Northern California Grantmakers

On Friday, March 29, 2013, NCG’s Family Philanthropy Exchange members gathered at Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund’s office in San Francisco to share technology tools at the first-ever “Tech Tales.” Part of NCG’s Family Philanthropy Forum, the program was designed to give members the opportunity to learn from each other, share their “tech tales,” and exchange best practices for choosing and using grants management software and other technology for small family foundations with limited staff.

The following are tips and helpful tech information offered to help make life easier and more efficient for foundations with limited staff capacity (i.e. for an office of one):

Looking to move to a new technology tool?

For grantmakers looking to move to a new technology tool, presenter Marc Manashil of 11Plus recommended that funders keep the following in mind:

• Know Your Own Capacity: If the functionality (all the features of the tool) is greater than your own capacity to utilize it then it’s likely not a good fit considering that you won’t have the time and or ability to take advantage of all it offers.
• Staying Power of the Technology: Has the tool/product/service been around for a good number of years? Have they worked out all the bugs? Are there a good number of current users? Are those users getting the support they need?
• Apply Technology to Technology Issues: Sometimes people look to technology to solve programs that are not technical issues. In other words, technology cannot fix relationship issues within an organization. Don’t spend time and resources on a technology tool if in reality the problem you are trying to solve is a relationship issue.

Can I join the Grants Managers Network if I’m not a grant’s manager?

Any person currently employed by a grantmaking organization who holds responsibility for grants management or a portion of grants management activities is eligible for membership.

NCG Member Tiffany Price, who in addition to being the Director of Assistance & Advising at the Mitchell Kapor Foundation is also on the national board of the Grants Managers Network (GMN), explained how she takes advantage of the GMN network. In her presentation, Tiffany explained that a Grants Manager title isn’t requisite to join GMN. After all, many small and family foundation staff do it all. So anyone who has the responsibility of managing grants can join.

Moving to an online grants management system or considering a new system?

One member who recently switched to a new grants management system shared the following insights when considering a new system:

• Does the system have regular updates? Are they easy to install?
• Is the vendor willing to tweak, i.e. reports or forms? Are those tweaks free or costly?
• How long is the contract term? How long will you be locked into using this product?
• When your contract is up and you want to migrate your data to another system, will they charge you? How much?
• Know exactly what you want out of a system and the application process so that there are no surprise costs for adding on later.
• Will training be easy? Is it just you or your entire staff that will need to be trained?
• Finally, ask for references so you can talk to people currently using the system.

What about other cost-efficient tech tools?

Dana Marus, Director of the High Engagement and Education by Nature Projects for the Frieda C. Fox Family Foundation shared the following tools:

• One-Hub.com. A secure way to store, organize, and share your files, such as board docket materials.
• Lynda.com. An online software training site.

As the program ended members were left with one last thought: In the long run, it’s not about technology. It’s about how you do your work. What audience you are serving. Once you know that, then find the technology that supports those needs.

Carmen and Alcario Castellano

Last week NCG’s Family Philanthropy Exchange (FPE) brought members together for an intimate conversation with Carmen Castellano of the Castellano Family Foundation, one of the few Latino family foundations in the country.

Carmen’s talk was filled with inspiring stories about her family and community: both her parents were successful entrepreneurs; how her multicultural neighborhood shaped her view of community; and how even before her husband bought a winning California Lotto ticket in 2001 they were deeply committed to community life in San Jose.

Making A List

Carmen’s husband Alcario couldn’t believe it at first when he compared his Lotto ticket to the winning numbers printed in the newspaper. When he finally awoke his wife to confirm that he wasn’t dreaming, that they had indeed won the largest single payout in the history of the state, Carmen recalls immediately finding a pad of paper and a pen: her first impulse was to write a list of all the organizations they were going to give money to.

There was never any doubt in their minds that they wouldn’t give money to their community and six months after winning the Lotto, the family established the Castellano Family Foundation to support Latino arts, culture and leadership.

A Family Affair

Before the foundation was officially established, all of their children returned home for a family meeting of the minds. Carmen, Alcario and their children all came to an agreement on the foundation’s mission and purpose.

Even though the entire family came to a consensus about the foundation’s establishment, Carmen and Alcario, as the foundation’s only trustees, have had sole responsibility for making the organization’s grantmaking decisions. Now the family is planning to map out a transition that will bring their children into the foundation’s work and decision making process.

A Call For More Diversity

Carmen told us that she and her husband are often the only Latinos in the room when they go to conferences for family foundations. They don’t mind that often they find themselves taking up the cause to raise awareness about diversity in philanthropy and the need to support communities of color.

In researching the philanthropic field, Carmen began to feel that not enough philanthropic dollars were being allocated to communities of color. The Castellano Family Foundation’s focus on Latino arts, culture and leadership is an intentional move to address that deficit.

The foundation’s commitment to supporting diversity doesn’t stop at their grantmaking focus. Carmen explained they also encourage the nonprofits they support to diversify their boards and staff so that they have the cultural competency to work with the diverse communities they serve. She encouraged us all that night to consider using this type of approach to help increase diversity in the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors.

An Intimate Exchange

The evening ended with a Q&A session facilitated by FPE Co-Chair Lisa Parker of The Lawrence Welk Family Foundation and a reception that allowed attendees and NCG staff to connect with one another and with Carmen over hors d’oeuvres.

Connecting members with one another and providing a space for family grantmakers to explore themes that affect their practice is at the heart of NCG’s work with the Family Philanthropy Exchange. The Stories That Inspire series is just one of the ways NCG brings family grantmakers together. Learn more about NCG’s Family Philanthropy Exchange online.

Over the past 5 years we’ve heard a lot about “next generation philanthropy.” A big question still on every one’s mind is what will philanthropy become with the anticipated transfer of trillions of dollars in American wealth from one generation to the next? Which social issues will benefit the most from these philanthropic dollars?

Some may ask who the next generation is. Is it about age or perspective or both? And what will next generation philanthropy look like in our own backyard? As younger philanthropists move into leadership roles, what new philanthropic models will they create and sustain? What leadership skills will they need in order to accomplish their family’s collective giving goals?

As a regional association of grantmakers, next generation philanthropy deserves our attention because of its historical, social, political and economic implications. In fact the upcoming Council on Foundation’s Family Philanthropy conference on January 23-25, 2011 in NYC will focus largely on next generation philanthropy. In 2011 NCG will offer programming on this topic with a local spin for family philanthropists in the region who are grappling with next generation challenges and opportunities. NCG anticipates that many ideas about the topic will spring up at the COF conference in January.

As we plan related programs, we welcome your feedback about framing the conversation, who should we invite, as well as who should be at the discussion table. NCG hopes to facilitate a conversation that is candid and authentic, yet sprinkled with light heartedness. We also will provide our members with resources as the topic evolves.

Next Generation Philanthropy in the News

I point you to two recent articles that appeared in the local press.

SFGate published an article on December 5th entitled “Who will fill philanthropy void in San Francisco?” With the passing of several major donors in the region, how will philanthropy respond in an era of great social need?

The second article appeared on December 13th in San Jose Mercury News, which is an op-ed written by Phil Buchanan of the Center for Effective Philanthropy and Stephen Heintz of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund giving local next generation philanthropist and Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg recommendations on how to approach his personal philanthropy effectively.

Please let me know your thoughts about how to make future programming on this topic relevant to you.

For more information on NCG’s Family Philanthropy Exchange and family philanthropy programming contact NCG Program Specialist Angela Jones.

Read Phil Buchanan’s op-ed piece in the San Jose Mercury News online.

Read the SF Gate article “Who will fill philanthropy void in San Francisco?” online.