Minnesota Council on Foundations Blog – Philanthropy Potluck

When I went to interview Martha Field, manager of community relations at Thomson Reuters, for MCF’s “What I Wish I Knew . . .” video series, I was blown away by the size of the corporation’s campus.  As Martha says in the video, the Eagan location has upwards of seven thousand people.  As we walked up to the meeting room where we would sit down for the interview, we looked out the window at the sea of cars in the enormous parking lot.  It struck me what an important role a small community relations department plays for of such a large business.

Martha says that anyone working in community relations within a corporation has to be very dedicated and committed.  You will not be successful “unless it matters to you.”  When it does matter, there are important contributions a person can bring to the corporate sector on behalf of the nonprofit community, including educating corporations on the unique challenges facing nonprofit organizations.

When Martha started at Thomson Reuters almost 8 years ago, she really had to dive in to do the work as she was the only person in her department at the time.  While she says it was the best way to learn, she wishes she would have understood that she would be working simultaneously in two cultures: the corporate culture and the culture of giving within the corporation.  But, she connected with her colleagues in the field to help her navigate through this process.  She says there is a “commitment from those in the profession to do it well,” and they are more than willing to help people knew to the field.

Martha encourages people who are new to philanthropy to utilize every option available, but in particular, “it’s all about the relationships.”  She says its crucial for philanthropic professionals to reach out to others within their organizations, within the field as a whole, and within the community.  Martha says ”you can never stop reaching out,” no matter what your role is within the foundation world.  Thanks, Martha!

View other videos in MCF’s “What I Wish I Knew . . .” series: