Speaker - Jillian Rosen

Our class met with Jillian Rosen from the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation today. She discussed with us in depth about what she does with the foundation and what the structure of the organization is. The mission was the first thing she covered and it stated "The Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation enriches the quality of life in our region throughputs knowledgeable leadership, engaged grantmaking, and creative partnerships with donors to make philanthropic investments and build endowment."

She spoke in depth about the endowment and grant making process which were the most interesting topics. She discussed the process of how a the grantmaking is determined and who gets the money. The process involved a 6-8 week notice to allow organizations to submit their RFP. They would receive about 50-70 applications a year and 15-18 would be chosen out of those. One of the unique things is that the foundation allows the volunteers to choose who the grants go to in order to allow the community to be involved and feel like they have a say.

Jillian also spoke with us about the coordinated funding approach and key community impact initiatives and how both of these play a role in the grant making process and inside of their organization.