Grand Rapids Community Foundation

Trading Power with the Next Generations!

September 15^th, 2010

OR the Subtitle could read: I can feel your hot breath on the back of my neck!

This is another post from the Council on Foundations Fall Conference for Community Foundations:

On Tuesday, September 14th, I participated in a session entitled "Trading Power" dealing with the "importance of multigenerational involvement in philanthropy." In other words, how to involve all ages in the decision-making and learning at foundations while we gain insight on the generations coming up!

Two Council on Foundations staff leaders, Dori Kreiger, Managing Director, Family Philanthropy Services and Andrew Ho, Manager, Global Philanthropy designed and organized this session . It was purposely designed to encourage audience participation and the participants were arranged in a fishbowl fashion surrounded by a circle of attendees. A key feature of the session involved role playing situations. It worked well! Jillian Vukusich, Director of Community Investment at the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties, Audrey Jacobs, Director of the Center for Family Philanthropy at the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta and I acted out the scenarios.

In the first scenario, Jillian played the "seasoned" Executive Director who was meeting with next gen "program officer" played by Andy Ho. They acted out a negative and then a much more positive version of the scenario as Andy was looking for more leadership opportunities. In the second scenario, I played the seasoned Executive Director speaking with Audrey who was the seasoned Board Chair as I was trying to set the stage for bringing some younger leaders on the community foundation board. The Good and the Bad were played out here as well. Oh my! What an experience! The session attendees did talk . . . a lot! Great conversation!

Highlights:
* This is multigenerational not just about the "next gen"
* Leadership needs to be shared and opportunities need to be broadened
* Communication is changing (has changed!) rapidly - including social media
* Work habits different and the next gen may see their careers as a "train making several stops"
* Philanthropy needs to offer ways to show what great leadership can look like

I strongly urge everyone to go to http://www.cof.org/tradingpower to find a rich resource of articles, books as well as the report Trading Power. The report includes interviews with 18 philanthropic leaders and their thoughts on the next generation and the exchange that can ensue between the generations and indeed, sharing power.

As a boomer who has been the CEO of the Grand Rapids Community Foundation for 23 years, I know that the key thing is to create real situations to spread the power, authority and responsibility to staff as well as new opportunities to relate to upcoming generations of donors and all levels of community leaders. We have involved youth grantmakers on our board for the past 8 years - one a year with the next one in the wings. They have all the rights and responsibilities of any of our trustees PLUS they do participate in my performance review! We are actively looking for the best people who can help us reach our lofty goals and address our future strategies. It takes people of all ages, backgrounds and experience. The key thing is that we are looking for people who have great passion for our communities!

To my fellow boomers, embrace the new leadership and don't be fearful to share power and leadership. And yes, to our next gen leaders, I DO feel your hot breath on the back of my neck. I'll turn around to guide and involve you don't worry. I am not retiring for quite a few years though so learn all you can from me and I'll learn from you as well.

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Grand Rapids' Hip Quotient on the rise!

July 30^th, 2010

Last January I wrote about the impact of social media, the next gen coming forth with new ways to celebrate our great city bringing forward their philanthropic spirit as well! Well I'm back at it again to proclaim, as Todd Ernst does in his blog entry posted on today's edition of Grand Rapids Social Diary, our area's "Hip Quotient" (HQ) is rapidly rising! Todd is an electronic music DJ and promoter extraordinaire and is the resident DJ at Mixology Lounge at the JW Marriott Hotel Grand Rapids and he does so much more! He is also one very nice person.

There are seemingly many efforts underway in our community to attract and retain our next generation to help keep GR and the surrounding areas vibrant and growing! Job creation still reigns supreme for me to attract and retain a strong work force but keeping the vibe going is critical too. Todd knows that I have a few years on the intended audience for his commentary but that doesn't negate my understanding on how the growing Electronic Dance Music (EDM) movement has really taken hold here just down the road from Detroit where this movement has really taken off. (See end note) Rob Bliss is hosting the 2nd annual Grand Rapids Electronic Music Night tonight and it promises to be a grand event. And the weather is cooperating this year too!

