Focusing on PRIs

The PRI Makers Network, a project of the Neighborhood Funders Group, is an association of grantmakers who use program-related investments (PRIs) and other social investments to accomplish their philanthropic goals. Its mission is to provide a forum for networking, professional development, collaboration and outreach to funders, including those not currently making PRIs or other investments.

The network's website includes materials from its January PRI Conference, publications on program-related investing, and a glossary of PRI terms. Network members have access to e-networking, templates of documents, and a deals clearinghouse. A PRI Activity Database, which is being developed through a partnership between the network and the Foundation Center, will be available later this summer. Find out more: http://primakers.net/home.

Although any foundation can make program-related investments, most foundations shy away from them. In the GrantCraft guide Program-Related Investing: Skills and Strategies for New PRI Funders, experienced funders walk new PRI-makers through the process and offer practical advice at each step, from explaining the concept to creating boards to structuring and closing the first deal. The guide, which was underwritten by the Ford and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur foundations, can be downloaded at www.grantcraft.org.

—Paula J. Kelly

Seeking Giving Circles

New Ventures in Philanthropy, a project of the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers, is conducting a second national scan of giving circles. Last year, the initiative published Giving Together: A National Scan of Giving Circles and Shared Giving, a broad, exploratory look at the launch of giving circles. The new scan will focus on identifying giving circles created in the past two years, researching mature giving circles that have demonstrated sustainability, tracking how involvement in a giving circle affects donors' giving patterns and documenting techniques and tips for organizations hoping to host giving circles.

If you know of a giving circle in any stage of operation, let the forum know. Forward the name and contact information (with e-mail address) of the circle's representative and a brief description of the group to Scott Simpson at ssimpson@givingforum.org or 202/467-1127.

—Darlene M. Siska

Funding Charitable Data Collection

The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University received a $750,000 matching grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help fund data collection for its signature research project, the Center on Philanthropy Panel Study (COPPS). The largest and most accurate longitudinal study of charitable giving by households in the United States, COPPS looks at giving and volunteering by the same households over time and across generations as families mature, face differing economic circumstances, are affected by public policy shifts and encounter changes in family size and health, among other factors.

The total cost of data collection and management for two waves of COPPS research is $1.5 million. The Gates grant will enhance the center's ability to raise another $750,000 in matching funds to support COPPS data collection in 2007 and 2009.

COPPS is conducted in conjunction with the University of Michigan's Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), a landmark study begun in 1968 that now includes nearly 8,000 families and 1,200 pieces of information on each household. Some families have been interviewed for as many as four generations. Nonprofit professionals and scholars who would like to access the COPPS dataset may e-mail Heidi Frederick at hkbaker@iupui.edu.

—Paula J. Kelly

Web Sight

The Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard University launched free, online reissues of classic books and articles on philanthropy, nonprofits, civil society, and related topics at www.ksg.harvard.edu/hauser/philanthropyclassics. Edited by Peter Dobkin Hall and Richard Magat, current posted works are: The Literature of Philanthropy (1893), edited by Francis Goodale; The Philanthropic Work of Josephine Shaw Lowell, Containing a Biographical Sketch of Her Life, Together with a Selection of Her Public Papers and Private Letters (1922), by William Rhinelander Stewart; and The Charity Organization Movement in the United States: A Study in American Philanthropy (1922), by Frank Watson Dekker. By the end of 2006, a dozen titles will be added to the website, which was funded by the Surdna and Charles Stewart Mott foundations.

Media Eye on Philanthropy

The Council on Foundations' Media Relations Department compiled articles by some of the top national publications from April 1, 2006, to May 26, 2006. Articles regarding charitable giving, accountability, private foundations, taxes (including articles about tax legislation) and international giving dominated those headlines. Heightened interest in those areas may affect how the public and grantees perceive foundation activities. For further information on responding to media inquiries on those topics, contact Jeff Martin, Council on Foundations director for Media Relations (media@cof.org).

All articles have been highlighted in Breaking News, a free, members-only daily e-newsletter summarizing the top articles about philanthropy. To subscribe, e-mail your name, title, foundation name and contact information to media@cof.org.

Charitable giving and articles about philanthropy in general: 34

Accountability (including articles about members of Congress and their charities): 20

Private or Family Foundations: 20

Taxes (including articles about tax legislation): 15

International: 11

Community Foundations: 7

Education: 7

Red Cross: 6

Funding Terrorism: 4