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Discussion with PCF and CFSV on
the new Foundation PCF-CFSV Meeting Thursday September 28, 2006 PCF/CFSV Merger Discussion Membership Participation at this event. With a show of hand we learned the audience was divided in approximately ¼ funded by PCF, ¼ by CFSV, ¼ by both and ¼ funded by neither. The four members of the panel were given the opportunity to speak before the questions and answer portion of the meeting started. Peter Hero, Senior Advisor Background on Merger-the two Foundations will be merged by the end of this year and will henceforth be called Silicon Valley Community Foundation-SVCF. The main question that brought the merger about was “What could we do better?” 1. Achieve better social impact. The two Foundations need to work together to make serious impact on issues. 2. Could we serve the donors better once merged? 3. Could we make a significant difference in the health of nonprofits? The boards of the two foundations believed the answer to these questions was yes, hence the merged foundation. Board The new Foundation will have a new Board, the complete list can be found on the new website www.siliconvalleycf.org. November 1, 2006 is the start date for Dr. Emmett Carson as the President of SVCF. In the mean time Dr. Carson will be doing a lot of community briefings to make the transition as easy as possible. New Location The central office will be located in the Palo Alto/East Palo Alto area but they will retain offices in San Jose and San Mateo. A branding effort will be completed by January 1, 2007. Process of Grant Application The current grant application processes will be kept for now. Possible changes will be incorporated in perhaps spring of next year. Dr. Carson wants to take this aspect of the merger slowly so there will be no confusion or hurry to change processes at this time. Ellen Clear,Vice President, Community Programs SVCF President Dr. Carson wants to meet with as many people, nonprofits, elected officials and donors in the first 90 days of his arrival in order to become familiar with the region. Guidelines Change There will be no change in the grant guidelines for at least the first 6 months after Dr. Carson’s Start date. As soon as the changes have been finalized they will be made known. All key deadlines will be posted on the website www.siliconvalleycf.org. Board The new Board will have people from CFSV and PCF as well as some new Board members who will be added over time. Patti Pace Library facilities at the PCF along with their strong technical assistance program will continue at CFSV. They will partner with CEN and CompassPoint to offer classes and programs that serve the capacity needs of nonprofits. Question/Answer With the expanding geography of the new foundation how will some of the local issues be addressed within the regional concept? Response by Ellen ClearWe know this is of great interest and we too are committed to finding the balance between our local and regional focus. We have not yet identified exactly how to deal with it. We are working on this and it will evolve in a thoughtful way. How will you draw donors into a regional approach for community needs such as homelessness, immigration, early childhood education and other issues? Response by Peter HeroWork with donors, bring donors together who have like interests such as homelessness and work with them to impact these critical community needs. We will have more opportunity to connect donors to broad based issues. How will the Foundation continue the hands-on approach and relationship that we have with our community PCF? Response by Michelle McGurk Dr. Carson doesn’t have a high tolerance for bureaucracy. He’ll want one-on-one relationships with grantees. We’ve got a strong foundation to build upon. Another thing that needs to be noted is that the Foundation’s partnerships with SVCN and Thrive are essential to the Foundation’s success. Will the Foundation continue to support nonprofit organizational capacity both through grants and the Nonprofit Center through your training? Response by Patti PaceThe merger offers a lot of opportunities. We’re looking forward to learn more and this depends on multiple factors; precedent has been set. We are pro-actively growing and there are already established contacts with service providers. We are committed to training and capacity building. Some of your work will be to access community need. We want to be a resource for you in this journey. We believe that many programs never rise to the top of a community needs assessment as they are ongoing systemic needs such as reducing domestic violence, mental illness, drug abuse, senior, nutrition, housing and more. But there are many needs assessment that have just been completed UW, County Plan to end Homelessness, LPFCH Children’s Health, Preschool for All, City of San Jose Plan for Seniors, Health Trust and Obesity, FIRST 5 and others. How will you coordinate with others or do you plan to launch your own needs assessment? Response by Ellen ClearAt this time we do not plan on a new study. We already use some of the existing studies in our work, however we realize that a merger requires both organizational infrastructure changes and donor motivation toward a new vision. How is the foundation looking at those two issues as you move forward? Not sure about the infrastructure. We have a team from both PCF and CFSV working on this. We know that by working together we will have bright minds looking for solid creative ways to build this foundation both within the structure and within our donor community. However the Foundation is already working on the infrastructure through community meetings, joint leadership meetings. There’s work to be done prior to Dr. Carson’s arrival. There’s work to be done in the Human Resources department in terms of employee benefits, vacation time, salary etc. A communications group has already assembled and is working on the website, public information, the logo. All this needs to be done by January 1, 2007. The donor system has to be integrated to ensure that the two computer systems are integrated. The practical aspects need to be finished first such as location and all that has been mentioned before. SVCN Member Audience Input What we like to see in the area of Organizational Capacity support from the new foundation? Young Leader Support; need credible leadership development program. Succession Planning Continue to recognize the need for General Operating Support. Nonprofits need to have an HR department but most of the nonprofits are small and do not have the capacity to set that up. We need help in this area The HR dilemma goes double for the ethnic community. Work to increase our Donors of color and ethnic communities to become philanthropists Where do we see the gaps in funding of services? Services for seniors. There are limited substance abuse services for seniors. Seniors and prevention wellness programs Funding around immigration/refugee services. Advocacy Systems change, structure change. Disabilities services Mental illness services. Homeland security compliance issues will emerge for nonprofits including greater new Federal restrictions. Need for advocacy in social justice. There are those who get services because they are qualified, people that get services because they can pay for it but there is a divide between people that fall in the middle. It is a geographic and social gap. Kids in school, mentoring, volunteering, getting people involved. Foster care, kids that are aging out of foster care, and kids that fall between the cracks. Financial literacy. Prevention services in any area Foundation support in the juvenile detention area. What would you like to see happen at the new foundation? Drive to educate people to do more. Be a strong philanthropic advocate Continue general operating support. Figure out root causes and educate donors on root causes. Think locally. More emphasis on the nonprofit facility, the facility is important to the success of the organization. Look at practical systems. Need for an objective position paper; look at the cost savings of nonprofits. Is it worth it? Would it be cheaper if the nonprofits handed over the day-to-day activities to the County and/or City? Streamlined process of application. Final Comments from the panel The merger means a merger of two different cultures; need to keep this in mind. We are sympathetic to the grantees and potential grantees. We are aware that the money pot is limited and that the nonprofits are doing all they can with the limited money they are provided. Good idea to come back in 6-8 months for an update. We need all of you so we, the Foundation, can make it work. The two Foundation’s have more in common now We can learn from each other We are finding common ground The final culture after the merger is complete will be different |
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