Leticia de la Vara
Organizer extraordinaire

Civil Rights Forum

Major wisdom laid down today in the lobby. The panelists, Raul Yzaguirre, John Echohawk, Peterson Zah and (fourth name to come) are civil rights and community leaders, they are doers and thinkers and at today's event they were just telling truth.

Leticia was the lead behind the scenes making sure all the pieces fit together. And they did beautifully. The setup with John Echohawk as the lead speaker...telling me there are 4mm Natives in more than 500 tribes across the US, soveriegn nations mind you, 1% of the population...telling me that the US government holds their land in trust - whatever that means - and the supreme court ruled in the 1800s that Native tribes were not foriegn nations, rather a nation within a nation.

Then on the panel you had Raul Yzaguirre laying down the truth from beginning to end. The significant issue facing the Lation communities and Native communities is the shared legacy of conquest - bam! How conquest changes a culture and has implications for a culture that aren't shared or understood. We need to know someone's pain, we need to know their story he said.

A moving event, a learning moment definitely, filled with pretty heady talk. My kind of thing!

More pictures later. Maybe...

Nice work Leticia!

By George, do I have it?

A brief blog post by Aaron Stiner
April 3, 2009

Do I have it defined?

In the realm of voluntary action for the common good that is philanthropy we are focused on supporting and building the donor pool at all levels in order to increase the availability of financial resources for nonprofit organizations across Arizona and the Southwest.

We believe a rising tide raises all ships and we can help rise the tide of donors interested in philanthropy. We leverage the nonprofit research, academic resources and expertise of the ASU Lodestar Center to guide donors in their philanthropic giving so they achieve the social and personal goals that are important to them.

Our mission is accomplished through a comprehensive portfolio of research, education, technical assistance and conference activities that provide stakeholders with knowledge and tools that enhance their effectiveness and impact.

We collaborate with leading philanthropic organizations to help inspire and empower donors to invest in our community.

Jane Reddin and Wayne "Whilred" check out Jane's new Kindle

Practical Art Downtown Phoenix

A blog by Aaron Stiner
April 3, 2009

I am in between an early morning YNPN Phoenix board meeting and a lunch meeting with foundation staff person for Advancing Philanthropy. Both meetings are in the Camelback corridor so I figured it was more efficient to work remotely at Lux then to head back to the office.

As I was walking in someone called my name. It was Jane Reddin, owner of downtown Phoenix business, Practical Art, and a United Way board member and supporter. Jane had just come from a United Way board meeting and was enjoying coffee with her friend, Wayne.

I joined the two of them for a few minutes of chatting on the patio. I got caught up on Practical Art, where Jane trades in unique, useful household items handcrafted by local artisans. She recently celebrated a year in business and said they, along with many Central corridor businesses, are experiencing a wave of customers who are supporting local businesses and artists.

I also got Jane caught up on my new role at the Lodestar Center (Advancing Philanthropy). As you may know, since I started in January, I have been in a three month process of defining and developing the goals and objectives of the Adv Phil initiative.

I have spent a lot of time meeting with community leaders and I tried several different elevator speeches to relay exactly what I am planning for the Adv Phil initiative. Most of my trys so far haven't seemed to hit home and lead to a lot more questions than answers.

Well, that's fine, but it's time for answers and it's time to brand ourselves. In fact, I have been working with Pat Lewis at the Center over the last couple of days to bring some clarity to how we talk about what we do (I think we mostly know what we want to do).

So talking with Jane was the first time I could practice some new branding for the program, telling her, "We are supporting and building the pool of individual and family donors at all levels of giving to increase the financial resources available to support nonprofits in Arizona and the Southwest. We provide resources to guide donors in their philanthropic giving so they achieve the social and personal goals that are important to them."

What do you think?

It seems to mostly have landed pretty square, although I think some further tightening of the statement needs to happen.

I also let her know about our upcoming workshop at the Lodestar Center, Practicing Strategic Philanthropy for Individuals and Families, April 14th from 10AM - 3PM at the Ritz-Carlton Phoenix (link soon).

The workshop is designed for individuals and families who are interested in using philanthropy as a meaningful way to invest their financial resources, passion and time to benefit the community and exercise civic leadership. Participants will gain a greater understanding of ways in which they can leave a legacy through philanthropic impact, they will receive ideas for teaching their children and grand children the value of giving, and they will meet other Valley philanthropists interested in effectively deploying their philanthropy.

It's going to be a great workshop with good people and lively conversation. If you want to join us, let me know. Or pass on the evite to someone you know. Donors only by the way, no funders!

So there, see the work that can get done over coffee at Lux with a dj! =)

Mobile Uploads via Blogger not Facebook
Why? Because I don't want Facebook to own everything.
Google shold own the other half.

A blog by Aaron Stiner, April 3
Friday morning at Lux