Friday, 25 March

Today I got a call from the Dir of FaF who enlisted my help in organising a new set of discussions, different from the Speaker Series, but related. The Partnership is (and has been since last Summer) undergoing a Strategic Planning phase right now. The Speaker Series was part of the Planning; its purpose is to stretch the imagination and boundaries of established thoughts, challenge the current methods we use for assisting homeless people. The Dir asked me to find space for a series of three staff meetings, with attendance mandatory at one staff meeting at least. The purpose of the meetings is to discuss our current Mission and Values Statements, and recap our Speaker Series with thoughts on how to alter our current programmes to better suit our clients and organisation. I'm in charge of gathering all Speaker Series related materials, including all academic papers and published articles that were distributed at each Discussion, locate and book rooms for the discussions, gather and prepare supplies for the meetings (including a summary of each of the panel discussions) and be present at all three staff meetings.

"No prob," I assured her.

And so I embarked on the task of preparing for said staff meetings. I very much look forward to them. I've had reactions to each of the discussions, thoughts about how the new research each Speaker provides compares with our methods of handling clients. I can't wait for this open forum to discuss what I've learned and make suggestions to the group. This process of development based upon research is what I'm good at. It'll be like sitting in a classroom again, debating, respectfully of course, a topic that everyone in the room is vested in and knowledgeable of. In that regard, the meeting will vary from most classroom discussions I've ever sat in on. Fnar. :)

7 hours.

Thursday, 24 March

Today was just spent working on getting the FRC furniture. Most of the conversation took place via email, so it's a lot of waiting on responses and finding effective methods of communicating. We hear talk of one of the board member's warehouses in Connecticut with furniture we could use and we're trying to get digital photos of the furniture and working out the details of its availability. We suspect we'll end up driving up to Connecticut this weekend in a Uhaul. The laughter keeps our day flowing.

7 hours.

Wednesday, 23 March

Today I worked from home, scanning Going Public and prepping the chapters we've selected for distribution to the staff who will be attending the Discussion. Believe it or not, this process took three hours today, the total amount of time I spent working today.

3 hours.

Tuesday, 22 March

At some point in my conversations with the CEO last week about the upcoming panel discussion, we decided that I should read the speaker's book, Going Public, to prepare for the Discussion. I started reading the book over the weekend and haven't been able to put it down, spending a good portion of today reading it, too. It's a riveting collection of stories of his tooth-and-nail organising days. I find it, the impact he's had on individuals and the organisations he's helped form, inspiring. The IAF sprung from the ideology of Saul Alinsky, a radical grassroots organiser, whose movement started in 1940's America. It's excellent preparation for the upcoming panel discussion (which, I just realised, I will be missing because I'll be away from Spring Break- drat).

I also spent more time researching potential donors for FRC. I discovered Craig's List as a good source for this and spent a gross amount of time going through the site.

I worked 8 hours today.

Monday, 21 March

This morning I had an impromptu meeting with the Dev Dir and the Grant Writer. Our Family Resource Center is opening in April- and the P-ship doesn't even have a budget for how to furnish the new location. Our* task: find free or cheap furniture to furnish the FRC.

We set to work straight away doing internet searches. By noon, I had signed up with three different waste match websites and the GW was busy submitted proposals for emergency funds. It was a good, but hectic day. I'm learning so much about the foundation/corporate donation world.

I worked 7 hours today.


*The Grant Writer and I have joined up like a team of researchers and developers; I will often refer to us as a collective because we spend so much time in occlusion.

Friday, 18 March

I didn't go into the office today, but I wanted to relay this story to the Journal anyway, since it is both work and internship related.

Wednesday evening I was working late to meet a 9 am deadline the following morning. The Development Director and I were the only ones in the office, so before I left, I popped my head in her office and chatted with her about the work I was doing. Our conversation strayed from work stuff and onto the sunset out her window, flying, 9/11 and what I'm doing after graduation.

[NOTE: When She started here three weeks ago, I knew I would be working with my potential boss, but shied away from telling her that I was interested in staying with the Partnership (and in what capacity) after the term ended. At that time, I was still wavering between going for an entry-level position and throwing all my efforts into the training for employment in the Development Department. I knew this question would eventually come from her through casual conversation or through my own formal declaration as soon as I gathered the courage. So when she asked me what I was doing after graduation, I didn't know what I was going to say until the words came out of my mouth.**]

I couldn't dance around making my decision any longer, and it felt dishonest and weak of character to plead the fifth. I opened my mouth and, with as much confidence as I could muster, started, "I've made it no secret around here that I want to stay with the Partnership after graduation..." and proceeded to decide and declare that I wanted to stay in the Development Department, in a communicative capacity, interested in Grant Writing, but knowing that I haven't the experience or training for the position, but that blah blah blah.

