$500 EPIP National Conference Scholarships

The EPIP National Conference is taking place in sunny Los Angeles, CA on April 26-28, 2012.

Are you eager to attend the 2012 EPIP National Conference but having difficulty covering your costs? Is your employer able to contribute towards your participation but not 100%?

If you are a dues paying member of EPIP in good standing you are in luck!

Apply to receive up to $500 to cover registration or travel costs by completing a short application here.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and EPIP Institutional Members have priority access to funds. Awards will be granted to Individual and Student Members starting Friday, January 27, 2012.

11/16: Careers in Philanthropy Luncheon featuring Audrey Haberman

Join EPIP Seattle at FareStart on Wednesday, November 16th for our annual "Careers in Philanthropy Luncheon", featuring Audrey Haberman, the new Managing Partner of The Giving Practice and former Executive Director of The Pride Foundation.

Audrey Haberman has happily worked in both nonprofit and philanthropic organizations for over 20 years. She is currently the Managing Partner of The Giving Practice, which is the non-profit consulting arm of Philanthropy Northwest. She servezd for the last 11 years as executive director of the Pride Foundation, which is nationally recognized for its innovative models of philanthropy. Prior to her work with Pride Foundation, she was the Development Director for the Women's Funding Alliance. Audrey is an instructor for Philanthropy Northwest's Best Practices in Grantmaking: Essential Skills and Strategies program.

EPIP Seattle is committed to bringing emerging leaders together with seasoned professionals in our community to learn about their career paths and experiences in the sector. Past speakers in this series have included:

• Richard Woo, CEO of The Russell Family Foundation
• Ann Kelly, Partner, Global Philanthropy Group
• Charles Fields, former Program Officer at the Marguerite Casey Foundation
• Savitha Pathi, former Program Officer at The Seattle Foundation

We are excited to host this luncheon at FareStart, an organization that provides a community that transforms lives by empowering homeless and disadvantaged men, women and families to acheive self-sufficiency through life skills, job training and employment in the food service industry. Over the past 19 years, FareStart has provided opportunities for nearly 5,000 people to transform their lives, while also serving over 4.5 million meals to disadvantaged men, women, and children.

To become a member of EPIP (only $150/year!) and to take advantage of deep discounts on registration fees at both the local and national level, please visit www.epip.org to sign up now!

Making a Living or Making a Life? (wise words from Richard Woo)

Twenty-five emerging practitioners in philanthropy, students, and friends of EPIP gathered on Wednesday, October 25th for an EPIP Seattle "Careers in Philanthropy" luncheon at TASTE at the Seattle Art Museum. Our special guest and speaker was Richard Woo, CEO of The Russell Family Foundation.

Many guests attended the luncheon because they had heard Richard speak in the past and were inspired, were seeking advice and guidance from a seasoned leader in the field, or were curious to find out just how one could make a transition from a sex educator in the Bay Area, to working at the Levi-Strauss Foundation and eventually becoming the Executive Director, to becoming the CEO of a family foundation. All these questions and more were answered in a very candid discussion about Richard's personal and professional journey from Las Banas, California, up the coast to Tacoma, WA.

Richard's personal statement for the EPIP luncheon was to "inspire the next generation of philanthropoids by sharing my personal quirky story". His journey was displayed graphically in the form of a map created by Zac Russell, an intern at The Russell Family Foundation, who is a trained graphic facilitator. Zac and Richard collaborated to create a blank map for each participant at the luncheon to map out their own journey - or rather, a "GPS: Global Personal Search" map.

As we traveled up the coast with Richard, many of the lessons that he learned resonated with me, and mirrored in my own journey through philanthropy. For example, Richard worked for several years in a job that he knew he didn't like: "that is when I learned that my pain tolerance was directly related to my risk tolerance". I have felt the pressure to stay in a job that I knew I didn't enjoy, was no longer able to do well, but stayed because my fear of what was ahead of me. In Richard's words, "Sometimes you have to let go to see what's to come."

If you find yourself in that position, Richard's advice is simple and sound: "Once you figure out what you want to do, you have to tell people. People want to help you and take pride in your success". That was how Richard found himself leaving the Levi-Strauss Foundation and moving to Tacoma, WA to work for a family foundation.

One of the most inspiring parts of the luncheon was when staff members from The Russell Family Foundation shared what is like to work for such an inspiring leader and storyteller. TRFF has a commitment to life-long learning, and staff members are supported, challenged, and celebrated in their growth. "The culture that Richard brings to the foundation is more transparent. We are truly a team. Richard taught me not to hide my mistakes and attempt to look competent if I am struggling".

For more pearls of wisdom from the luncheon, follow @EPIPSeattle on Twitter for a more a real-time recap of the event.

