FN&C Now

Volume 6, Number 1 – January 25, 2005 IN THIS ISSUE NEWS COVERAGE: IRS announces e-filing regulations; Gates foundation withholds grant to Seattle schools; Kauffman foundation awards first entrepreneurship research prize AT THE COUNCIL: Search committee established to seek new president; 2005 Annual Conference focuses on leadership and values; sign up for Breaking News NOW ONLINE: Profiles in Practice highlights award-winning communicators ON THE MOVE: Feather O'Connor Houstoun and Kathy Engebretson (William Penn); Vin Cipolla (National Park); Stephen D. Cashin, J.C. Watts, Jr., Gay J. McDougall, et al. (Africare); Michelle Sie Whitten (Denver); Ronnie L. Bloom, Catherine T. Murphy and Frances M. Sheehan, et al. (Delaware Valley Grantmakers); Sally Bowles, Mary Mountcastle and Alicia Anne Philipp (National Center for Family Philanthropy) NEWS COVERAGE E-FILING: The IRS announced temporary regulations for phasing in mandatory electronic filing of Forms 990 and 990-PF for some exempt organizations. In brief, mandatory e-filing will only be required for a foundation if it files at least 250 information, employment or other returns with the IRS in a calendar year and is either a public charity with assets of $10 million or more or a private foundation. A memo providing more detailed information about which organizations will be required to e-file, the timeline and additional information (PDF) are posted at: http://www.cof.org/files/Documents/Legal/Mandatory_E-filing.pdf . GRANT WITHHELD: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is withholding the $2.9 million final installment of a five-year, $25.9 million grant to the Seattle Public Schools until the district provides better information regarding how the high schools' share will be spent, according to the Seattle Times. The district's high schools have not yet spent approximately $2 million of previous allocations from the grant, and some are behind on grant reporting requirements. The foundation wants to know schools' intentions for those funds as well, said Marie Groark, foundation spokesperson. Read the article: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002151632_gates15m.html . INAUGURAL AWARD: The Ewing Marion Kauffman foundation awarded the first Ewing Marion Kauffman Prize Medal for Distinguished Research in Entrepreneurship to Scott Stern, a Northwestern University professor and researcher. The medal, which includes a $50,000 prize, is awarded every two years to a scholar under age 40 whose research has significantly contributed to entrepreneurship. Read more: http://www.kauffman.org/items.cfm/608 . AT THE COUNCIL LEADERS SEEKING LEADER: In December, Council President and CEO Dorothy S. Ridings announced her plans to retire during 2005. The Council on Foundations established a seven-member search committee to recommend a new president to the Council's Board of Directors. The committee, which will be chaired by Maxwell King, president of The Heinz Endowments, includes Susan Berresford, president of the Ford Foundation; Emmett Carson, president and CEO of The Minneapolis Foundation; Kathleen Odne, executive director of the Dean and Margaret Lesher Foundation; Dennis Riggs, president and CEO of The Community Foundation of Louisville; Robin Tryloff, president and executive director of the Sara Lee Foundation; and Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials and trustee of the Edward W. Hazen Foundation. Read more: http://www.cof.org/Content/PressRelease/Display.cfm?pressReleaseID=2318 . 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 COMMUNICATIONS PROFILES: Interested in learning more about foundations' communication activities? The Communications Network's Profiles in Practice features 25 recipients of the 2004 Wilmer Shields Rich Awards. Each snapshot offers biographical information and insight into the people behind the winning practices. Read more: http://www.comnetwork.org/profiles_in_practice_new.htm . ON THE MOVE FEATHER O'CONNOR HOUSTOUN becomes president of the William Penn Foundation on March 1, 2005. Houstoun succeeds KATHY ENGEBRETSON, who is resigning for health reasons. Read more: http://www.williampennfoundation.org/news_keywords3559/news_keywords_show.htm?doc_id=256662 . VIN CIPOLLA was appointed president and CEO of the National Park Foundation. Read more: https://www.donate.nationalparks.org/AboutUs/AboutUs-PR_1.10.05.shtml . Africare appointed STEPHEN D. CASHIN, HOWARD F. JETER, GAY J. MCDOUGALL, BARBARA A. MCKINZIE, J. C. WATTS, JR., and HOWARD WOLPE to its board of directors. Read more: http://www.africare.org/news/news_release/BoDJan05.html . The Denver Foundation appointed MICHELLE SIE WHITTEN trustee. RONNIE L. BLOOM, CATHERINE T. MURPHY and FRANCES M. SHEEHAN were elected to the board of Delaware Valley Grantmakers. FERNANDO CHANG-MUY was elected board secretary. The National Center for Family Philanthropy named SALLY BOWLES, MARY MOUNTCASTLE and ALICIA ANNE PHILIPP to its board. 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: 2.21.05