Desperately seeking comments!

I am participating in the One Post Challenge over at Sean's blog Tactical Philanthropy. The one post challenge is an opportunity to generate new conversations about philanthropy and the blogger with the most comments wins a grant for the charity of their choice. If my post wins the grant will go to the Park Avenue Foundation. The Park Avenue Foundation is an amazing organization that provides kids with great opportunities to meet their full potential. I am always amazed when I first meet kids from their programs because they seem like your average overachievers (smart, funny, great community volunteers) but then you dig a little bit deeper under the surface you find out that they are dealing with issues that most adults couldn't handle like a parent in prison, not having enough food to eat, and the most unstable living situations that you can imagine. I wrote an article about the need for foundation staff to spend time in the community to ensure that they are connected to the community issues that they are making decisions about. Spending time with kids from Park reminds me of why I got into the nonprofit sector in the first place. I get to support organizations every day that help reach kids when they are the most vulnerable and also when they have the greatest opportunity to make positive changes that will make their lives forever better.

So get out there and leave a comment already and tell your networks to do the same. You have until the end of November to make sure that the future engineer that you see above will continue to have a soldering iron in her hand rather than a remote control.

Your personal brand

I have talked about managing your professional identity before but I didn't realize that there is a whole industry built around this. Check out the Personal Branding Summit to listen to mp3 downloads from personal branding experts. Topics include how to create a personal brand, getting a headshot that matches the identity that you are trying to create, and how to manage your brand in an "always on" work environment. All of this may sound very self-centered and a little bit weird but their is always room for improvement with how we present ourselves professionally and these people think to think about it day and night.

An Evacuation of the Ivory Towers

I am participating in the one post challenge at Tactical Philanthropy. Part of my article for the challenge is below, read the rest at Tactical Philanthropy.

Today I am proposing nothing short of a revolution in the philanthropic field. What if foundations were connected to the communities that they were serving; innovation and creativity were encouraged; knowledge was shared within organizations and with the larger philanthropic and nonprofit sectors; and foundations were measured on the results of their investments, not just amount of money spent or number of staff? I know you are probably asking yourselves right now, “what kind of crazy alternative universe are you living in Trista Harris?”

I should probably back up. Any time you are proposing a revolution, it’s important to give proper background or else you scare people off. The philanthropic landscape is changing. Baby Boomers are beginning to retire or re-imagine their positions. Donors are more actively engaged and want measurable results, and the government is spending a lot of time and energy trying to reign in the philanthropic sector. Professional philanthropic staff are trying to figure out how to do more with less time. How do we re-invigorate our troops of professional do-gooders to make sure that are connected to the communities that they serve and have the capacity to move the philanthropic sector from potential to results?

Read the rest at Tactical Philanthropy.

Please add your own comment in the comment section of the Tactical Philanthropy blog, if you feel so moved. The blogger with the most comments wins a grant for their favorite nonprofit and I hope to raise support for the Park Avenue Foundation http://www.parkavefoundation.org/ , which provides after school programs for low-income kids in my neighborhood.

Balancing Success

I had the opportunity to meet Tricia Schulte from Cultivating Leaders at a conference a few months ago. Tricia has a great perspective on the need for work-life balance and is offering a free introductory coaching session for New Voices of Philanthropy readers.

From Tricia

Leaders in philanthropy may experience job-life stress as they develop and grow their careers. As high-achievers, they are often hard on themselves--not always taking full satisfaction in their accomplishments, feeling frustrated by their career progress, or the way they manage their time and tasks. Sometimes they give away all their own time and energy for the mission of their organization or foundation and forget to refuel so they can continue making a contribution. They may buy into the myth that working in the not-for-profit world requires that they sacrifice work/life balance, adequate financial compensation, and being valued for their great work!

I speak from experience! I burned out after five years on a job that I loved, because I didn't build my own reserves, I viewed my work in terms of success or failure, and I failed to see what I could do to change things. I left the non-profit world knowing there had to be another option. I was determined to find it and help others stay in the game; maybe even begin to change the game. Coaching has given me the skills to support established and emerging leaders so they can continue to serve others, grow in their careers and personal lives, and even begin to change the way work works.

Along the way, I've helped leaders avoid or emerge from many of the pitfalls I experienced. Through the coaching process, clients develop increased confidence, lower stress levels, and learn to make better use of their time by identifying what is important for them to do and what can be delegated to others with additional talents and abilities. They have said that they are better communicators and have learned to ask for what they want. Many have learned to change their negative perceptions in order to break through barriers and accomplish more. They have also reported that they feel they have more balance and control in their lives, because they establish clearer limits and know where and how to create change.

Please visit my new website: www.cultivatingleaders.com, learn more about how coaching could benefit you, and contact me for a free introductory session. Most importantly, I hope you will make self-care a priority and keep doing great work for others!

Career Defining Moments

One year ago I was selected as an Association of Black Foundation Executives Connecting Leaders Fellow. To say that my selection was a career defining moment, is an inadequate understatement. When I applied for the program I was aware that I would receive professional development, the support of a professional coach, and education on how to better serve the Black community through organized philanthropy. What I didn't realize at the time was that I was also going to receive a nearly limitless supply of seasoned mentors who had a vested interest in my success, as well as the "excuse" to dedicate time learning from those that have come before me in the philanthropic field. Too often in our careers we say that we don't have time for professional development. We'd love to call that person, whose career we've been admiring from afar, but are afraid they'll think we're weird. We'd like to do research on effective grantmaking strategies but it's outside of our current job description. A year of doing just that has shown me that a year is not enough. To be a truly effective grantmaker, you need to spend an entire career asking tough questions, learning from the successes and failures of other foundations, taking the time to really get to know your peers from other foundations, and to learn important lessons from those that are retiring out of the sector to ensure that their years of hard earned experience and wisdom do not leave the sector with them.

Take a few minutes today and think about what your ideal professional development program would look like. Would you travel to see other foundations in action, would you interview the best and brightest in the nonprofit sector to see why some organizations thrive and others do not, would you read about the early greats in philanthropy (Rockefeller and Carnegie) to figure out lessons their giving can teach us abut philanthropy today? Once you have those key components in your head, I challenge you to go out and do it. The only thing that is stopping you is you.