From: https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2015/03/04/the-face-of-nonprofit-boards-a-network-problem/?

Within BoardSource’s 2014 Governance Index, “Leading with Intent,” there lies an interesting paradox when it comes to board diversity. Forty-five percent of the boards and 69 percent of the CEOs surveyed are dissatisfied with their board’s diversity. Not only that, but 71 percent of boards and 75 percent of CEOs think a more diverse board would make them better at fulfilling their mission. To continue...

From: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/01/04/what-money-can-buy-profiles-larissa-macfarquhar

The urge to change the world is normally thwarted by a near-insurmountable barricade of obstacles: failure of imagination, failure of courage, bad governments, bad planning, incompetence, corruption, fecklessness, the laws of nations, the laws of physics, the weight of history, inertia of all sorts, psychological unsuitability on the part of the would-be changer, the resistance of people who would lose from the change, the resistance of people who would benefit from it, the seduction of activities other than world-changing, lack of practical knowledge, lack of political skill, and lack of money. Lack of money is a stubborn obstacle, but not as hopelessly unyielding as some of the others, and so would-be world-changers often set out to overcome it. Some try to raise money, but that can be depressing and futile. Others try to make money, but it’s hard to make enough. There is a third, more reliable way to overcome this obstacle, however, and that is to give away money that has already been made by somebody else, and has already been allocated to world-changing purposes. This is the way of the grant-makers of the Ford Foundation... continues

Greetings To All,

Another New Year is upon us. I had a difficult time as to a great sentiment for this new year. So I settled upon  these three which I hope all will enjoy.

To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.

                                                                   Henri Bergson

“ ... above all things lose no occasion of exercising your dispositions to be grateful to be generous, to be charitable, to be humane, to be true... ”    

                                                                       THOMAS JEFFERSON

Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come.

                                                                   Alfred Lord Tennyson

All the very best to everyone in this New Year,

Patricia Illingworth

Applications are being accepted for The Community Foundation's 2016 Neighborhood Leadership Program.

The Neighborhood Leadership Program is an eight month training and grant program that supports community leaders in imagining, developing, testing and realizing projects which build community and provide positive outcomes in New Haven neighborhoods and contiguous towns.

If you are a resident of New Haven (or contiguous towns) who has demonstrated commitment to making a positive difference through resident engagement, and if you are eager to build skills, develop your capacity to increase your impact, and engage with other leaders in learning, practice, and project execution, you should apply to this program.

You will learn the skills and practices of:

• appreciating and using your personal strengths and core values
• building relational culture in your community and with other leaders
• understanding the resources and challenges involved in creating the community you want
• creating and using a group of allies to support you in your work
• designing and implementing a pilot project that will positively impact your community
• learning from your pilot how to modify or scale up your project
• developing and managing the human and material resources you need to produce effective positive impact

The Deadline to apply is Tuesday, January 19, 2016 at Noon. Visit http://ow.ly/Wc50i for more information and to apply.

The Quinnipiac River Fund, a component fund of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, makes grants for projects designed to benefit the environmental quality of the Quinnipiac River, the New Haven Harbor, and surrounding watersheds.

Applications are reviewed to verify:

• The need addressed in the proposal and other past or ongoing attempts to meet it;

• The degree of benefit to the Quinnipiac River;

• The expected results;

• The adequacy of the proposed action to the named problem.

Approximately $100,000 in grants is awarded each spring from the Fund.

The deadline to submit grant applications for the 2016 grants cycle is January 15, 2016. Click here to complete an online application.

Contact Denise Canning at dcanning@cfgnh.org or 203-777-7076 for more information.

More than forty years after Dr. King asked, “Where do we go from here?” American society is still grappling with the question.

From Chicago to Minneapolis to Baltimore, our nation is in the midst of a defining moment of racial, social, and economic change. For communities of color, this moment is particularly stark and has been magnified by the courageous #BlackLivesMatter movement, which emerged in response to a long history of police violence and criminal injustice against black men and women.