Many thanks to Richard Woo for spending the afternoon with EPIP Seattle, and to the staff members of TRFF for helping to put together such a successful event. If you'd like more information on EPIP Seattle's Careers in Philanthropy luncheons, email epipseattle@gmail.com.

Past speakers have included Ann Kelly of the Global Philanthropy Group and Charles Fields (formerly of the Marguerite Casey Foundation).

Guest Post by Richard Woo: Walking the Labryinth

In preparation for EPIP Seattle's upcoming Careers in Philanthropy luncheon, we are posting blog entries by our guest, Richard Woo, CEO of The Russell Family Foundation. Register now for the 10/27 luncheon - space is limited!

Recently on Whidbey Island, Washington I had occasion to walk a labyrinth carved with stones into a grassy meadow on the grounds of the Whidbey Institute. Here are some reflections from that walking meditation.

As I walked the labyrinth, I noticed I was only able to relax my muscles for two to three steps before becoming aware of the creeping hunch of my shoulders and neck. Again, I would let the muscles drop for a few more steps before unconsciously tensing.

I realized that part of the tension was caused by the weight of my head pitched over my toes concentrating on each footstep through the stone-lined path of the labyrinth. This was how I had walked the labyrinth during my first visit—head down, eyes glued to the path, concentrating on a decidely inner experience.

As an experiment, I lifted my head and cast my eyes out beyond my immediate path to the landscape surrounding the stones. As I did so, I felt the tension lessen in my shoulders. I was less certain of my footsteps but accepted that I could trust my agility to recover from any misstep. With my head raised and eyes aimed far forward, I found myself concentrating on a wider and deeper peripheral view in order to help navigate the foot path. I began taking notice of the bare trees, sloping hill and gray sky around me, rather than the individual stones and trampled grass at my feet.

It struck me that this way of seeing the world was a simple metaphor for two joys in my life: 1) downhill skiing, and 2) my work.

I have skied since my teens and I am still trying to break through to new skill levels. I noticed some time ago that I ski much better when I look my way down the hill with my vision directed 20 feet ahead, rather than nervously watching the front tips of my skis. Watching those ski tips comes from fearing whatever bumps or turns are right under me. This is caused by the occasional uncertainty of my abilities—the kind of tedious micro-managing you might do at work, if you didn’t trust that others could do as well.

But skiing in this micro-managed way is counter productive. The fact is, I am moving so fast downhill that whatever obstacle is at my ski tips is already too far gone to anticipate. It also means I’m not seeing far enough ahead to self-correct for the bump that I actually can do something about. So in fact, keeping a short view is self-defeating, when the broader, long view is what is required. If I ski with the long view and trust that my body and knees will intuitively adjust “up, down or sideways” for what immediately arises, I am better able to cruise the mountain and enjoy the scenery!

Hmmmmm, short view and long view, that brings me to that second joy—my work. While it’s often easy and seductive to surrender to the short view at work such as ticking off boxes from the daily To Do List or scrolling through endless emails—that is the equivalent of “watching my ski tips.” Ultimately, I am better served by the strategic long view. My primary role in the organization is to keep my head up, eyes forward and pay attention to the changing landscape—trusting that my capable colleagues will use their intelligence and agility to negotiate the immediate obstacles and opportunities that arise. With a balanced team approach, the foundation is better able to meet the daily demands of grantmaking, while anticipating the evolution of our communities.

What mysteries are revealed in the labyrinth.

Guest Post by Richard Woo: Placing a Name

Placing a Name

by Richard Woo

As I was preparing to join Bill Ruckelshaus and Daniel Kemmis in the opening plenary of the Philanthropy Northwest Conference about Puget Sound and the importance of place in philanthropy, it occurred to me that part of my own identity was place-based.

I am fourth-generation Chinese American. Being bi-cultural, I have both an English and a Chinese name. Although my parents were humble people, they gave me the bodacious name of Richard, which is derived from the Germanic language and means "powerful leader," as in Richard the King of England. My grandfather chose my Chinese name Woo Gwa Ming. Before I explain that name further, let me share a little about my family history.

My grandfather, Joseph Woo, was an asparagus farmer in the early 1900s in the San Fernando Valley just north of Los Angeles, California. He was the father of 19 children, including my father, William, who was the first born son. My dad often said jokingly that "grandpa had all of us kids to avoid hiring farm workers." In fact at age 17, my father was forced to leave high school before graduating to run my grandfather's cotton farm in rural Central California, 500 hundred miles away. In the 1950s my brother and I were born and raised by our parents, William and Patricia Woo, in that small Central Valley farm town. Oh by the way, I am the first born son.

While I try not to subscribe to the hierarchy attached to one's birth order or gender, there is no denying the influence of those forces in both traditional and contemporary society. So too is the power of place. And therein lies the meaning of my Chinese name, Woo Gwa Ming.

