New York State of Mind

Hi fellow fellows!

Hope everyone's summers are off to a great start! Like Kahina, I've never blogged before, but here goes

I can't believe that I'm already finishing my third week of work. Also like Kahina, my first day was the week after graduation and it's been a very quick transition, but I think the fact that I'm living at home made it more doable and less hectic (although the stacks of boxes that are still in my living room waiting to be unpacked may beg to differ...). It's definitely nice to be home, and the commute from Long Island isn't too terrible... yet.

I'm working at Angelwish, a small non-profit with the mission of making it easier for the public to grant the wishes of kids with chronic illnesses through "digital philanthropy." And when I say small I mean small - including me there are three full time staff members. I love that aspect though, because I'm definitely getting a close-up view of how to run and manage a non-profit. My official title is Development Associate, but I'm able to be involved in other aspects as well.

My boss is trying to get me some exposure to the non-profit/business world as a whole so I can get more of a sense of what's happening on the larger scale, and I've already been to a couple of outside events. One was a workshop at the Foundation Center on how to apply for grants from foundations. I would recommend other fellows in development look at the classes and workshops offered by the Foundation Center. Some are free, and the one I went to was really helpful to get a jump start on learning what I should do to be successful. I'm actually going to a weeklong workshop called the "Grantseeker Training Institute" from July 18th through July 22nd - this one unfortunately isn't free, but if you can get your organization to pay for you to attend you should come join me! I actually spoke to Reilly, one of last year's fellows from the Foundation Center, about it and she said she's heard good things, so hopefully it works out well.

Okay, I think that's all I've got for now. Time to get back to work so I can leave on time-ish and go see Florence and the Machine in Central Park tonight!

- Carolyn