Social justice, racial equity, and systems change are critical for today's black men and boys, particularly given the barriers... more.

The Campaign for Black Male Achievement (CBMA) is a national membership network that seeks to ensure the growth, sustainability, and impact of leaders and organizations committed to improving the life outcomes of Black men and boys. CBMA is a growing network that currently includes more than 4,720 leaders representing nearly 2,577 organizations and programs across the country.For more information

You have some money and want to make more. Right?  Sure you do.  But you also care about the world around you and want to make a difference.  What to do?

Jean Case has an answer: impact investing. Case was an executive at AOL and today she leads the Case Foundation, which promotes the power of investing to drive social change.  Case explains how you can start impact investing — and change the world while you make money.

What is impact investing, and why is it important?...

In the US, there are three distinct structures that to a stronger or lessor degree serve the citizens: public, corporate, and nonprofit. Each can affect the other in a number of ways recognizing that the public and corporate may have, through money, more of, but not exclusively, an impact on the other.

There has become more recently a clear recognition that nonprofits, (501(c) 3s in particular could and should exert their own strengths to influence what happens in the public sector while recognizing that a good number of nonprofits also serve as extensions of the will of the public. These have grants or contracts sometimes which represent a majority of their income.

So, it is not surprising that there are moments when the public sector, or more specifically, public sector characters, may no like what a nonprofit sector entity has done and consequentially, take away the "people's" money. One might of course question the sense of a nonprofit whose sustainability strategy includes more than 1/3 of its money relying on public funds but let's not make that the focus of today's discussion.

No, the real focus of today''s discussion is the situation going-on in Maine whereby the Governor, according to the Portland Press Herald, has " threatened to pull state funding from Good Will-Hinckley – a social service agency that serves at-risk youth with programs that include a charter school – if it didn’t get rid of its new executive director, Democratic House Speaker Mark Eves." One legislator when asked about the situation states: “This stuff does happen, said Rep. Deb Sanderson, R-Chelsea, a member of the Government Oversight Committee. “There’s strong-arming that goes on. Politics is dirty. At least he has the guts to go out and say it.”

So...right or wrong? Should the cost of doing business with the state be that contract arrangements are always at political risk should the nonprofit "misbehave" according to the contractor? Note by-the-way that I'm not stating that the nonprofit in question did anything that should put its money in jeopardy. I believe that the only consideration as to go-no go funding should be ouputs and outcomes. Did the nonprofit do what it said it would do (and if not, why not) and did the nonprofit achieve the results it intended? These in my opinion SHOULD be the criteria for go-no go funding (aside from the typical public sector budget issues).

What we don't know in Maine and what should be the focus of the conversation is indeed the rate of performance by the nonprofit in question. And yes, at least according to the Governor, the nonprofit is not doing everything the way the Governor would like. But here's where the nonprofit's board could exert its own political strengths and ensure that the Governor is held back from doing what he's attempting to do - contract in the weeds versus outputs and outcomes. This is where a nonprofit board and its members should "step-up" and make its voices loud and clear at two levels. It must tell the story of outcomes and effectiveness and move other legislators and the public to ensure that contracting is not a political whimsy activity.

Nope, I'm not thinking the Governor is doing "right" in stepping into a contractural relationship and while I don't have enough information, I am hoping that the board is doing more right and stepping-up as advocates of good process as well as good information to ensure that their good work is continued.

CTC is seeking nominations for the 2016 class of Women of Innovation! Submit a nomination today.

Who is eligible?
Any woman who is a successful innovator or leader in science, technology, engineering or math. Also any woman who has shown leadership in her community. Students at the high school and collegiate levels are eligible as well. 

When to nominate?
The nomination deadline is January 29 so hurry and nominate today. 

