Forum Bits 
The newsletter of the regional association network
 
June 26, 2015    
In This Issue
Share Your Lessons Learned from the Past Year
Happy 10 Year Anniversary to Mary and Val
Follow Along at #ForumCon15
New England Regional Association Gathering
New Resources on Forum Website
What Was Your Best Program in Q2
Recent RA Releases
Discount Available to ACCP's CREI Program
Reminder of Forum Listserve Guidelines
Mark Your Calendars for Upcoming Programming
Reminder: Webinar Series on Philanthropy Consulting
Forum Network in the News
RA Blogging Highlights
Upcoming Events
Forum Office Contacts
Forum Resource Spotlight

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Grants Management Software Discount

 

Through a special arrangement with Bromelkamp Company, RA members are eligible to a 5% discount on Bromelkamp Company's Akoya.net and Pearl products. 

 
Forum Office Contacts
 
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Be Sure to Read

  

In this "Leadership Series" paper from Grant Craft, Emmett Carson, CEO and president of Silicon Valley Community Foundation, provides a thoughtful examination of fundamental questions facing U.S. community foundations today. 

Reports from the Field






Top 10 Association Management & Operations Resources

 

6 Tips for Live-Tweeting Your Event 

 

13 Tips to Keep Attendees Until the Conference Close 

 

The Five Uncommon Habits Of Highly Productive People

 

From Enterprise Risk Management to Shared Leadership: A Different Look at Succession Planning

 

A Mission is Short and to the Point

 

Moving Beyond Vanity Metrics

 

 .NGO, .ONG and OnGood Registration Explained

 

Opportunities in the Face of Declining Membership

 

Picture This: The Trouble with Finding Online Imagery for Your Association 

 

Where Does Your Association Stand on Stakeholder Development?

 

Top 10 Philanthropy Resources
 
6 Ways to Champion Change From the Inside Out

Are Nonprofits Ready to Give Foundations Direct Feedback?

Backers and Critics of Donor-Advised Funds Debate Their Merits

Celebrating ADA: It's Time to Add a Disability Lens to Our Philanthropy

Celebrating Foundation Voices in Advocacy

Challenging the Orthodoxies of Philanthropy

If You Want to Understand Your Impact, Make Sure You Help Your Grantees Evaluate Their Work

Philanthropy's Difficult Dance With Inequality

Streamlining in the Summertime - Some Golden Oldies

 

Toward a Bolder Philanthropy
 

Newsletter Archive

Miss an issue of Forum Bits?
 
Network Hires

Philanthropy Northwest welcomed two new staff members: Anjana Pandey, Donor and Member Relations Director, and Gloris Estrella, Learning Network Program Associate.

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Share Your lessons Learned from the Past Year

We are looking forward to highlighting the great work being done by regional associations across the country at our Network's Annual Conference. This year we are bringing back a session dedicated to hearing some of your best practices and lessons learned from the past year.

 

This year's session will focus on four questions:

  1. What is the biggest challenge your RA faced in the past year? How did you solve it?
  2. What has been your best strategy for recruitment and securing new membership growth?
  3. Is there a program that you have recently retired or quit doing, and why?
  4. How do you gather feedback from members? What trends are you hearing about what's working and what's not?

Fill out the form

 

You do not need to fill out each question. Please respond to the question(s) you feel you have something to share with the Network. We will compile all responses to be shared at the conference and on the Forum's website. 

 

Please share your responses by Friday, July 10. 

Happy 10 Year Anniversary Mary and Val!
Mary O'Neill

This year marks a very special anniversary for two Forum staff members. Mary O'Neill, Interim Director, and Val Rozansky, Director of Knowledge Services, have been serving regional associations of grantmakers at the Forum for 10 years.

 

Val Rozansky To celebrate, we've put together a write up of their accomplishments and talked to a few RA staff members about what it has meant to them to work with Mary and Val over the years.

 

Continue reading 

 

Follow Along at #ForumCon15

We're less than a month away from the Forum's Annual Conference!

 

We encourage everyone attending and those following along from their desks to use #ForumCon15 for any of your social media posts on Twitter or Facebook. You can follow the Forum throughout the Annual Conference on Twitter at @givingforum and on Facebook. You can follow other conference attendees on Twitter by accessing the regional associations list.

