If you’ve had no formal community foundation training and want to review the basics, or if you’re new to a foundation career, this course is just what you need. Whether you work with a small or large foundation, the education you’ll receive here is helpful.
What exactly is a community foundation? This is often the most challenging question in the minds of new staff and board members. Community Foundation Fundamentals helps staff and volunteers quickly grasp organizational essentials. This three-day course, created and led by experienced leaders in the community foundation field, covers key topics:
For registration information, contact Barbara Bruno at brunb@cof.org or Heather Scott at scoth@cof.org.
If you’re responsible for planning and implementing community leadership activities, update your knowledge bank through this course. Gain a basic understanding of different community leadership types (value-added leadership, initiatives and systems/public policy) and learn how to use them effectively. Then, hear about the key elements of a strategic assessment, and how to use it as a guide for your foundation’s involvement in these leadership activities.
This two-day course, created and taught by experienced leaders in
the community foundation field, covers key topics:
For registration information, contact Barbara Bruno at brunb@cof.org or Heather Scott at scoth@cof.org.
Sponsored by CEO Network
An annual event, the CEO retreat is the perfect place to talk about important community foundation issues and build stronger ties with your peers. It’s a relaxed setting where you can share your successes, discuss your challenges and learn from other CEOs. The program is open to community foundation CEOs only.
For more information, contact Heather Scott at scoth@cof.org.
Getting Down to Business: Investing in Effective Youth Development
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Co-sponsored by ProNet & the Coalition of Community Foundations for Youth
(Made possible by generous funding from the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation)
Looking to have more quality youth development in your community? Or, do you just want to improve your nonprofit’s organizational capacity? This session covers it all. The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation has a multi-year strategy to improve the lives of young people by building stronger organizations. Using this strategy as a basis, you’ll learn how business planning is helping national and local youth development organizations prepare for growth. Take away tools for assessing organizational capacity and quality youth development. Hear from youth-serving organizations poised for growth. Learn how community foundations can leverage the Clark Foundation’s investment in the youth development field.
Separate registration is required to attend this session. Registration is free to CCFY and ProNet members. A limited number of travel scholarships are available. Visit www.ccfy.org for agenda details and registration.
8:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
$140 per person (includes seminar and continental breakfast)
Pre-registration required; see registration form
Working with a donor and family members can be challenging, even for skilled community foundation staff. A family’s philanthropic intentions are often affected by personality clashes, power struggles or unresolved conflicts. Learn how to deal with family dynamics and get their giving back on track. Topics include:
Workshop leader Kelin Gersick, Ph.D., is co-founder and a senior partner of Lansberg, Gersick & Associates. He focuses on marital, parenting, sibling and cousin relationships and how they impact the governance of family-controlled organizations. Gersick is a management fellow at the Yale School of Organization and Management. His book, Generations of Giving: Leadership and Continuity in Family Foundations, is a nationwide survey of multigenerational family foundations sponsored by the National Center for Family Philanthropy.
8:00 – 8:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast
8:30 – 11:30 a.m. Seminar
$85 per person (includes seminar, continental breakfast and course outlines)
Pre-registration required; see registration form
Designed for attorneys, financial advisors, board members and senior staff members, this course is an in-depth perspective on the legal aspects of community foundations. This interactive seminar is an opportunity to ask questions of the experts.
8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
$75 per person (includes session, continental breakfast and box lunch)
Pre-registration required—limited to 75 attendees
Learn the principles and practices of good grantmaking in community foundations. This session is designed for program officers and others with less than two years of grantmaking experience. Basic resources and tools are available today to all community foundation staff, and this session will tell you where to find them.
And, learn about other resources customized for community foundations, large and small, urban and rural, new and old. Get helpful tools and examine approaches designed to guide you through the grantmaking process. Discover techniques for effective grantmaking, and identify practices unique to community foundations.
