News

Joe Kleinschmidt was announced as Full Circle Fund’s 2011 Member of the Year at the December 14 year-end celebration.

He was selected for this top honor based on his active participation, growth as a leader, and contributions to Full Circle Fund and the greater community. By day, Joe is VP of Cloud Products at Telligent, an enterprise social networking software company.

Joe has been an active member of the Global Economic Opportunity Circle since Fall 2010. He quickly stepped up to a leadership role, and together with member Lucy Burns, became a co-lead of the Family Independence Initiative (FII) project.

Upon receiving the award, Joe addressed the crowd by sharing, “Full Circle Fund is filled with so many inspiring people – and the organization just keeps getting stronger. This is just an incredible honor.”

FII is a national center for anti-poverty innovation offering results-based, community-driven solutions to reducing poverty. The team focused on helping FII launch a web-based community-building site. Under Joe and Lucy’s guidance, they worked to identify the audiences that could engage on this site, assist with messaging, positioning and actual website design, and drive identified audiences to the website to create a vibrant online community.

“As a leader, Joe does an excellent job of asking the hard questions, and drawing on team members to leverage their knowledge and skills,” said Global Economic Opportunity Circle Co-Chair Leslie Keil, “He made sure everyone felt invested in the project by providing the right amount of insight, direction, and encouragement.”

Joe joins the ranks of previous recipients including Environment/ Energy Co-Chair Braden Penhoet (2010), GEO Grant Cycle Director Annette Brinton (2009), Greg Nelson (2008) who is now working in the White House Office of Public Engagement as the Associate Director for Energy, Environment, and Technology, Melanie Nutter (2007), who is now the Director of the San Francisco Office of the Environment, and software developer, entrepreneur, start-up adviser, and angel investor Dave McClure (2006).

Joe will continue in a leadership role as a Grant Cycle Director for the circle in 2012. Congratulations and thank you, Joe! View more photos from the event.

Posted in Joe Kleinschmidt, Family Independence Initiative, Global Economic Opportunity, special announcement, member leaders

On December 14 our Members, Partners, and their guests celebrated the end of year with a gathering at Blu Restaurant & Bar. Members were treated to chair massages as a thank you for their hard work this year. Guests also brought contributions to our former grant partner Hamilton Family Center’s Adopt A Family program.

A highlight of the evening was when Joe Kleinschmidt was announced as 2011 Member of the Year. Read more about it here. Thank you to all who made it a great evening!

Posted in events

In August, Environment/Energy Circle Members voted to focus on Collaborative Consumption, which is based on the notion that “we’re wired to share,” and it’s good for the environment to do so. Within that issue area, three organizations were selected as potential grant partners for a mini-grant cycle: BC3 (Business Council on Climate Change), SCRAP, and Cradle to Cradle.

The results are in. Our Fall 2011 grant partner is BC3, led by social entrepreneur Katherine Michonski.

BC3 is a public-private partnership working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in San Francisco. Our team is doing outreach planning to identify businesses that could install electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, and creating recommendations that will be implemented via Charge Across Town, an EV public awareness campaign and partnership between BC3 and SF Environment.

We’d like to thank our Environment/Energy Circle members for putting together this mini-grant cycle during Fall 2011. A special thank you goes out to Circle members who extended themselves to support the grant cycle in a short timeframe, including Michael Frost, Amie Vaccaro, Sienna Rogers, Melanie Nutter, Anne Boyd Rabkin, Bryan Esterly, Beth Trask, Trina Martynowicz, Chuck Hornbrook, Chris Hobbs, and Radha Blackman.

Posted in BC3, grant, environment

A new documentary, inspired by the 2007 memoir, “The Power Of Two” offers an intimate portrayal of the bond between half-Japanese twin sisters Anabel Stenzel and Isabel Stenzel Byrnes, their battle with the fatal genetic disease cystic fibrosis (CF), and miraculous survival through double lung transplants.

In many ways, “The Power Of Two” is a Full Circle Fund production. Producing partners former Technology Circle Chair Marc Smolowitz, an Academy Award nominated documentary producer, and Environment Circle member Andrew Byrnes, met in 2008 at a Full Circle Fund meeting.

In mid-2009, when Andrew told Marc that his wife and sister-in-law, the central characters of “The Power Of Two,” were bound for a month-long tour of Japan to tell their story of receiving organ transplants (transplantation is rare and controversial in Japan), the two decided to launch a multimedia project and international call-to-action to inspire organ donation and cystic fibrosis awareness centered around a feature documentary film.

