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Be Sure to Read
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While many volunteers have the enthusiasm to guide an organization, they don't always have the know-how. In the January/February 2015 edition of Associations Now, see how leadership development programs can help instill the skills and confidence it takes to lead.
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| Newsletter Archive | |
Miss an issue of Forum Bits?
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Every Opinion Counts: 2015 Conference Session and Speaker Ideas
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The planning team for the Forum Network's 2015 conference needs your help! We are excited to plan and the 2015 conference with a great program and are seeking your input to make the sessions as meaningful to the Network as possible.Please take a few minutes to let us know what you are most interested in seeing on this year's program by completing a short online poll.
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PolicyWorks RA Status Matrix
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 Each year RAs participating in the PolicyWorks initiative complete a survey detailing their RA's policy activities. This data is used to compile each regional association's capacity profile and for the first time we are sharing the compiled data in a simple matrix. For example use this resource to see which RAs have a person on staff who is a registered lobbyist or receives operating/project support for policy work.
Check it out here
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Hot Topics for RA Staff Member
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 2015 is off to a strong start in the Forum Network so let's take a look at the resources most frequently accessed by regional association staff last month to see what trends are on the rise.
It's no surprise to see the Get on the Map Toolkit at the top of the list as this recently launched partnership with the Foundation Center is now in full swing. Our archive of Member Surveys also recently received a big update thanks to a listserve query by Caty Bulgrin, Research & Operations Analyst at Donors Forum of Wisconsin. Of course, the Regional Association Characteristics Report is a perennial favorite and soon we'll release the latest data!
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Find Your Next 2015 Program in the Grantmaker Education Programming Directory
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 As you continue to build your program offerings for 2015, we hope you'll take a few minutes to search the Grantmaker Education Programming Directory.
The directory has been called "fantastic," "amazing, and "user-friendly" by RA staff members.
Have a program to include? Submitting is easy through our web form.
If you have any questions about the directory, please feel free to contact Dan Brady.
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Book Your Room for Foundations on the Hill
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If you will be attending this year's Foundations on the Hill, the room block will close on Friday, February 20, and it typically sells out early. We recommend making your reservations as soon as possible and encouraging your members to do the same.
This year we have secured a block of rooms at the Washington Court Hotel.
Single rooms are available at $319/night and double rooms at $339/night. All reservations must be made through the hotel's Reservations Department by calling 1-800-321-3010. Please reference the "Council on Foundations" to get the preferred rate.
Please contact Courtney Moore (202-888-7428) with any questions about Foundations on the Hill.
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Doing Good Is About to Get Better
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Guest post by Maggie Gunther Osborn, Connecticut Council for Philanthropy
As the president of a regional association, I regularly need to know what funders in my region are supporting and where they are working. Usually, to get that information, my colleagues and I need to make a series of calls, send out emails and surveys, schedule meetings, and do some real sleuthing. And what we continue to end up with is representative of only a small portion of what is really happening around us. Sound familiar?
This lack of data to inform our work is even more problematic when coupled with all the questions and challenges raised by organizations that want to force their interpretation and agendas on that work. Unfortunately, we can't adequately respond because we don't really know who our collective dollars are serving and whether our grantees mirror the communities we are trying to serve. Because we don't have the data that supports the story we want to tell, others continue to write our story for us.
Other Get on the Map News
Learn more about the Get on the Map campaign and download the toolkit or contact Mary O'Neill (202-457-8784) for more information.
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 Donors Forum LibGuides
Donors Forum (IL) has joined thousands of libraries worldwide that curate and share information through LibGuides -- free, online resource guides. Initial topics include prospect research, the Foundation Center's Funding Information Network, nonprofit jobs and careers, and The Library's Collection, with more guides to follow each month.
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Resources from Recent Programming
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Public Policy Round Robin
February 10
Hot Topics in Washington
February 11
The Forum and Council on Foundations hosted a call for RA staff and your members to learn what's happening in Washington and the hot policy topics impacting foundations and philanthropy.
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Mark Your Calendars for Upcoming Programming
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Fund the People! Strengthen Your Region's Social Sector: Educate Funders about Investing in Nonprofit Talent (RA staff only)
Tuesday, February 17, 2-3 pm ET
It's widely accepted that people, not programs, drive the performance and impact of nonprofits. Yet Foundation Center data shows that only 1% of grant dollars have gone toward leadership or staff development over the past 20 years. A new initiative supported by the Packard, Kresge, and Annie E. Casey foundations and American Express Philanthropy, Talent Philanthropy Project, aims to increase funding for people from 1% to 10% by 2025. Talent Philanthropy have begun this work by producing research, ideas, practical tools and events that are making "talent philanthropy" a new norm across in the funding and nonprofit community.