8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
$75 per person (includes transportation, guided tour and lunch)
Pre-registration required; see registration form
Residents of Bainbridge Island have the best of both worlds, with its rural lifestyle and the city of Seattle just across the water. The same size as Manhattan Island, Bainbridge is home to just 22,000 residents. With the Cascade Mountains to the east and the Olympic Mountains to the west, Bainbridge also boasts breathtaking water views of Seattle.
Only a 35-minute ferry ride from downtown, the outdoor learning center called IslandWood provides kids and adults with hands-on learning experiences that combine science, technology and the arts. The programs here help children understand the relationships between biological and cultural diversity. A model for energy conservation and community stewardship, the campus is also a world-class example of green architecture. Join us for lunch and a tour of IslandWood led by founder, Board President and accomplished philanthropist Debbi Brainerd.
This tour will involve quite a bit of walking so please wear comfortable shoes and bring an umbrella—just in case!
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
$30 per person (includes session and continental breakfast)
Pre-registration required—limited to 60 attendees; see registration form.
Could you benefit from a better appreciation of your community’s rhythms? Is there anything you can do to affect those rhythms and accelerate change? Take advantage of 15 years of Harwood Institute research on the subject, as presented in this session designed for executives and senior staff. Gain insight into the
stages of community life, identify the stage of your own community, and explore the implications for how you do your work. Session instructor Richard C. Harwood is founder and president of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, dedicated to helping people in communities imagine and act for
the public good. Harwood is a leading authority on improving America’s communities and public life.
Klatch
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
How is your community growing and changing—for the better or not? Talk about it over coffee and healthy snacks with members and staff of the Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities. It’s a relaxed conversation about the effects of growth and development decisions on your community and the
roles foundations can play in addressing quality of life issues. This informal dialogue is designed to foster peer-to-peer learning, problem solving and networking.
To register, please contact Maureen Lawless at the Funders’ Network,
at maureen@fundersnetwork.org or 305/667-6350 ext. 205.
11:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
New Neighbors, New Opportunities: A Story of Community Building in the Immigrant and Refugee Communities of White Center.
$75 per person (includes transportation, guided tour and lunch)
Pre-registration required—limited to 45 attendees.
Seattle ’s White Center is an area just south of city limits and is home to a growing population of immigrant and refugee families. Just now starting to revive after decades of poverty and neglect, the area reflects a rich blend of arts and cultures, new businesses and a hard-won sense of optimism. Hosted by the Neighborhood
Small Grants Network and Seattle’s Neighbor to Neighbor Fund, this visit to White Center is sure to stir your foundation spirit. See first-hand how small grants and thoughtful technical assistance can strengthen connections within and between immigrant communities and long-time residents. Residents will share their perspectives on the small grants program and the role it has played in their community. Space is limited to 45 participants.
To register or for more information, contact Janis Foster, Executive Director, Neighborhood Small Grants Network, at janis@nsgn.org or at 361/798-1808.
2:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Welcome to the unique world of community foundations! Network with new friends and hear about major trends and issues as industry leaders and Council staff give you an orientation to the community foundation field. Gain insight into the important concerns being addressed by the Community Foundations Leadership Team and its action teams. And, learn more about the field-wide resources they’re building.
2:00 – 5:00 p.m.
No charge; pre-registration required; see registration form
Are you confused by the finances involved in community foundation work? Join this workshop and learn how to use key financial information—audited financial statements, IRS Form 990 and budget documents—to evaluate the financial health, resiliency and priorities of grantees. You’ll explore case studies and accompanying exercises to help you put this new knowledge into practice.
2:00 – 6:30 p.m.
$75 per person (includes session and reception)
Pre-registration required; see registration form
Back by popular demand, Dr. Karen McNeil-Miller (formerly from the Center for Creative Leadership) builds on last year’s board/ CEO session on personal leadership. This year, she’ll focus her insight and creative presentation skills on the relationship between the board and the CEO, with a special emphasis on that dynamic and delicate relationship between the CEO and the chair of the board. Reception immediately following, from 5:00 – 6:30 p.m.