It's funny: I was almost completely comfortable in her presence, talking about inane topics, but once I announced my candidacy for new Development Associate, I suddenly felt a pang of insecurity, like the chair I was sitting in belonged to the interviewee and the desk I spoke across belonged to my potential employer. I became nervously aware of the stomping boots on my feet, cotton t-shirt around my torso and denim encasing my legs. I realised that, from this moment on, I was in a perpetual state of interviewing; that I now had expectations of me greater than I bargained for as an Intern, and thought, perhaps I should start dressing the part of a potential employee. But then I realised I have no wardrobe to support that last thought and I don't really want to have said wardrobe, nor do I have the funding for it.

However, my declaration was received with enthusiam and great interest. She immediately asked for a writing sample and offered to give me an 'assignment' in lieu of one.

Of course, this is all good news because: a) I made a decision, b) it was received well and c) I finally made a decision. My life post-graduation life is beginning to take shape.

**Some of my best life decisions are made at the most inopportune times.

Thursday, 17 March

Today was more of yesterday and Tuesday, working on files, updating the Pendings file and meeting with the Development Dir to discuss and plan for the Pendings file.

I worked 7 hours today.

Wednesday, 16 March

I spent today working on updating our "Pendings and Renewals" spreadsheet, which required intense searching through foundation files and websites for contact information, date of proposal submissions and expected response time from granters. Again, though, I'm learning the history of our relationships with granters, an invaluable tool for a Grant Writer. :)

I worked 7 hours today.

Tuesday, 15 March

All day today was dedicated to refiling our hard files. I am gradually learning the Partnership's history with all of our valuable granters, a gem of knowledge that can't be taught but observed and learned. This increases my employability at the Partnership. :)

I worked 7 hours today.

Monday, 14 March

Today was the day of the Chris Madden Event. It started off early in Brooklyn, out at FaF. A few reporters were there to interview and photograph Chris Madden and a client we hand-picked to get advice from Chris and talk about decorating their home. If you didn't know (and I didn't when I was first introduced to her), Chris Madden is a small-time Martha Stewart. She has countless decorating books, has been featured on HGTV and has a line of housewares for JC Penny.

We were out at FaF until nearly afternoon, then back at work just in time to grab lunch, check our email and take care of last minute preparations for the evening's event. I think I'm going to be the coat-check girl, which is fine by me. I'm rather shy about schmoozing with rich white people I don't know.

I'll work 8 hours today, and THEN some.

Friday, 11 March

First things first, I updated the fact-sheet on homelessness (data here) for the Director of Communications and was called into a meeting with the entire Development Department. We discussed plans for the big Chris Madden event this coming Monday, including the press invitation/interview we're having out at FaF on Monday morning. The Grant Writer and I volunteered to assist in anyway possible and all of us agreed to go out to FaF to help the Dir of Communications deal with the press.

I spent the rest of the day gathering related materials and needed supplies and putting together press packets for the 'junket' in Brooklyn Monday morning and the cocktail party Monday evening.

I was here for 8 hours today.

Thursday, 10 March

Today was spent cleaning out files, email communicating about the upcoming panel discussion, a fact-checking mission the Director of Communications put me on and working on creating a public Development Calendar for our Department.

I was in for 7 hours today.

Wednesday, 9 March

I returned to work today with many tasks on my plate; first of which was to track down the transcript of an NPR Morning Report: Marketplace that our CEO had a snippet in. The report can be found here.

I've also started working on cleaning out those files from our 'hard' system. My task is to root through all the current files I could find (i.e. approximately 120 files) and pull out any and all necessary paperwork in each file and order chronologically, putting the most recent communication from a granter on the top of the stack on the left side of the folder, and our most recent communication with them on the top of the stack on the right side of the folder. This requires throwing out duplicate copies, proposals found in the G Drive and any other unnecessary or otherwise useless information. In short, it takes about 15-20 minutes on an average file. The process is long and mentally taxing and frustrating, but it's worth it. The cleaned up files will make room in the file cabinet and make it easier for the Grant Writer(s) to read up on a granter. But this project will take a good month to finish.

