Report to Members
by Sara Gould and Mary Jo Mullan, Co-Chairs

NFG has been hard at work over the past few months.

Thanks to the many people who worked so hard to make the NFG-sponsored activities during the Council on Foundations’ Los Angeles meeting so successful. Once again, NFG broke new ground by developing a track of workshops and site visits focusing on a single topic – the impact of the global economy on low-wage workers and people in poverty. Working with fifteen other affinity groups and foundations, the combination of site visits and workshops provided a comprehensive look at the local impact of, and response to, international economic developments.

The NFG Board of Directors passed a resolution thanking Michele Prichard of the Liberty Hill Foundation for her hard work.

NFG also joined with its sister affinity group, Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy, to host an award-winning play, Uncle Gunjiro’s Girlfriend. The play and reception were a wonderful opportunity for our members to socialize and hear a stirring tale. Other opportunities to socialize came at dinners organized by the Working Group on Organized Labor and Community and by the Rural Funders Working Group.

NFG members organized numerous other workshops: The Smart Growth Movement, organized by NFG board member Bob Jaquay; Wall Street Tools: Rural Results, organized by NFG board member Gloria Guerrero; The Crisis in Rental Housing, organized by Joe Belden; Restructuring Low-Wage Jobs, organized by Janet Shenk and Jack Litzenberg; and Creating Leverage and Boosting Impact Through Collaboration, organized by NFG Co-Chair Sara Gould.

NFG’s influence on the agenda of the Council’s annual meeting continues to grow. All together we sponsored or co-sponsored twelve workshops and five site visits, offering participants a rich opportunity to learn about harnessing the power of local leaders to build social and economic justice.

Thanks also to the members of the NFG annual conference planning committee, who gathered in Detroit in March to lay the groundwork for what promises to be an exciting and challenging event. The conference, “The New Economy: A Rising Tide for All?,” scheduled for September 21-23 will give you a chance to step back from your everyday work, hear from experts, engage in dialogue with colleagues and be challenged by some of the top thinkers focusing on issues of the working poor in the US. The planning committee, headed by Mary Jo Mullan, has mapped out workshops, site visits, and plenaries. Details will be sent out shortly and updates on all speakers and activities will be on the NFG web site, www.nfg.org, in July.

And thanks to NFG staff member Margaux Harris for all of her work in finalizing the revised NFG Member Directory. The print version is accompanied by an online version that will be updated regularly.

We thank retiring board members Seth Borgos and Jim Richardson for their tremendous contributions to NFG.

NFG Board of Director nominations: The Nominating Subcommittee is looking for individuals interested in serving 3-year terms on the NFG Board of Directors. Please think about joining this group of hard working leaders of NFG. See page 7 for details about how the nominating process works.

We’ll see you in Detroit in September!

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