The Philanthropy Connection (TPC) Committees and Applicable Skills
2016-2017

Each TPC Fellow must participate on a Grant Review Team, and at least one additional committee, in order to experience first-hand the work that is required to generate meaningful, measurable philanthropy. Below please find descriptions of committees and applicable skills:

Grant Review Team
Grant Review Team (5-8 women) meet to read and evaluate grant proposals. The work of each Team is done between September and May. The general tasks are:

• Solicit Letters of Inquiry (LOIs) from nonprofits;
• Evaluate LOIs and invite a subset of organizations to submit a full application;
• Evaluate full applications;
• Conduct site visits; and,
• Choose semi-finalists to appear on TPC’s ballot in June.

This committee is for anyone who wants to learn how to evaluate grant proposals, gain a deeper understanding of our community’s needs, and get to know leaders of organizations working to meet those needs. Each Team works out a meeting schedule that works best for its members. Teams meet approximately 4-6 times.

Membership Recruitment & Retention Committee
The goal of this Committee is to increase, diversify, and retain the membership of TPC. The Committee works with TPC leadership to identify members who are interested in hosting Connect The Dots gatherings (member recruitment house parties), provides support to the hostesses and follow-up to these gatherings, and develops creative ways to recruit new members. The Committee is also responsible for developing a stewardship/retention plan for current members. If you enjoy meeting lots of like-minded women who are interested in philanthropy, this is the committee for you.

Education & Engagement Programs Committee
This committee plans and implements events that deepen our understanding of the challenges of living in Massachusetts (MA) with extremely limited resources, teach us about the organizations working to improve the quality of life in MA, and help interested members discover how to put their unique skills and talents to use as Nonprofit Board members. It facilitates the process of members engaging with each other, and with people leading local nonprofit organizations. There are multiple subcommittees within this committee, including The Philanthropy Dialogues, a series of small discussions held in members’ homes, and others that plan creative, small education events. This committee will work closely with the Membership Committee to make sure events are guest-friendly, as well as with the Communication Committee to ensure TPC messaging is consistent and clear.

Marketing & Communication Committee
The Communications Committee’s goal is to ensure all of TPC’s communications are coordinated, consistent, and created collaboratively. As such, this committee has a dual role with both strategic and day-to-day responsibilities. The committee works with the communications liaisons from the other committees, including the events, grants and membership committees, to provide oversight in strategically coordinating their communications and ensuring they reflect TPC’s overall vision and editorial/marketing calendar. The Communications Committee is also responsible for managing TPC’s shared marketing and communications resources, including the website, e-newsletter and surveys, and social media. In addition, the committee develops and implements the public relations strategy for TPC. This committee is for anyone who would like to work with the other committees’ communications liaisons, regularly plan, develop, write, edit, and publish information about TPC, and/or help with TPC’s public relations and social media campaigns.

Finance & Audit Committee
This committee is responsible for providing financial oversight of TPC, including the protection and best use of its assets, clear and timely reporting to the Board, and compliance with regulations. Responsibilities include preparation of the annual budget for Board approval, review of quarterly reports to ensure adherence to the budget, long-range financial planning, record keeping and reporting, maintaining accountability, oversight of the materials submitted for the preparation and timely filing of taxes and required federal and state documents, and oversight and review of the Certified Financial Review or Audit.