A brand-new year begins, filled with possibility and change. 

At Meyer, we are excited about the transitions before us as we prepare to welcome a new chief executive officer. On the one hand, we recognize that foundation leadership transitions can be times of vulnerability, for foundations and their nonprofit partners alike. On the other hand, we also know that leadership change is an opportunity for fresh perspectives, deepening commitments and continual growth. We are primed to make the most of these opportunities to advance our work toward a flourishing and equitable Oregon! 

Meyer has been through a lot of change over the past several years, and you’ve been right there with us. We now have our portfolios and grant programs solidly in place, an excellent staff, and trustees who are capably stewarding our strategic direction. Our trustees are excited by the opportunity to bring on the next CEO to advance our strong equity-focused vision. By all accounts, we are in a great position to launch this next step of our journey with confidence and stability in Meyer’s role as funder, partner, convener and leader. Our trustees and staff are and will remain deeply committed to our portfolio areas, our partnerships and our equity journey. And our voice will continue to get stronger in our work to help make Oregon a more equitable state for everyone who lives here.

We thank you for your ongoing support, and we hope to soon be announcing our next CEO!
 
— Candy

In The 360 Group’s work as executive search consultants to foundations and nonprofits, we know that transparency around compensation is a perennially thorny issue, especially for observers outside the sector. I thought I would share some thoughts about how we approach compensation transparency, particularly in light of our efforts to make diversity and equity a priority in our work.

For a bit of background: I launched The 360 Group 13 years ago, specifically with an eye on making the sector more diverse, more contemporary, and better prepared to address a whole new set of challenges in this complicated era. Our view is that more diverse teams — and more diversity in leadership — maximize the variety of perspectives that organizations need to be successful and effective. Countless studies have demonstrated the power of diversity in groups and teams, only emboldening our firm’s mission and theory of change. Diversity in groups can also make what can be challenging work a hell of a lot more fun.

Beyond compensation, then, our goal is to extend our reach and that of our clients’ to identify people from all backgrounds and walks of life for leadership opportunities. To do that, we want to reduce barriers for candidates, rather than build them up (and those barriers can be completely artificial). Our charge is to understand organizations well and identify candidates who can lead them and have the desire to do so with passion, heart and values.

At The 360 Group, our decisions about compensation for a given position are guided by market comparables and the skills and value of a candidate. We do not tie executive compensation to salary history. We know that women and people of color are represented in just a fraction of leadership roles — across every sector. To build that leadership bank, especially in senior positions, we seek out candidate pools of devoted (and often underpaid) nonprofit professionals as well as highly-paid executives. The salary one has earned shouldn’t dictate the salary one may earn. That is our philosophy and commitment in this work.

Sometimes, we field the question: why not post a salary range for the CEO role? Our answer comes from the heart: we don’t want otherwise fabulous people to self-select out. To be truly committed to equity (which we are), creating even the perception of obstacles runs at cross-purposes to acting in equity. For better or worse, in the philanthropic field, salaries and compensation packages are all over the map. That is why we rely on independent market analyses and our compensation expert colleagues to inform ranges for our client organizations. So if a role is valued at between, say, $300,000 and $500,000, the person who is ultimately selected will be compensated in that range — regardless of whether they have earned a fraction of that amount or orders of magnitude more. That is equity in compensation, a practice we have relied on from the inception of our firm, and just one important ingredient in our efforts to bring diversity and equity to our sector.

— Vincent

Meyer's Board of Trustees, working with executive search firm The 360 Group, today released the job description for the Meyer CEO position, expected to be filled later this year.

The 360 Group, headquartered in San Francisco, specializes in creating diverse and effective teams that drive meaningful social impact and lasting value. With their assistance, we hope to identify diverse pools of exceptional candidates in philanthropy, the nonprofit sector and beyond. Going forward, they’ll manage the national search, advising and working with us until we find Meyer's next leader.

We ask that inquiries about the position and search for candidates go directly to The 360 Group. 

In April, Doug Stamm announced his plan to step away after 15 years of leadership at Meyer, one of the largest private foundations in Oregon.

We are deeply appreciative of Doug's significant contributions to Meyer during his 15-year tenure. ​

Since 2002, Meyer has awarded nearly $295 million in grants to more than 1,880 organizations across every Oregon county and across the river in Clark County, Wash. Those Meyer grants have exerted, and continue to exert, a lasting impact on our region. Meyer’s commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion has transformed the makeup of our staff and board, and how we navigate philanthropy. Today, trustees and staff alike share a commitment to equity principles in our work.

​Doug's legacy will be a strong foundation rooted in making this a more flourishing and equitable state. 

As we move forward the search for his successor, in association with our talented and passionate staff and committed constituents and partners, we are confident that Meyer’s valuable mission and historical commitment to bettering the lives of Oregonians will attract a deeply talented and diverse candidate pool, affording us the opportunity to select a new CEO who can drive our work forward.

Have an incredible candidate for us to consider? Here's the job description. Please point them to mmt.org/CEOtransition for details on the search process.

The search will remain open until 5 p.m. Friday, September 15, 2017. ​

— Charles