Learn More

The human mind is crazy!  I went from sitting on my couch laughing internally over an old Martin Lawrence show to listening to a sales pitch from Tony Little (the fitness guru) on a live QVC pillow sale, and before I knew it I  had my phone in my hand with the number dialed.  Anyway, the Martin Lawrence show had a particular character that I took notice of, “Tommy”.  I am pretty sure throughout the entire length of the series you never knew what he did for a living. Tommy was always dressed nice, new clothes, accessories and was always the one with cash.  The rest of the cast would always try to find out where, when, and how he got what he had.  That entire piece of his character’s backstory remained a mystery, but everyone on the show agreed he was somehow “successful”. 

Success, what is success?  How is it measured? Who measures it?  This became my mind’s newest obsession.  Unlike other topics, I could not get my mind off these questions.  That being said, I did what any educated and modern American would do when faced with an instant craving for information…I GOOGLED it.  “Success  definition”

suc·cess-/səkˈses/-

noun: success; plural noun: successes

the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.

“the president had some success in restoring confidence”

synonyms: favorable outcome, successfulness, successful result, triumph; Hollywood ending

antonyms: failure

the attainment of popularity or profit.

“the success of his play”

synonyms: prosperity, affluence, wealth, riches, opulence

antonyms: poverty

a person or thing that achieves desired aims or attains prosperity.

“I must make a success of my business”

synonyms: triumph, bestseller, blockbuster, sellout; More

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=success+definition

Much like the majority of society, I scanned through the top three results.  I was left with lingering questions.  Success is defined as someone who achieves desired aims, popularity, or profit.  Still, who is the one to say that is the true definition of success?  I know I have a lot of questions and not many answers, but I can provide a personal view point towards these definitions as well as give input on how success is measured and who measures success.

See, in today’s day and age many feel like they’re living their life “under a microscope”. We feel constantly in front of the world and easily susceptible to judgment thanks to social media and mass marketing.  The measure of success is portrayed, publicized, and sold in very specific ways.  This is similar to an individual struggling with their body image, always comparing themselves to others or unrealistic photo-shopped versions of celebrities.  People are quick to over analyze their own level of “success” and compare their own accomplishments to others.  This mindset will never lead to overall fulfilment rather an individual will be stuck on a never ending ladder of disappointments, because even if one reaches a specific goal it is never good enough.  Now you may say that never settling and striving for better results is an excellent way to progress.  If we were speaking in general terms you are correct but I’m not.  See, if you are able to take a step back and realize where you were and how far you have come and celebrate your accomplishments, then that would be an acceptable manner in which one would continually strive for a goal.

Unfortunately, many people have a hard time recognizing and promoting all the achievements they have reached over time and instead harp on what they have not accomplished.  I am speaking from experience because at times I tend to struggle with this myself.  As an individual with a noticeable disability I found myself comparing my circumstances to others from the get-go.  From youth to adulthood I was always complaining internally “Why didn’t I this”,” Why don’t I that.”  Specifically when it came to school and not being up to par with my peers.  School never came easy.  It took me so long to graduate college that there should be the title Dr. or “Rocket Scientist” before my name.   For years I watched my friends and acquaintances graduating and landing jobs with money.  The kind of money that got you out of your parent’s house, which was, of course, where I was at that time and an obvious area that I consistently compared to my peers!

Society absolutely factors money as a measure of one’s “success” and if you refer back to my in depth investigative GOOGLE search, one of the definitions referred to the amount of profit that one attains as a direct driver of “success.”  My mind bought in to that definition and led me to obsess over the need for a more “successful job”.  This continued up until a few years ago, I was so preoccupied with not having the “successful job” that it hindered me from realizing yet again what I had.  This kept me from realizing the opportunities within my own employer.  A lot of people do this, we need instant gratification and when it’s not provided we look elsewhere for it.

