A Week in the Life

We’ve noticed that one of the questions we get quite often at PFund is some version of, “OK, so what exactly do you do? I mean, I know you give out money and you ask people for money, but how much time does that really take?”

It’s a good question. If you’ve never worked at a community foundation, it can feel a bit like smoke and mirrors: all of those people, all of that staff time, and what exactly fills up their time? We thought we would describe a few of the highlights from this week.

Monday:  In addition to the regular things like finance check-ins and planning for our year end ask (watch for it in your mail!), we also met with a group of six LGBT people under the age of 35 to begin thinking together about young LGBT donors, a queer youth giving circle and the power of young people in making change. 

Tuesday:  Well, as the song goes, if it’s Tuesday we must be in St. Cloud. PFund joined grantee partner OutFront Minnesota and the Minnesotans United for all Families campaign in attending a Community Action Training for people interested in defeating the marriage amendment in 2012. This was an opportunity for PFund to learn more about OutFront and MN United’s grassroots organizing and leadership development work and to meet some of our community members in St. Cloud.

Wednesday: Did you know that more than 100 LGBT people of color will be gathering in Minneapolis and St. Paul this December to share stories, learn strategies for community change and begin long term thinking about building capacity among LGBT people of color in the US? And did you know that PFund, along with the Astraea Foundation in New York, is hosting this gathering? It’s called BOLD (www.boldgathering.org) and it’s already happening. There are teleconferences for participants and other learning opportunities leading up to the December gathering. For staff at PFund, it means ongoing telephone calls and planning. We are hosting the opening events and helping to make sure that all of our guests are comfortable and ready to work together. This is part of what it means for a community foundation to support community infrastructure, making sure that our local LGBT people of color organizations have what they need to continue their work. On Wednesday, there were phone calls, phone conferences and staff debriefs. 

Thursday: You probably already know about the two reports PFund put out on LGBT seniors:  Equality as We Age and Ready to Serve?  You might also know that PFund was honored with the Excellence in Aging Award from SAGE. But you might not have known that PFund’s work on aging continues. On Thursday we will be meeting with an advisory group that has focused on creating a new request for proposals that will direct grant dollars towards advocacy work on behalf of LGBT seniors. 

 

Friday: At the end of the work day, we cap off the week with a taping at Bi Cities, the online cable access show. On BiCities Kate and Susan will talk about the jobshare, PFund's work and their vision for our impact. We’ll make sure you know when it’s being aired.

Here’s what we didn’t cover in our highlights: the piles of grant proposals on the table in Kayva’s office, planning grant reviewer orientation this Saturday, who we had coffee with and learned from, how much money came in to PFund this week as well as the ways we are planning to send it back out and more.  All of that, well, you’ll see it summarized in the annual report. Watch for that in another month or so.

Welcome New Board Members

PFund is proud to welcome six new members to our board. PFund is lucky that each of these leaders, with their wisdom, strong relationships across PFund’s community, and dedication, are joining our board of directors:

Curtis Brock brings more than 30 years of financial management and executive leadership experience to PFund. Over a long career at Alliant Techsystems, he served in numerous leadership roles, including vice president of enterprise operations, vice president of employee benefit solutions, vice president of internal audit, and director of finance. Since retiring, Curtis has become a certified financial planner. He has experience as a donor for multiple organizations and as a board member, most recently with the African-American AIDS Task Force.

 

Lois Carlson has been a friend of PFund since 1995. She has served as a board member, as co-chair for the PFund Cabaret fundraiser, as a long term donor, and as a volunteer, in multiple capacities. Currently serving as the vice president of investments at UBS Financial Services, Lois has also been a volunteer with the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus and other nonprofit organizations.

 Max Gries has a long history with PFund, from serving on grants and scholarship committees, participating in the executive director search committee, and being honored as PFund’s 2010 Power of One award winner. Max's leadership roles and volunteer experience have touched almost every major initiative, project, or organization in the Twin Cities transgender community. A musician, Max teaches private piano lessons and serves as house manager at the University of Minnesota’s Ted Mann Concert Hall. Max's skill sets include event planning and production, project management, and community building.

Jennifer Houston is experienced in nonprofit management, program development, and community outreach. Currently serving as a new program associate with the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation, Jennifer has also worked at West Side Community Health Services and the Minnesota Asian American Health Coalition. Bilingual in English and Spanish, her work experience includes broad community development work in Minnesota, New York, and El Salvador.

