May 2012 News: An Illustrated Guide

On days when the sky looks like this, do you ever just want to hit the road and follow the clouds? I do… but sometimes I can't because I have news to deliver... this time with visuals!

Our biggest news this time is the addition of not one, not two, but three new faces in our office! As with the rest of our staff (most), they have agreed to let you see what they looked like in high school. :) May I introduce two new program officers:

• Elizabeth Woody has experience in a broad range of fields and has worked extensively with Native American communities. Most recently she worked at OHSU's Center for Coastal Margin Observation and Prediction, developing K-12 curriculum and engaging tribes in that work. Prior to OHSU, she worked in community and economic development with EcoTrust, and she designed and directed the organization's Indigenous Leadership Program. Liz was a co-founder of the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation and currently serves on its board. She has also been a professor of creative writing, is an award winning poet and has been involved with a variety of nonprofits, advisory boards and funding panels. Liz will take lead roles in our Leadership Development in Communities of Color project and in developing an MMT Fellows program, and she will also work in our Responsive Grant program area.
• Theresa Deibele sums up her experience as a "turducken" of sorts – a Peace Corps Volunteer stuffed into a lawyer, encased by nonprofit finance director. She has taught in Chad in central Africa and worked in Legal Aid in Cambodia. Following law school, she worked as a public finance attorney, coordinating complex bond financing for governments and tribes. Most recently, she managed administration and finance for ChristieCare, a $10 million children's mental health organization, where she helped guide the organization through a restrucutring and a merger with a national human services organization.

and the Willamette River Iniative Program Assistant:

• Cristina Watson has several years of experience communicating with the public about river conservation issues, most recently through her work with the Middle Fork Willamette Watershed Council, where she served as Watershed Education Coordinator and managed the Council's website. She grew up in Idaho and spends her free time volunteering for Friends of Trees and as a bike mechanic for the Community Cycling Center. Cristina will curate Willamette River Initiative's new website, help plan and coordinate WRI meetings and conferences, provide general office and administrative support and handle special projects.

Continuing the visual theme, WRI has also shared a short clip showing Freeing the Calapooia from a film now in production. WATCH THE VIDEO

Not to be outdone :), MMT just completed a new short video about the $350,000 grant we made in 2008 to Bridge Meadows to help build an intergenerational community for families who adopt at least three to four children in foster care. WATCH THE VIDEO

Want to get a jump start on your summer reading (illustrated with charts and graphs)?

• A study of Oregon's capital ecosystem – supported by Oregon Community Foundation, Meyer Memorial Trust, the Oregon State Treasury, Business Oregon and CTC Consulting – has identified eight capital gaps that are impeding economic development across the state. The study was part of OCF and MMT's efforts to explore how foundations can contribute strategically to economic development in Oregon. Oregon's Capital Scan: A Developing Ecosystem recommends three priorities: creating an agile investment vehicle, leading dialogs among life science and loan capital providers, and funding high impact technical assistance and mentorship programs for entrepreneurs.
• The first ever Oregon Nonprofit Sector Report is a publication resulting from a survey of the sector, including data about its size and scope and its economic and social impact in Oregon. For example, the study reports that Oregon's active charitable nonprofits had a total revenue of $13 billion in 2010 and accounted for 13% of the state's private sector employment. In addition, the report – a collaboration between Nonprofit Association of Oregon and Portland State University's Institute for Nonprofit Management – describes the current condition of the state's nonprofit organizations and speculates about the future of the sector.
• Earlier this year, Johns Hopkins Unviersity Center for Civil Society Studies Nonprofit Economic Data Project issued Holding the Fort: Nonprofit Employment during a Decade of Turmoil, which found that nonprofit organizations employ the third largest workforce among U.S. industries, behind only retail trade and manufacturing. In additon to overall findings, the report includes regional and state by state data.

We recently came across a handy visual guide to help you figure out if it's time to rethink your organization's website. SEE MORE

In keeping with our visual theme, in this edition we offer up video moments of wonder in Uncage the Soul Video Production's breathtaking time lapse videos Finding Portlandand Finding Oregon. While you are visiting Vimeo, you might also want to check out lots more wondrous sights, like Yosemite Range of Light. Trust me, you could spend the whole of May there. If you long for still more visual stimulation, The Big Pictures photos of this week's supermoon are well worth a look-see.

Just one more thing. Before I go, I must show you the blooms on my Queen's Tears Bromeliad. I think they are the coolest, and my plant is loaded with them this year.

And a very happy day to all you mothers out there!

Commenting on this News is closed.