Marie-Frances Rivera Empowering Talented Professionals of Color

By: Marie-Frances Rivera, In: Diversity and Inclusion| Education| Professional Development

26 Jan 2012

Prior to starting as a Proteus Fund Diversity Fellow, I spent five years in my hometown serving the city that provided me with the platform to become an educated professional of color. In returning to my hometown of New Bedford, Mass., to serve its youth, I saw that the promise of an excellent public school education had been supplanted by an underfunded and lackluster version of my urban school experience.

Where were all of the music programs I benefited from? Was it my older, more discerning eye that had given me a more critical view of the status of urban public schools?  It was increasingly difficult to ignore the harsh reality that close to 50 percent of students starting in my local high school’s freshman class would not make it across the graduation stage.

Those were the tensions I was left struggling with during my tenure as the program manager of the SMILES Mentoring program and the tensions I brought with me when starting as a diversity fellow.

My current experiences as a fellow provide me with some answers to these realities faced by our youth. By engaging in broader conversations about public school funding as well as historic racial inequities and their ties to the achievement gap,  it has become glaringly clear to me that structural inequities exist and are being perpetuated in our public institutions. I’ve always known that the youth I work with had endless potential, but were being held back by numerous barriers. Through my work at my host site, the Hyams Foundation, and fellowship activities, I’ve broadened my understanding of the plight of low-income youth and potential structural solutions to the current disparities.

Now being equipped with the practical and theoretical knowledge to be change-maker and solution crafter, my hope for myself and my career in philanthropy is to find a powerful pathway to affect positive change and not have youths’ outcomes be negatively predicted by the neighborhood they grow up in.

The fellowship has given me an invaluable opportunity and I hope to continue empowering talented professionals of color who will bring a diversity of viewpoints to grantmaking and become thought leaders in the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors.  

Marie-Frances Rivera is the 2011-2012 Proteus Fund Diversity Fellow placed at the Hyams Foundation, a member of the Council on Foundations.

Manikka L. Bowman The Building Blocks of a Philanthropic Career

By: Manikka L. Bowman, In: Next Generation| Philanthropy| Professional Development

26 Jan 2012

I entered the field of philanthropy through a theological framework. With idealism guiding my path, I started a journey in search of a meaningful and purposeful vocation. Because of my commitment to social justice, civic engagement, and community development, I enrolled in a dual-degree master’s program that combined urban policy and divinity. The program was designed to create more leaders like UN Ambassador Andrew Young and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who allowed their faith to empower them in the civic arena. 

As I embarked on this career journey, I quickly recognized the complexity of gender in my career choice.  Seeing me struggle to make sense of future professional opportunities, my mentor suggested I look to philanthropy. After doing research, I got excited about the possibility of becoming a program officer and began to pursue philanthropic opportunities.

Entering the field proved to be quite the challenge. After many attempts, the closest I came to philanthropy was working as a convener on a W. K. Kellogg grant in the Boston area. This was a great experience that gave me a glimpse into the field. As a Proteus Fund Diversity Fellow, I now have a deeper understanding of philanthropy. My previous work experience, in conjunction with my role as a fellow, has allowed me to deepen my commitment to civic engagement, policy, social justice, racial equity, and yes, faith.

“What is it that the Creator requires of you: to do justice, love kindness, and to walk humbly?” This is a spiritual quote that guides me personally as well as professionally. For the most part, loving kindness is something that most people can gather around. Giving to the less fortunate and helping people in need captures the imagination of philanthropy. There’s something about knowing how a gift can transform someone’s life that’s compelling. In a complex world, this has its place. However, understanding why communities and individuals are in need and how one’s implicitness in systems that create our global network is where “doing justice and walking humbly” enters the philanthropy conversation for me.

As a Proteus Fund Diversity Fellow, I have had the opportunity to explore complex issues such as these. The fellowship gives me the opportunity to understand the complexity of the world in which we do philanthropy. Through experiential learning, academic rigor, and of course conducting proper due diligence, the Proteus Fund Fellowship is allowing me to develop a professional framework that will lay a solid foundation for my career in the philanthropic sector.

Manikka L. Bowman is the 2011-2012 Proteus Fund Diversity Fellow.

Lucas Orwig Finding New Ways to Open Doors

By: Lucas Orwig, In: Diversity and Inclusion| Education| Philanthropy

25 Jan 2012

I work with the program team at a regional education foundation, where it is often my job to provide feedback to applicants who were not selected to receive grants. These conversations are always difficult, but sometimes they can be particularly hard. I may find myself talking to a district superintendent, an educator with a doctoral degree and decades of experience, or a group of community members who have spent years developing a project that is about to lose some expected funding. From my perspective, I sometimes feel like it is my job to close a door on these people.

This is a hard thing for me to do, especially when I think about how I came to my job in philanthropy. I got my start through the Proteus Fund Diversity Fellowship (then sponsored by Associated Grant Makers), a program designed to bring new leaders of color into the field of philanthropy. This year-long program combines training, mentorship, professional development, and work experience to create an intensive introduction to grantmaking.

As a fellow, I worked four days a week at a foundation and spent every Friday in a learning community with other fellows. We learned about the mechanics of grantmaking and dove deep into the ethics, history, social responsibility, and future of philanthropy. I was connected to others in the field who shared their stories and experiences with me. Seasoned philanthropists also created workshops and spent time teaching us their craft.

Everywhere I turned, people were holding doors open for me and urging me forward. When I started searching for a permanent position at the end of the year, this community of people worked hard to help me find the right opportunity. Thanks to the fellowship and the many individuals and organizations dedicated to its success, that year was one of the most productive, intense growing experiences of my career.

I have tried to become one of the people holding doors open for others and encouraging them to come through. But the reality of the job is that our organization cannot fund everything, and sometimes our doors are closed. In those moments, I think back to my experience as a fellow and remember the generosity of people who couldn’t answer a question but always referred me to someone who could, or the people who couldn’t offer me a job but did forward my resume or provide me with connections at other organizations.

I realized as a fellow that this generosity with one’s influence, one’s knowledge, and one’s network is very important to philanthropy. Now, if I have to close our funding door I think about other doors that I might open: connections to other funders, constructive feedback on proposal writing, or more detail about how our decision-making process works.

I hope that the Proteus Fund Diversity Fellowship will continue to instill these values in its members. I hope more foundations will step forward to open doors for the new talent the fellowship identifies. And I hope that, once in a while, we can all take a moment to remember how we got where we are and to help make that journey easier for the next generation.

Lucas Orwig is a program associate with the Nellie Mae Foundation (a member of the Council on Foundations) and a 2009-2010 diversity fellow.

Margaret Gage Why Philanthropy Needs the Diversity Fellowship Program

By: Margaret Gage, In: Diversity and Inclusion| Next Generation| Philanthropy

24 Jan 2012

At Proteus Fund we’ve pondered how to address the challenge of increasing the number of professionals of color working in philanthropy, not just to increase the diversity of faces around the table but to expand the life experiences and perspectives that foundation professionals bring to their decisions about funding. The Proteus Diversity Fellowship recruits talented young professionals of color from a variety of fields and life experiences into a rigorous, year-long training program with placements in hosting foundations in Massachusetts.

We understand that fellows cannot on their own bring change to the perspective of their hosts. But with support from the program and by engaging the staff of the host foundations, they can spark conversations that lead to change. We provide a supportive environment for these emerging professionals and their host organizations to see change at both personal and institutional levels. Placing them in the same region means they can meet weekly for training, problem solving, and participation in an extensive curriculum.

This fellowship program works in part because in philanthropy there are no established credentials to indicate professional accomplishment. Often people are recruited from grantee organizations and academia, resulting in an iterative process that brings homogeneity to philanthropy. While the diversity fellowship approach of learning on the job might be somewhat overwhelming to these emerging professionals, they all have landed on their feet because of the program’s support and elaborate curriculum. And because of support for the host foundations, the experience of bringing new perspectives to the work has been positive.

The fellowship curriculum and the implicit theory of change, practically applied, seek to ensure that institutions will also reflect on what diversity means in real terms, have these internal conversations, and begin the process of organizational change. The end result is that the focus is not just on the fellows themselves. Hosting a fellow is just the beginning of the process.

Our goal is to expand this program into other parts of the country and to engage networks of foundations in creative strategies and programs to bring greater diversity to our field. There is an engaged and passionate network of diversity fellowship alumni who are already beginning to transform their host institutions in interesting ways; ultimately we envision that these alumni will help re-examine structures and biases in place within philanthropy. We imagine future investments to combat structural racism will address areas such as criminal justice, inequitable schools, economic reform, and death penalty work. We hope communities that are most affected by inequality will be empowered to affect change.

To learn more about the Proteus Diversity Fellowship, visit www.proteusfund.org.

Margaret E. Gage is president of the Proteus Fund.

M. Jeff Hamond The State of Philanthropy: The Importance of Congressional Relationships

By: M. Jeff Hamond, In: Advocacy| Foundations On The Hill| Public Policy

23 Jan 2012

Many observers view 2012 as a year when little will get done legislatively, as the candidates and political parties jockey for position in advance of the presidential election. Contrary to that opinion, this year is actually a huge opportunity for interested parties-like foundations-to build relationships with key policymakers and their staffs in advance of the many reforms expected to be pursued by the 113th Congress.

The philanthropic sector should view this year as an open invitation to get more engaged with their elected representatives. I can tell you from personal experience that fears of the dreaded “L word” (lobbying) are overblown. Just because a foundation meets with a staffer about its work does not make it lobbying. Staffers want to hear about the work that’s being done in the sector and why it’s important to their districts, states, or specific policy areas. Such information makes them better at their jobs.

From my observations as a senior Senate aide, more foundations need to step up when it comes to communicating with members of Congress. The Council on Foundations does great work educating Congress on issues of concern to the entire sector, but collective and individual efforts are needed in the months ahead if philanthropy is to be a viable, political force in 2013. Unified efforts-like Foundations on the Hill (FOTH)-make a strong impression, but important details often only emerge if each foundation has later, follow-up conversations with members and staff. Without these one-on-one meetings, many senior staffers might know about the foundation excise tax or the IRA rollover, but they wouldn’t really have a good grasp of what the philanthropic sector does and why it’s so important to our nation’s well-being.

Let me put it this way:  I spent 12 years in the Senate as a top adviser to three different senators. I can’t recall a single meeting during that time when an individual foundation came in to talk to me about its specific programmatic work and why my bosses should care about it.

To be fair, some senior foundation staff did come to the Hill, and I looked forward to the annual FOTH visits from the New York foundations. But those visits were more focused on issues of concern to the whole sector, like the excise tax. Senior Hill staff-particularly those with substantive committee responsibility-want to hear more. They want to know what’s happening on the ground in local communities, and want to hear more about the public policy work that the major foundations undertake.

These relationships can bear fruit in many ways. As Hill staffers learn more and build relationships with program staff, they learn more about innovations in public policy and that knowledge can inform future policy changes. But good communication can also forestall certain reforms that might hurt the sector as a whole, because more policymakers will want to stand up for the sector. Foundations invest too much time and money in improving their communities to see these efforts dashed by uninformed policy decisions that affect them at the federal and state levels.

So as 2012 begins, here are some ideas on how foundations can further engage Washington and the Congress without jeopardizing their tax status:

  • Encourage your president or senior program staff to build relationships with elected officials that encourage an open exchange of information about philanthropy locally and nationally.
  • Offer your expertise on philanthropic impacts in your community, and make sure that nonpartisan research gets to the appropriate staff. Elected officials often need such facts for floor statements and other research they are preparing in advance of hearings and other events.
  • Express concern when policies may inadvertently affect philanthropy locally and nationally, and remind your representatives of the potential impacts on the vital services provided by the philanthropy sector. (The tax laws allow direct lobbying in a self-defense situation, or when a proposed policy change would have a direct impact on your foundation’s work. Check with your in-house or outside counsel before weighing in.)
  • Open a Washington office, or hire a Washington-based advocacy or government relations firm to build relationships on the Hill and educate staffers about your work-without lobbying. If opening an office or hiring permanent staff is too expensive, retain someone in Washington to help you at a lower expense (and lower profile).
  • Invite your member of Congress to come see the work that your foundation is doing in the community, and consider working with the officials’ staffs to invite local news media to attend. (Members love local press attention, especially in an election year.)
  • Write op-eds in your local paper, or papers you know that your elected officials’ staffs read.
  • Attend Foundations on the Hill in Washington, D.C., March 21-22. This annual event, sponsored by the Council and the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers, is the primary way that many foundations engage with their federal representatives in the nation’s capital.

With philanthropy playing such a vital-and ever-increasing-role in public policy development and service delivery, more direct engagement will help many foundations achieve their core missions and improve the standing of the sector as a whole.

M. Jeff Hamond is a Vice President at Van Scoyoc Associates.

Mark Carpenter #PhilChat Behind the Scenes

By: Mark Carpenter, In: Rural Philanthropy| Social Media| Social Networking

20 Jan 2012

On Thursday, the Council held its fourth monthly Twitter Chat - or #PhilChat - in partnership with the Chronicle of Philanthropy to pose the question: Is Philanthropy Succeeding in Rural America? With more than 30 active participants and 300 tweets, it proved to be one of most successful #PhilChats to date. Not just quantitatively, but in the number of important takeaways for the sector.

Now I write this with one caveat: I am not a policy expert or practitioner of rural philanthropy, but I did attend the Council’s Rural Philanthropy Conference in Kansas City last year. Instead, I approach this from a social media/public relations perspective.

The topic was chosen for several reasons. It  was apparent during last year’s conference that there is a strong need and want for more data, sharing, and resources, and there are a number of challenges both unique to rural communities and the field as a whole. Throughout the #PhilChat, it became even more obvious that this was the case. A comment posted on the Council’s Facebook page summed it up perfectly: “I’d just like to thank you for hosting this. We need more of these where we can exchange links/data.”

As with other #PhilChats, we invited several special guests to participate based on their expertise in the field and/or public policy. This time around, guest tweeters included Chris Beck of the U.S. Department of Agriculture; the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship’s Ahmet Binerer; Tim Marema of The Daily Yonder; West Virginia Grantmakers’ Paul Daugherty; and Linda Reed of Montana Community Foundation, who all offered valuable input based on their knowledge and experience in the area.

Woven throughout the 300-plus tweets were several common threads that are quite telling about the state of rural philanthropy:

  • More needs to be done to keep young people in rural areas and engage them in philanthropy.
  • The lack of infrastructure in rural areas is both a barrier for philanthropy and an opportunity to make a difference.
  • There have been many examples of successful public-philanthropic partnerships, but more are needed.
  • Specific geographic issues make it difficult for rural funders to unite behind single causes.
  • The different and strict definitions of “rural” act as a barrier.

Based on the #PhilChat, if I now had to answer the initial question “is philanthropy succeeding in rural America?” I would have to give it an incomplete grade. Many challenges need to be hurdled, but there is a dedicated field who are ensuring philanthropy delivers to rural communities, and there are enough examples of success to show that there is promise.

Am I wrong? How would you answer the question? And what does the sector need for successful rural philanthropy?

Have an idea for a future #PhilChat? Please email me with your suggestions.

Mark Carpenter is manager, public relations at the Council on Foundations.

Christine Kendall Community Foundations and Impact Investing of DAFs

By: Christine Kendall, In: Community Foundations| Donor Engagement| Endowments and Investing

19 Jan 2012

On January 9th, Wall Street Journal blogger Veronica Dagher posted an article highlighting the opportunity for philanthropic donors with Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) to create a “double bottom line.” Dagher points out that donors at large national funds, such as Schwab, are increasingly looking not only to create social impact by spending their money in the social sector, but also by investing their money to create a positive impact through impact investing. Like Dagher, we see this as a promising trend, however, we have noticed that large national providers are not the only organizations providing donors with the opportunity to make impact investments. Some community foundations are also excited by this trend and provide donors with opportunities to invest their DAF dollars to create positive social impact while still earning a return on their investment.

What exactly is impact investing?
Impact investing can reference a wide range of activities. In a 2012 report entitled “Impact Investments an Emerging Asset Class” JP Morgan defined impact investing:

Impact investments are investments intended to create positive impact beyond financial return. As such, they require the management of social and environmental performance (for which early industry standards are gaining traction among pioneering impact investors) in addition to financial risk and return. We distinguish impact investments from the more mature field of socially responsible investments (“SRI”), which generally seek to minimize negative impact rather than proactively create positive social or environmental benefit.

This definition is helpful in that it clearly separates impact investing from SRIs and sets a higher bar for impact investors. It also indicates a certain intentionality for the investment on behalf of the donor and the intermediary providing the investment opportunity.

How are Community Foundations providing opportunities for impact investing?

We see impact investing as an exciting space for DAF donors to increase the impact their philanthropic dollars can have. In 2007, according to a Council on Foundations report there was $31B nationally in DAF assets, almost half of that, $16.5B, was invested in DAFs at community foundations. Community foundations represent a major portion of DAF funds and therefore represent an enormous opportunity for impact investing of DAFs. Through our work with community foundations, we have seen that some innovative community foundations are already starting to capitalize on the opportunity impact investing represents.

The Greater Cincinnati Foundation (GCF) is on the forefront and has been experimenting with impact investing since 2002. The foundation looks for opportunities within the community that offer compelling investment opportunities for specific donors on a deal-by-deal basis. In 2011, GCF was involved with five different community investment opportunities that involved seven individual donors. The foundation looks for organizations within the community that could benefit from loans or equity investments and conducts a thorough due diligence process. It then takes the investment opportunity to potential donors who it thinks might have an interest in the investment. GCF will make investments alongside the donor and when necessary will also provide grants to the organization to develop capacity to accept the investment opportunity. GCF provides donor outreach and education on impact investing to its donors to help them understand the opportunity. In general, donors have seen a 1-2% return on their capital through the community-based investment opportunities generated through GCF. GCF sees its impact investing efforts as a way to recycle its charitable capital.

