Solana Center Receives $50,000 Fieldstone Leadership And Clare Rose Foundation Grant
Fieldstone Leadership Network San Diego (FLSND), in partnership with the Clare Rose Foundation, has awarded a $50,000 grant to Solana Center for Environmental Innovation and Executive Director Jessica Toth to build the organization’s capacity. Based on the highly successful sabbatical program of the Los Angeles-based Durfee Foundation and the academic research conducted on the effectiveness of sabbaticals, FLNSD’s Clare Rose Sabbatical Program is designed to strengthen the longevity of high-capacity leaders, develop greater depth within the leadership team, and improve the long-term health of a nonprofit organization.
“Fieldstone has been developing and sustaining nonprofit leaders for over 40 years through various programs,” said FLNSD Executive Director Janine Mason. “The Clare Rose Sabbatical Program allows the leader of an organization to take time away while allowing others on the leadership team to lead the agency in their absence. The results include a renewed leader committed to staying in the sector longer and an increased capacity throughout the organization’s leadership team and Board of Directors.” Each organizational grant provides the resources for the sabbatical, including the executive’s salary, a travel stipend, training funds for the organization’s leadership team, and an organizational consultant to assist the agency in preparation and execution of the work plan in the leader’s absence.
Jessica Toth, Executive Director of Solana Center for Environmental Innovation, said, “I was genuinely surprised and so honored to be selected for the Clare Rose Sabbatical grant. The program is about elevating the entire Solana Center team, stretching each individual’s capabilities, and, by extension, supporting the whole organization’s growth. After 11 years as Solana Center’s director without an extended leave, I plan to fully detach during my sabbatical. I will travel off-the-grid for three months, beginning in the spring or summer of 2025.”
The sabbatical program recognizes the value Fieldstone Leadership Network San Diego and Clare Rose Foundation place on high-performing and accomplished nonprofit leaders. The grants are not only support for high achievement, but a motivating factor to keep San Diego’s best working in the field. “The grants are the Foundations’ way to sustain effective, hard-working nonprofit leaders that are leading high impact nonprofits in San Diego County,” said Anne Vincent, Clare Rose Foundation President. “Not only is it an award for the leader, but it also provides the organization with an opportunity and the resources to build greater capacity. It’s a win for the leader, organization, and the community!”
Fieldstone Leadership Network San Diego was crafted in response to and in partnership with nonprofit executives as a vehicle for peer learning. This local Network, now over 800 professionals strong, has evolved into an innovative continuum of ten leadership programs. The Clare Rose Foundation is dedicated to building the capacity of non-profit leaders, organizations, and the non-profit sector in order to increase their sustainability to have an even greater impact on those they serve.