Essential Skills and Strategies



Essential Skills and Strategies
This preconference workshop covers topics ranging from foundation stewardship and grants management to the legal aspects of grantmaking. New grantmakers, with up to two years in their jobs, will find this workshop especially helpful. Separate registration is required, and can be done online at the 2010 Annual Conference registration page.

For additional information about the preconference workshop click here.






Saturday, April 24

7:30 a.m. to 7:45 a.m.

Registration & Breakfast


7:45 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.

Welcome and Introductions

Matthew Nelson, assistant vice president for constituency services, COF, will introduce Essential Skills and Strategies topics and presenters and ask participants to introduce themselves and share their goals for this ESS session.


8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
 The Big Picture (Grounded In Philanthropy)

Matthew Nelson will help participants become Grounded in Philanthropy with an overview of the history and role of philanthropy, how the field is organized and supported by infrastructure groups, and the current trends and issues facing the field today.


9:00 a.m. to 12 noon

Getting It Right: Rules & Regs–Parts I and II (Navigating Legal and Ethical Issues)

While philanthropy is often considered more art than science, Kelly Shipp Simone, senior staff attorney, COF, will guide you through the hard-and-fast rules that guide philanthropic practice.  She will lead a discussion of the legal framework and ethical quandaries that face philanthropists.  Navigating Legal and Ethical Issues will leave you confident and prepared to meet the demands of your profession.

A 15-minute break will be taken from 10:30 to 10:45 am.

 

 12:00 p.m. to 1:35 p.m.

Dine and Dialogue

Following the morning’s discussion of rules and regulations, participants will grab lunch and take a step back as they consider the theoretical and social underpinnings of philanthropy–from the impulse to give to the implicit and explicit expectations of philanthropy. Matthew Nelson will moderate a free-flowing conversation based on provocative readings e-mailed to participants in advance of the session. Participants are strongly urged to complete the readings before this highly participatory session. 

Readings: TBD

 

 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Making the Case and Breaking the News (Communicating Funding Recommendations and Decisions

Cole Wilbur, trustee and former CEO, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, will bring participants back to daily responsibilities–how to recommend, facilitate, and communicate foundation decisions internally and externally. Communicating Funding Recommendations and Decisions will offer tips and strategies to make communications as transparent and effective as possible.


3:00 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.

Break


3:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Staying On Top of Your Game (Managing Your Grant Portfolio)

Participants will end the day with a practical focus on sustaining and containing the complex–sometimes frenzied–work of a grantmaker.  Lori Fuller, director, evaluation and research, the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, will lead participants through a set of standards and recommendations for Managing Your Grant Portfolio.


4:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Closing the Day, Preview Tomorrow

In closing, Matthew Nelson will review the day’s key themes and ask participants to share any lingering questions for exploration tomorrow.


Sunday, April 25

  7:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. Breakfast


9:45 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

Review Yesterday, Introduce Today

Lori Fuller will facilitate the day’s activities, beginning with a review of yesterday’s key themes and participants’ goals.
  8:30 a.m. to 9:45 a.m.

Making a Difference (Maximizing Grant Impact)

Words and phrases like strategic philanthropy, impact, measures and outcomes are pervasive in the field’s parlance, but can seem vague and ambiguous when your day is filled with precise grant guidelines, looming deadlines, tight budgets, grantee inquiries and board meetings.  An expert in evaluation and research, Lori Fuller is uniquely qualified to guide participants through specific and practical ways to Maximize Grant Impact.

 

9:45 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

Break

 

10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

When I Grow Up, I Want to … Work in Philanthropy? (Managing Personal and Professional Challenges)

Cole Wilbur and Lori Fuller will draw on personal and professional experience as they participants in a candid exploration of the rewards and tensions inherent in the life of a grantmaker. Managing Personal and Professional Challenges will emphasize work/life balance and the pursuit of excellence in grantmaking. Participants will be urged to share approaches to learning, growing and excelling in this work.

 

11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

In Closing … What’s Next and Where to Go For Help

Pamela Colman, education director, COF, and Mary O'Neill, director of programs, Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers will provide a brief overview of the educational programs offered by the Council on Foundations, and other partners in the field. Lori Fuller will close ESS with suggestions for staying in touch.