Columbus Foundation Fellowship Programs

I would like to take a moment to recognize Mr. Richard H. Oman, the first Executive Director of the Columbus Foundation. He recently passed away but his legacy will live on forever. I feel the need to write about him this week because he selected me to be the Richard H. Oman Fellow.

A true Buckeye through and through, he received his bachelor’s and Juris Doctorate from The Ohio State University in 1948 and 1951. He then continued to pass on his wisdom and knowledge at Ohio National Bank, the Isaac, Postlewaite, O’Brien & Oman law firm, Columbus Foundation, Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur, and Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP. Richard (Dick) also served as legal counsel and secretary for the Foundation from 1955 to 1978. He was instrumental in the development and continued growth of this crucial organization. Oman believed the Columbus Foundation “can and should be the conscience of the community.” (Columbus Dispatch)

Recently the fellows attended a learning session about leadership and next steps as we begin or continue our job search. I cannot help but think that Dick Oman’s leadership, effective and innovative, is something to truly admire because it was not about what he would gain, instead, it was about what others would receive. A leader is compassionate, innovative, passionate, effective, and shines through action and knowledge. This probably contributed to him being listed in the “Best Lawyers in America and Who’s Who in America” (Legacy) and the Harrison Sayre Award for Leadership and Philanthropy. During his lifetime he achieved many more awards and recognition for his lifelong commitment to Columbus and community organizations.

Unfortunately, I never got the chance to meet him but based on what I have heard and the note he shared, he had an extraordinary amount of compassion and love for Columbus and the Foundation. There is something truly special when someone sees your potential, passion, and accomplishments without meeting you. I am truly saddened by his passing but grateful for his kindness.

For more background information on Richard, please visit the links below:

http://www.dispatch.com/news/20170629/richard-oman-key-architect-of-columbus-foundations-growth-has-died

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dispatch/obituary.aspx?n=richard-heer-oman&pid=185951518&fhid=8702

I have been learning a lot about myself and my working style lately. A lot of my previous positions have involved non-traditional working hours and several work projects that had to be completed on my own time, and now that I have a more structured schedule, I’ve had to adjust the way that I work accordingly. One of the things that I’ve found to work best is keeping a journal that I use to brainstorm, create lists, and outline my thoughts and ideas throughout the day. This journal has given me something tangible that I can see that helps me stay on track with exactly what I need to do each day in order to complete my projects, and it helps to keep all of my ideas in one place rather than being scattered in a million different documents. I’ve been asked to blog-both about my study abroad experience earlier this summer and about the fellowship-quite frequently lately, and I have been reminded through those experiences about how much writing helps me to reflect, to be most productive, and to come up with some of my best ideas.

Though what I like to call “work journaling” probably wouldn’t work for everyone, it is extremely effective for me, and I think it is particularly conducive to the kind of work that occurs in non-profit organizations. This is a sector where there is a constant need for creative ideas, tons of projects happening at once, and endless to-do lists. Writing things down throughout the day allows me to maintain the perfect balance between staying super organized and on track, and also letting my creativity flow.

Finally, I want to take a moment to point out again how awesome the people are that support this organization. There is a couple with a golden retriever therapy dog that comes in every Thursday and sits in the lobby and talks with the kids as they pet the dog. The lobby is right outside my office, and it brightens my day every week to see the faces of those kids light up as they forget for a moment all of the things that they’re going through and enjoy the company of a sweet furry friend. It warms my heart to see all of the big and small gestures from so many members of the community that care about these kids and their families and will go to great lengths to comfort complete strangers and let them know that they are loved.

-Courtney

By Kelsie Fields at the Westerville Symphony

This past Sunday, the Westerville Symphony hosted our annual Sounds of Freedom concert! The concert is part of the City of Westerville’s Summer Concert Series, and the Westerville Symphony hosts it every year around the Fourth of July.

The event was a huge success, and we were so glad to have the beautiful weather! This year, we hosted the event in the Alum Creek Park amphitheater, and this venue turned out to be perfect for a summer concert! The buzz in the air was cheery and patriotic, and the music reverberated throughout the park and surrounding area.

