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Farewell Monterey, hello Point Reyes! On October 13th and 14th 2012 at Marconi Conference Center in Point Reyes, we’ll gather for our annual Member Retreat.

It’s six months away, so you have plenty of time to mark your calendar! We’re mixing it up this year with a new, closer location and activities you are going to love. The fun begins Saturday morning, and you’ll still have the opportunity to stay overnight until Sunday.

For now, add it to your calendar and stay tuned for more information.

Posted in Retreat, members, event

Our annual Member Retreat is always memorable but new changes this year ensured that the weekend was fresh and compelling for both new and seasoned participants. Eighty-eight percent of survey respondents rated the event excellent overall.

According to first time attendee Tim Arnold, “It was just fantastic! It’s so clear that Full Circle Fund is at its own inflection point, and true to our nature, we are poised to dramatically increase the impact of our innovative and scalable model. It’s heartening to see that the Board is taking such a thoughtful and inclusive effort to ensure this necessary growth is achieved with the end in mind – keeping the “secret sauce” of Full Circle Fund.”

About 70 Members and guests gathered in Monterey for activities such as Friday night’s fiercely competitive Amazing Race-type scavenger hunt.

Saturday, Circle leaders shared candidly about both impact and challenges faced in the past year. Leslie Keil was also revealed as our new Global Economic Opportunity Circle Co-Chair. The Board made their annual presentation, focusing on our new strategic direction, priorities for 2011, and an update on the executive search. The afternoon’s Collectively Owning Our Future segment encouraged teams to dig deeper on pressing issues affecting our organization, reflect on our new strategic direction, and brainstorm next steps.

Our grant partner Caleb Zigas, Executive Director of La Cocina gave an engaging and in-depth look at how our project team helped their organization. Finally, Catherine Hutton Markwell led an appreciation segment to say farewell to Amy Lesnick, including a video tribute.

After a beachside luau and s’mores around the campfire, our member band played favorite hits and Jeff Camp’s newest song (video above). Thank you to our speakers, members, volunteers, activity leaders, Board, Circle Chairs, Big Kahunas, member photographer Steve Schoettler, and of course our event registration sponsor Eventbrite. You make the retreat possible!

>Members, log in to watch videos of the Board Report, Caleb’s talk, the slide show tribute to Amy Lesnick and more on the Members Only Platform.

Photos by Steve Schoettler

Posted in Leslie Keil, Tim Arnold, Retreat, La Cocina, Board

Save the Date for the Annual Member Retreat, May 13 through May 15, 2011. Held at the Beach Resort Monterey in Monterey, CA, the retreat is Full Circle Fund’s most exciting weekend of the year.

The retreat is a fun, multi-day escape where Members take a step back from day-to-day activities, get to know one another, and focus on collectively building Full Circle Fund’s future. The beautiful Beach Resort Monterey is an environment perfect for inspiration and idea exchange in a more relaxed environment. If you’re new, it’s the perfect way to meet other members. If you’re a seasoned member, it’s a great chance to get to know newer members and get re-engaged. With traditions such as the beach bonfire, luau, incredible guest speakers, Circle Annual Reports, live music, singing, dancing, and more, this annual event is “serious” fun.

The Retreat begins after dinner (approximately 7:30 pm) Friday night and concludes Saturday night. Staying both nights is strongly recommended. More information will be coming soon about transportation, hotel group rates, and program registration. Please do not contact the hotel directly for reservations. Check out a recap of 2010’s event.

As usual, we’re striving especially hard to make the retreat accessible to all members. Therefore, we’re looking for BIG KAHUNAS to sponsor other members, or to host certain parts of the event. Email Wendy Wittmann if you or your company would like to sponsor. Remember, program, hotel and shuttle fees are non-refundable. This event is exclusively for members but significant others are welcome to certain parts of the weekend for an additional fee. Space is limited and advance registration is required.

Posted in Retreat, event

Full Circle Fund’s annual Member Retreat 2010 was a fun, multi-day escape, allowing members to take a step back from their day-to-day activities. With an energetic yet focused environment perfect for team building, ideas were exchanged, relationships were strengthened, and collective ownership sought for the success of Full Circle Fund. Click the play button below to view the photos (by Sudeep M. Rao)

This year, 94 Members and guests gathered in Monterey for a weekend of serious fun on May 14 through 16. Thanks to Member Gary Bauer, many members rode in style on a luxury eco-friendly Bauer’s Intelligent Transportation Executive Motor Coach. Upon checking in, Members received a complimentary welcome gift of a Full Circle Fund fleece. The group quickly got comfortable and dove headfirst into the weekend. Members learned more about each other through the introductions activity and after finding out some very unique facts about their peers, members Wade Crowfoot and Carolyn Davies kicked off the infamous Jeopardy Challenge, where Full Circle Fund knowledge was tested and eardrums damaged. Finally, members cheered to the success of the weekend at the Friday wine and dessert reception.