Early in production, Full Circle Fund’s Vice President of Programs Jillian Misrack Galbete, an organ donor herself, joined the project’s international advisory board.

“The Power Of Two” will hold its world premiere as part of DocuWeeks, the prestigious Academy Award-qualifying documentary showcase presented by the International Documentary Association. “The Power Of Two” will premiere locally at the Castro Theatre on September 10, 2011. Purchase tickets and find out more information here.

Posted in Andrew Byrnes, Marc Smolowitz, member leaders, technology

The Microsoft Alumni Foundation announced its nominees for the 2011 Integral Fellows Awards, a yearly list of former Microsoft employees who have made a meaningful difference in the daily lives of others by using their talents, time and resources to contribute to the world. We’re excited to share that Jeff Camp, Chairman of Full Circle Fund’s Education Circle is on the list.

Read the complete list of nominees and their organizations.

Up to four of the 19 nominees will receive a $25,000 unrestricted grant for their organization at the Microsoft Alumni Foundation Celebration Event on November 16 in Seattle. The nominees present nonprofit organizations either started by Microsoft alumni or where Microsoft alumni have made major contributions.

Judges include Phyllis Campbell, chairman of Pacific Northwest operations at JPMorgan Chase, Ashoka founder and CEO William Drayton, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta, and eBay founder and Chairman Pierre Omidyar.

Posted in jeff camp, education, Uncategorized

Full Circle Fund is thrilled to announce, on behalf of the entire Board of Directors, that we have hired Kiki Mills Johnston as our new CEO. Her first day is Monday, July 18th. Please join us in warmly welcoming her to our community!

Before joining Full Circle Fund, Mills Johnston was President of the Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange (MITX). Find out more about Kiki by reading our press release and her bio.

“The engaged philanthropy movement is alive and growing, with Full Circle Fund at the forefront of this momentum,” shared Kiki, “I am so excited to join the organization and look forward to working with our members, key partners, and stakeholders.”

The board unanimously determined that Kiki was exactly the energetic, skilled professional they sought to lead Full Circle Fund into its second decade.

Harrison Dillon, Full Circle Fund Board Member and a co-founder at Bay Area biotechnology firm Solazyme adds, “Her skill at building partnerships across the nonprofit, public, and corporate sectors aligns well with Full Circle Fund’s new strategic direction. We’re excited that she’s bringing this strong track record to the organization.”

You can meet Kiki by attending an upcoming Circle meeting, and other events this summer and fall. Welcome, Kiki!!

Posted in Kiki Mills Johnston, Sarah Wigglesworth, staff, Board, special announcement

Members of the Global Economic Opportunity Circle completed their second grant cycle and voted on a new investment portfolio on June 21. After much exploration and research, and an incredible amount of work on behalf of all the inquiry teams and leaders, IDEX and Family Independence Initiative were selected to receive grants of both time and money from Full Circle Fund.

> IDEX (International Development Exchange) is a San Francisco based non-profit organization that promotes sustainable solutions to poverty by providing long-term grants and access to resources to locally run organizations in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Possible projects include making the upcoming third party review of its model come alive, creating a ‘graduate’ plan for grantees, and strategic fund development including marketing and branding, 25th anniversary projects, and events.
Full Circle Fund Project Lead: Tanya Marston
Team members: Michelle Branch, Katie Colendich, and Amy Currin

> Family Independence Initiative is a national center for anti-poverty innovation offering results-based, community-driven solutions to reducing poverty. FII’s strength-based approach is inspired by the historical successes of poor communities in the U.S. Potential projects include helping implement a web-based community building site, developing a Leadership Academy, strategic planning and business model articulation, marketing and communications.
Full Circle Fund Project Leads: Lucy Burns and Joe Kleinschmidt
Team members: Amy Zucchero, Michelle Carreon, Melissa Davini.

We’d like to thank all of the organizations and Members who participated in the process. We’d especially like to acknowledge Inquiry Team Lead Ritu Sharma who re-introduced us to the incredible work of our first runner up, Village Enterprise.

Now is a great time to get re-engaged with or join the Global Economic Opportunity Circle in order to get started with these projects as they kick off. Contact our Membership Associate to find out more about becoming a member.

New projects were also chosen this spring in the Education Circle. Meanwhile, the Environment/Energy Circle is winding down their current projects and will kick off a new grant cycle in late summer early fall. As always, projects are officially approved by a final vote from Full Circle Fund’s board of directors.

