COMMUNITY FOUNDATION LEADERS PARTICIPATE IN REGIONAL LEARNING FORUM

The Community Foundation of Herkimer & Oneida Counties’ President & CEO Peggy O’Shea and Director of Philanthropy Corinne Ribble recently participated in a Regional Learning Forum on Community Leadership at The Boston Foundation. The forum was presented by national bodies: The Council on Foundations and CFLeads. Attendees came from throughout the Northeast and consisted of more than 100 community foundation senior staff and trustees.
The forum focused on the leadership roles many community foundations are undertaking. This trend is largely due to community foundations’ unique ability to bring together representatives of not-for-profit organizations, businesses and municipalities to work together toward common goals and to provide financial support to achieve those goals. The Community Foundation has most recently played crucial roles in literacy assessments for both Herkimer and Oneida counties and a two-county community indicators project.

“In the community foundation sector, leadership efforts are becoming ever more important,” said O’Shea, “These efforts reflect a shift in how foundations collectively think and operate. Traditionally, foundations have primarily responded to requests for funding, but now more community foundations are taking the initiative to identify opportunities for positive change in their communities and convene stakeholders to collaborate in bringing about these changes.

We will certainly continue to make grants to not-for-profit organizations, but we believe that we must also use our unique perspective to work more proactively toward improving the lives of the residents Herkimer and Oneida counties. The information and guidance we received during this forum will be invaluable as we move forward with our leadership work locally.” O’Shea and Ribble attended sessions in which representatives of other community foundations shared their models and methodologies relating to their leadership projects.

The Community Foundation has been a force for improving lives and promoting philanthropy throughout Herkimer and Oneida counties since 1952. The Foundation has made more than 4,300 grants totaling over $35 million in support of causes ranging from education to health care, the arts to the environment. Grants are generated by the more than 270 funds that comprise The Foundation’s endowment, established and advanced by area individuals and families.

For more information about The Community Foundation, including Foundation-funded literacy reports, call 315-735-8212 or visit www.foundationhoc.org. Community indicators project data can be found at the Herkimer & Oneida Counties Indicators website, www.hocindicators.org.