Philanthropy Front and Center-Cleveland

Through the Next Gen Lens - National Philanthropy Day

(This post is from Kari Mirkin, program assistant at the Foundation Center-Cleveland, her first for Philanthropy Front and Center-Cleveland.)

The Greater Cleveland chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals recently held its 25th annual National Philanthropy Day celebration, welcoming more than 700 area nonprofit professionals to Signature at La Centre in Westlake for networking, educational sessions, and most importantly, lunch! I joined Cindy Bailie, Foundation Center-Cleveland director, in representing our organization as vendors at the event. Our booth was situated among several other vendor stations, each vying for the attention of attendees as they walked to and from their various activities. It seemed to me that most who passed our booth were already familiar with the Foundation Center and our services. I even noticed a few of our “regulars” in the crowd!

As we walked into the banquet hall for the lunch and awards ceremony, I sensed that, with only one year of nonprofit work under my belt, I was a fairly small fish in a very big pond. Hundreds of veterans were seated around us, representing some of the area’s most well-known and well-respected organizations. The awards were handed out among applause from the crowd and everyone joined together in good spirit, despite the tough economic times surrounding us and the uncertainty of how foundations, corporations and individual donors will react in the months (and possibly years) to come. The awards ceremony didn’t really focus on the fundraising profession at all.  In fact, it was more a celebration of philanthropy and the opportunity the philanthropic spirit provides to connect people who can give to the causes they care about. Maybe that’s why the phrase “financial crisis” was noticeably absent that day. Philanthropy is a long-standing tradition that is definitely going to weather this economic storm as it has in the past, and while the future may witness an increasingly competitive edge among fundraisers nationwide, National Philanthropy Day reminded me that raising money isn’t just about the money.

--Kari Mirkin

Did you attend a National Philanthropy Day celebration for the first time?  Tell us what you thought by leaving a comment.

This Week at the Foundation Center (November 24 - 28)

Classes:

Tuesday, November 25:

10 am - 11:30 pm: Proposal Writing Basics.
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm: Proposal Budgeting Basics.
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm: Introduction to Foundation Directory Online.

Library:

Use Foundation Directory Online, borrow books, and get reference help free of charge with no appointment necessary.

Hours:

Monday, 12:00-4:30 pm
Tuesday, 9:30 - 4:30 pm
Wednesday 9:30 - 1:00 pm LIBRARY CLOSES at 1 pm for Thanksgiving Holiday
Thursday,  LIBRARY CLOSED for Thanksgiving Holiday
Friday - LIBRARY CLOSED for Thanksgiving Holiday

Use Foundation Directory Online, borrow books, and get reference help free of charge with no appointment necessary.

Hours:

Monday, 12:00-4:30 pm
Tuesday, 9:30 - 4:30 pm
Wednesday 9:30 - 1:00 pm LIBRARY CLOSES at 1 pm for Thanksgiving Holiday
Thursday,  LIBRARY CLOSED for Thanksgiving Holiday
Friday - LIBRARY CLOSED for Thanksgiving Holiday

Nonprofit Spotlight: Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center

Occasionally, the Foundation Center-Cleveland shines a spotlight on a nonprofit organization at work in our region. This time our spotlight shines on Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center.

Organization Name: Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center
Year Founded: 1921
Contact: Dr. Bernard P. Henri, Executive Director
Address: 11206 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44106
Phone: (216) 231-8787
Fax: (216) 231-7141
URL: www.clevelandhearingandspeech.org
Email: bphenri@chsc.org

Mission:
Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center’s mission is to serve, advocate for, and empower individuals with diverse communication abilities and to increase public awareness and sensitivity about hearing loss, deafness, speech-language and related literacy issues.

Background:
Founded in 1921, Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center is Northeast Ohio’s only non-profit agency dedicated to helping individuals gain or regain their ability to communicate with others and live more independently.

The organization was established under the guidance of Helen Newell Garfield, daughter-in-law of President James Garfield. As a young woman, Mrs. Garfield began losing her hearing and became proficient at lip reading in order to communicate with her family and friends. Eventually she started a school called the "Cleveland Association for the Hard of Hearing" with the simple mission of “providing lip reading classes for adults who are deaf or hard of hearing.” In 1945, this organization and the speech clinic at Western Reserve University (now Case Western Reserve University) merged to create a new institution, the Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center.

Today, the Center employs 50 professionals -- audiologists, sign language interpreters, speech language pathologists, outreach specialists, and administrative staff  -- at the Center’s headquarters in University Circle and three branch offices in South Euclid, Broadview Heights, and Lorain. Each year, over 10,000 children and adults are served by the Center.

Current Programs:
The Center’s four principal program areas are Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology, Community Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and the Regional Infant Hearing Program.  The Center serves the community through outreach/education programs, support groups, and student training.  All programs serve as many people as possible regardless of their ability to pay. 

Funding Needs:
On an ongoing basis, the Center depends on philanthropic support to fill funding gaps in all program areas.

Would you like to have your organization spotlighted? Following the above format, send your spotlight to David Holmes.

