Fieldstone Foundation: Executive Learning Group

Today I had the opportunity to meet Janine Mason, Executive Director of the Fieldstone Foundation. The Fieldstone Foundation's mission is to provide grants, leadership development, and service to non-profit organizations working to support people in our communities.

The Executive Learning Group is a series of monthly one-day seminars over a six-month period, a select group of executives learn state-of-the-art nonprofit management models as they work through specific problems and issues of their own. Guided by an organizational specialist, the Executive Learning Group provides the rare opportunity for nonprofit leaders to meet in a confidential and supportive environment. In this atmosphere of trust, they are able to overcome their sense of isolation and discover new resources in shared experiences and directed learning modules. Topics covered include the seven S's of effective organizations, effective group problem solving approaches, and how to build a learning organization.

Each fast-moving seminar is broken into five sessions:

• The presentation of a current problem by two members, which the group will work to clarify and then to develop solutions.
• Discussion of the real-world effectiveness of solutions worked out at the previous meeting.
• A resource sharing period, the results of which are compiled in a take-home resource guide.
• A presentation and discussion by the facilitator or another expert on a particular management model or topic requested by the group.
• A group evaluation of the day and how the group can improve its usefulness to one another.

The cost is $350 per person, with all other costs underwritten by The Fieldstone Foundation. Each Learning Group is selected from among the applicants to achieve a balance among size of organization and individual experience. Groups are formed annually. Available in Orange County and San Diego Counties in Southern California, and in Salt Lake City, Utah.

If you would like to participate in the program or have any questions, please contact Robin Stropko or click here to Request additional information.

This is an OUTSTANDING opportunity for emerging leaders in the nonprofit sector here in San Diego and the application for 2009 is now open. We at YNPN San Diego encourage members to contact the Fieldstone Foundation for more details!

Heather Carpenter and the San Diego Giving Report

CONGRATULATIONS to YNPN San Diego's own Heather Carpenter for her outstanding job on the innovative San Diego Grantmaking Report. This morning USD filled an auditorium with people representing private and community foundations, corporate philanthropists, nonprofits and more to learn about the results of this incredible research.

Heather was one of the authors in the research and focused primarily on the corporate giving section. We encourage you all to read and share the report which can be found at the San Diego Grantmakers website and to learn more about Heather below! As the Vice Chair and one of YNPN San Diego's founding board members, Heather demonstrates outstanding leadership both for YNPN San Diego and other nonprofit organizations around the community, the state, and the country. Make sure to meet her at one of our upcoming networking events.

Heather Carpenter, M.M.N.A., has served as a Nonprofit Manager, Consultant, Speaker and Trainer to nonprofit organizations in California and Illinois for over 7 years. She earned her Masters of Management in Nonprofit Administration from North Park University in Chicago, Illinois. Heather is currently pursuing her PhD in Leadership at the University of San Diego and serves as a Research Assistant in the Caster Family Center for Nonprofit Research. Heather has authored several practical Nonprofit Management Toolkits and blogs about Nonprofit Leadership at:
http://www.nonprofitleadership601.blogspot.com

YNPN SD Membership Committee positions open!

Caitlyn McTaggart is one of the founding board members of YNPN San Diego and is now the chair of the Membership Committee. Read below for exciting details about the future efforts of this great committee!!

From Caitlyn...

Have you ever wondered how you can give back to your community, while simultaneously networking with your peers and ensuring that the needs of San Diego’s young nonprofit professionals are fulfilled? If so, we have a great opportunity for you.

YNPN San Diego is embarking on a very exciting venture—the development of its Membership Committee. As the Chair of the Membership Committee, I strongly believe that the success of YNPN San Diego is ultimately dependent on the size and diversity of our membership base. Since becoming an YNPN San Diego board member four months ago, I have seen time and time again the potential of YNPN San Diego to impact the lives of hundreds of nonprofit professionals throughout the community through networking, career and professional development opportunities. However, the key to making this kind of impact upon the community is having a strong membership base. That is why at YNPN San Diego, membership is our top priority.

The responsibilities of the Membership Committee offer committee members great diversity in projects to get involved with, as well as the opportunity to directly impact our members and the community at large. The YNPN San Diego Membership Committee will not only oversee member relations, but will be responsible for the chapter’s fundraising, technology and marketing activities, as well. A few of the exciting projects we will be working on include, but are not limited to:

• Creating and maintaining various vehicles by which to enhance communication with our members, such as a brochure, quarterly newsletters and weekly blog postings.
• Developing a marketing strategy for YNPN San Diego to ensure that we are effectively reaching potential members.
• Developing fundraising strategies including sponsor benefit levels for organizations interested in partnering with YNPN San Diego.
• Planning and implementing an annual membership appreciation event, by which to recognize and appreciate our members.

