May 6, 2008 | Read Time: 1 minute
Due to a heavy workload, Diana R. Sieger, president of the Grand Rapids
Commmunity Foundation, in Michigan, has chosen not to attend the Council on
Foundation’s summit this week. But
her peers have admonished her for not going.
“[W]hat surprised me after being in this field for more than two decades was
the look of disdain from one of our larger Community Foundation CEOs when it
was learned I was not going. Oh please. And added to that was a mini-lecture
from another prominent CEO who actually told me that he was disappointed
that I chose not to go because ‘it is so necessary for our private
foundation colleagues to see that community foundations do regard themselves
as part of the larger field of philanthropy.’ As if I didn’t know that! He
did hear my perspective after that comment,” she writes on her group’s
blog.
“In spite of the ‘peer pressure’ and the daily e-mails from the council
designed to promote attendance, we all decided to take a pass on this
important summit,” she writes about herself and her staff.
What do you think? Are you like Ms. Sieger and just too busy to attend
conferences? What do you think of the reaction of her peers? Click on the
comment link below this post to share your thoughts.
