FN&C Now

Volume 6, Number 35 – October 14, 2005 IN THIS ISSUE NEWS COVERAGE: UN Foundation commits $1 million for earthquake relief; Independent Sector announces Virginia A. Hodgkinson Research Prize winners; Association of Black Foundation Executives welcomes inaugural fellows; Duke Endowment makes largest-ever grant NOW ONLINE: Foundation News & Commentary's Q&A with Steve Gunderson; blog on business models by Vermont Community Foundation's Brian Byrnes AT THE COUNCIL: New publication on conflict of interest released; sign up for Breaking News JUST PUBLISHED: Arts education funding surpasses arts funding overall; community foundations and United Ways converge and compete; report highlights strategies for promoting English among immigrants ACT NOW: Stanford Social Innovation Review explores corporate social responsibility, offers discount to Council members; register for forum on health policy and philanthropy; propose a session for the 2006 Community Foundations of Canada conference ON THE MOVE: Emmett D. Carson, Norman Francis and Brenda Birkett, et al. (Louisiana Disaster Recovery); Larry Kressley (Public Welfare); Karen VanHouton (Orange County); Nancy Jamison (San Diego Grantmakers); Madeleine Enyegue (Council on Foundations) NEWS COVERAGE EARTHQUAKE RELIEF: The United Nations Foundation committed $1 million to United Nations Earthquake relief initiatives in South Asia to help support the UN's immediate response in the affected countries of Pakistan, India and Afghanistan, build critical communications and logistics capacities and support the UN's aid coordination role. In addition, the UN Foundation established the South Asia Earthquake Response Fund to allow individual donations in support of the UN's emergency relief, reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts. Find out more: http://www.unfoundation.org/features/southasia_earthquake.asp . REWARDING RESEARCH: Independent Sector will present its 2005 Virginia A. Hodgkinson Research Prize to Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart for their book, Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide. This year, two works will share honorable mention. Richard Chait, Bill Ryan and Barbara Taylor will be recognized for their book, Governance as Leadership: Reframing the Work of Nonprofit Boards, and Steven Dubb and Gar Alperovitz of The Democracy Collaborative will be recognized for their book, Building Wealth: The New Asset-Based Approach to Solving Social and Economic Problems. Award recipients will be honored at Independent Sector's 25th Anniversary Conference, in Washington, DC, from October 23–25, 2005. Find out more: http://www.independentsector.org/media/20051013_hodgkinson_award.html . INAUGURAL FELLOWS: The Association of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE) announced ten participants in its 2005–2006 Connecting Leaders Fellowship Program. The fellowship is the cornerstone of ABFE's multiyear initiative to develop the next generation of leaders in philanthropy and to increase resources targeted to challenges in black communities. New fellows are: Tonya Allen, The Skillman Foundation; Andrea Anderson, Aspen Institute Roundtable on Community Change; Susan Taylor Batten, Annie E. Casey Foundation; Rudy Guglielmo, Arizona Community Foundation; Rahsaan Harris, The Atlantic Philanthropies; Obiel Leyva, The San Francisco Foundation; Toya Randall, Grand Victoria Foundation; Erika Seth, donor to Associated Black Charities-MD; Phillip Thomas, Woods Fund of Chicago; and Akilah Watkins, The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta. During the fellowship year, each fellow receives mentoring and leadership coaching, plus a professional development stipend. Read more: http://www.abfe.org/publish/ConnectingLeaders1.pdf . LARGEST-EVER GIFT: The Duke Endowment gave $75 million to Duke University—the largest donation in the endowment's and the school's history. The gift, which will be distributed over three years, will fund student financial aid and a matching grant challenge to spur additional donations for financial aid. The 81-year-old endowment was established as a charitable trust with a $40 million donation by industrialist James Buchanan Duke; it is independent of the university. Read more: http://www.dukeendowment.org/news/-/i/4 . NOW ONLINE FOUNDATION NEWS: In the September/October Foundation News & Commentary, new Council on Foundations President and CEO Steve Gunderson is interviewed by Executive Editor Allan R. Clyde. Also in the issue, Lee Draper looks into capacity-building grants gone bad in "Funders Little Shop of Horrors," Gerald