On Saturday, the program began bright and early as Tracy Dooley and Steven Lurie led individuals in a reflection upon why they are part of the organization. Members shared their personal reasons such as life-changing realizations, a deep sense of community service, and a passion for engaging with nonprofits in a meaningful way. Education Circle Chairman Jeff Camp surprised the group with a debut performance of his original hit “Good For Nothing (Everything Comes Full Circle).”

Afterward, leaders from each Circle took the stage to report on the impact they have made in the past year and updated fellow members on current issues in their topic areas. Circle members then gathered into their respective circles to take a step back from the day-to-day and evaluate how they could make a greater impact in their work.

After lunch, the group reconvened in the main room to hear from Sara Olsen, Founding Partner of SVT Group. Sara’s talk raised questions about how to measure social innovation and the SROI of engaged philanthropy, laying the foundation for more work Full Circle Fund will be doing in the future to measure the impact of our work.

As is tradition, the Board came together for their Annual Report presentation on Full Circle Fund’s progress and challenges in 2009 and priorities for 2010. Staff Member Caroline Thompson also led an activity to get Members engaged in using the new Member Platform.

To further build on the goals for the year, Amy Lesnick lead the group into the section titled “Collectively Owning Our Future: Ideas and Action.” The groups separated into six teams to discuss pressing issues affecting our organization and next steps they would take. The day’s programming concluded with a talk from Haydee Moreno, the Executive Director of Self-Help Micro Branch, one of our Global Economic Opportunity Grant Partners. After an introduction by Project Lead Anna Binder, Haydee shared her personal story, and what led her to work in the financial services industry and fight predatory check cashing and payday loan operators that victimize low resource immigrant populations.

After a sing-along at the campfire with our Member Band, the 360s (Jeff Camp on guitar, Jeff Pollock on keyboard, Natasha Hoehn and Jennifer Anastasoff on vocals), members headed to the after party where DJ HeyMan supplied the funky beats that had members dancing late into the evening. After the dance party, members headed to the beach until the wee hours of the morning, before catching a few ZZZs and heading back home in the morning. Thank you to our speakers, members, volunteers, Board, Circle Chairs, Big Kahunas: Jeff and Eva Camp, and Josh Becker, and of course our event registration sponsor Eventbrite and our beer sponsor Lagunitas, and for the delicious desserts provided by La Cocina. We couldn’t have done it without you!

Posted in Retreat, Self Help, members, event, jeff camp

Members, it’s that time of year again! Save the Date for the Annual Member Retreat, May 14 through May 16, 2010. Held at the Beach Resort Monterey in Monterey, CA, the retreat is Full Circle Fund’s most exciting weekend of the year.

The retreat is a fun, multi-day escape where Members take a step back from day-to-day activities, get to know one another, and focus on collectively building Full Circle Fund’s future. The beautiful Beach Resort Monterey is an environment perfect for inspiration and idea exchange in a more relaxed environment. If you’re new, it’s the perfect way to meet other members. If you’re a seasoned member, it’s a great chance to get to know newer members and get re-engaged. With traditions such as the beach bonfire, luau, incredible guest speakers, Full Circle Fund Jeopardy, Circle Annual Reports, live music, singing, dancing, and more, this annual event is “serious” fun.

The Retreat begins after dinner (approximately 7:30 pm) Friday night and concludes Saturday night. Staying both nights is strongly recommended. More information will be coming soon about transportation, hotel group rates, and program registration. Please do not contact the hotel directly for reservations since Full Circle Fund negotiates a lower group rate not available to the public. Members, check out the Members Only section of the website to see highlights from the 2009 Retreat!

As usual, we’re striving especially hard to make the retreat accessible to all members. Therefore, we’re looking for BIG KAHUNAS to sponsor other members, or to host certain parts of the event. Email Wendy Wittmann if you or your company would like to sponsor. Remember, program, hotel and shuttle fees are non-refundable. This event is exclusively for members but significant others are welcome to certain parts of the weekend for an additional fee. Space is limited and advance registration is required.

Posted in Retreat, members