My Community Matters

So where does the money come from?

July 27, 2010

We have two floors in the “world corporate headquarters” of the Grand Rapids Community Foundation. The first floor houses the grantmaking/community leadership team who are hard-working, passionate, resourceful and driven! There is a quiet yet energizing atmosphere on this floor.

On the second floor it is a bit noisier! In one area, our superb finance and administration staff diligently watches over our finances and investments. I’m sure they are sometimes amused and at times riled by the noise levels coming from the dynamic development and marketing teams. The sales and marketing staff strategize about increasing awareness for GRCF and are not shy about asking for support to accomplish the great work that we do. And then there’s me! I occupy an office on the second floor with a great view of the S-Curve and the patio of the Grand Woods Lounge which can be interesting at times!

Why am I telling you this? Because there has been quite a lot of discussion up here on the second floor regarding the role of fund development and its place in community foundations. Twenty years ago, the actual words “fund development” “resource development” or “fund raising” were not uttered in our field that often. Rather begs the question, so where was the money supposed to come from after all? In fact at that time one of my colleagues chose to call fund raising “community relations” instead because he felt it was a bit more dignified! Good heavens fund development is a great profession!

One day recently, I noticed that the din in the conference room next to my office was growing louder and louder. I went next door to find out what was going on! Apparently the brochure promoting our field’s annual conference listed the various functional areas of community foundation staff except for development. While there were sessions that relate to development in the lineup, on the page that advertised “Something for Everyone”, resource development was not listed.

Instead of turning this experience into a negative commentary, I have to say what has emerged in our office is a great platform for our team to proudly highlight their role in making this community foundation strong and at the ready to turn our promises into reality by selling our donors on our ability to address the most pressing concerns! And also reaching out to people to help them shape their plans on bringing their charitable dreams to life! In fact read more about how we are doing in new reports entitled “Grants at a Glance” by scrolling down to these great profiles located on our website.

I experienced in a meeting yesterday with Marilyn Zack our exceptional VP for Development and Gina Bovee our Development Director a strong commitment to selling this foundation. Yes - selling and marketing what we do best in our community! We are giving people the opportunity to donate their assets and/or discretionary income to support great programs knowing that we are in the business of results! Marilyn challenged a statement I made commenting that it is not easy to sell this foundation and the roles that we play. She noted that in other organizations it isn’t so easy either! It basically takes reaching out to people and asking them for their support. It may take time to build trust and the realization that we are truly making a difference!

Just like in the for-profit arena, sales, marketing and fund development are critical elements in growing our foundation. We have a great group of professionals who are devoted to this community, our donors, our leaders, and selling our dreams!

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GRCF - Old School or Hip Happenin'?

July 13, 2010

This is Leadership! You will be reading and hearing a great deal more about the Foundation’s leadership efforts in the coming months and I hope you enjoy reading the stories and examples. For months, we have been creating ways to tell our story with greater clarity and in a compelling fashion that makes you want to learn more! The power of philanthropy and the strong collaborative nature of our community are dynamic forces!

In the Spring 2010 edition of our news magazine Current I wrote about “this thing called leadership” pointing out that there are many efforts where the GRCF staff are addressing key issues and collaborating with many great organizations in our community. In the Summer 2010 edition of Current I wrote about the endowment building capacity of the Foundation and noted that it is definitely a strong form of sustainability - meaning it is truly a relevant and meaningful way to leverage support for major (and minor) issues!

Take a look at the grants profiles (scroll down the page a bit) we are posting on the GRCF website along with other publications to gain keen insight on key issues in our area and the great grants we are making coupled with the strength of our staff and volunteers addressing knotty community issues!

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Leadership! The Basics!!!

July 1, 2010

In the late 1990s, a group of committed community foundation leaders had a dream for the future of the field and set a course to make that dream a reality. The Committee on Community Foundations went through a “revolution” of sorts, morphing into the Community Foundation Leadership Team (CFLT) as we know it today.

As the changes were taking hold, two major developments unfolded.

One was the articulation of values that helped define community foundations. It led to the standards that shape and guide the field today. The other was the creation of courses designed to provide staff and board members a solid knowledge base regarding community foundations. This professional development program is called the Center for Community Foundation Excellence.

