PODCAST Series Launching Soon!

“Awakening” with Natasha LaVone and Iris Ivana

After the Covenant was just the beginning. There is so much more “AFTER”. There is life, hope, joy and purpose after you survive the very thing that was designed to take you out of the game. In the “AFTER” there is an epiphanic moment we experience where it all makes sense. AN AWAKENING…

This is going to be an amazing journey of discussions.

Partnership between Natasha LaVone, Iris Ivana, PHILX and After The Covenant.

Untold Story #95: Meet Iris Ivana Grant A World’s Greatest Women

With Annette Comer

“This woman was the daughter of a preacher in what was a very culturally diverse family.  There was a strong traditional faith in which she was taught to always look for commonalities among other races and ways of living. A studier of the cultural arts and musician, she studied classical music throughout college, but felt she wasn’t where she was meant to be. So, after college, she took a job in corporate and then a non-profit.  She came to realize she was a strategist who could view the world in an abstract way. And that with this innate ability, she was able to see what was broken in a system and put things in motion to change them.

Today everything Iris Ivana does is about social consciousness and seeing where problems exist that need to be solved.  She builds innovative strategies and tools to bridge the gap between profit and non-profit organizations and exposes the benefits each offer to the other. It is my pleasure to introduce you to Iris Ivana Grant. ” Annette Comer, March 2021

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/untold-story-95-meet-iris-ivana-grant/id1542485175?i=1000515130137

BENCHMARKS FOR 2019

As we enter the halfway mark of 2019, it is important to survey benchmarks on plans and lessons learned from 2018. It is essential that leaders, regardless of your management level, remain open to tweaking your newly configured 2019 strategies for growth and scaling. This kind of review does not mean that the plan you prescribed in January was flawed, but rather that it has flexibility for growth and that you have your eyes on the vision.

Partnerships matter and are key to your business’s community engagement and culture of philanthropic success; especially within your office team.

With the rules of engagement and emerging conversations in “philanthropic-equity” and CSR changing, mindfulness will help us understand our achieved or missed goals before the close of the fiscal year.

The way we do business in the non-profit sector is being challenge every day. Be fearless. Seek out unique opportunities on the frontline of innovation. Build internal focus groups and teams that strengthen your hand as a leader and bring diversity in every way to the table. See through a different lens. Do something new that will help you meet the goal before the end of the year.

CREATING A CULTURE OF IMPACT

We are excited to join the United Way of Northeast Florida and Salesforce.org in a conversation about change in corporate social responsibility. Industry leaders in conversation about how technology and philanthropy intersect with to engage employees, attract talent and drive community change.

Collaboration is a powerful force in the community.

A CONVERSATION IN CULTURAL PHILANTHROPY… In the Southern African American Community

Join me on the show #realtalk with the amazing with @CharlesGriggs and a great panel of guest: Obi Umunna, Dr.JeffriAnne Wilder, Ph.D., Dr. Irvin “Pedro” Cohen. This is an interesting conversation about impact investing, funding sustainability and the culture of giving in Florida, post 2018 mid-term election, in the African American community.

There was so much to discuss and so little time. Listen to this podcast release of the NPR recording.

DO A NEW THING!

At the onset of 2019, it is important to take the lessons from 2018 and configure your plan of growth and scaling. Partnerships matter and are essential to your business philanthropic success.

The rules of engagement in this era are changing and leadership has the unique opportunity to be on the frontlines of innovation. Each generation sees their giving through a different lens. Thus, your opportunity to move from only using traditional methodologies of fundraising is greater than ever before. Do something new.

SUBCULTURE OF GIVING: IT’S A LIFESTYLE

Traditionally, philanthropy has been thought of as something that the rich fund, the middle class volunteer for, and the poor and needy receive. But philanthropic giving is more than just money. It is a process of creatively giving to others, and in so doing, fulfilling our basic human need to connect with our own humanity. Regardless of socioeconomic status or age, every person can cultivate a philanthropic lifestyle, one that teaches them to live, reach, and stretch themselves in a way that fills them with purpose, love, empathy, and compassion.

Listen in on my TEDX Jacksonville talk and share with us how you participate in giving daily in your life.

Check out our TEDx: IrisIvanaGrant

One person really can make a difference!

 

THE ART OF THE PURSUIT

It’s unbelievable the number of opportunities lost to individuals and organizations due to their failing to understand the art of one basic principle. As a connector in both for-profit and non-profit sectors, I constantly see potential partnerships and alliances end before they ever get started.  In a world of constant distractions and scheduling changes, one can never lose the perspective of relationships. The principle is simple – it’s called the “follow-up”. They call and you call back. They email or text and you find 30 seconds to formulate a response with at least 140 characters.

It’s just like dating. The “follow-up” is key to breaking the first line of defense.  The entrepreneurial brand that experiences sustainable growth excels in its ability to garner appeal AFTER the first level of interest. The art of the pursuit is truly an art and it is nothing without the right level of follow-up.  If you’re not accountable to respond in a timely manner at the initial points of interest, perhaps you aren’t going to be responsive during a project or PR crisis that requires urgency. Study the art of the pursuit. Manage your connections and respect the leverage of establishing and building relationships in business.

The Business of Strategy+Passion+Hope= Philanthropy

Philanthropy is not charity. It is the constant stewarding of our humanity through the desire to help, the desire to make a difference and the ability to collectively bring change.

In today’s world of local needs and global communities you must have the heart of a PHILANTHROPIST, the business strategies of a CEO…And the spirit of an ENTREPRENEUR.

In civic engagement, corporate social responsibility or personal philanthropic endeavors, evolving your methodology in how you find and use various resources and trends to forecast the direction of your growth strategy is singular. You cannot always go with what works for everyone else. Find what inspires and works for you and your constituents. Then build relationships and communication opportunities that afford you the preview to expand your thinking and stretch your capacity.

Philanthropy is a critical part of a holistic lifestyle, culture and business. Your participation in our humanity matters. Life is fuller when it is includes the uplifting of others.  Having a strategic plan in how you give and partner in the community as a person and/or a brand is not an option.