2012 EPIP Conference Reflection - Engaging Foundation Stakeholders

Lauren Tulp, our most recent Co-Chair of EPIP Bay Area and Impact Planning and Analysis Associate at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, shares one of her highlighted experiences from this year's EPIP National Conference:

At this year’s EPIP National Conference I had the opportunity to present a workshop called “Do Nothing About Me Without Me: Engaging Stakeholders for Better Results” with two fantastic staff members of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, Andy Freeze and Jason Twiss.

During the session, Andy reviewed the results of the GEO 2011 Field Study. The results show that more funders are asking for feedback from stakeholders, but funders aren’t doing more to seek input when it’s particularly impactful—when they make decisions. Potential foundation stakeholders might include grantees, community members and external experts.

Strategies we at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation have used to engage stakeholders include:

• Participating in grantee and staff surveys with the Center for Effective Philanthropy (we recognize staff are key internal stakeholders!)
• Creating a 10-Year Review with interviews of staff, board members, grantees and experts to inform future decision-making
• Convening advisory boards of experts and grantees to provide feedback on program strategies
• Sharing decision-making and funding responsibilities through collaborations such as the Climate and Land Use Alliance and Howard Hughes Medical Institute-Moore Foundation Plant Biology Investigators
• Using crowdsourcing techniques to poll the scientific community about opportunities to make transformative change through a request for ideas (RFI)

These are great steps, although I think we still have room to do more. Which leads me to another topic we addressed in the workshop—how it can be especially difficult to encourage stakeholder engagement when you’re a junior staff member. During the session, we discussed some of the challenges to convincing others in your organization of the importance of stakeholder engagement and strategies you can use to make change, including asking key questions and helping design effective engagement processes.

Thank you to everyone who attended the session for your great ideas and participation! I was impressed with everyone’s thoughtfulness on this issue and commitment to making philanthropy more responsive and accountable.

2012 EPIP Conference Reflection - Learning Tour: Ports of LA

One of our Steering Committee members, Ginger Hintz, attended the Learning Tour of LA Ports at this year's EPIP National Conference. She shares her reflections here:


Philanthropy is about relationships. I think good philanthropy supports and builds long-term connections. These axioms were reinforced on a learning tour to the San Pedro Bay ports (the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach). Patricia Castellanos, Deputy Director and Director of Ports Project at LAANE, and Angelo Logan, Co-Executive Director of East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, were our guides into a system that most people never see but are affected by every day. It is estimated that over 40% of all international trade comes in and out of the San Pedro Bay Ports. The scale of consumerism and scope of logistics surrounding such a mammoth enterprise was overwhelming as we stood at the top of Knoll Hill and surveyed the industrial landscape.

As we drove to Knob Hill, we took a count of how many trucks we saw on the opposite side of the highway. In the span of only 15 minutes, over 300 trucks passed us. And it was a slow day! As the trucks whizzed by and we drove past the refineries, past residential neighborhoods and tight-knit communities, Angelo and Patricia gave us an overview of the Coalition for Clean and Safe Ports. Angelo told us about the impacts of truck traffic and the pollution of the Ports on the communities they drive through, and more importantly in the communities the truck drivers live in. Because of train, truck, shipping, refinery, and other Port activities, the communities that the drivers live in have high rates of asthma and cancer. Patricia told us about how de-regulation classifies the truck drivers as "independent contractors" which keeps wages low and benefits non-existent. The drivers must pay for their own trucks, the maintenance, and other costs that are usually absorbed by the trucking companies. According to one driver we met, he receives $40/load and can transport two loads a day. It is a system that grossly privileges the trucking companies and feeds consumers expectations of cheap goods.

Organizing and empowering truck drivers is a visible intersection of worker and environmental justice. These workers and their communities sustain the economic engine of our goods movement system yet they struggle to support their families. It's an old song that grantees seek long-term funding to sustain the complex social change work we all want to see in the world. Having an opportunity to witness the connections and hear the stories of the organizers, the truck drivers, and the grantees supported this outcome. As we ensure that the voices of communities most impacted by issues of social justice are included in our vision of change, we weave new perspectives into that narrative and that takes sustained commitment to a larger vision.

One of the main reasons I support and participate in the EPIP community is because we value that larger picture. EPIP provides the space to talk and learn about these critical social justice issues. I urge you to think about how you can bring your commitment to supporting strategic and sustainable coalition building like the Coalition for Clean and Safe Ports to your own work. We will all benefit from such connections.

2012 EPIP Conference Reflection - Graduate School

The EPIP National Conference was a few weeks ago, but we're still talking about it! We asked those of you who attended to send us your highlights, stories, learnings, and "aha" moments so we could share them with everyone. We'll be posting these throughout the next following weeks.

The first response we received was from Susanne Revutsky, who participated in the conference as a career coach and facilitated one of the sessions on Graduate School. She posted her thoughts and research about "Making the Case for Graduate School" on her website, Butterfly Careers.