A few years ago, while temporarily employed, I sat on my parents couch surfing the World Wide Web for a more “successful” job.  I applied for a position with Ability Beyond in Bethel, CT.  Ability Beyond is an Organization that provides resources for individuals of all levels of (dis) abilities so that they may attain personalized independence.  My initial role was within one of many of those resource groups known as Career Development.  This is where we worked with clients to build upon their personal strength’s and enhance their weaknesses so that they become better equipped to land a career position in a role they would enjoy excelling at.  My case load of clients loved me, my colleagues respected me, my manager was always there to provide constructive criticism and most importantly, I was getting my clients jobs.  You would think that finally one would be happy, but as a very short time passed I began to slip back to my negative outlook at where I was in my life.  I was not making enough money, and all I had in my head was that GOOGLE definition and how money is the driver towards ultimate “success.”

As I plugged along in my position, internally lost, I worked face to face with clients of all ages, status levels, education levels and abilities.  One day out of nowhere it just hit me.  It was like I had finally GOOGLED the definition and answer to my life!  For months I sat across from individuals who met with me for assistance and guidance on how to make personalized improvement and as I educated them, they were educating me. 

Success is not something that anyone can measure with definitive accuracy, because a true definition of success is personalized.  It is not something that is searched for and found, it is created.  In the past when I was harping over what others were doing in life. I was only focusing on tangible items that society marked as status symbols and not actually questioning if obtaining those things would truly make me feel fulfilled. When I was not satisfied with earlier jobs I was quick to think that the only logical solution was to search elsewhere for “success”.  You have to evaluate what you yourself view as a successful goal and create attainable milestones.  As you reach each milestone celebrate it and cherish your accomplishments.  This will provide momentum and help you to realize that you are much further from where you were and even that much closer to where you strive to be.  This is easy to write, but not easy to maintain.  I find myself slipping up from time to time, but with practice and redirection it could be the difference between a life of fruitless outcomes and a life of promise and progression.

I began to practice what I preached, and within less than three years I had three new roles within Ability Beyond.  I could not be more thankful for this organization assisting me in my personal and professional growth.  In my current role as Founder of Talk the Walk I provide strategic resources for school systems, companies, and communities to attain all-inclusive environments.  This ranges from enrichment programs to strategic initiative development.  These initiatives are customized, and implemented to complement the overall needs of our clients.  We shift company and community cultures while generating return-on-investment, and increasing efficiency throughout, resulting in a boost in employee/community morale.  Our overall goal for each client that we work with is for them to realize there is always Ability beyond disability.  As a result they can enjoy a self-sustaining disability and inclusion initiative that becomes engrained in their company and community culture.  Every capable and qualified individual willing to work should be provided an opportunity to showcase their ability.  Everyone deserves to create their own definition of success!

Blurb about the writer:  Richard James Luby, an individual with Cerebral Palsy, is a proud member of the (dis)abled community.  He began to recognize that a disability is not a disadvantage, it’s a gift.  He utilizes his gifts to advocate, educate, build and unite all individuals so that they have the tools to realize their potential, internally and externally.  He promotes personal growth through his loud, in your face, outgoing, yet comforting characteristics

                                                                  Attention Community Leaders!

Register now for the next Neighborhood Leadership Program Orientation session on Monday December 7th!

The Neighborhood Leadership Program is an eight month training and grant program that supports community leaders in imagining, developing, testing and realizing projects which build community and provide positive outcomes in New Haven neighborhoods and contiguous towns. Join us to learn more!

December 7, 2015

5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven

Community Meeting Rm, 3rd Floor

70 Audubon Street, New Haven CT

Directions

Light dinner will be served.

If you are a resident of New Haven (or contiguous towns) who has demonstrated commitment to making a positive difference through resident engagement, and if you are eager to build skills, develop your capacity to increase your impact, and engage with other leaders in learning, practice, and project execution, you should apply to this program.

Click here for additional details about the eligibility criteria for participation in this program.

Please Register by December 5, 2015
  

If you have questions or concerns, please contact Lee Cruz at lcruz@cfgnh.org or call 203-777-7074.