Do you have an exciting, new idea that's renting space in your mind and you need a collaborator to help you tease it out?
From 90-minute conversations that can expand your thinking on a particular idea to longer-term comprehensive project development, we can customize an approach that best serves your needs.
Below are a few of my favorite projects:
From 90-minute conversations that can expand your thinking on a particular idea to longer-term comprehensive project development, we can customize an approach that best serves your needs.
- Let's get curious about your idea.
- Let's tease out its potential impact.
- Let's put some structure around it so you can share it with your colleagues and decide if you want to take it to the next level.
Below are a few of my favorite projects:
CREATIVE NEW JERSEY
Statewide Community-Building and Cross-Sector Engagement
In June 2011, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation hosted a 2-day meeting with 150 cross-discipline nonprofit leaders, gathered to deliberate on "How Can Creativity and Innovation Revitalize New Jersey?" Though I was living in Ireland at the time, I happened to be in NJ on this date and I cajoled my way into receiving a meeting invitation.
At the conclusion of this gathering, a small group of us, including senior leadership of the Dodge Foundation, saw the potential of creating a statewide community engagement initiative—one that would harness the creative-thinking and responsibility of highly diverse groups of individuals to address local problems through new collaborative solutions. We decided to start local and convene changemakers at the comunity level. A few months into the design of this new idea, I left Ireland and moved back to New Jersey.
In the years since, we have amplified voices that have been excluded from community conversations; we have helped to advance a dialogue around critical community issues through 18 city- and town-wide Calls to Collaboration; and we have galvanized more than 2,500 people and hundreds of organizations who are committed to building more equitable, collaborative, creative and sustainable communities. Learn how your NJ community can be involved in this powerful movement at www.creativenj.org
Statewide Community-Building and Cross-Sector Engagement
In June 2011, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation hosted a 2-day meeting with 150 cross-discipline nonprofit leaders, gathered to deliberate on "How Can Creativity and Innovation Revitalize New Jersey?" Though I was living in Ireland at the time, I happened to be in NJ on this date and I cajoled my way into receiving a meeting invitation.
At the conclusion of this gathering, a small group of us, including senior leadership of the Dodge Foundation, saw the potential of creating a statewide community engagement initiative—one that would harness the creative-thinking and responsibility of highly diverse groups of individuals to address local problems through new collaborative solutions. We decided to start local and convene changemakers at the comunity level. A few months into the design of this new idea, I left Ireland and moved back to New Jersey.
In the years since, we have amplified voices that have been excluded from community conversations; we have helped to advance a dialogue around critical community issues through 18 city- and town-wide Calls to Collaboration; and we have galvanized more than 2,500 people and hundreds of organizations who are committed to building more equitable, collaborative, creative and sustainable communities. Learn how your NJ community can be involved in this powerful movement at www.creativenj.org
DISASTER PHILANTHROPY PLAYBOOK
Disaster Response Philanthropic Strategies
One week after Superstorm Sandy struck NJ, the President of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers reached out to me to help the organization turn on a dime to respond to this crisis. Together, we created and implemented the Council’s Post-Sandy Philanthropic Response in NJ. Working at a lightning-fast pace with philanthropies from throughout the state and across the country, we informed funders on a variety of response strategies, critical needs, and breaking news from long-term recovery groups and government agencies, while connecting funders to organizations and communities impacted by the storm. The work included 25 Funder Briefings with 70 guest expert speakers, funder site visits to impacted communities, and a statewide conference among other programs.
Disaster Response Philanthropic Strategies
One week after Superstorm Sandy struck NJ, the President of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers reached out to me to help the organization turn on a dime to respond to this crisis. Together, we created and implemented the Council’s Post-Sandy Philanthropic Response in NJ. Working at a lightning-fast pace with philanthropies from throughout the state and across the country, we informed funders on a variety of response strategies, critical needs, and breaking news from long-term recovery groups and government agencies, while connecting funders to organizations and communities impacted by the storm. The work included 25 Funder Briefings with 70 guest expert speakers, funder site visits to impacted communities, and a statewide conference among other programs.