 

Play Ball!

We are excited to announce that our opening reception will take place at the home of the Baltimore Orioles, Camden Yards. Catch-up with old friends and make new ones over drinks and light hors d'oeuvres at our opening reception with views of the field. Tours of the stadium will also be available. This event is supported by The Annie E. Casey Foundation.

 

Don't Forget to Book Your Hotel Room!

Are you planning to join us in Baltimore, MD July 21-24 for our Annual Conference, PolicyWorks Institute, or Drupal-Salesforce Users Group Session? We encourage you to secure your room at the Hotel Monaco at our discounted rate, $169/night plus tax. This special rate will only be available until Monday, June 29. 

 

Book your room online or by calling 1.800.Kimpton and ask for "2015 Forum Annual Conference". Our group code is 17401002373.

 

Register Now 

Also don't forget to register! Visit each event's webpage for registration, agenda, and other event information.

New England Regional Association Gathering

NE RA MeetingGuest post by Gail Pinkham, Associated Grant Makers

 

On June 24, 2015 the executive directors and staff of Associated Grant Makers, Connecticut Council for Philanthropy and Maine Philanthropy Center came together for a staff retreat held on a beautiful sunny day at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation in Wellesley, MA. We met to share our best practices, discuss strategies and business models for future programs as well as brainstorm about challenges we are facing in our work and opportunities to collaborate in our New England region.

 

After initial staff introductions and an overview of each RA's culture, we broke into small working groups with CEO's and staff to delve into specific questions and topics related to work areas such as communications, programming, public policy and administration. The day provided a great opportunity to meet and get to know one another, to make connections with colleagues that have similar job roles and to collaborate with each other on topics that may be of interest to all our members. The conversation among the three regional associations was energetic and resulted in many ideas to build upon in the future. 

 

New Resources on Forum Website

Public Policy Job Descriptions *UPDATED*

Sample job descriptions and requests for proposals for public policy related positions including fellows, lobbyists, liaisons, and consultants.

 

RA Succession Plans

A collection of sample succession plans from regional associations of grantmakers. The President & CEO is a central element of the organization's strengthen and growth. Therefore, ensuring that the organization has a process in place in the event of an absence of the President & CEO is vital. A change in executive leadership is inevitable for all organizations and can be a very challenging time. Organizations should be prepared for an eventual permanent change in leadership - either planned or unplanned - to ensure the stability and accountability of the organization until such time as new permanent leadership is identified. 

 

What Was Your Best Program of Q2?

What was your regional association's best program of the second quarter? Have you added it to our programming directory?

 

Have your own program to submit? Submitting a program is easy through our web form.


If you have any questions about the directory, please feel free to contact Dan Brady.

 

Recent RA Release
Fast Forward Series Logo Fast Forward: Paul Williams
The latest podcast from Minnesota Council on Foundations features MCF President Trista Harris and Paul Williams, president and CEO of Project for Pride in Living. Their discussion touches on the importance of being rooted in community and using it as an asset, the need for scale to make a meaningful impact, and Paul's wish for philanthropy to create greater leverage with government.

Discount Available on ACCP's CREI Program
CREI Program Logo

Our colleagues at ACCP will be hosting its Corporate Responsibility Executive Institute (CREI) later this year. Members of regional associations are eligible for a $500 discount off the non-member registration price. If you are interested in offering this discount to your members, please contact Maryann Fiala for the promo code.

 

Learn more about the Institute

 

Maryann will also be attending our upcoming conference on Wednesday, July 22 and will be available for one-on-one discussions about how your RA can collaborate with ACCP. 

 

Reminder of Forum Listserve Guidelines

Networks

We've seen a lot of action on the Forum Network listserves in recent weeks and we're glad everyone is participating! A reminder of some key points in our Listserve Guidelines:

  • All Forum listserves are configured to so that when you reply to a message, your message should go back to the original sender only, not the full listserve. Please be sure to hit "reply" rather than "reply all."
  • It is the responsibility of the original sender to compile responses and post back to the list with their findings. Compiled findings will also be archived on the Forum's website.
  • When someone asks a discussion question that elicits interest from many RA staff members, Forum staff will contact the person who started the discussion to determine if a conference call is an appropriate next step. 
  • Don't be shy. The success of our listserve depends upon you! Post burning questions, post your best ideas to share, post job openings, post your best practices and accomplishments, etc.
  • We encourage you to post as often as you wish on issues of interest or concern, but please recognize the list as a community of diverse thoughts and perspectives. Please refrain from messages of personal thanks, congratulations, and "me too" type responses. These responses should be sent directly to the original sender. 