In another example, Napa Valley Community Foundation has provided individual donors with specific opportunities to make impact investments in their communities. Christina Tucker and Diane Miller outline the story of Napa Valley Community Foundation in a 2011 article titled “The Community Foundation, A Charitable Giving Vehicle for High-Net-Worth Individuals.” Napa Valley had a donor who was interested in investing in a local hospital but also had an interest in the environment. The Community Foundation worked with the donor and a professional advisor to purchase a gas congeneration power plant that turns natural gas into electricity for the hospital. The power plant was purchased with a structured gift of $500,000 and a zero-percent interest program-related investment. The hospital can now meet more than 50% of its electrical needs and one quarter of its hot water needs while reducing harmful emissions and is paying back its loan with the money it is saving. Through impact investing, the donor made an impactful contribution to the hospital and the environment, and is also being repaid the program-related investment so that money can be recycled into another investment.

Considerations for Community Foundations wanting to pursue impact investing
The community foundations that have been experimenting with impact investing have seen a number of successful project completions and provide some early leanings that can help drive success. These projects indicate:

  • It is best to have a controller, CFO, or other internal finance expert involved in the process. Deals can be complex and require financial expertise on the part of the community foundation in order to best structure the opportunity. 
  • Developing a pipeline of opportunities within a community can be challenging and community foundation staff will need to be willing to devote time and resources towards developing this pipeline. 
  • It takes time to educate donors on the opportunities impact investing offer. One-on-one conversations with donors about the advantages seem to generate the greatest understanding and excitement on behalf of donors.

For community foundations interested in impact investing, The Rockefeller Foundation is currently working to develop a toolkit that will incorporate lessons like these as well as others to help guide the process.

In general, the impact investing opportunities we have heard about through community foundations tend to be locally-based. In comparison to many of the large national providers, many of these opportunities through community foundations tend to be on a project-by project basis rather than investment into larger more diversified funds. Donors at community foundations therefore have the opportunity to impact specific organizations within their communities while generating a financial return and retaining their capital, but are unlikely to diversify their risk across multiple projects.

At FSG, we are excited to see that both community foundations and national providers, like Schwab, are offering their DAF donors opportunities for impact investments. We think both fund models and specific local projects are compelling vehicles to create change. The field of impact investing offers donors a promising opportunity to recycle capital into the social sector; given the $31B in donor advised funds, we believe they hold a powerful opportunity to scale this market. To learn more about impact investing and/or DAF funds please contact Rebecca Graves or Christine Kendall.

Christine Kendall is a consultant at FSG, and Rebecca Graves is the executive director for CF Insights. This post originally appeared on FSG’s Social Impact Blog.

Melanie Coon Ready? Set? Race to the Top!

By: Melanie Coon, In: Education| Partnerships and Collaborations

18 Jan 2012

Size is one of Rhode Island’s secret weapons, and it enables the strategic partnerships and relationships that are at the heart of getting things done. The Race to the Top story is no exception.

In fact, the stage was set for Rhode Island Foundation’s involvement in Race to the Top. Even before we helped to fund the first application, Education Commissioner Deborah Gist and Foundation President Neil Steinberg had already led a successful joint effort between the Department of Education (RIDE) and the foundation to bring Teach For America to Rhode Island. The two shared an optimistic perspective on the future of Rhode Island’s schools and believed this was Rhode Island’s time to win.

Well, we didn’t win in the first round, but Deborah and the “troops” rallied around her- including Neil; our board and staff; legislative, business, and community leaders; educators; parents; and students-did not waste time being discouraged. Instead, they created a game plan for round two, which included a foundation-funded campaign to build support and dispel misperceptions about how Race to the Top dollars would be directed. At public meetings statewide, Deborah and Neil explained that Race to the Top funding would help RIDE execute its strategic plan. The meetings provided a forum for civil dialogue on sensitive, hot-button issues like teacher evaluation. Concurrently, a steering committee representing a variety of interested parties met on a regular basis to work out differences, build trust, and create a winning application.

Neil’s op-ed in the Providence Journal, “Let’s Win this Race to the Top,” reiterated the reasons we were so focused on improving public education. “A strong system of public education-one that effectively prepares students for higher education and the jobs of the future-is the foundation on which a robust economy is built…Only effective system-wide reform of Rhode Island’s public education will transform our aspirations into reality. Fortunately, there is reason for hope,” he wrote.  

Race to the Top Birthday Cake.

Race to the Top Birthday Cake

And there was! On August 24, 2010, Rhode Island was named a Race to the Top winner. The foundation ran a full-page congratulatory ad in the Providence Journal, listing all the parties who made the win possible and thanking them for their work “on behalf of Rhode Island’s students and educators who will benefit from $75 million in federal dollars to improve public education.”

Neil was named co-chair of the state’s Race to the Top steering committee.

One year later, public officials and community leaders joined us for a Race to the Top birthday party, complete with cake. 

In early November, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan visited Rhode Island and moderated a panel featuring Deborah, Neil, and other education leaders. Sec. Duncan applauded the progress Rhode Island had made toward its ambitious goals in public education.

Sec. Duncan

Visit by Secretary Duncan.

The Foundation also supported our longtime partner and grantee Rhode Island KIDS COUNT as they worked with RIDE to secure a Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge grant. What a thrill to learn in mid-December that Rhode Island was one of only six states to win both grants. The children who will benefit from this $50 million grant participated in the celebration. And just last week, we were gratified to see this good news: Rhode Island now ranks 20th in the country according to the 2012 Quality Counts national report. 

Listing public education as one of the foundation’s top priorities has entailed significant investments of dollars, time, leadership, and other critical resources. But these investments have leveraged phenomenal support, and contributed to positive momentum and a sense that we may see the day when the smallest state has the best public schools in America. It’s a dream worth working toward.

Melanie Coon is senior vice president for communications and marketing at The Rhode Island Foundation, a member of the Council on Foundations.

Novelette Peterkin Beyond the Budgets

By: Novelette Peterkin, In: Education

17 Jan 2012

As boards of education across the country begin their 2012-13 budget processes, city residents should know that private investment in public schools is making a significant difference in helping children from low-income homes excel in school.

In Norwalk, CT, thanks to donations from people who want all children to benefit from a good education, the Carver Foundation of Norwalk is investing $1.2 million this year in its after-school programs. These on-campus programs in Norwalk’s four middle and two high schools are helping 595 low-income students beat the odds.

Since 2005, 100 percent of Carver’s high school students have graduated on time. Last year, 88 percent of Carver’s high school students and 82 percent of our middle school students improved their GPAs. This year, first quarter grades show 24 percent of our students earned high honors and 25 percent of our students earned honors. Only 7 percent of our students had a GPA less than 2.0.

No donor or advocate is more vital to Carver than the Fairfield County Community Foundation (FCCF). Carver is featured in FCCF’s new annual report as a beneficiary of the Ramer Fund, established with a bequest by two former Norwalk Public School teachers. While FCCF has awarded $464,000 in grants to Carver’s summer learning and after-school programs since 1999, it gives far more than money.

FCCF regularly introduces national organizations to Carver, such as Great Schools and the Harvard Family Research Project. It assists Carver in engaging philanthropists and other foundations. FCCF helped us through a leadership transition in 2004, funded Carver’s first development director, and awards professional development and leadership training scholarships for our board and staff.

FCCF invited Carver’s participation in its Fairfield County After School Network (FCASN) and in the Norwalk ACTS Out of School Time Collaborative, both offering opportunities to share best practices.

Private philanthropy helps lay the groundwork for significant gains in public education by supporting the best ideas beyond the reach of the city budget, evaluating results and expanding those that work. The people of Norwalk-or any city-can know that inasmuch as the 2012-13 budget process will invigorate much heated discussion, respected allies such as FCCF are discussing the needs of youth within and far beyond the city’s boundaries.   

Novelette Peterkin is executive director of the Carver Foundation of Norwalk.

Susan McPherson Why CSR’s Future Matters to Your Company

By: Susan McPherson, In: Corporate Philanthropy| Nonprofits

13 Jan 2012

This post first appeared on the HBR Blog Network.

More and more, companies are building long-term commitments to corporate social responsibility (CSR). In 2012 the rise in consumer activism and mobility, the Occupy movement, 24-hour accountability (thanks to social media), and global resource depletion will force every enterprise, large and small, to make CSR a focal point. Four particular areas stand out among many.

Employee Engagement: There will be a continued growth in employee-engagement programs. If the economy continues to falter, we will see more corporations supporting NGOs and nonprofits via employee volunteer programs, rather than just writing checks. A recent sustainability study by Green Research found that 80% of major corporations are planning to invest significantly in employee engagement in 2012. According to Gallup, 86% of engaged employees say they very often feel happy at work, compared to 11% of the disengaged. Additionally, companies with highest levels of employee engagement saw increases in their bottom line: On average they improved 19.2% in operating income, while companies with lower levels declined 32.7% (Towers Watson). Engaged organizations also grew profits as much as three times faster than their competitors. The Corporate Leadership Council reports that highly engaged organizations have the potential to reduce staff turnover by 87% and improve performance by 20%.

Cause-Marketing: Cause-marketing programs will multiply. These programs are created when a for-profit and nonprofit partner to drive revenues, exposure, and fundraising dollars to the non-profit’s cause. Why will these programs continue to appeal to corporations this year? Cause-marketing provides businesses with legitimacy, along with a partner that has issue expertise. If done authentically, such programs can enhance a firm’s reputation in the eyes of stakeholders, leading to public good, the viral sharing of information and potentially increased revenues. Marketing experts agree. According to a PRWeek/Barkely PR Cause Survey in 2010, two-thirds of brands now engage in cause marketing, up from 58% in 2009. The same survey found that 97% of marketing executives believe this to be a valid business strategy.

The Skeptical Consumer: As social media platforms continue to grow beyond their pre-teen years (Twitter was only being used by 12-14 percent of the population in early 2011), consumers will demand more transparency from corporations and nonprofits. My firm, Fenton, along with GlobeScan conducted a survey this year, and one of the most telling insights was the call for nonprofits and NGOs to engage directly with their donors and stakeholders. Additionally, smarter consumers now have online tools (BrandKarma, GoodGuide, Positive Luxury, and more) to help them interact directly with organizations, track corporate practices, and share their demands in real-time with marketers. Those companies and nonprofits that invest in engaging with such consumers will reap benefits.

Board-Level Involvement: With regards to board oversight in CSR, the informed investor evaluates risk, return potential and financial performance while incorporating environmental, social and governance into his/her analysis. According to Fay Feeney, CEO of Risk for Good, “Boardrooms will see CSR issues presented to them in many ways: reputations risks, ESG proxy, political spending, hydraulic fracturing, natural resource management, supply chain, board diversity and more. Those boards that close the focus gap on CSR will bring strategic insights to their CEOs.”

In 2011, The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Public Company Governance Survey asked about the highest priorities for the board. The highest priority at 72% was strategic planning and oversight and amongst the lowest was CSR at 2%. The data suggests that boards will be playing catch up in 2012 on CSR as it is integrated into strategic planning.

Also 2012 will see some CSR issues that became part of the mainstream conversation in 2011 escalate in interest. For example we’ll see an increased focus on conflict minerals, as global smart phone sales continue to grow exponentially and the expected passing of the Dodd-Frank Act, which requires publicly-traded companies to disclose where their minerals come from. Additionally, given the complexity of global supply chains, we’ll witness continued discussion around the prevention of human trafficking and slavery intersection. There will undoubtedly be further discussion, debate and action on these controversial topics.

Twenty years ago, CSR was limited to corporate philanthropy and for some businesses, the adherence to environmental legislation. What we see today is a far more complex picture and an ever-widening stakeholder universe. I predict that within the next few years, CSR will be a requirement for all organizations and will positively affect their bottom lines. Good business will be the norm.

Susan McPherson is a senior vice president at Fenton.

Lee Rainie The New Mobile Giver and the Story Behind Millions in Donations by Text for Haiti

By: Lee Rainie, In: Disaster Grantmaking| Donor Engagement| Media and Technology

12 Jan 2012

A new kind of charitable giver is emerging in the mobile age. 

A report underwritten by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has found that this donor is younger and more likely to be African-American or Latino than traditional donors. Moreover, new donors often use their mobile phones to make contributions through text messaging that is inspired by moving and sometimes distressing stories about people in crisis.

These findings have important implications for non-profits and philanthropies that depend on fundraising and the report particularly highlights how text giving is a spontaneous act, done on the spur of the moment and without a lot of background research on the organization to which the contribution is being made. 

These insights emerge in a report by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project and Harvard’s Berkman Center for the Internet & Society. They are contained in Pew Internet surveys that probed two things: First, there was a special survey of the  donors who gave text-based contributions just after the devastating earthquake in Haiti that hit the island exactly two years ago today. The donor list for that survey came from the mGive Foundation, which provides technology for charities to facilitate text giving. Second, there was a national survey aimed at understanding the nature of the broader population of text-contributors.

The full Pew Internet-Berkman report can be found at pewinternet.org/mobilegiving.

Knight Foundation supported this work because it is interested in helping non-profits and foundations of all kind find new ways to serve their communities and constituencies. Its starting point was the insight that technology is increasingly relevant to Americans’ monetary contributions to the causes and organizations they support. For instance, many were startled by the size of the contribution effort in Haiti as individual donors contributed an estimated $43 million to the assistance and reconstruction efforts using the text messaging feature on their cell phones.

What the surveys showed

The national phone survey is the one that produced findings about the new demographics of mobile givers. Compared to previous work by Pew Internet about more traditional charitable contributors, these mobile givers are younger and more racially and ethnically diverse. This might partly be the case because young adults and minorities are especially attached to their mobile phones. They are more likely to own them, exchange text messages and perform a variety of other activities on them like accessing the internet and sharing photos and videos.

The special sample of Haiti text givers was a representative sample drawn from more than 550,000 contributors to the “Text for Haiti” campaign who gave permission for follow-up contact with them. This survey was the first major in-depth exploration of this special population. Overall, 863 interviews with these donors produced some striking findings that show how disruptive mobile giving has become in the charitable-giving landscape:

  • The ability to send small donations using mobile phones facilitates “impulse giving” in response to moving images or events.
  • The typical Haiti text donor in our survey was a first-time mobile giver who made a single contribution to earthquake relief using his or her mobile phone.
  • A majority of the Haiti text donors in our sample have contributed to more recent disaster recovery efforts using their phones such as the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, and the tornado disasters in the U.S. last spring and summer.
  • Charitable giving in the mobile age by these donors is a social networking activity, but more through in-person conversations than through online tools. Many of the givers convinced family members and friends to give donations for Haiti disaster relief.
  • These mobile givers are willing to make donations in a number of ways—but prefer not to do so by making a phone call.
  • The Haiti text donors in this survey are similar to Americans as a whole when it comes to participation in social or civic groups and engagement with news, but differ when it comes to technology ownership.

In this survey we looked at several dimensions of the lives of these givers. They stand apart from other Americans in that they have more technology in their lives, but their civic profile and their engagement with news mirrors the general population. They are not necessarily major donors in general, though almost all give at least something to other charities.

When compared with Americans as a whole, the Haiti text givers we surveyed are no more or less involved with charitable or non-profit groups—they are slightly more likely than average to belong to a community group or neighborhood association, but have similar levels of involvement with a range of other groups such as charitable or volunteer organizations, political parties and environment groups. They also follow local, national and international news almost exactly as closely as the national average.

However, these donors are different when it comes to their technology habits, and are significantly more likely than U.S. adults as a whole to:

  • Own an e-reader (24% do so, compared with 9% of all US adults), laptop computer (82% vs. 57%) or tablet computer (23% vs. 10%).
  • Use Twitter (23% of the Haiti donors we surveyed who go online are Twitter users, compared with 12% of all online adults) or social networking sites (83% vs. 64%).
  • Use their phones for activities such as accessing the internet (74% do so, compared with 44% of all adult cell owners), taking pictures (96% vs. 73%), recording video (67% vs. 34%) or using email (70% vs. 38%).

Robert Faris, head of research at the Berkman Center, noted that the Haiti disaster contributors combined both traditional givers who are civically active plus the new cohort of younger, more racially and ethnically diverse populations who do not match the standard profile of traditional givers. This could be a hallmark of future giving, particularly in moments where global attention is focused on a disaster or crisis.

“We could be seeing some dramatic shifts in the contours of giving thanks to smartphones and tablet computers,” added Aaron Smith, the Pew Internet researcher who wrote the report. “Cell phones are the fastest spreading and most ubiquitous tech devices the world has ever seen. There is reason to suspect that givers in other countries might eventually look like the ones we explored here. The implications of that for foundations and non-profits are pretty profound.”

Lee Rainie is the director of Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. This post originally appeared on Knight Blog, the blog of the John S. & James L. Knight Foundation.

Nancy Jost Collaboration Is Key for Minnesota’s “Race to the Top”

By: Nancy Jost, In: Children's Issues| Education| Partnerships and Collaborations| Public Policy

11 Jan 2012

RACE TO THE CAPITOL
The call came to West Central Initiative early in the work day on Dec. 17: Minnesota was one of nine states chosen for the Department of Education’s Race to the Top early childhood challenge grant. 

We greeted the news with excitement. West Central Initiative is part of a group of Minnesota organizations that created the Start Early Funders Coalition for Children and Minnesota’s Future, which helped shepherd Minnesota’s Race to the Top grant proposal through the process.

At 11 a.m., I received another call inviting me to attend the 2 p.m. press conference at the state capitol. It usually takes three hours just to get to the outskirts of the Twin Cities from our offices in Fergus Falls, but that didn’t stop me. Within minutes, I was in my car and made it to the capitol with 10 minutes to spare.  Once there, I was thrilled to be invited to stand at the podium along with other early childhood partners.

When Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton asked if anyone at the podium wished to speak, I couldn’t help myself. I took the opportunity to thank all of the Minnesota early childhood educators and care providers who have been working so hard for our youngest children and who will be instrumental in carrying out the grant.

SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE
Our part in the Race to the Top grant actually began a decade ago, when The McKnight Foundation worked with the Minnesota Initiative Foundations (MIFs) — which includes West Central Initiative — to come up with ways to encourage communities in Greater Minnesota to become nurturing places for their youngest children and their families.

