Anyone Care?).”

Well, I care.

We’ve spent countless hours over the past year working to welcome more than 500 foundation executives and trustees to an event that we proudly think of as the premier gathering of philanthropic leaders in the South. It’s been that way for 40 years and we’ve not seen much drop off in this year's attendance in spite of the dire predictions about meeting budgets, travel restrictions and too much to do.

Whittemore goes on to explain that what he really means is that “the conference model we have today - keynotes, plenary sessions, networking breaks, etc - is dead. And good riddance.”

I couldn’t agree more.

I’ve spent the last week planning for several face-to-face gatherings of our members and have given a lot of thought to the content of these events, always mindful of the best ways to serve our members. We’re constantly talking about how to make meetings fulfilling for members – What do they want? What do they need? What will inspire them? How best to facilitate sharing? And reviewing what I know to be true about our members -- grantmakers:

They’re smart – working for the common good -- whether it’s the arts, health or education -- takes know-how and the ability to perceive the interconnectedness in communities. No ostriches here.

They’re accomplished – most of our members came to the field after significant achievement in other fields.

They’re lonely – that thing about “you’ve had your last bad meal?” True. It’s also true that many grantmakers work alone and straddle the sometimes uncomfortable space between their grantees and their trustees. There aren’t a lot of people in the community that have their kind of job.

They’re challenged – it really is harder than it looks.

They’re very busy.

So, what I’ve learned is that all we really have to do is get them in a room together and provide useful tools for them to get the most out of their time together. From each other. Not from talking heads.

So here’s our pledge: we won’t have plenary sessions or panels or keynotes in 2010 unless they are knock-your-socks-off good. And we’ll always provide the open space for you to learn and share, be nourished and inspired, have fun and get the professional value you expect from us when you’ve taken the time to come together.

Dead? Or deal? What do you think?

Save the dates and don't miss SECF's 2010 Conference on Investing for Foundations at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Atlanta and the Family Foundations Forum at the Charleston Doubletree in the Historic District, May 2-4.