Getting it Done
A Sessions: Friday, November 7 – 10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
A3 Prudent Investments: How to Manage in Volatile Times
Bill Healy and Alexandre Legault, McLean Budden
Gord MacDougall, Vancouver Foundation
Pierre Courcy, Fondation Communautaire du grand Quebec
As the difficult market conditions of the last year have resulted in generally poor portfolio performance, foundations finances are dealing with varying degrees of stress with respect to their grant-making ability. Four experienced investment professionals who work with, contribute to or chair the investment committees of some of Canada’s leading community foundations will each present their views on the topic and take part in a subsequent panel discussion addressing questions from the audience.
A4 High Impact Donor Engagement
Clare Brooks, Community Foundation Network, U.K.
Barbara McInnes, Community Foundation of Ottawa
Bibi Patel, Community Foundation of Ottawa
This moderated panel presentation will share advances in the migration from low impact, transactional-based donor services to high impact transformational donor engagement. In a recent survey, donors to the Community Foundation of Ottawa reported a 100% rate of satisfaction. We’ll find out what lies behind this and will learn about the new ways in which community foundations in the UK are working with donors.
A5 Communication and Marketing Excellence on a Shoestring Budget
Pearl McElfish, Northwest Arkansas Community Foundation
Many small and mid-sized community foundations do not have a dedicated communications professional, and the duties are assigned to staff who have other primary duties. This does not have to result in reduced quality of external communications. Participants of this session will learn where your marketing dollars will be most effective and how to craft a consistent public message with limited resources. They will also learn how to effectively work with the media and improve media relationships with a limited amount of time.
A6 Vital Signs: How this quality of life snapshot is making an impact on our foundations, communities, and movement.
Sara Lyons, Community Foundations of Canada
Tracy Van Kalsbeek, The Kitchener and Waterloo Community Foundation
Lucia Delagnello, Instituto Comunitário Grande Florianópolis (ICom) Brazil
This session will focus on the early learning and impact of Vital Signs, an annual, data-based, quality of life assessment program in which sixteen Canadian community foundations are currently participating. Specifically, the session will focus and reflect on three themes: What have we learned from the community engagement processes at the local level? How are community foundations and their respective communities using Vital Signs as a tool for change? And finally, what have been the shared dynamics, benefits and challenges of the program amongst participating foundations, as coordinated centrally by CFC?
B Sessions: Saturday, November 8 – 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
B3 Role Dilemmas Explored: Generating New Insights into Difficult Conversations
Jan Jaffe, Grantcraft, New York City
Experienced and new grantmakers alike can easily find themselves in complex and ambiguous situations with their grantees or their foundations. Learn more about how to use role concepts to improve the dynamics at play and move toward a better outcome. Whether it's saying No to a grant seeker expecting to hear Yes, offering constructive criticism, or introducing new ideas within one's own organization, even the most experienced grant makers can struggle to sustain the focus and creativity they need to be effective.
B4 Measure your Manager: Are you getting your money’s worth from your investment manager?
Brian Toller and Margot Sunter, Community Foundation of Ottawa;
Frank Belvedere, Mercer Investment Consulting
This session will draw on the experience from the perspective of staff, investment committee chair and professional advisors to understand how they measure the performance of their investment managers and not just when times are tough. Topics will include hiring, reviewing and dismissing managers, as well as the importance of investment policy development and review.
B5 Taming Technology: Tools for Targeting Your Audience and Serving Your Stakeholders Online.
Laurie Murray, The Calgary Foundation
Catherine Clement, Vancouver Foundation
Today’s increasing dependency on technology demands that community foundations integrate an electronic component into their existing services and communications in order to meet stakeholder expectations. But the choices can be overwhelming. We’ll explore different options and different levels of online services, from donor relations and event management to online grantmaking. This session will focus on tools to research what your stakeholders want, deliver your targeted message through market segmentation and communicate with your donors online.
