This post appears here as part of the EPIP-JAG blogging partnership, “Wit and Wisdom”. This year’s Hispanic Heritage Month prompted those of us at Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy to dig a little deeper into our history and acknowledge EPIP’s Latino roots and the contributions made by the Latino community to the field of philanthropy...

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On November 5th and 6th, EPIP held its People of Color Network Gathering (formerly, the Professional Development Fund or PDF) at Harvard University. For those of you who don't already know, PCN offers participants access to professional development training and intergenerational learning opportunities, with the intent of diversifying and retaining people of color within the sector. The content of the PCN gathering itself is three-fold: 1) personal connections to social justice work; 2) understanding structural racism; and 3) bringing this work back home. EPIP’s Executive Director, Rahsaan Harris, acted as lead facilitator, with additional support from Hehershe Busuego of The Boston Foundation.

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Sophia Guevara is an EPIP member in Michigan, a long time contributor to RE: Philanthropy, and the former chair of the Consortium of Foundation Libraries affinity group.  Here she shares four tips to help engender creative thought. Some of the best value that an early career professional can provide to an organization is their creativity and courage to try new things.  For those interested in improving their creativity, here are a few ideas to consider: 1. Regrets have no space in the mind of a creative Regret causes fear, and limits your ability to see opportunities.  With this mindset, you’re limited in identifying the connections that can be the key to an innovative solution.  Instead of working with regret, work with a mindset that focuses on lessons learned from each opportunity, whether a success or failure.  Also, be intentional about putting into practice the lessons you have learned.  Read more

Meet our newest coach to join our extraordinary roster of accomplished career and executive coaches: Edward González-Novoa. Eddie has spent the last 20 years developing leaders in education, youth development and community service. He received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University and Masters degrees in Divinity and Education from Harvard. Read more

On Wednesday, October 30th, Pia Infante of the Rockwood Leadership Institute facilitated a fascinating webinar for EPIP members and other nonprofit professionals on how to operate more collaboratively as a leader. 

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In partnership with NTEN, EPIP members may take advantage of member rates on this NTEN webinar. Discount codes for all partner offers can be found on Member Connect.  In today’s world of the brief, compelling narrative, in the time of social media and sharing, we have the opportunity not only to shift our messaging into tweet-sized sound-bytes, but also to change our voice over to that of our program participant. When we shift our appeals to first-person brief narratives on the part of those helped and served by our programs and services, we start giving donors what we’ve learned they want – personal engagement with the story of our work and our impact. Read more

EPIP-NY Steering Committee member, Katja Kurz, recently wrote to us to share a number of fellowship opportunities offered by her employer, Cultural Vistas. These fellowships are a great opportunity for folks looking to expand their work in an international setting. Alfa Fellowship: This is a fully funded program sending young U.S. professionals on 11-month work assignments at leading organizations in Moscow, Russia. Applicants must have at least two years of work experience in their fields and must have demonstrated leadership potential. Aside from generous funding, the program also includes one-on-one intensive Russian language training, a prestigious seminar series, and thematic excursions throughout the region. Housing in Moscow is provided, and accompanying spouses and children are welcome. Applicants must be 35 years old or younger. Apply by December 1st for the 2014 program: www.culturalvistas.org/alfa Robert Bosch Foundation Fellowship: A fully funded program sending mid-career U.S. professionals with a graduate degree and at least 5 years of full-time work experience in their fields on 6 or 9-month assignments at leading organizations in Germany. Aside from generous funding, the program includes one-on-one intensive German language training, a series of high-level seminars across the EU, as well as a living stipend for accompanying spouses and children. Applicants must be 40 years old or younger. Apply by November 1st for the 2014 program: www.culturalvistas.org/bosch     Read more

Hispanic Heritage Month just ended on October 15, and we would be remiss not to acknowledge it and EPIP's Latino roots. Many don't realize that people of color were at the center of EPIP's formation.

Most know the story of how Rusty Stahl founded EPIP with a group of like-minded people back in 2001. However, EPIP's staff recently discovered that one of Rusty's compadres was a Latino Program Associate from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Alejandro Amezcua.

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This post is a collaboration between EPIP member Lora Smith, Communications Officer at Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation in Winston-Salem, NC, and one of MRBF’s grantees, Charmel Gauden, an attorney and the former Executive Director of the Gulf Coast Fair Housing Center (GCFHC).  We asked them to share their thoughts on leadership in the 21st century. In 2011 the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation hosted a trans-generational convening on the topic of Equity and Opportunity in the American South. We wanted to understand the needs of emerging nonprofit leaders in the South and what they saw on the horizon of their work. The conversation also included respected elders in the sector who helped ground the conversation in historical context and offered mentorship. We listened to the rich conversation and came away with beginning strategies to better support nextGen Southern leadership that we believe will help strengthen nonprofit infrastructure in the region as a whole. Hearing directly from young leaders within our grantee partner organizations was integrally important for our institutional learning and practice. Charmel Gauden was one of the participants. She shares what she hopes foundations learn about the needs of millennial leaders here. — Lora Smith, Communications Officer, Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation An Open Letter to Foundations from a Millennial Leader Dear Foundations, Read more

This post was authored by Nichole Martini, who is the Co-Chair of EPIP-NY’s Steering Committee.

In the early fall of 2012, EPIP-NY went through its usual onboarding process of new Steering Committee members. I was elected co-chair of the chapter to help guide and direct our activities and work with EPIP National. This was my first time serving in a co-leadership model and I wasn’t sure how it would work. 

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