Council on Foundations: FN&C Now

	FN&C Now
	Volume 6, Number 15 – April 28, 2005 IN THIS ISSUE NEWS COVERAGE: 2005 Goldman Environmental Prizes awarded JUST PUBLISHED: Guide helps nonprofits set chief executive compensation; study says organizations serving youth face obstacles to expansion; guide highlights key issues for upcoming proxy season NOW ONLINE: Transcript available from Wall $treet Week with FORTUNE segment on performance philanthropy AT THE COUNCIL: Register for the 2005 Corporate Grantmakers Summit; sign up for Breaking News ON THE MOVE: Richard G. Fox and Leslie Aiello (Wenner-Gren Foundation); M. Ryan Barker, Matthew Kuhlenbeck and Toni McTyer, et al. (Missouri Foundation for Health); Sandi Miller and Nancy Miles (Rasmuson) NEWS COVERAGE GOLDMAN PRIZE: The Goldman Environmental Prize, the world's largest environmental award, was presented to six grassroots environmental activists from six geographic areas. Recipients are Isidro Baldenegro Lopez, Chihuahua, Mexico (North America); Corneille Ewango, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Africa); Kaisha Atakhanova, Karaganda, Kazakhstan (Asia); Father José Andrés Tamayo Cortez, Olancho, Honduras (South and Central America); Stephanie Roth, Rosia Montana, Romania (Europe); and Chavannes Jean-Baptiste, Papay, Haiti (Island and Island Nations).The activists, who each receive $125,000, take "environmental activism to new heights for risk, dedication, and vision," says Richard N. Goldman, president of the Goldman Environmental Foundation. Find out more: http://www.goldmanprize.org/press/pressReleaseItem.cfm?prID=81 . JUST PUBLISHED COMPENSATION GUIDE: BoardSource's Dollars and Sense: The Nonprofit Board's Guide to Determining Chief Executive Compensation helps nonprofits through the process of setting up compensation plans that will draw top chief executives while withstanding scrutiny by the Internal Revenue Service and the public. Written by Brian H. Vogel and Charles W. Quatt, the book covers topics such as aligning compensation with organizational mission; private inurement; intermediate sanctions; and the elements of compensation, including salary, benefits and incentives, employment contracts and so forth. Find out more or buy the book: http://www.boardsource.org/ViewBookStoreItem.asp?ID=166 . ROCKY ROAD: Because youth-serving organizations often lack a detailed strategic plan and may be unable to benefit from economies of scale as they grow larger, their expansion is tumultuous, according to a white paper from The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation. Commissioned from The Bridgespan Group, Growth of Youth-Serving Organizations looks at 20 organizations that grew successfully. The study found that nonprofits willing to work through tumult can become fully staffed and better structured. But the larger a youth organization grows, the greater the obstacles it faces in maintaining funding for the long term. Read more or download the report (PDF): http://www.emcf.org/pub/growthstudy.htm . PROXY SEASON: Published by the As You Sow Foundation, in collaboration with Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation, "Proxy Season Preview Spring 2005: Foundations Aligning Missions and Investment," highlights issues for foundations to monitor and respond to during corporations' proxy season. "It has long been our belief that when foundations do not consider the implications of their proxy votes, they are overlooking powerful opportunities to advance their missions and often acting against their own best interests," said Doug Bauer, senior vice president of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. Download the guide (PDF) at: http://www.asyousow.org/newsletter.pdf . Download Unlocking the Power of the Proxy: How Active Foundation Proxy Voting Can Protect Endowments and Boost Philanthropic Missions (PDF) at: http://www.asyousow.org/powerproxy.pdf . NOW ONLINE PERFORMANCE AND GIVING: Eric Thurman, chief executive officer of Geneva Global Inc., and Tim Stone, president of NewTithing Group, appeared on the April 22, 2005, edition of Wall $treet Week with FORTUNE to discuss giving. Stone said Americans—particularly the wealthiest among us—could be giving away millions of dollars more each year. Thurman spoke about performance philanthropy, which focuses on measuring philanthropic donations' impact. Read the transcript: http://www.pbs.org/wsw/tvprogram/#philanthropy . AT THE COUNCIL CORPORATE SUMMIT: Join your corporate grantmaking colleagues in San Francisco, June 8–10, 2005, for the Council on Foundations Corporate Grantmakers Summit, "Leverage and Leadership: Accountability in Action." Attendees will share their successes and struggles and hear lessons learned from colleagues who have strengthened their programs in this era of regulatory and legislative challenges. Featured speakers include Andy Goodman, author of Storytelling as a Best Practice, and Graham Phaup, executive director of the Institute for Global Ethics. Register or find out more: http://int2.cof.org/conferences/Corp2005/index.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. ON THE MOVE RICHARD G. FOX will retire as president of the Wenner-Gren Foundation on April 30, 2005. LESLIE C. AIELLO will succeed him as president on May 1, 2005. Read more: http://www.wennergren.org/news.asp . The Missouri Foundation for Health promoted Policy Analyst M. RYAN BARKER to policy analyst II; Program Associate MATTHEW KUHLENBECK to program officer; Senior Administrative Assistant TONI MCTYER to executive assistant to the president; and Director of Policy Studies LESLIE REED to vice president for health policy. CARLOS BENITEZ joined the foundation as policy analyst and MOIRA CAHAN as policy associate. Read more: http://www.mffh.org/press_release042505.php . SANDI MILLER was hired as executive assistant at the Rasmuson Foundation. Longtime executive assistant NANCY MILES now works in special projects and compliance. Read more: http://www.rasmuson.org/PressRelease/index.php?switch=view_pressrelease&iReleaseID=60 . 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: 4.28.05