Tell us a bit about your professional background, and what led you to Fund the People.
Rusty Stahl (RS): I came into the field through a year-long fellowship at Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy. Ever since that experience, I’ve been thinking about how the sector could do a better job of increasing awareness and recruitment of diverse young Americans into nonprofit careers.
Read MoreI was excited when a colleague told me about her idea for a grant program to help retiring baby boomer executive directors of nonprofits transition out of their roles and into consulting positions at other nonprofits. I thought this was genius.
Read MoreAbout two years ago, the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation had a chance to rethink both what we do and how we do it. We adjusted our giving programs—painfully letting go of important issues and organizations with the belief that we could do more for New York City with a more focused giving strategy.
Read MoreHere at the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation we support leadership development as an equity strategy. It is work that I believe in deeply, but at the same time – in my understanding of leadership development, it has become more and more clear to me that not everyone should be a leader.
Read MoreI’m happy to announce that there’s a new New York City Leadership and Professional Development Directory.When I began writing this blog post to share the news, I wasn’t sure where I would begin—but ultimately decided to tell my story first.
Read MoreWe were pleased to sit down with Deborah Meehan and Ericka Stallings, Co-Executive Directors of our grantee partner Leadership Learning Community (LLC). Deborah founded LLC 20 years ago, and Ericka just joined her at the helm earlier this year. Together they bring thought-provoking perspectives on leadership development, networks, and embracing an evolving style of management within their own organization. The interview has been edited and condensed.
Read MoreAbout a year and a half ago the Foundation began a journey to explore the answer to an intriguing question: What happens when you bring together a group of action-oriented systems leaders from multiple sectors, each of whom has an ability to influence and move resources, build their trust and capacity to work across difference, and provide space and support for them to think of powerful ways to collaborate to improve economic mobility at the intersection of racial equity?
Read MoreI often draw the parallel of a leadership development program being like boot camp, an apprenticeship, a practicum or exposure. To me, completing the program is not the end, it’s actually the beginning.
Read MoreAs with every young organization, we are making some mistakes as we grow. By acknowledging and reflecting upon them, we hope to avoid making similar oversights in the future.
Read MoreWhen North Star Fund started 40 years ago, our founders wanted to shift power dynamics in philanthropy. They didn’t want to continue the tradition of wealthy white folks making grantmaking decisions. Our grantmaking decisions are made by a group of volunteer grantmakers who are working on the front lines in the communities where we fund – organizers and activists that understand the day-to-day realities our grantees are facing.
Read MoreWhat is our responsibility as storytellers? As a filmmaker and the Communications Manager at the New York Foundation, it is my job to create content that moves people. I often engage with communities of color that have endured historical injustices and have dealt with the repercussions of structural oppression.
Read MoreI have an aversion to the phrase “best practice,” because it connotes that there is an optimal way to do something. It’s as if a lab has tested all the possibilities and has anointed a winner. It discourages thinking in different ways. And, in reality, these ideas are only ‘best’ until something better comes along.
Read MoreIn my almost-30 years as a youth worker, program director, consultant, board member, executive director, and now as a funder, I have always had a special interest in ‘worst practices.’ In professional settings, I have long been willing to share my successes – or ‘best practices’ – with colleagues.
Read MoreMy colleague Lisa Cowan revels in drawing on “worst practices” as a way for us to learn and improve the ways in which we work at the Foundation, from operations and administration to grantmaking. So we have been quite excited on more than one occasion when we have we happened upon funder “fail fests,” where our colleagues promise to describe mistakes and consequences.
Read MoreIt’s important for us to approach our work with the understanding that it’s the Foundation’s job to get to know prospective grantees, and not theirs to educate us. They’ve got important work to do. And so do we.
Read MoreI was at an engaging talk this past weekend that reminded me why effective communication must be at the core of our work at the foundation. The talk topic was ‘How to use behavioral economics to shape food policy and make choices of what to put in our bodies.’ Some of the ideas that were discussed are common here in New York City: taxing sugar-laden beverages and providing calorie information on menus. But one research study grabbed my attention (I know, it may not sound that exciting, but stick with me here!).
Read MoreLast weekend I took a yoga class near my home in Brooklyn. The fit and kind young yoga instructor started the class by interpreting some of the dharma. Now to be honest, I usually zone out during this part–I have a hard time taking ancient wisdom from 23-year-olds. But this time the message permeated a bit as the instructor talked about the Bhagavadgita, the Hindu text which speaks about giving:
Read MoreTwo weeks ago, we invited the program directors from our New York City grantee partner organizations to join us on a retreat. Our plan is to do this annually, so that our partners get to know each other’s programs and build community. This part of our work falls under the Trust-Based Philanthropy principle of providing “Support Beyond the Check.” We also think of thought partnership, support around leadership transition, introductions to potential funders or allies, and lending our offices for off-site meetings as ways we support grantee partners beyond the check – some of them more helpful than others.
Read MoreTwo year ago, we launched a new grantmaking area here at Robert Sterling Clark—we now fund network and leadership development programs. As we developed this new grantmaking area, we also implemented a new way to evaluate our grantmaking. We asked each of our grantee partners to complete a self-assessment tool to help us understand the progress they were making with our support.
Read MoreI started my career as a grant writer for a small nonprofit organization in Boston. I remember how strange the grant-seeking process seemed to me then– I would write some things down and put it all in an envelope (this was pre-email—use your imagination).
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