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?

Comments for We Exist, Therefore . . .

Wednesday, December 9, 2009 by Chris Crothers:
With so much static in the field with regard to best practices and the latest news, I appreciate a trusted resouce like SECF to help cut through the fluff and elevate the issues / breakthroughs that members have said are important to them. I don't have a lot of time or "bandwidth" (buzz word of the week) to spend reading the tons of eBlasts and newsletters I receive, and I get most of what I need from a few places--SECF among them. On a separate note, I believe that "place" directly affects philanthropy's methods. We can't expect programs or strategies that are successful in California to always transfer successfully to the southeast. For example, some of our best allies are in the faith-based community, who provide so many of the vital programs for rural areas with limited resources and where no Boys and Girls Clubs or other national programs exist. SECF provides snap shots of orgs in our region and their work, and I believe it helps others get ideas and build their capacities to better serve their area that might have similar demographics, needs, and challenges.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010 by MaggirGunther Osborn:
I concur with Chris in that the cultural context in which we work is a vital piece of the fiber of the impact we want to make. Best practrices must still been seen within the communities that seek to implement them. SECF also elevates our local discourse while bringing national discourse to our regional understanding. We need all these perspectives and connections to make our sector viable, strong and relevant to each of us and those we hope to serve.

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