Category: Uncategorized

Chief Technologist Part of Panel on IT Funding

The Pierce Family Foundation’s Chief Technologist, David Krumlauf, was a panelist for a recent training offered by Idealware: “How to Get Your Technology Funded: Tips from Grantmakers.” David was one of four panelists whose foundations make grants for IT projects. David answered questions from nonprofits such as:

  • How does technology fit into your overall funding priorities? How did this become an area of focus for you or your organization?
  • In general, what makes a tech proposal compelling? What are some of the key elements of success?
  • What types of expenses do you typically see in a tech proposal? Consultants? One-time expenses? Ongoing costs? Staff? 
  • From your perspective, what holds foundations back from funding technology? What can nonprofits/grantees do about this?

We know that technology is a key part of nonprofit success, not just a nice “extra.” PFF is pleased to be a leader in encouraging this type of funding.

PFF Supports Capacity Building Study

Two years ago, a group of Chicago funders—including the Pierce Family Foundation—wanted to understand the landscape of nonprofit capacity building in the Chicago area, and how it might be improved. To begin, this steering committee of funders commissioned a landscape scan of current capacity building needs and services. That study has been released and is available here. PFF looks forward to applying what was learned in this study toward its own capacity building work, and to helping grow the practice among other funders.

Foundation Appears in GEO Publication

Pierce Family Foundation was one of several funders highlighted in the new publication from Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO), Strengthening Nonprofit Capacity. “Capacity building enables nonprofit leaders and organizations to develop the skills and resources they need to improve their work,” says GEO. “Since each situation is unique and circumstances are always changing, effective capacity-building support is tailored to best suit the needs of grantees. This publication offers practical guidance and considerations to help grantmakers design an effective approach.” Peer Skill Share, the peer-to-peer capacity building program designed by PFF in 2010, is featured. Read the report and check out the mentions of PFF on pages 22 and 33-34.

Milestones in Youth Storage

2016 has been a big year for the Chicago Youth Storage Initiative! Locker programs were launched at the following facilities, for a total of 175 lockers now available for youth experiencing homelessness:

  • Unity Parenting/Ujima Village
  • La Casa Norte (5 locations)
  • Puerto Rican Cultural Center/El Rescate
  • Mercy Home for Boys & Girls
  • Teen Living Programs

Virtual storage was explored by facilitating two Google Apps trainings for homelessness providers and young people. Participating organizations including The Night Ministry, Care2Prevent, Broadway Youth Center, Center on Halsted, La Casa Norte, Teen Living Programs, Mercy Home, and Chicago House. 

Mobile document scanning was piloted with multiple organizational partners.

The Initiative hosted a pop-up storage and phone charging station at Pride Weekend.

Portable safes were piloted through the Pride pop-up event and with other organizational partners. 

Youth voices continue to inform the project, as CYSI partnered with Youth Empowerment Performance Project on program design, workshops and trainings, and ongoing feedback.

Program Director Lara Brooks presented at national conferences such as Creating Change and Healthcare for the Homeless.

Peer Skill Share at National GEO Conference

The Peer Skill Share program made an appearance at the 2016 Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) National Conference in Minneapolis-Saint Paul. Pierce Family Foundation Executive Director Marianne Philbin and Program Director Heather Parish led a breakout session titled “Supporting Capacity Building Through Crowdsourcing.” Attended by approximately 40 foundation staff members from across the country, the session explained the genesis of Peer Skill Share, its success, and how this model can work in other communities. Attendees also took part in a rapid-fire, live Peer Skill Share. “It was terrific to hear questions and ideas from organizations interested in what Peer Skill Share could look like in their own communities, and the new ways it could enhance myriad capacity building efforts,” said Philbin. Peer Skill Share began at Pierce Family Foundation in 2010 and became a program of Forefront in Chicago in 2016.

Offering her expertise as part of the breakout session was Ellen Ray, Executive Director of PFF grantee Center for Changing Lives (CCL). Ellen has participated in Peer Skill Share multiple times—both receiving advice, and imparting expertise to others. She was so inspired by the experience that she created Resource Up! at CCL. Resource Up! is a network comprised of CCL clients, volunteers, donors and neighbors developed to exchange skills, strengths, experiences, relationships and resources to build a community of mutual support. Much like Peer Skill Share, Resource Up! participants submit their “requests” or “offers” and are matched by CCL staff. “Resource Up! is something that generates both excitement and captures attention,” Ray said. “People want to be involved.”

Appropriately, the session on Peer Skill Share at the GEO conference fell into the content track entitled, Supporting Nonprofit Resilience. These sessions focused on how grant makers can help build the kind of capacity that allows grantees to focus on long-term mission fulfillment, build critical skills, and adapt and thrive. The Pierce Family Foundation was honored to be part of this conversation.

Tiny Homes Summit

Lara Brooks, director Chicago Youth Storage Initiative, a PFF-backed project, was a moderator at the recent Tiny Homes Summit in Chicago. Lara facilitated a panel of youth homeless service providers, who discussed the realities of how young people might experience life in a tiny home community, and what the considerations should be for this population. As moderator, Lara led conversation on how the tiny homes movement fits in with other programs serving homeless youth—such at the Chicago Youth Storage Initiative.

The Tiny Homes Summit was held April 18-19 at the University of Illinois at Chicago. It was organized by The Pride Action Tank, a project of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, and the Windy City Times. The summit included topics such as financing, housing as HIV prevention, public policy issues, and creating strategies for developing a tiny homes community for youth experiencing homelessness in Chicago. Experts from around the country also shared their experiences creating tiny home communities.

ED Quoted in the New York Times

Executive Director Marianne Philbin was interviewed for a recent article in the New York Times, “The Art of Saying No as a Philanthropist.” Marianne emphasized that clear communications are key in respecting a nonprofit’s time.

“The earlier you can make a decline for legitimate reasons, the less painful it is for everybody,” Philbin said. “The sooner you can establish is there a fit here or not, the more respectful you are of everyone’s time.”

The Pierce foundation, she said, focuses on funding services for the homeless in Chicago but more specifically on making grants to help organizations with operating expenses. She said having such a specific screen limits most of the applications that would be outside the scope of what it would fund.

“When declines are the most difficult is when an agency is taken through a laborious process that takes up time from board members and staff and the C.E.O. and it still comes out with a no,” she said. “It is much more difficult than working with a foundation that has a very fine screen at the front end so the grant seeker can find out sooner rather than later if there’s a real possibility there.”