Our excellent conductor, Peter Stafford Wilson, led the orchestra as they played famous military songs, Sousa’s marches, and other patriotic favorites. Having only attended a symphony orchestra performance once before in my life, I enjoyed this concert very much; the outdoor venue and excited audience gave the concert an entirely different feel than what I had experienced before.

It’s encouraging to see the strong grassroots support for the arts that exists in our community. Columbus is wonderfully vibrant when it comes to art (in all forms), and even when it comes to symphonies. In fact, Columbus is a very “symphony-saturated” city, with more than just a few in the local area, as would be expected.

I have been learning a lot about the value and importance of community support. Without the support of the City of Westerville, Otterbein, and our amazing community members, events like this simply wouldn’t be possible. It is because of the enthusiasm of our community that events like this are successful and that make it possible for us to offer these events for free. There are low barriers to entry when you can offer someone a symphonic experience outside, for free, with no pressure, and this strategy allows us to engage more people with the Symphony, maybe for the first time!

All in all, the event was a huge success. Now we will spend our time focusing on my main project, the Beethoven 5k! Stay tuned!

One full month at DSC. That is such a strange thing to think about. I have read it takes around 21-30 days to make a habit. Coming into work at DSC has become not only a habit, but a routine I look forward to. Before I start getting all sentimental – I can only imagine what my blog post will be week 10 – I will write about what I did this week and what I learned.

This week I was entirely motivated for change. Not in an ‘I’m going to change the world’ kind of way, but more in an ‘I’m going to make this document grammatically correct’ kind of way. Baby steps. I created a word document with website content edits to be implemented. I brainstormed future marketing ideas. I edited, edited, and edited again our Case for Support document (still editing). All these projects felt familiar to me. I felt like I could apply my skills in very practical ways. It felt good not to have to ask my supervisor, “okay what’s next?” every couple of hours.

I feel like I accomplished a lot this week. But I also learned that in order to really get things done, I need to be flexible. Not everything will go exactly as I hope. There will be disagreements on outlook, efficiency, and even word choice. Choose your battles. Ultimately, team work means valuing a group perspective above individual perspective. That is where the best work can be produced, if there is flexibility. That is a humbling lesson.

I do not have access to the website template, so I had to submit my changes via word document. I researched alternative do-it-yourself web templates before learning that we are in a year contract with our current one. I asked around to find appropriate terminology alternatives for “individuals with hearing loss” to be used in the Case for Support document. All these things I wanted to complete on my own, but kept finding that I need the input/permission/information from others in order to really get things done. And ultimately, I think teamwork always creates a better outcome.

Karlee H.

Hello, hi, welcome to my Week Four Recap!

Week Four was… so many things. I feel like every day that I spend at LeaderSpark goes quicker than the last because thinking back to last week, it genuinely only feels like I was in the office for about 2 hours total (I was there a lot longer than that). I think that’s what is supposed to happen, though, when you’re doing meaningful work that you enjoy. Time is supposed to go by quickly and at the end of the day, you look around and wonder where the day went because you were so invested in the work that you were doing. That’s pretty cool.

So Week Four got me working quite a bit on the IGNITE Back-To-School Retreat that LeaderSpark is hosting during the beginning of August. So most importantly… If you know any 14-17 year olds that want to start the school year off right with a retreat… You know where to go!

Here is one (of about a million different styles of flyer) that I made for the event- so act fast and get all of those really awesome and empowered youth that you know to sign up! Or maybe you don’t know any youth from 14-17 that you’d like to come, you can always donate to the cause so we can help youth afford this really really incredible experience.

You can donate here: igfn.us/form/O18bYQ

Anywho, working on IGNITE with Kay and Solomon, our July newsletter (which I need to get out today or tomorrow… yikes!) has kept me more than busy! I’ve thought of a few different ways to start spicing up our newsletter a bit, so hopefully I can implement that this month and get the ball rolling for months to come after I’m gone! Speak of the devil, Kay is calling me into her office now. Guess that means it’s time to sign off!

Until next time, my friends!

