SF Business Times Article
San Francisco exports a nonprofit exec program
By Sarah Duxbury. Friday, January 20, 2012.
The growth of encore fellowships is proving that old dogs
can actually teach new tricks.
The first encore fellowships were piloted by San Francisco’s Civic Ventures in 2009, when it placed 10 retired executives in year-long paid fellowships at nonprofits. The fellows received a $25,000 stipend in exchange for a year’s work on a specific project. That model has now been adopted, sometimes with tweaking, in 10 places around the country. This fiscal year, 100 encore fellows are in positions nationwide. That number could double next year.
Experience Matters in Phoenix, for example, has a program similar to the original encore program. The American Leadership Forum in Sacramento has started an encore program, and Seattle and San Diego will soon have the as well. Other existing programs, including a Silicon Valley one run by Civic Ventures, plan to double in size this year.
The latest evolution of the encore model is happening at Aspiranet, a $49 million family service agency based in South San Francisco, which has decided to create an internal encore program with eight fellows all working for Aspiranet.
“Their ability to have an impact is higher certainly by sheer numbers,” said Leslye Louie, national director of Civic Ventures’ encore fellowships network. “This is not just one fellow times eight; they will have a bigger impact because they are all working together on a common set of objectives. … We think they are a role model for how other large nonprofits can take advantage of encore talent.”
Aspiranet has hosted encore fellows since the 2009 pilot with such positive results that it decided to scale the program. The fellows are helping the agency, which operates 48 sites statewide, to build capacity and meet ambitious strategic goals in a time of government budget cuts.
“After having gone through three encore fellows … we felt there was a great opportunity to experiment with a bringing in a large cohort of fellows and creating a kind of gravitas, I guess, or more of an impact,” said Vernon Brown, CEO of Aspiranet. “What they bring is their own unique privatesector experience.”
Aspiranet believes strongly enough in the encore model that it is paying for its fellows itself, rather than turning to foundation or outside funders.
“One person or even two people are not able to do seven projects,” Brown said of why he doesn’t direct that money to a full-time position that will last beyond one year. “Seven projects at the end of the year delivered by people with a lifetime of experience is pretty valuable to an organization.”
Too, the caliber of fellows and the senior level at which they work mean they are valuable beyond their nominal stipends.
One such fellow is Terry Connelly, who recently retired as dean of the Golden Gate University School of Business, and who previously led investment banking at Cowen & Co. Though retiring, he wasn’t yet ready to go out to pasture, Connelly said, so he looked into the encore fellowship program.
“What I was looking for here was an opportunity to continue my public service in a more direct way,” Connelly said. “It’s a two-way street. They’ll get benefit from what I do, but I am getting more than compensated beyond the stipend.”
Sarah Duxbury covers hospitality, restaurants, retail and nonprofits for the San Francisco Business Times.
