Articles from Our Executive Director
Garden of Brightmoor
Garden of Brightmoor Brown eyes inquiring Beneath barely formed eyebrows Winding to corkscrews of indelicate hair Letting her know she must tend To this emerging mind Emanating from disregarded city streets Forming broken tree limbs from last winter’s storm In the Garden of Brightmoor. Homes stricken with the debris of racism And decay of human compassion Distract from determined women Dedicated to caring…
A New Look & Refined Focus for Fisher
Over the past decade, the Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation has granted more than $130 million to partners on three continents. In every impact area, our grant partners are making significant and transformational change in their communities. We feel honored to be a part of their work. With ten years’ of shared experience, we are ready to move onto the next chapter…
Impact Investing and the Development Professional: Learning to Ride the Wave
As he studied the financial report and listened to the executive director describe the need for a loan to upgrade facilities, Phillip scratched his head and frowned at the interest rate being offered by the local bank. The organization had a good history of fundraising, but not at the magnitude that would support both annual needs and this capital expansion. Additional funds were needed.…
Knight Foundation and Fisher Foundation Help Increase Capacity of Community Leaders
The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan will support training and professional development for Detroit changemakers tackling economic and neighborhood revitalization with $245,000 from the Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The programs will focus specifically on capacity building and professional development to encourage organizational growth and economic vitality. In their third round of funding…
Webinar: Trends in Family Philanthropy: A Conversation with NCFP Fellows Katherine Lorenz and Doug Bitonti Stewart
As 2016 comes to a close, we invite you to participate in a special conversation with two of the field’s emerging leaders, NCFP Fellows Katherine Lorenz & Doug Bitonti-Stewart. Doug and Katherine will reflect on a variety of issues they have explored with NCFP and will discuss important trends in the field at large. Moderated by NCFP President Ginny Esposito, this webinar will highlight…
Success Like This Could Hit the Small Time: Replicating a Global Philanthropic Networking Model in Detroit
We usually think of scale as an escalator that moves in only one direction: up. Things start small and local and, if they succeed, they grow to be large and global. Often, this model is correct. But focusing too narrowly on it might make us miss opportunities to scale in other ways. Sometimes, in fact, scale can work in reverse — by taking a…
Small nonprofits find ways to connect with big foundations
David McGhee stood in line, waiting to check out at a grocery store, and a customer recognized the philanthropy consultant and grant writer. So as his groceries were rung up, the person pitched an idea for a new program for the Flint YMCA. The sharing continued as McGhee, who now works for the Skillman Foundation, headed to his car and placed his groceries inside.…
Gratitude and humility in philanthropy; from a story, to a value, to action
The importance of documenting the ethos of our founders is well known in family philanthropy. Authors and leaders throughout the field have published articles and tools (e.g. Grandparent Legacy Project) aimed to help families ask questions to elicit the core values of our founders. These values are the backbone of our work. And when we are able to connect our founders’ values to real-life…
Aligning your external mission with your family’s values
Why did your family start giving? Did you want to achieve a specific impact on an issue close to your hearts or did you want to bring your family together to pass on specific values from generation to generation? In most cases, it is a little bit – or a lot – of each. Simon Sinek offers a very clear case for understanding a…
Next Gen Trustee with Big Shoes to Fill: Meet Amanda Fisher
Ask Amanda Fisher what makes her run. She’ll tell you it’s the shoes. Sounds funny, but she’s serious. “Really, one of my biggest motivations for the choices I make are the shoes I have yet to fill,” she says. But what she’s really talking about is the legacy of the Fisher family: a family of towering figures here in Detroit, leaders and philanthropists on a…