On Monday, July 25, seven EPIP’ers joined 45 other local and national funders (including guests from the Northwest Area Foundation in Minnesota) and activists for the Potlatch Fund‘s annual funders’ tour to three distinctly different tribal communities – and to witness the final landing of the InterTribal Canoe Journey at Swinomish. The Potlatch Fund offers this tour to introduce individuals to both the successes and challenges faced by Tribal communities and aim to intentionally show the diverse nature of the Tribal communities and Native organizations that comprise Northwest Indian Country. Though past funders tours have been blessed with wonderful weather, we traveled through thunder and lightening to reach our destination – only to have the sun pop out just as we were boarding our bus for the return trip to Seattle. Below is a recap of our journey, courtesy of the Potlatch Fund: We had the opportunity to see three distinctly different Tribal communities. Tulalip was created as a reservation as a result of the treaties of the 1850’s when a number of different Tribes and Bands were relocated to the land we toured. Tulalip has the most generous land base of the three Tribes we visited, and is also the largest community overall. The overall size of the community and the ongoing issues of trying to become one distinct Tribal entity as opposed to an imposed confederation are major issues for Tulalip. Stillaguamish, re-gained federal recognition in 1976, and has had to purchase the vast majority of its land […] Read more

SAVE THE DATEEPIP Lunch & Learn: “The Shared Gifting Model” Wednesday, August 24, 201112:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. RSF Social Finance1002 O’Reilly AvenueSan Francisco, CA 94129 Have you ever wondered what would happen if you turned grantees into grantors?  What would happen if you empowered your grantees to allocate funding to their peers through a gifting model?  RSF Social Finance held the first Shared Gifting convening in the Bay Area with local San Francisco Food and Agricultural nonprofits to ask the question: how can gift money be used to foster community and collaboration? Join us for a lunch discussion to find out what they learned from this experience and explore how foundations can leverage funding to build grantee communities and increase impact. Featured speaker: Kelley Buhles, Program Manager, Philanthropic Services, RSF Social Finance Kelley Buhles has worked in Philanthropic Services at RSF Social Finance since 2005. RSF Social Finance is non-profit financial services organization committed to transforming the way the world works with money. In partnership with a community of donors and investors, RSF offers investing, lending and giving services and fosters spirited conversations about the role our monetary system should play in the development of humanity. At RSF Kelley manages the Philanthropic Services department which includes Donor Advised Funds and grant making programs. Previously she served as the Vice President of the board of the Haight Ashbury Food Program, acted as coordinator for the Bay Area Fair Trade Coalition, and directed an interactive art theme camp at Burning Man. […] Read more

This opportunity comes to us by way of our friends at the World Affairs Council. This is a great opportunity for any EPIP’er who is interested in working within the broader international community in Seattle! The Board of the Young Professionals International Network (YPIN) of the World Affairs Council is currently seeking individuals to serve on our programming board for one year, starting in September. YPIN is a fun way to be active in the international community in Seattle. Board members gain valuable event planning experience and network with people in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors who work in international affairs. YPIN is looking for creative, outgoing, and committed individuals to serve as General Program Coordinators (GPCs) on its 2011-2012 Board of Directors. We are also looking for people with marketing and communications experience to help grow our membership and get the word out about our events. If you are interested in finding out more about this amazing opportunity, click here! Applications are due by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 10. Read more

The Puget Sound chapter of YNPN is ALSO seeking folks to join their Advisory Board. This is a great opportunity for them to rebuild their chapter – we look forward to partnering with them in the future! See below for more information: Want to join the YNPN Puget Sound advisory board? Great! Right now we need more board members to help lead the organization. Board service is a lot of fun, but also a lot of work. Before filling out the application form, please ask yourself if you have the time, energy, and passion to commit to all of the following types of activities for at least one year. Full-time students are not eligible for board memberships, but may serve on committees. Preparing for and participating in monthly board meetings plus occasional committee meetings Helping to recruit and train new board members and volunteers Generously contributing personal and financial resources as circumstances allow Making connections in the local nonprofit community for YNPN and our members Click here to be redirected to the application page for more information. Read more

