Spotlight On: Philanthropy

I belong to a local Phoenix group called Valley Contributors Network. We are a bunch of corporate funders who get together once a month, or so, and talk about issues that are common to all of us … and, no, it’s not just a good excuse for a free lunch (heaven knows how we corporate funders feel about rubber chicken lunches). This is a good way for us to stay abreast of trends, local developments and best practices. We bounce things off of each other and we also discuss what is coming down the pike.

Some of the other topics we’ve covered:
o Contributions surveys
o United Way and online giving
o Contributions databases
o Dollars for Doers programs

We’ve had discussions around
o critical questions that grantmakers face
o which charities are doing capital campaigns and when
o what is the up-and-coming charity and why

And, inevitably, we talk about the best places to go for information (this is not meant to be a comprehensive list):

Phoenix Metro Area
o Just Grants!
o Community Information and Referral
o Arizona Grantmakers Forum

National
o The Conference Board
o Chronicle of Philanthropy
o Public Affairs Council
o The Council on Foundations
o 1-800-Volunteer.org
o Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship

So, visit a few of these web sites. Hope they prove helpful to you. And, any chance you get, join or form a Valley Contributors Network of your own.

Finally, any of my fellow VCN members out there who might be reading this, would love to have you as a guest blogger … !