I worked 8 hours today.

Tuesday, 8 March: Some People Just Let You Down.

I walked roughly two hours and easily two or three miles last night. In search of homeless people. I found a bunch of crack houses and a group of teenage boys huddled together, slowly walking up and down the same block repeatedly. And I saw one homeless guy getting onto a bus, but we weren't supposed to stop people in transit (because they're not from that neighborhood; skews the geographic distribution.)

YorkU* counted no homeless. As the night went on, I became grumpy about the fact that we were walking around in circles NOT counting anybody. What a paradox: I was disappointed because we didn't find anybody sleeping on the streets. Everyone in that neighborhood had a home. Damn it.

I didn't go into work today.

*Our group 'codename'

Monday, 7 March

I spent better half of this morning tweaking Fiscal's "Foundations&Corporations FY01-FY05" donors list. It was illogically listed; or, at least, it was listed alphabetically by last name of foundation in the Development Dept and alphabetically by first name in the Fiscal Department, meaning that if the proper name of the Foundation started with The, on the list, it was put in with the T's. Completely illogical and non-standard. So I played around with the Excel Spreadsheet and whittled the list down to just 70 foundations (from over 230), eliminating duplications and the foundations I pulled from the filing cabinet on Friday.

The Grant Writer and I went in for a meeting with the Development Director to talk about the current state of affairs in the grant writing department. We discussed current deadlines, overdue deadlines and made plans for upcoming deadlines. The Director is just getting her feet wet, but she is clearly knowledgeable in this department, having a strong background in this area and confidence in her answers to our questions. She listens well and and seems fair and honest. She even had an agenda for our meeting, which last nearly 2 hours! We planned for a regular meeting on Tuesday mornings.

I worked 7 hours today.

Friday, 4 March

Today I made plans with Dev Dir about how to re-file our current system of Institutional Donors. She asked me to go through a current fiscal list (last five years up to this week) of donors, pull the current donors' files and separate them from "expired" donors. Foundations are cyclical, so we should consider going through and re-introducing ourselves to the older donors later on. Dev Dir says that Private Donors are the most stable source because institutional donors are cyclical.

I spent the latter part of the afternoon going through the filling cabinet, frustrated because the fiscal donors system lists the foundation donors by the first name and the grant department lists them by last name, i.e. The So & So Mulligan Foundation was listed in the cabinet as "Mulligan, So & So" and the fiscal accounting listed it as "The So & So Mulligan Foundation," a pattern I didn't detect until well into the uncovering and therefore creating a great deal of annoyance and frustration for me.

I also worked on some light technical support, assisting the Dev Staff to get access to some public folders in Outlook. We really should find a way to streamline inter-departmental communication. I mean, it's not enough we work in the same office; but if we want to communicate to the whole team, then our current Development mailing list has to be updated, a request that must be handled through our IT Administrator who is only available via email.

I worked 8 hours today.

Thursday, 3 March

Today I assisted the New Guy Nutritionist with getting access to the Old Nutritionist's files, as well as help with any technical/email questions. He's sitting in my cubicle, and seemed genuinely baffled by Windows. I wonder how long he's going to last, I thought to myself. He seems a little out of place.

I also spent some time researching housing as a human right for my paper. The search is difficult.

7 hours.

Wednesday, 2 March

Today I had a chance to sit down with the new Development Director and get to know her a little. I also offered my services to her as a tech geek, and showed her around the electronic filing system for the Development Dept. It was a quiet day and I was gone by 3.30, having only worked 5 hours today.

Tuesday, 1 March

The HOPE Count was supposed to be yesterday, but due to the heavy snowstorm, it was rescheduled for next week.

Today I was emailing back and forth with a few of the Directors involved in the Panel Discussions, who were soliciting my assistance with collecting and compiling the survey results from the recent Discussion.

I also assisted the Event Coordinator with invitations for the upcoming Chris Madden event we're having on the 14th of March. Madden has agreed to be Furnish-A-Future's spokesperson, so we're having a 'coming out' party for her at the NYDC. The Development team is in a hurried frenzy to pull this off without a hitch, so a lot of my attention in the next few weeks will be spent on preparations for this event.

I worked 8 today.