The Full Circle Fund has a strong and explicit preference to work with innovative nonprofit organizations. While instances do arise where suitable nonprofits can't be found, these organizations should be social enterprises, or double bottom line companies. If your team would like to pursue a partnership with a for-profit company please contact staff before proceeding.

Communication

How do I email my entire Circle (or another set of members)?

Full Circle Fund manages email discussion lists for each Circle.

Education Circle - fcfeducationcircle@googlegroups.com
Environment/Energy Circle - fcfenvironmentcircle@googlegroups.com
Global Economic Opportunity Circle - fcfgeocircle@googlegroups.com
Technology Circle - FCF_TIC@googlegroups.com

When you became a member of Full Circle Fund, you are automatically signed up for the appropriate lists.

May I email all the members?

Of course! By popular request, members have a dedicated Full Circle Fund Member Email Discussion list. Having this email will allow members to better network via email while not diminishing FCF mission-critical communications. Use this email for all member communications, fcfmembers@googlegroups.com.

Here are some guidelines for using the Member Email Discussion group:

YES

Invitations to events hosted by you or your company/organization.
Invitations to support/participate in cross-Circle events (e.g. volunteer at Project Homeless Connect 11); often these messages have extra resonance when sent directly by members.

* Use your best judgment!!

Do not add this email to Evite invitations. Instead, please send the Evite URL (the link) to the list.
Mission-critical announcements.
FCF event invitations.
Items better communicated in person or via the bimonthly Full Circle Fund Newsletter or the News Page e.g. big milestones for past pr current grantees, articles about past/current grantees.
Circle and grant-specific messages not relevant to all members (use appropriate Circle email).
Change of bio, email or other contact info.

Between busy lives and jobs, our members receive an enormous amount of email. You may want to ask staff if your email is appropriate until you better understand the communication norms.

This is an opt-out list for current members only. If you don't want these types of emails from your fellow members, email Full Circle Fund and we'll take you off the list.

I'm in so many Google Groups with different email addresses! How do I deal with it all??!

Step 1: Start with one Google Account (most likely a gmail email account if you have one, if not follow the steps outlined here to create a Google Account).
Step 2: Go to google.com/accounts and add ALL your email addresses by selecting the edit button under email addresses
Step 3: Go to groups.google.com/groups/mysubs to edit where you would like to receive your Google Group subscriptions.

I got a reply to my newsgroup list email that says "Your message awaits moderator approval." What's that mean and when will my email go through?

It's ok. Email sent to the FCF newsgroup lists may be held for moderator approval if it has attachments, is over a certain size threshold, or is sent from an email address not subscribed to the list. FCF staff will approve your message to go through as soon as they can, though this will depend on when we are in te office and at our desks. This is a best practice that helps prevent viruses and spam from spreading through our email discussion lists.

Can you send me the contact info for another member?

Better yet, download a copy of the Member Roster. Come back for a new roster every so often because it's constantly updated as people change their contact info.

Who are the members of Full Circle Fund?

There are two places to look, depending on what you want to know. First, you can read the bios of our members online. Second, you can check the Member Roster if you want to contact anyone in particular. Come back for a new roster every so often because it's constantly updated as people change their contact info.

How do I change my bio/photo on the members page?

Keep your profile up-to-date by emailing Full Circle Fund with any bio or photo changes. Please write your bio in third person and include any other philanthropic activities in which you are involved. For your photo, please send a color photo, high resolution (bigger file is better), JPG or GIF format, with "room” around your head to work with. We make the photo pretty small in editing, so it doesn't have to be perfect.

Planning Meetings

I'd like to have a meeting at the Full Circle Fund offices. What should I do?

We have one conference room that easily accommodates up to 10 people, and can accommodate up to 16 if you're willing to crowd in. We also have two small conference rooms that each accommodate 4 people.

Since FCF shares office space with two other organizations, please email Full Circle Fund with your request. Expect a response within a few days.

In the conference room, you'll find large white dry-erase boards, markers and a speaker phone that can make one outgoing call (to a conference call # for example) but cannot receive calls; FCF also has a LCD projector available for use (it's not without it's problems), but does NOT have a laptop.

