Social Impact Blog

This post by Katherine Errecart shares learning and reflection from the recent workshop for backbone organization leaders of mature collective impact initiatives.

Read How to Explain Collective Impact to Your Mom on the Collective Impact blog.

This post originally appeared on the Emerging Leaders In Philanthropy (EPIP) blog.

Hi, I’m Efrain Gutierrez. I work for FSG and I’m the brand new co-leader of the Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP) Seattle Chapter. I attended my first EPIP National Conference two weeks ago in Chicago and it was an incredible experience. It was energizing to be among a group of diverse and passionate mid-career professionals that will become the future leaders of the philanthropic sector. As I reflected on what I learned during the conference around this year’s theme – LEAD – I identified four recommendations for current and emerging leaders in philanthropy: be humble, know who you are not, listen, learn and adapt. I believe these recommendations represent the beginning of a paradigm shift in the way we exercise leadership in the sector. Let’s discuss each of them:  

This post by Jeff Cohen discusses a recent New York Times article and Harvard study on how income affects college access and success.

Read Living in a College Information Desert on the Education & Youth Blog

As a part of the staff of CF Insights, I have had the pleasure to work with the community foundation field for almost 4 years now and still I’m amazed at the ways the field as a whole contributes to the success of individual community foundations by sharing insights, data and support. Reflecting on 2012, I have never been prouder to be part of a field that challenges itself to evolve, serve the needs in their communities, and still takes the time to contribute to the growth and development of peers.  Here are just a few highlights from 2012:

Community foundations use data to improve their business
CF Insights houses financial and operational metrics on over 500 community foundations nation-wide.  I have had the joy of working with over 150 community foundations ranging in $5 Million to $2 Billion in assets helping them think about how they compare to other foundations by providing benchmarking data, connecting them with community foundation colleagues and providing technical assistance on our array of tools. I am always impressed by how nimble my colleagues are and excited to hear about how this data is useful.  Last month I spoke with two financial folks at a foundation – one of which was hired because the data we had put together with them made the case to hire a new employee. Now that’s taking action!

By Jane Wales, FSG Board Member, President and CEO of the Global Philanthropy Forum, and Vice President of Philanthropy and Society at the Aspen Institute

The Chinese will tell you that bamboo is resilient, its root systems self-propagating, and its form reflective of local conditions. Among the hardiest plants, producing the most durable woods, the strength of bamboo comes from its flexibility. Once planted it is difficult to suppress.