News & Insight

3rd December 2015

Kicking off Foundations in Philanthropy

Yesterday, the Philanthropy Company launched its Foundations in Philanthropy course and welcomed 9 individuals – from trustees to CEOs to senior development staff – to an intimate and informative day of training in the beautiful Somerset House. Thank you to all those who attended for a lively day of discussion. Special thanks to Diana Spiegelberg of Somerset House for hosting the event in the splendid palace that overlooks the river Thames.

We focused on defining an effective vision through which an organisation and its supporters can rally around; the importance of strong leadership; and how to create a compelling case for support. The discussion brought forth plenty of musings and expert opinions, along with plenty of questions: what is the difference between a mission statement and vision statement? Does urgency block better longer-term solutions? What are the attributes of good leadership? Why will people give? What messaging connects with people?

The Philanthropy Company provided the framework for the day along with Alistair Lomax and Caroline Underwood to lead the session, while the attendees provided the creative filling – particularly effective was the dynamic in the room that allowed experienced professionals to guide each other and ask thought-provoking questions about each others’ organisations. The result was that ideas sparked and trains of thought ignited. These will be picked up on the next parts of the course: the Philanthropy Company will provide each attendee with 3 one-to-one mentoring sessions to guide this new thinking before the second training day, occurring in February. We are very much looking forward to another excellent session.

To find our more about our Foundations in Philanthropy course, please click here.