September Edition 2004 - New York Nonprofit Press

10 New York Nonprofit Press www.nynp.biz September 2004
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the board. We are going to have input from
the Agency Executive Council which includes
representatives of member agencies.
We are going to be reaching out to public officials
in both counties and talking to our
member agencies directly.”
UWLI is already taking steps to incorporate
Community Impact principles in some
of its existing grant programs. In the past,
UWLI’s Targeted Care Grant program was a
pool of approximately $300,000 which was
allocated into small grants for a large number
of member agencies. “Starting in the fall,
we will be making 12 or so grants of about
$25,000 each,” says Foye. “The grants will be
much more focused. This is a way for us to
dip our toe in the Community Impact pool
while we are still developing the strategy
overall.”
Foye also intends to broaden the ways
in which UWLI reaches out to potential
donors. One step was the recent recruitment
of Sean Phillips as Senior Vice President of
Major Gifts. Phillips comes to UWLI from
Family and Children’s Association where he
served in a similar capacity. “Sean’s joining
us gives us another leg to the stool,” says
Foye. “He is a major presence on Long Island
in the major gifts and planned giving areas.
He has a tremendous amount of experience
and credibility as well as relationships with
major players in the philanthropic world on
Long Island.”
In addition, Foye hopes to ramp up
UWLI’s special events fundraising. “Except
for the Long Island insurance event, which is
celebrating its 10th anniversary, we haven’t
had a major presence in special events and
we are looking to change that on a selective
basis,” he says. “We are doing a special gala
celebration of our 40th anniversary in October.
Attorney General Spitzer is the keynote
speaker and John Durso, President of Local
338 of the Retail Wholesale Department Store
Union/United Food Commercial Workers
on Long Island, is the honoree. That is another
arrow in our quiver.”
Community Impact also means increased
coordination in terms of grant making
and service delivery. “One of the things
that have struck me as a newcomer to this
world is how fragmented it is,” says Foye.
“We want to figure out an appropriate way
to coordinate our activities, which is an easy
thing to say but not an easy thing to accomplish.”
He cites the existing work of the
Long Island Funders’ Exchange in this area
and looks forward to expanding partnerships
with key grant makers including the
Long Island Community Foundation, the
Rauch Foundation and others. One possibility,
he explains, might be an effort by the
philanthropic community to “adopt” selected
villages or towns in Nassau and Suffolk
for targeted grant-making projects.
UWLI’s new President/CEO acknowledges
his status as a relative novice in the
nonprofit arena. “Frankly everybody in this
world has more experience and knowledge
than I do,” he says.
However, Foye brings valuable corporate
experience and business contacts to his
new position. He has been Executive Vice
President of Apartment Investment and
Management Company, a New York Stock
Exchange-listed multi-family real estate investment
trust. Previously, he was a Mergers
and Acquisitions Partner at Skadden, Arps,
Slate, Meagher & Flom and Managing Partner
of the firm’s Brussels, Budapest and
Moscow offices.
“I am a Long Islander,” says Foye. “I
have spent my entire life in New York City or
Long Island, except for three years when I
was exiled to Europe by my law firm. I
know the community and I know the business
community. I am Vice Chairman of the
Long Island Power Authority and I think
that has been helpful in exposing me to opinion
leaders on Long Island. I am hopeful that
these business strengths will outweigh my
weaknesses as I get up to speed on the health
and human service world”
So far, Foye feels that he has received a
warm reception from a community eager to
see the UWLI re-energize its fundraising efforts.
“The Nonprofit community has a stake
in the success of UWLI. They recognize it
and we recognize it. I think it is our job to
work together to be more effective.”
Jack Lund
President/CEO
YMCA of Greater New York
Jack Lund may have been new to the
region when he took over as the YMCA of
Greater New York’s President on April 1st,
but he is certainly not new to the field.
“I have been a nonprofit professional
for almost 35 years,” he says.
Nor does the size and scope of the
New York “Y”, with 4,500 employees and a
total budget of $115 million, scare him. “I
have run some pretty large and diverse organizations
before,” says Lund who was
Chief Operating Officer for the Chicago
YMCA and most recently CEO in Milwaukee,
which had 17 branches, only two shy
of New York’s total of 19. “Each time I enter
a city, I take a pretty similar approach --
the full immersion strategy,” says Lund. “I
get out and connect with people, learn
about the organization and how we are
seen, who the leaders are. Certainly in
New York, that is challenging because the
leadership network is wider and deeper.
Right now, I am doing a 100 day listening
tour.
“I also have the comfort of knowing
how YMCAs work,” he explains. “Having
done this for about 30 years, I can walk into
a “Y” and instantly tell you whether things
are good or not -- and why.”
So far, Lund likes what he sees.