Two weeks ago I was at a crossroads. I have always prided myself on a semblance of work life balance and feel like I am very effective during the workday. I cross things off my to do list, I don’t sit under a mountain of paperwork, I return phone calls (for those of you that are not employed by a foundation, I swear these things are revolutionary). But the last couple weeks were different. My email in box was overflowing (it seemed like every item in there needed about 3 hours of strategic thinking to make a decision), my normally clean office was covered in piles of papers, and I was eating sour cream and cheese chips out of the vending machine for lunch as I was driving to another meeting. The bags under my eyes were making my staff nervous and I think I looked like I was on the edge of a hide under my desk breakdown. So much for balance.

Luckily I have a great coach, who asks common sense questions that I get too busy to ask myself. Her question was “why did I let my schedule get so crazy?”. That gentle reminder that my schedule is not the boss of me was all I needed to get back on track. So here are the four things that have given me my sanity back and ensured that my hair does not all fall out:
1) I set aside an hour at the end of each day to clean out my emails and handle all the paper on my desk,
2) I set aside one and a half hour blocks every other day for uninterrupted strategic thinking,
3) I set aside time for lunch each day. I may decide to have a lunch meeting those days but I will always have time to eat, and
4) I am saying no to meetings that I would normally say yes to out of obligation or fear of missing something good.

What do you do to keep your schedule on track?

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When I put out the call for writers for New Voices, I was immediately intrigued by Paulette’s description of her career path. I am someone who has known since I was eight that I wanted to work in the nonprofit sector and have been moving at a sometimes breakneck spead to reach my goals in the sector ever since then. Paulette’s description of taking a leap of faith and moving to the sector in mid-career quite honestly terrified me a little bit and so I knew I needed to hear more. Below is what I hope s the first of many posts by Paulette:

“Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith and build your wings on the way down”- Kobi Yamada

When Trista extended an open invitation for her readers to submit reflections on philanthropy from their own perspective, I hesitated—for about a New York minute. What a wonderful opportunity to engage with those in the field and on the ground! While not a veteran program officer or even a policy expert, I do offer the unique perspective of being a mid-career changer, a woman of color and a newbie to the grant making field.

Here’s a question for all the for-profit folks out there: Have you ever felt the longing to do something of real substance with your life? Something that would bring about true social change? A force stronger than yourself driving you inexorably toward a life of fulfillment? I did and I have never looked back. Two years ago I embarked on a journey into philanthropy that has been both exhilarating and frustrating. I left my job on the trading floor of a commodities exchange after two decades. The environment was toxic to say the least. I knew I wanted something more out of my life and if I had to devote another 20-plus years to the work force, it would be doing something I was passionate about. So I increased my volunteering and this led to a return to school to learn more about philanthropy. It was while I was pursuing my graduate certificate in Non-Profit Management and Philanthropy that I got my current internship (who ever said internships are only for 20-somethings?). Yes, it was a huge risk to take giving up a comfortable salary to exist on a stipend. But I believed it was a greater risk to my long-term happiness NOT to take the chance.

I am now on my third grant cycle with a local foundation and words can’t express how much I love this job! I am fortunate to be surrounded by such a strong supportive staff that guide and mentor me each and every day. It’s been great in that from day one, I hit the ground running (no fetching coffee and filing here). I had my own docket of proposals, I do my own site visits and write-ups and present before our board of directors. But the most gratifying part of my day is the interaction with my grantees. I want to learn and understand their needs and how we can work together for the common good.

I will be chronicling the good and the bad (and there have been many of each). For what it’s worth I will also offer a few tips—resources and guides which have made my transition a little easier. I hope you will enjoy the ride as much as I have.

Paulette Pierre

Program Officer Intern at the Field Foundation of Illinois and currently pursuing her MA in Interdisciplinary Studies (with a concentration in Public Service and Sociology).

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A few weeks ago I had the honor of participating in a conversation with other African American leaders in the Twin Cities about what the Obama wins means for Black leadership. All of the participants had been hired by nonprofits in the last year or so and in Minnesota, there are so few African Americans leading nonprofit organizations that it really was a newsworthy occasion.

It was a reflective conversation on the societal impact of Martin Luther King’s dream being fulfilled and what it means for us to be able to look our children in the eye and tell them that if they work hard anything is possible (and really mean it). While I enjoyed the conversation, I yearn for the day when 5 African American nonprofit leaders being hired in the same year isn’t news. I look forward to a time when Obama isn’t seen as just a symbol of hope for African Americans but as a sign of fulfilled promise for ALL Americans.

