FN&C Now

Volume 6, Number 2 – January 28, 2005 IN THIS ISSUE NEWS COVERAGE: Council on Foundations announces advisors for accountability initiative; Mattel, Inc. relaunches foundation; Joyce Foundation reveals recipients of art awards NOW ONLINE: Foundation Center tracks tsunami disaster response JUST PUBLISHED: Minnesota giving outlook improves for second year; CFSource highlights strategic planning; Stanford Social Innovation Review shows how foundations can lead boldly AT THE COUNCIL: Partnership with UN Foundation for tsunami fundraising; travel stipends available for Foundations on the Hill; sign up for Breaking News ACT NOW: Provide feedback to the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector; receive a free book for participating in survey on bad presentations ON THE MOVE: Alberto Ibargüen (Knight); Arlene Hirschfeld, Marjorie Gart and Doug Jones, et al. (Rose); Joel Neimeyer (Rasmuson); Sherry P. Magill and Pamela A. Peters (Florida Philanthropic Network); Debra Waller (Dave Thomas); Susan Price, Karen Green and Gonzalo Zavala (Council on Foundations) NEWS COVERAGE ADVISORS NAMED: The Council on Foundations formed an advisory committee for its national initiative to encourage and enforce foundation standards of ethics and accountability. "Building Strong and Ethical Foundations: Doing It Right" is a grant-funded program to increase understanding of legal practices and to develop and encourage adherence to high ethical standards in grantmaking. Advisory committee members are Chair Derek C. Bok, Rebecca L. Adamson, Caroline D. Avery, Emmett D. Carson, Robert S. Collier, David Dodson, Joel Fleishman, Scott Harshbarger, Stephen B. Heintz, Mary M. Jalonick, Maxwell King, Christine Park, Celia Roady, Peggy Saika, Norman J. Smith, William E. Trueheart and Luz A. Vega-Marquis. Read more: http://www.cof.org/Content/PressRelease/Display.cfm?pressReleaseID=2328 . FOUNDATION RELAUNCH: Mattel, Inc. relaunched its philanthropic arm, the Mattel Children's Foundation. After completing a multiyear, $25 million commitment to the Mattel Children's Hospital at UCLA in 2004, the foundation is broadening its scope and extending its international giving. In 2005, the foundation expects to donate more than $5 million to address education and learning, promote health and well-being, encourage girls' empowerment and bring joy to children. The foundation will also form partnerships to directly support the needs of children globally. Read more: http://www.shareholder.com/mattel/news/20050119-153250.cfm . JOYCE AWARDS: The Joyce Foundation announced its second annual Joyce Awards, which support mainstream Midwest cultural organizations commissioning works by artists of color. Grants of $50,000 will be awarded to The Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis, for the commission of a new play by African-American playwright and performer Will Power; The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, for the commission of a new dance by Taiwanese choreographer Lin Hwai-min and Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan; Gallery 400 at the University of Illinois at Chicago, for the commission of a short film by African-American artist Edgar Arceneaux; and The Sphinx Organization of Detroit, for the commission and presentation of a new concerto for cello and orchestra by African-American composer Adolphus Cunningham Hailstork. Read more: http://www.joycefdn.org . NOW ONLINE DISASTER RESPONSE: The Foundation Center is creating resources on its website to assist those interested in making donations or tracking the philanthropic response to the tsunami disaster. As a first step, it has posted lists of known foundation and corporate donors, the amount of their contributions or pledges and recipients of each grant. The center is also tagging tsunami relief grants in its database to facilitate future research on the philanthropic response. Find out more: http://fdncenter.org/media/news/pr_0501b.html . JUST PUBLISHED BRIGHTER OUTLOOK: Giving by Minnesota's foundations and corporate grantmakers will increase for the second consecutive year, according to The Minnesota Grantmaking 2005 Outlook Report. Published by the Minnesota Council on Foundations, the survey found that 80 percent of Minnesota grantmakers expect to increase their 2005 grant dollars from 2004 levels. Forty-five percent are expecting increases of zero to 4 percent, with 35 percent expecting increases of 5 percent or more. Only 19 percent of grantmakers surveyed expect declines in their giving in the coming year, compared to 28 percent that expected declines a year ago. Read more or download the report (PDF): http://www.mcf.org/mcf/giving/outlook.htm . CFSOURCE: The January 2005 CFSOURCE provides an update on the activities of the Community Foundations Leadership Team (CFLT), which launched a strategic planning process for 2005 to 2014, the year the U.S. community foundation field turns 100. The plan will be completed by fall 2005, including a new vision statement for