FN&C Now

Volume 5, Number 31 – August 9, 2004 IN THIS ISSUE NEWS COVERAGE: 9/11 Commission seeks foundation funding; Rasmuson Foundation launches program for individual artists; GE celebrates 50 years of matching gifts JUST PUBLISHED: Nonprofit Agenda recommends policy priorities; African Americans say most urgent health problem is HIV/AIDS; Family Giving News explains the 990-PF AT THE COUNCIL: 2004 Grantmaker Salary Tables now online; Council Columns reports on first Building Strong and Ethical Foundations regional meeting; sign up for Breaking News ACT NOW: Nominate a humanitarian organization; sign up for the Foundation Leaders Institute; register for the Grassroots & Groundwork conference ON THE MOVE: Carol A. Goss (Skillman); Alison Wiley (Forum of RAGs); Shawn Huff (Atlanta Falcons); Michael Munson (Council on Foundations) NEWS COVERAGE COMMISSION SEEKS FUNDING: Leaders of the 9/11 Commission are seeking foundation funding to open an office in Washington, DC. The commission, which recently released its report on the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, is seeking private donations because its government funding runs out in September. The office will advocate for the commission's recommendations on improving the collection and sharing of intelligence. Read more about the commission: http://www.9-11commission.gov . ARTIST AWARDS: The Anchorage-based Rasmuson Foundation launched a new program to honor individual artists statewide. The Individual Artists Awards program is part of a ten-year, $20 million arts and culture initiative announced by the foundation last December. The awards will fund individual artists whose work is defined by excellence and reflect any of the diverse cultural and aesthetic communities in Alaska. The program will provide funding in three categories: Project Awards, Artist Fellowships and Distinguished Artists. Deadline for nominations is October 1, 2004. Read more: http://www.rasmuson.org/index.php?switch=view_pressrelease&iReleaseID=37 . HAPPY ANNIVERSARY: The GE Foundation, originator of the concept of matching employees' and retirees' charitable gifts, is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its program. This year, the matching gifts program will provide more than $36 million to community groups and institutions of higher learning. Since 1954, the foundation, employees and retirees have given more than $400 million to nonprofits. More than 7,500 corporations have established matching gift programs, donating more than $1 billion each year to colleges, universities and nonprofits. Read more: http://www.ge.com/foundation/anniversary.html . JUST PUBLISHED NONPROFIT RECOMMENDATIONS: The National Council of Nonprofit Associations' Nonprofit Agenda: A Blueprint for Action recommends that national public policy leaders help address Americans' needs by supporting policies that strengthen the nonprofit sector. The report includes seven policy priorities identified by state and local nonprofit leaders, including increasing government funding to expand training and management assistance for community and faith-based groups, enacting legislation to expand advocacy rights for 501(c)(3)s and providing adequate funding for oversight agencies. Read more or download the report (PDF): http://www.ncna.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageID=468 . LOSING THE FIGHT: A majority of African Americans, 56 percent, says the United States is losing ground in the HIV/AIDS fight, an increase of 18 percentage points since October 2003. According to a survey released by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the public ranks HIV/AIDS second behind cancer as the most urgent health problem in the nation, but African Americans find HIV/AIDS is the most urgent problem. African Americans ages 18 to 29 are the most pessimistic, with two-thirds saying the United States is losing ground. Download the study or watch a webcast briefing: http://www.kff.org/hivaids/pomr080404pkg.cfm . EXAMINING THE 990-PF: The August issue of Family Giving News explains what the 990-PF is, how to fill it out and how to use it to improve your foundation's visibility and transparency in the nonprofit community. This issue also introduces the FGN Job Bank and the Family Philanthropy Online Knowledge Center. Read the issue or subscribe: http://www.ncfp.org/FGN-Aug_2004/contents.html . AT THE COUNCIL SALARY TABLES: The 2004 Salary Tables may be used to measure salary ranges and salary increase trends among staff at community, private (family and independent) and public foundations and corporate grantmakers. The full 2004 Grantmakers Salary and Benefits Report will be available in both book and CD-ROM formats in December. Council members may read the tables (PDF) at: http://www.cof.org/index.cfm?containerID=39&menuContainerID=0&crumb=2&navID=0 . COUNCIL COLUMNS: The August/September issue of Council