FN&C Now

Volume 5, Number 36 – September 16, 2004 IN THIS ISSUE NEWS COVERAGE: Syringe Access Fund makes first grants; study finds some Indiana nonprofits fall short in demonstrating accountability; Knight commission says collegiate athletics success has little effect on alumni giving, applicant quality NOW ONLINE: Foundation News & Commentary focuses on grantmakers and accountability JUST PUBLISHED: Family Giving News looks at international grantmaking; book asks whether welfare reform worked; new edition of national corporate giving directory AT THE COUNCIL: Community Foundations Leadership Team gets new chair and members; sign up for Breaking News ON THE MOVE: Bruce Brothers (Gill); Michael Gottlieb (National Institutes of Health); Emily C. Riley, Paul C. Heintz and R. Duane Perry (Philadelphia); Howard K. Koh (Blue Cross Blue Shield); Brian Flahaven, Keesha Porter and Paul Ust (Council on Foundations) NEWS COVERAGE SYRINGE ACCESS: The newly formed Syringe Access Fund announced its first round of grants, totaling just under $1 million. In an effort to stem the spread of blood-borne diseases such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C, $950,000 was granted to 20 organizations. The grants provide multiyear support for syringe exchange programs and policy activities in California, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Texas and the District of Columbia. The Syringe Access Fund is a collaborative grantmaking partnership between the Levi Strauss and Tides foundations and the National AIDS Fund. Read more: http://tidesfoundation.org/press_rel_06.cfm . Read about Levi Strauss Foundation's syringe initiative in Foundation News & Commentary: http://www.foundationnews.org/CME/article.cfm?ID=2793 . NONPROFIT ACCOUNTABILITY: A report from Indiana University's Center on Philanthropy and School of Public and Environmental Affairs shows that while many Indiana nonprofits have created tools to demonstrate accountability, a significant number still could not withstand government scrutiny. Of 2,206 Indiana nonprofits surveyed, 80 percent have written job descriptions, 71 percent have written personnel policies and 70 percent produce an annual report. However, just 64 percent produce audited financial reports, 60 percent have computerized their financial records and only 30 percent have established formal conflict of interest policies. Read more or download Indiana Nonprofits: Managing Financial and Human Resources (PDF): http://www.indiana.edu/~nonprof/results/npsurvey/insmanag.html . SPORTS AND DONATIONS: Success in big-time athletics has little or no effect on a college's alumni donations or the academic quality of its applicants, according to a study from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. Study author Robert H. Frank notes that despite the increasing cost of college sports programs, most of them lose money, rather than generate revenue. Read more or download Challenging the Myth: A Review of the Links Between College Athletic Success, Student Quality, and Donations (PDF): http://www.knightfdn.org/default.asp?story=news_at_knight/releases/2004/2004_09_07_kcia-frank.html . NOW ONLINE FOUNDATION NEWS: The September/October Foundation News & Commentary focuses on grantmakers and accountability. Features include the story of the court case that created a happy ending for The Carl B. and Florence E. King Foundation and how The California Endowment wrote its own code of ethics. Lee Draper offers strategies that allow grantmakers to have an impact without giving cash, while Michael Seltzer encourages grantmakers to apply their values while traveling. The issue also includes the third installment in Jane C. Nober's series on conflicts of interest, which addresses using an investment manager who has a close relationship with the foundation. Read the issue: http://www.foundationnews.org . JUST PUBLISHED FAMILY GIVING NEWS: The September Family Giving News explores some of the options available for families interested in international grantmaking. The issue describes how the USA PATRIOT Act's requirements are affecting the philanthropic community, plus how intermediary organizations around the world can help grantmakers comply with the new regulations and accomplish their charitable goals abroad. Read the issue or subscribe: http://www.ncfp.org/Email_Alert.html . WELFARE REFORM: Did welfare reform work? New York Times reporter Jason DeParle seeks to answer that question in his new book, American Dream: Three Women, Ten Kids, and a Nation's Drive to End Welfare. DeParle discusses the passage of the law and its impact on recipients, then follows three women in one extended family for some surprising answers. The research for the book was supported by the Henry J. Kaiser Family, Smith Richardson and Annie E. Casey foundations. Read more or order American Dream at: http://www.jasondeparle.com . CORPORATE GIVING: The 10th edition of The National Directory of Corporate Giving provides insights into the giving activities of nearly 4,000 corporate funders. Published annually by The Foundation Center, the directory provides detailed profiles of more than 2,500 corporate foundations and 1,400 direct giving programs. Each profile features application procedures, names of key personnel, types of support generally awarded, giving limitations, financial data, and purpose and activities statements. Information is also included on recent grants and business interests. Read more or order the directory ($195; free shipping during September): http://fdncenter.org/marketplace/catalog/product_directory.jhtml?id=prod10009 . AT THE COUNCIL NEW LEADERS: The Community Foundations Leadership Team appointed a new chair and elected four new members. Jennifer Leonard, president and executive director of the Rochester Area (NY) Community Foundation, will serve as chair for a one-year term that began on July 1, 2004. Newly elected members include: Terri Lee Freeman, president, The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region; Ruben Orduņa, vice president of development, The Boston Foundation; Donna Rader, vice president for grants and programs, The Winston-Salem Foundation; and Hank Schmelzer, president and CEO, Maine Community Foundation. The Leadership Team is comprised of community foundation leaders throughout the nation who help create strategies and policies for the community foundation field and the Council's work on behalf of community foundations. Read more about the Leadership Team: http://www.cof.org/Content/General/Display.cfm?contentID=84 . 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. ON THE MOVE The Gill Foundation hired BRUCE BROTHERS as director of operating programs, a newly created position. Read more: http://www.gillfoundation.org/newsletter_auto2886/newsletter_auto_show.htm?doc_id=235583 . MICHAEL GOTTLIEB joined the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health as associate director for science for the Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative. Read more: http://www.fnih.org/news/gottlieb2004.shtml . The Philadelphia Foundation appointed EMILY C. RILEY, PAUL C. HEINTZ and R. DUANE PERRY to its board of managers. HOWARD K. KOH was appointed to the board of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation. BRIAN FLAHAVEN joined the Council on Foundations as interim coordinator for government relations and public policy. KEESHA PORTER is administrative coordinator for finance and administration and PAUL UST is manager of exhibits. 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: 9.17.04