DVG: Holding Together in High-Wire Times

Last week I attended the Delaware Valley Grantmakers fall conference. Harp-weaver was also a co-sponsor for the event with Phillips Philanthropy Advisors. 300 funders and representatives from nonprofit organizations gathered together under the theme, “Holding Together in High-Wire Times.”

Jeremy Nowak, President and CEO of the William Penn Foundation provided introductory remarks. As the Foundation is in the midst of a strategic planning process, Jeremy shared some fundamental advice: 1) Think about innovation and ask yourself how to do something better. 2) Be willing to rethink and restructure your organization in order to save legacy. 3) Drive towards outcomes versus output.

Nadya K. Shmavonian, President of Public/Private Ventures, moderated a panel discussion on “What’s Happening” in the sector. The panel included: Patrick E. Bokovitz, Director of Chester County Department of Community Development; Virginia Frantz, President and CEO of Montgomery County Foundation, Inc.; Donna Frisby-Greenwood, Philadelphia Program Director for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; Jeffrey Gordon, Manager of Community Relations for PECO; Stacy Holland, CEO of Philadelphia Youth Network; and Farah Jimenez, President and CEO of People’s Emergency Center.

Here is a summary of the points discussed:

• Are there too many nonprofits too small to succeed?
• Focus on collaboration in order to solve problems.
• Narrow focus – do what you are good at: build program models; focus on operational infrastructure; convene leadership networks
• Funders and organizations should co-create outcome measures over time and take a long-term approach.
• Funders should think about policies related to capacity building – grow capacity and help attract new donors

Night Out With Meaning: November 10th

Described as "a dreamer and a doer" Phoebe Driscoll's hard work, lasting resolve and inspiring dedication to land conservation has benefited us all. She attributes who she is today to growing up on a farm, having a woman's education in the forties and fifties, a supportive husband and luck! We are thrilled to have Phoebe as Night Out With Meaning's next storyteller on November 10th.

I am thrilled to invite you to Night Out With Meaning: Women & Giving; a series of evenings for women to be inspired by the stories of women like Phoebe Driscoll.

Held at The Philadelphia Cricket Club in February, May and November, each Night Out With Meaning focuses on a topic and features a wonderful storyteller. Night Out With Meaning is for women to connect with others, to learn from extraordinary women through their stories, and to find meaning in personal giving.

The fourth Night Out With Meaning will be held on November 10th at 6:30pm. The topic is "Protecting the Land & Environment." On a personal, community and national level Phoebe has committed her married life --- what's left after family affairs --- to volunteer activism in protecting the land and environment. For thirty-six years she has served on the board of the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association (WVWA).

To register for the event, click here. I look forward to sharing the Night Out With Meaning with you!

Latest Edition of the Philadelphia Social Innovations Journal

The fall edition of the Philadelphia Social Innovations Journal was released yesterday. This edition is focused on innovations in public health, healthcare and healthy food.

Continuing their new focus on theme-based editions covering pressing social issues, this issue introduces readers to alternative and innovative ideas and strategies for dealing with the persistent problems facing our region’s and nation’s health and healthcare system.

Included in this edition, is my latest philanthropy column. Both philanthropy and health are individually undergoing profound transformation with much debate privately and publicly. No doubt the result has been and will be a dramatic change in how each field is practiced. This column is about the confluence of these two sectors as it relates to the financial support received by health providers and organizations from foundations and other non-government funders. Here is a quick link.

Hunger Symposium

Today I attended Philabundance's Hunger Symposium. The harsh reality is that more people are struggling to get by and put food on their table. According to the literature from the Symposium, in 2010, 21 million people lived in working-poor families. This translates into nearly 9.6 percent of all American families living below 100 percent of poverty have at least one family member working. One of the most common misconceptions is the assumption that if someone is hungry, that means they do not have a job and are living on the streets. What most people don’t understand is that anyone can experience hunger. It is a silent epidemic that affects 49 million Americans. The Symposium provided a forum to look at the challenges related to food access. Philabundance brought in speakers like Mari Gallagher to better understand the obstacles. Here are some notes:

- When kids aren't in school they stop accessing food programs making summer the most difficult for parents.