Columns reports on the first regional meeting for the Building Strong and Ethical Foundations: Doing It Right initiative, which was held in Boston in June. The initiative is designed to increase understanding of legal practices and encourage adherence to high ethical standards in grantmaking. To generate discussion, case studies illustrating the ethical dilemmas foundation staff often face were presented during the meeting. Key outcomes from that discussion included an emphasis on carefully documenting foundation decisions and on creating clearly articulated policies in writing. Council members may read the issue (PDF) at: http://www.cof.org/files/Documents/Newsletters/CouncilColumns/2004/AugSep04.pdf . Find out more about the initiative, including dates for upcoming meetings, at: http://www.cof.org/strongfoundations . FREE NEWS SERVICE: Breaking News is a free, daily e-mail newsletter summarizing the top articles—mostly from national and regional newspapers—about philanthropy. Breaking News is available to Council members only. Subscribe by e-mailing your name, title and foundation name to media@cof.org. ACT NOW HUMANITARIAN AWARD: The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation is seeking nominations for the 2005 Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize. The $1 million prize, the world's largest humanitarian award, is presented annually to an established nonprofit, charitable or nongovernmental organization for recent and historic accomplishments. The International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims was the 2003 winner; the 2004 winner will be announced this fall. Nominations for 2005 must be received by November 1. Read more: http://www.hiltonfoundation.org/main.asp?id=43&side=1 . GRASSROOTS & GROUNDWORK: The brightest hope for reducing poverty and rebuilding communities is usually within communities themselves. The Grassroots & Groundwork Conference, held September 12–14, 2004, in St. Paul, Minnesota, will showcase community-based strategies with proven track records. Speakers will include Henry Cisneros, former HUD secretary, who will conduct an interactive session with attendees; Ray Suarez, senior correspondent on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer; Angela Glover Blackwell, founder and president of PolicyLink; and Charles Royer, national director of the Robert Wood Johnson's Urban Health Initiative. Co-sponsored by the Northwest Area Foundation and The Annie E. Casey Foundation, the conference is geared toward funders, policymakers, nonprofit staff, business leaders and researchers. Read more or register: http://grassrootsandgroundwork.nwaf.org . FOUNDATION LEADERS INSTITUTE: Foundation trustees and executives are invited to participate in Grantmakers for Education's (GFE) second Foundation Leaders Institute, October 18–19, 2004, in Atlanta. The institute, a special concurrent program during GFE's Eighth Annual Conference, will include case studies on best practices for measuring foundation effectiveness in education, site visits at innovative nonprofits and schools, networking time, sessions on using reputation and communications to advance a foundation's mission and discussions with national leaders in education and philanthropy. Institute attendees who also attend the full conference will receive a registration discount until August 27. Read more or register: http://www.edfunders.org/programs/listevent.asp?id=76 . ON THE MOVE CAROL A. GOSS was appointed president and CEO of the Skillman Foundation. Read more: http://www.skillman.org/whatsnew.asp?PID=398 . The Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers announced that founding President ALISON WILEY will resign on December 31, after more than 12 years of service. The Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation named SHAWN HUFF executive director. The Council on Foundations promoted MICHAEL MUNSON from library coordinator to manager of library services. SUBSCRIBE FN&C Now is published by the Council on Foundations to keep you in the loop by sharing news between bimonthly editions of Foundation News & Commentary magazine (FN&C Now Web archive: http://www.foundationnews.org/now/index.htm ). Please feel free to forward this message to your friends and colleagues who might enjoy it. To subscribe (it's free) to FN&C Now, send an e-mail to fncnow@cof.org . Questions or comments about FN&C Now? Contact Paula J. Kelly at 202/467-0261. To contribute a news item for consideration, please e-mail fncnow@cof.org . To unsubscribe, send a blank e-mail to leave-fncnow-4832R@int1.cof.org . To subscribe to Foundation News & Commentary, an award-winning magazine, please send an e-mail to fncsubs@cof.org , or visit our website at http://www.icnfull.com/cgi-bin/cobolscript.exe?cof/cofmain.cbl . Council on Foundations 1828 L Street, NW Washington, DC 20036 202/466-6512 webmaster@cof.org last update: 8.10.04