Affinities

New Service-Learning Database
The Grantmaker Forum on Community & National Service recently completed work on the development of a database of research on service and volunteering since 1990. The forum then set out to find where this information would best be kept.

It looked for an appropriate host capable of launching the database as a Web-based searchable file, with easy access to anyone interested in the field of service-learning and volunteering.

The forum chose the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse at the University of Minnesota (www.nicsl.coled.umn.edu). The clearinghouse will convene an advisory group to guide the continued development and expansion of the database. The advisory group will  help set the criteria for information included in the database, develop search terms and recommend strategies for promoting the database’s availability and use.

For more information, contact the forum at 2550 9th St., Suite 113, Berkeley, CA 94710-2500; 510/665-6130. E-mail: gfcns@informationchange.com. Web site: www.gfcns.org.

Educational Issues In-Depth
Grantmakers for Education (GFE) and Harvard University cosponsored a meeting in early March to take an in-depth look at educational issues.

Attendees came from a mix of foundation types and sizes. The meeting, called “A Grantmaking Primer: How to Strengthen Accountability and Support Educational Excellence,” was an opportunity to focus on key issues facing educational funders: 

• Education reform and accountability 
• Factors impeding change 
• Collaboration among funders 
• Assessing outcomes

For information about lessons learned from the meeting contact GFE at 123 Camino de la Reina, Suite 202 South, San Diego, CA 92108, 619/260-8090. E-mail: info@edfunders.org. Web site: www.edfunders.org.