Meet-A-FLiP: Elizabeth R. Miller

We first met Elizabeth Miller after her great post on Richard Marker's Blog: Wise Philanthropy. Elizabeth is a Program Associate at The Overbrook Foundation, located in New York City. You'll see a lot of more of Elizabeth in the next few months, as we've asked her to tell us, through a series of posts, what it's like to work for a family foundation. The Overbrook Foundation is a family foundation established in 1948 by Frank and Helen Altschul. Its mission is to improve the lives of people by supporting projects that protect human and civil rights, advance the self-sufficiency and well being of individuals and their communities, and conserve the natural environment.

Future Leaders in Philanthropy (FLiP): Tell me a little about your background. Where did you go to school, what did you major in, and how did you come to be involved in philanthropy?

Elizabeth Miller (EM): After a year at the University of Chicago, I transferred to New York University's College of Arts and Sciences, where I majored in Politics, with a minor in Journalism and Mass Communication. After moving to New York I realized that my main academic interests were how the consolidation of mainstream media was affecting the ability of social change organizations to get their messages heard. While I was in college, I interned at Fenton Communications, a large public interest communications firm, and MediaChannel.org, a website concerned with the political, cultural and social impacts of the media, large and small. These two experiences introduced me to the world of contemporary media (the good, the bad, and the ugly) and convinced me that it was a field to be further explored.

Landing at Overbrook happened by chance. I heard about an available internship here/there through Free Press, a partner organization of MediaChannel.org. Overbrook was interested in hiring someone with a background in media to help them prepare for a fall Board of Directors' retreat that would focus on media, both as a program area and as a tool that was useful across the range of its Environment and Human Rights Grantees. I applied and got the position. I came to Overbrook in June of 2004 to help them prepare for that retreat and stayed on through my senior year at NYU working 15 hours a week. When I graduated, I was offered a full-time position as a Program Assistant (now Program Associate) and I've been here ever since.

FLiP: What is your job like? What are the day-to-day responsibilities?

EM: Overbrook is a small family foundation with only five other staff members. This means that my day-to-day work can vary. On a daily basis, I provide ongoing support in the development of grants and program management, including conducting background research on prospective grantees, along with reviewing and assessing active proposals. My work focuses particularly on the identification, recommendation and administration of the Foundation's media-focused grants, although I often assist in other areas of the Foundation's grantmaking. I also produce a Semi-Annual Report on Grants and The Overbrook Foundation Quarterly Newsletter which we distribute to our grantees, friends of the Foundation, and post on our website. In the fall, I also work to coordinate and implement programs at the Foundation's Annual Fall Retreat. I assist the President in preparing docket materials and developing agendas for the Board of Directors and Committee meetings.

FLiP: Do you have any advice for people looking to work for a foundation?

EM: My advice to anyone who is interested in working for a foundation would be to talk to those who are already working in the field, specifically the particular type of foundation you are interested in. My boss recently gave me a piece of advice he received from a colleague. He said, "When you've talked to one foundation, you've talked to one foundation." With over 80,000 foundations in America, there are no two foundations that are exactly alike. It's important to understand the culture of foundations and to figure out your interests and skills.

By talking with people in the field, you can learn the enormous range of how foundations operate and where your skills fit in and whether you belong on the grantmaking side of an issue or whether you'd rather be an activist who executes programs. Interning might be a good way to figure out whether the culture of foundations is something you are comfortable in. Philanthropy isn't something you study in college, so without having the experience, it can be frustrating to figure out whether a career in this field is something you want. But I think it's a great field for young people and I hope more of my peers become involved in this kind of work.

FLiP: Have you considered continuing your education? What kind of degrees or certificates would you be interested in?

EM: I've definitely considered continuing my education in the context of the philanthropy field.  In fact, this summer, I enrolled in a professional certificate program in Grantmaking and Foundations at The George H. Heyman, Jr. Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising at New York University's School of Continuing and Professional Studies. While classes are varied, my coursework will involve everything from Strategic Grantmaking and Program Evaluation to courses on understanding Global Philanthropy. I expect this program will provide me with a better understanding of some of the complexities of the field. While there is no substitute for the day-to-day experiences I get while I'm at Overbrook, I think the Certificate Program will allow me to fill in certain gaps where I know that I lack specific training. While I've thought about pursuing a Masters in Public and Nonprofit Management, I'm not sure I've had enough experience in the field to know that is the direction I'd like to pursue, so I'm pleased I've found the Certificate Program which will provide me with a better foundation for the kind of work I do at Overbrook.

FLiP: Where do you see yourself professionally in the future?

EM: I'd love to stay in philanthropy. Working in this sector gives me a unique opportunity to be involved in several of my interests simultaneously. Before I came to Overbrook, I assumed my professional career would be working for a nonprofit, but I wasn't exactly sure which field interested me the most. Clearly media was a primary interest of mine, but I was also interested in other areas like political reform, reproductive rights and social justice movements. Working at Overbrook has allowed me to come into contact with all kinds of organizations, from environmental justice work to human rights organizations. After working in family philanthropy for the past several years, I feel fairly committed to the tradition of family philanthropy. On the other hand, I could see myself applying what I've learned in family philanthropy to the private philanthropy sector by advising individual donors do more effective philanthropy. The exciting thing is that there are so many options available!

FLiP: In your opinion, what are some issues within the sector that may be relevant to other Future Leaders in Philanthropy?

EM: I think one of the biggest issues that will be relevant to other young people working in philanthropy is our ability to become engaged in the Web 2.0, or social web, world. For those who aren't familiar with the term, Web 2.0 is a phrase used to describe the next generation of wireless and web-based technologies (e.g. "social media"). It's distinguished from the 20th century broadcast era and the first phase of use and development of the web, often described as Web 1.0. The Web 2.0 era is marked by open sharing of information and encouragement of interactivity between participants.  I think that to a large extent, the success of social change organizations depends on their ability to use these new social media tools effectively. For a lot groups, this entails a fundamental shift in how they think about their work within their organizations.

Young people in particular are particularly poised to bring about this new shift; we are often the first to use these new technologies in various forms, and more importantly, to introduce its uses to others. Young people should continue to educate those around us for the useful mechanisms that the Web 2.0 world can provide. For a great reference on how Web 2.0 will continue to enhance the ability of social change organizations to engage, educate and mobilize large numbers of people, I recommend reading "Momentum: Igniting Social Change in the Connected Age," by Allison Fine.

FLiP: You read a lot of grants from nonprofits. What do you wish you could tell grant-writers and nonprofits? Any advice for those seeking grants from Foundations?

EM: I think the best advice is really simple: do your research before writing your grant. Make sure you know as much as possible about the foundation you are requesting funds from and how your project fits into their grantmaking strategy.  It's also important in a grant proposal to help the reader understand not only the importance of funding a particular project, but why funding a particular project makes sense in terms of a foundation's priorities. Foundations are always looking for ways to be strategic; they want to see that their limited dollars can make an impact, so it helps to highlight those areas whenever possible.