Spring Cleaning at New Voices of Philanthropy

*Image is of Minnehaha Falls, my favorite place to visit in the summer.

Even though it is 15 degrees below zero in Minnesota now (how I wish I was exaggerating), I've been doing some spring cleaning at New Voices of Philanthropy. In the next few weeks, you'll see a new look for the blog. It will be hosted by Wordpress and will have some additional pages but the web address will be the same. I am also adding writers that have varied experiences in the field of philanthropy. From executives, to program officers, foundation fundraisers, consultants, and many other variations on those themes. Each will bring their own perspective but all bloggers are here to help you be your best philanthrophizing self. If you are interested in being a regular or occasional writer for New Voices, send me an email at trista (at) DoGoodGuide.com.

New Voice-Allyson Reaves

As a part of New Voices of Philanthropy's series of articles from other new voices on Philanthropy, I bring you part three of Allyson Reaves' blogs on philanthropy fellowships. Part one can be found here and part two can be found here. From Allyson:

All Aboard the Philanthroship!!!

So we chatted last week about exploring fellowships as opportunities for intense learning and experience gathering. I’m hoping that this week, we can chat more about how to identify the right philanthroship (my corny attempt for a new Webster addition: a fellowship and or internship in philanthropy), how to prepare your boss and organization, and how to make the absolute best of your time as a fellow.

Finding a Philanthroship
• Don’t restrict yourself to just fellowships. I used to think that after I graduated, internships were off my radar. Not so! There are a significant number of respectable internships that pay well and lead to phenomenal job opportunities.
• Google it!! I used every combination that interested me: fellowship + art, fellowship + international, internship + paid, fellowship + Brazil…..(yep….there are some in Rio!)
• Constantly tune into opportunities listed in philanthropy-related publications.

Selecting a Fellowship
• One of my priorities is that the philanthroship pays well. That way, my income can be used as leverage when negotiating my salary for the next job.
• Try to shoot for a fellowship that lasts for a year. That way, you become very famililar with the host organization’s network, it’s main area of programming, and colleagues.
• Find a philanthroship that suits your talents. Also, try to get your hands involved in as many different kinds of projects as possible. That way, you have a tremendous amount of experience condensed into just 1 year of work.

Planning a Philanthroship
• Pursue a philanthroship when you are comfortable with being between jobs. The host organization just may ask you to stay on.
• If your current employing organization wants to keep you as a staff member while you are away, be sure to draw up a contract that outlines expected duties, insurance, continued benefits, accumulated vacation time, and payscale.

After the Philanthroship
• If you conducted research and compiled a useful paper, try to get it published. Circulating the work you completed in your philanthroship could lead to your next big career move.
• Keep in touch with EVERYONE who helped you....people you interviewed in your research, lecturers, other philanthroshippers, etc. Even sending a quick thank-you to everyone after your philanthroship builds what will become a frequently used bridge.

You can read more from Alyson at her blog.

Today’s Chat: If you’ve got some tips, ideas, or other suggestions about how to make the absolute best of your philanthroship, let us know!

New Voice-Allyson Reaves

As a part of New Voices of Philanthropy's series of articles from other new voices on Philanthropy, I bring you part two of Allyson Reaves' blogs on philanthropy fellowships. Part one can be found here. From Allyson:

And They Gave Me 10-15

One of the big things I’m hoping to exchange some information about this week is the idea of ‘philanthroshipping’ (my corny attempt for a new Webster addition: a fellowship and/or internship in philanthropy…cute, huh?). I was sitting at my orderly Program Associate desk at our South Carolina community foundation one day, and I was daydreaming about how I could become specialized in and get my dream job working for international philanthropy (according to most job descriptions in our field, you HAVE to be specialized….but I’m not, and it’s a tad tough to go back to school now)….then I started to worry about the security of my future….retirement…how can I pay back my excessive student loans…….arg!!!!!

Just that moment, dum dum dum dummmmmmm………the President/CEO of our foundation walks into my office, slides a paper on my desk….and says she thinks I might be interested.

While I’m thinking that this paper is a synopsis of some fabulous new report in the field, or a copy of an article from one of the field’s publications, it was an application to the Emerging Leaders International Fellows Program at the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (CPCS) in New York City (www.philanthropy.org).

January 2007
Long story short, I sent in the paperwork, held my breath for about a month or so……….and was accepted.

Now I was working (at the community foundation) for the type of President who wants to see her team grow…even if it means benching some players once in a while, and so she let me go with her blessing.

March 2007
After we mapped out a contract that pinpointed duties that I could maintain during the 3 months in NYC, I packed up a few annual reports, left a detailed AWAY message on my voicemail, grabbed some business cards, and got on the philanthroship to the Big Apple.

I want to share that this was by far the most influential span of time in my career so far. This fellowship, based at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, was a remarkable roundtable of consistent dialogue and learning, a tremendous network-building venture, and a flat out awesome intellectual exercise in the field of philanthropic work.

June 2007
I wrapped up the fellowship and I was convinced….. International Philanthropy was what I wanted…but I couldn’t find my shot to the top in South Carolina…and I still didn’t have the experience I needed for the position I wanted.

Just when I was daydreaming again…..in comes an e-mail from the fellowship’s ListServ with an announcement about a program in Italy…………..

The announcement read as follows:

There is a call for applications which makes 20 internships available for non-Italian graduates. The maximum age is 30. The deadline is 30 June 2007.

For one internship, knowledge of Italian is not requested. For the remaining 19 internships, a fair knowledge of Italian is requested. All the details are available in the call for applications (see below).

Again, in the attempt to keep my language concise (I know you’ve read lengthy grant apps before!), I sent over my application.