The MIFs knew that the best way to engage communities was to let them create their own process and bring together a team of stakeholders. The MIFs helped establish early childhood coalitions in 80 communities throughout Greater Minnesota.  Each coalition has a coordinator who is given a yearly stipend through the MIFs. They also offer technical assistance, regional coordination, and some funding to the coalitions. Today there are about 90 early childhood communities. The work of these coalitions is exciting and extensive. You can see some of these projects on the MIFs’ Promising Strategies searchable database.          

The lessons learned by the coalitions helped inform the writing of Minnesota’s Race to the Top grant proposal.

RELAY RACE
We were particularly pleased to hear that the White Earth Nation was chosen as one of four pilot communities for the grant. WCI helped establish and continues to work with the White Earth Early Childhood Initiative, which is one of our most active and creative ECI communities here in West Central Minnesota.

White Earth and the three other pilot communities will run a particularly important leg of Minnesota’s race to the top in early childhood education. Each community will be a test ground for programs and techniques that will hopefully benefit all Minnesota communities.

Nancy Jost is the early childhood coordinator for West Central Initiative, a regional community foundation that serves nine counties in West Central Minnesota, and is a member of the Council on Foundations.

Ana Marie Argilagos New Web Tool Responds to Call from Philanthropy, Encourages Partnership in HUD Grant Programs

By: Ana Marie Argilagos, In: Community Revitalization| Housing| Partnerships and Collaborations| Public Policy

10 Jan 2012

Responding to Demand
It can be frustrating to look for useful bits of information on grantees and strong programs inside an agency that produces large amounts of data each and every day. Since its inception two years ago, our Office for International and Philanthropic Innovation (IPI) has fielded a variety of requests from funders seeking alignment on Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grantees, program strategies, and leverage opportunities. Together with our philanthropic partners, HUD and IPI understand that effective collaboration requires transparency, communication, and easy, timely access to information.

That’s why we took a significant step last month toward making it easier for interested philanthropic partners to engage and collaborate with our programs and initiatives, launching a new Web tool that features — for the first time — contact information and proposal details for grantees and the highest-scoring applicants to HUD’s flagship community development initiatives. Partner.hud.gov is designed to boost public-private partnership and philanthropic support for the most promising plans to turn the nation’s distressed communities into viable and sustainable mixed-income neighborhoods linked to good schools, retail, transportation, and access to jobs. The site initially will feature Choice Neighborhoods Planning and Implementation grantees, as well as the highest-scoring runners-up from each competition. In fact, information on the 13 new Choice Neighborhoods awards announced today and the eight competitive runners-up will be featured on the site next week.

The Web feature is intended to provide information funders and other local stakeholders can use to find and support applications that HUD deemed promising but was unable to fund, as well as grantees eager to attract additional resources to their transformation plans. It also will offer communities greater access to work happening around the country and best-practice models that might help shape their efforts. Over time, partner.hud.gov will grow as more grant programs take advantage of this capability. 

Enthusiastic Response
So far, our philanthropic partners have given a thumbs-up to our new direction. “Now more than ever, smart community development efforts require government, business, and foundations to combine their resources,” said Mimi Corcoran, director of the Special Fund for Poverty Alleviation at the Open Society Foundations. “HUD’s new Web tool facilitates these partnerships, helping people revitalize their neighborhoods across the country.”

“Rather than having to spend time on information searches, we would rather put our resources toward ensuring that more youth in underserved urban areas have access to structured physical activity, mentoring, and better nutrition,” said Greg Griffith of the U.S. Soccer Foundation. “HUD’s new online tool will help us save time and resources in efforts to establish strategic working relationships and contribute to the renewal of a community.” 

Now It’s Your Turn
We look forward to hearing how you are using partner.hud.gov, and how it might evolve over time to boost your ability to engage in partnerships and coordinate with HUD programs in your communities. Please share this new platform with your colleagues and networks, and get in touch with IPI’s Sarah Gillespie to share your feedback and suggestions.

Ana Marie Argilagos is deputy assistant secretary for international and philanthropic innovation at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Shanee Helfer How Direct Service Drove Me to Community Impact

By: Shanee Helfer, In: Administration| Community Foundations| Housing| Professional Development

9 Jan 2012

I looked down at my phone as it began to ring and I screamed with frustration, “Seriously? Again?!? Don’t they realize that it is 3 p.m. on a Friday?” That was the tagline I was known all too well for when I did housing relocations for tenants. Housing inspectors would notoriously find a home to condemn for unsafe housing conditions, including supporting beams being taken down and illegal sleeping quarters in basements, attics, and even kitchen pantries.

Each time I got that call, I thought I had already heard it all. But each time the situation seemed more complicated than the last. It was like a sinking ship. Every time I plugged a hole, another one would unveil itself. These holes are challenges citizens have to overcome that are exacerbated by the systems that affect our communities. As I unraveled the causes of these challenges I realized direct service alone will never solve them, nor will any one organization be able to plug up these holes alone.

The systems that created the slew of challenges I faced when trying to directly affect a family’s well-being included rent control, education, and awareness around tenant rights and responsibilities; landlord responsibilities; outdated housing codes dating back to the early 1900s; low wages that could not meet housing costs; language barriers; trust from the community to local government; lack of synergy between public and nonprofit sectors-the list goes on and on. There was no way I could change these systems by myself, and neither could the program I was managing since unsafe housing is an issue that plagues almost every city in America.

As I began to evaluate the impact I was making through direct service, I realized I wasn’t accomplishing much, especially compared to the time and effort I was putting in. Acknowledging the perpetual cycle our systems have on our work helped created my passion for strategic philanthropy and community.

After three challenging, exciting, and educational years I left direct service to follow my passion and interest in community impact through United Way and joined the Council’s community foundation services team last August. Soon after, the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) released a report acknowledging the challenges of implementing a successful strategic plan.

In my short time working with community foundations, I have found that our hearts are in the right place as we acknowledge problems and imagine many solutions. However, the question that needs to be asked is: “When it comes to your strategy for creating change, have you aligned your entire organization and community around an action plan to strategically tackle each system that is involved in the issue you are trying to affect?’

CEP is providing an opportunity for the field to explore this challenge and learn about the successful strategic alignment of the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore, one of the profiles highlighted in the report. Register for CEP’s webinar, “The Challenge of Strategy: From Rhetoric to Reality,” January 10, 2:30-3:30 p.m. ET.

Shanee Helfer is manager of community foundations at the Council on Foundations.

Sophia Guevara Reduce Your Foundation’s Copyright Infringement Risk

By: Sophia Guevara, In: Administration

6 Jan 2012

Based on what I’ve witnessed, many nonprofit and philanthropic professionals are lax in paying attention to copyright because they assume their nonprofit status allows them to use materials any way they see fit. The problem isn’t just respecting copyright for printed materials like articles, book chapters, and images. The problem extends to showing documentaries and popular movies without attempting to acquire public performance rights. People tend to assume that since they’re showing the content without charging admission, they don’t need rights. Many also make the incorrect assumption that they can use copies of the video intended for “home use only” for a public showing.

As an information professional, I think resources on copyright permission are one of the most valuable assets a library can house. While librarians can’t offer legal advice, they can be an excellent resource for professionals who understand the importance of respecting copyright. Here are four suggestions on how you can work with your foundation librarian to lessen your organization’s copyright infringement risk:

1. If your foundation doesn’t already have one, work with your librarian to get an annual copyright license from the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC). This agreement can grant the organization permission to share content from a wide variety of resources. Even if a particular work is not covered under the license, it can help reduce the time it takes to track down the copyright holder to acquire permission and use the creator’s work. While the license won’t cover everything, it is a great first step in the right direction.

2. Even if your organization does have a CCC license, make sure you check early enough to ensure that the license covers the use you are proposing. If it doesn’t, you can get a quote from the CCC to purchase the rights you need. Sometimes those quotes can be extremely expensive. By connecting with your librarian early enough, they can sometimes contact the rights holder directly and negotiate a reduced price or even obtain free permission for you to use the content.

3. If you are planning to show a movie at a community event, a convening, or even to your organization’s employees, check in with your librarian to ensure the use is covered. Sometimes librarians will buy movie copies that already have public performance rights rolled into the purchase price. If you don’t have access to one of these special versions of the video, speak with your librarian about gaining permission several weeks before you intend to show the movie. If you are planning to show a popular movie to a public audience, this is especially important. Some companies who specialize in granting rights for popular movies may require you to play a special version that they have to send to you a few days in advance. Rights to show this kind of movie to a non-admission paying audience may cost as much as $100 per day.

4. Be careful about storing files containing copyrighted work on your organization’s intranet or document repository. Sometimes people come across interesting articles that they want to share with colleagues and decide to store a copy on their organization’s intranet for all to see. Or someone may decide to store the document for viewing on a number of internal team work sites, which results in multiple copies of copyrighted work being stored in a prohibited manner.

In conclusion, if you have questions on the proper use of copyrighted material, make sure you check in with your foundation’s librarian, who can provide training and advice on how you and your team can properly use copyrighted material.

Sophia Guevara is a regular contributor to the Consortium of Foundation Libraries blog.

Paul Penley How Do Family Foundations Make Giving Decisions?

By: Paul Penley, In: Administration| Family Philanthropy| Nonprofits

5 Jan 2012

How do foundations make giving decisions? Hope Consulting and Guidestar have released the much-anticipated Money for Good II study (MFG II) to answer these questions.

Here is what they found about foundations-a category dominated by family foundations. Foundations research nine out of 10 grants to nonprofits for an average of four hours. Small family foundations with less than $1 million in assets do basically the same, researching eight out of 10 grants issued. How do foundations get information to analyze? Foundations reported using grant proposals and site visits where they meet with nonprofit leaders. Two pieces of gathered information are considered more important than anything else in the grant-making decision process: (1) past performance and (2) expected program outcomes.

Admittedly all this research doesn’t redirect the majority of grants made each year. In fact, about 75 percent of annual gifts go to organizations that received them the year before. That is why new research on organizations has a greater chance of stopping or reducing a grant than it does starting or increasing a new grant, according to the MFG II study.

That is how foundations are making decisions today, and they don’t indicate much desire to change the process.

Should we celebrate? Is this foundation status quo a road to success or a matter of concern? I, for one, am encouraged. Maintaining loyalty to organizations that provide the most meaningful reports on past performance and clear expectations for future program outcomes creates a socially beneficial giving marketplace. Linking $46 billion worth of foundation philanthropic capital to performance and outcomes creates positive pressure that rewards sustainable solutions to problems more than personal ties and marketing campaigns.

As an adviser to family foundations, I want to congratulate those who fit into this mold and invite the rest to join. The resources do exist to direct more family foundation dollars to high-performing nonprofits that are changing the lives of many more families in need!

If you are wondering how to identify and fund high-performing nonprofits, the MFG II study has issued a litany of recommendations. First and foremost, MFG II calls for a third party to create a “Consumer Reports” guide to nonprofits. According to the research, foundations need a searchable database where different elements of each nonprofit can be quickly evaluated. As charity evaluation platforms like Guidestar, Charity Navigator, Givewell, and Intelligent Philanthropy work hard to do exactly that, family foundations with limited staff can benefit greatly. These resources can identify key performance indicators to integrate into your evaluation of nonprofit infrastructure and impact.

The momentum for making informed decisions and funding high-performing nonprofits has been statistically verified in MFG II. Let’s make sure we continue the trend toward informed generosity that creates sustained transformation!                                             

Paul Penley is director of research at the philanthropic advisory firm Excellence in Giving and the creator of Intelligent Philanthropy.

Liz Braden Why Millennials are the Perfect Donor

By: Liz Braden, In: Donor Engagement| Next Generation

4 Jan 2012

In my humble opinion, Millennials bring together all of the aspects of a perfect donor. At Building Tomorrow and in general in my watching of the fundraising world, I have seen Millennials do some amazing things by  giving their time, talents, and resources to others and to causes they believe in. Below are the three reasons that Millennials are the perfect donor. 

1. Dollar by Dollar

First Millennials give dollar by dollar.

Even though millennials are often those who eat Easy Mac every single night, they also understand the power of every dollar they give. At Building Tomorrow we work with college-based chapters asking them to raise funds for the construction of primary schools in Uganda. A BT Academy costs $60,000 to build and you’d be hard pressed to find a college student who can write a $60k check. However we’ve seen throughout the years, college students taking that number and saying “Okay… now if every student at my school gave just $2 or $10 or $1.81 then we could build a school.”

Millennials are perfect donors because they will give what they can give, even if that’s simply the change in their pockets and they understand the impact that $1 can have.

2. Friends, friends, friends 

Second, Millennials are perfect donors because they have friends – I know shocking statement.

Millennials have that inborn itch to share with their friends what they care about, what they’re doing this weekend, what they’re reading online and how they feel about it. They want their friends to know about the cause they care about.

However, unlike other generations, a Millennial’s friend won’t just throw in $10 if asked in a form email or letter. Instead they skip the politics of giving just to be nice and actually require a reason.

Millennials utilize sharing functions on many nonprofit or fundraising sites (i.e. One Day’s Wages, DonorsChoose, Building Tomorrow) to tell their friends about causes. However the technology alone is not enough. Millennials and their friends care more about the WHY. For Millennials these functions only work if they make it about sharing stories. That’s what pulls in their friends: the personal message of why their friend cares about this cause – not just a retweet or post on Facebook.

3. They care… a whole freakin lot.

Finally, and this is pretty clear in the first two but worth saying a billion more times, Millennials CARE about their causes. Example A – Millennial Chat team member Megan Emme’s  post about what she wants most this holiday season. Megan could have picked any of the millions of causes out there. Instead she thought about what she cared about most, researched the causes, and then shared information about them to teach others about the cause.

Some of Building Tomorrow's millennial donors at UT Austin raising money dollar by dollar.

Some of Building Tomorrow's millennial donors at UT Austin raising money dollar by dollar.

Millennials will give to the causes they care about, the ones they’ve researched and found to be trustworthy. They care where nonprofits spend their money and whether or not they are getting the most bang out of their buck.

Since Millennials are the perfect donors, we have only exciting things to look forward to in the years to come. As this generation grows so will their ability to change the world – literally – by giving dollar by dollar, bringing in a community of friends, and taking the care to learn and teach others about their causes.

Liz Braden is a financial optimist at Building Tomorrow and a member of the Millenial Chat Team. This post first appeared on Millennial Chat.

Stuart How Mother Nature Changed Our Plans … But Not Our Message

By: Stuart Comstock-Gay, In: Community Foundations| Disaster Grantmaking| Donor Engagement| Media and Technology| Social Media| Videos

3 Jan 2012

I’ve long been wary about in-house videos. Because, let’s face it, videos can be tough to pull off. So it was with some trepidation that we decided not just to make our first set of short videos this year, but to feature them at our 25th anniversary annual meeting-indeed, to make them the centerpiece of the program for the afternoon.

We found a fabulous filmmaker and put together a great list of interviews. And when the rough cuts were done, we were really happy with how things were going. Two weeks before the meeting, things were beginning to fall into place. We had lined up performers, bluegrass musicians, and great local food at an iconic Vermont location, Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English. Our founders and their families were going to be there. And the videos telling the story of our foundation’s beginning, the power of giving, and the community’s vision for the future were almost ready.

Then came Tropical Storm Irene. We did what any community foundation would: We canceled the meeting, delayed the video debut, and focused on Irene relief and recovery work. The day of our planned meeting, the road to Bread Loaf was still missing, washed away in the floods along with 250 other roads in Vermont.

The videos were ready since our filmmaker had heroically finished them even as his own home was flooded and he helped his neighbors recover, but they had no place to go. So we shared them at staff and board meetings, and we figured they would “keep” until 2012’s tentatively scheduled “25-plus-1″annual meeting.

But then a funny thing happened. As volunteers mucked out the homes of strangers, kids contributed the earnings from their lemonade stands to help affected farmers, and contractors and mobile home owners worked together to put their neighborhoods back together, our appreciation and love for our communities grew stronger and stronger. We realized that although the original purpose of the videos had been muddied by the waters, so to speak, the themes expressed therein-community, love, hope for the future-shone brighter than ever.

We think they tell the story not just of a particular community foundation, but of what philanthropy can accomplish in a community. So we’ve been using the videos for inspiration when we talk about the flood recovery efforts underway in Vermont. We hope they resonate with you as well. I might suggest you start with the future inspiration video. It’s my favorite.

And let us not forget that a “thank you” to those who donated and volunteered can be just as inspirational.

Stuart Comstock-Gay is president and CEO of Vermont Community Foundation, a member of the Council on Foundations.

Suzanne Skees The Greedy Giver

By: Suzanne Skees, In: Donor Engagement| Family Philanthropy| Philanthropy

20 Dec 2011

The world reverberates with crashing economies and toppling dictatorships from Detroit to Italy, Egypt to Syria; and one vital outcome of these changes is this: Everyday people know more about one another, feel connected through communication, and take action in the collective. The Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street have demonstrated that we–as a global citizenry–stand up for what we believe.

And even now, amid times of political turmoil and economic hardship, we’re giving more money and time to our causes than ever before. Why?

Individual giving rose 2.7 percent last year, with total charitable giving reaching $290.89 billion, according to Giving USA. While 2011 numbers are still pending, Blackbaud Index finds charitable giving up 3.9 percent in Q3 2011 compared with Q3 2010. More than money, 26.3 percent of Americans have maintained steady levels of volunteer hours donated, totaling 8.1 billion hours worth another $173 billion, reports Volunteering in America.

Is it possible that we give for reasons other than self-sacrifice? This holiday season, let’s admit it: We’re in this for us. It’s not noble to give, whether of time or money: It’s completely self-gratifying. Giving boosts our brain chemistry, connects us to community, and fulfills our destiny.

Maybe all of us have experienced the rush that comes with giving, but I think it’s time to be honest about who the recipient really is.

When St. Francis said, “It is in giving that we receive,” I would portend that he meant this literally. As brain resonance technology advances and we can graph neurological reactions to stimuli, scientists conclude that altruistic acts, via time or funds (or even just imagining ourselves doing so) cause the limbic brain to light up, responding in the same way as it does to adventure and drugs, good food and great sex: all the extreme joys of life. Serotonin gets released, and we get high.

Real life proves the opposite of Wall Street’s idea that “greed is good.” Knocking people down on the way to the top never got anyone anywhere but alienated. Hoarding money and things never made anyone immortal. In the end, we all end up in the same condition. So maybe the best investment for right now (since, as the Buddha said, “there is no later”) is to improve conditions for everyone, today.

