Today, the Headwaters Foundation, Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, and The Whitman Institute announce the launch of the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project, a five-year, peer-to-peer funder initiative with the goal of bringing greater vulnerability, transparency, and humility to philanthropy.
Read MoreOver the last two years the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation has launched a network, grown our grantmaking, joined several national funding collaboratives, been a founding member of the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project, created an evaluation system, redecorated our office, brought on new board members, updated our website and started a blog.
Read More‘Tis the season…to be on the move. It’s that time of year when so many of us travel to be with our families and friends for the holidays.
Read MoreOne of the core tenets of the Schusterman Fellowship, a program for leaders creating meaningful change in the Jewish community, is that for participants to develop as leaders, they need to feel a deep sense of trust with others in their cohort.
Read MoreWe’re excited to announce today the newest Sterling Network Fellows. The Sterling Network was launched in October 2017 to build a network of systems leaders, working together to enhance economic mobility across New York City.
Read MoreRecently we have been starting our meetings with potential grantee partners by talking about where the Foundation’s money comes from. And a lot of it, you’ll be surprised to learn, has to do with…sewing machines!
Read MoreWhere we left off in Part 1, I told you about the design of the Flexible Funding Impact Survey (FFIS) LINK used to test where grantee partners invested RSCF general operating grant dollars—and how those investments impacted their organization capacities. Today, I’m diving into our findings. I am pleased to report that…
Read MoreI’ll never forget the day I secured my first general operating grant.
I was a young, over-my-head development director for an immigrant rights nonprofit, and yes, we partied hard once we received the news.
Read MoreThe world is experiencing profound and rapid change. To keep pace with the growing complexity of our planet, the way we work together must change as well.
Read MoreWhat makes for great relationships between funders and their nonprofit partners? We at The Whitman Institute (TWI) have always believed that it starts with respect, authenticity, and honesty across power differentials in ways that build trust over time.
Read MoreHot enough for you? We are having a typical sweaty summer here in New York City – on a recent July weekend the temperature hit 100 both days, and most of my conversations have been about how miserably hot and humid it is, or else about the movies I’ve seen to escape into air-conditioned darkness.
Read MoreTell 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.
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