- The people being served by food programs need to be involved in the solution. Families who are poor are savvy on how to survive.

- Collaboration is key between the government and nonprofits.

- Why some programs are underutilized: lack of marketing, lack of access, bad previous experience, stigmas around program.

- The original assumptions behind food banks: surplus food would always be available; existing networks of food pantries are ideal distributors; hunger was manageable and could be solved with a robust economy. All of these assumptions have been proven wrong.

- New strategy worth testing: combine nonprofit food banking with a grocery store; maximize SNAP (food stamps) benefits and cash purchases; provide a dependable and reliable supply; provide food free of charge. This is all about promoting self-sufficiency through choice and maximizing food assistance benefits.

PSIJ Health Edition Launch

Philadelphia Social Innovations Journal welcomes you at an informational evening to celebrate the launch of the fall special Health Edition of Philadelphia Social Innovations Journal (PSIJ), which will be available for online viewing during the reception. The first publication dedicated to social innovation in the Delaware Valley, PSIJ focuses on the Philadelphia region’s current and emerging leaders of social entrepreneurship, nonprofit organizations, foundations and social sector businesses, and on the principles they have developed to create, manage and promote social change. For more information on PSIJ, visit www.philasocialinnovations.org. The launch event takes place on September 26th from 4:00pm until 7:00pm at the Radisson/Warwick Hotel, 220 South 17th Street in Philadelphia. The session's keynote speaker is Dr. G. Terry Madonna who is the Director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin and Marshall College. RSVP, not required but preferred, to tine@philasocialinnovations.org.

Become a Smart Donor

Have you ever given to a nonprofit organization and were not entirely sure how your contribution was used? Are the nonprofit organizations you support in line with what you value? If they are not, have you asked yourself, why? Do you know what a 501(c)(3), a donor advised fund and a private foundation are? Have you made contributions when catastrophes occur like the earthquake/tsunami in Japan and were not sure how to provide meaningful support? If you have asked yourself these questions, then please join this discussion with other interested donors and learn the basics of becoming a smart donor. I will be teaching three classes through the Mt. Airy Learning Tree in October. Click here for more information and to register for the class.

Do More Than Give

Do More Than Give by Crutchfield, Kania and Kramer is about catalytic philanthropy. The idea behind catalytic philanthropy starts with two main premises:

1. Donors have something valuable to contribute beyond their money. The clout, connections, business know-how, and political savvy that foundation leaders, business executives, and many individual donors possess are key resources in advancing causes – resources that nonprofits often lack.

2. We all inhabit an increasingly complex and globally interdependent world that is changing with unprecedented speed. Although social and environmental problems have been with us throughout human history, today’s challenges are of a whole new order.

According to Do More Than Give, there are 6 practices which can be employed by donors who really want to make an impact in the issues they care about.

1. Advocate for Change: Systemwide change is rarely achieved without a range of advocacy efforts including raising awareness, educating the public and lobbying.
2. Blend Profit with Purpose: Social entrepreneurs are finding that business models that blend profit with purpose can scale up to address social problems more rapidly and sustainably than traditional nonprofits. Catalytic donors are learning to tap into the power of business as an engine for advancing the greater good.
3. Forge Nonprofit Peer Networks: This is about forging partnerships and relationships – nonprofits, corporations, foundations working together across a spectrum in order to achieve collective impact that no single organization could ever deliver alone.
4. Empower the People: Don’t treat individual community members as recipients of charity. Instead view them as essential participants in the process of solving problems for themselves. Solicit individuals for ideas and involve them.
5. Lead Adaptively: There is an important skill to learn and use – the ability to see changes and opportunities in their environment and to orchestrate the activities of key players to advance their cause.
6. Learn in order to Change: This is about building systems that enable donor and grantees to learn about what’s working and what needs to be fixed in real time in order to advance a cause. As a result, they build learning organizations.