The Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy has launched
OurStateofGenerosity.org, an interactive online platform which takes a deep dive into the past 40 years of Michigan's philanthropy and its leadership.
The interactive site is a joint effort of the Council of Michigan Foundations, Michigan Nonprofit Association, Michigan Community Service Commission, and the Johnson Center for Philanthropy.
Dr. Kathy Agard says she and a colleague, Dr. Joel Orosz, have been researching philanthropy for 25 years and have seen many changes. They wanted an opportunity before everyone retired to capture the stories of the people who built the foundation of Michigan's philanthropy.
Dr. Agard anticipates several different audiences accessing the site, ranging from serious philanthropy scholars and researchers from around the world to the next generation of nonprofit leaders including paid staff and board members. "Michigan is unusual," she says. "We have a strong council of foundations, a strong statewide nonprofit association, a strong community service commission and a strong center of philanthropy. And we all work well together."
Our State of Generosity connects the stories of organizations, leaders, and projects that have allowed Michigan's philanthropic culture to thrive. Dr. Agard says the site will feature a wide variety of searchable historical documents that record the development of ground-breaking projects: "This will be the only place for many original documents. We will provide a high degree of transparency and everything will be searchable."
The site will also feature stories of the development of Michigan's philanthropic infrastructure, interviews of the leaders who shaped the state's largest infrastructure organizations, profiles of innovative projects, and how-to guides comprised of lessons learned from the Michigan experience.
For more information you can visit the site
here and follow on
Facebook.
Writer: John Rumery, Innovation and Jobs News Editor
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