London Community Foundation

Non-profit leadership program begins October 14th

September 29, 2009 - On October 14th, over 30 local business leaders representing all industry will be meeting over lunch at The London Club for what will be the first of six sessions of the 2009/2010 ENGAGE! London program.

Now in its fourth consecutive year, this complimentary non-profit leadership educational series introduces business people to the joys of philanthropy and volunteerism and arms people with the proper tools to make informative giving decisions.

Among the philanthropic topics covered:

• Building community capacity and why it is important
• The advantages of family engagement
• Rules, regulations, ethics, and responsibilities of volunteer board of directors of non-profit organizations
• Strategic philanthropy
• Volunteer experience

This year we’ve added something new to the curriculum. We’ve invited local charities to develop a case study based on a real life challenge they currently face. ENGAGE! London participants will be paired into working groups and each assigned one of the case studies. Groups will work with the charity as needed, and present their action plans or findings at the final ENGAGE! session.

ENGAGE! London is supported by a team of advisors called Ambassadors. Ambassadors are past participants of the program who have decided to continue their involvement by lending their time and talent to the ongoing design and implementation of the program.

This year’s ambassadors are:

Our Success
To date, 69 people have gone through the program. An evaluation survey is distributed to participants each year upon the conclusion of the program.

Of the 45 who have returned the survey:

• 75% planned to contribute to a charity by providing services in kind
• 97% planned to make a monetary contribution to a local charity, or any charity
• 64% were now considering joining a non-profit board
• 34% felt better-equipped to participate on the boards of which they were already a member
• 44% were going to define philanthropic goals with family
• 14% were going to work toward chairing a board within the next three years

Get involved in 2010/2011 season of ENGAGE! London
Gain insight on the important connection between your personal interests, work experience and career goals through local volunteerism and philanthropic opportunities all while meeting and networking with others.

This program was developed by London Community Foundation to assist individuals currently serving on non-profit boards, individuals thinking about joining a board, and other people involved in volunteerism at any level.

This program is focused on “time, talent, and treasure” philanthropy concept.

Participants in this series commit to six lunch and learn sessions over five months and a group study project. There is no cost and you will not be asked to donate money.

Seats are limited. If you are interested for next year’s program either as a participant or as charity case study contact, get in touch with our program coordinator, Cindy Graeme.

Sponsored by The London Club.