Council on Foundations: FN&C Now – Volume 6, Number 38

	FN&C Now
	Volume 6, Number 38 – November 9, 2005 IN THIS ISSUE NEWS COVERAGE: Two new fellowships honor William C. Richardson; Tides purchases office space for New York City nonprofits; Lumina foundation funds doctoral fellowships in philanthropic studies IN MEMORIAM: Waldemar A. Nielsen and Alan Pifer pass away JUST PUBLISHED: Survey says foundations lag in technology use; guide on nonprofit organizational lifecycles and capacity building published NOW ONLINE: Knight foundation offers online letter of inquiry; The Foundation Center celebrates philanthropy AT THE COUNCIL: CFSource highlights leadership team's agenda; sign up for Breaking News ACT NOW: Aid in the search for excellent corporate philanthropy; nominate a Latino scholar or California leader ON THE MOVE: Susan Schooley (McGregor); Carol Golden, Ari Matusiak and Kimberly M. Butler (Rhode Island); Daniel Olias Silverman (Irvine); Dana Lanza (Environmental Grantmakers); Rebecca Masisak, Marnie Webb and Sandra Whisler (CompuMentor) NEWS COVERAGE RICHARDSON FELLOWSHIPS: The Council of Michigan Foundations (CMF) established the William C. Richardson Fund for Public Policy to honor the public policy efforts of Richardson, who retires as president and CEO of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation on December 31. The fund, which was established with a $400,000 endowed gift from Richardson and the foundation, will support internships and fellowships at CMF for students interested in public policy and the nonprofit sector. In addition, through a leadership gift from Richardson and the foundation, with additional gifts from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and several individuals, $1 million has been raised to match a $1 million donation from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to create the William C. Richardson Fellowship on Public Policy and Philanthropy. The fellowship will allow a mid-career journalist from a national media outlet to participate in a yearlong sabbatical on public policy and philanthropy at the University of Michigan and CMF. Read more: http://www.cmif.org/News_Detailed.asp?ID=881 . NONPROFIT HOUSING: Tides Shared Spaces, a program of the Tides network of nonprofits, purchased 40,000 square feet of office space in lower Manhattan. The space will provide quality work areas for New York City nonprofit and cultural organizations, as well as stable rents, conference facilities and opportunities for tenant collaboration. The offices, Thoreau Center New York, will open to tenants and the community in summer 2006. Read more: http://www.thoreau.org/news.htm . NEW FELLOWSHIP: The Lumina Foundation for Education provided $248,100 for a fellowship program for Ph.D. students in Philanthropic Studies at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. The funding will support two fellows, who are focusing their research either on philanthropy and higher education or on private foundations, for three years. The doctoral degree, which was first offered in fall 2004, is designed to blend the expertise of practitioners and scholars to produce meaningful new contributions for philanthropy. The center's program is the first traditional-format Ph.D. in philanthropic studies in the United States and is among a small number of doctoral programs in the nation dedicated to such issues. Read more: http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?id=15656 . IN MEMORIAM INFLUENTIAL CRITIC: Waldemar A. Nielsen, a former Ford Foundation official known for his influential, stinging analyses of America's top philanthropies, died November 2, 2005, at age 88. His writings caused many foundations to change how they operated. In 2002, a chair in philanthropy was endowed in Nielsen's honor at Georgetown University's Public Policy Institute. In the New York Times, Sara L. Engelhardt, president of The Foundation Center, said Nielsen "can be credited with the emerging self-consciousness of foundations" and that "the new generation of leaders of foundations have been very much influenced by his work." Read the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/04/nyregion/04nielsen.html . TRAIL BLAZER: On October 31, 2005, Alan Pifer, who served as president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York from 1967 to 1982, died at age 84. While at Carnegie, Pifer launched grant strategies to promote and broaden educational opportunities, which led to the creation of the Children's Television Workshop and the federal Pell Grant program. Pifer also led the organization in supporting civil-rights projects and forming public-interest law projects in South Africa that challenged apartheid and continue to influence South African society today. Pifer was a board member of the Council on Foundations from 1970 to 1976; in 1984, he received the Council's Distinguished Grantmaker Award. Read more: http://www.carnegie.org/sub/news/pifer.html . Read Pifer's 1997 essay, "Speaking Out-Reflections on Thirty Years of Foundation Work," in Foundation News & Commentary: http://www.foundationnews.org/CME/article.cfm?ID=2377 . JUST PUBLISHED LAGGING BEHIND: The 2005 Grantmakers Information Technology Survey Report, conducted by the Technology Affinity Group (TAG) and the Council on Foundations, found that although 75 percent of 336 respondents have improved their websites and 56 percent have addressed security issues since 2003, most foundations haven't fully integrated technology into their business practices by accepting online grant applications and reports and providing online donor services. One reason for the lag is that the economic downturn of the early 2000s has affected foundations' ability to use new and improved technology systems. Council on Foundations President and CEO Steve Gunderson said, "We hope this report serves as a call to action for foundations large and small to evaluate their business practices and improve their use of communications technology, especially with grantees and donors." The 2005 survey was conducted as follow-up to a 2003 survey done in response to members' and the sector's need for information about technology use in philanthropy and to enable TAG and the Council to better serve their members. Download the executive summary or the full report (PDF): http://www.cof.org/index.cfm?containerid=39&menuContainerName=&navID=0&orglink=58 . The executive summary and full report (PDF) are also available at: http://www.tagtech.org/infostore/Tag_ResourceLibraryDetails.asp?RID=757 . GOING THROUGH STAGES: