FN&C Now

Volume 7, Number 14 – March 23, 2006 IN THIS ISSUE AT THE COUNCIL: Early registration discount for annual conference ends tomorrow; half-price membership and conference registration offered; propose sessions for Family Foundation Conference by April 14; sign up for Breaking News NEWS COVERAGE: Foundations on the Hill has record attendance; United Nations launches fund to improve humanitarian response; Foundation Center marks 50 years with new strategic plan, website; Skoll announces social entrepreneurship award winners NOW ONLINE: Executive summary and resources from symposium on avian flu JUST PUBLISHED: Study warns of upcoming leadership deficit; report recommends that European foundations fund more research ACT NOW: Sign up for the Jewish Funders Network's 2006 international conference ON THE MOVE: Thomas A. McDonnell (Kauffman); Tim Mathern and John M. Murphy, Jr. (Bush); Gloria Tristani and Karen Menichelli (Benton); David Paskach (Southwest Minnesota); Oliver McGee and Brenda Siler (United Negro College Fund); Matt Bannick (eBay); Peter Long (The California Endowment); Sherece West (Louisiana Disaster Recovery) AT THE COUNCIL ACT FAST: Friday marks the last day to save $150 off the regular registration rate for the Council on Foundations' 57th Annual Conference, Philanthropy: Investing in the Vision of Progress, to be held in Pittsburgh May 7–9, 2006. Register by March 24 to receive the discount and the conference hotel rate at one of the following: Hilton Pittsburgh, Omni William Penn or the Westin Convention Center Hotel Pittsburgh. Speakers will include Teresa Heinz, chair, the Howard Heinz Endowment and the Heinz Family Philanthropies; George Soros, founder and chairman, Open Society Institute and the Soros foundations network; Senator Max Baucus, ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee; Newt Gingrich, former speaker, U.S. House of Representatives; Richard Florida, economist, professor and author of The Rise of the Creative Class and The Flight of the Creative Class; and Wangari Muta Maathai, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and founder, the Green Belt Movement. Register or find out more: http://int2.cof.org/conferences/ac2006 . HALF-PRICE OFFER: The Council on Foundations has a special offer made possible by its Building Strong and Ethical Foundations program. New foundations can receive a half-priced, non-member registration rate at any Council conference. In addition, they can join the Council and receive half-priced membership dues. Foundations may qualify even if they've been making grants for several years. For specific eligibility information and more details, contact the Membership Department at 202/467-0291 or membership@cof.org. CALL FOR SESSIONS: The Planning Committee requests your ideas for sessions at the 2007 Family Foundation Conference to be held February 25–27, 2007, in Baltimore. All Council on Foundations members, non-member grantmakers who are eligible for membership, affinity groups, regional associations and colleague organizations are invited to participate. The 2007 Call for Sessions seeks creative session proposals that will engage family philanthropists in critical thinking in a variety of areas, including acting on the Stewardship Principles for Family Foundations; building communities; learning from Baltimore's collaborations among government, business and philanthropy; and engaging in advocacy and public policy work. Proposals must be e-mailed by April 14, 2006. Find out more: http://www.cof.org/files/Documents/Family_Foundations/ 2007_FFC_Call_for_Sessions.doc . 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, as well as members and staff of our colleague organizations. Subscribe by e-mailing your name, title and foundation name to media@cof.org. NEWS COVERAGE FOUNDATIONS ON THE HILL: On Wednesday, March 15, a record-setting more than 230 foundation representatives participated in Foundations on the Hill (FOTH). At the annual event, co-hosted by the Council on Foundations and the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers, participants urged their senators and representatives to revise the charitable reform provisions included in the tax reconciliation bill (H.R. 4297, formerly S. 2020). In meetings on Capitol Hill, participants discussed how some of the donor-advised fund and supporting organization reform provisions included in the bill could hamper philanthropy. Philanthropy's role in rebuilding the Gulf Coast was the subject of the keynote address delivered by Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) at the Wednesday kick-off breakfast. FOTH participants also heard from Chairman Donald Powell, President Bush's federal coordinator of Gulf Coast rebuilding, and Martin Lehfeldt, president of the Southeastern Council of Foundations. For the latest information on the tax reconciliation conference, including a copy of the Council's JCT letter, visit the Charitable Reform Resource Center at http://www.cof.org/government . To learn more about Foundations on the Hill 2006, visit http://www.foundationsonthehill.org . HUMANITARIAN FUND: The United Nations (UN) launched the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to provide predictable and expedient funding for global humanitarian crises, including those receiving less media attention and international funding than other crises. CERF will jump-start life-saving relief operations during a crisis' early days (within 72 hours) and also will give long-term support by providing up to $500 million through grants and loans to UN agencies. The fund depends on voluntary contributions from governments, the private sector and individuals. Find out more: http://www.unfoundation.org/cerf/index.asp . LOOKING TO THE NEXT 50: To mark its 50th anniversary, the Foundation Center has a new strategic plan and brand identity built around the theme Knowledge to Build On. It has also redesigned its website. "Simply put, we are transforming the Foundation Center to meet the challenges facing the philanthropic sector in the 21st century," said Sara Engelhardt, the center's president. A year-long outreach campaign features new