Giving gives more to us than to the supposed recipient. My sister Sylvia knew this when, in her neighborhood near Cincinnati, Ohio, she bundled up her family of four for a recent evening “walk of lights” in honor of their little friend Matt currently battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma. “The feeling was amazing,” she says. “There is something about the power you feel when you get that many people together who all have the same wish.” Matt’s mother channeled her concern into creating the Dragonfly Foundation to help hundreds of kids like hers, and found herself with a recovering son and a booming nonprofit business.

Even when we grumble like Grinch, we can end up benefiting. One Saturday, my three sons got dragged against their will to a San José, Ca., community center to wrap Christmas presents for needy kids. I felt stressed about the millions–correction, billions–of kids who do without, as if covering a donated Toys R Us product with shiny paper could put a dent in the world’s inequity. My kids just felt forced into weekend sabotage, for some do-gooder ideal they did not share. They all snarled, and two of them stomped outside. But when I looked to my left, there was Ben, struggling with the scissors to cut a straight line, face taut, head down.

“It doesn’t have to be perfect,” I suggested.

“But it’s from SANTA CLAUS,” he said with determination.

That day, Benjamin wrapped dozens of shiny gifts for kids who lived in circumstances we could barely imagine. Finishing up, we found the younger two out front waiting impatiently with sour faces. Ben hopped into the car with a cup of hot chocolate (his wages for the day), smiling and humming along with holiday songs on the radio, all the way home.

2011-11-16-P1000603.jpg

Recently I traveled with Freedom from Hunger to West Africa to interview rural women engaged in a system of village banking called “savings circles.” I did absolutely nothing for them. They wore their finest clothing, waited for hours for our four-wheeler to arrive, conducted meetings and answered questions for the foreigners, and then went back to their daily lives of 12-plus hour workdays of manual labor with no supportive infrastructure. Me, I returned home to my comfy office chair to craft stories about them. The women I met, Aminata, Fatima and Elizabeth, continue their backbreaking days of courage and tenacity, and they have long since forgotten me.

But their impact on me will last the rest of my life.

Giving is greedy, and that’s OK. I believe the key is to remember to ask, “What’s needed?” and actually listen to the response. To remember that it’s beyond our capacity to save the whole world but that small acts have impact, from sending relief aid to famine victims in East Africa, to stopping by our hospital blood bank after work. During the dark, cold days of winter, we can warm our own hearts and lighten our personal burdens by what may appear to be caring for others.

Suzanne Skees is director and board chair for the Skees Family Foundation, a member of the Council on Foundations. This post first appeared on Huffington Post.

Elizabeth Douglass How Volunteering Has Impacted Me to the CORE

By: Elizabeth Douglass, In: Education| Nonprofits| Social Media

19 Dec 2011

July was an incredibly busy month for me this year. Not only did I marry my best friend, I also started working as a volunteer teacher for Computer Community Outreach and Education (Computer CORE), a nonprofit based in Alexandria, Va.  Computer CORE is a place where low-income, (often-times) first-generation immigrant adults can learn career development skills and earn basic computing school credits through a six-month class accredited by Northern Virginia Community College.

Of late, Computer CORE primarily draws students from nations with emerging technological infrastructures, such as Ethiopia, Guatemala, Iran, and Nigeria. Yet, in my time as a computing teacher’s assistant and career strategies instructor-as well as in conversations I’ve had with returning volunteers-I’ve noticed that our students are far more proficient in today’s social media venues than in proper e-mail etiquette with potential employers.

I might find the nuances between chronological-based and skills-based resumes intriguing, but my students are more interested in scoping out a family member’s baptismal photos on Facebook. So, as teachers, we try to adapt, to flex our creative muscles, and to leverage the similarities and connections between social media and workforce development to encourage deeper comprehension and expertise for their forays into the workplace.

Our students are encouraged to “own” their experience with Computer CORE. They are well aware of their teachers’ time commitment to CORE, they interact with CORE sponsors/business advisers, and they sacrifice two evenings per week from work or family to participate in the classroom. Gradually, they become mini-philanthropists as they encourage their friends, coworkers, family members, and others to apply to CORE.

In turn, numerous CORE graduates further their education by virtue of their NVCC-accredited CORE courses and their new awareness of career options. Other graduates return to speak at graduation, teach their family members and coworkers these newly acquired computing skills, and/or offer monetary donations. It’s inspiring to me, a second-generation Nigerian-American, that students with such various ethnic backgrounds, educational skills, and life hardships can work and learn together in a classroom and not leave the lessons learned at the door.

CORE partners such as the Community Foundation of Northern Virginia, Microsoft, and the Gwendolyn and Morris Cafritz Foundation build upon this circle of giving with their funds and their time. Representatives from these and other CORE supporters volunteer as business advisers and conduct practice interview sessions, provide student internship/full employment opportunities, donate computers, and more. They become engaged partners in CORE’s community, and the ripple effect continues.

I believe CORE is a refreshing model of what engaged philanthropy can look like in a local community with international impact. As a burgeoning technologist, the initial work of CORE founder Debra Roepke inspires me to enhance my community in a lasting way. Is there an inspiring philanthropic community in your area looking for your time and your talents?

Elizabeth Douglass is the web services associate at the Council on Foundations.

Daniela Fainberg The Family Conference from Another Perspective

By: Daniela Fainberg, In: 2012 Family Philanthropy Conference| Family Philanthropy| Global Philanthropy

16 Dec 2011

The Council’s Family Philanthropy Conference is an opportunity for international philanthropists to meet and exchange experiences with peers from the U.S. and other countries. It is a place to learn with other participants representing other foundations and specialists in the field of philanthropy and family dynamics. It is a chance to get familiar with what’s new in family philanthropy and other vehicles of social investment. It is also a great opportunity to be with your family, experiment together, and have meaningful conversations that can add value to your social practice.

The conference is a unique place to get inspired, improve your philanthropy, and birth ideas that will ultimately create greater impact. To see other family philanthropy cases — what has worked and what has failed — helps you to reflect on your own agenda and sets the stage for new insights. It is also a place to interact with other families that invest in common areas of interest, since a lot of causes will be discussed there.

As a foreign participant and consultant for families, attending the conference in the past has helped me expand my view of family philanthropy and its importance in mitigating social issues globally. It also helped me to adapt the American model to the Brazilian context. I’ve brought families from Brazil to the conference and the experience has been useful in the practices of non-U.S. families.

There will be different speakers, lots of sessions, some visits to social initiatives and communities, and networking opportunities. Important topics as like effective practices, next generation issues, leadership challenges, and family dynamics will be addressed. Of course, Miami is the perfect place to experience diversity across all the senses.

Daniela Nascimento Fainberg is founder of Instituto Geração.

Nelli Garton Moving From Overwhelmed to an Opportunity

By: Nelli Garton, In: 2012 Family Philanthropy Conference| Family Philanthropy| Philanthropy

15 Dec 2011

I know I am not alone in feeling overwhelmed by the state of the world and the incredible needs that philanthropy is trying to address. We can’t fulfill these on our own, so where do we start? Are we just providing short-term solutions when the whole system is breaking down? Grant requests are up, the needs in society are more acute, and governmental contributions at all levels are plummeting. There is intense frustration with the status quo from Occupy Wall Street to the Tea Party.

I went to a meeting of funders a few weeks ago feeling frustrated, disconnected, and overall pretty pessimistic about the future. I walked away reinvigorated and with a new perspective on the role of philanthropy in supporting real and lasting social change.

Frustration has moved people to action — from Tahir Square to the Wisconsin State Capitol and from Wall Street to Main Street. People have found their voices and are engaging in civil society in a way we haven’t seen since the 1960s. There is an appetite for change and it is bubbling up across the country and the world. Philanthropy needs to recognize this paradigm shift and be open to shifting as well.  

I am reminded that philanthropy does not and should not have all the answers. Listening to those affected, providing space and support for honest discourse, addressing root causes of problems as opposed to symptoms are ways we can make a real difference. My hope for the Council’s Family Philanthropy Conference, February 13-15 in Miami Beach, is that we can find common ground and learn the best way to support the change we want to see.

Nelli Garton is vice chair of the Marie C. and Joseph C. Wilson Foundation, a member of the Council on Foundations.

Robyn Schein It’s About Family Giving, Not Just Family Foundations

By: Robyn Schein, In: 2012 Family Philanthropy Conference| Donor Engagement| Family Philanthropy| Next Generation

14 Dec 2011

In February, the Council on Foundations will bring together families from all over the country (and world!) to learn about and discuss the current issues affecting families who give. The 2012 Family Philanthropy Conference is not just for family foundations-it’s for all families committed to philanthropy.

At The Minneapolis Foundation, we work with more than 500 donor-advised funds, each unique in size, focus area, and approach. As we aim to serve their individual needs, we have seen one commonality on the rise. Donor advisers are increasingly using their funds as tools for family philanthropy. We have donor advisers who make their children co-advisers, some who match their children’s contributions to local nonprofits through their funds, and others who meet annually to make family decisions about their grant recommendations.

Likewise, we have donor advisers using their funds as part of estate planning with intentions to add to them upon their death and name their children successor advisers. Whether in their lifetime or after, we hear our donors ask questions about how philanthropy can best be used as a tool to bring their families together. How do they encourage their children to get involved in the community and give back? How do they work together to make the biggest impact?

The stories, experiences, and questions of the donor advisers I work with should sound fairly familiar. They are similar to those that family foundation trustees are asking themselves and striving to resolve. The value of attending the 2012 Family Philanthropy Conference lies in the ability to learn from each other, and share experiences and lessons learned. It is an opportunity to focus on what donor advisers and trustees have in common as family philanthropists, regardless of the different vehicles chosen to carry out the philanthropy.

Let’s also not forget: We’re talking about Miami in February. I’m from Minnesota. It’s a bit of a no-brainer.

Robyn L. Schein is the donor services advisor for The Minneapolis Foundation, a member of the Council on Foundations.

Katherine Lorenz One Part Joy, One Part Challenge, All Family Foundation CEO

By: Katherine Lorenz, In: 2012 Family Philanthropy Conference| Family Philanthropy| Management

13 Dec 2011

I am seven months into one of the most exciting opportunities of my life, which is also one of the greatest challenges of my life. Earlier this year, I became president of my family’s foundation, the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation. My 92-year-old grandfather is still very much in charge, and I have the unique challenge of working with him and the rest of our (very large!) family to create a lasting legacy.

Like many family foundation CEOs, I see my role as two-fold: creating a positive impact on the world and bringing the family together around the shared value of philanthropy. While this role is similar to any other CEO role in many aspects, the family piece is particularly important when dealing with an all-family board.

According to “Daring to Lead 2011,” over half of nonprofit CEOs spend 6 percent or less of their time on board-related activity. By contrast, preliminary findings from National Center for Family Philanthropy research show that family foundation CEOs spend 20-80 percent on family issues. In other words, the family element of the family foundation CEO role is huge.

A family foundation CEO wears many hats. That individual is expected to have deep programmatic expertise and be a skilled communicator, acting as the face of the foundation in the community. It appears to be the perfect role for a nonprofit veteran-all the benefits of running a nonprofit without the fundraising obligations! What the job description often doesn’t tell you is that a family foundation CEO must also be a diplomat, carefully navigating family dynamics and guiding the board to decisions that have positive impacts on both the community and family. Although the ultimate goal is high-quality philanthropy, sometimes the role feels more like family therapist than foundation CEO.

In the time I have been in this role, two bodies of resources have been crucial to my success: experts in the field and a network of peers. The depth of knowledge and expertise that those professionals are able to offer, having worked with many similar families, is invaluable in making sure our family is able to learn from the successes and failures of others. Developing relationships with peers provides a source of support as well as a network of professionals who face similar opportunities and challenges. I am thrilled to attend the Council on Foundations’ Family Philanthropy Conference in February because I know it will yield more expert advice and broaden my network of peers.

 Katherine Lorenz was elected president of the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation in January 2011. Early bird registration for Fusion: the 2012 Family Philanthropy Conference ends Friday.

admin #PhilChat Recap: Philanthropy’s Role in Advancing Global Well-Being

By: admin, In: Global Philanthropy| Social Media| Social Networking

12 Dec 2011

Last month, the Rockefeller Foundation, in partnership with Resource Alliance and the Institute for Development Studies, convened a major summit in Bellagio, Italy, on the future of philanthropy and development in the pursuit of well-being. The summit-the culmination of a process involving regional consultations around the globe, the commissioning of papers on relevant topics, and more-generated key messages for institutions and individuals working in, and with, the development and philanthropy sectors.

These individuals and others in the field of global grantmaking weighed in and responded to those messages by joining the Council on Foundations, the Rockefeller Foundation, and The Chronicle of Philanthropy during a special Twitter Chat on Monday, December 12.

Participants joined Jim Thompson from the U.S. State Department, Rob Garris of the Rockefeller Foundation, Najat Rochdi of the United Nations Development Programme, and other global philanthropy leaders to discuss philanthropy’s role in advancing global well-being. During the Twitter dialogue, some of the most important messages to emerge from the summit were explored, including:

  • The concept of “development” needs to be replaced with that of “well-being.” Global philanthropy needs to move the focus away from western-style growth toward sufficiency, happiness, and sustainability.
  • The sector needs new paradigms for collaboration that better understand and utilize comparative advantages and similarities between different types of actors-long-established foundations, new foundations emerging in the developing world, corporations, government, multilaterals, NGOs, and social movements.
  • Why global philanthropy needs to put people at the center of the work, addressing power structures, human rights, and justice.
  • The philanthropic sector is just too risk averse. It needs to view risk-taking as an important element of strategic philanthropy and build cultures where failures are accepted and seen as learning opportunities.

To join the conversation view the archive and offer your thoughts and opinions on this blog.

Jillian C. Vukusich Fusion: It’s More Than Partnership

By: Jillian C. Vukusich, In: 2012 Family Philanthropy Conference| Family Philanthropy| Partnerships and Collaborations

12 Dec 2011

I love the theme of the Family Philanthropy Conference (kudos to whoever came up with it). As we all know, philanthropy changes its mantra every so often. We’ve heard collaboration and partnership and community building. “Fusion” would be a great next trend.

As you head down to Miami Beach in February, what you may not know could surprise you. In Palm Beach County alone, one in five children live in poverty and one in two children receive free or reduced lunch at school. These statistics in the same county that produces 10 of the top agricultural products in our nation are, frankly, gut wrenching.

Recently, funders, nonprofits, government, and many other entities in Palm Beach County have been working together to alleviate hunger in our communities. As a group, we have made some incredible progress toward lighting a spark that hopefully will turn into a stronger food access and distribution system in our region. But the impact is only part of the story…

The story lies in the partnership, the fusion, of many organizations coming to the table in the name of the cause. Countless meetings, phone calls, site visits, and parking lot conversations have led to a shared understanding. As a group, we faced our own challenges and setbacks. We had to bridge relationships and push one another to think outside of our own boxes. We had to think bigger about philanthropy and partnership. Not one of our institutions could have done this alone. Ultimately, what we were working for was trust, where each of us could be honest and transparent. This trust is translating into action and it’s incredibly exciting.

The world has changed and none of us can afford to go it alone. It will always be the potential of philanthropy to ignite change and make the world better that excites me. I hope that your time in Florida will provide an opportunity to connect with future partners and to think differently about who your partners might be. The time is now, so register for the conference today.

Jillian C. Vukusich is director of community investment for the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties, a member of the Council on Foundations.

Sophia Guevara Focusing Your Information Need: Four Lessons

By: Sophia Guevara, In: Media and Technology

9 Dec 2011

As a librarian, some of the clients I deal with come to me because they know what they want but just can’t find it. Then there are those who never truly understood their information need in the first place. A while back, I was forwarded a question from someone interested in making their company an employer of choice when it came to diversity/inclusion. They wanted to be aware of other engineering companies that were already leaders in this area.

While the question seemed straightforward, it was apparent that the information need as stated was not focused. When it comes to research, most people focus on what they want but never give a thought to what they don’t want. As a result, they make their information experience much more difficult than it has to be. Here are four lessons that can help focus your own research.

Lesson 1: Make sure to limit the field of possibilities
Take a look at the question. The second part requests research on other engineering companies. Well, there are several branches of engineering, many specializations, and lots of companies that focus on multiple areas. To get anywhere with this question, you first have to limit the field in which the search will be conducted.

Lesson 2: Comparing apples to apples
Would it have been fair to compare a $100 million engineering company to one that makes $900,000 or $200 million? How about comparing a company with 100 employees with one that has 1,000?  How about location: national versus international? In this example, the requester would have benefited from having a good idea of who their ideal peers were.   

Lesson 3: Define your terms
The requester wanted information on other companies considered leaders in diversity and inclusion. In fact, they wanted to be an “employer of choice”. But what does “employer of choice,” “diversity,” and “inclusion” mean to them?  Quite frankly, these terms can mean a lot of things to different people. In fact, just think about all the ways diversity can apply: GLBT, multiculturalism, religious/nonreligious, gender, generational, disability, and more.

Thoroughly defining your terms for any information need will always contribute to a more successful search strategy.   

Lesson 4: Identify the yardstick
What yardstick should be used? In other words, did this person want their company included on Diversity Inc.’s Top 50 Employers list or an industry-specific list?  Either way, what list would be considered most authoritative? Anybody can make a list of “leader” companies and post it on the Internet.

In conclusion, you’ll be surprised by how successful your research experience can be if you take a few minutes to thoroughly think it out and focus your question. Librarians are pros at this and your foundation’s librarian will be more than happy to help you learn how to do it.

Sophia Guevara is a regular contributor to the Consortium of Foundation Libraries blog.

John Harvey Top 10 Predictions for Global Philanthropy in 2012

By: John Harvey, In: Global Philanthropy

8 Dec 2011

The Council on Foundations surveyed some of its leading members active in the global grantmaking sphere to learn what they see on the horizon. Here are their top 10 predictions for 2012:

1. Despite worldwide economic challenges, global philanthropy will continue its remarkable growth. While the pace of growth will slow somewhat among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, growth in emerging markets like China, India, and Brazil will be robust.

