The Opportunity
The Essex County Community Foundation (ECCF) is seeking an inspirational and growth-minded President & CEO to build on the organization’s bedrock platform of Systems Philanthropy and take the Foundation to the next level of impact in all of its grantmaking and convening. The President & CEO will be encouraged to think creatively and strategically about the current opportunities and challenges facing Essex County and to propose ways the Foundation can continue to serve as a powerful engine for change.
The President & CEO will spearhead the effort to significantly increase the assets of the Foundation through new and innovative fundraising approaches as well as to amplify the Foundation’s presence within Essex County and its recognition beyond. This is an exciting opportunity to join the Foundation at a pivotal time and serve as a key community leader by engaging donors, providing community leadership, investing in high- impact initiatives, and building an endowment for future impact.
The President & CEO is responsible for the achievement of all operational and strategic goals, including fund and donor development, fiscal management, grants and programming, governance, staff oversight, community relations and engagement, and administrative matters.
An Example of Systems Philanthropy at Work
In partnership with communities, ECCF invests in systems-based community leadership work focused in areas identified as critical to the quality of life in Essex County as well as issues requiring an immediate response. The Foundation’s work to advance Digital Equity is one example of the impact this approach is having in the region.
Recognizing Essex County’s digital access divide during the COVID crisis among racial and socioeconomic lines, ECCF committed $3 million dollars to partner with residents living in under-resourced communities and bring the access, education, and equipment necessary to successfully navigate our increasingly digital world. In a short time, ECCF was able to convene and engage a vibrant coalition of Essex County stakeholders interested in working in digital equity. Their goal was to connect 20,000 Essex County residents with free or affordable access to the internet as well as train individuals and business owners to use technology effectively in their homes and businesses. ECCF also aims to provide 5,000 Essex County residents with reliable devices and engage with over 100 partners who will act as a countywide network of support for community users.
Impact
In the first year:
- ECCF and their partners established a robust community-driven digital access program that operates in nine Essex County communities.
- 10,950 residents gained digital access and ECCF was able to establish Massachusetts’ first digital literacy program in Essex County in partnership with the Boston-based nonprofit Tech Goes Home.
- ECCF and partners incubated the TEK Collaborative-Essex County’s first nonprofit e-recycler with a total of 1,810 new and refurbished devises delivered to Essex County households.
- ECCF and partners established Massachusetts’ first digital literacy program in Essex County, providing learners with 15 hours of instruction and a new Chromebook or iPad.
You can read more about ECCF’s successes with Digital Equity here.
About Essex County Community Foundation
Essex County Community Foundation inspires philanthropy that enhances the communities of Essex County by managing charitable assets, strengthening, and supporting nonprofits, and engaging in strategic community leadership initiatives. Using a unique Systems Philanthropy approach, such as the digital equity work described above, their goal is to improve the quality of life in the 34 towns and cities of Essex County. They envision a thriving Essex County characterized by successful schools, safe neighborhoods, robust economic opportunities, vibrant arts, and a commitment to the health of the community. They work towards broad scale systems change that will help reshape structures for greater access and opportunity for all Essex County residents.
Guided by a core set of values that shape every undertaking, ECCF seeks to reflect these values in their work:
- Integrity. Steward charitable resources with honesty and transparency that inspires trust, always in service to community.
- Collaboration. Build authentic relationships across the county, working together to learn, experiment, assess and-iterate, and think creatively to advance social change.
- Equity. Act to create and strengthen systems and structures that advance just opportunities for all people.
- Inclusivity. Believe in the inherent value of all people, striving for a culture where everyone feels welcome and can fully participate as themselves.
- Joy. Love what we do and have fun doing it.
This work is fueled by assets of approximately $125 million held in donor advised funds, scholarship funds, and field of interest funds established by local donors. With an operating budget of $4.5 million, the Foundation boasts a talented and committed staff of 22, a highly engaged Board of Trustees and countless community supporters. In 2023, nearly $20 million was granted to nonprofit partners to support their smart, innovative work in the region.
ECCF’s unique Systems Philanthropy approach to change invests philanthropic dollars in collaborative, community-based initiatives tackling root causes of systemic social issues and making sustainable, population-level change. Systems Philanthropy is a kind of philanthropy that complements the responsive nature of other types of giving. It is grounded in three main components:
Impactessexcounty.org, ECCF’s county indicator website, maps 100+ data points tracking quality of life across the region and provides the foundational analytics for our community leadership work.
Community Aligned
The voice of the community is embraced through strategic convening and collaborating to identify and amplify good work already happening.
Engaged
ECCF is an engaged partner in the work, providing ongoing strategic support and greater financial resources to support long-term goals and deliver lasting outcomes.
You can read more about ECCF’s Systems Philanthropy approach here.
ECCF and its work are also grounded in equitable and inclusive practices, creating conditions and modeling actions that advance racial equity.
ECCF’s Racial Equity Committee, made up of a diverse cross- section of local leaders, works to identify opportunities to improve ECCF’s capacity to act as an equitable and inclusive organization and guide ECCF in leveraging resources and relationships to advocate for racially equitable systems, structures and practices that will create a more just Essex County. ECCF, as part of its learning process, continuously reflects on why and how racial inequities exist to inform their work and spur action and change within the organization and the region.
You can read more about ECCF’s exciting racial equity initiative here, and review their Strategic Plan for Racial Equity here.
Learn more about ECCF at www.eccf.org.
To view the full Position Profile, please download the PDF file.