LearnPhilanthropy has been reaching out to the field and asking for ”how to…” learning paths from practitioners. ”How tos”include things such as how to develop a skill,prepare for a new role,be more effective in a current role or learn something important to one’s career.
This post is from Ann Cramer who is Director,Americas,IBM Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs.
We asked:
What learning path would you suggest for someone working at IBM in an area unrelated to corporate philanthropy who would be joining your corporate citizenship team?
1. Get a basic orientation of your own corporate culture,values and direction – corporate philanthropy and citizenship today is a lot different than employee engagement (volunteerism) with “tee shirts and balloons,” or even community relations and contributions. Use local corporate donor groups as well as the Council on Foundations and Forum of Regional Associations of Foundations affiliates to learn with and from colleagues.
2. Read some of the really key/basic works. For example:
- Rosabeth Moss Kanter”s “From Spare Change to Real Change;”
- the work of Michael Porter,Mark Kramer,John Kania on foundation strategy,collective impact,shared value;and
- Monitor’s work on alignment of corporate goals and philanthropy goals.
3. Reach out to the key groups connected with work and thought leadership in this arena:
- Council on Foundations corporate committee
- Association of Corporate Contributions Professionals (ACCP)
- Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP)
- Council on Foundations Corporate Corporate Foundations 2012 Initiative
- US Chamber of Commerce Business Civic Leadership Center
- Boston College Corporate Citizenship Center
4. Learn from people in the community: Get involved in regional philanthropy discussions – the corporate council of your regional association of grantmakers,the Philanthropy Roundtable,the Volunteers’ Council of your United Way
5. Keep learning and growing – in our work,you will create a personal development plan for each year,with opportunities for training and learning. It’s your responsibility to do it,and stay with it. Find mentors within your company and from external colleagues ( corporate and other foundations)
Thank you for the comprehensive overview Ann. Much appreciated!
Ann –it was such a pleasure meeting you in Philadelphia at the Council on Foundations meeting. Thank you for your post which gives very specific actions that can be taken by anyone looking to enter into the field of philanthropy. Thank you for sharing your wisdom!