UPCOMING LEARNING SESSIONS
Cash Flow Projections & Budgeting and Scenario Planning: Critical Tools for Financial Management during a Time of Crisis
Presenter/Facilitator: Brian Kellaway, Nonprofit Finance Fund
Thursday, June 25, 8 – 9:30 am or Wednesday, July 8, 8 – 9:30 am
This is designed to be a highly participatory small-group meeting that builds off of two, hour-long webinars on Cash Flow Projections and Budgeting and Scenario Planning that must be viewed in advance. This is designed for organizations that are not already using cash flow projections, budgeting and scenario planning to assist with financial management and planning. Ideally, the Executive Director and a member of the Finance Team (could be the Board treasurer) would participate together. More detailed information can be found on our website.
Registration required.
To register, email [email protected]
Fundamental Strategic Questions at a Time of Crisis: A Two-Part Workshop
Workshop 1: Taking Stock of Your Organization: Where Are We Now?
Workshop 2: Hang On, Merge, Close: Making Tough Choices During A Crisis
Presenter: Lara Jakubowski, La Piana & Associates
Wednesday, July 29, 8 – 9:30 am and Wednesday, August 5, 8 – 9:30 am.
This is a 2-part learning session. Participants commit to both dates. This is ideal for both executive directors and board members.
Registration for both days is required. You must register for each day separately.
Webinar #1 Registration Link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jUvnYKl4TCyYS4iWUo64wg
Webinar #2 Registration Link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__baMQJaXRJmrII83fqo5SA
GRANT OPPORTUNITIES
Technology Mini-Grants [NEW]
No more than $5K for technology needs related to COVID-19
Find the opportunity here: https://cshf.net/grants/grant-opportunities/
No deadline. Mini-grants available until funding is exhausted.
Consulting Services Mini-Grants [NEW]
No more than $2.5K for COVID-19-related capacity-building/TA consulting needs
Find the opportunity here: https://cshf.net/grants/grant-opportunities/
No deadline. Mini-grants available until funding is exhausted.
Capacity-Building/Technical Assistance Funding Opportunity
For larger capacity-building/TA needs
Find the opportunity here: https://cshf.net/grants/grant-opportunities/
No deadline. Grants available until funding is exhausted.
Visit our website for a resource list related to capacity building.
Grantmaking Update
In March, Colorado Springs Health Foundation awarded $3.2MM in new grants, some of which are multiyear. Among some of the larger grants made included support for Care & Share’s local hunger relief efforts; an investment in the Colorado Springs Fire Department’s Community and Public Health Division; support for UCCS’s National Resilience Institute’s work on trauma in emergency departments; and investment in the University of Colorado Denver’s Fostering Resilience in Early Education program to be initiated in El Paso County.
At roughly the same time that these grant awards were made, the COVID19 pandemic arrived and has resulted in immeasurable challenges to our community’s health and economy. In response, CSHF made a $500,000 gift to the Pikes Peak Community Foundation’s Emergency Relief Funds for El Paso and Teller Counties. These funds have been used for COVID19 health-related needs, and have been spent primarily on emergency food and telehealth-related expenses.
In addition, the CSHF trustees approved an increase to the annual payout, which means that there remains approximately $700,000 to be paid out in grants this calendar year. In large part, the funds will be used toward COVID-19 related capacity-building/technical assistance needs to include planning for and addressing the “new normal.”
Please see our website for more information on these opportunities.
Landscape Scan re: Local Collaborative Efforts
CSHF completed a landscape scan in Fall 2019 to better understand the current state of regional collaborating, coordinating and networking within its funding focus areas. This work grew out of its funded partners expressing a desire for greater knowledge of and engagement in collaborative efforts.
The 2019 scan indicated that El Paso and Teller Counties boast a fair number of collaborative efforts related to CSHF funding focus areas, especially those related to select dimensions of access to healthcare. There is less collaborative activity occurring within suicide prevention or healthy environments, and the scan yielded only one collaborative effort related to the healthcare workforce shortage focus area. This difference may be a result of the fact that access to healthcare is a very broad domain relative to the other funding focus areas. Still, opportunities may exist to bolster collaborative efforts, and those suggested related to behavioral health, healthcare workforce shortage, transportation, and affordable housing, which is currently not one of CSHF’s funding focus areas.
One of the biggest, but not surprising, findings is there is no common definition of collaboration. Interviewees’ understanding of collaboration varied significantly and reflected a range of collaborative efforts from coordinating bodies, coalitions, networks and true collaborations. Examples of true collaboration are rare, and there appears to be confusion about what, when and how collaboration (vs. other models) should be deployed.
The 33 interviewees also shared general thoughts on collaboration. Many expressed a desire for more professional development, trainings and workshops on collaboration. There is also an interest in understanding better the role of backbone organizations. Interviewees acknowledged the challenges with collaborative work, but noted that outcomes may be worth the time and effort.
Based on these findings, CSHF will offer learning sessions on the topics of collaboration, collaborative models, collective impact, backbone organizations and related topics. The full report is available to anyone interested, and includes a list of existing collaborative efforts noted by interviewees. The complete landscape scan on the CSHF website.
What We Learned about the Learning Collective Pilot
CSHF recently conducted an evaluation of its Learning Collective (a professional learning community), which CSHF piloted in Fall 2019 with ten local organizations. The evaluation focused on three broad areas: participant experience, participant application of content and future direction for a learning collective approach.
Overall, participants found the Learning Collective useful, especially for skill building. Participants found the content practical, relevant and resources valuable. They found it less helpful for building relationships with other participants. Participants felt prepared to implement changes within their organizations, but others found implementation challenging due to organizational time and resource limitations. Overall, the evaluation’s mixed results suggest that a learning collective may not be the best approach to meet the desired outcomes.
Will CSHF offer a Learning Collective in the future? It depends. If the goal is skill-building, then CSHF will likely develop skill-building sessions through its Learning Series format, which requires a less intensive time commitment while meeting the needs of our funded partners.
You can find the evaluation report on our website.
What We’re Reading or Listening to Now
Everything we can get our hands on regarding how philanthropy can address racial inequity.
Vu Le on stopping with the excessive gratitude:
https://nonprofitaf.com/2020/05/is-there-such-a-thing-as-too-much-gratitude-yes-and-its-been-harmful-to-our-work/
A framework for thinking about big change in your organization:
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58cff9a0414fb598d9e98e20/t/5e9775a8e84e6c2fab92c083/1586984361072/COVID-19-Nonprofit-Decision-Framework.pdf
“Why the Coronavirus is so deadly for black Americans” This Ezra Klein Show podcast features Dr. David Williams, professor of public health and chare of the department of Social & Behavioral Sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Warning: It is long, but it is worth it if you want to better understand why such profound health inequities and disparities exist among black Americans, both historically and in the time of COVID19. Search for the Ezra Klein Show wherever you get your podcasts
The connection between poverty, pollution and COVID 19:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/17/climate/pollution-poverty-coronavirus.html
How improvements for some benefit many. Thanks to a reference in a recent Vu Le blog post, we were reminded of a great article by Angela Glover Blackwell in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Winter 2017:
https://ssir.org/articles/entry/the_curb_cut_effect