Center on Community Philanthropy Summer 2016 Newsletter

Summer 2016Promoting  the  giving  of  time,  talent,  and  treasure   Inside our Issue:   News  from   Community  Partners!  La June Montgomery Tabron, President and CEO of the W.K. KelloggFoundationNational Conference Highlights Our  Inaugural  Researcher   in  Residence  The National Conference on CommunityPhilanthropy and Public Service took place April 7th and Center  Director                8th, 2016 on the grounds of the William J. Clinton Co-­‐authors  Book    Presidential Center and the University of Arkansas ClintonSchool. Its theme was Elevate Children, in which conference  participants explored the importance of prioritizing theneeds of vulnerable children as a core valueof community philanthropy.Our keynote speaker was La JuneMontgomery Tabron, President & CEO ofthe W.K. Kellogg Foundation. She spoke ofpersonal inspiration, the importance ofinvesting in and elevating children, andnew initiatives of the W.K. KelloggFoundation.We heard from four experts ofcommunity philanthropy, David Beckwith,Dr. Emmett Carson, Dr. Celeste Clark, andRamón Murguía. They are among sevenscholars whose essays are recentlypublished in our third Atty. Ramón Murguía, Dr. Celeste Clark, Dr. Emmett Carson, David Beckwith Continued on Page 2

compendium titled Community Philanthropy and Public Service: Practice Models of Giving, Civic Engagement, and Leadership Development. The compendium is available electronically on our website. We were inspired by panels of community philanthropy leaders and energized by Little Rock’s own Dr. Sherece West- Scantlebury of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation as our closing plenary speaker. We hope that those of you who participated gained from the dialogue presented and have taken some thoughts and inspiration back to your communities. We encourage you to explore the scholar essays in the compendium on our website and utilize it as a tool for your work.Happening  Now  in  Delta  Communities   Helena, AR Pine Bluff, AR Clarksdale, MS The Center’s partner the The Center’s Graduate The Center is supporting a Phillips County Workforce Assistant Katherine Brown new initiative of the Development Taskforce hasrecently launched a campaign presented her capstone Mississippi Delta, Higherfor Phillips County to become findings on \"Supportive Purpose Academy. An a ‘Work Ready’ community Housing for Persons with innovative community Disabilities and the Elderly in through the ACT Work Pine Bluff\" to a group of empowerment program forReady Community Initiative. interested community minority millennials in theThe initiative aims to develop leaders. The roundtable was MS Delta, the program aims a skilled workforce pipeline spearheaded by Pine Bluff's by encouraging individuals own Lori Walker of the City’s to engage minority to obtain a Career Readiness Economic and Community millennials on several topics Development Department. such as racial equity, financial Certificate and by     encouraging employers to literacy, building yourrecognize this certificate. This Lori Walker and Katherine Brown personal brand, andinitiative is part of a regional Page 2 entrepreneurship. The inaugural academy was grant through the East February 6, 2016, and more Arkansas Planning and academies will take place thisDevelopment District and the Delta Regional Authority. fall in Clarksdale.

The Center Hosts Inaugural Researcher in Residence   The Center on Community Philanthropy appointed Dr. Muthusami Kumaran from theUniversity of Florida as its first ever Researcher in Residence and Visiting Philanthropy Faculty for theSpring 2016 semester. Dr. Kumaran was selected to spend one semester at the Center on CommunityPhilanthropy supporting a local nonprofit Our House to collect, organize, and analyze data to advance   practice and performance of its mission. Dr. Kumaran has worked, studied, and been published extensively around the world. He is currently an assistant professor of Nonprofit Management and Community Organizations in the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences at the University of Florida, Gainesville. He received a Ph.D. in Urban and Public Affairs from the University of Louisville, Kentucky and a Ph.D. in Public Administration from the University of Madras, India, where he also earned his two Master’s degrees and a Bachelor’s of Science. “Strengthening capacity of the nonprofit and philanthropic sector is critical for communities across the state,” said Dr. Charlotte Williams, Director of the Center on Community Philanthropy. “Launching the Researcher in Residence initiative was an important step toward fostering more data driven practice and performance Heather Larkin, Arkansas Community within the field.” Foundation; Dr. Muthusami Kumaran; Dr. Charlotte Lewellen Williams Center Director Co-Authors Book Public service executives, both elected and appointed within the public and nonprofit sectors,are retiring at record levels, and the number of Americans reaching age sixty-five annually willcontinue to rise over the next decade and is expected to surpass  four million in 2020. Finding qualified, motivated leaders to fillvital public-service positions will challenge the public andnonprofit sectors. Unfortunately, recent studies show that few proactive stepsare being taken by public-service organizations to plan for the nextgeneration. Passing the Torch: Planning for the Next Generation ofLeaders in Public Service provides an outline for those who will befacing and managing these looming changes. In this valuable guide, the factors that influence selection ofa career in public service are explored through the authors’ yearsof experience as leaders in public service organizations andthrough interviews with other public service professionals. Passingthe Torch will be essential for leaders of nonprofit organizations,university faculty, researchers in the field of nonprofitmanagement, and students in nonprofit management courses. The Center’s Director Dr. Charlotte Lewellen Williams andthe Center’s past Visiting Faculty Scholar Dr. Karl Besel of IndianaUniversity Northwest co-authored the book, which will beavailable through University of Arkansas Press in October 2016.   Page 3

  1200 President Clinton Ave. Little Rock, AR 72201 Center Staff Connect with usDr.  Charlotte  Lewellen  Williams     www.  Facebook.com/     Associate  Professor  and  Director   CCPhilanthropy     @UACS_CCP   Abby  Olivier   Community  Relations  Manager   www.clintonschool.uasys.edu/   community-­‐philanthropy       Leaundra  Sanders     Senior  Administration  Manager   1200  President  Clinton  Ave.       Little  Rock,  AR  72201   Kevin  Hunt   (p)  501-­‐683-­‐5200   Community  Philanthropy  Fellow   (f)  501-­‐683-­‐5219