Alex Iantaffi’s doctorate work focused on the intersection of disability and gender in higher education. Alex is also a licensed family therapist; his professional experience and published work focus on human sexuality, transgender communities and LGBTQ family networks. Trilingual in Italian, English, and British Sign Language, Alex is an immigrant to the United States from Italy.  He is currently Project Coordinator with the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota. His volunteer and work experience includes many years of youth work, particularly with LGBTQ youth, and activism on issues of human sexuality and HIV/AIDS.
 

Lindsay Kruh is a long-time member of the PFund community, as a donor for both general operating funds and grants and as a volunteer serving on the communications committee. Currently a community volunteer, Lindsay retired in 2008 from Macy’s department store (previously Dayton’s/Marshall Field’s), where he spent the majority of his career in merchandising as a buyer, merchandise planner, and logistics manager. His most recent experience has been working with Project for Pride in Living (PPL), supporting its employment training effort. A longtime resident of the Powderhorn Park neighborhood in Minneapolis, Lindsay enjoys flower gardening, theater, and working out at the downtown YMCA.

Our First Glimpse Into PFund’s Grantmaking Process

Reflection by Kate and Susan

How many cooks does it take to finish the perfect dish? No, this isn’t the start of a joke. It’s more of an intro to reflecting on PFund’s letter of inquiry process. In August PFund kicked off our annual grant round. We received more than 80 letters of inquiry from LGBT nonprofits and programs seeking funding for the work they are doing across the Upper Midwest.

The reason for the whole cooking question in the first sentence is this: there were seven people – a mix of staff and community members – who spent four hours talking through the letters. Having never been a part of this process before, we were more than impressed by the thoroughness of the process. There were at least three times when “the majority” voted no on a particular project, not seeing the connection between the project description and PFund’s grant guidelines. On each of these occasions, one of the reviewers made a passionate and detailed pitch, asking the rest of us to reflect for a moment longer on the potential impact PFund funding could have. They pointed out elements we had missed, provided context we had overlooked, and generally made sure that some very viable projects got through that might otherwise have been overlooked.

This is why the community part of a community foundation is key: not a single one of us has enough information or insight to fully appreciate the breadth of our community. The only thing we can each agree to do is this: keep listening and be open to learning. PFund is grateful for every organization, project and individual leader working hard to make our lives more joyful. In the end we invited 35 groups to submit full proposals. From GSA development to theater productions, from lobbying to leadership development, this year’s set of applicants are responding to urgent and critical needs across the region and building powerful LGBT communities for the longhaul.

While we can’t yet fund everything that deserves to be funded, we are going to continue working hard to get closer to funding every single one of them. Go ahead, go online and make a donation towards that glorious future. 

http://givemn.razoo.com/story/P-Fund-Foundation

Matthew Antonio's Ode to PFund

Ode to PFund – Performed August 3, 2011 by Matthew Antonio Bosch (PFund Volunteer & REI Graduate)
at PFund’s SummerCAMP to raise funding & awareness for the Racial Equity Initiative

I only got 5 minutes, 5 minutes is all I got

(c) Anna Min

To tell you about PFund, so I gotta make this hot

First off, who am I, a bunch of y’all don’t know

A queer Latino from New York named Matthew Antonio

I started out with PFund as a community volunteer

Reviewing scholarships for queer students, just finished my 4^th year

Reading these amazing stories, from so very many queers

I realized at Age 16, I was nowhere near this fierce

Underground queer activism in rural communities & the church

Or academic excellence through active grad research

So after a few years of that, I learned about a group

Where you could connect with others & enter the queers of color loop

Alfonso said it’s REI, we’re a few years strong & countin’

(c) Anna Min

I said REI’s a camping store, I’m not rappellin’ off no mountain!

He said no, it’s an initiative devoted to racial equity

We’ll be promoting collaboration, leadership, & integrity

You’ll get to meet new people, Black Latino Asian

Native & Middle Eastern, look it’s a POC celebration

During my time with REI, we had some monthly meetings

To talk about our conferences, our workshops, & some readings

We shared our daily struggles & success with solidarity

Across unlikely allies with surprising levels of clarity.

They sent me to a conference for queer POCs

I wish that would happen here, but San Diego sure did please

(c) Anna Min

REI brought in some speakers, I actually use their stuff at work

Plus they fed us pizza & salad, chomp chomp mmm…what a perk!

I got to visit places I’d never been before

Like the office for Shades of Yellow, so awesome to explore.

So you see you get connected, as a result of REI

Increasing your knowledge base & your POC network on the fly

You might think “Ok so that’s done, well what happens when you finish?”

Well the doors swing out wide open, the opportunities don’t diminish

They asked if I’d join PFund’s committee to find the next Executive Director

Since I’m a volunteer, a donor, they called me a ‘community connector’

(c) Anna Min

So then I met the staff, the Board, & some amazing committee members

And we hired Susan & Kate, it was unanimous I remember

Now look at this place, people of every ethnicity, faith, & age

What were you ever thinking, giving me a microphone and a stage?

