BizLEADERSHIP
Increasing Investment & Impact By Rhonda Bodfield
www.BizTucson.com
strategic priority lies in also positioning itself to become a greater change agent, by building and supporting ever-more demanding efforts to measurably improve quality of life in the region for everyone “We’re being asked to lead a lot more – so we’re being very cognizant of where we should lead and in which areas and which issues,” Mabie said. “How can we play a leading role in diversity and inclusion? How can we measure impact in a way that improves performance? How do we lead in collaborating and bringing people together to leverage influence and resources? These are the questions we are asking ourselves as we plan.” Driven by the need to lead the community in finding solutions, Mabie said the third strategic priority is enhancing internal capacity. “We have to invest smartly in people and systems to leverage our dollars to serve the community – and our primary business of connecting donors to causes they care about.” Mabie, who formerly served as director of program development at the Chicago Community Trust, said although community foundations are facing change, the one thing that will remain a core value is collaboration. “Nobody can do it alone. The issues we are facing, especially in Southern Arizona where resources are scarce, require us all to work together. To move forward we need to continue to come together to leverage our impact.”
Clint Mabie
President & CEO Community Foundation for Southern Arizona
PHOTO: CHRIS MOONEY
Increasingly, communities are seeking ways to deploy more capital into the market with the goal of increasing economic development. Community foundations are perfectly positioned to make these “impact investments,” which demand a return, even as they attempt to make measurable gains in areas of social economic development, said Clint Mabie, who became president and CEO of the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona in 2010. After all, foundations already have a focus on improving quality of life. They typically have rigorous evaluation policies that demand accountability. The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona can leverage its deep connections to donors and investors to build a community investment fund that will generate millions annually into our community. In the midst of its five-year strategic plan, cultivating additional community investment tops a list of three strategic priorities that have bubbled up from outreach to donors, the nonprofit community and the board. “Foundations around the country are saying, ‘How can we deploy more of our assets into the community?’ We’re looking at national models to see how we can bring this practice here so we can achieve a return on investment, but leverage those dollars to get additional impact in areas such as job growth or education,” Mabie explained. Thirty-five years after its inception, the Foundation’s second
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