I, like many others, will shed a few tears today because of the visible reminder that we have come so far. I will remember those that worked so hard to make sure that African Americans could vote and didn’t live to see the day when it all came full circle. I will make sure that my children see every moment and know that their parents had a small part in breaking down the thickest glass ceiling around.

Then I’m going to put away the party hats and get back to work because the country needs more than self-congratulating. We need universal health care, a thriving economy, and an education system that ensures that many more are qualified for the highest office in the land. Barack Obama can’t do those things alone, luckily he is humble enough and an experienced enough organizer to know that without reading my blog post:) He has launched Organizing for America to harness your energy and to make sure that real change happens. I hope you answer the call with me.

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The following post is from Scott Rooks, who answered my call for writers for New Voices of Philanthropy.. Scott is a nonprofit consultant who writes at Grantfundingonline.com. From Scott:

“It was the best of times , it was the worst of times…” as Charles Dickens declared in his 19th century classic “The Tale of Two Cities”. Never has that opening part of the first sentence been so descriptive of a time period, I believe, as it is now in these United States.

I personally like the best of times half of that declaration. It motivates me to know that this may well be one of the most exciting times in our history. We are on the cusp of the inauguration of the first African American President in our short history and I can feel change in the air! No one exemplifies change more then our soon to be First Lady Michelle Obama.

I first heard Michelle speak on Larry King Live back last year sometime and was so excited because she spoke of change but most of all because she was so positive and inspiring. This week Michelle spoke to me, well it seemed that way because she send You Tube a video message for the citizens of our country. She has declared Monday January 19,2009 as a National Day of Service. How appropriate is that! Martin Luther King Day a day we honor the slain civil rights leader who thought and prayed for change. Well he got it in Michelle Obama, his dream come true!

I hope that you have the day off from work and can honor her request by feeding the hungry some good food, helping the homeless by giving out blankets, take some cans of food to the food bank, help sort clothes at a free clothes store or do something at the many other nonprofit’s that need a positive lift that only new volunteers can give them.

I expected nothing less of our soon to be First Lady and she delivered right off the bat. What about you are you going to deliver on January 19th? Let us know how you plan to deliver your service to our great nation by posting a comment.

“It was the best of times…” !

Scott Rooks
Helping Nonprofits to Succeed!
http://grantfundingonline.com/blog

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One of my goals with New Voices of Philanthropy is to add to new voices and perspectives from the many types of positions and experiences in the field of philanthropy. I’ve invited Paul Bachleitner to begin contributing to New Voices of Philanthropy. Paul brings his experience as a foundation and nonprofit fundraiser and his new perspective as a philanthropic consultant living and working in New York City. Below is Paul’s 1st post:

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Tagging onto Trista’s post on philanthropy’s New Year’s resolutions, I’m posting an entry from Tactical Philanthropy about making better mistakes. As you know I am a big fan of learning from mistakes and don’t think philanthropy does enough ‘looking back’ to ensure that past mistakes are not repeated. I agree with Sean on 2 points: 1) I too have a stack of books on philanthropy that still need to be read and 2) even though philantrhopy is over 100 years old, we still have a lot to learn. From Sean’s post:

The field of philanthropy is a bit like an uncharted wilderness. Unlike most 100+ year old fields, there is no real set of “best practices” in philanthropy. There is no agreed upon way to evaluate a charity. Most donors have never even heard of some of the basic tools of giving like charitable trusts and donor advised funds.
Recently I’ve been discussing with a pretty esteemed group of philanthropic leaders what “strategic philanthropy” even means and how we can tell if someone is practicing it.
As a field we still have an aversion to admitting that philanthropy ever fails at anything. But as everyone knows, admitting a problem is the first step to fixing it.
Personally, I’m still in the thick of learning about philanthropy. I have a large stack of books about philanthropy next to my desk that I have yet to read and another large stack of those I have. But with One-Click ordering from Amazon, it seems that my “To Read” pile grows faster than I can keep up.
So let’s be ambitious and work hard to build a new and better philanthropy. But let’s also be humble and realize that we all have so much to learn. Philanthropy as a field of practice is still in its infancy. So rather than resolve that next year we will do more, do better, do faster. Let us humbly resolve that in 2009 we will make better mistakes than we did in 2008. Let’s make mistakes that are the result of daring, well informed risks. Mistakes that demonstrate our willingness to embrace the unknown and try things that other people tell us can’t be done. Let’s make mistakes that we can be proud of, the kind of mistakes that we brag about over a beer with friends, “Remember that time when we….?!”
And who knows. Maybe we’ll all create something wonderful.