Woo is my last name, which is stated first in identifying oneself. Gwa means "of the country," which was my grandfather's way of placing my name in the context of a farming landscape. Ming translates to "great leader" in Cantonese, the particular Chinese dialect of our family. So my place-based Chinese name is "great leader from the country."

Birth names can be powerful symbols both for the givers and the recipient. Apparently, my ancestors held high expectations for me. While they are no longer here to witness what I am doing with my life, I believe they would appreciate my efforts to live into the name they gave me and the places it’s taken me, including Semiahmoo and the celebration of regional philanthropy.

Careers in Philanthropy: Making a Living or Making a Life?

We invite you to join EPIP Seattle for a "Careers in Philanthropy Luncheon" featuring Richard Woo, CEO of The Russell Family Foundation.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

11:30-1:30pm

TASTE at the Seattle Art Museum

$10 EPIP-members / $30 non-members - click here to register!

"Making a Living or Making a Life?"

Richard Woo, CEO of The Russell Family Foundation, will share personal stories about his professional life in the non-profit, business and philanthropic sectors that illustrate the unpredictable power of career choices. His mentor once jokingly described Richard's professional past as "checkered" including stints as a sex educator in Chinatown, as a corporate social responsibility specialist and now as a family philanthropoid. Join Richard as he connects the dots between the far flung points in his work-life. In the conversation that follows, Richard will hand over the pencil to you—as you connect the dots along your own professional journey.

When he’s not speaking at EPIP events, Richard serves on the board of the Council on Foundations and Philanthropy Northwest, the leadership committee of the More for Mission Campaign and Seattle University’s Visiting Committee for the Masters in Nonprofit Leadership. Before joining The Russell Family Foundation in 2000, Richard spent 12 years working at Levi Strauss & Company, where he served three years as Executive Director of the Levi Strauss Foundation.

Current dues-paying EPIP members are invited to join us for lunch for only $10.00. Non-members registration is $30.00.

To become a member of EPIP (only $100/year!) and to take advantage of deep discounts on registration fees at both the local and national level, please visit www.epip.org to sign up now!

Jeff Raikes on "The Business of Doing Good"

I had the opportunity to attend a lecture by Jeff Raikes, the CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation at Seattle University as part of the Albers Executive Speaker Series last Wednesday. Raikes spoke to a packed auditorium about the lessons in leadership and his experiences in philanthropy.

Several things resonated with me. First of all, Raikes, like nearly every other speaker I have heard offer advice to emerging practicioners in (insert field here) is to follow your passion. In Raikes experience, he learned early on in his career at Apple that his passion was software (rather than hardware) development- which in turn lead him away from Apple to become one of Microsoft's first 100 employees- (fun fact: he and his wife Tricia were the first Microsoft couple).

He outlined three lessons of leadership, which I tweeted through @EPIPSeattle but that I'll share here as well:

1. Part of being a good leader and a good manager of people is to know when to roll up your sleeves and dive into the work alongside your employees (a lesson learned from John Shirley, President of Microsoft from 1983-90).
2. You will learn the most when you are in an environment where it is okay to fail and to learn from your mistakes (a lesson from Bill Gates, Jr.).
3. Realize that there is something that you can learn from every single person around you. This lesson comes from Lou Piniella, the former manager of the Seattle Mariners, who also taught Raikes four additional lessons on how to be a good leader: a) get along with everyone, b) know how to get your players to preform at their peak, c) always be mindful of public relations, and d) to always have a game strategy in mind.

Raikes' closing argument was for audience members to find their passion and then to invest in United Way (Raikes and his wife Tricia are heavily involved on the Board of Directors of United Way of King County), though if United Way isn't for you, he suggested finding other advocates and ways to raise the quality of life in our communities.

Though tailored to a decidedly business-oriented audience, I found the talk interesting and I think it's always important to be reminded to follow one's passion. I was instantly taken back to the closing keynote speech at the EPIP National Conference, in which Benjamin Todd Jealous put forth a similar message: Find your passion and if your current job is not fulfilling that passion-quit.

From Business to Politics to Philanthropy

Seventeen Seattle EPIP members and friends gathered at in the Common Room at the Olive 8 (Seattle's first LEED certified green hotel/condominium building) this afternoon to hear from Ann Kelly, Partner at the Global Philanthropy Group, which she co-founded in 2008 with two business partners.

The Global Philanthropy Group works with clients who want to have an impact on issues - beyond simply writing a check. Global Philanthropy Group helps clients determine how to leverage all of their assets (including their public personals and public profiles) to help build advocacy strategies and partner with other organizations to increase their visibility. (Click here to read more about the Global Philanthropy Group and the work they're doing.)

