President’s Report – Fall 2018

Welcome to the fifth edition of the President’s Report. In this edition I will highlight some of our recent accomplishments and aspirations. To learn more about the Beveridge Family Foundation, please visit  www.beveridge.org. Descendants of Frank Stanley Beveridge should be sure to read the “Bev Bucks“ section near the end of this report. Pioneer Valley non-profits won’t want to miss the final Alternative Funding Workshop of the year. Info and registration is below in the Alternative Funding Initiative section.

Recent Grants

At the October 2018 Board meeting, we authorized $666,500 in grants to a variety of organizations in Western Mass. This brings the total grants for the year to $2,224,103. Following is a list of the recent grantees with links to their websites so you can learn more about our wide variety of interests and the outstanding work done by these dedicated organizations.

Alternative Funding Initiative

Over the last few years we have been honing a strategy around impact investing. The fruition of our efforts have resulted in workshops held in the Fall of 2018. Each was designed to form cohorts of similarly-sized nonprofits at the same stage of implementation of individual alternative funding strategies. We are working towards an ambitious goal of 90 participants in cohorts across four strategies. Each strategy is led by a nationally recognized consultant to help drive participants from one stage to the next in education, planning, implementation, and completion. You can read more about the beginnings of this initiative in our Alternative Funding Survey results and our Summer 2018 President’s Report.

On June 6, 2018 Ward unveiled the details of our strategy to enhance funding for nonprofits in Pioneer Valley. The event was hosted by our partner, the Human Service Forum. Before a sold-out crowd, we described the history and reasoning of the initiative, our vision, and how it will work. Following the presentation,  a panel of experts discussed their experiences and capabilities in alternative funding concepts.

We began the workshops with Endowed Projects, an area that is approachable to many of those nonprofits as it is closer to what they already do. And yet, they admit they have struggled with success. Chuck Gordon of the Kensington Group has had tremendous success in this area and is already working with others in the eastern part of the state on this specific model. Chuck led the first workshop on September 27th, 2018.

Alyssa Wright led the second workshop on October 24th, 2018 focusing on enhanced cost savings. This is an area of tremendous opportunity. Alyssa has valuable experience implementing and teaching effective techniques for cost savings.

VQ Strategies will present our final workshop of the year focusing on enhanced volunteer engagement on Wednesday, December 5th, 2018!

Join us for an interactive and engaging workshop designed to provide participants with a high level training on volunteer engagement. Throughout this program, participants will hear the current volunteer engagement trends and research on volunteering and giving. Our presenters will cover how you can shift your organization from a culture of volunteer management to a culture of volunteer engagement, while providing an overview of the leading practices on this important topic.

As a leader of a cohort, VQ Volunteer Strategies will provide participants with an overview of the project, eligibility, participation expectations and the application process for their cohort beginning this Fall. It looks to be an exciting program, with in-person coaching sessions, cohort-wide virtual coaching, and individual consultations to help organizations create, plan, and implement a strategic plan for volunteer engagement.

Register now at:
https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07efshce4208b3e7eb&oseq=&c=&ch=

We are planning additional workshops for the Spring of 2019. Sign-ups for the workshops will be handled by the Human Service Forum.

So far, the following have engaged in our Alternative Funding workshops hosted by the Human Service Forum:

• Autism Connections, a program of Pathlight
• Behavioral Health Network, Inc.
• Berkshire Hills Music Academy
• Beveridge Family Foundation (and we learned a lot!)
• Center for Human Development
• Center for New Americans
• Collaborative for Educational Services
• Community Action Pioneer Valley
• Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts
• Community Survival Center
• Dress for Success Western Massachusetts
• Franklin Hampshire Career Center
• Friends of Children Inc.
• Girls Inc. of Holyoke
• Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity
• Homework House
• Junior Achievement of Western Massachusetts, Inc.
• Mental Health Association
• Mission Velocity
• Multicultural Community Services
• New England Business Associates
• New Kensington Group
• OneHolyoke Community Development Corporation
• Pathlight
• Public Health Institute of Western MA
• Revitalize CDC
• Riverside Industries, Inc.
• Robert F Kennedy Children’s Action Corp
• ServiceNet
• Snow Farm: The New England Craft Program
• South End Community Center
• Springfield School Volunteers
• Tapestry Health Systems Inc, dba Tapestry
• The Food Bank of Western Mass.
• The Gray House
• Valley Educational Associates, Inc.
• Viability, Inc.
• Western Mass Training Consortium

In addition, Paul Silva of Angel Catalyst has been conducting cohort training on for-profit activities for nonprofits. Paul’s results from 2018 include:

• 10 innovation teams | in 3 cohorts | from 7 nonprofits
• $500k in seed funding raised by alumni for their projects (in 2018).
• Nearly doubled students’ confidence in how to build and scale innovative projects.
• Nearly tripled students’ ability to identify all of a project’s stakeholders, their incentives, and the roles they can play in helping (or hindering) a project’s success.
• Killed bad ideas quickly & cheaply. 100% of graduating teams that gathered evidence their idea was untenable had the courage to kill the idea and move on.

