Night Out With Meaning: Phoebe Driscoll

Last week Phoebe Driscoll was Night Out With Meaning’s storyteller. Night Out is about learning, connecting and reflecting. It is my hope that those who attended took away knowledge that they didn’t have before, that they met someone new or discovered something about a friend that brought them closer. And it is also my hope that there were pieces from Phoebe Driscoll’s story that made them stop and reflect about their own lives and experiences.

I certainly spent time reflecting on Phoebe’s life story. Phoebe exudes wisdom in a way that makes you feel like she’s lived it and she’s simply going to let you in on a few things she’s learned along the way. I thought about where she came from and where her life landed her based on her “gut and luck!” I love how she is entering her eighth decade and still sees work to be done around land preservation. I thought a lot about her awareness and consciousness of her place in the world, how she contributes to its betterment and how she will one day leave it. I thought about my part, what I am doing and how aware my young children are of nature and the environment. I’ll say it…we take the Wissahickon and surrounding land for granted. We can literally step outside and find ourselves on a wooded trail. And I admit, I didn’t think much about how that land was preserved – until now. Someone said this is beautiful and someone said we must take care of it and preserve it for future generations. Phoebe realized this early on and works very hard to make that a reality. Thank you, Phoebe. And thank you to Anne Standish and Nancy Venner from the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association for introducing all of us to Phoebe.

If you are interested in learning more about the outreach programs of the Watershed, check out www.wvwa.org.

The next Night Out With Meaning will be in February of 2012. More information to come shortly! Remember to invite a friend and make it a Night Out!

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.