Sam

PS Here is a picture of Kay and Solomon in case you’re curious who I’m working with. They’re good humans; I’m a big fan. 🙂

This week started with the quarterly meeting at the City of Columbus Department of Development. It was exciting to see how the city works with Homeport, especially since I take an interest in local government. I got a sense of how Homeport’s work fits into the Columbus community as a whole, and how Homeport and the city work together to achieve some of the same goals.

My main task for the week was to read through the letters that Gifts of Kindness applicants wrote explaining their hardships. The goal was to figure out some of the main causes that residents fall behind on rent and utilities, as Gifts of Kindness applicants are typically able to pay their bills on time, but have experienced a hardship that suddenly makes them unable to do so. These hardships were not as easy to sort through as expected—some were related to employment, while others were medical or family related. Reading through the stories of each applicant helped me understand the need for the Gifts of Kindness fund in the Columbus community, and the impact that it can make to help people get back on their feet.

Towards the end of the week, I had the opportunity to visit some of Homeport’s property developments with the real estate team. We visited Hilltop, Milo Grogan, and Hamilton Crossing. Each site provided a different perspective—construction has not yet begun at Milo Grogan, while Hamilton Crossing is in the mid-stages of construction. Hilltop is a neighborhood in which Homeport has finished building houses scattered throughout. Since I’ve been working more with the resident services side of Homeport, seeing the development side was fascinating. I’ve been thinking about trying to learn more about real estate since starting at Homeport, and the visits showed me how important it would be to learn more about it if I want to go into development.

Hamilton Crossing, located in Whitehall, will be an affordable housing facility for seniors. It consists of 64 units and is set to open this fall.

Next week I will begin making calls to Gifts of Kindness recipients to learn more about their experiences with the program and how it has impacted them. I’m looking forward to talking to and learning from the residents, and hope to gain an even better understanding of how Gifts of Kindness and Homeport make an impact in our community.

The other day I was sitting Ohio Wildlife Center, casually chatting with my co-workers when I suddenly came to the realization that this environment felt different to me somehow. It wasn’t until I consciously looked around for the answer, when I realized that almost all of my co-workers are women, far from the 50/50 ratio to which I’m typically accustomed. I also recalled that almost all of our Columbus Foundation summer fellows are women as well. This is an interesting phenomenon and led me into looking into the female/male gap in the nonprofit sector.

The shocking reality is that while 75% of volunteers and workers in nonprofits are women as of 2011, only 45% of leadership positions at NPOs are held by women (Nonprofit Center of North Central Florida, White House Project). The problem is clearly not unique to the nonprofit sector, women are struggling to make it to top positions in every field. The interesting aspect of non-profit sector female leadership is that it is not for lack of desire or motivation that these discrepancies exist The Chronicle of Philanthropy found that of the 650 women interviewed, 57% said they aspired to lead a nonprofit and 62% of these participants had more than 10 years of nonprofit experience.

Per usual, there is also a significant wage gap between female leaders in the nonprofit sector and their male counterparts with women earning on average 66% of a male CEO’s salary given equal qualifications, according to the same report. Women are also more likely to become CEOs of smaller nonprofits rather than larger ones.

I am proud of my cohort of empowered women and men as well as the inspiring female leaders at Ohio Wildlife Center. These statistics have been important for me to recognize as I learn more about the nonprofit sector and the challenges we face as a community but I also find it extremely motivating. This is a conversation that we can continue as we grow and progress in our careers and raise women to follow.

Olivia Adkins

This week I got to try my hand at a couple new skills that I never thought I would have a reason to try. Early in the week I borrowed a nice camera from the Hilltop YMCA, which runs a photography club for kids, so that I could attempt to take photos of the inside of the Hoover Y facilities for our website and social media. My photo taking experience is limited to quick snaps on my phone, but I think for being a complete novice and not having any lighting equipment the pictures I took turned out pretty well!