C Sessions: Saturday, November 8 – 2:45 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
C3 Enhancing Board Effectiveness: It’s an ongoing journey
L.Robin Cardozo, Ontario Trillium Foundation
Helen Burstyn, Ontario Trillium Foundation
Faye Wightman, Vancouver Foundation
Board Member, Vancouver Foundation
Creating change in the boardroom is a rich and enlightening journey. It demands focus, extraordinary energy and continuous effort to raise the bar of effective Board governance. Meaningful change requires time, trust and goodwill. Board composition and capabilities, group dynamics, board structure and the relationship with the CEO all contribute to a Board’s effectiveness. Join the leaders of two of Canada's largest foundations as they share their journeys on the road to enhanced governance.
C4 Beyond ‘Best Kept Secret’: Unleashing The Power Of Your Brand
Anne-Marie McElrone, Community Foundations of Canada
Kerry Longpré, The Calgary Foundation
David Kenworthy, Community Foundation Network, U.K.
Is your community foundation tired of being referred to as the community’s ‘best kept secret?’ Then join us for a fun and informative session about how branding is positioning community foundations for success on the local and national stage. Whether you realize it or not, your community foundation already has a brand. This session will help you explore, understand and rethink that identity. Learn more about Community Foundations of Canada’s year-long process to differentiate itself on the national stage. Hear from a community foundation that embarked on its own branding process and lived to tell the tale. Share your own stories as well.
C5 CRA Update: Fundraising Guidelines, Funding Non-Qualified Donees, Policies on Charitable Activities, and New Gifts
Susan Manwaring and Kate Lazier, Miller Thomson LLP
This session will address: 1.) The recently published CRA Fundraising Guidelines and what they might mean for your organization and the organizations you support; 2.) Commonly used structures for funding programs that may be carried out by organizations in your communities or elsewhere that are not registered charities or qualified donees; 3.) Recent CRA releases on what is charitable, including comments on sport, research, umbrella organizations and the use of volunteers; and 4.) New gift structures – how they can be used effectively by your community foundation.
C6 Insights from The 2008 Global Status Report on Community Foundations
Marissa Camacho, Worldwide Initiatives for Grantmaker Support (WINGS), Manilla, Philippines
This report provides a full picture of the breadth and depth of the community foundation movement around the world including where community foundations are developing and their impact on their communities. An international panel will discuss the lessons learned, and the opportunities and challenges facing the world-wide community foundation sector.
D Sessions: Sunday, November 9 – 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
D2 Actually, we do know better! Foundation Directed Initiatives at ECF
Martin Garber-Conrad, Edmonton Community Foundation
The Edmonton Community Foundation has recently developed Foundation Directed Initiatives, an innovative approach to providing ongoing, sustainable funding to local charities, projects, and collaborative initiatives. By proactively identifying recipients based on their history and capacity – and by considering pressing community issues and needs – ECF has reduced or eliminated the application/reporting process, freeing organizations to conduct their work to improve the community.
D3 Sustainability of Community Foundations: A new perspective on an ever-present challenge
Liz Palmieri, Niagara Community Foundation
Increasing awareness in philanthropy has lead to the rapid growth in the community foundation movement over the past 10 years. But one of the overarching issues impacting this growth is sustainability. In this session participants will develop a broader understanding of sustainability, how strategic decisions impact the foundation’s growth over the short and long term, and when to say “no” to a particular course of action, community initiative, or even a particular type of fund. Participants will be grouped by stage of foundation development for round table discussion, and practical strategies for building capacity towards sustainability will be shared.
D4 Working With Media: Does It Have To Be A Love / Hate Relationship?
LuAnn Lovlin, The Winnipeg Foundation
Amanda St. Pierre, Grand Rapids Community Foundation
Shannon Drew-Burrows, The Victoria Foundation
Can the media and the not-for-profit sector really be soul mates? Is philanthropy just the latest trendy topic or how do we truly meet, date and settle in for a meaningful partnership? Every successful relationship takes work and our media partners are no exception. Overview, discussion and exchange of practical strategies, tips and ideas, along with workable examples to help inspire your initiatives.