A link to these and other fine points from our Listserve Guidelines are included in the footer of every listserve message. We value the vibrant conversations that take place in our Network, but we also want to be considerate of everyone's limited time and attention as they go through their busy work days.

 

Find out more about the listserves available and the full guidelinesIf you have any questions, please feel free to contact Dan Brady.

 

Mark Your Calendars for Upcoming Programming
Register Now

Agriculture and Food Systems: Policy Trends and the Role of Philanthropy (GRANTMAKERS Welcome)

Wednesday, July 15: 2-3 pm ET

 

Join us for a brief webinar to learn about the latest sustainable agriculture and food systems policy trends and hear about the efforts of a national group of funders collaborating on these issues. A regional association of grantmakers will also share how their members are engaging in these topics.

 

Speakers: Ferd Hoefner, Policy Director, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition and Abbie Nissenson, Policy Associate, Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders

 

Please register in advance

 

Reminder: Webinar Series Opportunity on Philanthropy Consulting

NNCG logo

Please consider sharing this opportunity with your members.

 

Based on the groundbreaking Spring issue of The Foundation Review, the first edition dedicated to the practice of philanthropy consulting, the National Network of Consultants to Grantmakers (NNCG) is presenting a series of seven webinars that will dive deeper into many of the publication's article topics.

 

This series is co-sponsored by the Council on Foundations, the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers, The Foundation Center, Learn Philanthropy, Northern California Grantmakers, and The Foundation Review.

 

NNCG members can register at no cost and non-NNCG members can receive a multi-webinar discount. 

Learn more about the series and how to register

 

Forum Network in the News

Recent media mentions of regional associations around the country:

Minnesota Council on Foundations: Nonprofit Brainstorming Tour Gives Leaders a Forum to Air Their Concerns & Will complex social problems force Minnesota nonprofits to change? (quotes President, Trista Harris)

Philanthropy West Virginia: YCF Invites Local Business Leaders to "Pull Up a Chair" (coverage of event that featured President, Paul Daugherty, as a speaker)

Wisconsin Philanthropy Network: Connecting to Philanthropy: Accomplishing individual philanthropic goals with meaningful contributions (written by Communications and Marketing Manager, Melinda VerDuin)

Highlights from RA Blogging

 

Upcoming Events

Calendar of Events

FOR REGIONAL ASSOCIATIONS


July 21-23, 2015: Forum Annual Conference. Baltimore, MD. 

 

July 23-24, 2015: Drupal-Salesforce Users Group Meeting. Baltimore, MD. 

 

July 23-24, 2015: PolicyWorks for Philanthropy Institute. Baltimore, MD. 

 

FOR REGIONAL ASSOCIATIONS & YOUR MEMBERS  (Upcoming 90 Days) See Full Listing


Wednesday, July 15, 2-3 pm ET: Quarterly Policy Webinar: Food Policy Initiatives. Webinar. 

Wednesday, August 12, 1-2:30 pm ET: Tri-State Community Foundation Partnership Webinar Series: Data Visualization- Turning Data into Compelling Pictures. Webinar. Indiana Philanthropy Alliance, Council of Michigan Foundations, Philanthropy Ohio.  

Wednesday, September 9, 1-3 pm ET: Tri-State Community Foundation Partnership Webinar Series: ABC Lite. Webinar. Indiana Philanthropy Alliance, Council of Michigan Foundations, Philanthropy Ohio.  

September 16-18, 2015: Philanthropy Forward '15. Cincinnati, OH. Philanthropy Ohio.

Forum Office Contacts
OfficeDan 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.
Mary O'Neill, Interim Director (202-457-8784)
  • 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. 
Erin Skene-Pratt, Director of PolicyWorks for Philanthropy (517-402-2440)
  • 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.
Courtney Moore, Member Services and Operations ManagerForum Logo
Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers
202-888-7428|[email protected]