Emily Jones Rushing - RE:Philanthropy

Celebrating the Importance of Professional Advisers

18 Nov 2011

So how did you find out about community foundations? For many generous people, the answer is: their lawyer, their accountant, their financial adviser, the key professional they trust to help them make a difference with their charitable dollars.
Seven years ago, the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham recognized the important role of these advisers by establishing [...]

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Community Builders in Birmingham Shape Unknown Future

In: Community Foundations| Donor Engagement| Endowments and Investing

14 Nov 2011

The Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham celebrated a special occasion last week — our annual Community Builder luncheon — that provided a great setup to Community Foundation Week.
As we recognize the people who have shown their commitment to the Birmingham region by making a bequest to the Community Foundation, we see around us the effects [...]

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Brain Explosion, Courtesy of Salim Ismail

In: 2011 Fall Conference| Community Foundations

20 Sep 2011

You know how it is when you go to a conference–not one with afternoons off for golf and shopping, but one filled with crowded sessions and challenging speakers? By the end, my head is always bursting with information, almost more than I can process as I head back to the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham [...]

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Social Media: Special Relationships for Community Good

In: 2011 Fall Conference| Community Foundations| Social Media| Social Networking

19 Sep 2011

Today I joined Foursquare, created a QR code for our tornado recovery funds, and tweeted about some of the great sessions going on at the Council on Foundations Fall Conference for Community Foundations in San Francisco.
Even though I have been blogging, tweeting, and Facebooking for almost three years on behalf of the Community Foundation of [...]

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The Film & Video Festival: A Story of Belonging

In: 2011 Fall Conference| Community Foundations| Media and Technology

19 Sep 2011

Avery, who are you? A young African-American? The daughter of white Jewish parents? A girl with two mothers?
Avery’s transition from child to adult, her search for her birth mother, and her search for the black culture she did not experience as an adoptee came together in a compelling film Sunday afternoon here at the Council [...]

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Responding to Disaster

In: 2011 Fall Conference| Community Foundations| Disaster Grantmaking

18 Sep 2011

What do high-profile concerts have to do with tornadoes or hurricane-induced flooding? For both disasters, one in Alabama and one in Vermont, talented and caring musicians used benefit concerts to raise money to help survivors.
No, community foundations usually are not in the concert business. And we weren’t this time either. But we are in the [...]

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A Wealth of Opportunity Exists in San Francisco

In: 2011 Fall Conference| Community Foundations| Professional Development| Social Media

17 Sep 2011

The sights and sounds of San Francisco provide a perfect setting for community foundations to gather for the Council on Foundations fall conference that starts Monday. For one thing, it is a place of wonderful diversity, reminding us that each geographic area we serve is unique, but also part of a greater world. And the [...]