FN&C Now

Volume 5, Number 49 – December 17, 2004 IN THIS ISSUE NEWS COVERAGE: Duke Endowment passes $2 billion mark in funding; Pew Charitable Trusts starts initiative to increase retirement savings; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation helps communities most affected by tobacco-related diseases ACT NOW: Nominate a change-making strategy; deadline for Ylvisaker Award nominations is today AT THE COUNCIL: Conference space available; sign up for Breaking News NOW ONLINE: 2005 State of the World's Children; CEO Links answers questions on rules for supporting fundraising events and other legal topics ON THE MOVE: Kathy Engebretson (William Penn); William E. Truehart, Hilary Pennington and Janet Murguia, et al. (Independent Sector); Morgan Christen and Doug Eby (Rasmuson); Sharon Moshavi (Knight) NEWS COVERAGE BEYOND $2 BILLION: At its December meeting, the board of trustees of The Duke Endowment approved grants of more than $54 million to organizations in North and South Carolina. Those pledges make the endowment one of only a small number of American foundations to have given away a total of more than $2 billion. "We are very proud to be passing the $2 billion mark in total giving as we celebrate the Endowment's 80th birthday," said Russell M. Robinson, II, chairman of the endowment. Read more: http://www.dukeendowment.org/news03.cfm . RETIREMENT SAVINGS: The Pew Charitable Trusts launched an initiative to encourage policies to help Americans increase their personal retirement savings. The two-year Retirement Security Project will promote policies to raise participation rates in 401(k)-type plans, strengthen retirement savings tax incentives and create new ways to save. The project, a partnership with Georgetown University's Public Policy Institute, is directed by Peter Orszag, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Read more: http://www.pewtrusts.com/news/news_subpage.cfm?content_item_id=2765&content_type_id=7&page=nr1 . TOBACCO POLICY: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will award 25 grants totaling $2.2 million to local, regional, national and tribal organizations to support tobacco prevention and cessation policy initiatives for people living in communities most affected by tobacco-related diseases. The program, Tobacco Policy Change: A Collaborative for Healthier Communities and States, provides organizations with funding to support public education, advocacy, communications and outreach. Read more: http://www.rwjf.org/news/releaseDetail.jsp?id=1102804489123&contentGroup=rwjfrelease . ACT NOW MAKING CHANGE: Changemakers and Ashoka's Citizen Base Initiative invite you to submit strategies for the Changemakers Innovation Award. The contest recognizes ways that citizen sector organizations worldwide have found to generate a citizen base for successful and sustainable social change work. Each of five winners will receive a $1,000 cash prize. The application deadline is January 14, 2005. Read more or nominate a colleague: http://www.changemakers.net/journal/04november/contest.cfm . FOUNDATIONS AND PUBLIC POLICY: Friday, December 17, 2004, marks the deadline for nominations for the 2005 Paul Ylvisaker Award for Public Policy Engagement. At the Council on Foundations 2005 Annual Conference, the award will be presented to a foundation that has demonstrated excellence in affecting public policy by using creative and effective strategies that are also instructive to other grantmakers. Nominees and nominators must be members of the Council, a regional association of grantmakers or a Council-recognized affinity group. Read more (PDF): http://www.cof.org/files/Documents/Awards/Ylvisaker/05YlvisakerCall.pdf . AT THE COUNCIL CONFERENCE CENTER: Need some space? The Council's Conference Center is ideal for small to medium-sized workshops, meetings, seminars, private parties and banquets and can accommodate as many as 250 people. The center is also equipped with high-tech audiovisual capabilities, a catering kitchen and ergonomic furniture that can be configured for a variety of events. The center has two multifunctional meeting rooms and three break-out rooms. Find out more by e-mailing Sonia Segarra Law at segas@cof.org. 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. NOW ONLINE CHILDHOOD THREATS: The 2005 edition of UNICEF's State of the World's Children is now available online. The report, "Childhood Under Threat," focuses on how poverty, conflict and HIV/AIDS threaten the idea of childhood as a time for children to grow and develop to their full potential. The multimedia website includes video feeds, photo essays, maps, statistical data for 193 countries and feature stories, as well as an extensive library of related publications. Learn more or download the report (PDF): http://www.unicef.org/sowc05 . CEO LINKS: The December 2004 CEO Links covers rules for fundraising events, foundation lawyers serving as trustees, requirements for board review for certain types of transactions and IRS audits. The issue also includes a roundup of online management tools. Read the issue: http://www.cof.org/files/Documents/Newsletters/CEOLinks/2004/ CEO_Links_December_2004_Issue2.doc . ON THE MOVE KATHY ENGEBRETSON, president of the William Penn Foundation since October 2001, will step down in early 2005 for health reasons. She will continue as a senior advisor. Read more: http://www.williampennfoundation.org/news_keywords3559/ news_keywords_show.htm?doc_id=253103 . Independent Sector elected WILLIAM E. TRUEHART, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Foundation, as chair of its board of directors and HILARY PENNINGTON as secretary. JANET MURGUIA, EDWARD SKLOOT, ARTURO VARGAS and WILLIAM S. WHITE were elected board members. Read more: http://www.independentsector.org/media/2005board.html . MORGAN CHRISTEN and DOUG EBY joined the Rasmuson Foundation's board. Read more: http://www.rasmuson.org/PressRelease/index.php?switch=view_pressrelease&iReleaseID=49 . SHARON MOSHAVI joined the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation as communications manager. Read more: http://www.knightfdn.org/default.asp?story=news_at_knight/releases/2004/2004_12_10_moshavi.html . 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: 12.17.04