Basic Fundamentals was the first course developed. Other specialized courses were created in the areas of finance and administration, resource development, and community leadership. The course Basic Fundamentals is designed to provide newer staff and board members key information about the field, as well as a review of the legal issues relevant to all community foundations.

Mary Jalonick, president of The Dallas Foundation, and I, as president of Grand Rapids Community Foundation, recently had the pleasure of again teaching the two-day Basic Fundamentals at the Council on Foundations offices in Crystal City, Virginia. We shared a mountain of critical information through presentations and interactive exercises that brought to life the experiences and scenarios facing community foundations.

The class members were from every corner of the United States and represented both small and larger community foundations. The group actively participated and presented thoughtful and enthusiastic questions.

The Basic Fundamentals course implies an introduction to community foundations. It is anything but. It represents a firm foundation to start any career in the dynamic field of community foundations.

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Casey Wondergem - GR's strongest supporter!

June 2, 2010

About 25 years ago I met Casey Wondergem prior to being hired to lead the Grand Rapids Community Foundation and learned quickly that he really wrote the book on how “this community works!” He was not dictatorial in his manner and had the insight and drive necessary to move ideas and projects forward that others wouldn’t have spent the time to do. In other words, once he took on a major project, he saw it through to its successful completion without hesitation.

Casey passed away yesterday and he will be sorely missed. How can it be that the vibrant, opinionated yet kind man who was “lecturing” me just 10 years ago be gone? He joined the community foundation board in 1992 and immediately questioned everything we did but in a constructive fashion. Other trustees would chew on what he said and suddenly new energy would emerge as ideas whirled around the table!

Casey was that kind of leader. Planting seeds and sowing them and before too long great things would emerge and grow! Working with him not only when he was a GRCF trustee but also when he chaired the Regional Issues Committee of the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce when Milt Rohwer was its Executive Director, was watching a dynamo in full action!

He was an unabashed champion of downtown Grand Rapids and was never apologetic about it. Casey sometimes was out in front but most often was leading the behind the scenes work to provide a platform for strength and growth. He helped lead and guide many a philanthropic effort and he loved to see the fruits of his labor and vision! He simply loved this community!

Casey’s sense of humor, keen observations and decisive actions are all hallmarks of his leadership! This community will miss him - the Grand Rapids Community Foundation will miss him - I will miss him.

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Are nonprofits less than . . . ??

May 12, 2010

It happened again! Addressing a large group of nonprofit, foundation, and national organization leaders recently, a business leader was trying to convey generally a positive message about how his company has taken the leap to employ people who need many supports to succeed in a competitive employment environment. However, where he tripped was when he uttered something like, “But then you are not employers here today.”

HUH!? He was struggling because he likely would have liked to have said, but none of your organizations are “in business” or are for-profit enterprises. The social sector is often viewed as “less than” for-profit businesses for reasons that are just plain short-sighted.

Having talked on the value of this sector for many years and written on the topic, frankly I’m plum out of steam as there is no way to convince leaders here and around the country about the tremendous value that is returned to society by the nonprofit/social sector. Jim Collins did discover that value and wrote a monograph entitled “Good to Great and the Social Sectors” back in 2005. His premise was: “Why business thinking is not the answer” - a very wise man.

In 1998 the forerunner organization to the Community Research Institute (CRI) at the Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University researched and published a report on the Economic Impact of the social sector in Kent County. At that time it was determined that the sector represented 7% of the local economy and that the economic impact was more than $1 billion!

A study was also conducted in 2006 and updated in March 2007 by CRI on this very topic and the following was found: The total economic impact of the nonprofit sector in Kent County was measured to be $2.1 billion and that local nonprofits (at that time) employed 33,000 people which may be lower in 2010 given the recession. Also it was noted that the sector supported an additional 14,800 jobs in the for-profit sector. Here’s the link to this report as well as reports measuring the economic impact of the social sector for Newaygo, Muskegon and Ottawa Counties.

An important message is found in these reports which states while the economic impact of the sector is important, it is the impact that it is has on the quality of life which attracts and retains businesses in our communities as well as addressing the very serious problems surrounding the human condition.

Not employers!? Hardly! The social or nonprofit sector is critical to our society. The leaders do have strong leadership and financial skills and if they don’t, they won’t survive! Just like in business.

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