Where can I get food/beverage for my meeting?

The following restaurants are just a few of the many that deliver to the Mission area:

There are also a large number of nearby restaurants that, while they don't deliver, are very convenient for take-out, especially burritos! Options include: Atlas Cafe (salads and sandwiches), Jay's Cheese Steak (415-285-5200, review), Papalote Burritos (may deliver large orders), and Suriya Thai Restaurant (415-824-6655, review).

For meetings outside the San Francisco Mission District, please check with a local resident or with Yelp.com or Citysearch.com for recommendations. Many of the above restaurants also have wide delivery areas.

What and how much should I order?

Do NOT purchase bottled water. FCF has small and large (5 gal) pitchers for tap water available for meeting use.
LIGHT dinners suggested. order a little less than one full meal for each person, as some folks don't eat at the meeting. FCF HQ usually orders for 2/3 of the people attending.
Basic supplies are available at the FCF office and should not be purchased for meetings. Supplies available include: a 5 gallon water jug and small water pitcher, disposable plates, utensils, napkins, serving utensils, cups, water, sodas, 10-cup coffee maker & coffee grounds, and sugar.
Half the order should be vegetarian-friendly (no meat, so no beef/pork/chicken/fish, meat broth, or gelatin; eggs and dairy are ok). Please make reasonable effort to accommodate dietary restrictions of major religious holidays (like Passover).
Alcoholic drinks are ok if it is the preference of the group AND if it is permitted at your meeting space AND if it does not cause you to exceed the per person budget; usually 1.5 drinks per person is sufficient. There are 5 drinks in each bottle of wine; half red, half white suggested; beer goes over better with some groups than others.
Buy soda in the smaller 1 liter bottles, not the 2 liters and not in cans. Some groups don't really drink much soda.
Discounts for nonprofits are often available from restaurants if you ask, sometimes just no tax or delivery fee, sometimes a flat percentage - always ask! You may need FCF's 501(c)(3) verification letter. Though nonprofits are not legally required to provide receipts for donations of less than $250, FCF will happily provide a donation receipt and thank you note on request (email Full Circle Fund with request)
Many people are more than happy to take home any leftovers you might have, including the folks sharing offices FCF. Please ask before throwing away and wasting food.

What meeting or grant project expenses are reimbursable?

The best answer is: It depends. Please check with FCF for approval before you incur any expenses you might want reimbursed. If you don't have pre-approval, we cannot guarantee you will be reimbursed.

In general, Full Circle Fund will reimburse for food costs for Joint Impact Circle meetings as well as individual Circle meetings of the entire team. Full Circle Fund will reimburse up to $5.00-7.00 per person. You must submit your request for reimbursement within 30 days of incurring the expense (expenses submitted more than 30 days after the close of the calendar year cannot be reimbursed under any circumstances!) using this Volunteer Expense Reimbursement Form.

Do we have a free conference call service?

Yes! We recommend freeconference.com:

Instructions and dial-in numbers: http://www.freeconference.com/Reservationless-Organize.asp
Participants will incur long distance charges.
To schedule a group conference call, the organizer chooses a dial-in number and any random access code (four digits or more recommended). The organizer then sends an email to participants and includes the dial-in number, access code, start time and end time. Five minutes before the start of the call, the organizer should call in (see site for how to) and welcome people as they join the call
The main conference room at the Full Circle Fund office has one speaker phone. You can dial out from this phone but others cannot dial in.
If you would like to make a reservation for a call, visit h ttp://www.freeconference.com/WebScheduled-Organize.asp. Always set the duration of the call for longer than the planned discussion time by 15 minutes or more; inevitably, calls run longer than planned. Then follow instructions as above.

Donations a.k.a. Annual Membership Contributions

How do I send in my annual membership contribution to Full Circle Fund?

We make it easy for you. You can send in a check, donate public stock or use your credit card. You can even set up automatically recurring donations. Complete instructions are online our our donate page.

When will I get a receipt for my membership contribution?

Receipts for tax purposes are sent out quarterly by Full Circle Fund. If you need one sooner, contact Amber Milner.