Please add your comments if you attended this session or want to share your highlights and experiences on this topic. We'd love to hear from you!

Own Your Power

On Friday, November 4^th, EPIP members gathered at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation in San Mateo to explore power dynamics in philanthropy, both between foundations and grantees, as well as within our own institutions. EPIP has developed a curriculum called Philanthropology™. As you might guess, the curriculum is the study of philanthropy, specifically as it relates to EPIP’s mission and values. There are four modules that comprise the curriculum. We looked at the third on Friday: Power Dynamics.

I attended the workshop in two capacities, one as a staff member with EPIP who organized the whole day, and two as a steering committee member of the Bay Area EPIP chapter. I flit back and forth between these two perspectives, wondering how it was going for others who were attending, and actually participating myself.

Ray Bramson, Julie Hopper, and Tiffany Kane, of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation,
discuss the the three I’s of power dynamics: individual, institution, and inter-connection.

The questions posed at the beginning of the day helped to frame the discussion. How do we define power? How do we obtain power? How does that power affect the philanthropic landscape? How can you leverage your own power? How do you work with donors, with grantees, and with each other in a way that helps us all achieve our goals? Is there any way to get past the power dynamics that exist within our sector?

Emmett Carson, President and CEO of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, joined us at lunch, and we had the opportunity to hear his views on the subject. He shared sage advice: “Acknowledge that there is a power dynamic. Allow people to be heard, and be transparent and accountable, but acknowledge that it’s not equal.” Once you do that, he continued, the question becomes: “How do I exercise this power and responsibility in an accountable and responsible way?” In closing, he left us with: “Be as respectful as you can, but own your power.”

Everyone who is in the social sector is here for the same reason: we want the world to be a better place. How we achieve that goal is different, but we must embody our roles and exert ourselves within them to be effective ambassadors of social change.

One of the things that I love the most about EPIP is the ability to engage with people who share similar goals, both for the world and for our sector. This day-long experience with 20 other individuals was a true demonstration of EPIP’s ability to pull people together to engage in honest conversation about difficult topics. I had the chance to fall in love with EPIP and my local peers all over again as we spent the whole day doing just thing. Other Philanthropology™ modules will be available in the Bay Area and I urge you to attend. The modules provide a phenomenal opportunity to step outside of your work and think about how to be our best selves as we accomplish our goals.

Attendees of the November 4^th Philanthropology™ 3.0: Power Dynamics Module
hosted by EPIP and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation

- Kate Seely

Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy | Chapter Support | www.epip.org

Upcoming Event: Philanthropology™ 3.0 Power Dynamics

EPIP Bay Area is excited to be partnering with EPIP National and Silicon Valley Community Foundation to present this upcoming program next week on November 4 2011.

We hope you and your colleagues will join us!

For more information or to register, please click HERE.

2011 EPIP National Conference Call for Sessions

Register! and submit a workshop proposal for the 2011 EPIP National Conference.

EPIP National Conference
and 10th Anniversary Celebration!
April 7-9, 2011 (immediately preceding COF)
Philadelphia, PA

You can link to highlights from the 2010 EPIP National Conference through this post.

EPIP National Conference recap

Re-visit the 2010 EPIP National Conference and watch sessions (some featuring EPIP Bay Area members and supporters)!

Generational Change Plenary: Talent and Workforce Issues in the Nonprofit Sector
Robby Rodriguez, Executive Director, Southwest Organizing Project, and co-author, Working Across Generations
Cynthia Gibson, Cynthesis Consulting

Philanthropic Effectiveness Plenary: Innovative Solutions for Foundation Effectiveness
Bill Somerville, President, Philanthropic Ventures Foundation
Christi Tran, Program Officer, Blue Shield of California Foundation
Eyal Yerushalmi, Strategic Learning Executive, Atlantic Philanthropies
Angie Chen, Program Officer, S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation (moderator)

Social Justice Philanthropy Plenary: Racial Justice and Philanthropy
Cynthia Renfro, Director of Programs and Evaluation, Marguerite Casey Foundation
Ron Rowell, CEO, Common Counsel Foundation
Daniel Lee, Executive Director, Levi Strauss Foundation
Victor De Luca, President, Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation
Lori Villarosa, Executive Director, Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity
Melissa Johnson, Executive Director, Neighborhood Funders Group (moderator)

Interview with Daniel Lee, Executive Director, Levi Strauss Foundation

EPIP/YNPN Plenary: Infrastructure for the Next Generation
Barry Gaberman, Senior Vice President (retired), Ford Foundation

Closing Plenary: Weaving it Together: Effectiveness, Justice, and Change across the Generations
Gara LaMarche, President and CEO, Atlantic Philanthropies
Benjamin Todd Jealous, President and CEO, NAACP
Caroline Altman Smith, Program Officer, The Kresge Foundation (moderator)