products and reports, a commemorative publication and special interviews in the center's online news service, Philanthropy News Digest. A series of events at regional learning centers will culminate this November with a gala at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in New York City. Find out more: http://www.fdncenter.org/media/news/pr_0603.html . SKOLL AWARDS: The Skoll Foundation announced 16 winners of the 2006 Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship: Afghan Institute of Learning, Benetech, Ceres, Inc., Child Savings International, CIDA City Campus, Ciudad Saludable, College Summit, Inc., Health Care Without Harm, Institute for Development Studies and Practices, International Bridges to Justice, Renascer Child Health Association, Riders for Health, Room to Read, Roots of Peace, Search for Common Ground and VillageReach. The winners, who are applying innovative and effective approaches to solving critical social issues around the world, will share $13 million in grants. The Skoll Foundation will also award $3 million to Ashoka for a partnership to help build the field of social entrepreneurship. The awards will be presented at the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship in Oxford, England, on March 30. Read more: http://www.skollfoundation.org/media/press_releases/internal/031406.asp . NOW ONLINE AVIAN FLU SYMPOSIUM: In January, the Council on Foundations convened a strategic planning symposium to discuss philanthropy's role in preparing communities for the possibility of an avian flu pandemic. Working closely with Grantmakers In Health, the Council enlisted top medical experts who outlined the serious threat of this illness and the huge gap in public preparedness for this—and other—widespread infectious diseases. The grantmakers who gathered for the symposium identified activities in which the foundation community can play a leadership role, working in concert with public officials and community organizations. To read an executive summary, as well as resource lists and sample documents, go to: http://www.cof.org/Content/General/Display.cfm?contentID=3378 . JUST PUBLISHED LEADER DEFICIT: According to The Nonprofit Sector's Leadership Deficit, nonprofits will need to attract and develop 640,000 new leaders during the next decade, or the equivalent of 2.4 times the number currently employed, to replace leaders who retire or leave the field. The Bridgespan Group's report notes that the reasons for the looming deficit are complex, but are related to the sector's growth, the swelling numbers of baby boomer retirees and the lack of internal resources to develop new leaders and provide career mobility for current leaders. The study, which is accompanied by perspectives from 14 nonprofit and business leaders, recommends that nonprofits explore opportunities to invest in leadership capacity, refine management rewards to retain and attract top talent, expand their recruiting horizons and foster individual career mobility. Read more or submit feedback to the report: http://www.bridgespangroup.org/kno_articles_leadershipdeficit.html . RESEARCH FUNDING: According to Giving More for Research in Europe, European foundations should take a greater role in funding research in Europe and policies should be altered to encourage that investment. The European Commission's report says European foundations prefer to fund culture and education, rather than research organizations. It recommends national and international campaigns that encourage philanthropic funding of research and simplification of tax and regulatory policies governing charitable donations for research. Download the report (PDF): http://europa.eu.int/invest-in-research/pdf/download_en/rec_5_7800_ giving_4_051018_bat.pdf . ACT NOW JEWISH FUNDERS: The Jewish Funders Network will hold its annual international conference April 2–4 in Denver. The conference theme is Plug and Play Judaism: Identity and Community in the Global Era. Several hundred Jewish philanthropists from the United States, Canada, Israel, Europe, South America and Australia will discuss issues related to the future of Jewish identity and challenges and opportunities for grantmaking. Speakers include architect Daniel Libeskind; novelist Jonathan Safran Foer; chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat; former Israel Foreign Ministry Director-General Avi Gil; and "Kosher-Gospel" singer Joshua Nelson. Register or find out more: http://www.jfunders.org/programs/2006-jfn-international-conference . ON THE MOVE THOMAS A. MCDONNELL is now chair of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Read more: http://www.kauffman.org/items.cfm?itemID=680 . The Bush Foundation elected TIM MATHERN and JOHN M. MURPHY, JR., to its board. Read more (PDF): http://www.bushfound.org/News/pdf_files/030806Board.pdf . On April 5, 2006, GLORIA TRISTANI will become president of the Benton Foundation. Also, Executive Vice President KAREN MENICHELLI will retire June 30, 2006, after 24 years at the foundation. She will consult with the foundation on community media. Read more: http://www.benton.org/benton_files/BentonGTannouncement.doc . DAVID PASKACH will become the Southwest Minnesota Foundation's vice president April 3, 2006. The newly created position includes oversight of the foundation's Economic Advancement Initiative. Read more: http://www.swmnfoundation.org . The United Negro College Fund named OLIVER MCGEE senior vice president for academic affairs and BRENDA SILER director of communications and marketing. Read more: https://www.uncf.org/mediacenter/pr_Detail.asp?prID=102 . Later this year, MATT BANNICK will leave his position as president of eBay International to spearhead eBay's initiatives in corporate philanthropy and the developing world. Read more: http://investor.ebay.com/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=189493&FYear . The California Endowment promoted Senior Program Officer PETER LONG to director of research and planning. The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation appointed SHERECE WEST president and CEO. 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: 3.27.06