SD Grantmakers In Depth:
Nonprofit Leadership and Transition Challenges

This SDG IN DEPTH online monthly publication is developed, in lieu of a printed newsletter, by San Diego Grantmakers to keep you informed about special topics of interest to grantmakers. Feel free to forward, print out, and/or refer to it later as desired! In addition to IN DEPTH, we also publish SDG Update, a monthly member online newsletter. Our mission is to connect, educate, develop, and inspire a diverse group of foundations and corporations to stimulate effective philanthropy in the San Diego region. For more information, visit www.SDGrantmakers.org.

Call to Action: What YOU Can Do

Concerned about the problem of nonprofit leadership development? SDG is convening a group of funders to join together and discuss what we can all do to help address the problem here in San Diego. The Fieldstone Foundation has offered to host this conversation--please join us!

Funder Discussion on Nonprofit Leadership Development
July 24, 2006, 12:00-2:00pm
Location: Fieldstone, 5465 Morehouse Drive, Suite 250, San Diego
Lunch

RSVP today to programs@sdgrantmakers.org.

The USD Center for Applied Nonprofit Research has released a Report on Executive Transition in the San Diego Nonprofit Sector. Recent national studies of executives in the nonprofit field have indicated that the sector will soon be facing a massive transition in leadership. In this study, the Center sought to define and understand the challenges posed by executive transition, and how it pertains specifically to San Diego nonprofit sector, with particular focus on the number of San Diego nonprofit executives who plan to retire or leave their positions in the next 5 years.

Click here for an Executive Summary of the report (pdf).
Click here to read the full report (pdf).
Click here to listen to the KPBS "These Days" segment about the report.

On May 31, SDG, The San Diego Foundation, Jewish Community Foundation, and LEAD San Diego cosponsored the event "A Call to Action: San Diego’s Nonprofit Leadership Challenge," hosted by USD. Nearly 200 nonprofits and funders came together to examine this critical challenge to the well being of the nonprofit sector in San Diego, and across the country. After reviewing the research highlighted here, attendees considered leadership transition case scenarios in generation-specific discussions. A panel of leaders at different stages then talked about their experience with succession planning. The bottom line of the day was that there is room for improvement in this area, and that funders have a role to play.

The event also featured guest speaker Frances Kunreuther, the Executive Director of the Building Movement Project. She recommended that the sector 1) do a better job of investing in younger leadership by recognizing their different talents and perspectives, 2) make it more viable for baby boom leaders to move on, 3) change the way executive director jobs are structured, 4) consider reconfiguring traditional organization structures, and 5) create opportunities for honest intergenerational dialogue to prepare leaders and organizations for the future.  Click here for a pdf of Kunreuther's presentation.

CompassPoint's Daring to Lead 2006

Daring to Lead 2006 is a comprehensive national study of executive leadership at community-based nonprofits. Based on nearly 2,000 surveys from 8 metropolitan areas, the report provides current data on executive turnover, compensation, career plans, and retirement. It also explores leading causes of executive burnout---in particular, widespread frustration with boards of directors and funders. It identifies the skills that community-based executives most want and need to build along with the professional development strategies that they employ. The report concludes with recommendations to executives, boards, funders, and capacity builders. Click here to download the full report (pdf), or get a printed version from the CompassPoint bookstore.

Bridgespan on the Leadership Deficit

The Bridgespan Group has completed their own report on succession challenges in nonprofits. In Thomas J. Tierney's words:

"The need for senior talent is a recurring theme in our work with clients. Founders of organizations move on; growth brings the need for new functional capabilities; and, as we all know, our nation faces a looming “brain drain” as the first baby boomers are set to retire from full-time positions. Finding the right people to fill leadership roles has always been challenging, but our perception is that it is becoming increasingly difficult.

In 2005, a Bridgespan Group team set out to better understand the landscape of the nonprofit sector’s senior labor market. What we discovered was a stunning gap: a potential need, over the next decade, for more than half a million new nonprofit leaders. And, while some organizations, including our own, are recognizing and beginning to formulate responses, we believe that this is a sector-wide issue that will need our collective attention and support.

“The Nonprofit Sector’s Leadership Deficit” (pdf of the white paper) describes our research and begins to lay out some ideas for discussion and action. In addition to the paper and financial model, we are delighted to be able to provide responses from 14 commentators whose essays reflect different ideas and perspectives on how to begin."

Click here for a link to The Bridgespan Group's site on the leadership deficit (with links to more resources).

GEO: Investing in Leadership

Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) has another publication relevant to this issue: "Investing in Leadership Volume 2: Inspiration and Ideas from Philanthropy's Latest Frontier." The guide discusses the way in which various foundations--including our own SDG members The Fieldstone Foundation and The James Irvine Foundation--have supported nonprofit leadership development. Click here to download the document. Also, don't forget that GEO Executive Director Kathleen Enright will be speaking at the 2006 SDG Annual Conference on October 4, 2006!

Upcoming SDG Programs

N2: Networking at Northern Trust
A FEW 4th WEDNESDAYS
June 28, 4 - 5:30pm
August 23, 12 - 1:30pm
September 27, 4 - 5:30pm Grants Review & Decisions
October 25, 12 - 1:30pm
Location: Northern Trust
Network with and learn from your SDG member colleagues! The September session will feature a special funder panel discussion on Grants Review & Decisions.

Keeping San Diego’s Children and Teens HEALTHY
Laura Spiegel, First 5; Sandra McBrayer, The Children’s Initiative; Roseann Myers, The Commission for Children, Youth and Families
July 13, 2006, 8:30am – 10:30am
Location: UCSD Preuss School
Breakfast Included

Funder Discussion on Nonprofit Leadership Development
July 24, 2006, 12:00-2:00pm
Location: Fieldstone, 5465 Morehouse Drive, Suite 250, San Diego
Lunch

Viva La Volunteer: Corporate Employee Engagement
September 7, 2006, 8:30-10:30am
Location:  AMN Healthcare
Sponsors:  Sempra, Washington Mutual
Breakfast

An Exploration: SDG Family Foundation Peer Learning Network
September 13, 4-6pm
Location: Home of Valerie Jacobs and Norm Hapke

San Diego Grantmakers Annual Conference: 
Grantmakers as Change Makers
October 4, 2006, 8am-3pm
Location: NTC Promenade, 2875 Dewey Road, San Diego
Breakfast and Lunch Included
$100 SDG members; $150 nonmember grantmakers

Distinguished Speaker Series: Mayor Jerry Sanders
A Philanthropic Lens for San Diego’s Future
November 1, 2006, 11:30am-1:00pm
Location: Aboard Holland America Lines ms Zaandam (in port),
1140 N. Harbor Drive
Lunch Included
Fee

All programs are free for SDG members except where indicated. To RSVP, please call (619) 744-2180 or email programs@sdgrantmakers.org.

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