News Subscribe to Our Newsletter Sign up for Email Updates CGF In the News Press Inquiries Past Articles Calendar			The INNW Fund Investing in the environment by Zoe Kersteen-Tucker With success of his money management firm, Value  Monitoring, Inc., assured, Peninsula resident Robert Levenson turned his  attention to the question, "What do you do once you win?" The result was  the founding, along with his wife Susan Lang, of The INNW Fund, a nonprofit  foundation. Appropriately, INNW is an acronym for "If not now, when?" With  an enduring commitment to environmental education and land stewardship,  these innovative thinkers began to ponder new models of strategic philanthropy  some 10 years ago. Levenson and Lang, along with Board member Howard Smith  and Foundation Vice President Joan Libman, have crafted a quiet and powerful  local foundation that provides problem-solving, mentoring, and money to  help nonprofits in challenging times. Backers of The INNW Fund seek ways  to leverage their investments by providing technical assistance and building  organizational capacity. Unlike community foundations, The INNW Fund does not solicit or review  grant proposals; rather, The Fund seeks out organizations with programs  of regional significance, a history of success, and committed board and  staff members. The Committee was first approached by The Fund with an offer of technical  assistance in 1999. At that time, the Committee's infrastructure hadn't  kept up with the organization's tremendous growth. We had survived years  of shoestring budgets and protracted David and Goliath land-use battles.  Our (almost entirely) volunteer-run organization was exhausted. Our Board  of Directors and single staff person, Denice Dade, were ready to make  a serious commitment of time and energy to strengthen the Committee for  future years. (Long-time CGF members may recall that Denice was then working  half-time as our office coordinator and half-time as Santa Clara County  Legislative Advocate.) Joan Libman, The INNW Fund's Vice President, called in consultants to  help analyze our organizational infrastructure with an assessment of financials,  job descriptions, bylaws, board committees, and technology. The INNW Fund  and their consultants helped us create and implement a comprehensive action  plan that included the following elements: • The Fund provided a $5,000 matching grant to overhaul the office  computer system. At the time, the Committee was functioning (barely) on  a single antiquated computer, a shared printer, and a 28k modem. • The law firm Silk, Adler & Colvin was retained to assess and update  Committee and Green Foothills Foundation bylaws and to create legal instruments  to govern the sharing of funds and resources between the Committee and  the Foundation. • Tanya Slesnick, a CPA specializing in nonprofits, worked with Committee  and Foundation treasurers and board members to implement state-of-the-art  bookkeeping software and charts of accounts for both organizations. Full  disclosure compilations were conducted for both organizations. • Management consultant Marge Sentous was brought in to assist with  updating our staff and volunteer job descriptions and board committees. • Development consultant Andrea Zafer was employed to work with board  members to create and implement a comprehensive fundraising strategy starting  with our year-end campaign in 1999. Andrea continues her development work  with the Committee and Foundation. • A plan was created and is being implemented to add key staff over  time and as fundraising capacity develops. With two years of hard work behind us, a partial list of our organizational  accomplishments include the following: • Paid staff was increased to include a first-ever, full-time Legislative  Advocate for Santa Clara County, an Executive Director, and Director of  Education and Outreach. • Office hardware and software computer systems were upgraded to  include four new networked computers, a laser printer and high-speed Internet  connections. • Fundraising results were increased four-fold. • A wage and fringe benefits analysis was conducted to ensure that  the organization's job descriptions, salary structure and benefits reflect  current industry standards. • Foundation and Committee bylaws have both been updated. • A comprehensive Personnel Handbook and Office Manual have been  created. • Financial and legal relationships between the Green Foothills Foundation  and the Committee for Green Foothills have been strengthened so that we  are able to maximize the community impact of this unique 501(c)(3)/501(c)(4)  combination. The theme of our relationship with The INNW Fund has been that they provide  funding, expertise, and guidance; the Committee makes the decisions and  does the work. From the beginning, the goal of The Fund has been to build  new expertise into the Committee's board and staff so that ultimately  we become self-sufficient at a higher level of capacity. INNW does not  seek seats on boards of directors of organizations they assist; rather  they are committed to helping organizations be accountable to themselves  and their supporters. The Committee for Green Foothills is profoundly grateful to The INNW Fund  for their open-hearted, wise, and generous support of our work and our  organization. They have offered their assistance in the spirit of partnership  and with an ethic of trust and respect for the uniqueness of our organization.  The model of philanthropy manifested by The INNW Fund is all about long-term  investment. By building additional capacity into organizations devoted  to regional environmental education and land stewardship, The INNW Fund  is able to maximize their investment in an irreplaceable environmental  legacy - the San Francisco Peninsula. Thank you, Joan! We offer special thanks and acknowledgement  to Joan Libman for her personal and professional commitment to our organization.  Joan is The INNW Fund's Vice President and chief management consultant. In a recent interview, Joan shared the following thoughts: "I look at  a nonprofit organization like a potential donor. Donors want to know that  their money is being used in the most productive and prudent manner possible.  I ask myself, 'Would I want to give money to this organization? Do the  board and staff feel a passion for carrying out this mission?' If the  answer is 'yes,' then the next question is, 'is it possible to help this  very fine program become self-sustaining?' I recognize that there is an  element of creativity and passion in the nonprofit world that too often  makes volunteers disinclined or too embarrassed to talk about money. However,  I believe that organizational effectiveness coupled with sound fundraising  practices makes a nonprofit more effective and better able to carry out  their important mission." Thank you, Joan! More about The INNW Fund The mission of The INNW Fund is to foster environmental  awareness, through grants supporting education and land conservation.  Organizations they have helped include: Hidden Villa, Environmental Volunteers,  Peninsula Open Space Trust, East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse, Center  for Investigative Reporting. The INNW Fund also founded the Friends of  Huddart and Wunderlich Parks. Published November 2001 in Green  Footnotes. Page last updated October 30, 2001.