E-Newsletter April 2010

Introduction

This week is both April Vacation and Volunteer Appreciation Week, and we wanted to celebrate both in this month’s newsletter. This month’s newsletter looks at all the ways you can get involved in the MetroWest area –with activities for your children, through volunteering, how a group of Wellesley residents are making a difference in their town, and a wrap up of a series of Board Training Seminars.

Volunteering in MetroWest

We are in the midst of National Volunteer Week, a time when nonprofits honor their existing volunteers, and work to engage more volunteers in their mission.

We at the Foundation would like to take this time to thank all of the wonderful volunteers we work with on a regular basis – our Board of Advisors, Board of Trustees, Youth Action Council, and two amazing ongoing volunteers – Eileen Samels and Marie Kelfer.

Over the past few weeks we’ve asked MetroWest Nonprofits to send us different ways for people to get involved. Here is a list some of the great volunteer opportunities available in the area:

To learn more about volunteering at the Foundation, click here.

Enjoy an April Staycation

While February vacation seems like it just ended, April vacation is upon us, and full of bursting bulbs, blossoming trees, and the greening of the earth. Perhaps intentionally, Earth Day 2010 will be held on April 22nd, and many of the Foundation’s grantees will be holding special events and programs to help celebrate the day. Whether you’ve decided to stay home or are here after the volcanic ash cancelled your trip, this is a wonderful chance to explore MetroWest.

On a beautiful day, take a trip to the New England Wildflower Society’s Garden in the Woods which opens for guided walking tours on April 15. Their tours can be tailored to both adults and children and their website offers ideas for families and their own backyard habitat.

Explore on foot or by boat the Charles River's 80 miles to see a variety of habitat and river eco-systems. The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation maintains a network of trails which extend from Newton along the Lower Basin of the river to Boston Harbor. Upstream, there are many pieces of public and private land where trails and boat launches are accessible to the public.

No matter the weather, the Children’s Discovery and the Science Discovery Museums of Acton offer daily activities for younger and older kids alike for each day of vacation week – check out their calendar. This week’s theme is the celebration of Earth Day with the Museums offering a series of nature inspired programs you can share with your children. They include both indoor and outdoor (weather-permitting) activities such as making sun catchers and sundials, dinosaur digs and renewable energy, bubbles and robots and butterflies and fungi.

Practically every town in MetroWest has a historical society with interesting exhibits; check out your town’s online to see what they’ve displayed and what you can take older kids to view. For an example, check out the Framingham History Center.

Another option is to make a day of visiting the farms in your area; they probably even have baby animals to observe. One great spot is the Natick Community Organic Farm which has special events for kids during vacation week, including farming experiences for younger and older kids.

If you’re desperate for a break from the kids (or vice versa), MetroWest’s Audubon Societies offer day camps for 2nd through 5th graders on a half-day, full-day, extended, or multi-day basis. Places like Broadmoor in South Natick and Drumlin Farm in Lincoln offer farming, exploration, and many more Spring-related programs.

The Danforth Museum of Art is also holding School Vacation Workshops to provide creative experiences to children and teens, such as age-appropriate art using paper, paint, clay, and cameras.

The Foundation for MetroWest supports a myriad of arts venues, farms, and environmental organizations, all of which provide great opportunities to get the kids away from the TV and video games during April vacation week. To see more events this week, and in the coming weeks, you can visit our community calendar.

The Fund for Wellesley

Wellesley. What does this town mean to you? Great shopping and delicious restaurants? Top-notch education? A rich history dating back more than 125 years?

To preserve its rich history and to ensure an even brighter tomorrow, local residents created The Fund for Wellesley as an endowment of the Foundation for MetroWest. The Fund serves as a permanent, steady source of funding to be distributed to deserving programs and projects that will benefit the town of Wellesley and its residents both to meet their needs now, and whatever might arise in the future.

“I think it is important for people to make a difference in their own communities, and the Fund for Wellesley is a unique resource for funding new ideas and forging collaborations among local organizations, which will enrich the quality of life in our town,” explains Janet Pattillo, one of the Fund’s Founders and a member of the Fundraising Committee.

