FN&C Now

Volume 6, Number 26 – July , 2005 IN THIS ISSUE NEWS COVERAGE: Global Greengrants Fund expands grantmaking model; The Foundation Incubator merges with Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University JUST PUBLISHED: First volume of Investing in Leadership released; third volume addressing jargon published; study says employment at Illinois nonprofits outpaces for-profit sector AT THE COUNCIL: Foundations on the Hill–District Days announced; sign up for Breaking News NOW ONLINE: Tools for teaching the First Amendment ACT NOW: Register for teleconference on marketing corporate grantmaking or 990-PF workshops ON THE MOVE: Katherine M. Grover (Ms. Foundation); Rayna Gavrilova (Trust for Civil Society); David E. Trueblood (Boston); Eugene Chan (Community Technology) NEWS COVERAGE GRANTMAKING MODEL: The Global Greengrants Fund launched the Greengrants Alliance of Funds to expand and further decentralize its model of making small grants internationally to grassroots environmental groups through a network of volunteer advisors. The Brazil and Southeast Asia advisory boards are the first members of the alliance, whose members will be independent institutions with their own staff, trustees and grantmaking strategies. The funds will continue to locate and monitor grassroots grantees, but will have the added capacity to do local and European fundraising and grants administration. Global Greengrants Fund Executive Director Chet Tchozewski says, "This program allows our partners to expand the model without creating a larger U.S. organization that might not be as responsive to the needs of grassroots groups." Find out more: http://www.greengrants.org/pressreleases.php?news_id=36 . Read an interview with Chet Tchozewski, winner of the Council on Foundations' 2004 Robert W. Scrivner Award for Creative Grantmaking, from Foundation News & Commentary: http://www.foundationnews.org/CME/article.cfm?ID=2903 . PHILANTHROPIC MERGER: The Foundation Incubator (TFI), a provider of cutting-edge philanthropic services, joined forces with the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. TFI—now known as the Philanthropy Incubator—will be a program of the center's Philanthropic Services unit and provide workshops with experts, peer discussion groups, customized training and other resources. The Philanthropy Incubator will have an office in Silicon Valley and allow the center to expand its programs for individuals, foundations and professional advisors. Read more: http://www.foundationincubator.org/news/pr71105.html . JUST PUBLISHED BOOSTING LEADERSHIP: Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) released the free publication, Investing in Leadership, Volume 1: A Grantmaker's Framework for Understanding Nonprofit Leadership Development, by Betsy Hubbard. "Investing in leadership development is a sophisticated way to build high-performing nonprofits," said Kathleen P. Enright, GEO executive director. Volume 1 reviews current literature on leadership development in philanthropy and provides a framework for using leadership as a strategy for organizational development. The second volume-to be published later this year-will profile grantmakers supporting leadership development to increase their grantees' capacity. The Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation and Evelyn and Walter Hass, Jr. Fund are providing support for the publications. Download Investing in Leadership: http://www.geofunders.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Document.showSearchResultDocumentById&DocumentID=2588 . AVOIDING JARGON: What does "planful" mean to you? Tony Proscio again shows how the rampant use of jargon can stymie the good work of foundations and nonprofits. In When Words Fail: How the Public Interest Becomes Neither Public Nor Interesting, the third (and final) book in The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation's instructive series, Proscio cites reports, publications, Web postings and speeches that are filled with misused words. Order or download (PDF) any of the volumes or visit the online Jargon Dictionary: http://www.emcf.org/pub/jargon/index.htm . JOB GROWTH: Jobs in the Illinois nonprofit sector were created at a higher rate than in the for-profit sector during the last decade, according to Illinois Nonprofit Employment, a report from the Donors Forum of Chicago and the Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies. The study found that nonprofit sector employment grew by 11 percent from 1995 to 2003, compared with 1.7 percent in the for-profit sector. The authors, Lester M. Salamon and Stephanie Lessans Geller, also found nonprofit workers, who accounted for one in 13 of the state's paid employees, earned more than $15.8 billion in wages during 2003. The report details nonprofit job distribution and growth in major regions of Illinois and analyzes nonprofit employment by field. It also outlines some of the field's challenges, such as increased competition from for-profit enterprises. Download the report (PDF): http://www.donorsforum.org/forms_pdf/ILnp_employment.pdf . AT THE COUNCIL DISTRICT DAYS: In March, a record number of foundation representatives from across the country converged on Washington, DC, for Foundations on the Hill 2005. To follow up, the Council on Foundations and Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers have launched Foundations on the Hill–District Days. The initiative is a month-long effort to encourage foundation representatives to meet with their members of Congress during the summer district work period, which begins August 1 and ends September 2, 2005. Foundation staff and trustees can continue to strengthen the relationships established during their visits to DC. Those who were unable to participate in Foundations on the Hill can build relationships with their senators and representatives closer to home. Find out more: http://www.foundationsonthehill.org/districtdays.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. NOW ONLINE FIRST AMENDMENT: The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation launched a website to help teachers with lessons about the First Amendment. It offers free teaching guides, lesson plans, short quizzes for educators and students, and resources such as tools for starting and protecting student newspapers and radio and television stations. The foundation developed the website after a national survey earlier this year showed a lack of First Amendment knowledge in high schools. Its resources may be particularly useful on Constitution Day in September, when teachers in federally funded schools now are required to teach about the Constitution. Find out more: http://www.teachfirstamendment.org . ACT NOW CORPORATE GIVING: The Donors Forum of South Florida will hold a teleconference on Marketing Your Corporate Giving Program Internally and Externally August 17, 2005, from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m., Eastern Time. Carol Cone of Cone Communications will lead discussions on the intersection between charity and corporate branding, gaining employee buy-in for community efforts, creating consistent messaging within the corporation and maximizing community support to gain customer loyalty. Registration is $25. To register or get more information, contact Jennifer@donorsforumsf.org. 990-PF SEMINARS: The Association of Small Foundations will hold 990-PF seminars this fall to explore an important, but often confusing, component of sound foundation management. Daylong seminars for private foundation trustees, staff and their advisors will be held September 29 in Boston, October 20 in Philadelphia, and November 4 in San Francisco. Topics will include self-dealing, compliance and tax planning, plus an overview of sound foundation tax law and a page-by-page analysis of the 990-PF. Register or find out more: http://www.smallfoundations.org/events_1/990pf_seminar . ON THE MOVE KATHERINE M. GROVER was appointed board chair of the Ms. Foundation for Women. In October, RAYNA GAVRILOVA will become executive director of the Trust for Civil Society in Central & Eastern Europe. Read more: http://www.ceetrust.org/news/106.html . DAVID E. TRUEBLOOD is now director of public relations at The Boston Foundation. Read more: http://www.tbf.org/About/about-L2.asp?id=3144 . EUGENE CHAN joined the Community Technology Foundation of California as director of technology. Read more: http://zerodivide.org/announcements/184 . 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: 10.14.05