This session, which is free to attend, will introduce the Benevon fundraising model for creating sustainable funding for your organization.

By the end of this session, you will have learned:

• A tested system to identify and cultivate donors who love your mission—donors who will give for operations, capital, and endowment.
• How to engage your community in your organization’s mission and to inspire giving.
• How to get started right away to implement mission-focused, permission-based fundraising.

Who Should Attend: Please bring at least two key leaders, including board members, executive director, and development director.

To register visit: http://www.benevon.com/intros/Register-DC.

RSVP Required! Space is Limited.

Questions: Contact Benevon’s Loren Alexanian at 206-428-2150 or loren.alexanian@benevon.com, or Meyer’s Maegan Scott at 202-534-1860 or mscott@meyerfdn.org.

Organization Description: DC Appleseed is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to solving public policy problems facing the National Capital region. The Center’s current projects involve education, public health, economic development, the environment, public safety, fiscal policy, and voting rights. To address these issues, DC Appleseed works in partnership with community leaders, government officials, attorneys, expert consultants, and others, to analyze and develop practical solutions to systemic problems. DC Appleseed has a full-time staff of seven, and a distinguished 30-member board.

Depending on the problem being addressed, DC Appleseed’s projects involve working with broad coalitions, issuing reports, participating in regulatory proceedings, bringing lawsuits, managing public education campaigns, and testifying before governmental decision-makers. DC Appleseed receives financial and in-kind support from local and national foundations, corporations, law firms, and individuals.
Applicants are encouraged to visit www.dcappleseed.org to read more about DC Appleseed’s current projects.

Job Summary: The Legal Program Associate works closely with other DC Appleseed staff members to coordinate and advance DC Appleseed projects, recruit and supervise law school interns, and assist with some administrative duties. The Legal Program Associate will work with senior staff, Board members, pro bono attorneys, coalition partners on the following DC Appleseed projects: DC Voting Rights, CareFirst Reform, DC Attorney General Election Issues, Children’s Health, HIV/AIDS, Anacostia River Restoration, and End of Life Care. Opportunities will likely arise to work on other DC Appleseed projects. Generally, responsibilities on projects include:
 legal and policy research and analysis;
 participating in interviews with project stakeholders;
 meeting regularly with staff and project team members;
 recruiting, working with, and supervising interns;
 assisting with the writing, editing, and production of reports, public testimony, and legislative recommendations;
 tracking federal and District legislation and rulemaking;
 monitoring and participating in local advocacy coalitions;
 preparing written and oral reports for the DC Appleseed Board of Directors; and
 participating in the preparation of grant applications and reports.

Minimum Requirements:
* J.D. or equivalent degree, plus 2-3 years of public policy experience
* Excellent legal research, writing, and communication skills
* Experience working in busy, deadline-oriented, high pressure environment
* Experience as a supervisor and/or mentor in a professional or other setting
* Ability to work independently and as part of a team
* Superior attention to detail
* Interest in local public policy and advocacy and/or knowledge of District government highly desirable

Compensation: Commensurate with experience plus excellent benefit package.

Target Start Date: March 2012

High standards but informal environment. Email cover letter (with salary requirements), resume, three references, and two BRIEF writing samples (one legal writing sample and one non-legal, policy-focused sample) to info@dcappleseed.org. Deadline: February 24, 2012.

The 2010 census data has made one thing clear: the demographics of our region are changing fast.

If you think this sounds boring, you haven’t heard Jim Johnson. Evaluations from other presentations describe him as “smart, energetic, challenging, and funny.” And with the changes that are underway in our region, we all need to pay attention. Trust us: Dr. Johnson WILL get your attention.

Disruptive Demographics: Challenges and Opportunities for the Greater Washington Region’s Philanthropic Community is a follow-up to Dr. Johnson’s talk at WRAG’s 2011 annual meeting. This time, he will delve more deeply into the 2010 census data to explore the impact of demographic changes on our region, and highlight how the funding and nonprofit community can effectively respond to ensure that the needs of everyone in the region are met.

Cost:
WRAG members: free
Non-member grantmakers and nonprofit organizations: $40

REGISTER HERE.

This is the first session in Brightest Minds: A Colloquium Series in Celebration of WRAG’s 20th Anniversary.
www.washingtongrantmakers.org/brightestminds

Nonprofit leaders gain the inner strength, vision, and skillful action to advance their mission and to make our communities and world stronger and healthier. Learn more here.