2. As more and more of their operations move overseas, U.S.-based corporations will move more of their philanthropic dollars outside the United States.

3. Women philanthropists, who according to one recent study are 95 percent more inclined to give internationally than their male counterparts, will play a more active and public role in global philanthropy.

4. There will be a wave of new partnerships and collaborations in the global arena between and among foundations, governments, nonprofits, multilaterals, and corporations that will be driven by geopolitical, financial, and strategic factors. These partnerships will be a key ingredient in confronting global challenges and leveraging philanthropic dollars for the public good.  

5. U.S. philanthropy will take tentative but noteworthy steps toward greater engagement in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, with a particular focus on democracy, economic empowerment, and women’s rights.

6. An increasing number of alternative financing pools, including program-related investments, sovereign wealth funds and diaspora capital, will leverage important new resources toward economic development and social change. 

7. Led by Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Bolder Giving, and others, donors of all economic backgrounds will step up and donate one-half or more of their wealth to global causes. Steve Jobs’ family will announce a major philanthropic undertaking in his name. 

8. With the rise of online, crowdsourced fundraising, the average citizen will become a larger part of the global philanthropic landscape, making 2012 and beyond the era of the citizen philanthropist. 

9. In light of the growing concern with the ever-widening wealth gap, more philanthropy will be devoted to addressing the root causes of economic injustice globally.

10. There will be movement in philanthropy to better respond to the voices and aspirations of grassroots communities. These communities increasingly will be valued for their ideas, knowledge, wisdom, and experience and included in the design and implementation of philanthropic interventions. 

What are your predictions for global philanthropy in 2012? Add them in the comments section below.

John Harvey is managing director of global philanthropy at the Council on Foundations.

Jorgen Thomsen Addressing the Environmental Challenges of the 21st Century

By: Jorgen Thomsen, In: Environment| Global Philanthropy

7 Dec 2011

The conservation of ecosystems is one of the most compelling environmental challenges of the 21st century.

Vital to human well-being, ecosystems and their biodiversity provide food and water; regulate floods, drought, and disease; and support soil formation and pollination. They also have intangible value as places of spiritual significance. All these are vital services, essential to economies as well as to local, regional, and national economies and governments.

But ecosystems are undergoing acute and accelerating damage. Sixty percent of ecosystem services have been degraded over the last 50 years, with direct, measurable economic and social repercussions. Pressure on resources is likely to spark conflicts within and between nations.

In 2011, the MacArthur Foundation launched a new conservation strategy that focuses on slowing this degradation of ecosystems and, eventually, reversing it. The new strategy expands MacArthur’s effort into production areas, where people and conflicts threaten biodiversity; focuses on coastal marine systems and watersheds; and support policy research and greater consideration of global issues, such as climate change and sustainable production. Specific components of the new strategy include:

  • New grants to create and expand incentives to conserve ecosystems; for example, by quantifying the value of nature and creating mechanisms to transform theoretical values into actual revenue for governments and communities.
  • New grants to assist the rural poor in securing and managing their traditional natural resources to improve their livelihoods.
  • Future grantmaking focusing on four major drivers of ecosystem decline globally, including global climate change and increasing demand for food, energy, and water.
  • New policy research and analysis grants to help us understand and respond to increased pressures from development and climate change, including production agriculture for food and biofuels.

Approximately two-thirds of the foundation’s new grantmaking in this field will center around four geographic focal areas selected for their potential to produce multiple benefits for people: the Great Lakes of East and Central Africa, the Greater Mekong and its Headwaters, the Watersheds of the Andes, and coastal marine (cross-regional).

To learn more about our grantmaking in this field, including the independent evaluation of our grantmaking, related white papers on emerging issues, a summary of the new grantmaking strategy, maps of the geographic focus areas, and an overview video explaining the new strategy, please visit www.macfound.org/conservation. 

Jorgen Thomsen is the director of conservation and sustainable development at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Carol Thompson Cole Wading Through a Sea of Bad News

By: Carol Thompson Cole, In: Children's Issues| Poverty

6 Dec 2011

In this day of 24-7 media, information flows nonstop and infinite reams of data can be crunched in seconds. Yet I am sometimes shocked by how very little we know, even about what’s going on in our own neighborhoods. Information is power, and while research and data might not seem like the most exciting projects to fund at the outset, the results can be turned into knowledge to catalyze action, collaboration, policy change, and movements.

When VPP was founded, its first released report summarized the state of children and youth in the National Capital Region. The findings gave a stark picture of the region in the early 2000s — approximately 100,000 children lived in poverty at that time and half of those lived in the District of Columbia and Prince George’s County. The rates of children receiving free or reduced lunch were climbing, primarily in D.C. and Alexandria, Va.

Fast forward 10 years. The regional landscape looks much different today but unfortunately, too many of the negative trends we were predicting for children and youth are coming to pass.

In this decade, VPP and other organizations have undertaken new efforts to improve our region, but we have also experienced 9/11 and the Great Recession of 2008. We need a new baseline, a current understanding of what’s happening with our children that we can use going forward to know just how much progress we are making.

This time, we know we cannot undertake this research alone. The problems that the region faces are bigger than VPP. We need input from others who deal with these challenges. The action sparked by the research must be truly collaborative. With support from 10 funding partners, we are beginning research that will help us get a complete, accurate, and current picture of the status of children and youth in our region, particularly those who are most vulnerable.

Data and information can help us convene and catalyze others and sound a “call to action” that hopefully will be heard across the region. But unless we put the research to use in our work in an intentional way — using it to focus our strategies, drive data-based decision making, create a cycle of continuous improvement, and develop a platform for collaboration — it will be just another research report in a sea of bad news.

Carol Thompson Cole is president and CEO of Venture Philanthropy Partners. This post has been edited from the VPPNews column, “Investing In Our Region’s Most Valuable Asset.”

Carina Wendel and Rebecca Graves Dollars that Respond—for Today and Tomorrow

By: Carina Wendel and Rebecca Graves, In: Community Foundations| Donor Engagement| Endowments and Investing| Philanthropy

5 Dec 2011

A recent New York Times op-ed by Ray Madoff, entitled “Tax Write-Off Now, Charity Later” poses several theoretical challenges to Donor Advised Funds. The article suggests that donors’ charitable dollars can sit in “holding pens” for decades. Moreover, it suggests that these funds are managed by institutions that may have little incentive to help communities address urgent needs and face difficult challenges.

Dollars that respond
In reality, grant distribution rates of Donor Advised Funds are high, and are much higher than the required 5% distribution rates for funds managed by private foundations. Distribution rates are 14% on average across Community Foundations included in the annual Columbus Survey, and 22% on average across the national programs managed by the charitable arms of Fidelity, Schwab and Vanguard.

In addition, grant distributions responded strongly to the economic downturn according to publicly available Guidestar data. For example, at Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, the largest provider of Donor Advised Funds in the country, grant distributions exceeded fund contributions during the peak of the crisis. This mirrors the activity of Community Foundation Donor Advised Funds, where grants exceeded contributions by $500,000 on average during the height of the crisis. This suggests that counter-cyclical grant-making can support vulnerable communities when other funds are drying up.

While it may be possible to hold on to assets for decades, in reality, Donor Advised Funds turn over every four to seven years. And they give donors an ability to respond flexibly to community needs and grant-making opportunities.

Local stewardship for today and tomorrow
Turning to the management of Donor Advised Funds, nearly 50% of the assets are held by Community Foundations across the U.S. This amounts to approximately $14 billion in charitable dollars, held in approximately 46,000 separate Donor Advised Funds. These Community Foundations are mission-driven local institutions, governed by community volunteers, committed to building stronger and more vital communities.

Community Foundations view Donor Advised Funds as an opportunity to engage donors in addressing immediate needs and in sowing the seeds of lasting change. As one example, the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham engages donors every day in directing charitable dollars to important issues. In response to the April 2011 tornadoes, it saw the power of mobilizing Donor Advised Funds, as these funds directed more than $250,000 immediately to first-responders helping victims of the tornadoes. Activities by these funds have raised $2.1 million, and have already granted almost $1 million in response to the needs identified by counties as they rebuild.

There are many stories about the ways in which Donor Advised Fund donors are active and strategic in response to immediate needs. But an argument can also be made for not distributing charitable funds straight away. Indeed, many Community Foundations take the long term view, supporting donors in establishing endowed Donor Advised Funds. These endowed funds generate grant dollars today and steward resources for future needs. The aspiration is to create a pool of dollars that make lasting contributions, spanning generations. Community Foundations are designed and governed with the expectation of this long term stewardship role.

What’s the alternative?
Professor Madoff mentions the relatively flat level of charitable giving and suggests that perhaps there would be more direct giving if Donor Advised Funds weren’t available. According to a recent report by Giving USA, charitable giving in the US hovered around 1.75% of GDP between 1975 and 1995 but jumped to around 2.25% of GDP between 2000 and 2010, coincident with rapid growth of Donor Advised Funds. While this may seem like a small increase, 0.5% of US GDP in 2010 amounts to $74 billion of charitable giving according to a simple back-of-the-envelope calculation. If even a small portion of this additional generosity is due to the tax incentives, flexibility, and simple rules that Donor Advised Funds offer, their potential charitable impact is clearly very valuable.

In addition to immediate giving, the other obvious alternative to Donor Advised Funds is charitable giving through private foundations. For most donors, Donor Advised Funds are more efficient than private foundations. By virtue of their low administrative costs, a higher percentage of funds go to charity rather than to administrative, legal and financial expenses. In short, even if there’s always room for improvement, it’s very hard to argue that the charitable sector would be better off without the possibility to give through Donor Advised Funds.

Need for more data and insights
Given the growing importance of Donor Advised Funds as a philanthropic vehicle and the questions raised about their role in facilitating and growing charitable giving, we believe more data is needed to paint the evolving picture of Donor Advised Funds in supporting communities.

In partnership with the Council on Foundations, the Community Foundations Leadership Team, and The James Irvine Foundation, CF Insights and FSG are launching a study on the importance and strategic value of Donor Advised Funds across diverse communities. In 2012, we will work with over 30 Community Foundations to look at how Donor Advised Funds are advancing the priorities of Community Foundations and the communities they serve. What are the emerging trends and what approaches to supporting Donor Advised Fund donors yield the strongest results? Our aspiration is that sharing knowledge and insights will yield even greater impact for communities.

Carina Wendel is an associate at FSG, and Rebecca Graves is the executive director for CF Insights. This post originally appeared on Social Impact Blog.

Stephanie de Wolfe Building Systemic Change From the Ground Up

By: Stephanie de Wolfe, In: Global Philanthropy

2 Dec 2011

At this week’s Global Grantmaking Institute, much of our discussion has focused on the role of communities in fostering lasting systemic change. Engaging community actors who work closely with vulnerable populations is a key factor. Focusing on community-based organizations (CBOs) challenges the typical development paradigm of imported solutions. Investing in their strengths, their existing resources, and their capacity to apply contextual solutions on a wider scale can influence major trends, key policies, and legal infrastructure, enabling relevant and powerful change.

Often occupying or connected to the lowest ranks of social strata, people working in grassroots CBOs are uniquely positioned because they are affected firsthand by social inequalities and therefore most vulnerable to their effects. The flip side is that these individuals understand the context, cycles, and intricacies of the issues that affect them better than anyone else, and are better positioned to mobilize and respond to structural or social inequalities.

Investing in grassroots organizations is in many ways investing in local experts who have the potential to initiate and effect lasting change from the ground up. An example of this is the Global Fund for Children grantee partner Zanzibar Association of Female Lawyers (ZAFELA). In addition to running comprehensive life-skills trainings through all-girls clubs at local schools, ZAFELA advocates for child and girl-friendly legal changes. The organization has succeeded in empowering girls to be peer-educators for female rights at their schools. It also has persuaded the government to adopt important acts that protect the rights of children in an area where child trafficking is common.

Another example is Bureau pour le Volontariat au Service de l’Enfance et de la Santé (BVES) based in Bukavu, South Kivu’s capital. This organization believes that “children’s rights [should be] taken into the hands of the community.” The group operates three transit centers that help children abducted by armed groups or orphaned by war rejoin their communities. It targets young girls, former child soldiers, and children living on the streets.

In light of the stigma associated with child soldiers, BVES also actively works with local law enforcement and the surrounding communities to (1) create awareness of children’s rights and protection and (2) prepare them for the reintegration of the children housed in its centers. BVES has succeeded in making children’s rights an issue that people across society feel empowered to take on, and its advocacy efforts have helped make child recruitment a crime under Congolese military and national law.

Local groups like BVES and ZAFELA are mobilizing with few resources to address urgent issues affecting their communities. Equipping these types of groups with additional tools and resources to engage their communities and organize effectively around change is one way to interrupt the cycle of poverty and give globally to local solutions.

Stephanie de Wolfe is program associate, Africa for the Global Fund for Children.

Amanda Hsiung Learning How to Give Away Money

By: Amanda Hsiung, In: Global Philanthropy

2 Dec 2011

As a relative newcomer to global grantmaking, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to attend the Global Grantmaking Institute this week to strengthen my understanding of the field. Attending the institute has not only provided me with useful background knowledge, however. It’s also given me the opportunity to reflect on the nature of global grantmaking as a profession and why I believe this work is so important.

At its core, grantmaking is defined as the practice of giving away money. This seems so simple. Why would anyone need to spend two days learning how to give away money? However, during these two days at the institute and my three months at the Global Fund for Children (GFC), I have learned that there are myriad approaches to giving away money and that the practices a grantmaking institution implements can have significant effects on the organizations it supports and the community in which it works.

For example, when visiting potential grantees, I have witnessed firsthand how lack of funding for general operating support and rigidly restricted programmatic grants have forced many NGOs to fit their work into a narrow project-based mold. As organizations that are reliant on short-term project funding struggle to finance their work once the project ends, a lack of general operating support decreases continuity and causes service disruptions for vulnerable beneficiaries. This can also stifle innovation and local leadership as NGOs implement projects that have proven attractive to foreign donors instead of developing new models. In contrast, long-term general support to innovative NGOs can promote effective implementation by allowing organizations to set their own strategies and invest in overall organizational capacity.

At GFC, our funding relationships with donors tend to last between 3-6 years to give our grantees the chance to grow and develop to a level where they can graduate from our funding to sustainability. A great example of this is our grantee partner Ba Futuru in Timor-Leste. Since 2004, the organization has worked to build a culture of peace, engaging children and youth in artistic conflict resolution and human rights activities to change accepted norms about violence. Through six years of GFC funding, Ba Futuru’s annual expenditures have grown from under $20,000 to over $200,000, and the organization won the prestigious STARS Foundation Rising Star Award. 

As a global grantmaker, I believe that supporting local organizations is the best way to contribute to solving the world’s toughest social problems. To support these organizations as effectively as possible, it is important to reflect on examples of how our funding strategies impact their work. Yes, as grantmakers, we have to learn how to give away money.

Amanda Hsiung is associate program officer for East and Southeast Asia at the Global Fund for Children.

Sandra Macias del Villar Grantmaking and Emergency Recovery: Ensuring the Show Goes On

By: Sandra Macías del Villar, In: Disaster Grantmaking| Global Philanthropy

1 Dec 2011

Emergencies are bound to happen. While there have been dramatic improvements in disaster preparedness and increased attention to mitigation, the outcomes of natural or man-made disasters are mostly unpredictable. In recent years we have seen a slew of catastrophes take the lives of hundreds of thousands of people around the world: from the tsunami in Southeast Asia to the earthquakes in Chile, Haiti and, most recently, Japan.

Emergency response tends to be immediate and focused on the short-term. Lives need to be saved. Relief needs to be coordinated. Survivors need to be assisted. After three to six months many relief organizations wrap up their missions or decrease their staff numbers. What happens next?

At the Global Fund for Children we believe it is imperative to support local grassroots organizations in their efforts to respond to what can otherwise be an extremely overwhelming task. This strategy should be focused on long-term support, combined with technical training to strengthen community grassroots organizations, to create sustainable efforts that go beyond our financial support. While technical capacity to perform emergency relief might not be the primary focus of the organizations we support, we have a great opportunity to financially support those who are on the ground and know firsthand what is best for their own communities.

Even before the January 2010 earthquake, Haiti was repeatedly dubbed “the republic of NGOs.” With a population of slightly less than 10 million, it is estimated that there are more than 3,000 NGOs independently operating throughout the country. While the presence of the international aid community is important, recovery and renewal support for any country should be funneled directly at the grassroots level. Millions of dollars have been kept in the hands of the large international NGOs. Only a small percentage has gone directly to locally led community grassroots organizations.

Members of the global philanthropy community can shift this power parity and empower those in the field not only in Haiti but also elsewhere around the world. By financially supporting those with the richest knowledge of their communities and focusing on capacity building, we are not only strengthening a sector that rarely gets funded. We also are ensuring that after the curtains go down, the lights are shut, and the international community leaves in the wake of a disaster, there will be local groups ready to carry on with the show.

Sandra Macías del Villar is associate program officer, Brazil and the Caribbean, at the Global Fund for Children.

Victoria Dunning Giving Globally

By: Victoria Dunning, In: Global Philanthropy| Health| Social Networking

1 Dec 2011

You might already suspect from your Facebook or LinkedIn profiles that the world is getting smaller. It’s true. The folks on the far sides of the Earth are practically down the block in terms of human connections. A recent study showed that there are only 4.74 degrees of separation between every person on the planet. In the U.S., that number goes down to 4.37. You are not as distant as you might think from the refugee in Somalia, the AIDS orphan in Thailand, or the child bride in India. It’s likely that your friend’s friend knows their friend’s friend. When you think of it like that, it begins to sound a bit more like a global community — a global community that requires global philanthropy.

The global need is great and the statistics are compelling. As vice president of the Global Fund for Children, I am steeped in some of the greatest challenges facing children and youth around the world. Education and health statistics in many developing countries are appalling. In Afghanistan, primary school enrollment is 74 percent for males and an even lower 46 percent for females. HIV prevalence in South Africa is an alarming 17.8 percent. Yet the education of all the world’s children is fundamental to our global economy and a fundamental right for all children, wherever they’re born.