We didn't need consultants and task force groups to study how to bring people down to the center of Grand Rapids! It's happening because the next generation is bringing to life what they like to do and they know how to attract the crowds! As Todd so aptly notes, "It's a good time to be part of the evolution in Grand Rapids . . . the Medical Mile is quickly defining medicine for a new generation, Fast Company magazine rated Grand Rapids as "America's Greenest City", we know we got Google's attention during the Google Fiber initiative . . . without question it is an appropriate time to ask the question about Grand Rapids "Hip Quotient" and what we can do individually to increase our region's HQ."

I couldn't have said it better myself! I'm so hip! ;)

Okay here's the caveat: I'm originally from Detroit having moved here a long time ago in the 1970's. I grew up listening and loving Soul music and I still do along with jazz. Electronic dance music may not lead the list of "my" music though I like it; it is "the music" for many in the generations coming up after the boomers! Bring it on I say!

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Social networks and philanthropy

January 11^th, 2010

For the past 18 months, I have been an active participant on Twitter and Facebook. Some view this as "who cares what you had for dinner" or "what's the big deal about tracking every moment of your day . . . who cares!". What I have found is that over time good stories emerge, people become real and approachable and connections are made.

Much is being written about social media and trainings, webinairs, seminars promise that entering these networks will bring customers and increased interest to businesses and organizations and even perhaps enhance your own life. We'll see how all this transpires. I can remember a time when web portals, having a "presence" on the internet, and such things were the hot topics. The fact remains, things change at lightning speeds. You have to keep up, all the tech savvy folks proclaim, or you will be left behind.

Will books be the thing of the past in a few years as digital products are introduced? I'm sure GRCF board chair Cecile Fehsenfeld, co-owner of Schuler's Books, along with her husband Bill are tracking this carefully and have developed long term strategies to stay in the loop! Will philanthropy take off in the cyber world as was predicted nearly a decade ago? Will our lives become more focused on relationships only accessed on our iPhones and other devices?

A great deal to ponder! One thing I'm really pleased about locally though is the interest many people who are connecting through social media networks who have a clear charitable perspective. A few weeks ago I wrote about the obsession to attract people who are under the age of 40 seemingly at the expense of those of us who are a bit north of 50 years old. However, the up and coming generations do seem to be very committed to Grand Rapids and giving of themselves for various causes.

What I'm noticing is that as gatherings are put together quickly communicated through Twitter, Facebook or other networks, that in addition to connecting and having fun, a philanthropic aspect is often included. And many of these events are being planned by people who are in their 20's, 30's and early 40's! While munching on delectable food at the Turkey Throwdown which took place prior to Thanksgiving, a collection was underway for warm accessories to help the homeless and others who are suffering through the recession. This particular activity was promoted almost exclusively on Twitter. No TV - no newspaper - no radio ads or announcements.

A huge event took place this past Friday to celebrate the 40th birthday of local chef and frequent TV show guest Tommy Fitzgerald. Tommy has a magnetic personality that lights up any room and makes all in his presence just smile, laugh and feel good. PLUS eating his delicious food. Weeks ago he started to promote the "Juiceball" held at the J.W. Marriott Hotel which pulled out all the stops in making this an event that was not only a "seen and be seen" event, but attractive in terms of cost while helping a local organization shine in the spotlight as well. Most of this was communicated on Twitter and Facebook.

A blog entry by Todd Ernst chronicled the success of this event and why Tommy used the celebration of this milestone birthday to bring awareness to the Kid's Food Basket and raise needed dollars for juiceboxes and other food items. More information on KFB can be find here and is run by Bridget Clark Whitney a leader in her 20's who has been lauded locally and beyond for her skills, talent and passion.

Tommy could have had a birthday party without the charitable purpose and all would have had a great time. The Turkey Throwdown could have happened and old and new friends could have enjoyed a meal together and connections made without giving back to people in need. However, as the next generations are coming up, I find that a strong giving spirit prevails, a more inclusive pattern emerging and an increase in civic engagement.