The Leadership Sanctuary…

• Supports and connects nonprofit leaders who are on the front line of social change,
• Advances leaders’ capacity to boldly lead with agility and build a powerful peer community,
• Builds alignment to advance the mission of organizations and to provide stronger, more focused leadership.

Our goal is to generate leaders who achieve sustainable and effective results that have positive and long lasting outcomes for their organizations and the nonprofit sector.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation seeks an accomplished Vice President for the Center for Effective Family Services and Systems to join one of the nation’s most influential and respected foundations. The VP for the Center for Effective Family Services and Systems will be a member of the Foundation’s Senior Leadership Team and will be expected to contribute to the overall strategic management of the Foundation. The position reports to the President of the Foundation.

The VP for the Center for Effective Family Services and Systems will be responsible for managing more than 35 grant-making staff and will collaborate with the Vice President, Executive Director of Casey Family Services, who provides direction to approximately 260 direct services staff. The Center’s annual budget is in excess of $64 million. The Center for Effective Family Services and Systems aligns and integrates Casey Family Services’ direct service operations, the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative, system reform work, human service system consulting work, and efforts to influence practice and policy in the public and nonprofit human services sectors (especially in child welfare and juvenile justice). Staff associated with the Center are organized within working groups that work closely together: the Child Welfare Strategy Group, the Juvenile Justice Strategy Group, and the Evidence-Based Practice Group, as well as the Policy Research and Communications Group.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced professional to build on the foundation’s ground-breaking work.

AECF is a private charitable foundation committed to disadvantaged children and their families. With a culture that is both, result and data driven, Casey’s work influences the highest level of the public policy discussions on fundamental issues that face impoverished families, their neighborhoods and the country at large. It is widely acknowledged as one of the most effective, influential and well run philanthropies in America.

Founded in 1948 by UPS cofounder Jim Casey, it is now one of the largest private foundations in the world and the largest foundation focused on the welfare of children. With assets of more than $2.5 billion, it makes over $160 million in grants each year.

The Vice President for the Center for Effective Family Services & Systems (CEFSS) is a member of the senior leadership team and is directly responsible for the CEFSS agenda and those activities and strategies directly associated with the established agenda. The Vice President for CEFSS also participates in the coordination of work across the Foundation to assure maximum compatibility and effectiveness. The Vice President of CFESS plays a primary role in establishing and promoting integration between the direct services arm and the grant making arm of the Foundation and will also lead our child welfare, juvenile justice and evidence-based practice work.

Reporting Responsibilities:
• Reports to: President
• Supervisory Responsibilities: Vice President/Executive Director, CFS; Directors, Senior Associates, Administrative Associates, Program Assistants and Administrative Professionals

Position Responsibilities
1. Provide ongoing oversight of the Center for Effective Family Services and Systems which includes: direct services (Casey Family Services), the Child Welfare Strategy Group, the Juvenile Justice Strategy Group, Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative and the Evidence-Based Strategy Group.

2. Provide supervision and direction to all Directors throughout the Center for Effective Family Services and Systems.

3. In collaboration with the Vice President, Executive Director of Casey Family Services sets direction for the operation of Casey Family Services.

4. Assure ongoing collaboration is achieved between the direct services arm and the grant making arm as well as across all aspects of the Foundation’s work.

5. Provide leadership and direction in setting the overall goals and strategies within the Center and to advance new and innovative ideas.

6. Provide the overall guidance and recommendations for developing new strands of work and stay abreast of cutting edge/best practices as they relate to informing the next generation of the Center’s work

7. Ensure integration of system reform perspectives and strategies in the development and implementation of Casey’s place based work.

8. Be the lead spokesperson for the Center and its work.

9. Develop and promote an advocacy and policy agenda.

10. Ensure alignment in the principles, priorities and practices within the various components of the Center.

11. Develop and strengthen partnerships with key stakeholders across the country.

12. Advise the President on agenda setting for the Board of Trustees in regard to the CEFSS.

13. Staff the Committee on Effective Family Services and Systems for the AECF Board of Trustee.

14. Direct and manage the Center on Effective Family Services and Systems Board of Advisors.
Roles and Responsibilities as a Member of the Senior Leadership Team

This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in one of the nation’s most important civic institutions and to engage in substantive system and practice reform. The position calls for confidence and creative vision, strengths in outreach and collaboration, outstanding communication and managerial skills, and a demonstrated commitment to the foundation’s mission and role narrowing the gap for the country’s most disadvantaged children and families.

