Community Vitality in Action

ENGAGE!

London Community Foundation

THE PROJECT
While conducting a feasibility study with a local non profit organization about their future capacity, leaders at the London Community Foundation observed that locally, there was a need to foster the next generation of community leaders and stakeholders.. Further research was done around North America (with community foundations and local branches of the United Way, etc.) to collect information about ongoing work to cultivate potential community leaders who have the time, talent and treasure to give back as a serious volunteer, as well as the inclination to give philanthropically, when the time is right. 

In the beginning stages of conducting research to develop a responsive solution, leaders of the foundation met with members of the Young Presidents Association (an elite group of entrepreneurs) in London, who provided insight about what the segment of giving and volunteer-minded community leaders desired. 

As a result, the ENGAGE! London program was created to build knowledge, skills, and awareness of community leadership and to cultivate the next generation of potential board members, leaders, and volunteers.  The foundation developed a curriculum for this free series of non-profit learning opportunities, and the themes include the following:

  1. Networking, Volunteerism, Introduction to the Community Foundation 
  2. Strategic Philanthropy
  3. A Case Study (Working with one charity to develop a white paper with recommendations)
  4. Family Philanthropy
  5. Governance
  6. Corporate Social Responsibility

Now in its fifth year, the ENGAGE! London program begins each fall and continues through the spring.  Sessions are planned over a two-hour breakfast each month, and to ensure consistent participation, the foundation mandates that participants have to come to 5 of the 6 sessions.  The ENGAGE! program, which now has a waiting list of those who want to participate,  continues to attract interest from the community.  

LESSONS LEARNED

  1. Build in the notion of endowment.  As the community foundation focuses on legacy and legacy building, the ENGAGE! program is one way to explore and consider different product offerings.  Some people in the ENGAGE! program want to see immediate gratification, and the community foundation is still the vehicle for that;  through engagement with the community foundation, program participants can learn about other means of giving,  and when the time is right, the donor can make informed decisions about his/her giving through what he/she has learned through time spent in the ENGAGE! program. 
  2. Focus on quality of curriculum, not quantity of topics or participants.  Developing the curriculum was a challenge initially; 50 topics were offered for consideration, and there were only 6 meetings.  Boiling this down took tremendous time and consideration, and honing in on six topics was quite manageable, and it offered time to explore each topic in depth.  Also, instead of focusing on recruiting 100+ people per class, the London Community Foundation wanted to be more selective and hand-pick 25 people at a time that fit a certain demographic.  The targeted group consists of 30-50 year old professionals that have the time, ability, affluence, and influence to give back.
  3. Keep people engaged.  With more than 100 graduates of the program, the community foundation makes efforts to continue correspondence and offer activities for alumnae of the program. 

NEXT STEPS
With next generation leadership being a priority for community foundations all over Canada and the United States, the structure of the ENGAGE! London program is a wonderful model of what could be adopted.  The London Community Foundation is currently working with 2-3 additional community foundations to help develop the program.  Also, in its successful efforts to strengthen participant engagement, the foundation has introduced a newsletter, and it offers up to date insight about the program through various forms of social media.