Is this different than in previous generations after all we have had "events" for decades to promote charitable causes and organizations? It does seem to be more inclusive and seems that people want to actually attend these events and not view them as another obligation. And it appears as if the purpose behind the organizations is embraced. In other words it isn't just about the organization but the reason that created these organizations. As in the case of the trends noted regarding the cyber world, we'll see. But I couldn't be more pleased and hopeful. Keep it going!

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Vibrancy - is it only an "age" thing?

November 17^th, 2009

Deep breath Diana! Okay - I'm 58 years old, I'm darn cute, I'm full of energy and I've got myself fooled that I am still 35 years old! Why does this matter? Well, it may not but I started something on Facebook today and I want to take a moment to provide more detail. My original post was:

"Does a vibrant core city only include efforts/programs that focus on people under the age of 40? Seems as if so much is made of this and yet I know we need to attract younger people to West MI and help them stay! However, it feels like we may be alienating so many other people."

The genesis of this comment comes from about 24 months of reading, listening and trying to understand what makes a city and the surrounding region attractive to many people! In fact what makes it so attractive that people want to stay and put down roots in a great place to live, work and play! The vision statement of the Grand Rapids Community Foundation in fact is: "We envision a magnetic, interconnected West Michigan community." That was written and adopted 4 years ago so this has been an issue for GRCF for quite some time.

Consultants, CEOs for Cities, business leaders, Chambers of Commerce, economic development organizations, West Michigan Strategic Alliance and many others have been pressed into action to zero in on what makes a community an attractive place for many people and specifically what make GR the place to be.

I have issues with some of the activity above because frankly some of the efforts are literally climbing over each other and not much attention is being paid to duplicative efforts. I hope that all this activity will help build and keep metro GR vibrant and alive.

AND I love reading tweets and Facebook entries from the local Young Nonprofit Professionals Network and other young professional groups. The Next Gen movement in philanthropy is one that I embrace and appreciate because the talent is simply phenomenal! Amanda St. Pierre on our staff is one of these exceptional leaders and has the wisdom of someone much more experienced. She creates many of our communication messages in such a unique and readable manner. She is something else! Amanda and our VP for PR/Marketing, Roberta King, are a dynamic team! So this isn't about complaining about the young professionals making their way because we should be paving the way each and everyday!

It is the emphasis being placed on all things for all people UNDER 40 years of age! I'm certainly feeling it! Is the only way Grand Rapids can be determined a "cool city" if it is populated by all people much, much younger than me? At a recent business luncheon I was struck by the encouragement from the podium that persons under the age of 40 should be encouraged to join up! I looked around the table where I was seated and stared at six business women who were perhaps a bit over 40 though not that much. I joked and said well how welcome do you feel now?

I embrace all age groups, all backgrounds, all differences - all of it! That is WHAT makes a "hip happening" city. Yes we need to keep the younger generations enthused about their city and yet we need to keep our "experienced adults" excited about staying here as well! This is a complex issue and I'll keep writing about this in future posts. We need jobs to keep all ages here - we need acceptance of differences - we need new industries - we need to stop the state and local governments from bleeding!

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Rock on Next Gen

May 6^th, 2008

It seems the blog entries that get attention beyond the borders of West Michigan are those that show my more crabby side like the entry from yesterday! To show that I'm not that crabby, I want to say that the staff at the GRCF are all enjoying the Council on Foundations Philanthropy Summit from afar through the blogs and the COF website chronicling the plenary sessions and other breakout meetings. The different perspectives are very interesting.

What I am particularly thrilled about is the focus on the Next Generation and the sessions that are designed specifically to focus on this! This has also caught the eye of one of our millenials at the GRCF, Amanda St. Pierre, who is working on developing other ways to attract the younger audience not only to the GRCF but ideas for attraction and keeping 'em here in the most beautiful part of the state of Michigan!

I wrote about the Youth Grant Committee a few posts ago and we are honored to have so many bright young people from across our county involved with us! So keep it going!

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