January 29, 2015
Duke University comes to Petersburg, delivers nonprofit management training through partnership with Cameron Foundation
Following a year of independent review of its capacity-building program, The Cameron Foundation is ushering in 2015 with a series of new initiatives aimed at enhancing its work with nonprofit organizations serving the Tri-Cities area. The first new program, specialized nonprofit management training by Duke University, was launched earlier this month and will be offered onsite at the Foundation’s facilities in Petersburg at different times throughout the year.
“Over the last eight years, The Cameron Foundation has invested approximately $10 million to build the capacity of local nonprofit organizations to be able to deliver more and better services to our community,” Cameron President J. Todd Graham noted. He added, “In order to achieve greater community impact as we move forward, we’ve gone through a valuable process to refine some of our approaches to our capacity building work. We’ve already discovered that the Duke classes are filling to capacity very quickly. This says a lot about the demand for professional development resources for people who work in the nonprofit sector locally and want to elevate the quality of services that they provide to the community.”
Six onsite Duke courses are being offered this year at The Cameron Foundation. Each course is conducted by a Duke University professor and is part of the Duke University Nonprofit Management Program. Participants earn six credit hours per course, which they also may apply towards earning a Duke Certificate in Nonprofit Management. The Cameron Foundation is underwriting most of the cost for Duke to provide the training in Petersburg, so participants are only required to pay a $35 registration fee for each class.
JoAnn C. Glazier, a board member of Crater Community Hospice, Inc., attended the first course offering for the year, “Nonprofits and How They Operate.” Glazier commented, “It really has elevated my awareness of the stewardship responsibilities that I have as a board member of a nonprofit organization.” Krista M. Ratliff, Crater Community Hospice’s Director of Development, participated in the “Resource Development for Nonprofits” course. “This professor has opened my eyes to the most current practices in fundraising and given me some ideas for new approaches at Crater Community Hospice,” Ratliff said, adding, “It was well worth it.” Graham pointed out that the Duke program is designed to benefit both board and staff members, in the way that Crater Community Hospice is using the resource.
During the study of its existing capacity-building programs in 2014, The Cameron Foundation worked with LaPiana Consulting, a leading consulting firm recognized for its nonprofit capacity building work, to engage the Foundation’s staff and board, nonprofit leaders, and peer foundations in the study. For example, Danville Regional Foundation and Martinsville’s Harvest Foundation have been using a similar arrangement with Duke University to deliver nonprofit training. In both places, the training has helped to increase capacity and improve performance among grantees of those communities. The Cameron Foundation’s new approach to its capacity-building work was designed to align with the Foundation’s goals for community impact, to utilize best practices in philanthropy, and to address local community needs. The resulting redesign includes a range of resources for organizations of different sizes and levels of sophistication.
In addition to the Duke classes, other updates that are being introduced this year include a new working relationship with Partnership for Nonprofit Excellence in Richmond; recasting the Foundation’s two recognition award programs; the addition of a new lecture program; investment in learning communities to facilitate peer-to-peer exchange of practices in the field; and independent evaluation of some of the Foundation’s key nonprofit investments. Further details about these updates can be found in the “Capacity Building” section of The Cameron Foundation’s web site.
ABOUT THE CAMERON FOUNDATION
The Cameron Foundation is a private foundation that supports the work of nonprofits and partner agencies to improve the quality of life of residents in its service area. Founded in 2003, The Cameron Foundation was formed from the proceeds of the sale of Southside Regional Medical Center by the Hospital Authority of the City of Petersburg. Its service area encompasses the region historically served by the hospital and includes the cities of Petersburg, Colonial Heights and Hopewell; the counties of Dinwiddie, Prince George, and Sussex; and the portion of Chesterfield County lying south of Route 10. Since it began grantmaking in 2004, the Foundation has awarded over $69 million to organizations serving the residents of the Tri-Cities and surrounding counties.