For more information, contact Karen Green, Director, Governing Board Programs, at the Council on Foundations at greek@cof.org or 202/467-0428.
3:30 – 5:30 p.m.
No charge; pre-registration required; see registration form.
In this session, you’ll examine the power of privilege and whether it can create roadblocks to the partnerships needed to drive social change. Many of us enjoy privileges based on our race, gender, sexual orientation or socio-economic status—these simple demographics can empower some groups and disenfranchise others.
Explore how privilege (both earned and unearned) can impact relationships with other foundations, colleagues, donors and grantees. Noted scholars will share their insights and offer strategies and tools to create more effective efforts.
5:00 – 6:30 p.m.
Location: The Tasting Room, Pike Place Market $35 per person
Pre-registration required; see registration form .
Join us at The Tasting Room, a European-style wine cellar in Seattle’s famous Pike Place Market, for a taste of Washington’s best artisan and hard-to-find wines along with other local delicacies. A brief business meeting will follow. Sponsored by ProNet (the Program Officers Network), a professional group dedicated to
providing leadership on grantmaking and programmatic issues facing community foundations.
For more information, contact Randi Hewit, The Community Foundation of the Elmira-Corning Area, at rlh@communityfund.org or 607/734-6412.
5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Location: Benaroya Hall, Norcliffe Founders Room
200 University Street at Third Avenue
$40 per person
Pre-registration required; see registration form. Get the Fall Conference off to a great start with your AdNet colleagues at Benaroya Hall, the spectacular home of the Seattle Symphony. AdNet welcomes community foundation professionals involved in all areas of philanthropic services—fundraising, donor services, donor relations, professional advisor relationships and gift planning.
For more information, contact Aviva Boedecker at aboedecker@marincf.org or 415/464-2516 (or any member of the AdNet Steering Committee).
4:00 – 5:30 p.m. Business Meeting
6:00 – 9:00 p.m. Dinner at The Triple Door
$60 per person
Pre-registration required by Friday, September 9; no onsite tickets will be available; see registration form .
Located in the historic Mann Building, The Triple Door is one of Seattle’s newest jazz clubs. Built in the 1920s, the theatre dates its first use back to the days of vaudeville and burlesque. The club is owned and operated by Wild Ginger, one of Seattle’s pre-eminent restaurants. Join us for a night of good food, good company and good music.
Sponsored by FAOG (Fiscal and Administrative Officers Group), a national group of community foundation fiscal and administrative professionals affiliated with the Council on Foundations. FAOG provides professional enhancements and development and takes the lead in establishing and communicating standards for the financial and administrative functions for community foundations.
4:00 – 5:30 p.m. Membership Meeting
6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Dinner at Tulio Restaurant
$45 per person
Pre-registration required; see registration for.
Sponsored by CommA, an association of community foundation communicators affiliated with the Council on Foundations, working to enhance and empower communications in the field. “Outstanding, delightful and memorable are among the raves for the Tulio’s downtown white-linen Italian, where the food’s so good it’s guaranteed to improve your mood.” — Zagat Survey
6:00 – 9:30 p.m.
$35 per person (includes dinner, screening and discussion)
Pre-registration required; see registration form .
“Farmingville” is a compelling film by Carlos Sandoval and Catherine Tambini that looks at the complex issues of immigrant day laborers in a suburban New York town. Residents are angry about the exploding numbers of men seeking work on street corners. The immigrants are targeted and fear for their safety while
trying to earn a living. After the screening, meet the producers for a thoughtful discussion of the issues raised by the film. Co-sponsored by the Council on Foundations, Grantmakers in Film and Electronic Media and Neighborhood Funders Group.
For more information, contact Evelyn Gibson at gibse@cof.org or 202/467-0471.
Sunday, September 18 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Monday, September 19 7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Tuesday, September 20 7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday, September 21 7:00 – 10:00 a.m.
Sunday, September 18 2:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Monday, September 19 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Tuesday, September 20 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
