These Days Everyone Can Be A Communicator…But Is That Enough?

Published January 12, 2012 Thought Leaders Leave a Comment
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By Bruce Trachtenberg, Executive Director, The Communications Network and Michael Hamill Remaley, Vice President of Communications & Public Policy, Philanthropy New York

(This post originally appeared on PhilanTopic, the Philanthropy News Digest blog, on January 6, 2012 and is reprinted with permission.)

These days, everyone is a communicator. After all, how hard is it to send a tweet, post to a blog, or even shoot and upload a video?

Many people in charge of foundation and nonprofit communications have taken advantage of this trend by encouraging others in their organizations to develop and share content through online social networks.

Indeed, as they increasingly see that their messaging can be amplified by many voices, both on staff and off, one can imagine foundations asking: Do we still need professional communicators on staff? Why can’t we all just say what we have to say? In a world of decentralized distribution of news and ideas, do we even need a communications department? Continue reading…

Beyond the IRS: Communicating Your Foundation’s 990-PF

Published December 21, 2011 Program Recaps , Thought Leaders 1 Comment
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By Gail Fuller, Director of Communications, Rockefeller Brothers Fund

Long ago, foundations were in what I call “The Lone Ranger” mode: they hid behind masks, addressed societal needs, and for the most part never revealed who they were or told their stories or that of their grantees. By the 1980s, that began to change. The late Frank Karel, who created what is today considered foundation communications, concluded that a sound communications strategy is guided by the relentless pursuit of answers to three deceptively simple questions: 1) What do you want to accomplish?, 2) Who has to think or act differently for that to happen?, and 3) What would prompt them to do it?

Those are the same questions that also drive good grantmaking. And with that simple way of thinking, foundations began to be strategic about their communications and tell their stories, both externally with annual reports (and eventually websites), and with internal communications to trustees and staff.
Continue reading…

Engagement Snapshot: A Strategic Approach

Published November 28, 2011 Commentaries , Program Recaps Leave a Comment
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By Beeta Jahedi, Assistant Manager, Professional Education, Philanthropy New York and Robert Hyfler, EngAGEment Initiative Program Consultant, Philanthropy New York

(This post originally appeared on the Forum’s Forum, the blog of the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers, on November 21, 2011 and is reprinted with permission.)

It was with great enthusiasm that Philanthropy New York signed on to the EngAGEment initiative and the funding partnership with Grantmakers In Aging. Philanthropy New York and our local co-funders, the John A. Hartford Foundation, the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, and FJC – A Foundation of Philanthropic Funds, quickly developed a senior staff working group to develop our local approach to the challenge of increasing foundation funding in age-related issues. A three-pronged strategy emerged: Continue reading…

A Road Less Traveled….

Published November 1, 2011 Thought Leaders 1 Comment
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By Howard Knoll, Senior Director, Casey Family Programs

Families who take seasonal driving trips often fall into two categories—those who want to get to their destination in the quickest time and those who want to take the “scenic route” and don’t consider time something to be conquered.

In philanthropy, it is easy to view ourselves as those who want to get to our destination in the most direct way. We are often knowledgeable about the issues and rely on nonprofit organizations to do the work and show results in a timely manner. This summer, a group of foundations that make up the New York Juvenile Justice Initiative decided to step back, take a “leap of faith,” and take a “road less traveled.” We asked ourselves this question: “How can foundations create organizational structures that support a youth voice in our work?” We can by engaging youth—so that we can look at particular issues through the lens of someone who has been personally impacted. This is not news to service providers, but it may be a developing area of work for foundations. And engaging foundation leaders so that they can develop that process step in their grantmaking can positively influence their perspectives on grants and awards.
Continue reading…

How Grantmakers Can Respond to the State Budget Crises

Published September 28, 2011 Thought Leaders Leave a Comment
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By Doug Bauer, Executive Director, The Clark Foundation
Chair of the Board of Directors, Philanthropy New York

(This essay originally appeared in Foundation Leaders Address the State Budget Crisis, Copyright © 2011 The Foundation Center. Used by permission.)

Reassuring is not a word we hear often in this deeply difficult time for much of the nonprofit sector.

Yet it is reassuring to see the level of foundation response and engagement with the current crisis in public funding, which affects 44 of the 50 states. The Foundation Center’s new survey suggests that the foundation community understands the depth of the problems confronting our grantees—the day-to-day managers of the social safety net in the United States.

