Council on Foundations: FN&C Now

	FN&C Now
	Volume 5, Number 39 – October 8, 2004 IN THIS ISSUE NEWS COVERAGE: $5 million challenge grant marks CFSV's 50th anniversary; Foundation Center highlights international grantmaking; Guidestar International created JUST PUBLISHED: Community foundation assets and grants increased in 2003; Family Giving News focuses on faith and philanthropy; an argument for capacity building AT THE COUNCIL: Seeking Wilmer Shields Rich Award and International Committee nominations; sign up for Breaking News ACT NOW: Register for the 2004 Winter Institutes ON THE MOVE: James S. Marks (Robert Wood Johnson); Priscilla Enriquez (Community Technology); Charles C. Lucas III (Duke Endowment); Kate C. Sturgis (New England Women's); Samuel Sachs II (Pollock-Krasner); Marilou Eldred and James A. Mullin (Catholic Community); Claudia Di Ioia (Council on Foundations) NEWS COVERAGE ANNIVERSARY GIFT: This year, Community Foundation Silicon Valley (CFSV) celebrates its 50th anniversary. To mark the occasion, the Skoll Foundation gave CFSV $5 million, plus a challenge to match it. So far, CFSV has raised more than $3 million toward the challenge. The Skoll funding was used to create the Community Investment Fund, an unrestricted endowment that will support future initiatives and current community needs. Read more: http://www.cfsv.org/pr_09_30_04.html . GOING INTERNATIONAL, PART I: October marks the first International Philanthropy Month at The Foundation Center. Throughout October, the center will offer special events, educational offerings and online resources related to international philanthropy. Read more: http://www.fdncenter.org/media/news/pr_0409a.html . GOING INTERNATIONAL, PART II: Guidestar announced the creation of Guidestar International. This new nonprofit organization expands on the GuideStar model of making nonprofit information more accessible by setting up charitable databases and websites outside the United States. New initiatives will commence in Germany and, in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, in South Africa. Ultimately, a collaborative network will share technology, data, best practices and international fundraising. Find out more: http://www.guidestar.org/about/press/041004_gs_intl.jsp . JUST PUBLISHED COMMUNITY FOUNDATION GAINS: Gifts to and grants and assets of U.S. community foundations all increased in 2003, according to the annual Columbus Foundation survey. The 645 foundations surveyed received $3.8 billion in gifts last year, up 17 percent from 2002. Community foundation grants totaled $2.6 billion, $47 million more than the previous year. Net assets increased from $29.7 billion in 2002 to $34.9 billion. The four largest community foundations—The New York Community Trust, The Cleveland Foundation, Chicago Community Trust and Marin Community Foundation—all continue to hold assets exceeding $1 billion, accounting for 16 percent of assets held by the entire field. Find out more (PDF): http://www.columbusfoundation.org/GD/Storage/6/3/2003%20Comm%20Found%20survey%20summ.pdf . FAMILY GIVING NEWS: The October Family Giving News explores how faith can inform and transform conversations about participation and accountability in philanthropy. The issue features two contributing authors: David Trickett of The Jefferson Circle explores how faith can facilitate a return to active, engaged philanthropy; and The National Center for Family Philanthropy's Kevin Laskowski probes how faith can help families address effectiveness and accountability, as well as provide the nonprofit sector with new ways of talking about those issues. Read the issue or subscribe: http://www.ncfp.org/Email_Alert.html . BUILDING CAPACITY: Three years after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the nonprofit sector continues to suffer from a decline in public confidence. In Sustaining Nonprofit Performance: The Case for Capacity Building and the Evidence to Support It, Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Paul C. Light argues that the sector can restore that confidence by investing in organizational basics, such as strategic planning, board development, technology, communications, reorganization and employee training. Read more or order the book: https://www.brookings.edu/press/books/sustainingnonprofitperformance.htm?String=newsrel . A related fact sheet also underscores capacity building as a critical strategy to restore public trust in the sector. Download the "Fact Sheet on the Continued Crisis in Charitable Confidence" (PDF): https://www.brookings.edu/dybdocroot/views/papers/light/20040913.pdf . AT THE COUNCIL SEEKING EXCELLENT COMMUNICATIONS: December 3 is the nominations deadline for the 2005 Wilmer Shields Rich Awards Program for Excellence in Communications. This year's categories are annual or biennial reports, newsletters, special reports, public policy campaigns and websites. Only members of the Council on Foundations are eligible to submit entries. Find out more (PDF): http://www.cof.org/files/Documents/Awards/WSR/05WSRCall.pdf . INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE: The Council on Foundations is seeking nominations to fill upcoming vacant positions on its International Committee. The committee seeks members who are committed to its goals of assisting the Council in building and extending the field of international philanthropy and increasing its effectiveness. Selections are made with a view toward ensuring that the committee is broadly representative of the Council's membership. The deadline for nominations is December 31, 2004. Read more: http://www.cof.org/Content/General/Display.cfm?contentID=924 . 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 WINTER INSTITUTES: Are you a new foundation trustee or grantmaker? Come to the 2004 Winter Institutes, December 6פ in Washington, DC. The Institutes offer new foundation board and staff members workshops on philanthropy led by respected leaders in the field. The Institute for New Board Members will be held December 6. The Institute for New Grantmakers, which marks its 25th anniversary this year, will be held December 7–8. Read more or register: http://int2.cof.org/conferences/INGWinter2004 . ON THE MOVE JAMES S. MARKS will become senior vice president and director of the Health group at The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation December 1, 2004. Read more: http://www.rwjf.org/news/releaseDetail.jsp?id=1094657291436&contentGroup=rwjfrelease . The Community Technology Foundation of California appointed PRISCILLA ENRIQUEZ senior program officer. Read more: http://zerodivide.org/announcements/133 . CHARLES C. LUCAS III was elected a trustee of The Duke Endowment. Read more: http://www.dukeendowment.org/news01.cfm . The New England Women's Fund appointed KATE C. STURGIS executive director. The Pollock-Krasner Foundation named SAMUEL SACHS II president. MARILOU ELDRED will become president of the Catholic Community Foundation of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis on January 1, 2005. JAMES A. MULLIN, the foundation's president since its inception in 1992, steps down on December 31. However, he will serve in an advisory role until the end of 2005. CLAUDIA DI IOIA is the new international fellow at the Council on Foundations. 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: 10.08.04