HIV/AIDS and the H1N1 flu can spread across the globe on a long-haul flight. Ancient global trade routes have evolved to a globalized economy that includes the more menacing aspects of trafficking and modern-day slavery. Many of the world’s trafficking victims are women and children faced with a life of prostitution or forced labor in indentured servitude. These seemingly distant issues actually impact our home communities. They might affect a sex worker on a nearby street corner or a domestic worker in a nice house within a gated community. AIDS in Africa and trafficking in Asia are not remote. They touch us all.

Despite issues that are global in magnitude and interconnected in reach, the challenges and their solutions are often disproportionate to local capital in developing countries and require collaborative problem-solving and resources. Bangladesh has a per capita GDP of $550 and Peru $4,403, while wealthier countries like the U.S. ($44,871 GDP per capita), Canada ($39,995), and the U.K. ($35,328) have proportionately more to deploy to address global challenges.

Access to philanthropic capital for social good is severely limited in developing countries. While the U.S. has a thriving culture of philanthropy that totals nearly $300 billion per year, the philanthropic sector is neither established nor accessible in many countries with great need. Where much of the wealth generated in the U.S. is a result of global consumers and producers, global philanthropy should naturally follow.

While international grantmaking might seem to pose some logistical challenges at first glance, its rewards are immense. Whether through a Skype call or a site visit, stepping up to the role of global citizen is both awesome and humbling. The basic principles and practice of local philanthropy are readily transferable to an international setting. International grantmaking mechanisms exist, and are accessible to individuals and foundations of all sizes and types: institutional foundations, family foundations, donor-advised funds, and intermediary grantmakers. Each has experience to share in becoming a global grantmaker.

Global philanthropy is an important part of an interconnected, interdisciplinary approach to maximizing social good. Local giving in our home communities remains vitally important. However, the bustling streets of Rio, the rice fields of Vietnam, and the rural village in Kenya are all part of a global neighborhood, and the people there are our neighbors living a virtual 4.37 houses away.

Victoria Dunning is vice president for programs at The Global Fund for Children.

Matt Robertson A Philanthropic Awakening in Africa

By: Matt Robertson, In: Global Philanthropy| Next Generation

30 Nov 2011

In 2008, at the age of 17, I traveled with a group of other teens to Zambia and South Africa on a philanthropy-oriented trip organized by YouthGive. We went to look at how microfinance, a method of lending small amounts of money to people so they can start a livelihood for themselves, could help address poverty in the region. The trip also was designed to help us learn about current solutions for problems like Malaria and HIV, and to broaden our perspective by visiting a completely different culture. We wanted to better understand how to help resolve many current global issues by pooling our knowledge and connecting under shared goals.

The first thing that struck me when we arrived was how badly people needed basic things that I took for granted back home, like a good school to go to and clean drinking water. I learned that an almost unimaginable number of people lacked access to these most basic things. I learned about many of these problems in school, but always assumed that other people would solve them. On my trip, I realized two important things: (1) I could offer the resources in my life to help those less fortunate than myself and (2) it doesn’t take much to make a difference.

After I came home, I realized how much potential for positive change there is. We made short videos to help educate our peers about what we learned on our trip and to show them how our generation can help. You can see my video on clean water here.

I am a co-trustee of a family fund called the One Earth One Spirit Foundation, which supports projects and people that help alleviate some of these pressing problems. After my trip I began to get more involved with the organizations we support. Last year I volunteered with the Cambodian Children’s Fund, and wrote about my experiences in the Huffington Post.

My trip to Africa was an amazing experience that has influenced how I now live my life.

Matt Robertson is a contributing writer for YouthGive.

Dan Siegel and Jenny Yancey Seeding the Next Generation of Global Philanthropy

By: Dan Siegel and Jenny Yancey, In: Global Philanthropy| Next Generation

30 Nov 2011

While the Gates Foundation has raised the bar for global philanthropy, today’s youth will revolutionize global giving in the coming decades.

Youth under 21, so-called digital natives, were born into the era of globalization in which communication technologies have narrowed the distinction between local and global. New media has increased awareness of global conflicts such as the World Trade Center attacks, Mideastern wars, and unrest in Darfur, and crises including climate change, tsunamis, and earthquakes that are shaping an expanded geography of caring.

Even with such growing international awareness, nurturing a global philanthropic ethos requires intentionality by parents, teachers, and adult mentors. Learning must also show youth the potential from gifting their time and talent — along with treasure — which they can share across a lifetime journey of giving.

Here are a few ways to help grow global philanthropy among the next generation:

Philanthropic travel: The transformative power of service-oriented travel is the most immediate and profound way to engage young people in lifelong caring for our world. When our daughter was 13, she traveled with her mom on a “Seeing Is Believing” trip to Zambia with a group of philanthropic investors. The deep impact of that learning experience led her to help organize a travel philanthropy trip back to Africa when she was 16. The group included teens involved in YouthGive, and has continued to sustain her global focus during her college years.

Effective solutions/nonprofits: Youth become more engaged in global issues when they learn about concrete solutions to critical changes, such as clean water access, preventing malaria, and extending educational opportunities for girls. For example, a high school YouthGive Club holds an annual outdoor YouthFest where teens teach elementary-age kids about the UN Millennium Development Goals. The event creatively promotes effective, globally focused nonprofits (such as Charity Water, Kiva, Mercy Corps, Right to Play, and Room to Read) that offer tangible and compelling solutions in partnership with local communities, NGOs, and social entrepreneurs.

In-school and at-home learning: The foundation world has the opportunity to support the next generation of global changemakers by supporting philanthropic education in schools, at home, and through nonprofits. Numerous organizations are creating classroom curricula and service learning programs, family tools, and online games to encourage the giving journeys of young people and their families.

How do you think foundations and the philanthropy world can raise the bar to grow the next generation of world-savvy philanthropists and global citizens?

Dan Siegel and Jenny Yancey are co-presidents of YouthGive.

Dan Hymowitz and Heather Lord Three Big Ideas from the World’s Only Secretariat for Philanthropy

By: Dan Hymowitz and Heather Lord, In: Donor Engagement| Family Philanthropy| Global Philanthropy| Nonprofits| Partnerships and Collaborations| Public Policy

29 Nov 2011

In America, the debate lumbers on about the best way to coordinate the philanthropic sector and the U.S. government. Meanwhile, one post-conflict West African country has jumped right in — the Liberia Philanthropy Secretariat is the fruit of collaboration between President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and private foundations. It is the world’s only national government office dedicated to engaging private philanthropy.

THE SCOOP

Launched in April 2009, the Secretariat is a five-person unit housed in the Liberian president’s office, co-financed by six philanthropic organizations.

THE MISSION

Expand and improve philanthropic commitment to Liberia.

THE BIG IDEAS 

1)      Is a government Philanthropy Secretariat a good idea?

Early on, some foundations worried that the Secretariat might become a bureaucratic barrier hindering direct impact funding in Liberia. However, after nearly three years of operation, philanthropist feedback indicates that the Secretariat has proven itself a valuable “on the ground” matchmaker, helping donors connect to trustworthy government and nonprofit contacts, information, and grantees. From the Liberian perspective, the Secretariat has increased philanthropic support and built capacity for entrepreneurial Liberian organizations addressing pressing social problems in their communities. 

2)      What have some achievements and challenges been so far?

Achievements: Increased funding, network leverage, donor satisfaction, grantee empowerment

Solar flashlights in a community in Grand Bassa County, Liberia.

Solar flashlights in a community in Grand Bassa County, Liberia.

The Secretariat has facilitated an estimated US$16.4 million in philanthropic giving. But impact is about more than just money-it’s about making connections, identifying and empowering good partners, and developing ideas for social change. The Secretariat has helped facilitate grants from 13 first-time grantmakers in Liberia. Some family foundations say the Secretariat inspired their giving because they know their investments are effectively contributing to priority, high-impact projects. The Secretariat has also engaged the Liberian government and civil society in an educational dialogue about philanthropy, how it works and how it might help Liberians create long-term, equitable prosperity.

 Challenges: Donor coordination, managing expectations

The Secretariat has tried to foster collaboration between foundations and increase philanthropic alignment with Liberia’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. They’ve had some success with strategic alignment but struggled with intrafoundation collaboration, due in part to the diversity of Liberia’s philanthropic partners. Additionally, local nonprofits had difficulty meeting donor expectations in the face of significant post-conflict human resource and infrastructure challenges (i.e., limited access to roads, computers, internet) and lack of experience with philanthropic practices (i.e., writing grant proposals, generating self-assessment metrics). While there has been progress, patience and flexibility remain essential on all sides. 

3)      Is the Secretariat a viable model for other countries?

As donors and governments in other countries consider a Philanthropy Secretariat or similar coordination mechanism, there are a few pre-conditions which may increase chances of success:

a) significant external foundation interest
b) appetite from at least a few key government officials to engage foundations
c) a senior government official “champion” with credibility in government and donor communities and a sophisticated understanding of philanthropy
d) some level of mutual trust between philanthropists and the government

The bottom line: the world’s only Secretariat for Philanthropy has been a promising experiment for donors and for Liberia. It is worth keeping an eye on this Secretariat and exploring what this model might provide in other countries.

Dan Hymowitz is a former program manager for the Liberia Philanthropy Secretariat and Heather Lord is a philanthropic strategy consultant and authors the blog www.PhilanthroMeme.com.

Lisa Philp Knowledge Tools for Global Philanthropy

By: Lisa Philp, In: Global Philanthropy| Professional Development

28 Nov 2011

Four years ago, when I was a philanthropic adviser at a private bank, I spoke to The New York Times for an article on global giving. In my work with wealthy families in the United States and around the world, I was seeing a growing trend of cross-border giving. Part of this was related to the globalization of businesses that generated wealth, coupled with greater exposure to widespread need. Some was a result of diaspora giving as immigrant entrepreneurs funded projects in their countries of origin. Another factor was an increasing recognition that grants of all sizes could stretch further in the developing world.

Whatever the reason for the interest, a tool that proved useful to my clients, and to me, was GrantCraft’s guide on international giving. Insight from funders who had worked across geographic and cultural divides provided a framework for beginners and pearls of wisdom for those with experience in this realm. A companion piece on working with intermediaries dug deeper into global grantmaking through partner organizations.

Fast forward to 2011, when GrantCraft became a project of the Foundation Center and the European Foundation Centre. Two months ago, I joined the staff of the Foundation Center as vice president for strategic philanthropy and director of GrantCraft. As I settle into my new role, I’m discovering many additional ways that the Center can be helpful to global grantmakers-U.S.-based foundations that give abroad, as well as the foundation community around the world.

For example, the Foundation Center’s research department has produced several recent studies, including an international grantmaking update, a report on the global role of U.S. foundations, and a first-ever study on European foundation funding for women and girls.

One of the Foundation Center’s strategic priorities is to build the global data platform for philanthropy. Data collection on philanthropy in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East is underway through partnerships with African Grantmakers Network, Arab Foundations Forum, Centro Mexicano para la Filantropí, China Foundation Center, Council on Foundations, European Foundation Centre, Fundación AVINA, Grupo de Institutos Fundações e Empresas, International Aid Transparency Initiative, Worldwide Initiatives for Grantmaker Support, and others. The Center’s technical assistance is helping to make broader and deeper data available for donors around the world.

Each week, new data on grantmakers, their grant recipients, and grants are added to Philanthropy In/Sight®, an interactive tool for mapping philanthropy around the world. Increasingly, global grantmakers are commissioning the Foundation Center to convert data into knowledge tools to enhance effectiveness and collaboration. An example is WASHfunders.org, a one-stop hub with data visualization; curated research; “tagged” news feeds; and community tools for grantmakers working to improve water access, sanitation, and hygiene around the globe.

For colleagues attending the Council on Foundations Global Grantmaking Institute this week-and for other funders interested in global giving-the Foundation Center is here to help. Let us know what knowledge tools you need to be a strategic global giver.

Lisa Philp is vice president for strategic philanthropy and director of GrantCraft at the Foundation Center in New York.

Carl Little The Weekly Fanfare of Philanthropy

By: Carl Little, In: Community Foundations| Donor Engagement| Hunger

23 Nov 2011

Last week was a quiet one at the Maine Community Foundation — not! Between debriefing about the annual Inspiring Philanthropy evening and preparing for the upcoming Feed a Family campaign, we barely had time to celebrate Community Foundation Week.

The Maine Community Foundation hosts its Inspiring Philanthropy evening around this time every fall. It’s an opportunity to bring a range of friends together — donors, nonprofit leaders, friends of the foundation — to reconfirm the power of giving. Over the years, we’ve invited engaging speakers, including Julie Salamon, Bill Strickland, and Lewis Feldstein, each of them sharing their best ideas about using philanthropy to build community.

This year’s speaker, Thomas J. Tierney, drove up from Boston to share some of the insights from the book Give Smart: Philanthropy That Gets Results, which he co-authored with Joel Fleishman. Among his messages: learn to do more with less, stick with focus, and avoid wishful thinking. At the reception afterwards, guests shared some of their takeaways with a reporter from Portland Press Herald. While I was little perturbed that the article’s subhead had our name wrong, I realized we are the Maine Community Center, not to mention the Maine Community Fund, a more common misnomer.

As for the Feed a Family campaign, this is the third year running that we have partnered with Maine Public Broadcasting Network to support the Good Shepherd Food Bank in its mission to feed hungry community members. It provides more than 10 million meals annually through a network of more than 600 partner agencies that include food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, senior centers, and youth programs.

We have the Vermont Community Foundation to thank for the idea for this partnership. Some four years ago our New England neighbors to the west finessed a similar partnership and someone at Maine Public Broadcasting took notice and approached us with the idea. It has been, as our president and CEO Meredith Jones puts it in a new video, a win-win-win collaboration. I’d be glad to talk with other community foundations about how this works.

Community Foundation Week may have come and gone without any official fanfare, minus our continued efforts to make the multifaceted point that giving counts, communities can only work when people have food to eat, and we all have a role to play in creating a foundation for the future.

Carl Little is director of communications and marketing for the Maine Community Foundation, a member of the Council on Foundations.

Mary We Gather Together

By: Mary Galeti, In: Family Philanthropy

22 Nov 2011

American families have many traditions that cross religious, social, economic, and cultural boundaries. Taking time in the latter part of the year to give thanks for all we have is one of the most prevalent. Thanksgiving is a time for food, of course, but also for family (no matter how it’s defined) to come together and celebrate all that we each offer to make the whole greater. Many families also take time to think about how they want to give back during this time of year. This often involves gathering around a table and having conversations (sometimes easy, sometimes hard) about where and how to give back.

Our national dialogue seems full of rancor, distrust, and impossible chasms of difference, but I hope families will find time during this Thanksgiving season to come together and explore bridges to common ground. I hope that rather than seeing conservative and progressive, they see the spirit of debate that has made this country all that it is. I hope that rather than seeing the activism of Occupy Wall Street versus the role of national security, they see a commitment to protecting the ideas that make up the fabric of our nation-more specifically, that they see the 100 percent.

I hope families commit to listening to and engaging with each other. I hope they give together in a way that embraces all that they are, with all the complexities that make family so interesting and important. Finally, I hope that the act of giving together helps families think about the change they want to see in the world, and that it involves working together towards a common goal. May we all be so lucky as to have a full and fulfilling Thanksgiving.

Mary Galeti is vice chair of the Tecovas Foundation, a member of the Council on Foundations. To learn more about having harmonious family board meetings, consider attending Fusion, the 2012 Family Philanthropy Conference, February 13-15, in Miami Beach.

Linda Reed A Productive—and Painless—Trip to the Nation’s Capital

By: Linda Reed, In: Advocacy| Community Foundations| Public Policy| Rural Philanthropy

21 Nov 2011

My trip last week to Washington, D.C., was easy and productive thanks to the Council’s great government relations team. I wanted to meet with members and staff of Montana’s congressional delegation to brief them on our transfer of wealth study and some new information we have about population changes in our state. All of that information supports the case for maintaining some form of deductibility for contributions; the notion of capping them at 28percent continues to be a part of the deficit reduction work.

The Council staff was very helpful in setting up the appointments I needed. And to top it off, I was accompanied by Director of Government Relations Chatrane Birbal, so I had strong backup when it came time to brief staff on the goals and status of the Rural Philanthropy Growth Act. I think we were a really effective team… and it was wonderful to have someone by my side who knows Capitol Hill so well.  I won’t travel to the nation’s capital again without asking for the Council’s help.

Linda Reed is president and CEO of the Montana Community Foundation, a member of the Council on Foundations.

Chatrane Philanthropists Should Be Prepared to Defend the Status Quo

By: Chatrane Birbal, In: Advocacy| Nonprofits| Public Policy

21 Nov 2011

As lawmakers continue to wrestle with options to reduce the federal deficit, philanthropic leaders are finding themselves defending the status quo. Recently, the Senate Finance Committee received testimony from philanthropic leaders and researchers on incentives for charitable giving and options for tax reform. Although the panelists were prepared for specific questions from committee members, I wonder if others in the philanthropic sector are prepared to respond to this line of questioning.

It is unfortunate that the philanthropic sector has to defend its tax-exempt status because we need policies that increase charitable giving, not decrease it. That philanthropic leaders are on the defense is an indication that government officials just don’t understand the valuable role of philanthropy in our nation. As philanthropists, we are proud of our contributions to society, and we should not shy away from stating our position on policies that discourage giving nor should we compromise our principles. If we don’t defend philanthropy and educate lawmakers now, we’ll face future proposals that diminish philanthropic investments in exchange for boosting federal tax collections.

As deficit reduction talks continue, the conversation is only expected to grow more intense. Though previous proposals to cap the charitable deductions rate have become law, the newly estimated $400 billion the cap would raise over 10 years may make the proposal more palatable to lawmakers.

If that’s not reason enough to get your talking points together, the president has recommended that the supercommittee tasked with reducing the federal deficit cap all itemized deductions. That’s why it’s important that philanthropic leaders are informed and prepared to speak to the value of philanthropy. As we say in Washington, D.C., if you’re not at the table for budget negotiations, then you’re likely to be on the menu as an option for revenue raisers.

Chatrane Birbal is director, government relations at the Council on Foundations.

