Meyer Foundation Announces Inaugural Recipients of Julie L. Rogers Sabbatical Program Grants

The Meyer Foundation board of directors has selected four chief executives of local nonprofit organizations for the Julie L. Rogers Sabbatical Program. The recipients are:

• Michael Cassidy, The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis
• Michele Booth Cole, Safe Shores
• Oramenta Newsome, LISC DC
• Kristine Thompson, Calvary Women’s Services

Sabbatical recipients will receive a $50,000 grant to support their sabbatical activities, compensate the organization’s interim management team, and provide professional development support for the organization’s staff. While on sabbatical, recipients are expected to completely step away from their organizations for three to four months.

Each of the recipients has a track record of outstanding professional accomplishments within the local nonprofit community, and we are thrilled to offer them an opportunity to reflect and replenish their stores of energy and inspiration.

Creative Disruption,” by Third Sector New England and CompassPoint Nonprofit Services–found that the demands of leadership make intellectual, emotional, creative, and physical burnout all too common. This sabbatical grants program was established by Meyer’s board of directors to honor Julie L. Rogers, who served as the Foundation’s president from 1986 to 2014.

Goals of the program include:

• Recognizing and supporting effective executives who have been in their positions for some time and may be in danger of burnout.
• Increasing the likelihood of successful transitions when long‐serving leaders decide to move on.
• Advancing the concept of sabbaticals as a strategy for support and renewal of effective executives.

The application deadline for the next round of sabbatical grants is July 14, 2017. For more information about the program, please contact Maegan Scott, Program Officer, at mscott@meyerfdn.org or visit here.

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