On Wednesday one of our facilities staff came into the office and surprised me by offering to teach me how to drive a tractor. It was a little bit of a nostalgic moment for me since my grandmother had a tractor that she let all the kids ride on when we were little. I had always been too young to drive it, though, so I of course jumped at the opportunity. I was caught off guard by how many controls and steps there were to just getting it started, but I think I was a natural in the end.

I’ve been working on pulling a fundraiser together for the Learning Garden this past week as well. I had a really encouraging meeting with Chef Kuukua who owns Asempe Kitchen to organize a cooking demonstration to be held out in the park. From sitting down and talking with her it’s clear that she shares the same passion for the community building power of food that I and the staff at Hoover do, so a collaboration with her feels like a perfect match. We’re hoping to hold the event at the beginning of August and that it will bring folks out to see the Learning Garden who might not otherwise have known about it.

By: Kelsie Fields

Wow! What a busy week it has been at the Westerville Symphony. We have been moving to a new office which has been exciting!

On Monday, we had our annual end-of-the-year board meeting which is the most important meeting of the year. We discuss big goals for the upcoming season, our budget for the new year, and more! Because of the size of the Symphony, the board operates a little differently from the other nonprofits I have been a part of. That is one of my favorite things about nonprofit boards–they are all completely different but equally important to the organizations!

We also spent time this week preparing for the big move, which we completed today. It’s very interesting seeing all of the changes happening at the Westerville Symphony right now and even more interesting to be a part of them. Goodbye, old office!

This Sunday, July 2nd, we are hosting our annual Sounds of Freedom concert! Our amazing Conductor, Peter Stafford Wilson, has put together a compilation of patriotic popular tunes that everyone knows and loves. I’m excited to see our first event of the summer come to fruition! I have only actually been to a professional symphony orchestra performance once, so I am very curious to see how this concert will be different! The event is outside, and I know that this will give the event a very unique feel and sound.

Some may think that the symphony is stuffy or not accessible, but that is simply not true. Events like this make it possible for everyone to connect to symphonic music because it is outside, the symphony plays popular songs, and admission is free! The Westerville Symphony is unique in its approach to music because it is more than just a symphony–it’s a community organization that strives to bring people and families together, and this is the best part about it!

Stay tuned next week for updates about the concert and our upcoming fundraiser!

Hey, everyone! Katy here.

This week flew by for me and as I sit at my desk on the Friday afternoon of my 4th week working at CRIS, I am reflecting on how quickly time has gone by during this internship.

I started in the beginning of June and tomorrow is July.  I feel like I have done so much, but also feel like almost no time has passed.  Recently I’ve been recognizing how valuable this fellowship experience has been and continues to be for me.

On Tuesday of this week, we had our 2nd Fellows Learning Session at the Columbus Foundation about leadership.  Our summer fellowship program directors brought in amazing people to sit on a panel for us to ask questions.  Seeing them up there and listening to their wisdom about navigating nonlinear career paths and advancing in their fields was life-changing.

My notes from the Fellows Learning Session (6/27)

I feel so inspired by their stories and the way they live their lives for their passions and dedication to the nonprofit field.

Similarly, after 4 weeks at CRIS (Community Refugee & Immigration Services), I am able to reflect on what I’ve experienced in my workplace.  I am not exaggerating when I say my coworkers are some of the most passionate and caring people I have ever encountered in my life.  Working at a nonprofit means you care so much about a certain cause that you want to spend every day of your life dedicated to that cause.  That dedication is so up-lifting. Most of the employees at CRIS would probably laugh at me if I ever told them they were “inspiring,” but I speak the truth.

Even more so, the refugees I’ve have the chance to interact with also inspire me in a different way.  I am inspired by the courage they have to leave their homes behind and begin a new life in a brand new country, despite possibly not knowing English.  One of the biggest challenges of refugees, especially older individuals, in the United States is not being able to speak English.  I cannot imagine living and working in a place where I couldn’t communicate with the people surrounding me.  That takes courage.

My overall concluding reflection at the end of week 4 is that I am so grateful for the chance to work and learn about the refugee community at CRIS, and learn valuable leadership skills through the Columbus Foundation.  When I applied for this Fellowship, I didn’t know what to expect, but I am so glad I did.