Best Of
Re: How are YOU Working Smarter Not Harder? Let's Learn Together!
One of the most important lessons I have learned during my career is the importance of being intentional about everything that I say "yes" to and to everything that I say "no" to. This has been a hard one for me to master - and I'm still working on it! Maybe you can relate? 😉 The key thing to remember that every time you say "yes" to something new, you are unintentionally saying "no" to something else on your plate - which is okay, as long as you do it with intention.
This terrific article, "Saying Yes to Saying No", from the Harvard Business Review shares some helpful insight into this strategy:
One of my favorite takeaways is to "Make 'no' your default answer." The author suggests creating a few criteria that a new opportunity or invitation must meet in order to move from a 'no' to a 'yes'. Two other key ideas from the articles are to set your intentions and prioritize your commitments. It sounds like a good way to start off 2023, doesn't it?
How do you say "yes" to saying "no"?
#worksmarternotharder
Does anyone have experience with non-competitive grant models?
Hello everyone! As grant makers and funders, I'm sure we've all had our moments of wishing that we could fund all of the amazing projects that we have the privilege of reviewing. One of my Board Members recently expressed frustration with the number of applicants we have to turn away due to lack of funds, and posed the question "what if we could give a little bit to everyone?"
While divvying up our funding pool equally between all applicants isn't feasible, her question got me thinking about non competitive grant models, or models where all eligible applicants get offered at lease a base amount of funding. A Google search on the topic didn't return many results, so I'm turning to this excellent community for further insight.
Does anyone here have experience with this type of "fund everyone" or non competitive grant models?
Crescendo
Crescendo was recommended in one of the webinars late last year and we are looking for feedback on their services. Also does anyone have any other recommendations for marketing materials like Crescendo?
We are looking for help with creating content for newsletters, email blasts, etc.
Thanks!
Jennifer Brambley
Closing a fund in an invested pool/strategy
1) What are your procedures for closing a fund that is currently in an investment pool?
2) Do you have a policy that explicitly states these procedures that the fund holder receives/signs off on as part of the onboarding process (i.e. Fund Agreement and/or Terms & Conditions)? If so, could you please share?
Our current practice is to 1) Clearly communicate with the fund holder that closing a fund comes in two separate distributions. The first distribution represents the majority of the fund balance and would be distributed ASAP. 2) On the first of the following month, disable “Revenue Share” to stop allocating them investment earnings. 3) The second and final distribution would happen the following month after the current month's earnings have been calculated and final monthly admin fee assessed.
The Achilles heel to this approach is that our investment earnings are received monthly (usually around the 10th of the month), and the fund holder would therefore be “out of the market” for ~ two weeks before all of its monies are received. We realize that some agencies may not be happy about that.
Must read books for Community Foundation professionals!
I'm building out my 2023 book list and would like to sprinkle in some "must-reads" for community foundation/nonprofit professionals. What are your recommendations?
Medical School Scholarship?
Hi everyone:
Do any of your organizations offer scholarships for medical school students? A donor would like to establish a non-endowed scholarship fund with us for this purpose and wants it to be impactful. I know med school is an expensive proposition, so what amount would make an impact? What is the payment schedule, i.e., multi-year, renewable, or one-time? If it's renewable, what criteria (such as minimum GPA) do you require? Where do you promote the opportunity? We don't have a medical school within our geography, so I expect significant outreach will be necessary.
Most of our scholarships are for graduating high school seniors, so any information about your medical school scholarship is appreciated!
Thank you,
Dara