This Week at the Foundation Center (November 17 - 21)

Classes:

Wednesday, November 19: 6:00-7:15 pm:  Grantseeking Basics at Westlake Porter Public Library.

Thursday, November 20: 10:00-11:30 am:  Before You Seek A Grant: A Checklist for New Nonprofits.

Library:

Use Foundation Directory Online, borrow books, get reference help free of charge with no appointment necessary.

Hours:

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 12:00-4:30 pm; Tuesday, Thursday, 9:30 am-4:30 pm.

Use Foundation Directory Online, borrow books, get reference help free of charge with no appointment necessary.

Hours:

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 12:00-4:30 pm; Tuesday, Thursday, 9:30 am-4:30 pm.

Ohio Grantmakers Forum: Annual Nonprofit Luncheon and Economic Downturn Town Hall Meeting

(This post is from Beth Gaglione, Director of Development, University Settlement. It's her first for Philanthropy Front and Center Cleveland.)

I attended Ohio Grantmakers Forum's luncheon program and town hall meeting (10/29/08) to hear about the state of philanthropy from the people who are making decisions about current and future giving. Just two things keynote speaker Perla Ni, Great Nonprofits, said during her presentation really resonated with me. Waning are the days of expensive printed annual reports and special events that take up valuable staff time and result in next to nothing. As nonprofit administrators, we must get smarter.

Maybe more beneficial than the luncheon address was the after-lunch discussion that gave nonprofit administrators a chance to talk to each other about how they are managing now and planning for next year, in light of economic challenges that continue to present themselves. What I heard was a lot of what I’ve heard before like, collaborate more; tighten your belts; and stick closely to mission. Now is the time to stick with a game plan that has proven itself and that works. As fundraisers, instead of looking for new foundation donors to fill in the gaps that will inevitably be left by those who tighten their purse strings, we must look at this time as an opportunity to develop better relationships with the people whose attention we already have.      

But I also heard discussion about the possibility of tailoring new service delivery methods for “new clients” who might be overcome with pride to access them in the traditional way. Attempting to do this at a time of such critical need for so many felt like an affront to those of us trying to do less with more in the most efficient and creative ways possible, providing as much as we can to as many as we can. Instead of creating new service delivery methods that meet the needs of the new client, why not make our proven methods better for all clients? I cannot imagine that many foundations would be interested in testing a new method for getting the same service to client “a” that already reaches client “b” just fine. We all need to adjust a bit in tough times. 

At University Settlement, we are planning the best ways to serve our clients in these tough times. We are talking a great deal about self-sufficiency and what it will take to survive, not just as an agency, but also what it will take for our clients to survive.

This Week at the Foundation Center (November 10 - 14)

Classes:

Tuesday, November 11: 9 am - 4 pm: Outcome Thinking and Management at the Cleveland Foundation, Steven A. Minter Conference Center.

Wednesday, November 12:
11 am - 1 pm: How to Approach a Foundation at Dayton Metro Library.
6 pm - 7:30 pm: Proposal Writing Basics.

Friday, November 14:
10 am - 12 pm: Grantseeking Basics with a Special Introduction to the Foundation Center website.
1 pm - 2 pm: Introduction to Corporate Giving.

Library:

Use Foundation Directory Online, borrow books, get reference help free of charge with no appointment necessary.

Hours:

Monday and Friday, 12:00-4:30 pm; Tuesday, Thursday, 9:30 am-4:30 pm. Wednesday, 12:00-8:00 pm.

Use Foundation Directory Online, borrow books, get reference help free of charge with no appointment necessary.

Hours:

Monday and Friday, 12:00-4:30 pm; Tuesday, Thursday, 9:30 am-4:30 pm. Wednesday, 12:00-8:00 pm.

Listen to This! The Economic Downturn, Entrepreneurship, and Foundation Giving for Economic Development

Deborah Hoover, president of the Burton D. Morgan Foundation discusses the foundation's mission to support the free enterprise system through philanthropic investments in entrepreneurship and shares information about how this type of giving is contributing to a renewed economy in Northeast Ohio, while pointing to support of entrepreneurship as one way that foundations might participate directly in an economic turnaround. Listen!

Making History

As Mitch Nauffts succinctly put it at our big-sister blog PhilanTopic:

Wow!

President-elect Barack Obama:

This Week at the Foundation Center (November 3 - 7)

Classes:
Wednesday, November 5: 
9 am - 4 pm, Proposal Budgeting Workshop in Detroit, Michigan.
10:30 am - 12 pm: Introduction to Fundraising Planning at Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County.
6 pm - 7 pm: Introduction to the Foundation Directory Online at Foundation Center-Cleveland.

Thursday, November 6:  
6:30 pm - 7: 45 pm  Introduction to Fundraising Planning at the Junior League House at Case Western Reserve University.

Friday, November 7: 
9 am - 4 pm, Proposal Writing Seminar in East Lansing, Michigan.

Library:  
Use Foundation Directory Online, borrow books, get reference help free of charge with no appointment necessary. 
Hours: Monday and Friday, 12:00-4:30 pm; Tuesday, Thursday, 9:30 am-4:30 pm. Wednesday, 12:00-8:00 pm.