FN&C Now

Volume 5, Number 41 – October 22, 2004 IN THIS ISSUE NEWS COVERAGE: Irvine foundation making new connections; Dufresne Foundation spending out JUST PUBLISHED: Median return on community foundation investments highest since 1995 CONFERENCE ROUNDUP: Record-breaking attendance of 1,240 at Fall Conference for Community Foundations AT THE COUNCIL: New emerging issues and leadership resources; sign up for Breaking News ACT NOW: Register for Grantmakers In Health's Fall Forum or WRI conference on eradicating poverty; nominate a visionary by December 1 ON THE MOVE: Jerry Silverman (Jewish Camping); Carol Breslau (The Colorado Trust); Pedro Aspe, Richard H. Brodhead and Janet L. Robinson (Carnegie Corporation); Margaret Hamburg, Alice Huang and Diana Natalicio (Rockefeller); Monica R. Martinez (KnowledgeWorks); Victoria Lord (Rasmuson) NEWS COVERAGE NEW CONNECTIONS: The James Irvine Foundation approved $1.38 million in grants from its New Connections Fund, established this year to attract a more diverse group of grantseekers through an open application process. Grantseekers may apply online for grants of less than $50,000. "The New Connections Fund will allow a broader range of nonprofit organizations to apply for Irvine support," said James E. Canales, the foundation's president and CEO. Read more: http://www.irvine.org/irvine_news/press_releases/archive/2004/10-18_grants.shtml . SPENDING OUT: The Dufresne Foundation in Great Falls, Montana, is spending out. Last spring, the foundation's board opted to give away its remaining $1.5 million. In addition to making $100,000 grants to the Benefis Healthcare Foundation, the C.M. Russell Museum, the University of Montana and Montana State University, among others, the foundation established a $100,000 endowment to continue its 20-year-old annual teacher awards program. "We want to give gifts that will have a measure of continuing for the future," said board member Carol Mungas, "and we are looking to beneficiaries to leverage the investment." Read the Billings Gazette's take: http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2004/10/13/build/state/75-charity.inc . JUST PUBLISHED HIGH RETURNS: Riding the wave of stronger markets, community foundations produced a 20 percent increase in their assets last year and a 22 percent median return on their investments, according to the Council on Foundations' newly-released "2003 Investment Performance and Practices of Community Foundations." The returns are the highest earned since 1995. "Community foundations have a strong history of making prudent, profitable investments," said Council President and CEO Dorothy S. Ridings. "The 2003 performance shows that those investments mean more grants, more opportunities and more successes for the communities they serve." The full report can be purchased in book form ($50 Council members; $140 nonmembers) or on CD-ROM ($10 Council members; $30 nonmembers): http://www.cof.org/Publications/Detail.cfm?ProductID=3021 . CONFERENCE ROUNDUP RECORD BREAKER: A record-setting 1,240 paid registrants (1,428 attendees total) gathered October 11–13 at the Council on Foundations 20th Fall Conference for Community Foundations in Minnesota's Twin Cities. State Senator Mee Moua, opened the conference with a rousing session address on her experiences of immigrating to the United States and becoming the first Hmong-American state legislator in the nation, as well as the importance of diversity and accountability to community foundations. "Community foundations are the voice of those never seen or heard," she said. "Also, accountability is more than numbers and regulations—it's staying true to the communities that you were established to serve." The other plenary speakers were Michael Ciresi, chairman of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, LLP, syndicated columnist and moderator for CNN's Capital Gang Mark Shields and former Medtronic, Inc., CEO, author and nonprofit board perennial Bill George. To purchase a tape or CD of the plenaries or selected other conference sessions, visit: http://www.softconference.com/241011 . AT THE COUNCIL RESOURCES FOR EXECUTIVES: New information is available at the Council's website on emerging issues and leadership topics. Designed specifically for foundation leaders, visitors will find management tools, training opportunities, in-depth information on hot philanthropy topics and more. Read more: http://www.cof.org/index.cfm?containerID=258 . 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 HEALTH POLICY FORUM: Register for Grantmakers In Health's Fall Forum, November 4–5, 2004, in Washington, DC. The annual forum focuses on issues at the nexus of health policy and health philanthropy. This year's program, "Health and Fiscal Policy: What Every Funder Should Know," addresses budget and tax issues and their implications for health programs. Speakers include Robert Reischauer, president of the Urban Institute and former director of the Congressional Budget Office. Read more or register: http://www.gih.org/calendar_url2665/calendar_url_show.htm?doc_id=224111 . ERADICATING POVERTY: Sign up for Eradicating Poverty through Profit, an international conference on private sector approaches to development in San Francisco, December 12–14, 2004. Sessions for corporate grantmakers include "Lessons from the Ford Foundation Corporate Involvement Initiative" and "Breaking out of Silos: Sharing Best Practices across National Boundaries, Economic Sectors, and Institutional Boundaries." The conference was organized by the World Resources Institute and its partners, who were asked to move forward the agenda of the G8 Summit held earlier this year. Virtual conferences on the role of the private sector in development and cross-sector partnerships will be held during the weeks of October 25 and November 1, 8, and 15. Read more: http://povertyprofit.wri.org . VISIONARIES WANTED: The national nonprofit Echoing Green is seeking applications for the 2005 Echoing Green Fellowship. The fellowship provides $60,000 in seed funding and technical assistance to help emerging leaders launch new nonprofits to address their communities' needs. Application deadline is December 1, 2004. Read more: http://www.echoinggreen.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageID=41 . ON THE MOVE JERRY SILVERMAN is executive director of the Foundation for Jewish Camping. The Colorado Trust promoted CAROL BRESLAU from senior program officer to vice president of initiatives. PEDRO ASPE, RICHARD H. BRODHEAD and JANET L. ROBINSON will join the board of Carnegie Corporation of New York on December 2. MARGARET HAMBURG, ALICE HUANG and DIANA NATALICIO will become trustees of The Rockefeller Foundation in December. Read more: http://www.rockfound.org/Documents/687/rf_newtrustees_0410.html . KnowledgeWorks Foundation named MONICA R. MARTINEZ senior fellow, a newly created position. Read more: http://www.kwfdn.org/Press/martinez.html . VICTORIA LORD joined the Rasmuson Foundation as a program associate. Read more: http://www.rasmuson.org/index.php?switch=view_pressrelease&iReleaseID=43 . 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: 10.22.04