the field and a multiyear strategic plan. The issue also describes several new tools: a private foundation portfolio from the National Marketing Action Team; information to help community foundations preparing to submit their standards record books under Phase II, Confirmation of Compliance; and other online resources. Council on Foundations members may read the issue at: http://www.cof.org/Content/Newsletter/Display.cfm?newsletterID=2273 . SOCIAL INNOVATION: In the winter 2004 issue of Stanford Social Innovation Review, Ronald A. Heifetz, John V. Kania and Mark R. Kramer look at how foundations can lead boldly by publicly communicating dissatisfaction with grantees and eliminating other tactics that carry risks of creating ill will. The issue includes guidance from Margaret A. Neale on hammering out agreements and an overview from Burton A. Weisbrod on how nonprofits can earn more revenue but avoid becoming commercial entities. Read more or subscribe: http://www.ssireview.com . AT THE COUNCIL JOINT RELIEF EFFORT: The United Nations Foundation (UN Foundation) and the Council on Foundations announced a new fundraising initiative to aid UN humanitarian relief and rehabilitation efforts in the regions devastated by the tsunami. Under the arrangement, the UN Foundation will provide $1 (up to $100,000) in matching funds for every $2 contributed to the UN Tsunami Disaster Relief Fund by family foundations that are Council members. Find out more: http://www.unfoundation.org/media_center/press/2005/pr_011905.asp . STIPEND ANNOUNCED: Foundation board members and staff who live or work in certain congressional districts are now eligible for financial assistance so they can participate in Foundations on the Hill. To ensure that foundation trustees and staff can meet with key members of Congress, the Council on Foundations and the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers created the Foundations on the Hill Travel Stipend Program. Recipients will be reimbursed for registration, travel and accommodations for Foundations on the Hill, March 8–9, 2005, in Washington, DC. To be eligible, the foundation you represent must be located in—or provide significant services to—the state of a member of the Senate Finance Committee or Senate leadership or the district of a member of the House Committee on Ways and Means or House leadership. Read more or apply: http://www.foundationsonthehill.org/travelstipend.htm . 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 SEEKING FEEDBACK: The Panel on the Nonprofit Sector invites the nonprofit community to comment on recommendations from its five work groups and its expert advisory group regarding actions to strengthen governance, ethical conduct and accountability within the sector. Those recommendations will contribute to the panel's preparation of the interim report it will present to leaders of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee in early March. The comment period ends Friday, February 18, 2005. Find out more: http://www.nonprofitpanel.org . PRESENTATION SURVEY: Andy Goodman hopes his forthcoming book, Why Bad Presentations Happen to Good Causes, will raise standards for nonprofit staff delivering remarks to an audience. With the help of Edge Research, he's conducting an online survey to determine why so many presentations leave audiences cold. The first 5,000 full-time nonprofit and foundation staff who complete the 10-minute survey will receive the book when it's published later this year. The book is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson, Surdna, Edna McConnell Clark and David and Lucile Packard foundations, among others. Read more or take the survey: http://www.agoodmanonline.com/publications/ how_bad_presentations_happen/index.htm . ON THE MOVE The trustees of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation elected ALBERTO IBARGÜEN to succeed HODDING CARTER III as president and chief executive officer. Read more: http://www.knightfdn.org/default.asp?story=news_at_knight/releases/2005/2005_01_28_president.html . Rose Community Foundation appointed ARLENE HIRSCHFELD chair-elect. MARJORIE GART, DOUG JONES, HELAYNE B. JONES and NEIL OBERFELD were elected new board members. Read more: http://www.rcfdenver.org/pr_newtrustees_012105.htm . JOEL NEIMEYER joined the Rasmuson Foundation as program officer. Read more: http://www.rasmuson.org/PressRelease/index.php?switch=view_pressrelease&iReleaseID=50 . The board of Florida Philanthropic Network elected SHERRY P. MAGILL board chair and appointed PAMELA A. PETERS, previously the network's executive director, president. DEBRA WALLER joined the board of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. At the Council on Foundations, SUSAN PRICE becomes managing director of Family Foundation Services April 4, when Managing Director KAREN GREEN becomes director of the Governing Boards Program. GONZALO ZAVALA joined the Research staff as coordinator on January 24. 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