The following have been through at least one session of Paul’s Nonprofit Accelerator:

• Pathlight
• Solidago Foundation
• Riverside Industries
• Viability
• TechFoundry
• Human Service Forum
• Community Education Project

Cohorts are forming now across the four concepts of parallel for-profit activities, extensive cost recovery strategies, enhanced volunteer development, and endowed projects. Contact the Paul Silva and the Human Service Forum to sign up now.

Overall with 45 participants reaching half our outrageous goal of 90, we are pleased to have had so much reach, but of course, would like more.

Impact Investing

As of October 31, 2018, the investment value of the Foundation was at $55,512,241 down 3.5% since April 2018. The assets remain prudently invested among common sectors under the guidance of UBS. We would like to use investment dollars to advance our mission in the community. To that end, we invested in the Wellspring Harvest Greenhouse a few years ago and are pleased that their hydroponic greenhouse coop is now in production. We would like to make other investments and have partnered with Common Capital to create the Pioneer Valley Social Impact Fund. At our October 2018 Board meeting, we voted to authorize a loan of $500,000 to a local nonprofit. We are keeping the details confidential while the process is still underway.

Site Visit Schedule

The Beveridge Family Foundation accepts grant applications twice per year. As part of the process, we complete site visits for nonprofits we have not visited in several years, or where there have been significant changes. We have shifted the dates of the site visits later to avoid August and February dates which are difficult for many due to vacations and winter weather.

Our next deadline for funding is February 1, 2019. Visit the eligibility section of our website to start your application process now.

Pioneer Valley Data Collaboration

We are pleased to join with our peers in an effort to better utilize data in our decision-making, and to make data more available to the community for the improved detection and analysis of issues. We are thankful to the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission for taking on much of the work in assembling and presenting the data, and to working with the constituents to determine data priorities. A beta version of a website has been receiving vigorous testing and the feedback is quite positive. The site will be unveiled for public access in January 2019.

Center for Effective Philanthropy – Grantee 360

We see the effects of good management in the nonprofits we fund. The use of data in questioning one’s own beliefs is an important aspect of continued improvement. In that spirit, we are working with the Center for Effective Philanthropy to survey our recent grantees to better understand our impact, processes, and performance. The survey results have been collected and will be available for our analysis in early 2019. Thank you to all who participated in the confidential survey.

Bev Bucks

Many people are feeling stress due to the heightened political drama and resulting harm to our social systems. Some feel helpless to effect real change in a complex world. Philanthropy is an area where you can have a real, positive, lasting impact.

Get involved with a non-profit organization you think is deserving and interesting. You can volunteer to help in their work, raise money, or increase awareness. Benefits include work experience, friendships with like-minded people, and a better understanding of how to work with others on a common goal. You will find that the time spent provides fulfillment well beyond most other endeavors.

Descendants of Frank Stanley Beveridge can make a pitch for the Foundation to provide funding of up to $5,000 to your chosen charity. All you need to do is to write a short appeal for the organization.

Include the following:

• Your name
• You email address
• The name of the organization you want to see given a grant
• The address
• A contact person including name, phone number, and email address
• The organization’s mission
• Why the organization is important
• What it means to you. Be sure to mention if you are involved with them, and how.

Be sure to describe any personal connection between you and the nonprofit. Email it to me at caswell@www.beveridge.org and I’ll get right back with you.

The deadline for submissions for Bev Bucks consideration this Spring will be April 1, 2018. There is a limited pool of funding available, so do your best to make a case for your favorite non-profit. It’s a good idea not to mention anything about the Bev Bucks opportunity to the selected charity until after an award has been granted by the board.

As always, we hope to hear from you. Be sure to check out www.beveridge.org for more information about the history and mission of the Beveridge Family Foundation.

Regards,

Ward S. Caswell
President
The Beveridge Family Foundation, Inc.
caswell@www.beveridge.org