Book Review: Leveling the Playing Field

Occasionally I will get a new philanthropy book or report from a publisher to review. Before the craziness of the Council on Foundations conference I received "Leveling the Playing Field: Advancing Women in Jewish Organizational Life" by Shifra Bronznick, Didi Goldenhar, and Marty Linsky. This is a "how-to" book for those that want to champion gender equity in the workplace. The book covers why equitable environments are key to organizational success and long-term health of the Jewish community. This argument is much like the continued call for diversity in the foundation field to strengthen not just organizations but the communities that foundations are committed to enriching.

The authors have an interesting point that if you are committed to increasing equity in organizations the you must expand your own advancement opportunities because your "ability to support gender equity depends on where you sit in the organization." One way to do this is ask for what you want and need within your organization. Don't expect your talents to be noticed and recognized. "Women professionals benefit when they state their aspirations clearly and enlist their colleagues and supervisors in helping them meet their goals." If you want to be promoted to vice president in your organization within five years, tell your organizational leadership that that's what you aspire to. Being honest about your goals decreases the chance that you will be mistakenly overlooked when that position comes open. It will also give you time to prove your skills in the context of that aspirational position. People will start to look at you as a possible candidate, so make sure you are acting like a candidate. More on branding yourself for future positions can be found in my professional development guide on branding yourself for success.

I liked that this book had practical tools that are useful for any type of organization that is working to increase diverse perspectives. The authors have also developed a great conversation kit that helps you facilitate your own discussion about equity. The toolkit and book are available at www.advancingwomen.org

Is diversity philanthropy's Achilles' heel?

Diversity has long been as issue in philanthropy. One of the earlier examples was the courageous African American foundation staff that decided in 1971 to propose an all Black slate of new members for the Council on Foundations board of directors in protest of the foundation world's racial exclusiveness. As a result of that act 5 African American members were added to the board and ABFE was created and became the first Council on Foundations' affinity group. This is painful work that puts individual foundation staff members at risk but also creates important change in the sector. Fast forward 37 years to the Council on Foundation's conference in DC , where the organization was having its first conference plenary session on diversity. I find it a little bit shocking that in COF's 59 year history that there has never been a time where the organization felt like the entire membership would benefit from a session on diversity but I digress.

The session was an opportunity for council members and a California congressman to debate the merits of recent legislation in California that would require a small percentage of large California foundation to report the race and gender of grantees, staff members, and board members. I'd like to start by saying that the government doesn't really have the moral high ground on this issue, given the extreme lack of diversity in public office. Foundations aren't squeaky clean on this either since most changes related to this issue have happened because of mass protest (ala ABFE) or legislation (ala the California law).

There were a variety of perspectives on the panel from "diversity improves the quality of our grantmaking" to "you can't force us to have "others" on the board". Watching the panel in action was a painful reminder that we have a long way to go until there is true equality in philanthropy and some of that journey to equality will be voluntary and a part of that journey may need to be legislated. A summary of the session is available here.

What are your thoughts on the pros and cons of legislation related to diversity? Is it needed? Is it overkill? Do foundations need diverse staff members to make grants in diverse communities?

The Future is Now

At the Council on Foundation's conference a fellow conference attendee told me she was sick of being called an "emerging leader". Her point was that she was already a real leader, not someone who was practicing until she could really make it to the big league. Another young, but already emerged leader is Ben Jealous, soon to be former President of the Rosenberg Foundation. Ben, who is 35, was one of the youngest foundation Presidents in the field. He may be young but his knowledge of the impact of the foundation sector is extensive and through his involvement with the ABFE Connecting Leaders Fellowship, has taught me a lot about leveraging foundation endowments through socially responsible investments. On Saturday, he was voted in as the new President of the NAACP, making him the youngest President in the organization's 99 year history. I wish I could say that the board of directors of the NAACP brought him on with open arms, realizing that his extensive social justice experience and ability to bring the organization into the 21st century, would be great benefits but according to CNN:

"The NAACP has chosen Ben Jealous as its new president after a contentious debate that lasted long into the night, members of its board of directors said Saturday.

