ASF Leaders Answer Your Questions

Acting CEO Henry Berman and Board Chair Marty Fluharty answer common questions about ASF’s recent leadership transition and plans for the coming months. Please take a minute to “meet” Henry—we’re all excited to have him at the helm—and don’t hesitate to give us a call with other questions.

Henry Berman, Acting CEO

What is your background?

The first part of my career was spent in communications, working in television, film, and other media, primarily for education, motivation, and information sharing. My clients ranged from Fortune 500 companies to small nonprofits. I worked in a wide range of subject areas, allowing me to continually learn new things, and I brought a knack for assessing the message to be communicated. In many ways, this experience parallels my work today as a foundation trustee where I’m always learning about new subjects, programs, and needs.

About 15 years ago, I found myself helping more and more nonprofits to communicate their missions, visions, and passions. I also found myself serving on a few nonprofit boards, lending my expertise in communications and becoming involved in fundraising and governance. In 2003, I became the successor trustee for a longtime family friend who established her (unfunded) foundation some years earlier. As the first funds flowed into the foundation, I became intimately involved with its operations and overall personality.

I’ve also been the trustee of several trusts with responsibility for the distribution of funds both before and after a donor’s death. This allowed me to sharpen my skills as a steward of the funds during their lifetimes and to experience a different kind of giving after their deaths: scanning the landscape for appropriate projects rather than responding to requests. 

I joined the ASF board in 2008, and I’ve had great fun chairing the Membership Committee and serving on the Development Committee.

What attracted you to the role of Acting CEO?

I’m excited to bring the perspective of our members to this position. As trustee of a small-staffed foundation, I share the same concerns and needs of our members. Like you, I’m faced with decisions about grantmaking, investment policies, remaining true to our mission, and much more day to day.

I’m a product of ASF in many ways, having joined only months after assuming my trustee role. I’ve sat beside you to learn about the Form 990-PF, investment portfolio management, and board responsibilities. I’ve shared ideas with fellow members over brown bag lunches, read the newsletter, and turned to the survey report to benchmark our foundation’s practices. And, like many of you, I continue to find valuable information and opportunities at ASF, even as my knowledge of foundations and philanthropy grows.

I’m also excited to work with my fellow staff. Our recent staff retreat was full of energy and ideas on how to serve our members in even better ways, and I continue to be impressed by the knowledge our professional staff possesses. They’re some of the most engaged and hardworking folks you’ll ever meet.

What are your first steps as Acting CEO?

For starters, I want to hear from you. Our team is looking for innovative ways to deliver the information you need and connect you with fellow members, and we want your input. We’ve set up an email account, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), to gather your thoughts.  If you perceive a need we’re not currently addressing, or if you see a way for us to serve you differently or better, please send it along. I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to reply or implement every idea, but I can promise you it will be read.

I’m already working closely with the staff to ensure the 2010 National Conference exceeds all expectations. We’re also planning Local Programs for next year and exploring ways to use technology to bring more information directly to your desktop. We’re completing work funded by major grants and, in general, continuing to work hard. I look forward to keeping you posted on our progress.

What are your goals for the coming months?

All of us at ASF, board and staff, are excited to use this transition as an opportunity to refine our mission and revisit how we serve our members—from education to networking to advocacy. I’m ready to move this work forward in the coming months, handing the next CEO an ASF that is as relevant and strong as ever.

I hope to put my communications expertise to work too, ensuring that all small foundations know of ASF and understand the value of membership in the ASF community. More than 3,000 foundations call ASF home, and I want to be sure others know we exist to help them grow, as each of us has as ASF members. Perhaps you have colleagues who aren’t members? Suggest they check us out and learn how our educational programs, publications, and vast network of peer foundations can help them become better grantmakers.

And finally, I hope to get to know more of you so that we can serve you better. After all, this is your organization.

Marty Fluharty, Board Chair

Why did the board choose Henry Berman as Acting CEO?

We know that Henry is the right person for the job. As trustee of a small foundation, he understands the needs of our members. He also brings decades of experience in nonprofit communications, fundraising, and governance, including two years as an ASF board member during which time he chaired our Membership Committee and sat on our Development Committee. He knows the staff and is eager to help them reach their full potential. He has been a champion for ASF and for small foundations, and we’re eager to work with him to serve our members well.

What are the board’s next steps?

At its mid-July meeting, the board will constitute a committee to manage the national search for a permanent CEO. We expect the process to take several months, with Henry in place as Acting CEO through the end of 2010. We’ll keep you informed of our progress via e-mail and on the website.

Leadership transitions are costly. How is ASF faring financially?

Like almost all organizations, both for-profit and nonprofit, times are tight; but ASF is in good shape. Our staff has worked hard to secure grants to support our work, and many of you have provided additional support beyond your dues. As we all know from our own grantmaking, general operating support is always needed and the toughest to secure. As we move through and beyond this transition together, consider an additional grant to ASF, your organization.

What is on the horizon at ASF?

The future for ASF is bright. We have engaged members, dedicated volunteers, generous sponsors, a committed staff, and trusted partners.

This summer, as the board and staff develop short- and long-term plans for ASF, we’re turning to information and suggestions gathered from hundreds of you throughout 2009 and early 2010. You were generous enough to make time for conversations with our staff; we’re doing our best to listen and respond.

This fall, we’ll be in Austin for our National Conference, our premier educational event held every two years. Registrations are keeping pace with the sell-out 2008 National Conference, and the preconference workshops and learning labs are filling fast. It’ll be a great chance to learn from one another, meet Henry and members of the board and professional staff, and come away reenergized. If you haven’t registered yet, register online or call us at 888-212-9922.

Going forward, we’ll do our very best to meet the needs of our current and future members, serve the ever-expanding world of philanthropy, and enhance the power of small foundation giving.