On July 6th Jennifer Eckhart, Marsha Ellis, and Manuel Fierro presented insights from the GMN/Peak Annual conference at a Brown Bag Discussion in the MPR. Participants feasted on a delicious spread, but the real substance of the hour came from the information-packed presentations! Attendees learned about three distinct topics and got access to conference tools and resources.
Manuel Fierro, 8 Habits of Highly Effective Grants Managers
- Manuel opened the brown bag session with a presentation that showed attendees there is always time for reflection and learning! Manuel’s presentation focused on particular habits such as “walking in grantees’ shoes” and “integrating learning into the process.” He challenged attendees to brainstorm and share with a colleague how they can incorporate these habits into their work!
Jennifer Eckhart, Intermediaries
- Jennifer’s presentation brought legal structures for philanthropic funding to life! Through an activity which allowed attendees to develop a structure for grant support for collaborative efforts and a discussion of fiscal sponsor and fiscal agent models, Jennifer showed participants that when it comes to intermediaries, one size does not fit all!
Marsha Ellis, Assessing Nonprofit Financial Health
- Marsha’s presentation made taking a look at the books accessible even to non-number crunchers with an overview of assessing nonprofit financial health. Marsha taught attendees about the LUNA, a tool to evaluate financial health that is not resource-intensive and can provide useful information to help First 5 determine if an agency has a sound fiscal foundation.
Did you attend the brown bag discussion? Let us know in the comments what the most interesting takeaway was for you!
