My first post!

I'm writing this, post-Hurricane Irene, from a relatively untouched Boston (there was no way I was staying in my teenie apartment!)..after huge expectations for a crazy storm up here, what a let down (for Boston, anyway).
This is my first blog for PP55, so hey everyone! I'm living in NYC now and working in the Nonprofit Services department of the Foundation Center. Let's start with New York...

Moving to the City has been an exciting and fun experience. Being from Princeton originally, I basically have been wishing to be able to move here ever since I saw Cats, my first Broadway show, when I was a kid, so it worked out pretty well! Having home close by has definitely been super convenient where moving is concerned -- first I brought a couple of suitcases, then I brought some room organizing/decorating stuff on the next trip, then I brought the things I forgot on the next trip, and so on...almost as easy as moving in and out of Princeton.

I'm in a super tiny 4th floor walk-up on the Upper East Side -- my roommates and I call it "quaint" and "cozy." I was definitely skeptical at first, in particular after having had a luxurious single in 1903 senior year, but it's turned out to be a really good time living with my roommates, who are really fun, and living on my own is the best.

Work so far has been really busy. I can't believe it, but I just finished week 5!!! The Foundation Center is a really great organization that helps train other nonprofits in proposal writing, grant seeking, finding finders, and basically any aspect of starting, running, and expanding a NPO. Our library has the largest collection of publications in philanthropy and we have the largest donor database online. It's a really big office too (about 100 people in the NY location) with a pretty corporate feel.

So what exactly do i do...? I maintain a lot of statistics - weekly, monthly, and quarterly - for both the fee-based and free courses that are held here in NYC and at our 4 field offices (Atlanta, Cleveland, DC and San Francisco). I also update the Facebook page (LIKE US!!! http://www.Facebook.com/fcnewyork). The bulk of my work involves video taping all of our special events, like panels send guest speakers, that we hold in addition to the regular training and I edit those videos into long versions for our multimedia page (http://www.grantspace.org/multimedia-archive) and short versions to be posted to our YouTube page (http://www.YouTube.com/TheFoundationCenter), as well as testimonials from people who use our library and teasers of the fee-based courses (read: i am now an iMovie pro). I'll also be writing some blog entries for the New York center blog (http://newyorkblog.foundationcenter.org)...and some other things.

SO BASICALLY I kind of wear a bunch of different hats. It's really great because I have the ability to switch between tasks and it keeps me busy, which I like (short attention span).

That's all for now - I'm looking forward to reading everyone else's blogs and sharing more of my own experiences! I hope everyone who's on the East Coast is safe from Irene...