February 2008
While I’m now working on my Italian, this philanthroship that I’m involved with at Fondazione CRT in Torino (www.fondazionecrt.it) is just what Mr. Advancemeplease suggested- getting some intense experience under my belt so that perhaps one day…I can be considered as a potential job candidate with a specialized area of expertise…maybe 10 - 15 years early!!

While fellowships are usually associated with graduate or doctoral programs, there are a variety of research and work-based programs that are intended for practitioners in their chosen field. Just in case you might be looking for a change of environment, take a look at these programs, and see if they might be a match:

http://philanthropy.org/programs/intnl_fellows_program.html
http://www.abfe.org/abfLinks.asp
http://www.agmconnect.org/About/DiversityFellowship.aspx
http://www.civilsoc.org/announce/jhufel.htm
http://www.efc.be/projects/ifp/#Financial_benefits_for_fellows_
http://www.dukeendowment.org/about/TDEFellowship

Today’s Chat: If you have fellowship experience, please please please, let us know where you were, how it moved your career forward, and….um….any advice for us?

You can read more from Alyson at her blog. Next Monday from Allyson………..Making the Best of your Philanthroship

New Voice-Allyson Reaves

New Voices of Philanthropy is always looking for new writers to share their perspectives of philanthropy on this blog. Allyson Reaves is one of those new voices. Allyson is currently in Italy doing an amazing philanthropy fellowship and I wanted her to share how she got connected to that experience and any other advice that she would have for people trying to break into the field of philanthropy or advance in the field. This will be a three part series from Allyson that will be running for three Mondays. Enjoy! From Allyson:

Your invitation’s in the Mail!

I always slightly tilt my head when I hear a practitioner in philanthropy say ever so nonchalantly, ‘Oh I just fell into the field…..’

Fell? Really? You just fell into the field? Hmmmmm………..Seems like I’ve been trying to knock on..no…knock down the door of entry to the field for a while now….and you just fell….like you didn’t mean to??!?!?!!?!?

It wasn’t until I asked (quite frankly) a very insightful practitioner how I might professionally advance in a field chock-full of leading professionals who keep a tight grip on their leather executive seats for years. No….decades.

So after I asked Mr. Advancemeplease how young folks can direct their efforts to climbing up this ladder while still committing themselves to participating in solutions that address the

social justice, environmental,
arts and culture, education,
health and research, capacity building,
and
community development issues
of YESTERDAY while planning
-strategically and transparently-
the global civil society of TOMORROW,

he responded very succinctly with 3 ideas of how to move forward…..

1) Start at the bottom and work your way up.
Me: Sounds doable to go after an entry level job.…but everybody in my foundation is comfortable in their seats and probably won’t be retiring or moving any time soon….and I’m ready for a promotion!!! This won’t work for me right now.
2) Come in as a consultant…and if all the right opportunities line up, you may possibly be invited to join the team if a vacancy (or a short term grant to underwrite your salary) opens your door of civil service.
Me: Hmmmm…I’ve got college loans out the yin yang…and I need insurance…and a stable paycheck! This won’t work either.
3) Be invited as an expert in a specialized area.
Me: Does that mean I have to have a Ph.D. in something like International Capacity Building with a Concentration in American Diplomacy?
‘No, ladybug,’ Mr. Advancemeplease replied. ‘You’ve got to get some experience-intense experience-under your belt.
ME: Hmmm…well I want to be involved in International Philanthropy…I’ve got the philanthropy part…now I just need to break into the international side. Now how do I get intense INTERNATIONAL experience in South Carolina??????????????

Today’s Question for you: What’s your step-by-step advice on advancing in the field of philanthropy?

You can read more from Allyson at her blog. Next week from Allyson………..Fellowships and Other Ideas of Getting Experience Under your Belt

New Voice- Christopher Scott

A few months ago, I wrote a column inviting readers to become contributors to New Voices of Philanthropy. The intention of this blog has always been to be a forum for the next generation of philanthropic leadership and I now have a column from one of those new voices, Christopher Scott. Christopher is not only a hopeless optimist, he is also a person that is able to get off the dime and make his idea come to life. He is also the creator of the Nonprofit Leadership, Innovation, and Change blog. From Christopher:

From Idea to Action

Have you ever had an idea on how to make a positive difference in the world? An idea on how to eliminate poverty, reduce suffering, and help raise the quality of life for hundreds, thousands, or millions of people. As nonprofit leaders we all have these ideas where we wonder, “What would happen if I could create this?” If you’re serious about turning your idea into something that will create positive change in the world I have few tips for you. The first tip is to set a goal, because this is key, because once your idea has a goal, it’s no longer an idea, it’s now a project with a deadline. It was Diana Scharf Hunt who said, “Dreams are goals with deadlines.”

The second tip is to take action. I know this sounds a too simple, but when I first had the idea of starting A Day of Hope I had no idea how I was going to do it. I was a broke college student without a job and no money. I knew I wanted to make a positive difference in my community and was determined to find a way to make it happen. So I set the goal to deliver 30 baskets of food and turkeys to 30 families for Thanksgiving. Then I started calling and emailing all of my friends and family to ask them to join me. The end result was that we delivered 48 baskets of food and turkeys to 48 families for Thanksgiving.

One of my all time favorite quotes is from Zig Ziglar, “You don’t have to be great to start, but you do have to start, to be great.” If you have an idea on how to make a positive difference in the world, start making it happen. Don’t wait until you get a 501(c)(3) number or receive a large grant. Just start now!

Christopher Scott is an AmeriCorps*VISTA Member working at United Way in Modesto, CA. He also helped to start A Day of Hope which is a student based organization that delivers baskets of food and turkeys to hundreds of families every Thanksgiving.