The Fund began after Selectman Katherine Babson proposed the idea of putting the large generosity of the Wellesley community to good use for public projects. After a period of planning, and in conjunction, with the 125th birthday of Wellesley, the Fund’s Community Board launched its campaign to have 125 founding donors commit at least $5000 to invest in the new Fund for Wellesley. Through the Fund, the Community Board accepts applications and distributes grants to organizations that encourage innovation, collaboration, and creativity in the community.

With 47 Founding Donors and 11 Community Board Members, The Fund for Wellesley is still growing. Last year, it made its first two grants –$20,000 to the Wellesley Council on Aging to allow them to enhance and expand its volunteer services program and $15,000 to the Wellesley Health Department for suicide prevention outreach.

The Fund for Wellesley is gearing up for its 2010 Grants. It recently welcomed two new Community Board members – Amy Axelrod and Laurel Lyle. On April 6th, The Fund for Wellesley hosted an informational meeting at Babson to launch the grant cycle to the community.

With $35,000 available for grants, Wellesley nonprofits are encouraged to begin the application process as soon as possible. The 2010 grant award(s) will focus primarily on programs providing support for youth, seniors and community building. All proposals and applications are due by May 31st.

If you are interested in learning more about The Fund for Wellesley and how you can get involved, visit www.TheFundforWellesley.org or call 508.647.2260.

2010 Board Training Seminars

On April 9th, the Foundation for MetroWest hosted the last of its half-day “Building High-Performing Boards in MetroWest” seminar series. Funded through a generous grant from the Middlesex Savings Bank, and led by Amy Cahners and Susan Donahue of Cahners & Donahue Associates the series provided valuable training to local nonprofits on ways to better utilize their boards.

Amy and Susan shared a little about why they see these topics as so important, “In order for boards to be effective and high performing they need to understand their roles and responsibilities. The seminars provide board members and Executive Directors with the critical information they need to perform their governance role. We have often said just because board members sit at the table it doesn’t necessarily mean they know and understand what is expected of them and how to execute their responsibilities. The seminars help board members to become better at what they do and it provides Executive Directors with insight on how their boards should be performing on behalf of their organizations.”

This year the Foundation offered three half-day workshops held at the Wellesley Community Center, bringing in more than 60 board and staff members from 33 MetroWest nonprofits – many of whom attended multiple times.

The first of the series, Building a Strong Foundation, stressed the importance of getting the basics right. Amy and Susan led a discussion that challenged organizations to revisit their mission and visions statements, as well as review their board governance and infrastructure.

One participant told us later, “This was a thoughtful, well organized and very helpful presentation... At lunch afterwards, we decided … [to] form a Governance Committee (we do have existing Nominating and Personnel Committees), [someone] volunteered to lead it, and we worked out a list of issues for it to tackle.”

The Building a Better Board seminar focused on recruiting the right people for the job. Participants learned the ins and outs of recruiting and nominating members as well as how to choose effective leadership.

The final workshop was Building Fundraising Skills, which trained board members and staff to overcome volunteer objections and to build confidence on making “the ask.” Personal anecdotes and simplified tips helped ease the tension of this always stressful subject.

In each session attendees were encouraged to ask questions and discuss the topics with the entire room. At the end of each session, Amy and Susan provided each attendee with a copy of the full presentation and additional handouts to help guide their boards to success.

Another attendee thanked us saying, “Thank you so much for making today’s seminar available to my organization. I learned a lot and look forward to applying what I learned.”

Building the capacity of MetroWest nonprofits is central to the Foundation’s mission, and being able to bring together diverse groups of people to share ideas and learn from experts in the field is vital to their continued success.

Submit an Event

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Community Events

April 24, 2010: 23rd Annual Sheepshearing Festival at Gore Place Society >

April 25, 2010: Songwriting and Location Recording Workshop with Plugged In >

April 28, 2010: The Lone Rangers Networking Breakfast >

May 8, 2010: Waltham Land Trust: Use Your Camera to Capture the Natural World >

May 13, 2010: Workshop: Organizational Diversity and Inclusion >

How to Help

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