Best Of
5000 Members: Celebrating the Top 10! 🥳
Happy Wednesday! 😀
In celebration of 5000 members, today we are recognizing the Top 10 most engaged members that have been accumulating hundreds and hundreds of points since joining Compass. In total, these 10 members have accumulated a whopping 3872 points! 🎉
Thank you so much to @JesikaEllis, @CarolReynolds, @JulieKlipp, @LaurelShulman, @RhondaThomson, @hankdrew, @LornaSandberg, @LoriPerkins, @LaurieAbildso, and @MichelleSchneider for continuing to stay engaged throughout your time in Compass!
Be sure to check your email for a surprise treat in the next coming days 🎁!
Disaster Relief Resources
Hello All!
We know the weather events of the past week have been devastating to so many of our clients and their surrounding communities. If you need resources for disaster relief granting checkout our sample application (we can put it directly in your site), the Disaster Philanthropy Playbook, and reach out to our Success Team, Success@foundant.com, so we can support you. If you have a fundraising campaign for your community, please tag @foundant so that we can spread the word on our social media platforms. We want to be here as a resource for you during this difficult time!
Re: Letters of Recommendation (Scholarships)
Hi Elena,
We don't use formal letters of recommendation, however, students are prompted to add two references who will fill out a form on their behalf - this utilizes the third-party question tool. The reference form is 6 questions where they rate the student on a scale of 1-5, then they have the option to leave comments ("Is there anything else you'd like us to know about this applicant?"). This is where references will sometimes paste in a letter of recommendation, but mostly it ends up being a few sentences about the student. I think the typical reference spends about 5-10 minutes filling out the form (which they receive a link to the form in their email). With the scale below, we do tend to see that majority will just give students all 5s, even though it's meant to be "superior", so that's something to consider.
I think what you are considering with a specific prompt/asking a few short questions will help get more specific, helpful responses. Some general ideas I've heard from other scholarship providers are "In what ways does this student demonstrate integrity?" "How have you seen this student grow?" "How does this student interact with their peers?" This is not something we are currently doing, but I think it is an area for us to explore. The biggest thing to consider is what purpose is/was the letter of recommendation serving? Once you answer that, it'll help figure out what seems like the best option for your org.
Here's the ratings form we use.
1 = Below Average, 2 = Average, 3 = Good, 4 = Excellent, 5 = Superior
Dependable (R1)*
Hard Working (R1)*
Meets Challenges (R1)*
Resourceful (R1)*
Sets and Achieves Goals (R1)*
Works Well with Others (R1)*
Good luck, and let us know what you end up doing since I'm curious about this topic too!
Thanks,
Danielle Fleer
Re: How has your foundation managed database functions / jobs internally?
This is just the thread I was looking for! We are also in the process of defining a new "Database Manager" position for our statewide community foundation (current staff of 8). A big part of the job, at least initially, will be data clean up (identifying "hidden" duplicate profiles, creating and managing lists, updating contact information and adding demographic info for active donors). We also want this person to engage in prospect research and wealth screening, as well as assist the development team with the database and admin side of fundraising events. So, not really JUST a database manager! We're open to suggestions on the position title.
If anyone has any job descriptions that sound similar to what I described, would you be willing to share? Thanks!