The idea for the Disaster Philanthropy Playbook was born in the aftermath of our response activities to Superstorm Sandy, as we navigated the uncharted waters of the devastation of the hurricane. We reached out to the Washington, DC-based Center for Disaster Philanthropy and many colleagues nationwide to learn how best to respond and to benefit from the knowledge of experts in this field. These conversations helped shape our vision for the Playbook which is a one-of-a-kind national resource of philanthropic innovative practices, proven strategies and lessons learned. Launched online in 2016, the original Playbook, researched and written by me, was a joint project between the Center for Disaster Philanthropy and the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers, in association with the United Philanthropy Forum (formerly the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers). Learn from it at www.disasterplaybook.org
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT and PUBLIC DIALOGUE
There are lots of reasons why we engage our stakeholders.
Here are two stories of stakeholder engagement programming I co-created:
There are lots of reasons why we engage our stakeholders.
- We may want to learn what their experience is with our organization or how we can serve them better.
- We may want to engage them more deeply in our work, ask them to become collaborators with us, and find authentic pathways to work together.
- Sometimes we need our stakeholders to help amplify an issue that needs attention on a big-scale. Other times, we want to create a framework where they become the decision-makers and step into a more equitable, power-sharing role.
Here are two stories of stakeholder engagement programming I co-created:
ATLANTIC CITY COMMUNITY FUND
In the months following Creative New Jersey's Atlantic City Call to Collaboration, our Creative NJ leadership along with the Dodge Foundation and Community Foundation of South Jersey discussed the idea of building local capacity in Atlantic City by mentoring residents on how to develop and lead a local community fund. I co-led this effort and gathered a small diverse group of engaged residents and nonprofit leaders who became the working group.
Built one step at a time, from the ground up, and with decision-making authority squarely in the hands of the local people, we created bylaws, cultivated and elected a local Board of Advisors, and designed a local grantmaking program with seed funding from the Dodge Foundation, Community Foundation of South Jersey, and Wells Fargo Regional Foundation.
Officially launched in 2017, the Atlantic City Community Fund's goals are to harness the power of local philanthropy, build community leaders, and fuel community-based initiatives that leverage sustainable change at the neighborhood level in Atlantic City. As a founding member of this Fund's Board, I am deeply inspired by the local AC Board members who have a drive and commitment to better the living conditions for all who live and work in Atlantic City. They know their city, and they deserve significant support. www.accommunityfund.org
In the months following Creative New Jersey's Atlantic City Call to Collaboration, our Creative NJ leadership along with the Dodge Foundation and Community Foundation of South Jersey discussed the idea of building local capacity in Atlantic City by mentoring residents on how to develop and lead a local community fund. I co-led this effort and gathered a small diverse group of engaged residents and nonprofit leaders who became the working group.
Built one step at a time, from the ground up, and with decision-making authority squarely in the hands of the local people, we created bylaws, cultivated and elected a local Board of Advisors, and designed a local grantmaking program with seed funding from the Dodge Foundation, Community Foundation of South Jersey, and Wells Fargo Regional Foundation.
Officially launched in 2017, the Atlantic City Community Fund's goals are to harness the power of local philanthropy, build community leaders, and fuel community-based initiatives that leverage sustainable change at the neighborhood level in Atlantic City. As a founding member of this Fund's Board, I am deeply inspired by the local AC Board members who have a drive and commitment to better the living conditions for all who live and work in Atlantic City. They know their city, and they deserve significant support. www.accommunityfund.org
PRE-K OUR WAY
New Jersey has one of the most successful, high-quality public preschool programs in the country; until the 2017-18 school year, NJ's state-funded, full-day pre-k was available in only 35 communities. In 2015, I was engaged as a member of Pre-K Our Way's founding team, launched as a statewide effort with leadership support by Maher Charitable Foundation. For Pre-K Our Way, I co-designed and implemented a statewide public dialogue and engagement program fostering support for pre-k expansion. Our team built 30+ advocate partner organizations and a constituency database from the ground-up resulting in more than 7,000 entries in the first year. Thanks to strong support from legislative leadership and Governor Murphy's administration (no relation to me), the 2019-20 school year has 140+ school districts providing NJ's pre-k to thousands more 3-and 4-year olds -- and their working families! Learn more at www.prekourway.org
Have an idea for a project but not sure how to activate it or what you should do next?
Let's connect; schedule an exploratory call.
Let's connect; schedule an exploratory call.