Although this Committee is tasked with many projects, it will undoubtedly be a fun and exciting opportunity that you will NOT want to miss out on! The time commitment is minimal, particularly when compared to the impact that you will have on the nonprofit community here in San Diego.

So far I have recruited a small handful of people to help with the committee, but I need MANY more members to ensure that our member communication, fundraising and technology efforts are as effective as possible. I encourage each of you to consider making a difference in the community and joining the Membership Committee today!

If you are interested, or would like additional information about the Membership Committee, please visit the YNPN San Diego website to see the full Membership Committee description and fill out a committee application

OR contact YNPN San Diego at sandiego@ynpn.org.

Creating a Community Centered Organization

I took a community organizing course this summer taught by Mike Eikler, Director of Consensus Organizing Center at San Diego State University and who wrote the book Consensus Organizing Building Communities of Mutual Self Interest.

My project for the class was with the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network San Diego. My parter for the class project was Luanne, Executive Director of the Japanese Friendship Garden San Diego.

Luanne and I were interesting in finding out: "What does it mean to run a community centered organization that meets the needs of our members?"

In order to answer this question we engaged in the consensus organizing process. First, we interviewed the board members of YNPN to find out their capacities, self-interests and needs.

The top four capacities and self-interests were:

• Fundraising abilities and other nonprofit management capabilities.
  
• Representing nonprofits that have a variety of connections and collaborations within the nonprofit community and beyond.
  
• Networking with other nonprofit professionals even competitors.
• Meeting with other nonprofit professionals on a regular basis to discover potential resources and skills to serve their own organizations and the community more effectively.
  

The top four common needs were:

• Technology
• Personal Communications and Marketing skills
  
• Wellness
• Working with Seasoned Nonprofit Professionals/Mentors

Then based on those capacities, self-interests and needs, Luanne and I interviewed people and organizations in the community that we thought might be able to meet the specific needs of young professionals--listed above. When we spoke to these individuals and organizations our goal was to find mutually beneficial scenarios and potential partnerships. It was amazing how many organizations are interested in partnering with YNPN San Diego!

In conclusion, our recommendations to YNPN were to fully utilize the Capacities, Capabilities, and Connections of YNPN members as well as create mutually benefical partnerships in the community.

So, last night at our board meeting we formed a partnership committee that will be figuring out the process and structure for engaging in these potential new partnerships in mutually benefical scenarios. Our goal is to not create YNPN in a silo, but to involve the community every step of the process. I think we are on our way!

What are some ways do you think we can continue to create a community centered organization? Do you have specific capacities, self-interests, and needs you would like to share?

This blog post was originally posted on Nonprofit Leadership 601.

Membership Survey and Pictures!

The YNPN San Diego Meet and Greet last week at Universal Hillcrest was an amazing success!! We have posted the album here to the blog and you can soon find a slideshow on our website - check back soon.

Thank you to all of you who attended - we had nearly 100 attendees and 60 new members!!! YNPN San Diego now has nearly 250 members. YNPN San Diego is spreading like wildfire...we need your help as we grow and you can get involved in a few ways:

1. Take the member survey. Provide us with your thoughts and feedback through our member survey will YNPN San Diego grows to help it make the organization you want it to be!
   
2. Become a committee member! Join one of our exciting committees and help strengthen YNPN San Diego. Find out more on our website.
3. Spread the word. Tell others about YNPN San Diego and encourage them to become a member. Share pictures and tag your friends.
   
4. Participate. Post to our list serv (instructions for list serv postings here), comment on our blog, attend events, and volunteer.

Thanks to everyone for participating in the Meet and Greet and supporting YNPN San Diego. We hope we can continue to be a great network for the San Diego nonprofit community!

Tell us what you thought of the event here. Did you love it? Would you have done something differently? Maybe you made a great connection. Tell us your story by posting a comment here at www.ynpn-sd.blogspot.com.

Meet and Greet Planning from Emily Bhatti

Emily Bhatti, this month's YNPN San Diego Meet and Greet Coordinator and Board Member, has this to say about planning the event TONIGHT! For more information on Emily Bhatti or the Meet and Greet tonight, visit the YNPN San Diego website.