BoardSource released Navigating the Organizational Lifecycle: A Capacity-Building Guide for Nonprofit Leaders to help board members and chief executives understand, prepare for and navigate inevitable organizational lifecycle passages and changes. Written by Paul M. Connolly, the book teaches nonprofit leaders how to assess where an organization is in its lifecycle, determine if capacities are properly aligned with the current stage of development, change board composition and responsibilities over time, and encourage boards to be more strategic and proactive in planning for the future. Read an article based on the book or purchase the book: http://www.boardsource.org/Welcome.asp?ID=1 . NOW ONLINE ONLINE INQUIRY: The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation now offers grantseekers an easier way to find out if they qualify for funding through its online letter of inquiry. The foundation's website provides grantseekers with instructions and a form for the letter, which serves as the first step in initiating the grantmaking process. The foundation's program officers see completed inquiries almost immediately after they are submitted. The site also offers a helpful, optional online quiz that verifies eligibility and describes Knight's funding priorities and geographic coverage. "We want to increase the speed of our response, and we want to help applicants learn quickly whether their project will be invited for a full proposal," said Michael Maidenberg, Knight's vice president and chief program officer. Find out more: http://www.knightfdn.org/default.asp?story=news_at_knight/releases/2005/2005_11_01_loi.html . CELEBRATING PHILANTHROPY: November is Celebrating Philanthropy Month at the Foundation Center. Website visitors will find links to philanthropy resources and information about events at its libraries around the country, including opportunities to hear grantmakers' perspectives on the state of philanthropy. The center is also offering free shipping on online orders of its new book, The Foundation Center's Guide to Winning Proposals II. Find out more: http://www.fdncenter.org/focus/philanthropy/;jsessionid= X3GO4TJVKQQNTTQRSI4CGXD5AAAACI2F . AT THE COUNCIL CFSOURCE: The October CFSource highlights the Community Foundations Leadership Team's new agenda, which calls for the team to serve as a collective voice for the field, to follow through on current investments in areas such as national standards and marketing and to chart future areas of work using research and development. The issue also reports that nearly 500 community foundations, out of approximately 700 nationwide, have declared their intent to comply with the National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations. It also announces conference calls on preparing record books for National Standards compliance on November 16 and December 5. Read more (PDF): http://www.cof.org/Content/Newsletter/Display.cfm?newsletterID=3130 . 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 CORPORATE EXCELLENCE: The Committee to Encourage Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) is seeking nominations for Excellence Awards to be presented to companies demonstrating outstanding CEO leadership, dedication to measurement and innovation in corporate philanthropy. In addition, a $25,000 Directors Award will be given to a nonprofit that distinguishes itself by building an effective partnership with a company in its community. The awards will be presented at CECP's annual Members Meeting and Excellence Awards Luncheon in New York City on February 27, 2006, which has also been proclaimed Corporate Philanthropy Day. Nominations deadline is December 2, 2005. Find out more: http://www.corphilanthropy.org/excellenceawards/index.html . LATINO SCHOLARSHIP: Chicago Latinos in Philanthropy created a partial scholarship to help a Latino student participate in Loyola University's Philanthropy & Nonprofit Sector Program. The $1,500 scholarship will be given to a Latino student working in a nonprofit serving a low-income community who would like to enter the program in spring 2006. The awards committee will make a decision based on the student's acceptance to the philanthropy program at Loyola's School of Social Work, strong academic skills and potential for contribution to the field. Application deadline is November 30, 2005. Read more or make a nomination (PDF): http://www.luc.edu/philanthropy . LEADERSHIP AWARDS: The James Irvine Foundation launched The James Irvine Foundation Leadership Awards to annually recognize leaders who are advancing innovative and effective solutions to significant social issues in California. The foundation is seeking nominations for individuals or leadership groups working in any field, including education, health, housing, economic development or the environment, in the public, private or nonprofit sector. The awards are designed to support effective leaders and to advance solutions to the social issues being addressed. The awards will provide four to six recipients with $125,000 in flexible resources to support their organizations' work and their professional development. Nomination deadline is January 20, 2006. Learn more or make a nomination: http://www.irvine.org/leadership . ON THE MOVE SUSAN SCHOOLEY joined the McGregor Fund's board of trustees. The Rhode Island Foundation promoted Senior Vice President for Philanthropic Services CAROL GOLDEN to executive vice president and chief operating officer, a newly created position. Senior Program Officer and Special Advisor to the President ARI MATUSIAK was promoted to the newly created position of director of strategy, and Director of Gift Planning KIMBERLY M. BUTLER became acting vice president for philanthropic services. On December 27, DANIEL OLIAS SILVERMAN will join the James Irvine Foundation as director of communications. Read more: http://www.irvine.org/irvine_news/press_releases/current/11-01_daniel_silverman.shtml . DANA LANZA joined the Environmental Grantmakers Association as executive director. She will begin part-time work November 14 and start fulltime January 9. Read more: http://www.ega.org/news/docs/DanaLanzaannoucement4.doc . CompuMentor promoted three senior managers to be the organization's first vice presidents: REBECCA MASISAK is now vice president and general manager; MARNIE WEBB is vice president of knowledge services; and SANDRA WHISLER is vice president and managing director. Read more: http://www.compumentor.org/news/cm_102505.html . 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: 11.22.05