Posted in Family Independence Initiative, IDEX, Global Economic Opportunity, grantees, grant cycle

Full Circle Fund is excited to announce the election of four new board members (appearing clockwise in photo) Mark Jacobstein - CEO of iSkoot and Member since 2005, Steve Schoettler - Co-Founder of Zynga, Sarah Wigglesworth - former C-level consultant and immediate past Global Economic Opportunity Circle Co-Chair, and Harrison Dillon - Co-Founder of Solazyme.

This infusion of fresh talent marks a critical milestone, as Full Circle Fund celebrates a decade as an organization and looks forward to the next ten years. The Board, with support from Circle Leadership, members, staff, and key partners, embarked this spring on a major strategic planning process with the goals of refining our engaged philanthropy model to build an even stronger organization and more fully leveraging Full Circle Fund’s powerful network of people and resources.

Board Chair Josh Becker emphasized, “Sarah, Mark, Harrison, and Steve are exactly the individuals we need to translate this new strategy into action, scale our organization, and maximize impact in the future. I have never been more confident or excited about Full Circle Fund’s future.”

Several major components of the strategic planning process are already in place, and have involved reaching out to members, investors, and other key constituencies within Full Circle Fund’s community. The board anticipates rolling out a plan that incorporates all of these inputs and decisions by the end of the summer.

We look forward to sharing the new Full Circle Fund with our greater community. In the meantime, please join us in welcoming these outstanding new board members!

Posted in Mark Jacobstein, Harrison Dillon, Steve Schoettler, Sarah Wigglesworth, Josh Becker, Board, special announcement

Community-based organizations with limited resources (and let’s face it, that’s most of them!) often struggle to take full advantage of the dynamic social media landscape. A new conference series launching June 29th in San Francisco is produced by Full Circle Fund’s own Darian Rodriguez Heyman and Ritu Sharma. The goal: to bring nonprofit leaders together with social media experts to close this knowledge gap.

As one of the conference’s regional partners, Full Circle Fund encourages you to join us at Social Media for Nonprofits, June 29 at the Green Room in the War Memorial Building.

The full-day program is filled with practical tips and tools for fundraising, advocacy, and marketing that you can implement right away. We’re especially looking forward to keynotes by social media experts Beth Kanter and Guy Kawasaki, plus workshops and interactive roundtables.

Entry fees range from $95-$125, but Full Circle Fund Members can score $20 off by using the discount code “FCF.” Whether you attend the conference or not, be sure to swing by for the 5:30 PM book release party for “Nonprofit Management 101,” Darian’s new book, which recently hit #4 on the nonprofit charts. Sign up for either or both here and don’t forget to spread the word to your nonprofit network.

Posted in Ritu Sharma, Darian Rodriguez Heyman, event, member leaders

Did you know that your used smart phone can have a new life as a learning device for a student? Leadership Public Schools (LPS) SmartPhones for SmartKids (SmartX2) is a pilot project designed to help low-income students gain mobile computing technology that will bolster learning inside and outside of the classroom. Full Circle Fund’s Education Circle selected this project in spring 2011 as part of its new investment portfolio. The Project Leads are Steve Bronstein and Greg Wolff.

This project is compelling because it leans into a mega-trend: smart phones have become ubiquitous, even in lower-income settings. Rather than fighting it, could these tools serve an educational purpose? The answer is yes. Features such as cameras, WIFI connectivity and apps (on Android and iPhone), enable smart phones to be used as highly effective mini-computing devices without a carrier data plan. By connecting to their school’s WIFI network, students can gain instant access to the web, work on multimedia projects and use applications specifically designed for mobile-based education.

You can help by donating your old smart phone today! Any identifying information off the phone will be deleted before it goes to its new user. We need:

• iPhones or Androids - in good working condition
• Phones able to connect to the Internet (when service is provided)
• A working charger for the phone
• Accessories that came with the phone; these are welcome but not required

We only need it to connect to the internet so don’t worry if:

• The “phone” portion doesn’t work
• The camera doesn’t work
• The microphone doesn’t work

It’s easy to help! You can bring your old smart phone to the next Full Circle Fund event and give to a staff member. Take your device, including all the manuals, power cords, accessories you don’t want, box it up, and deliver or send to:

SmartPhones 4 SmartKids Project
c/o Full Circle Fund
133 Kearny Street, Suite 202
San Francisco, CA 94108

Remember, you can use this donation to offset your taxes. You do not need a receipt for donations under $250. Consult a qualified tax professional for more information. Leadership Public Schools is a nonprofit, and their tax id number and more can be found on their website.

Posted in Leadership Public Schools, education