The Vice President is expected to take calculated risks while protecting the foundation’s reputation and be skilled at navigating complexity, while balancing ambition and humility to achieve the results Casey aspires.

While no one candidate will embody all of them, the successful candidate will bring many of the following professional qualifications, competencies and personal qualities:

Knowledge and Experience
• A national reputation for producing tangible, durable and sustainable results across human services.

• Demonstrated success in creating and leading innovation within human services and an appetite for always looking for the next best idea.

• Significant work experience within city, state or federal human services agencies or large human service nonprofits.

• Experience using data and metrics for evidence-based decision-making and for evaluating the outcomes of specific investment strategies.

• Demonstrated ability to accountably manage a multi-million dollar budget and contribute to responsible oversight of a large endowment.

• A significant aptitude and imagination to understand and respond to the implications of emerging technologies for Casey’s work.

• Demonstrated understanding of the implications to “scale”, that is, how to take good work to a scale big enough to make a difference nationally.

Values
• A deep commitment and experience in shaping how human capital progress can be enhanced in all levels of system improvements, particularly in child welfare and juvenile justice.

• An understanding of the impact of race, class, culture and language on family success and a commitment to reducing racial disparities that negatively impact disadvantaged children and families .

• An appreciation and respect for the importance of resident participation in community change initiatives.

• A thorough comfort with and appreciation for diversity, equity and inclusion.

• Openness to new ideas; a creative and innovative mind energetically searching for new ideas and solutions.

• A temperamental readiness to embrace complexity; to set ambitious goals; and to take intelligent risks.

Style
• Ability to advocate and negotiate for achieving human service objectives in complicated and often politically-charged reform projects with multiple and frequently contending stakeholders and significant economic constraints.

• An internal management style that emphasizes the primacy of mission, the sharing of credit, and clear accountability for results. A comfort with an inclusive, non-hierarchical, and cooperative organizational culture.

• An ability to identify, attract, lead, inspire and manage very talented staff.

• Strong ability to listen, learn, motivate and teach.

• An ability to convey powerfully and persuasively Casey’s ideas, experience, values and strategies to diverse influential audiences; a public communication style that emphasizes what “we” think, rather than who “I” am.

• A pragmatic, open-minded, “what works” decision-making style that values evidence, measurement and consensus building over ideology or partisan motives. Capacity to find common ground/shared values in group processes.

• An appreciation for the importance of integration and synergy (i.e., the whole is greater than the sum of its parts) in both Casey’s “thinking” and its organizational management.

• Decisiveness.

This position also requires excellent and demonstrated oral and written communication skills as well as a willingness to travel.

For more information, contact Maxine Norris, at mnorris@aecf.org or visit the Annie E. Casey Foundation website, www.aecf.org, Job Opportunities.

Mission Statement
“The primary mission of the Annie E. Casey Foundation is to foster public policies, human-service reforms, and community supports that more effectively meet the needs of today’s vulnerable children and families. In pursuit of this goal, the Foundation provides services and makes grants that help states, cities, and neighborhoods fashion more innovative, cost-effective responses to these needs.”

The Foundation’s investments in each of these areas are evaluated against clear goals and measured results, performance outcomes and return on investment.

Founding and History
The Annie E. Casey Foundation was established in 1948 by United Parcel Service (UPS) cofounder Jim Casey and his siblings George, Harry, and Marguerite and named in honor of their mother, who had struggled to raise them as a young widow. The story of AECF is deeply intertwined with the personal narrative of Jim Casey and also continues to be interlinked with the history and culture of UPS. A majority of the Board has some connection to UPS, and it is the tradition that the outgoing chair of the Board of UPS serves as the Chair of the AECF Board. The Foundation is imbued with good management practices and favors programs with practical measurable results.

For about the first 20 years of its existence, the Foundation was a small operation primarily funding a camp for disadvantaged children near the Casey family home in Seattle. By the mid-1960s, when Jim Casey gave up his administrative responsibilities as Chief Executive Officer of UPS, he turned his attention to reshaping the focus of the Foundation. He decided to launch Casey Family Programs, an independent operating foundation headquartered in Seattle, which provides direct services to foster youth and families and today more broadly promotes improvements in child welfare practice and policy.