As we and our grantees cope with this new reality, I would like to amplify four key needs identified in the survey findings: Continue reading…

Commentary: Understanding Muslim America

Published August 11, 2011 Commentaries , Program Recaps 1 Comment
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By Michael Seltzer, Trustee, EMpower-The Emerging Markets Foundation, and past President, Philanthropy New York

Editor’s note: All of us at Philanthropy New York are deeply indebted to Michael Seltzer not only for his in-depth planning and assistance for our February 14th program, but also that he did so while he was in the hospital undergoing a bone marrow transplant. We are also happy to report that he is now cancer-free. Thank you again, Michael!

When I was a teenager, my Russian-born father recounted how he had experienced prejudice in his youth in his new country. In 1917, he attended Dewitt Clinton High School, then located in the aptly named Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood. Each day, he feared for his safety en-route to school. As he would recount more than 40 years later, Irish gangs would be ready to pounce on Jewish Russian immigrants like him when they stepped on their turf.

Perhaps it was such recollections that fueled my passion for organizing the Philanthropy New York members briefing Understanding Muslim America. The flame was ignited last August when the brouhaha over the location of a Muslim cultural and spiritual center in Lower Manhattan erupted.
Continue reading…

Philanthropy New York’s Adventure Series: Version Red Hook

Published July 28, 2011 Program Recaps Leave a Comment
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By Daniel Lilienthal, Associate for Social and Emotional Learning,
NoVo Foundation

On June 21st, Red Hook, Brooklyn, home of one of the largest public housing communities in the city, was host to a number of funders from New York’s philanthropic community. Beginning at the Brooklyn Community Foundation (BCF), in Dumbo, representatives of the Liz Claiborne Foundation, the NoVo Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and others got an inside look at one of New York’s secret treasures, as well as an on-the-ground look at some of the projects supported by BCF.
Continue reading…

Learning in Place

Published July 14, 2011 Thought Leaders 1 Comment
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By Maria Mottola, Executive Director, New York Foundation

I am an ambivalent traveler. I get anxious about leaving things that are familiar—it’s disorienting. But once I arrive someplace new, I feel exhilarated; finding yourself in strange surroundings can be jarring, but in a good way.

Just over a year ago, the New York Foundation’s board of trustees allowed me to spend some time on a “sabbatical” of sorts, during which I worked as an executive-on-loan to Gladys Carrión, the Commissioner of the New York State Office of Children & Family Services (OCFS). On top of all my other responsibilities, why take this on now? In the way travel can invigorate you, I was excited by the idea of exploring another sector. I was also unsure whether the skills I had honed over 16 years were useful for navigating any place outside philanthropy. And being a generalist, I wasn’t sure I had the capacity anymore to digest one issue in depth.

Also, I was tired of hearing myself talk about foundations being more proactive as advocates in the public arena, with only a vague idea of what that might look like. It’s easy to pontificate about a hypothetical scenario. It’s harder to advocate for and carry out a realistic approach once you know the landscape.
Continue reading…

The Business of Philanthropy: “Exit Interviews” with Former and Departing Foundation CEOs

Published June 30, 2011 Program Recaps , Thought Leaders Leave a Comment
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By Richard Smith, President, The Pinkerton Foundation

How has the increasing influence of the tools and techniques of business affected the world of philanthropy? That was just one of the themes of a panel I had the privilege of moderating recently at Philanthropy New York. Entitled “Exit Interviews,” the panel included three genuine leaders in the field: Susan Berresford, the former head of the Ford Foundation, and two current CEOs, Lance Lindblom of the Nathan Cummings Foundation and Chris DeVita of The Wallace Foundation, both of whom have announced plans to step down later in the year. As a recent migrant from the land of commerce myself, I’ve been especially curious about the similarities—and differences—between business and philanthropy. The panel helped clarify the picture—although I hasten to add that the views expressed here are my own and do not necessarily reflect a consensus of all the panelists.
Continue reading…

Start a Giving Circle This Summer

Published June 15, 2011 Thought Leaders 1 Comment
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By M. Starita Boyce Ansari, Ph.D., President & Chief Change Officer, MSBPhilanthropy Advisors LLC

Summer is finally here! After the brutal winter many of us experienced, it is time to look forward to those long, balmy days and breezy summer nights. Summer is the time for school reunions, backyard barbecues with family and friends, and just having a bit more freedom for fun. However, summer is not the time to forget about philanthropy. As we spend time enjoying this wonderful world, we should also think about ways we can help make it better. With the slight decrease in workload that comes during the season, this is perhaps the best time to consider creating a Giving Circle.
Continue reading…

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