Earlier this month, after days of rain, the sun broke through the clouds just in time to shine down on our chapter’s volunteer outing at the Hayes Valley Farm. Once a freeway on-ramp, Hayes Valley Farm is currently a 2.2 acre non-profit urban permaculture demonstration site. With a small startup grant from the City and fiscal sponsorship from the San Francisco Parks Trust, the farm first opened their gates on Jaunary 24, 2010- and the farm is still going strong.  We were amazed to learn that the farm is entirely, and successfully, volunteer run. Plant beds have been laid out strategically to make the most of the natural water flow after rain, most of the materials are either donated or sourced from waste streams, there’s a colorful pastel patch of beehives, and any food grown is either gifted to volunteers or left outside the farm for community members to help themselves from. It was astonishing to learn how little money the farm needs to reach their goals, which they’re clearly doing: raising awareness around sustainability and urban agriculture, offering educational opportunities, reviving a vacant lot, providing green job training, beautifying the neighborhood, and having fun. After our tour, we got down and dirty as we helped plant mini-flats of seedlings. After the farm closed up for the day, we headed down the street to join other local EPIP-ers at Pause Wine Bar, a sustainably sourced new wine bar on Market.  Kevin Schuder,the head chef, came out to share some details […] Read more

This just in from our friends over at Social Venture Partners – Seattle. This is a great opportunity to participate with SVP and allows you to serve on their grants committee, attend their workshops and seminars, and to participate in their consulting projects with grantees. Application deadline is July 22nd at 5pm – more details online at www.svpseattle.org! Social Venture Partners (SVP) is a network of accomplished individuals who combine financial contributions and professional skills with a passion for philanthropy. Leveraging our collective expertise and resources, we partner with and strengthen promising nonprofits for maximum community impact. To ensure a strong, healthy network of people, SVP continually strives to increase the diversity of backgrounds, perspectives, and cultures represented in the organization. In this spirit, SVP invites interested individuals in King County to apply for a two‐year “Brainerd Fellowship.” We wish to attract people that couldn’t otherwise make the required financial commitment and that will add value to and find personal reward from SVP’s work. Past fellows have added a great deal to the work of SVP, particularly serving on grant committees where they brought perspective and insight that would otherwise have been lacking. This two‐year Fellowship is intended to widen and strengthen the circle of partners involved in SVP. This fellowship is named in honor of SVP’s co‐founder, Paul Brainerd, and reflects his spirit and ethos. The fellowships are funded by current Partners, and cover the annual $6,000 partner contribution. To read the full Fellowship description, please visit www.svpseattle.org. Read more

Hayes Valley Farm, Tour and Volunteering Opportunity 450 Laguna Street, at FellWednesday, June 29th, 20113:30 – 5pm Followed by… Sustainable Wine Tasting at Pause Wine Bar 1666 Market Street, in Hayes Valley5pm – 7:30pm Come get your hands dirty and learn how a local urban farm intersects with Philanthropy! We hope you can join us to volunteer, taste bio-dynamic and organic wines, or both! Hayes Valley Farm first broke ground in 2010. Once a freeway on ramp,  Hayes Valley Farm is now a 2.2 acre non-profit Urban Permaculture demonstration site in the heart of San Francisco.  Run by the community and grown through the work of volunteers, Hayes Valley Farm has been working to educate people of all ages on the practical steps which can be taken to grow food and become more responsible in environmental stewardship, as well partnering to develop successful models for a variety of community permaculture projects. To learn more about Hayes Valley Farm, you can go to http://www.hayesvalleyfarm.com. We’ll start by taking a brief tour of Hayes Valley Farm and learning about Hayes Valley Farm’s funding sources, history and future plans. We’ll then spend about an hour volunteering and helping out around the farm. Afterwards, we’ll retire to Pause Wine Bar, where you can taste and learn about sustainably grown wines, mingle with other Foundation professionals and learn about upcoming EPIP programs. The first round of drinks is on us! “Amid the urban jungle that is San Francisco sits an oasis of green. Under eucalyptus […] Read more

Kaiser Family Foundation is currently hiring for two positions: Program Officer, Media Relations for the Entertainment Media Partnerships Program Financial Analyst Read more

Packard Foundation is currently hiring: Program-Related Investment Associate Read more

Our friends at Resource Generation are hiring for a part-time West Coast Organizer – to be based in San Francisco – or Seattle for the right person! Details below – and the full job description can be found by clicking here. Location: San Francisco, CA (possibly Seattle, WA) The West Coast National Organizer is responsible for supporting and developing our west coast chapters through relationship building, strategy and leadership development with RG constituents in Seattle, the Bay Area, Los Angeles and emerging chapter cities in the western half of the country. This organizer will be part of the staff program team which is responsible for overall development of RG’s programs and national strategy. Some travel required. The position is 20 hrs a week, based in the Bay Area. The start date is June 6. There is an opportunity to continue and possibly increase hours depending on resources and mutual interest. Salary commensurate with experience. Read more