UPS moved its headquarters to the East coast, and under Jim Casey’s guidance, the Foundation developed similar programs to provide long-term foster care in New England that later became Casey Family Services, operating today as the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s frontline service agency, providing foster care and permanency services to hundreds of children and families across New England and in Maryland. Today, the Casey Family Programs and the Annie E. Casey Foundation operate as distinct, independent foundations.

Upon his death in 1983, Jim Casey bequeathed a substantial amount to the Annie E. Casey Foundation and AECF became one of the largest philanthropies in the country working on issues of disadvantaged children and youth. The Foundation’s newly enlarged endowment was reserved for the purpose of making grants to organizations, agencies, and systems across the country that could substantially help disadvantaged kids.

Governance and Organization
The Casey Foundation is governed by a 14-member Board of Trustees, which oversees the Foundation’s management, operations, and grant making. The Board is composed largely but not exclusively of individuals with ties to UPS.

AECF employs more than 470 personnel; with more than 55% providing direct services in New England and Baltimore and approximately 45% supporting the grant-making work of the Foundation. The Foundation’s headquarters are located in Baltimore, Maryland.

Casey Initiatives
At its core, Casey’s brand of philanthropy is centered on the principle of credible, data-driven analysis. Fueled by the growth of the Foundation’s resources, over the past two decades, Casey significantly expanded the scope of its work to areas which suggested the largest return on investment in terms of improving the welfare of disadvantaged children.
The Foundation has a simple mission, but it has come to understand that good intentions and fine practice are rarely sufficient. There are approximately 480,000 children in foster care in the United States, every one of them at risk and each day more appear. They come from fragile families and neighborhoods. Large state-wide systems of child welfare and juvenile justice intervene regularly with the best of intentions.
Over the years, recognizing the complexity of the problem, Casey has carefully expanded its portfolio to address the challenges of families residing in communities of concentrated poverty through six key areas: (1) designing and delivering model services aimed at securing and sustaining lifelong family connections for foster children and youth; (2) advocating for public human service systems that operate effectively and efficiently to support children and strengthen families; (3) expanding social and economic security for low–income families, especially those in poor communities; (4) gathering and promoting the use of data as a tool for accountability and change; (5) transforming economically and socially depressed communities into family-supporting environments and (6) developing leaders with the ability to transform public systems and lead major community change initiatives.

Additional information about AECF initiatives can be found at www.aecf.org

950 Independence Avenue SW
Take Metro (Blue or Orange lines)
to Smithsonian station
For more information, contact
africanartevents@si.edu or 202.633.4651

emcee Cortney Hicks
MAJIC 102.3
singer, rapper, songwriter Naomi Achu

Supported by Thompson, Cobb, Bazilio & Associates, PC and Toni Ritzenberg
T I C K E T S
$25 advance online purchase only
{ africa.si.edu/underground }
★One free drink with ticket purchase★
Must be 21 to be admitted—
no exceptions!
{ IDs will be checked at the door }
For complete list of activities, visit
africa.si.edu/underground
DJ Natty Boom

In celebration of women in
African & African American
history & culture

F E A T U R I N G
emcee Cortney Hicks
MAJIC 102.3
•
DJ Natty Boom
•
singer, rapper, songwriter
Naomi Achu
H I G H L I G H T S I N C L U D E
spoken word performances
•
african weaving workshop
•
henna tattooing
•
music & dancing
•
african &
african american food

Smithsonian National Museum of African Art

Excellent opportunity to support the Foundation’s overall goal to Move the Needle on poverty and opportunity in the state of Arkansas. The Senior Program Associate for Education and Community Change is the primary staff person responsible for helping the foundation proactively identify and support system reform opportunities to increase education attainment and strengthen communities across the state. The Senior Program Associate will work with the senior leadership and program teams to create and manage a two pronged philanthropic strategy that:

· stimulates efforts to ensure that Arkansas improves its education outcomes
· supports comprehensive community change

The successful candidate will have a Master’s degree, with at least ten years of experience that demonstrates an understanding of education policy, community development strategies, and the intersection between the two; further graduate training is preferred. Previous experience in the nonprofit sector is desirable as is experience in public policy reform and/or organizational capacity building. Previous grantmaking experience or experience with foundations is useful, but not necessary.