But now you know about PFund, our initiatives are ever raging,

And I hope you found this format very informative and engaging.

Thank you

Cathy Perry - 2011 Power of One Award Recipient

One after the other, as people who knew Cathy Perry found out she was the recipient of this year’s Power of One award, they paused and smiled, nodding their heads, and said, “yes, yes, that’s exactly right. That’s exactly who should receive it.” Cathy has that effect on people.

In 2006, Cathy moved to Bemidji, Minn. from San Francisco and immediately began to put down roots and build her new home. In working with Servant Hearts, Cathy was one of the founders of the Hospitality Initiative, a program which works to increase awareness, services and support for marginalized LGBTI2SQA youth and adults in Greater Minnesota.  Its vision and its efforts focus on creating inclusive, safe, welcoming and bias-free communities within the northern Minnesota rural region.

(c) Cathy Perry

Cathy founded the Human Connection Foundation, advocating for ESL students and their families. Since settling in Bemidji, she has done extensive community volunteer work, and event coordination for Evergreen House, Inc. and the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. Cathy's immense experience with cultural diversity training, working with volunteers, community organizations, leadership and being a world traveler compliments her passion in dispelling the disparities within the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and queer communities. In addition to Servant Hearts, Cathy serves on the Board of Directors for Rural AIDS Action Network (RAAN).

And that’s only the beginning. Cathy is one of those people who, when she sees a need or an opportunity, immediately joins in with others to create solutions that help make their shared community stronger. Cathy has been instrumental in the formation of a GSA at Bemidji High School. She has been a speaker at a variety of educational and community programs. Among them are Bemidji State University's GLBTA group, The Phoenix. She has spoken at Evergreen Services, the Beltrami, Cass and Hubbard Counties Sexual Assault Program.Cathy has been a guest speaker at several classes at Bemidji State University addressing gender equality. Cathy hosted Esera Tuaolo when he spoke at BSU for National coming Out Day. She has participated in conversations with Bemidji Middle School, Headwaters Allliance for Suicide Prevention.  

One of the three people who nominated Cathy, Jini Lawless (a PFund scholar), had this to say about Cathy:  “Cathy is a diligent, thorough, hard-working, committed woman who's forethought and dedication have made a profound impact in this community.  Cathy has brought light, information, and hope to a town where previously there had been little talk of LGBT issues or resources for LGBT people.”

It’s not only program development that takes Cathy’s time. She is someone who shows up for the biggest and the smallest jobs. From designing brochures to printing and distributing handouts to staying late to clean, she makes sure that every level of work is taken care of.

Cathy has been the momentum behind RAP (Respect Awareness Project)-a week long community educational event which will include a seminar with presentations by a physician, mental health provider, theologian, 3 presentations by Jamie Nabozny and daily empowerment drumming activities as well as opportunities for an open mic.  With each activity, Cathy has arranged venues, co-ordinated availibility of CEU's with Bemidji State University, provided "creature comforts", handouts, arranged for breaks and meals and generally provided hospitality to all attenedees.

Says Tandy Bowman, one of her other nominators, “Cathy’s activism, love for people and passion to make a difference is changing our northern community.  Cathy is a very strong leader and motivated, challenges the norm and expresses the need to improve, grow and build unified communities.  Her leadership is beyond words and those who work with her, around her or listen when she gives presentations, know that Cathy's passion for bias-free, inclusive and welcoming communities is what needs to be present continually.  She judges no one and her heart is always ready to accept the challenge to make changes.”

This is work of love for Cathy and her partner, Tandy Bowman. Just stop by their house on a regular Saturday afternoon. There will be young people in the kitchen making posters for a social event in the coming month, neighbors stopping by to talk about the news, and others coming in and out to drop off newsletters or something they’ve just finished baking. This is Cathy’s work and why PFund is honored to award her with the 2011 Power of One Award.

summerCAMP, racial equity and PFund’s legacy

In 2005, a group of Board members and community members of color – with a few white allies -  successfully created the first ever endowment for LGBT people of color in the US. That’s right – until six years ago, no such endowment existed. Shortly after that, the Funders for LGBTQ Issues began their Racial Equity Initiative (REI). REI directed dollars to community foundations, including PFund, to be used as grants for organizations run by and for LGBT people of color. These national dollars were to be matched by local dollars, the idea being that each local community would then build its capacity to fundraise for LGBT people of color organizations.

