Diversity Fellowship
Minnesota Council on Foundations
Posted November 13

The Minnesota Council on Foundations (MCF), a regional association of grantmakers who annually award more than $850 million to nonprofits, works actively to strengthen and expand philanthropy. MCF members include family and private independent foundations, community and other public foundations, and corporate foundations and giving programs. With a $1.2 million annual budget, MCF is committed to serving its members and providing leadership in the field of philanthropy.

Fellowship Position:
The MCF Diversity Fellowship is a paid, part-time (20 hours per week), nine-month appointment. The position is designed for an individual eager to engage in a mutually-beneficial learning opportunity that advances diversity knowledge, resources and strategies for the philanthropic community.

Through this appointment, the Diversity Fellow will have the opportunity to:

• Gain in-depth knowledge of the philanthropic sector and engage in professional development and networking activities.
• Work directly with association and foundation staff, as well as with individuals engaged in diversity/inclusivity work at regional and national grantmaker infrastructure organizations.
• Expand and strengthen professional skills such as program management, meeting facilitation, and research.
• Produce tangible final products that will advance the work of members, MCF and the field of philanthropy.

The Diversity Fellow will report to and work in partnership with the Vice President of Communications and Information Services to increase MCF’s capacity to provide greater diversity/inclusivity leadership for our members and for the philanthropic community.

Fellowship Goals:

Through this Fellowship, MCF seeks to:

• Increase MCF’s capacity to serve staff and members’ diversity/inclusivity educational needs.
• Enrich existing MCF programs and services by integrating diversity/inclusivity content and applying the diversity/inclusivity lens across the full spectrum of our work.
• Build MCF member and staff awareness and use of diversity/inclusivity knowledge, resources, tools and best practices.
• Foster ever stronger member commitments to the MCF Diversity Principle and create momentum for additional diversity/inclusivity initiatives.
• Create a body of work that can be modeled by others who strive to advance philanthropy by enhancing diversity/inclusivity in the field.

Fellowship Responsibilities:

The Fellow will be instrumental in supporting MCF’s annual Plan of Inclusivity, which includes such work as:

• Gathering and disseminating specific examples of best practices used by Minnesota grantmakers in their four grantmaker roles, as outlined in the Diversity Framework.
• Developing and implementing a plan to engage MCF Strategic Partners in collaborative programming and other joint activities with MCF members.
• Assisting MCF staff in holistically incorporating inclusivity/diversity components into ongoing MCF educational programming and communications.
• Identifying training and evaluation resources to assist MCF members in benchmarking and documenting progress in adopting inclusive practices.
• Supporting implementation of the Grantmaker Action Learning Community on Racial Equity and Inclusion and completion of the 2010 MCF diversity research project.
• Tracking local and national diversity/inclusivity initiatives and identifying, organizing and presenting information, resources and tools that illustrate model diversity/inclusivity strategies and practices in philanthropy.

Fellowship Qualifications:

Education/Experience

• Master’s degree or master’s or doctoral degree candidacy
• Three or more years of work experience in the nonprofit or philanthropic sectors
• Coursework or work experience in diversity/inclusivity/cultural competency and/or organizational development and systems change
• Work experience with at least two or more diverse population groups

Skills/Qualifications

• Skilled project manager able to work on multiple, varied projects simultaneously
• Able to communicate clearly in person and in writing
• Detail-oriented, well-organized, methodical
• Energetic and self-directed; able to plan and manage own work and problem solve
• Able and willing to work independently but also collaboratively as part of staff work groups and volunteer committees
• Strong computer skills, including proficiency with Microsoft Office programs
• Demonstrated initiative and commitment to excellent work
• First-hand knowledge, experiences and insights related to the sensitivities associated with diversity in our community

To Apply:
Send a cover letter, resume and salary requirements to mcfjobs@mcf.org with "Diversity Fellow" in the subject line. No phone calls, please.

Applications will be accepted until Tuesday, December 15, 2009.

Minnesota Council on Foundations is an equal employment opportunity employer.

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