Please visit www.wrfoundation.org for the full position description and more information on the Foundation.

Apply with a cover letter, resume, references, and a one-page writing sample in WORD or PDF format by close of business on February 20, 2012. Applications should be directed to Rachel Rosenberg, Program Assistant: Rrosenberg@wrfoundation.org – please put Senior Program Associate in the subject line.

You can apply online by clicking here.

The ACF scholarship deadline for the September 2012- June 2013 academic year is February 24th, 2012. There is only one application that needs to be submitted to apply for all scholarships. Please forward to anyone you know that may be interested in applying for an ACF scholarship.

For more information please contact Firman Nor at (703)243-4785 or email fnor@arlcf.org.

]]> http://www.bpallianceblog.org/2012/02/opportunity-arlington-community-foundation-college-scholarship-application-available-online/feed/ 0 http://www.bpallianceblog.org/2012/02/bpa-seeks-nominations-to-board-of-directors/ http://www.bpallianceblog.org/2012/02/bpa-seeks-nominations-to-board-of-directors/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:54:28 +0000 BPA http://www.bpallianceblog.org/?p=1357 BPA is looking for a few good individuals to serve on our board of directors.

Each year, BPA members in good standing elect individuals to serve on the board, BPA’s policy-making body. About the board:

• The board consists of the chair, secretary, treasurer, and a minimum of three and a maximum of seven additional directors.
• Members of the board may only be elected for two (2) two-year terms.
• The board meets at least three times during the year.
• Board committees include executive, membership, program, and finance.

Current members of the board of directors and their terms of service include:

Edward Jones, Chair (2009-2011)
Glen O’Gilvie, Vice Chair (2010-2012)
Omar Woodard, Secretary (2010-2012)
Kensei Phillips, Treasurer (2010-2012)
Laura Chambers (2010-2012)
Bomani Johnson (2010-2012)
Miyesha Perry Chappell (Ex-Officio)

There are four vacancies on the board of directors. We are seeking individuals to fill those vacancies.

Nominations are now being accepted. If you are interested in serving on the board please send your resume and bio to Jacquelyn L. Lendsey at director@blackphilanthropicalliance.orgby Sunday, February 5. The election will take place electronically from February 8 through February 10.

More than 80 BPA members, supporters, and guests kicked off BPA’s 10th anniversary year on January 9 with a screening and discussion of The MLK Streets Project at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre. The film chronicled what students from DC high schools discovered when they traveled to 12 US cities to walk down the streets named for Dr.King and talk to the people who live and work there. As part of the youth program A Nu View, sponsored by the nonprofit peace organization One Common Unity and the film production company Straight, No Chaser, the students set out to make a film about what they learned.

“My students call MLK [Ave.] in Washington, DC the Harvard of the ‘hood,” said panelist Ray Bell Jr., director of the HOPE Project, which trains young people for technology jobs, and enlists its students to do community service in and around the neighborhood bisected by DC’s Martin Luther King Ave. His students also engage in weekly community service projects, working with seniors and ex-offenders.

Other panelists included professor, editor, and radio host Dr. Jared Ball; Rain Pryor, director, actor, stand-up comedian and educator; Terri Freeman, President/CEO of the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region; and Joseph Speight, Principal at Friendship Southeast Elementary Academy.

Pryor narrated the film, and told the audience that unearthing the history and “truth about MLK and these streets can change your destiny. The beauty of this film is the sense of community” it engendered and the conversation it sparks.

Freeman explained that she “grew up on a street in Chicago that became MLK Drive.” She emphasized the importance of helping young people make the connection between the history of the streets where they live and their responsibility to continue the legacy of Dr. King.

Another highlight of the event was the presence of Jonathan Tilove, author of Along Martin Luther King: Travels on Black America’s Main Street, which served as the catalyst for the film. As Tilove wrote in the book, “Many black people have moved beyond the neighborhoods through which King runs, but few live beyond the reach of the sounds, sentiments, and stories rooted on King. These are streets united by struggle and circumstance, by history and happenstance. One King street leads to the next and the next and back again. For many whites, a street sign that says Martin Luther King tells them they are lost. For many blacks, a street sign that says Martin Luther King tells them they are found.”