PNW News

Filter results by:

Topic(s)

PNW News

Never Stop Learning: An Integral Approach to Continuous Education

October 2016 |

Everyone experiences feelings of professional disappointment sometimes. In September, I had to miss Philanthropy Northwest’s 2016 conference in Montana, after months of working with the team to help put it together. When I heard our staff’s stories and saw the photos, I felt I had fallen behind on my philanthropy learning curve — and missed a a lot of fun celebrating our 40th anniversary! But I had a very good reason: I was getting my long-awaited master’s degree in psychology. Growing up in Russia with Lenin's ideology of “Learn, Learn, Learn” hanging on a poster in every classroom, I absorbed the importance of a good education from a young age. As an adult, I also think about the importance of an integral education: a comprehensive and continuing process that does not stop at any point in life.

Swimming With the Funders

October 2016 | Philanthropy Northwest

“Hi! I’m a member of Glacier Swim Club. I’m collecting pledges for our annual Aqualaps fundraiser. This year, I’m swimming 200 laps. You can make a lump sum or pledge a certain amount per lap to support the team. If you pledge 1 cent a lap, you'll donate $2, if you pledge 5 cents a lap, you'll donate $10, if you pledge 10 cents a lap, you'll donate $20.” A few weeks ago, this fundraising spiel suddenly popped back into head after a 12-year absence. I had just accepted a position as a program associate of grants and impact at The Alaska Community Foundation after two years at Rasmuson Foundation, most recently as one of Philanthropy Northwest's Momentum Fellows. While I knew aspects of my job would be similar — helping disperse grant money around Alaska — the process would be dramatically different as I shifted from a private foundation to a community one. But it turns out that all those years of fundraising for my youth swim team had sneakily taught me about nonprofits, long before I knew anything about grants strategies and governance structures.

Making Connections, Learning Together

October 2016 | Philanthropy Northwest

From the moment I attended my first Philanthropy Northwest program as a Women’s Funding Alliance staff member in 1997, I have always been personally inspired and professionally improved as a result of time spent connecting and learning with our network. It's so easy, yet also dangerous, to believe our best work is done by working hard and in isolation. We are at our best, as a field and individually, when we take the time to sit with others, learn together, reflect and share with colleagues, mentors and community partners. It may be during a conference plenary or a session when someone else’s story sheds light on one of my own relevant challenges. It may be from side conversation, with someone I’ve known for years or someone I just met, where we trade advice and opinions. Or it may be in stepping back and using reflective practices to unveil what we need to see or know by looking at it “from the balcony.”

Sharpen Your Strategy With DIY Activities

October 2016 | The Giving Practice

When we say “strategic,” what’s the next word that comes to mind? If it’s “planning,” you're like many of our clients. And for many foundation staff and board members, dread is the feeling that follows. It doesn’t have to be that way, however. In consulting with foundations around the Northwest and across the country, we have worked with leaders who are seeing strategy in a new way — as an ongoing practice rather than a discrete planning chore and an opportunity to mobilize continuous curiosity, experiment and learn, and even have some fun. Our new guide contains 10 activities that can help you get there, too.

Bright Horizons for Northwest Philanthropy

October 2016 | Philanthropy Northwest

I’ve been a regular at philanthropy conferences of all sorts for more than 20 years. In all that time, I’ve never participated in a conference that illuminated its guiding themes as successfully as Philanthropy Northwest's Under One Sky conference last month in Missoula. Equity and democracy are profoundly important to me and to the organization I lead, the Northwest Area Foundation. The conference was also special for me because I had the privilege of presenting Philanthropy Northwest’s Mary Helen Moore Ambassador of the Year Award to Natalie Camacho Mendoza, a Boise-based attorney and lifelong advocate for an equitable and forward-looking Idaho, and to welcome three new leaders to Philanthropy Northwest's board, representing The Boeing Company, Northwest Health Foundation and Rasmuson Foundation.

Thrive Washington Announces New CEO

September 2016 |
Thrive Washington’s board of directors has announced that Alan Cohen will lead the state’s public-private partnership for early learning, starting November 7. He succeeds Sam Whiting, who stepped down in May to become director of global corporate citizenship for the Northwest region of The Boeing Company, also a Philanthropy Northwest member organization.

Who Came to Our 2016 Conference: Under One Sky

September 2016 | Philanthropy Northwest

Philanthropists from the Northwest and nationwide flocked to Philanthropy Northwest's annual conference last week. Our conference theme, Under One Sky, reminded us that from Alaska to Wyoming, from urban to rural, we remain connected by a greater purpose: our shared commitment to vibrant, equitable and inclusive communities. Leaders from these organizations joined us for an exciting range of session and learning tours, September 13 to 15 in Missoula, Montana: