EngAGEment Snapshot: Arizona Grantmakers Forum

The EngAGEment Initiative partners Grantmakers in Aging with regional  associations of grantmakers and other national organizations to introduce grantmakers to the many needs of our aging population.

Guest Post by Lindsay Mitchell, Communications Associate, Arizona Grantmakers Forum

When I first joined Arizona Grantmakers Forum in November, it was just two months before the launch of our EngAGEment Initiative. Being a young/emerging professional in the philanthropic sector, I have to admit it that grantmaking in aging was not the most captivating issue to me. However, being as new to Arizona as I was to the Forum, I assumed that aging would be a hot topic among funders, nonprofits and policy makers here. After all, this is where huge numbers of people come to retire, if they can’t stand the Florida humidity—right?

10 Questions or Less for Joseph Piearson

10 Questions or Less is a feature here on the Forum’s Forum in which we get to know regional association staff members a little better—their work, what drives them, and more. This week,  Joseph Piearson, Program Associate at the Iowa Council of Foundations. If you would like to suggest someone for a profile through 10 Questions or Less, contact Dan Brady.

You recently led the Intro to Salesforce webinar, along with Rosemary Morby of Donors Forum of Wisconsin. Can you tell us a little about the webinar and how it came together?

The webinar was really a bit of an introduction for RA’s who have an interest in exploring SalesForce. We have been using SalesForce at the Iowa Council of Foundations (or ICoF as we say) for about a year and half and love it! The Donors Forum of Wisconsin is currently in the process of exploring the platform and customizing it for their own use, so I’ve been working a lot with Rose to share what we have done and to learn more about their approach. The webinar was a great way to share how ICoF and DFW are using and plan to use SalesForce to enhance our work. The Forum has been great with organizing the webinar and putting together a SalesForce working group. Working with DWF has been extremely beneficial for both of us, and I look forward to having this channel available through the Forum to learn from other RAs as they begin to use SaleForce.

Mark Sedway Goes Outside for ABAG’s Annual Meeting

At last week’s Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers Annual Meeting, keynote speaker Mark Sedway, Director of The Philanthropy Awareness Initiative, encouraged ABAG’s members to “go outside,” beyond their usual spheres of influences and peer networks to tell their stories about the impact of philanthropy.

Below is a video from Sedway’s presentation. View the whole thing on our YouTube Channel.