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As you have all heard, the Madoff scam has hurt many nonprofits, especially many social justice nonprofits. I read a recent article about how foundations may be the reason why this scam went undetected for so long (another reason why the 5% payout is hurting nonprofits). There was finally some happy news on the Madoff front. MoveOn.org sent an email to their membership base asking them to support organizations that have been hurt by the scandal. It is too rare that we see a nonprofit organization stepping up and fundraising for other organizations that have been hurt by unusual circumstances. I hope this kind of quick action becomes more common. From MoveOn:

Dear MoveOn member,
You’ve probably heard about how Wall Street financier Bernard Madoff scammed investors out of at least $50 billion.

But you may not have heard that his victims included the foundations that support some really important progressive organizations. Groups that fight for human rights, fair elections and racial justice are getting hit hard—just in time for the holidays. We’ve worked side-by-side with many of them.

If these groups can’t replace the funding that came from investment accounts that Madoff stole, they may be forced to start cutting important projects or, in some cases, even lay off staff.

Can you pitch in $25 or $50 for each of the four organizations we’re highlighting below? If a few thousand of us give together, it can make an enormous difference—and help repair some of the damage Madoff has done. Click here to contribute:

https://civ.moveon.org/donatec4/dec_2008.html?id=15300-14478492-oJNBYIx&t=3

Your gift will be tax-deductible as if you had made the gift directly to the designated charities; we will forward 100% of your contribution to the organizations you select.

Many organizations have been hit by this crisis. We’re highlighting the four that MoveOn has worked closely with over the last few years. Here’s a bit about each of the groups:

The Brennan Center for Justice is a nonpartisan institute that focuses on fundamental issues of democracy and justice. Their work ranges from voting rights to redistricting reform to checking presidential power in the fight against terrorism. MoveOn has worked with the Brennan Center closely in the fight for fair elections. Chip in to help them out here.

Human Rights Watch is one of the world’s leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights. By focusing international attention where human rights are violated, they give voice to the oppressed and hold oppressors accountable for their crimes. Its rigorous, objective investigations and strategic, targeted advocacy build intense pressure for action and raise the cost of human rights abuse. MoveOn has worked with Human Rights Watch on campaigns to preserve the constitution and protect human rights in America and abroad. Chip in to help them out here.

Advancement Project is a policy, communications and legal action group committed to racial justice founded by a team of veteran civil rights lawyers in 1998. They have pursued critical litigation to protect voters and also support grassroots movements for universal opportunity and just democracy in the areas of education and immigrants’ rights. MoveOn has worked with Advancement Project to stop vote suppression, especially among minority folks. Chip in to help them out here.

The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys who represented civil rights movements in the South, CCR is a nonprofit legal and educational organization committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change. MoveOn has worked with CCR to hold President Bush accountable for his unconstitutional acts, from illegal wiretaps to Guantanamo. Chip in to help them out here.

2008 has been an extraordinary year. Together, MoveOn’s 5 million members have done so much—and we have a new president and new hope to show for it. But we wouldn’t be where we are as a country without a strong movement of interconnected progressive organizations. Let’s come together one last time to keep that movement going strong.

Thanks for all you do.
–Eli, Carrie, Ilyse and the entire MoveOn.org Civic Action team

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Here are the 5 things I would like to see foundations do in 2009:

Unrestrict grants that you have already given to nonprofits for project-specific activities so that they are able to make mission driven choices about their activities in 2009. Too many nonprofits can’t make good decisions about what programs to keep, expand, or scale back during tough economic times because they have specific funding tied to those programs. Unrestrict those grants to make sure that organizations can focus on core programs.

Use 5% as a guideline, not a rule. When times are tough be there for the organizations that you financially support, even if it means that you are spending over 5%. Foundations do not exists to make sure that they continue to exists. Their donors got a tax break to have a positive impact on our communities.

Collaborate with other foundations to achieve impact. This is not a time for us to go at this alone. Turf battles are so 2008, so find some foundations with a common vision and figure out how you can coordinate your funding for maximum impact.

Think about your non-financial resources that would be useful to your nonprofit partners. Things like lobbyists, communications expertise, space, or information. Find new ways to get these resources to nonprofits.

Release your staff from the 9 to 5. I’ve never been a fan of arbitrary time schedules that don’t match employee or community needs. Now is the time to figure out how to realign your foundation to measure results and not just hours clocked.

They say people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. As a new foundation head, I’m working on implementing all of these ideas in my foundation. It isn’t easy, but it’s necessary.

What other things would you like to see foundations implement in 2009?

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