Grantee Connect

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

On November 15 the BWGC continued its outreach to past grantees at a Grantee Connect gathering; the event fosters networking and shared learning among BWGC grantee alumnae.  Fifty-two people representing 40 grantee organizations attended the event.  Our theme of “Listen, Learn, Share and Evolve,” which covers listening campaigns and how to use them to inform and engage an organization’s many constituencies, continued.

The facilitator was Jennifer Pelton, Director of Development, at the Public Justice Center.   Jennifer frequently presents on topics ranging from successful board development, enhancing fundraising skills and managing the work/life balance in the nonprofit sector.

We kicked off with Lea Ferguson of Thread who gave an overview of the organization’s history and how it has evolved over the years to meet the needs of its clients, while staying true to its mission and supporting the staff.

Jennifer then asked attendees to pair up and had each pair discuss 1 ) three goals they currently are trying to achieve and 2) what resources they need to achieve them.   Their partner then gave advice to facilitate meeting these goals and gathering the resources needed.  Often advice was from personal experience or best practices gleaned through their own work.  Then the pairs switched roles allowing each to voice their needs and be the recipient of advice.  The object was to use the expertise in the room to help find solutions, for attendees to learn of organizations that might complement their work, and to generally spur partnership and collaboration across Baltimore.

We can be very proud that BWGC supports our grantees and continues to fill a niche after the grant cycle has finished.