Emily Jones Rushing Celebrating the Importance of Professional Advisers

By: Emily Jones Rushing, In: Community Foundations

18 Nov 2011

So how did you find out about community foundations? For many generous people, the answer is: their lawyer, their accountant, their financial adviser, the key professional they trust to help them make a difference with their charitable dollars.

Seven years ago, the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham recognized the important role of these advisers by establishing a perpetual award as part of our local celebration of National Philanthropy Day. Working in cooperation with the Alabama chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, we created the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham Outstanding Professional Adviser Award, which was given this past Tuesday, Nov. 15, to attorney Kirby Sevier.

We don’t choose the award winners — is part of the AFP process, which also honors outstanding philanthropists and civic leaders, among others. But we are always proud of the individuals on whom the spotlight shines for a brief moment each year.

As the award name implies, the outstanding professional adviser is highly respected in his or her field of law, accountancy, insurance, financial planning, banking, and investment services. They have a proven track record of working with clients who use their charitable dollars to make a significant difference in our community. And they lead by example with their own charitable giving — both in time and treasure — and promote the role of the charitable adviser among their fellows.

Thanks to Kirby Sevier, Harold Apolinsky, Charles Powell IV, Jerry Lanning, Judy Todd, Tom Armstrong, Lloyd Wilson, and all of the advisers in every community who take on the sometimes delicate task of asking their clients the “charitable question.”  They see what we see — no charitable gift is made only for the tax break. It must come from the heart, as well.

Because of these professionals, generous people can find wonderful ways to give back to the communities they care about. And that is surely something worth celebrating during Community Foundation Week.

Emily Jones Rushing is director of communications at the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham.

Erin Rowley Is Loving Where You Live the Key to a Successful Community?

By: Erin Rowley, In: Community Foundations| Community Revitalization

18 Nov 2011

There are a lot of things to love about Centre County, Pa. Beautiful natural features. Ample opportunities to socialize. An open and accepting attitude among residents.

And according to the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, qualities like that create a sense of attachment that inspire Centre County residents.

The Knight Foundation’s Soul of the Community project found that there is a strong, positive correlation between residents’ attachment to their community and economic growth in that community. It also found that the qualities that most attach people to the place they live are aesthetics (the natural and manmade beauty of a place), social offerings (exciting opportunities to socialize with old friends and make new ones), and openness (how welcoming a place is to diverse groups of people).

The Centre County region was ranked highest in terms of attachment among the 26 communities that Knight studied. But there is always room for improvement.

We’re using the Soul of the Community project to get people talking: what do they love about their community? What could be changed to make them love it even more? We believe that community foundations are uniquely positioned to take on projects of this scale, which is why we would like to take the time during Community Foundation Week to encourage people at community foundations across the country to examine how aesthetics, social offerings, and openness impact their community, and how they can improve on those qualities. The potential rewards of this endeavor (a more attached, more economically prosperous community) are too good to miss out on.

Erin Rowley is a program assistant at the Centre County Community Foundation, a member of the Council on Foundations.

Oz Spies Supporting Partnership

By: Astrid "Oz" Spies, In: Community Foundations| Donor Engagement| Nonprofits

18 Nov 2011

In mid-2008, The Denver Foundation started to receive calls from food pantries, reporting that demand was up 20, 30, even 40 percent.

Donations? Those were flat or down. At the same time, Colorado ranked low in comparison to other states when it came to distributing food stamps to eligible families. Frontline organizations serving the hungry were overwhelmed and struggling. This was a pressing community need that didn’t seem to be getting much attention in the Denver metro area and we felt called to act, reaching out to our donor partners and working to raise awareness in the broader community.

We were then overwhelmed by the incredible generosity of our donor partners as donations poured in from individuals, corporations, and even other foundations. Many chose to give through The Denver Foundation, and others directed grants to the emergency service provider of their choice. To date, we’ve been able to provide more than $1 million in grants to frontline organizations serving the hungry, over and above our regular grantmaking.

But our commitment doesn’t stop there. We knew that simply helping food pantries build their supply wouldn’t be enough. That’s a short-term solution. Working closely with local food banks and leading hunger advocacy organizations, we discussed ways to help food pantries do their work better, more collaboratively, and more efficiently.

By helping food pantries deepen their partnerships, we thought we just might be able to create stronger emergency food delivery in specific communities. With help from two generous donor partners, we were able to invest in three collaborative groups of food pantries and support 18 month-long projects. Each member of each collaborative had one thing in common: a focus on the needs of their community-just like community foundations.

In one collaborative, four organizations have created a shared warehouse space that allows them to accept more donations than ever before; they also hope to align their operating hours so that there will be a food pantry open every day of the week in southwest Denver. In another partnership of five pantries, one organization conducts intake for all of the pantries using a shared form.

One church pantry recognized that their town needed a larger pantry they weren’t able to provide, so they closed theirs, turned its space to storage, and directed their resources and volunteers to support the expanded pantry on-site at one of the partner agencies. They’re just six months into an 18-month-long process, and we are all committed to working and learning together and sharing what we learn with fellow food pantries.

All of this work has been accomplished through partnership with people in our community who share our belief that no one should go hungry. We did what community foundations do best: identified a key community need, raised awareness, and worked with our nonprofit and donor partners to address that need. For more information about The Denver Foundation’s work to end hunger in our community, visit our website.

Astrid “Oz” Spies is a program officer for The Denver Foundation, a member of the Council on Foundations.

Brenda Chumley Giving the Gift of Giving

By: Brenda Chumley, In: Community Foundations| Corporate Philanthropy| Donor Engagement

17 Nov 2011

On behalf of the entire team at the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, I’d like to wish everyone a happy Community Foundation Week! We’re pleased to celebrate by sharing how we work with other community foundations across the country.

In 2004, the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation established the Greater Horizons brand. We did this for a few reasons, but most importantly because this non-geographic name allowed us to easily provide administrative services to other foundations nationwide. We’ve been more than pleased with the results thus far, especially through our Giving Card program.

Giving Cards are not new. But in 2007, after the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation sold its first one, other community foundations took notice and came to us wanting to offer their own Giving Cards to their donors and communities. As a result, we’ve created nearly a dozen partner Giving Card sites.

One example is the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee (CFMT). They’ve had great success with their Giving Card program since its launch in 2010. Just last month they received an order from a national company with headquarters in their community. The company purchased $25 Giving Cards customized with its logo to give to each of its 3,600 employees. Giving Cards can be redeemed to benefit any 501(c)(3) in the U.S., so each employee can choose an organization that will receive the $25.

 “It’s great to see a company giving its employees options to give back,” said Rebecca Finley, communications director for CFMT. “We’re always looking for new ways to enhance charitable giving in our community, and Giving Cards have been a really great option for companies and individuals to give back.”

And we’re not done yet! We’re currently enhancing overall usability and navigation of the Giving Card site and working to improve the customization options for each community foundation partner.

We certainly wouldn’t be where we are today without the partnerships and collaborations we have with our fellow community foundations, and we look forward to forging more relationships in the coming years!  

Brenda Chumley is senior vice president of Administration at the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, a member of the Council on Foundations. She is a regular contributor to the Greater Horizons Giving Better Blog.

Candace Winkler Creating Community Impact in The Last Frontier

By: Candace Winkler, In: Community Foundations| Donor Engagement| Health| Media and Technology

17 Nov 2011

Alaska Community Foundation (ACF) is a part of a much larger movement that is nearing the end of its first century of existence. As we compare ourselves with older community foundations across the nation, we realize the magnitude of the work we are doing — and the work that’s ahead of us. Established 16 years ago, the Alaska Community Foundation works to grow philanthropy and build community in an effort to improve the quality of life here, now and forever. In our large state, that can be a daunting task.

In order to grow philanthropy in Alaska, we need to have a true understanding of what Alaskans and our communities across the state need to be successful. One way we accomplish this is to work with advisory boards in our affiliate communities — Chilkat Valley, Kenai Peninsula, Petersburg, Seward, and Talkeetna — to better understand their local needs and support leaders as they set community goals and raise permanent chests for their future.

We also help build community by providing opportunities for community members and our fund advisers to have open conversations about issues. Over the past year, we’ve hosted dozens of “conversations about causes that matter.” The topics we’ve discussed have ranged from childhood hunger to healthcare to family philanthropy. These gatherings engage citizens to both understand and become involved in tackling the challenging issues that face Alaska.

Two unique gatherings we have hosted include a televised production of a roundtable panel conversation about teen suicide and a two-day community-building event, which was facilitated by Louise Van Ryhn, a social architect from South Africa. She worked with over 125 Alaskans from 20 communities across the state to explore our collective and individual visions. The convening provided experiential training for those in attendance about how to facilitate high-stakes conversations and inspired many of them to re-evaluate their role in building a strong future for Alaska.

The panel discussion on teen suicide included experts on the topic and showcased scenes from a powerful play, Winter Bear, which addresses teen suicide in rural Alaska. This new, televised approach enabled us to reach a much wider audience and engage Alaskans in a technology-based conversation using a new community web platform, Town Square 49 (TS49). TS49 is a joint project between ACF and the Alaska Public Telecommunications, Inc., funded by the Knight Foundation, to address community information needs. It’s also a virtual place where Alaskans can determine which stories or issues are most important and allow individuals to join together in dialogue about the best way to address pressing issues.

As our nation celebrates Community Foundation Week and our field enters its 100th year, ACF is proud to hold true to our core principle of building permanent endowments that help us create the future we hope for. However, we also recognize our need to stretch, grow, and adapt. We are excited to incorporate new technology and opportunities to connect people who care with causes that matter. Alaskans who want to make a difference look to the Alaska Community Foundation for leadership and help with translating their ideas and passion into community impact.

Candace Winkler is CEO and president of the Alaska Community Foundation, a member of the Council on Foundations.

Hillary Can a Generous Community Meet a Huge Need?

By: Hillary Nather-Detisch, In: Community Foundations| Donor Engagement| Philanthropy

17 Nov 2011

This past Tuesday we celebrated National Philanthropy Day, a day to celebrate the good that’s happened, the change that’s been created, the effects of philanthropy, and the generosity of others. At a luncheon today in Omaha, our local chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals will be honoring amazing philanthropists and volunteer fundraisers from throughout the state. It will be a reflective and appreciative celebration, one that will showcase how philanthropy is intertwined with our everyday activities, and I’m honored to participate.

However, in the midst of celebrating Community Foundation Week and philanthropy in general, I am struggling with a question: Will philanthropy be enough in my own community? In a time when federal taxation of charitable deductions is being questioned, all of us in the philanthropic sector are encouraged to take a step back and look at how we are effective, what we can do to be more effective, and ultimately, what change for the better we will be able to accomplish.

Omaha Community Foundation (OCF) is honored to have been recently recognized as one of the Philanthropy 400 in The Chronicle of Philanthropy for having the second biggest growth among foundations during the recession period. It reiterates the generosity of Omahans and their acknowledgment that the need for charity has never been greater.

There’s no question that good work has been done thanks to philanthropy in our community. At the same time, Omaha was also thrust into the national spotlight when a CNN report listed it as the U.S. city with the highest percentage of African-American children living in poverty. It is a staggering statistic that is being addressed through the daily work of many nonprofit organizations. It has also spurred many community conversations and discussions.

But will philanthropy be enough? Will it answer the need? Will it take more? And who will be the leader(s) to bring this need to the forefront? Will there be an open dialogue for a private/public partnership and shared responsibility to lower this statistic and give all children in our community the same opportunities? And more importantly, will our generous philanthropists, from multimillionaires to average families, realize that we all can have an impact to create change with a charitable gift, regardless of size?

Hillary Nather-Detisch is director of donor accounts for Omaha Community Foundation, a member of the Council on Foundations.

Adrienne Mansanares Ten Years into the Journey Toward Inclusiveness

By: Adrienne Mansanares, In: Community Foundations| Diversity and Inclusion

16 Nov 2011

Ten years ago, The Denver Foundation embarked upon an uncharted journey to help nonprofits and funders connect with communities of color. With the creation of the Expanding Nonprofit Inclusiveness Initiative (ENII) in 2001, and its evolution to the Inclusiveness Project in 2007, we quickly moved from focusing on diversity and numbers to supporting meaningful engagement through inclusiveness.  

With community guidance, we conducted countless conversations about race and inclusiveness, engaged in deep evaluation of our work, developed helpful resources and tools, provided grant dollars and peer-to-peer learning opportunities, launched a successful Nonprofit Internship Program, and received national recognition through the Council on Foundation’s prestigious Critical Impact Award. Thanks to those who have partnered with us in this process during the past decade, we have made an impact on the Metro Denver philanthropic community and contributed to the national field.

As part of our celebration of the past decade’s achievements, we recognize there is still much to learn and much more work to conduct. Just as our programming is evolving, so too are its language and purpose. Inclusiveness is about more than creating a welcoming environment; it is deeply tied to leadership and equity.

Results from our Listening Campaign confirm that profound racial and economic disparities still persist in our communities. While we don’t have all the answers, we believe the Inclusiveness Project  will help us address these disparities.

We are currently examining the intersections of wealth and race. By educating ourselves about what lies beneath the disparities, we hope to create a platform that stimulates conversation and  examines possible next steps.

We know these issues are complicated, and we invite you to explore the complexities and share your thoughts about what the Inclusiveness Project can do moving forward. Please post a comment here or on our website.

Adrienne Mansanares is manager of the Inclusiveness Project at The Denver Foundation, a member of the Council on Foundations.

Matt Charles Make It Happen! Individuals Can Make Positive Community Change

By: Matt Charles, In: Community Revitalization

16 Nov 2011

Do you know how to make your community a better place to live? Do you have an idea that would touch a large population or wide area? These are questions that Danville Regional Foundation (DRF) posed to those within its service area. To turn their ideas into reality, DRF launched its Make It Happen (MIH!) grant program in November 2010.

Make It Happen!MIH! is about engaging more people and organizations in the transformation of the Dan River Region. This program fosters the belief in the need for “bright spots” sparked throughout the community. These bright spots are birthed from the ideas that everyday citizens have about positively improving life around Danville and Pittsylvania County in Virginia and Caswell County in North Carolina. This small grant initiative demonstrates the possibilities through actions that make a difference in neighborhoods and communities throughout the region. As more and more bright spots appear, they begin to connect like a spider web of positive change, joining together neighborhoods within the Dan River Region.

DRF’s first Community Read kicked off in October 2010 and centered around Dan and Chip Heath’s book, “Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard.”  This work was the seed that sprouted and quickly grew into the MIH! program. Dan Heath launched DRF’s 2010-2011 Speaker Series on a rainy and cold autumn morning — but that didn’t stop over 350 community members from pledging ideas on how they planned to make the Dan River Region a better place.     

To date, DRF has received 84 requests for MIH! grants, approving 40 of these with awards of up to $10,000 per grant. DRF has placed a large investment in this community-led program, and plans to provide $1.6 million from the latter months of 2010 through December 2013.     

Examples of MIH! awards are:

  • Community gardens
  • Backpack Buddies School Reading Program
  • Competitive disc golf course
  • Senior fitness center
  • Community playground

Notifications of grants occur very quickly. Once a simple 2-3 page letter is submitted, DRF will approve or deny it within 2 weeks. The MIH! program stipulates that the grants must be carried out within 90 days of the award and if the applicant wants help with or feedback on the application, DRF staff will provide it.  

It is very easy both for foundations to give out money to combat social problems and for everyday individuals to complain about these problems. Yes, it takes more work, but positive community change is much more effective and leads to an unimaginable amount of satisfaction when the citizenry takes the lead on making its home a better place to live, work, and play.  

What are you doing to make your community better?  

Matt Charles is communications and public relations director at Danville Regional Foundation, a member of the Council on Foundations. The one-year anniversary of Make It Happen! is today.

PJ Watters Why We Went Digital With Our Donor Stories

By: PJ Watters, In: Community Foundations| Donor Engagement| Media and Technology| Videos

16 Nov 2011

As a community foundation, we are always talking about our role connecting “people who care” with “causes that matter.” When we award grants from our funds, people don’t usually know who’s behind the fund name-and they should! It’s time we tell our fund founders’ stories. So we created some public service announcements to bring donors’ passions to the forefront.

First, it is important to understand that grants from these permanent funds will continue for years to come because someone took the time to plan a gift that would last. That’s why we call them “the gifts that keep on giving.” So, these stories will never be out dated. There have been a lot of people in our community who have made a huge impact. In order to start the process, we needed to decide who we wanted to feature.

It was not an easy task to pick a few out of the hundreds of incredible stories and fascinating people we know. We decided on four fascinating people: a red-headed, 90-year-old spitfire of a gal from North Idaho with a Mayflower heritage who handed us $500,000 after her line-dancing class so kids in the logging town could go to college; a high school principal who lived to be 107 and taught more than one generation on Spokane’s South Hill, then toured the world, coming belly-to-belly with Mahatma Gandhi; the attorney who worked pro bono to establish this very community foundation; the Spokane bachelor whose estate gift became the foundation’s first ever fund.

All of those people-Edith Schuyler (I can still hear her saying “that’s S-C-H like ’school’ and U-Y like ‘buy’”), Louis Livingston, Allan Toole, and Anton Albert-have passed on, but not before leaving great legacies.

Before we started our project, we developed a basic concept and knew who we wanted to feature. Then we went out and did some research on local production companies and asked for bids to decide who we would go with. Corner Booth Media, a local video production, television commercial, and marketing consulting company, was highly recommended by one of our board members. They helped us create simple but powerful story lines and auditioned local talent from among those who benefited from the grants we planned to feature. Selecting the grants to highlight from among hundreds was also a task. We went with the best photo opportunities and made sure we represented a variety of beneficiaries: kids in parks, classical music in a historic theatre, a scholarship recipient at a state university, and senior citizens in a community center.

We submitted the PSAs to our local media sources so they could air them when they had openings. Much thanks to KHQ TV, the NBC affiliate in our region-they picked them all up and ran with them. The Louis Livingston PSA was first and the fourth grader who narrated it can now say she was on Saturday Night Live and had a talking part! Then we hit prime time when the Spokane Symphony conductor who narrated the Toole spot interrupted Minute to Win It. The insomniacs heard Edie’s scholarship recipient on Late Night with Jimmie Fallon and the senior citizens Anton Albert so loved were featured on Dateline.