R. Solomon writes about reshaping the sector's approach to capacity building in "The New Conversation for Capacity Building" and Stuart Applebaum writes about taking on controversial issues in "The Cost of Sticking Your Neck Out." Read the issue: http://www.foundationnews.org . BUSINESS BLOG: Brian Byrnes, CEO of the Vermont Community Foundation, has begun a blog about the foundation's transformation from a fee-for-service revenue business model to a "5 percent for Vermont" supporting contribution model. The blog was created to document the foundation's progress and solicit feedback from community foundation peers. Find out more: http://thevermontexperiment.blogspot.com/2005/09/from-transactional-to-transformational.html . AT THE COUNCIL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: A new publication from the Council on Foundations' Legal Services and Ethical Standards Group, Conflict of Interest: IRS Sample Policy, Annotated for Grantmakers, offers help with navigating the Internal Revenue Service's suggested conflict of interest policy. On the recently revised application for tax-exempt status (Form 1023), the IRS asks new organizations whether they have adopted a written conflict of interest policy that is consistent with a sample included in the instructions (and if so, to attach a copy of the policy). If a policy has not been adopted, the IRS requires applicants to describe the procedures the organization will follow to safeguard against improper conflict of interest transactions. Similar questions are expected to appear on Forms 990 and 990-PF in the future. The Council's publication, which is part of the Building Strong and Ethical Foundations initiative, offers extensive comments on the sample policy. Download the document (PDF): http://www.cof.org/files/Documents/Building%20Strong%20Ethical%20Foundations/Conflicts_of_Interest_IRS_Sample_Policy.pdf . 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. JUST PUBLISHED ARTS FUNDING: The first in-depth study on foundation funding for arts education reports that, between 1999 and 2003, giving grew faster for arts education than for arts overall. Foundation Funding for Arts Education: An Overview of Recent Trends, released by The Foundation Center and Grantmakers for the Arts, found that the number of organizations benefiting from arts education support jumped by one-quarter—from approximately 1,400 to 1,800—between 1999 and 2003. In 2003, programs serving children and youth received more than 40 percent of the $208.8 million given for arts education by the largest U.S. foundations; but arts giving is also targeting all age groups and a wide range of purposes. "Arts education is a growing area of funder interest," said Loren Renz, vice president for research at The Foundation Center. "In recent years, as public funding of arts education has declined, foundation giving for arts education has grown." The Wallace Foundation provided funding for the report. Read more or download the report (PDF): http://fdncenter.org/media/news/pr_0510a.html . Foundation Grants to Arts and Culture: A One-Year Snapshot examines overall trends in funding for arts and culture. Download the report (PDF): http://fdncenter.org/research/trends_analysis/pdf/2003snapshot.pdf . OVERLAPPING GOALS: A national study concludes that United Ways and community foundations are increasingly seeking the same donors, making the same kinds of grants and finding themselves sometimes cooperating, sometimes competing and frequently doing both. Convergence and Competition: United Ways and Community Foundations, A National Inquiry, from CompassPoint Nonprofit Services and the Council of Michigan Foundations, reports on the degree of overlap in the organizations' missions and fundraising strategies, and recommends relationship-building between United Ways and community foundations. Research for the study included written surveys, interviews and focus groups with 319 executives from United Ways and community foundations, located in rural areas to major cities. The study was underwritten by the C.S. Mott Foundation and the Council on Foundations. Highlights from the report are available now; the full report will be available December 1, 2005. Download the highlights: http://www.compasspoint.org/UWCF . SUCCESS STRATEGIES: A new study from Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees provides funders with effective strategies to help preserve unity in immigrant families and promote their economic success and integration through English skills. Supporting English Language Acquisition: Opportunities for Foundations to