February 8, 2010
Rhode Island Foundation names nonprofit leaders Foundation Fellows
'Class of 2010' to incubate next 'great idea' for their organizations
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| 2010 Foundation Fellows (l to r) Fred Ordonez, Mev Miller, Ed.D., Peter Lee, Margaret Holland McDuff, Dale Klatzker, Ph.D., Susan Gustaitis, Katherine Brown, Ph.D., Ed Shea, David Gregg, Ph.D., and Rob Cardeiro | Susan Gustaitis of the Jonnycake Center in Peacedale will explore the possibility of opening a restaurant style soup kitchen where children and teens can have continual, safe, and reliable access to healthy food. Peter Lee of John Hope Settlement House will conduct conversations with stakeholders at the national and local level to determine how John Hope can stay relevant to the neighborhoods it serves. Dale Klatzker of the Providence Center will research programs designed to support chemically dependent high school students committed to being abstinent from drugs and alcohol.
“We have made significant changes to the Fellows program for 2010,” notes Neil D. Steinberg, President and CEO of The Rhode Island Foundation. “In this challenging and ever-shifting economic landscape, with the pressure on nonprofits to deliver more and new and improved programs and services, we want to provide leaders with an opportunity for research and development that could lead to true innovation, while focusing on their core missions.” Adds Jill Pfitzenmayer, director of the Foundation’s Initiative for Nonprofit Excellence (INE), “R&D has historically not been a component of nonprofit organizations. Most organizations are simply too overloaded and have neither the time nor the capacity for this critical work. The 2010 fellows will focus on coming up with the next “great idea” for their organizations – and we eagerly anticipate the results.”
In keeping with the spirit of the Fellows program, which had its first incarnation at the Foundation from 2000-2005 and was re-launched in 2009, nonprofit leaders are provided with time and support for reflection so that their organizations will continue to thrive well into the future. Fellows, who design their own projects subject to Foundation approval, receive a stipend of $10,000 from the Foundation, which also grants $5,000 to their organizations to compensate for the executive directors’ time devoted to their project work.
Pfitzenmayer notes that the Fellows program, part of a suite of capacity-building activities offered by the Foundation through the INE, “allows nonprofit leaders to gain new perspective, take time away from day-to-day operational responsibilities, and return to their organizations with new energy and focus.”
Between 2000 and 2005, 100 local executive directors went through the Fellows program. A comprehensive program review prepared for the Foundation in 2005 included the following highlights:
- Of the 88% of Fellows who reported they felt a renewed commitment to their work, 80% attributed this to the Fellowship experience.
- Of the 93% of Fellows who reported that they had become more effective leaders, 80% said that the Fellowship was a significant or very significant contributing factor.
- Of the 79% of Fellows who reported that they had introduced a new work direction to the organization, more than half (57%) said the Fellowship contributed significantly or very significantly to this outcome.
Abu Bakr, assistant to the president and director of planning services and professional development at University of Rhode Island, will facilitate the year-round group meetings of the Fellows.
2010 Fellows participants are:
Katherine Brown, Southside Community Land Trust, Providence
Position Southside Community Land Trust as a leader in guiding a movement toward “urban agricultural food villages” in Providence.
Rob Cardeiro, Norman Bird Sanctuary, Middletown
Explore the ecotourism movement and how Norman Bird Sanctuary could succeed in this emerging market.
David Gregg, RI Natural History Survey, Kingston
Explore ways for the Natural History Survey to attract new resources including students at Rhode Island’s universities, and to support land trusts stewarding increasingly large areas of land
Susan Gustaitis, Jonnycake Center of Peace Dale
Research the feasibility of opening a restaurant style food kitchen for children and teens.
Dale Klatzker, Ph.D., The Providence Center
Research programs designed to support chemically dependent high school students committed to being abstinent from drugs and alcohol.
Peter Lee, John Hope Settlement House, Providence
Conduct national and local community scan to determine how John Hope can stay relevant to the neighborhoods it serves.
Margaret Holland McDuff, Family Service of Rhode Island, Providence and North Kingstown
Research national models of effective partnerships and integrated services in preparation for planning Family Service of Rhode Island’s future.
Mev Miller, WE LEARN, Cranston
Research constituency needs, educational and technological resources to plan for expansion of WE LEARN’s community of learners, teachers, and community supporters
Fred Ordonez, DARE, Providence
Research feasibility of earned-income strategy for DARE |