A Planned Giving Collaborative Children’s Village ●Inwood House ● Safe Space Time Tested Models of Innovation June 5 th , 2009 University of San Diego School of Leadership & Education Sciences
About The Children's Support Foundation
The Children's Support Foundation is a planned giving collaborative among three leading New York City youth service agencies - Children's Village, Inwood House, and Safe Space
Designed to create lasting support for New York's most vulnerable youth and young families.
Provides donors the opportunity to make a significant impact on persistent child and family poverty in the New York metropolitan area.
30,000 youth served through: child welfare, community-based health services, school-based teen pregnancy and AIDS prevention, youth leadership, young adult support services and specialized maternal health and family support services for pregnant and parenting teens.
Children’s Support Foundation Structure
501 (C) 3 organization
Governed by a Board of Directors comprised of staff and board representatives from each member agency, and volunteers from the philanthropy and financial advisory fields.
Supported by a Professional Advisory Committee, whose members represent the nation's leading investment, wealth management, and philanthropy advisors.
Seed funding for first two years provided by the
Booth Ferris Foundation
Key Factors Leading to Collaboration
Mutual Goals for long-term stability and sector leadership : Increased endowment support through planned giving is a strategic goal of each organization.
Protects against economic downturns
Ensures Comprehensive & High Dosage Service
Supports Innovation
Key Factors Leading to Collaboration
Similar Capacity Challenges : Individually, agencies lacked the ability to launch and sustain a planned giving effort with supporters:
Staff Expertise
Board Knowledge & Experience
Fiscal Clout -- to attract quality financial investment management
Marketing Tools
Key Factors Leading to Collaboration
Sound, Confident & Innovative Leadership :
Success requires buy-in and support by the agencies’ Executive Directors, Development Directors, and their Boards.
Key Factors Leading to Collaboration
Compatible Missions and Philosophies
Serving especially vulnerable young people:
Children’s Village -- delinquent boys
Inwood House -- pregnant and parenting teens and teens at high risk for teen pregnancy and AIDS
Safe Space -- runaway and homeless youth
Strength-based approaches to helping young people overcome persistent child and family poverty
Evidence-based practices and focus on outcomes
History of working together & referrals for service
The Concept
Problem:
Planned giving programs often provide up to 30% of revenues for medical and higher education institutions.
Very few human service organizations can afford the
up-front costs to staff and maintain this specialized fundraising activity.
Solution:
Pool talent, contacts and resources to build expertise and capacity ►
Establish more meaningful relationships with donors ►
Cultivate endowment gifts or long-term program support ►
Future generations will reap the benefits
.
.
The Connection
Program collaboration between Safe Space and Children’s Village leads to dialogue on funding needs and capacity building
Children’s Village’s early planned giving effort provided key insight to financial management requirements
Greater dimension and clout needed to attract potential funders, financial management and volunteer support
Executive Director of Safe Space contacted the Executive Director of Inwood House to invite their participation.
Key Start-Up Steps
Create a legal entity with By-laws: Children’s Support Foundation
Foundation allows donated funds to be pooled and distributed as designated by funders, protects the collaborators’ investments and interests, and simplifies overhead management.
Secure Board approvals of Children’s Support Foundation
Elect Officers and Board Members
Secure J.P. Morgan Chase to manage the Children’s Support Foundation’s funds and planned giving vehicles
Secure $50,000 start-up funding from the Booth Ferris Foundation
Recruit non-agency Board members and Professional Advisory Council to expand audience reach and increase expertise
Essential Resources
Planned Giving expertise in one partner agency and advising attorney: Jeff Sobel of Safe Space and Andrew Grumet of Schiff Hardin
Development staff leadership to move process forward
Legal expertise for creation of the Foundation; and for each agency’s review and approval of the Foundation By-laws
Funds for required legal services to incorporate the foundation
Executive Directors and key Board leadership to help sell concept to agency Boards
Stakeholder Involvement
Executive Directors
Reached out to each other for initial consideration of project and to sell concept to agency Boards
Development Directors
Directed overall effort – Jeff Sobel, Safe Space
Advanced group process and within their agencies
Reported on agency progress/setbacks to inform efforts
Met regularly as a working group & shared tasks and expertise for completing key steps
Hold seats on CSF Board
Agency Board Members
brainstorming meetings and due diligence
key spokespeople for the project in winning Board approval
hold seats on the CSF Board
Stakeholder Involvement
Legal Counsel, Andrew Grumet, Schiff Hardin
Pro bono legal counsel
Participated in all conceptual meetings
Proposed the creation of the foundation
Provided the legal document and fielded questions/concerns from individual agency board members, staff and counsel
Holds a seat on the CSF Board
All CSF Board Members
reviewed the By-laws
took part in the RFP process for securing the financial management service provider
Obstacles Encountered in Design/Creation Process
Board Approval Delayed Six Months
Competing priorities on Board Meeting agendas
Concern that the Planned Giving effort would compete with Children’s Village and Inwood House capital campaigns.
Implementation Key Steps
Marketing materials created for Children’s Support Foundation and individual agencies
Website created for Children’s Support Foundation
Press Release & Media List prepared for launch of the Foundation with targeted follow up.
Cultivation Events for Agency Supporters, Institutional Funders, and Financial Advisors
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