Strengthen the Social and Economic Well-Being of Immigrant Families provides recommendations and examples of numerous successful programs. The recommendations cover programs designed for families with young children and adolescents, as well as strategies for immigrants with both high and low levels of education. The study also discusses program and research gaps where grantmakers can make a critical difference. The report was published with financial support from and in partnership with the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Download the report (PDF): http://www.gcir.org/resources/gcir_publications/Language%20Acquisition%20Paper.pdf . ACT NOW SOCIAL INNOVATION: The fall issue of Stanford Social Innovation Review examines whether corporate social responsibility initiatives are more likely to lead to "business as usual" instead of curing societal problems in "The Myth of CSR," by Deborah Doane; and in "Imagining a Democracy," and in "Moving Beyond Reproach," Peter Manzo says that accountability proposals should focus more on ways to help nonprofits deal with actual ethical crises. This issue also includes "The Funder Next Door," by Michael Seltzer, president of the New York Regional Association of Grantmakers, on grantmakers moving into the communities they serve. Read more or subscribe: http://www.ssireview.com . Stanford Social Innovation Review is offering a 10 percent discount on subscriptions for Council on Foundations members. The discounted subscription price is the lowest rate ever at $34.95 ($29.95 if paying by credit card). Council members may subscribe by entering the promo code "COF" at: https://www.ssireview.com/subscribe/subscribe.php . HEALTH FORUM: Grantmakers In Health (GIH) will hold its annual Fall Forum November 3–4, 2005, in Washington, DC. The forum is the one time each year when GIH focuses exclusively on the intersection of health policy and health philanthropy. This year, GIH will test a new format that allows grantmakers to explore several issues in-depth, while still interacting with other funders, federal agency representatives and the broader health policy community. Two day-long Issue Dialogues will focus on policy and advocacy funding strategies and expanding insurance coverage and improving access for children. Register or find out more: http://www.gih.org/calendar_url2665/calendar_url_show.htm?doc_id=276738 . CALL FOR SESSIONS: Community Foundations of Canada (CFC) will hold its next biennial National Conference May 11–13, 2006, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, with the theme of Shining the Light on Leadership. For the first time, CFC is calling for session proposals from member community foundations and others working within the Canadian and international philanthropic field. The conference will focus on the opportunities for community foundations to be catalysts and work creatively with local partners to tackle the most pressing issues in their communities. Conference sessions will provide community foundations with training, tools and resources to strengthen their practical skills and offer the opportunity for community foundations to share the vision, values, experience, know-how and inspiration that underpin leadership. Submissions deadline is October 31, 2005. Find out more: http://www.cfc-fcc.ca/doc/CFC_2006_National_Conference_Call_for_Session_Proposals.doc . ON THE MOVE EMMETT D. CARSON, president of The Minneapolis Foundation and Council on Foundations board chair, was named interim CEO of the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation and NORMAN FRANCIS was named chair. Other new board members are: BRENDA BIRKETT, RENAE CONLEY, FATHER HAMPTON DAVIS, BERWICK DUVAL, LINETTA GILBERT, BILL HENNING, SYBAL HOLT, R. KING MILLING and JOHN REDD, III. Read more: http://www.gov.state.la.us/index.cfm?md=newsroom&tmp=detail&articleID=559 . The Public Welfare Foundation announced that LARRY KRESSLEY will step down as executive director on October 31, 2006, after nearly 25 years with the foundation. Read more: http://www.publicwelfare.org/news/news/director_sep2005.asp . KAREN VANHOUTON joined the Community Foundation of Orange County in Chester, New York. Read more: http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/CFOC_VP-29Sep05.htm . NANCY JAMISON is now executive director of San Diego Grantmakers. Read more: http://www.sdgrantmakers.org/about_us/nancy_jamison.asp . The Council on Foundations hired MADELEINE ENYEGUE as membership specialist for the Building Strong and Ethical Foundations effort. 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: 10.21.05