Syed J.’s Post

𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 Increasingly, I have engaged in more conversations with family offices and family foundations to identify and leverage existing programmes in the University or develop new ones to fulfill their philanthropic aspirations. Success often hinges on aligning the philanthropic goals of the family organisation with the strategic needs of the institution. This delicate balance ensures that both parties are satisfied and that the gift makes a meaningful impact. A crucial part of this process is facilitating and managing discussions between the donor and faculty recipient of the gift. These conversations must be handled with care, transparency, and sensitivity to ensure that both the donor's vision and the faculty's requirements are fully understood and respected. Thereafter, close collaboration with the faculty recipient is essential to develop a bespoke proposal that aligns with the donor's intentions while fitting within the faculty's mission and capacity to administer the gift. Faculty insights are invaluable in tailoring the proposal to match the specific needs and opportunities within their departments, thereby enhancing the relevance and potential impact of the donor's contribution. Lastly, clear and consistent communication throughout this process is essential. Keeping all parties informed and involved at every stage ensures transparency and builds trust, ultimately leading to a more successful and sustainable philanthropic partnerships. #Philanthropy #FamilyOffices #FamilyFoundations (📸 Image Credit: AI Generated)

Modern Grantmaking offers a range of consultancy services, focused on helping philanthropic organisations to improve their grantmaking. The case study we're sharing today relates to us working with The Indigo Trust. The Trust cares deeply about being a helpful partner to their grantees. This means that it is keen to get better at offering grantees opportunities to give it feedback on what it's doing well, and where it could improve. In 2024, The Indigo Trust wants to proactively seek feedback from its grantee partners as part of its ongoing commitment to be accountable to the communities it serves. To help it achieve its goals, the Trust commissioned Modern Grantmaking to research how other funders gather and utilise grantee feedback and to interview a number of the Trust’s own grantees to understand their views on this topic. Thrisha Haldar, Lead Executive at the Indigo Trust, said about our support: “Gemma and Tom have a unique combination of emotional intelligence, strategic thinking and rigorous research experience. Every step of the way, we felt heard, and the process was collaborative and fertile with ideas, drawn on their vast experience and networks. We now have an action plan and a tailored way forward for our approach. Highly recommended!” If you'd like to get in touch to learn more about how we could help your organisation, drop us a line at: Hello@ModernGrantmaking.com! #grantmaking #grantsmanagement #foundations #philanthropy

Guiding, assisting, and training organizations aiming to achieve this seal of excellence in volunteer engagement is just one of the reasons why I love being part of our Center's team! #AL!VE #VolunteerEngagement #LeadershipInvolvement

This discussion of evidence in decision making was eye-opening for me! You can now view it at the link below. We discussed: What is evidence? How do we challenge the traditional preference for statistical data to also include other forms of information? What do we do in the absence of good information, or, alternatively, when and how do we get beyond "admiring the problem" to stop data collection and act? What are strategies for dealing with "fact resistance" and data denial?

In today’s MBA Application strategy, before the admissions season begins, I will share the one factor that can drastically increase your admission chances: Volunteering - Number vs. Depth Always remember the school's preference: 1) College-Based Volunteering – Fewer Points in MBA Admissions 2) First Job and After – More Points 3) Consistent Volunteering Engagement in All Cities – Most Points https://lnkd.in/d6peb6im #essayediting #essayreview #mbaapplication #mbaadmissions #bschool #essaytips #mbaconsultant #admissionsconsultant #admissionconsultant #recommendationletter #recommendation #venturecapital #managementconsulting #privateequity #operations #strategy #big4 #investmentbanking #engineers #technology #m7 #nonprofit #extracurricular #volunteering

Throwback to when I spoke at the Latinx Student Psychological Association at UC Irvine. I enjoyed my time speaking with other first generation college students about how rewarding it can be to take an unorthodox path in your career. While being intentional about our actions is something I speak a lot about as an inclusive evaluator, flexibility is also an important value. Sometimes our plans work out differently than we aim to and yet remaining flexible in the process of getting to our goals can reap some unexpected rewards. Similarly, when engaging with underserved communities in social services, intentionality should come first in our commitment to inclusion and equity. Yet we must remain flexible in how we get there as we often follow the lead of the communities we serve and not the other way around. #equity #diversity #evaluation #socialimpact #nonprofitleadership #fundraising #leadershipdevelopment #education #publicspeaker #representationmatters #nonprofit

As we continue planning for the new school year in September, we are excited to announce our first wave of new corporate partners for 2024-25! A huge Chapter One welcome to the below companies who are joining as new corporate partners in September: 🤝 HS2 (High Speed Two) Ltd  🤝 OCS 🤝 Stork 🤝 Clarion Housing Group 🤝 Mace Dragados UK & Ireland We are delighted that HS2 and Mace Dragados are founding partners for our launch in Birmingham primary schools in September 2024, alongside existing partners who will be donating additional teams of volunteers - Fieldfisher and Clyde & Co [Silver Partner]. They will be joined by our fantastic newly upgraded Gold Partners, who will be increasing their volunteer commitment next year:  🌟 AtkinsRéalis 🌟 Hogan Lovells And a shoutout to our newly upgraded Silver Partners: 🚀 Salesforce 🚀 Lewis Silkin Read more about our corporate partnership levels here: https://lnkd.in/e5b_fA3s If you are also looking for an employee volunteering opportunity with measurable impact, please get in touch with our Business Development Manager, Sarah Taylor! We have a waiting list of schools wanting to take part in our Online Reading Volunteers Programme. Low literacy has lifelong consequences, but our cross-sector approach - bringing the business community together with schools - can make a huge impact on children’s futures. #ChapterOne #itallstartswithliteracy #employeewellbeing #socialvalue #socialimpact #socialmobility #literacy #corporatepartnerships #corporatevolunteering

🌟 The Power of Volunteering 🌟 On a previous episode of My Perfect Failure, (The Power of Volunteering) Tatyana Sergeyeva, M.A. shares how volunteering can be more than just giving back—it can be a launchpad for meaningful career moves. By aligning with a non-profits or a company’s mission, you gain deep insights and sometimes even find pathways to full-time, impactful roles. Check out this clip to see how stepping up as a volunteer can lead to new opportunities. 🎧 #MyPerfectFailure #Volunteering #CareerGrowth

Nonprofit professionals, do you know that an effective grant proposal can open doors to new funding and partnerships? 📈 In our 𝟲-𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽, we dive into the strategies that professional fundraisers use to secure funding consistently. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗬𝗼𝘂 & 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗢𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: ✅𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽 𝗮 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻: Learn to align funding requests with your organization’s mission and long-term goals. ✅𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽: Get direct feedback to strengthen your proposals. ✅𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗣𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀: Connect with other nonprofit leaders who are on the same journey. This bootcamp is more than just learning—it’s about applying strategies to real-world grant opportunities. 🗓 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟱 𝗮𝘁 𝟮 𝗣𝗠 | 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁 𝗡𝗼𝘄 👉 𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝗨𝘀 - https://lnkd.in/gYReJZiY #NonprofitStrategy #GrantWritingSkills #ProfessionalGrowth #LeadershipDevelopment

Daylight's #impactphilanthropyadvisor program kicked off today with three cohort meetings! What did we cover in Module 1? * Context about philanthropic advising and planning * Demographic trends in the market for philanthropic advising services * The ecosystem of advisors and consultants * The evolving landscape of philanthropic advising services and competencies Welcome and thank you to our 70 inaugural #impactphilanthropyadvisor learners for joining our work!