FN&C Now

Volume 5, Number 32 – August 17, 2004 IN THIS ISSUE IN MEMORIAM: Robert Browne, The Twenty-First Century Foundation's founder NEWS COVERAGE: First four recipients of Stevenson and Díaz fellowships announced NOW ONLINE: Aggregate financial information on active U.S. grantmaking foundations, including family and new health foundations JUST PUBLISHED: Leaders of big, new foundations talk strategy AT THE COUNCIL: CFSource reports that UMIFA revisions continue, offers chance to submit your best marketing tools to win a free conference registration; sign up for Breaking News ACT NOW: Register for the Fall Conference for Community Foundations; RSVP for two Meet the Filmmakers events IN MEMORIAM FOUNDATION FOUNDER: Robert Browne, founder and board president of the Twenty-First Century Foundation (21CF), died August 5 of heart failure in Rockland County, New York. 21CF is a public foundation in New York City that advances strategic black philanthropy. The foundation, one of the few endowed African-American institutions, has made grants to more than 250 organizations nationwide. Browne was an economist, foreign aid advisor, anti–Vietnam War activist, professor and writer. He also founded the Black Economic Research Center and the Emergency Land Fund. Read more: http://www.prnewswire.com/news/index_mail.shtml?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-06-2004/0002227039&EDATE . NEWS COVERAGE NEW FELLOWS: The Nonprofit Academic Centers Council announced the first four recipients of the David Stevenson and William Díaz Fellowships. Winners of the Stevenson Fellowships are Alnoor Ebrahim, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and Jennifer A. Wade, University of Colorado at Denver. Winners of the Díaz Fellowships are Chi-kan Richard Hung, University of Massachusetts at Boston, and Judith Y. Weisinger, New Mexico State University. Funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the faculty fellowships honor Stevenson and Díaz, both scholars in philanthropy and nonprofit management, who died in 2002. The fellowships are designed to advance the work of faculty members of color who teach and conduct research in philanthropic and nonprofit sector studies. Read more (PDF): http://www.case.edu/mandelcenter/nacc/FellowshipRelease200408.pdf . NOW ONLINE BY THE NUMBERS: The Foundation Center released statistical tables with aggregate financial information from 2002 on the nearly 65,000 active U.S. foundations. For the first time, the FC Stats data include financial information on family and new health foundations, as well as independent, corporate, community and operating foundations. Grantmaker Stats organizes data by region, state, selected metropolitan areas and foundation type. Read more or download the tables: http://fdncenter.org/fc_stats/listing01.html . JUST PUBLISHED LEADERS TALK STRATEGY: The Foundation Incubator released a report and audio files from its May 2004 program, "The Big, New Foundations: Their Leaders and Their Strategies." Lew Coleman, president of The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, discussed its measurement-oriented, outcome-driven strategy; Iqbal Paroo, president and COO of Omidyar Network, discussed its plans to develop a network of investments that promote emerging, community-based solutions; and Sally Osberg, president and CEO of the Skoll Foundation, detailed its emphasis on social entrepreneurs. Download the report (PDF) and audio files: http://www.foundationincubator.org/news/index.html . AT THE COUNCIL CFSOURCE: The August 2004 CFSource reports that the Drafting Committee for the Uniform Management of Institutional Funds Act (UMIFA) decided to postpone a request for final UMIFA approval to the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. The committee instead agreed that another year would allow time for more feedback and thoughtful deliberation. A revised draft and a memo further explaining the project will be prepared in time for the committee's fall meeting. This issue also details activities at the upcoming 2004 Fall Conference for Community Foundations and includes a call for your best marketing tools for a chance to win a free conference registration. Council members may read the issue: http://www.cof.org/Content/Newsletter/Display.cfm?newsletterID=1908 . 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 FALL CONFERENCE: Join your community foundation colleagues for the 2004 Fall Conference for Community Foundations held in Minneapolis October 11–13, 2004 (pre-conference activities begin October 7). The conference's theme is "Delivering on Our Promise: Impact, Innovation and Integrity." Plenary speakers include Michael Ciresi, chairman of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, LLP; and Bill George, former CEO of Medtronic, Inc., and author of Authentic Leadership. With fees earned from the $6.6 billion settlement in the Minnesota tobacco lawsuit, Ciresi's law firm created a $30 million public foundation (a supporting organization of The Minneapolis Foundation) to support K-12 education, public health and social justice programs. George will share his insights and describe the kind of foundation leadership needed to fulfill the vast potential of today's foundations. Read more or register: http://int2.cof.org/conferences/fall2004/registration.htm . MEET THE FILMMAKERS: The Fall Conference offers two opportunities to meet filmmakers from the 37th Annual Film & Video Festival. The free events include a movie screening, buffet supper and discussion with the filmmakers. Seating is limited. Tickets are required and available on a first-come, first-served basis. RSVP by Tuesday, October 5, to Evelyn Gibson at the Council on Foundations at gibse@cof.org. The films and times are: Flag Wars (October 10, 6:30-9:30 p.m.), a compelling documentary about the intersections of race, privilege, gender, class and urban development in a Columbus, Ohio, neighborhood. Director and producer Linda Goode Bryant, codirector and producer Laura Poitras and Robert West, executive director of Working Films, will talk about the film and share how it has been used for forums and community engagement around the issues it raises. Bangor: A Proud Past, A Promising Future (October 12, 7:30-9:30 p.m.), a small-scale community video examining Bangor, Michigan, and its residents' perspectives on the town's past and future. One unintended consequence was the value of the video itself in presenting the community and its priorities to potential grantors. Panelists include Larry Nielsen, Bangor city manager; Paul Sachs, community video program manager at Orton; and Jim Levi, project coordinator for the Minnesota Video Project. Helen Whyte of the Orton Family Foundation will moderate a discussion of community video strategies. 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: 8.18.04