Looking to the future, we are seeking corporate underwriting to have these television service announcements sponsored so we can pick our prime times to play and have them seen more regularly.  

PJ Watters is director of gift planning for the Inland Northwest Community Foundation, a member of the Council on Foundations.

Elizabeth Carrott Minnigh Tweaking the PRI

By: Elizabeth Carrott Minnigh, In: Private Foundations| Public Policy

15 Nov 2011

Riding the train home to Washington, D.C., after a meeting in New York City earlier this week, I found myself immersed in a New Yorker article by Malcolm Gladwell, “The Tweaker: The Real Genius of Steve Jobs.” The article contended that the real genius of Jobs was not in creating something new, but rather in tweaking existing products to make them better and more accessible. As I read the article, I began to draw a similar conclusion about the low-profit limited liability company (L3C).

The L3C did not create something new. The program-related investment (PRI) rules have been in place since 1969 and the ability to make a PRI in a limited liability company (LLC) has existed since the first LLC law was passed in Wyoming in 1977. When Robert Lang of Americans for Community Development and Marcus Owens of Caplin & Drysdale sat down to craft the proposal that would become the first L3C statute, they didn’t start with a blank slate. Instead, they tweaked the LLC law to make it better and more accessible for private foundations looking to make a PRI. And I have continued the tweaking process while working on proposals that would become legislation in other states.

The bipartisan Philanthropic Facilitation Act of 2011 introduced by Reps. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) and Jared Polis (D-Colo.) is the next step in tweaking the laws to make PRIs a little better, a little more accessible for private foundations. The Act would not change the fundamentals of PRIs. Rather, it would increase their efficiency because the entity, including but not limited to L3Cs, would be able to voluntarily register with the IRS as a potential PRI recipient. Once that registration was approved, multiple foundation investors could use the approval to streamline their internal processes. Additionally, the Act would improve transparency by requiring registered entities to report separately and publicly on the PRIs they receive.

For those who think these little tweak to the laws regarding PRIs cannot be transformative, look around and see how many lives have been transformed by the tweaks of Steve Jobs.

Elizabeth Carrott Minnigh is counsel with D.C. office of the law firm of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC.

Erica Wood An Important Victory in Public Policy and Advocacy

By: Erica Wood, In: Advocacy| Community Foundations| Public Policy

15 Nov 2011

Given the prolonged economic crisis, individuals and families are increasingly making difficult choices between urgent needs such as housing, medical care, and food. A new California state law that removes unnecessary paperwork and fingerprint requirements for those eligible to receive food stamps will help make some of these choices a little easier.

Last month, Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed Assembly Bill 6 (AB 6) into law. One of only three states with a fingerprint requirement, California also has one of the lowest rates of participation in the food stamp program, now called CalFresh, with only half of those eligible actually receiving assistance. Effective January 1, 2012, AB 6 will make food stamps more accessible and ensure food security for more low-income residents.

AB 6 represents a milestone in public policy and advocacy for Silicon Valley Community Foundation, an effort that grew out of our Food and Shelter Summit in December 2008. This event brought together close to 100 nonprofit leaders and board members, county government representatives, staff of elected officials, donors, and corporate fundholders to help develop a shared public policy and advocacy agenda for food and shelter issues in Silicon Valley.

At a follow up meeting, many of these same participants discussed the critical need for a more common sense approach to food stamp eligibility, noting that the fingerprinting requirements gave people the wrong perception about the program. Additionally, the application process was burdensome, requiring an average of five hours and three trips to a food stamp office. As a result, California was losing $1 billion in federal funding due to the program’s low participation rates. San Mateo and Santa Clara counties alone were losing close to $100 million.

The case for reform was clear. Policy change was critical to ensuring maximum access to federal resources and simplifying the food stamp program. Working side by side with government and nonprofit leaders, we advocated for legislation to achieve this reform. The passage of AB 6 represents a collective victory for all of us in our efforts to ensure that fewer people in our region go hungry.

Erica Wood is vice president, community leadership and grantmaking at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a member of the Council on Foundations.

Emily Jones Rushing Community Builders in Birmingham Shape Unknown Future

By: Emily Jones Rushing, In: Community Foundations| Donor Engagement| Endowments and Investing

14 Nov 2011

The Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham celebrated a special occasion last week — our annual Community Builder luncheon — that provided a great setup to Community Foundation Week.

As we recognize the people who have shown their commitment to the Birmingham region by making a bequest to the Community Foundation, we see around us the effects of those great gifts.

For example, a $3 million bequest in 1972 from the estate of Frank and Margaret Spain has provided more than $27 million in grants for everything from a children’s science museum to a new urban park. At the same time, the gift has grown to more than $20 million in endowment, with the potential to do even more.

A bequest in 2010 from Mary Lib Lupton and Charles Lupton provided $1 million for a field of interest fund to benefit education, human services, and the environment. Based on what the Spains’ gift has accomplished, we can’t wait to see what impact this generous gift will have in the future.

During their lifetime, the Luptons used an advised fund to support greater Birmingham through organizations such as the Southern Environmental Law Center, the Birmingham Zoo, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The Luptons’ adult children, all of whom live outside of Alabama, have told us they appreciate the fact that their parents chose the community foundation to continue this commitment forever in their names.

Like any community foundation, we have plenty of stories about gifts from generous and forward-thinking people like the Spains and the Luptons. The size of the gifts varies, as do the assets they choose to use, from stock to the family home. But every bequest reinforces the same commitment to a future these donors won’t see themselves — as the African proverb says, to planting a tree whose shade they will never enjoy.

For these community builders and others like them across the country, the role of the community foundation is key in making sure that their legacy always meets the changing needs of an unknown future.

Emily Jones Rushing is director of communications at the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham.

admin Twitter Chat Recap: Is the Community Foundation Business Model is Broken?

By: admin, In: Community Foundations

12 Nov 2011

At the 2011 Council on Foundations’ Fall Conference for Community Foundations in September, Silicon Valley Community Foundation CEO and President Emmett Carson told the audience the current financial model may be broken: “In five or 10 years, I fear that many of the institutions in this room won’t be here. Revenues aren’t meeting expenses. Other people offer what we perceive as our core product at a cheaper price - zero. As for raising costs: Talk to Netflix. In this environment, that doesn’t work.”

In a Twitter Chat yesterday to kick off Community Foundation Week, community foundations and others in the philanthropic sector had a chance to respond.

Participants were joined by Carson; Teri A. Hansen, chair, Community Foundations Leadership Team, and president and CEO, Gulf Coast Community Foundation; and Rebecca Graves, executive director, CF Insights.

Among the other topics discussed were:

  • Are community foundations addressing the real problems in society?
  • What would it take for the field to work together around one common issue?
  • How can we change the perception that community foundations are the best-kept secrets in their communities?
  • Are community foundations failing to advocate for public policies benefiting the field?

Check out the archived debate. What are your thoughts? Is the model broken? If so, what do you replace it with? What does the future hold for community foundations? Add your thoughts and continue the debate.

Andrew Allen Giving Back with a Signature Event

By: Andrew Allen, In: Corporate Philanthropy| Donor Engagement

11 Nov 2011

Every person, especially every child, should have a home. So nearly ten years ago, the community relations committee of Iowa Homeless Youth Centers (IHYC) was charged with creating a signature event, something to raise money for the cause and awareness of the issues related to youth homelessness.

It started with “Celebration of Hope — Pottery Painted by the Stars.” We mailed and received plates from Bill Cosby, Whoopi Goldberg, John Travolta, and others. Year one enjoyed moderate success — we raised nearly $10,000. After investing significantly more into the event for year two, we were discouraged after we raised just a fraction of our first year’s funds.  

Deflated, our committee of volunteers and staff from IHYC batted around other ideas for our “signature” event. Maybe a black tie gala? No, it just didn’t fit the fight against youth homelessness. A 5K walk or run? No, the community was already saturated with similar events. We needed something aligned with our mission. We needed something that enlisted an army of fundraisers and advocates. We needed something that would stand out.

Then the idea came: What if we slept outside in the cold, got people to pledge money in support of our experience, and did it in remembrance of Reggie Kelsey, a homeless teen who died shortly after aging out of foster care? Yes, let’s sleep out!, we agreed.

Reggie’s Sleepout was born. The goal for year one: raise $10,000 by getting 100 people to sleep out (in November, in Iowa). The results: 600 people slept out and we raised $60,000! That was it. We had our signature event. Four news stations (in a community with just three local stations) broadcasted live, bringing light to an issue that wasn’t being acknowledged publically. In 2006, the first year of Reggie’s Sleepout, Iowa had one of the highest youth homelessness rates nationwide. Nearly 50 percent of Iowa’s homeless were under the age of 18. (By 2010, that figure had dropped to 37 percent, but it’s still too high.)

The event was fantastic, but what was to come couldn’t have been forecasted. Awareness for the issues-and IHYC-grew, and we amassed more volunteers. More media focused on youth homelessness, more legislation was introduced to support youth transitioning out of foster care, and more unsolicited donations poured in.

Year two saw growth. Nearly 1,000 people participated in the sleepout and after a generous matching grant from the Richard O. Jacobson Foundation, the event raised more than $138,000. Even NBC’s Today Show stopped by IHYC with Al Roker’s Lend a Hand in 2010.

Flying over Reggie’s Sleepout

Flying over Reggie’s Sleepout

Reggie’s Sleepout is IHYC’s signature event but it does more than raise money and awareness. It has given voice to unheard youth across Central Iowa who have been dying. This year — the 10th anniversary of Reggie Kelsey’s death — the event launched in his honor registered upwards of 1,500 people and raised more than $186,000. It’s been successful because it’s been embraced by one of the most generous communities in the county.

Thanks to the private and public sectors, the service providers, the participants, the donors, and the volunteers. And thank you for giving these young people a voice because every child should have a home.

Andrew Allen is the assistant director of Community Relations at the Principal Financial Group (a member of the Council on Foundations) based in Des Moines. He is on the board of Iowa Homeless Youth Centers and is a co-founder of Reggie’s Sleepout.

Suzanne Skees (Small) Size Matters: Sometimes It Pays to Be the David Among Goliaths in Philanthropy

By: Suzanne Skees, In: Donor Engagement| Family Philanthropy| Global Philanthropy

10 Nov 2011

Growing up in a family of nine in the suburbs of America’s Heartland — Ohio — actually provided good training in strategic philanthropy and kept me rooted in cost efficiency as an adult. Now running a dynamic family foundation on a tiny budget, I am living the lessons of middle-class family budgeting. We leverage our resources through young organizations with self-sustaining, quickly scalable programs that provide “self-help to end poverty worldwide,” as our mission boldly states.

To achieve our ambitions, we have to move faster and smarter than Goliath. Our simple strategy involves likely sustainability, careful risk, early investment, and full-scale relationships.

First, we seek sustainability, eschewing the need for a constant stream of donations to maintain the status quo. Increasingly, we seek market-based solutions that provide education and jobs to boost the economic prosperity in a given community.

Second, we focus on small organizations that allow us to make big bets on new ideas. We provide vital funding to ventures others deem too new or risky. When those programs are successful, our early-stage investments allow the organization to recycle our grant dollars into future outreach.

Along the way we’ve been shocked to see that our example sometimes motivates larger donors and corporations to join the cause. One of our grantees, Freedom from Hunger, asked us to be the first to fund a microfinance campaign to reach three million members — and they used our family as an example when courting one with, uh, slightly deeper pockets — namely, the Gates family.

We’ve used challenge grants to get bigger funders to kick in to:

Currently, we’re seeding an initiative to extend health care services through microfinance networks. Again, we were the first to get behind this project, which is now proving its validity through research and metrics. A corporate donor just jumped into the game with us this month.

Taking risks early on allows us exponentially to multiply the number of people reached through our initial contribution. Moving nimbly not only gets us the most bang for our bucks. It’s the key advantage we have in the field.

As a kitchen-table donor and then a beginning philanthropist, I didn’t always see the power of small. I used to feel frustrated by the limited size of our grants and scope. However, time progressed, and I began to leverage the power of relationships. With larger nonprofits, providing multiyear grants and pro-bono assistance allows plenty of time for trust and creativity to bloom. With smaller startups, we enjoy multidimensional collaboration with core founders and administrators on strategy, fundraising, and communications. For our global grantmaking, we trust carefully chosen experts to help us reach far across the world.

Small-small collaborations can equal huge impact. From my desk in California, I can — with as little as $500 — employ a woman like Suman Devi in a community dairy in her village slums in northern India. A mother of four children, Suman lives in a makeshift hut of mud and twigs. Previously, on lucky days she worked as a day laborer and eked out two meals per day of rice and potatoes. Now, Suman has a steady job with a reliable paycheck, and the ability to educate her kids, and skills training necessary to help her take control of her life. How do we help Suman? Not from our tiny office, tight schedule, and limited know-how-and not alone.

Skees Family Foundation 1

Launched earlier this year, one of our grantees — Seattle-based nonprofit Upaya Social Ventures — provides seed funding and management support and will recover all startup costs in 14 months through milk sales. Profits get reinvested into future dairy units and other locally owned businesses, creating new jobs in new regions. Upaya measures improvements made in the lives of the poor, adjusts its model, and expands our mission through its expertise and dedication.

Skees Family Foundation 2

As a small foundation, we can quickly move to fund Upaya. And as it demonstrates the impact it can have, larger institutions will get behind this new approach.

Upaya is just one of many organizations our family foundation supports. A few other examples:

I meet plenty of other small foundations, giving circles, and savvy individual donors who also desire maximum leverage with limited resources. Our causes may vary, but I see the same strategy at work: sustainable models, seed-funding, strategic risk, and reliable relationships. These are investments my frugal parents — who still live in Ohio, thrive on a middle-class budget, and serve on the board of the Skees Family Foundation — can really believe in.

Suzanne Skees is director and board chair for the Skees Family Foundation, a member of the Council on Foundations.

Jackie Franey Year-End Giving During Uncertain Times

By: Jackie Franey, In: Donor Engagement| Economy| Money

9 Nov 2011

Another year of uncertainty surrounding tax law revisions and economic instability makes charitable year-end planning more important than ever. Continued market turbulence and increasingly unmet community needs mean donors are being cautious and selective about their year-end giving. As community foundation leaders, it’s our job and privilege to offer counsel about philanthropic giving.

Continue to discuss with your donors the benefits of gifting long-term securities that may have dropped in value, but still have appreciation with tax consequences. Due to favorable tax provisions, a year-end gift of securities held for more than one year can enable a donor to claim an income tax deduction on the fair market value and avoid capital gains tax on the appreciation.

Case in point: A donor wants to give $50,000 to the foundation before year-end, which can be funded either with cash or appreciated stock. The donor is in the 33 percent income tax bracket, and the stock value is $50,000 with a cost basis of $10,000. If the donor has held the stock for more than a year, the charitable deduction would be based on the fair market value as of the gift date. By using the appreciated stock instead of cash, the donor can save an additional $6,000. A higher federal tax bracket would further improve these results.

Gift Comparison Chart

The federal government encourages charitable giving by allowing donors to deduct up to 30 percent of adjusted gross income each year on gifts of appreciated securities. In addition, if a donor is unable to use the entire amount of the allowable deduction in one year, the excess can be carried over for five additional years. However, if they are holding securities that have depreciated in value it may be best to sell them, write off the loss, and establish or add to a fund with the proceeds.

Year-end gifts of appreciated assets can be extremely beneficial, both to donors and to the charitable organizations we all seek to support, and can make the “giving season” a little bit more special for everyone involved.

Jackie Franey is donor relations director at the Communities Foundation of Texas.

Joshua Gibb The “Golden Hour” for Giving

By: Joshua Gibb, In: Community Foundations| Donor Engagement| Health Care

8 Nov 2011

“The Golden Hour”– that is what medical professionals call the first hour after a traumatic injury like a heart attack or a car crash, when a victim stands the greatest chance of survival if treated. But, when the patient lives at least a half hour’s drive from a hospital or clinic, as many do here in rural Illinois, it’s time for a community foundation to answer the call for help. With a small grant, the Galesburg Community Foundation is answering that call and helping to save lives.

Located about three hours south of Chicago, the foundation is focused on helping provide adequate, affordable, and effective health care to residents in Knox County and surrounding areas, sustaining the arts, and improving education and the physical activity of residents.

In 2010, a nonprofit first responder, the Galesburg Hospital Ambulance Service, explained to the foundation that getting intravenous (IV) access to trauma victims can be difficult when serving more than 250,000 residents in a three-county, 5,200-square-mile area. This can delay or even prevent some patients from getting life-saving medications.

However, we discovered there was a solution. An innovative medical device — the EZ-IOTM Intraosseous Infusion System — delivers needed blood, fluids, and medication to trauma victims on the scene within 10 seconds by drilling directly into the bone marrow of patients who have poor vascular access. We knew it was the right investment for county residents.

Less than a month after it was purchased, the EZ-IO saved a life. When fire department emergency medical technicians couldn’t get an IV into a man who was choking and had gone into cardiac arrest, ambulance service paramedics sprang into action with the new device. Within five minutes of their arrival and insertion of the EZ-IO, paramedics resuscitated the man. Soon after, he was in a recovery ward receiving further treatment.

As we enter the giving season, we should all remember that it is small and sometimes unheralded investments like these that make community foundations such an important part of people’s lives. Donations to community foundations can, and do, save lives.

Joshua Gibb is executive director of the Galesburg Community Foundation.

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Welcome to RE: Philanthropy! In this blog, guest and Council bloggers share ideas and insights on the most pressing issues in philanthropy. If you want to contribute, please contact Mark Carpenter at mark.carpenter@cof.org.

The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Council on Foundations.
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Barbara Chow
Andrew Schulz
Carol Thompson Cole
Shelton Roulhac
Amy Philips Haller
Lisa Jordan
Erin Rowley
Sean Stannard-Stockton
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Jennifer Leonard
Lorie Slutsky
David P. Janes
Linda Reed
Mark Carpenter
Elaine Gast Fawcett
Marie-Frances Rivera
Mary Vallier-Kaplan
Matthew Nelson
Peter Laughran
Ralph Fuccillo

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