Jealous, 35, will be the youngest president in the NAACP's 99-year history, The Associated Press reported.

When the 34-21 vote was announced, "no one clapped or celebrated," one board member said after the meeting in Baltimore, Maryland."

The generational transition in the sector has already begun. There are young people that are making a huge difference and are going to change how nonprofits and foundations look and operate. This transition may not always be easy but it needs to happen to help long-standing organizations remain relevant to current community needs.

The board of the NAACP may not have clapped for Ben's appointment, but I and many other young people are giving him a standing ovation. To me, his appointment means that the NAACP is taking the next generation seriously and instead of me writing the organization off as a relic of the civil rights movement that is no longer relevant to the pressing needs of the African American community today, I am renewing my membership.

Congratulations Ben! I am so proud of you and excited to see your continued impact on the community.

Youth Philanthropy: Growing the Next Generation of Givers

Hi Trista! First let me apologize – this post is late. The Council on Foundations conference ended two weeks ago and I planned on posting my highlights of this session on youth philanthropy I attended then. But right after the conference I jetted off to Baltimore for three days to attend the 4th annual Eastern Regional Conference on Afterschool. I got a little sidetracked.

For those of you who did attend the Council on Foundations conference, did you get a chance to see any of the great youth performers in the exhibit hall?

During the session I attended titled, Seeding Our Future: Growing the Next Generation of Givers, one panelist wondered if those youth were informed about the purpose of the conference and why they were there. Did they know who they were performing for? Do they know what philanthropy is? If we want to engage youth in philanthropy, we must educate them and it must start early.

The session was sponsored by The Lawrence Welk Family Foundation and highlighted best practices and programs that are engaging youth in philanthropy and how funders can support this vital movement. Panelists participating in the session were Tracy Gary, co-founder of Inspired Legacies and author of the book Inspired Philanthropy; Nora Gross, Board Member of Common Cents; and Jenny Yancey, Co-President of Youth Give.

Moderator Eric Kessler, Principal and Founder of Arabella Philanthropic Investment Advisors, began the session by sharing his first experience with giving. He was seven years old, on a trip with his family in Israel. His parents gave him $50 and told him to do something charitable. He then asked the audience and the panelists to share their first experiences with giving. For many, it was watching their parents and family members doing good deeds while they themselves were young. It was very evident from the audience responses that the act of giving is instilled at an early age.

So what are some ways to promote philanthropy among youth? One program highlighted during the session was the non profit organization Youth Give, whose mission is to lower the barriers for young people to give back and make a difference with their time, talent and treasure.

One way they achieve their mission is by enabling young people to have their own philanthropic giving account that puts them in the driver’s seat of giving. A parent can open a free youth account online for any amount, $1, $20 or $100. Youth then choose which non profit organizations they want to fund.

In a nutshell, the panelists stated that youth philanthropy is the wave of the future and we must invest in it now. Whether it be through including philanthropy in a school curriculum or funding organizations such as Youth Give or the Penny Harvest program, funders must ask themselves, how much are you spending to promote philanthropy to the next generation?

Panelist Jenny Yancey summed it up perfectly: "We’re all born with a giving gene, but it needs to be nurtured."

On the web:

Youth Give: http://www.youthgive.org/
Penny Harvest: http://www.pennyharvest.org/

When blogs hit the airwaves

I was recently on Rosetta Thurman's blog talk radio show. Rosetta is a fabulous blogger who had the recent fortune of meeting at the COF conference. The description of the show and a link is below, you can listen to the show there or download it as a podcast:

We're gonna shine the spotlight on 3 emerging leaders in philanthropy: Melissa Johnson at
NCRP, Trista Harris at the St. Paul Foundation, and Faith Bynoe mostrecently at the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund. We'll discuss how they alllanded jobs at foundations and what the grantmaking experience is like.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rosettathurman/2008/05/12/How-to-Get-a-Job-in-Philanthropy