Now, in partnership with the Forum, Talent Philanthropy seeks to offer more Regional Associations a unique value proposition by enabling you to deliver cutting-edge new content, interesting educational events, and practical tools to your members on this essential but rarely addressed issue. They have presented at Council of Michigan Foundations, Philanthropy Southwest and Northern California Grantmakers in the past.
Join Talent Philanthropy for an interactive webinar to learn about the latest data on the nonprofit workforce, the benefits of talent-focused grantmaking from the funders' perspective, and practical new resources that they will produce in 2015.
Talent Philanthropy is founded and led by President and CEO Rusty Stahl, who previously led the funder network Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP). Experienced philanthropy consultants including Jessica Bearman, Mark Sedway and Jara Dean-Coffey are working on the project team as well.
Register online to participate
How Can Funders Work Together To Have An Impact On Public Policy? (RA staff only)
Wednesday, February 25, 1-2 pm ET
Public policy work is hard. Collaborative work is hard. Add the two together and you get a complex enterprise. There have been no magic formulas or can't-miss strategies. Determining why and how to take on policy work requires steady inquiry, analysis, strategy, openness, and horsepower. But the results can be significant.
We've taken what we've learned so far and turned it into draft toolkits. There are two kinds of tools, both designed for structured group reflection. The first is a self-assessment tool that can help affinity groups engaging in policy work determine how well they're set up for success. The second is a set of planning checklists that affinity groups can use to do policy work and regional associations can use to support that work.
Join us for an overview of how your RA staff and funders groups can utilize the new tools to further your policy work with Mark Sedway, The Giving Practice.
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Fundamentals of Measurement- Discount Available to RA Members
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ACCP is offering members of regional associations a $250 discount off the non-member registration fee to Fundamentals of Measurement, June 10-12 in Orlando, FL. The course is an intense 2 ½ day program for corporate responsibility leaders on how to implement and apply a measurement framework to program activities. In addition to providing an understanding of the general principles of measurement, attendees will learn how the LBG model, an open source logic model, can be used as a tool for impact measurement and how to effectively communicate your program impacts to internal and external audiences.
RA members should use the promo code, REGPART to receive $250 off the registration price. ACCP has provided a flyer to help promote this event.
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Forum Network in the News
|  Recent media mentions of regional associations around the country:
Donors Forum: How a 50-Year-Old Organization Is Shaking Up Philanthropy (interview with President and CEO, Eric Weinheimer)
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Highlights from RA Blogging
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Upcoming Events
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FOR REGIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
Tuesday February 17, 2-3 pm ET: Fund the People! Strengthen Your Region's Social Sector: Educate Funders about Investing in Nonprofit Talent. Webinar.
Wednesday, February 25, 1-2 pm ET: How Can Funders Work Together To Have An Impact On Public Policy? Conference Call.
Monday, March 2, 1-2 pm ET: FOTH 2015 Delegation Captain Call #2. Conference Call.
July 21-23, 2015: Forum Annual Conference. Baltimore, MD. Save the Date!
March 18-19, 2015: Foundations on the Hill. Washington, DC. Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers in partnership with the Council on Foundations.
April 22, 2-3 pm ET: PolicyWorks Quarterly Webinar- Moving Affinity Groups to Policy Work. Webinar. Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers.
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Forum Office Contacts
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 Dan Brady, Communications Manager (202-521-9161)
- Contact Dan with questions about the Knowledgebase, content management, listservs, social networking, and online content strategy.
Courtney Moore, Member Services and Operations Manager (202-888-7428)
- Contact Courtney for general information about Forum membership and services, regional association contact information, conference and teleconference logistics, member surveys, and orientation for new regional association staff. Courtney is also the main contact for regional association staff updates.
- Contact Mary with questions about grantmaker education, public policy, organizational partnerships, and special projects such as the Essential Skills and Strategies for New Grantmakers.
Val Rozansky, Director of Knowledge Services (202-888-7430)
- Contact Val with questions about the Forum's Knowledge Management Initiative, KM system partnerships, membership databases, and all issues relating to technology and electronic communications.
- Contact Erin with questions about the Forum's public policy work including protecting the charitable deduction, building capacity of regional associations to engage in policy, and the PolicyWorks for Philanthropy initiative.
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Courtney Moore, Member Services and Operations Manager  Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers |
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