Granting Strategy Implementation Team Update
Steacy Pinney
What is a Focus Area Advocate?
Thanks to Deb, Franco, Howie, Manon, Randy, Steve, and Trevor for helping the Granting Strategy Implementation Team figure out what roles will be needed to support our four new focus areas.
Rotary has had the important role of Champion for several years. This role is used by many of the local, and international, granting committees (ie: small, major and legacy). It involves one (or more) Rotarian agreeing to meet with an organization who has submitted a funding application. This role helps the Club get more information to better evaluate proposals and make decisions about where Rotary funds will go. Champions are primarily used by committees that have a budget. The Early Childhood Literacy Committee is another granting committee but it uses a community advisory committee, not Champions, to decide how Book Sale proceeds will be strategically spent for greater impact.
We hope to not make things too confusing by introducing another Rotary role called a Focus Area Advocate. This is different than the Champion role so here is our first attempt to define it:
Focus Area Advocates are individuals who may have experience with, passion for, or are curious to learn more about a specific focus area. Ideally each focus area will have 3 to 4 advocates who serve as an informal group of volunteers that commit over the next year to ‘pilot’ the following activities associated with the role:
- Be key contacts for a focus area – both internally with club members and externally with community
- Learn together about the focus area (what are the challenges and opportunities, who are the key actors, what might be possible and for who…?)
- Learn more about systems change and working on complex community problems in evidence-based and solution focused ways
- Explore ways to grow our Club members awareness of and interest in the focus area (ie: speakers, COG articles, volunteer opportunities…)
- Inspire people to care about the focus area and take strategic action that is unique from funding local programs or projects
- Be a focus area advisor to the granting committees
- Build trusted relationships with focus area community partners and encourage them to identify and strive for collective impact (not competition) opportunities
- Contribute to evaluating the role after 12 months
In January we will be convening conversations with any Club member’s who are interested in becoming a Focus Area Advocate for Mental Wellness, Food Security, Education or Early Childhood Literacy. Please send me an email if you have any questions and if you know which focus area with which you would like to be more involved. Thanks!