Ann describes her career path the same way that many people in philanthropy do: it just kind of happened. She started out in business management consulting, where she discovered that she preferred to work in project fashion. She worked in corporate development and on strategic planning and in consulting roles, and eventually founded her own Political Action Committee. She was inspired by the problem-solving aspects of her work, but not necessarily about the issues she worked on. She made a calculated decision to focus her energy on her political interests, and moved to Tennessee to work on Harold Ford Jr's campaign for the Senate seat vacated by Bill Frist.

She returned to Seattle after Ford's defeat in the election and returned to consulting- this time, on an education project with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, where she realized that it was possible to use her skills as a consultant AND work on issues that she felt passionate about. Together, with business partners Trevor and Maggie Neilson, they founded the Global Philanthropy Group.

We asked Ann to tell us more about the trends that she's seeing based on her clients interest. She said that many are refocusing their attention from international to domestic issues, given the economic climate. Global Philanthropy Group wants to get their clients engaged on a long-term basis, and to move clients from being reactive to proactive. There is a lot of interest in using very creative social media strategies to approach issues - and a lot of energy being spent on designing campaigns through issue-based networks.

Want to see an example of a Global Philanthropy Group project? Check out The Giving Beast.

Ann's advice to emerging practitioners in philanthropy?

• Develop a broad set of skills.
• Realize there are no boundaries and limitations - there are opportunities to have different jobs within your role - there are other things on the fringe.
• Keep the creativity of thought.
• Work to create a new space for yourself.

Many thanks to Ann for joining us to share her story and for offering her advice to Seattle EPIP.

Thanks to Steering Committee member Sarah for facilitating the discussion.

Thanks to Steering Committee members Nora, Dorothy, Laura, and Heather for managing the logistics of the event!

If you're interested in future Careers in Philanthropy Lunch Roundtables, make sure to sign up to receive our emails and check back for more information.

Date Change: Careers in Philanthropy Lunch Roundtable

Please note that we have had to change the date of our upcoming Careers in Philanthropy Lunch Roundtable. The updated information is below!

DATE AND LOCATION CHANGE!

The November 12th Seattle EPIP Careers in Philanthropy Lunch Roundtable has been changed to the following Thursday, November 19th, from 11:30-1pm, at Olive 8

Location: Olive 8, 18th Floor Common Room
Guest Speaker: Ann Kelly, Partner, Global Philanthropy Group

Lunch will be provided. Space is limited, please RSVP by Tuesday, November 17th to epipseattle@gmail.com to secure your spot! If you already RSVP’ed, please let us know whether or not you will still be able to attend.

Careers in Philanthropy: Luncheon Roundtable

EPIP Seattle invites you to attend our next Careers in Philanthropy Lunch Roundtable on Thursday, November 12th, from 11:30 - 1pm.

The event will be hosted in the Philanthropy Northwest conference room, and lunch will be provided. RSVP to epipseattle@gmail.com to secure your spot- space is limited!

We have invited Ann Kelly of the Global Philanthropy Group to join us to share her story about how she got involved in philanthropy, and to offer advice to emerging leaders.

Global Philanthropy Group advises the world's leading philanthropists. We work with high net worth individuals, charitable foundations and corporations to design and implement highly-leveraged philanthropic strategies. Their management expertise and proprietary network of global experts helps clients achieve lasting, meaningful results.

Global Philanthropy Group's experience encompasses pressing global issues including economic development, education, poverty, HIV/AIDS, disaster recovery and redevelopment, refugees, microfinance, water, global health, immigration, orphans, foster care, global trade, malnutrition, climate change, green building, malaria, conservation, crimes against humanity, genocide and childhood obesity.

For more on Ann Kelly:

Ann has broad experience providing strategy consulting services to a range of private and public sector clients. She most recently worked as a strategic advisor to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on public school education. She also provided M&A and transactional advice to a number of healthcare companies.

As a Partner with Lake Partners Strategy Consultants, Ann managed the proprietary research efforts for a large scale investment client. Projects included developing strategic plans for investment opportunities, analysis of public policy initiatives and impact on private sector investments, and analysis of investment opportunities in emerging international markets.

Prior to joining Lake Partners, Ann provided strategic consulting services as a consultant for both Dean & Company and Strategic Planning Associates (now Oliver Wyman) firms, both in Washington, D.C. She worked in the Corporate Development groups at Artisan Entertainment (now part of Lions Gate) in Los Angeles and MCI (now part of Verizon) in Washington D.C.

Ann served as the Special Projects & Outreach Coordinator for the 2006 Harold Ford for U.S. Senate campaign and serves on the executive board of a federal political action committee supporting candidates for U.S. Senate. She is the President of the Harvard Business School Alumni Board and a member of the Advisory Board at the Seattle Repertory Theatre. Ann graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University and received her MBA with distinction from the Harvard Business School.