"The program committee for the Meet and Greet has been awesome. It is always a little scary going into a group of people you don't know because you are never sure how things will work. The committee has been full of great ideas and really willing to work. When we started, it seemed like we had so much time to get things done. Then all at once things need to be decided and it got a little hairy. Luckily everything worked out with a great venue. And so far, it looks like we've gotten great response from the nonprofit community! I'm so excited about the event tonight but still a little anxious because it's an event and you never know what will happen."

What are your thoughts, feedback, feedback, or words of encouragement for Emily and the rest of the YNPN San Diego crew? Post them here!

Join YNPN San Diego at the August Meet and Greet!

YNPN San Diego presents:
Meet and Greet on Tuesday, August 12th!

Announcing the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network (YNPN) San Diego Meet and Greet! After the rousing success of our first Meet and Greet in May, YNPN San Diego invites you to join us for another exciting networking opportunity! You will have the chance to connect with professionals in the San Diego nonprofit community while learning about YNPN San Diego. Look for more details on the Evite, YNPN San Diego website, the YNPN San Diego Facebook Group, the YNPN San Diego blog, and the YNPN list serv.

Current list serv members will receive an Evite to the YNPN San Diego Meet and Greet for August 12^th. You are welcome and encouraged to invite more people to this event. Nonprofit professionals of all ages are welcome! The more the merrier! Below are some additional details about the YNPN San Diego Meet and Greet…

Who: Anyone and everyone involved in the nonprofit community, from volunteers to staff to board members- all ages are welcome!

When: Tuesday, August 12^th from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Where:
Universal Hillcrest
1202 University Avenue
San Diego, CA 92103
http://www.universalhillcrest.com

Why: Because you want to connect with nonprofit professionals and volunteers in the San Diego community. This is a great way to meet new friends, learn about other organizations, build alliances, and learn about YNPN SAN DIEGO!

Cost: FREE at the door! There will be a cash and carry bar.

We will also have a drawing for a special gift from YNPN San Diego and one of their partners, so make sure to bring your business card. This event is open to everyone, so please spread the word!

YNPN San Diego services are free to the San Diego nonprofit community, but there are still costs to running this all-volunteer organizations. Please consider making a donation of any size at our event. Suggested donation (optional) is $15. To learn more about our mission, programs, and opportunities, visit www.ynpnsandiego.org.

RSVP to the Evite invitation with complete details and feel free to spread the word. If you have any questions or comments, please email sandiego@ynpn.org.

We hope to see you there!!!

Fiscal Status

Last night I met with our new Treasurer, Jeremiah, to work on establishing the YNPN San Diego fiscal status. Because of the generosity of our donors, we have a number of donations coming in and no non-profit status to offer tax deductible receipts. We are even still establishing a checking account.

YNPN San Diego started only three months ago and has already been spreading like wild fire. We have been able to establish a Board of Directors (not legally binding at this time, but will be in the future) to help share some of the responsibilities of starting up the best practices for YNPN San Diego. We hope that you will all be patient as we catch up to the growth that YNPN San Diego has shown.

As of right now we are examining various opportunities to help us set up as a business - a nonprofit business in the long term and simply a business with a checking account in the short term. We are working on this in three different ways:

1. Establishing an LLC which will allow us to at least open a checking account: This would be a short term solution so that we can then begin to deposit all those generous donations from supporters and effectively track our financials. We hope that you will continue to financial support YNPN San Diego because you all are the people who make this organization possible - cash or in-kind donations are ideal at this time.
   
2. Research a potential fiscal agent/sponsor: With the nonprofit sector being saturated by so many nonprofits there is a need collaborate and to reduce the sheer number of 501(c)3 organizations. YNPN San Diego is looking for potential fiscal agents in the San Diego area, particularly those who have served as fiscal agents in the past. If you know of a potential fiscal agent, please contact us at sandiego@ynpn.org.
   
3. Submit 501c3 papers for review: This process can take any where from 9 -12 months right now with the IRS. While this is the obvious solution to setting up YNPN San Diego it will take a longer time to establish and does not guarantee us 501c3 status. That is, if our application is denied for some reason, we will be back to square one. We hope that in the long run, YNPN San Diego will become an independent 501(c)3 organization.
   

The YNPN San Diego financial team is working with other YNPN chapters around the country to advise on their experiences and best practices. If you know of a potential fiscal agent, other valuable resources, or if you would like to help us establish our fiscal status, please contact us at sandiego@ynpn.org. We'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas, so please post them to our blog!