And so last week we partied precisely for that reason. PFund’s third ever summerCAMP event was also our largest yet. Over 80 people came together to deepen and build relationships, listen to powerful speakers including Kaoz, and to put some money into the REI bucket.
The REI initiative, a national initiative, ends this year. In December, Minneapolis will host a national convening as part of the ending note of a four-year project. BOLD: A Queer and Trans People of Color Gathering to Support our Liberation and Self Determination is a historic gathering that will be taking place from December 2-4 2011 in downtown Minneapolis. This gathering, which is being hosted by the Astraea Foundation and PFund Foundation, will convene over 80 queer and trans people of color organizations funded by eight foundations across the country. 

This gathering is historic because it’s the first national gathering of queer and trans people of color in the United States. The opportunity will provide attendees with an opportunity to build organizing skills, sharpen thinking, strengthen collective voice and create a vision for the future that speaks directly to histories of resilience, creativity, desire, passion and vision. Ten of the eighty people gathering will be coming from the Twin Cities metro area. Locally, we are excited to watch as they bring what they learn at the convening into their everyday work and lives.

This convening is the “closing note” of the Racial Equity Initiative work that has strongly informed PFund’s activities for the last three years. But the ending isn’t an ending. Instead, it’s a “closing forward.” PFund will “end” REI as part of an opening to the next chapter of PFund’s racial equity and racial justice work. PFund’s commitment to communities of color across the region predates REI. It continues long after the grant reports have been written and the REI evaluation has been completed. summerCAMP in 2011 was focused on raising dollars for the REI match.  summerCAMP 2012 will still raise dollars to be passed on to LGBT organizations in the upper Midwest working towards racial equity and racial justice. The party will continue to grow, as will the resources that PFund can provide.  We hope you want to be a part of it.

In the short term, you can do a whole host of things to support PFund’s racial equity and racial justice work:
•    Give towards the REI match through to the end of 2011
•    Consider making a legacy gift to go towards the Communities of Color endowment
•    Spread the word about this work, making sure that at PFund we know about emerging LGBT organizations or projects that center racial equity and racial justice

And keep watching this page!  We will make sure you stay in the loop about the ending of REI and the vision for moving forward.

Phew… that’s about all we can say

Well, we were warned but we refused to believe. We were warned that at the six month mark of this new position, we would need to stop for a minute, look around, clear our heads and then look around once more. In other words, we would wake up from that place of being a brand new Executive Director to being the ongoing Executive Director. It’s like that moment where you begin to see enough pieces of a puzzle to get a sense of how the whole thing fits together. And the “ah-ha” moments that go along with that are part of why we have been silent in the PFund blogosphere for the last month. But while we have been quiet, we have also been active:

• Cheering a lot as we welcomed Kayva Yang as the new PFund Program Officer. Kayva’s incredible skills and insight in the area of grant programming and community capacity building has already begun to build on PFund’s past work. It’s truly been amazing.
• Cheering a lot more as we welcomed a range of new members to our Board of Directors. We are lucky to begin working with Lois Carlson, Max Gries, Jennifer Houston, Alex Iantaffi, Curtis Brock and Lindsay Kruh.
• Talking with a range of community members and fellow funders about the proposed anti-gay marriage amendment in 2012 and continuing to think about our role in this work and, in particular, how we can continue to work in partnership to build the strength of the LGBT community for the long term.
• Listening to grantee partners share stories of how the state shutdown impacted them and their communities and sharing these stories with our peers in philanthropy
• Finishing our fiscal year 2011 in a strong place, ending on budget and exceeding our expectations for our end-of-year June fundraising campaign thanks to our generous PFund donor community!
• Continuing through our strategic planning which includes looking more deeply at our history as well as our projected future. We have been busy gathering data and crafting questions, and now we are entering the time of interviewing stakeholders and crafting the nuts and bolts of our plan.

Among staff, we’ve talked about coming to the end of a year of transition; a period that began when the outgoing ED, Greg Grinley, left PFund a little less than a year ago. Kayva’s hire represents the last part of this period of transition. It has been fabulous to welcome Board members and strategic planning steering committee members who reflect PFund’s 25 years of history even as we are in the process of forming a brand new staff team. Our guesstimate is that we have about six more months before this “newness” feels like old hat – and we are excited to launch into our new fiscal year with a strong and complete Board and staff team.  

As we launch forward into fiscal year 2012, you are going to be the best reflection on how well we are putting together the pieces of the puzzle. As we continue to check in with our founders, with people who have been involved with PFund across our almost-25 year span, and with people who are brand new to the PFund community, we continue to look for ways to bring the future and the past together.  So consider this a standing invitation to pick up the phone and let us know how we’re doing, ok?