FN&C Now

Volume 7, Number 27 – June 23, 2006 IN THIS ISSUE NEWS COVERAGE: W.K. Kellogg Foundation awards $9.3 million to improve performance of grantees; James Irvine Foundation creates Artistic Innovation Fund NOW ONLINE: Foundation News & Commentary interview with Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation CEO Sherece West, perspectives on philanthropy's role in the immigration debate JUST PUBLISHED: National and grassroots organizations must better coordinate disaster relief, report says; Transatlantic Community Foundation Network offers CD-ROM toolkit AWARDS ROUNDUP: 2006 Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leaders named ACT NOW: Join discussion on foundations as learning organizations; register for symposium on health and philanthropy ON THE MOVE: Alexander W. Clowes, Jonathan J. Clowes, et al. (Clowes); Brian Nicklason and Kris Ferraro (Blandin); Lance Henderson (Skoll); David Addiss (Fetzer); Alyce Myatt (Grantmakers in Film and Electronic Media); J. Steven Orr (Communities Foundation of Texas); John Slocum and Milena Novy-Marx (MacArthur) NEWS COVERAGE STRENGTHENING GRANTEES: The W.K. Kellogg Foundation awarded a $9.3 million grant to improve the performance, effectiveness and financial sustainability of more than 800 of its U.S.-based grantees. The Fieldstone Alliance, recipient of the grant, will be the primary project manager for the initiative. The Nonprofit Finance Fund will be lead developer of new financial tools and practices. Participating grantees will have access to consultants, training, benchmarking, management tools, capital, publications, professional associations and conferences to improve their organizational capacity and financial structure. Read more: http://www.fieldstonealliance.org/client/consulting/pages/pr_kellogg.cfm . ARTS FUND LAUNCHED: The James Irvine Foundation launched the Artistic Innovation Fund to help arts institutions increase innovation in artistic programming, through interaction with the public and organizational management. The first round of seven grants from the fund includes $900,000 to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to develop a multimedia experience for visitors that extends beyond museum walls and $700,000 to the La Jolla Playhouse to create production and audience development models for new theater work. Read more: http://www.irvine.org/irvine_news/press_releases/2006/06-15_grants_listing.shtml . NOW ONLINE FOUNDATION NEWS: The cover story of the May/June Foundation News & Commentary is a conversation on the recovery, relief and rebuilding of Louisiana with Sherece West, head of the newly created Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation. Also in the issue, Daranee Petsod, Geri Mannion, Theresa Fay-Bustillos, Diana Campoamor and Arturo Vargas offer perspectives on philanthropy's role in the immigration debate; Maria Schneider explains how a well-thought-out approach to corporate matching gift programs is critical to creating value for companies; and Marcia Sharp writes that regular communication with the entire board can help CEOs avoid misunderstandings. Read the issue: http://www.foundationnews.org . JUST PUBLISHED WEATHERING THE STORM: A report from the Aspen Institute's Nonprofit Sector and Philanthropy Program highlights the need for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the American Red Cross to better coordinate efforts with local and faith-based organizations in disaster relief. Weathering the Storm: the Role of Local Nonprofits in the Hurricane Katrina Relief Effort found that national groups were overwhelmed by the task of providing relief to hundreds of thousands of Hurricane Katrina victims, which led to small relief agencies being overburdened. Those smaller, local groups received limited support and coordination from FEMA and the Red Cross. Written by Tony Pipa, former executive director of the Warner Foundation and former executive on loan at the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation, the report makes several recommendations, including forming a high-level coordinating body to help define roles and resolve coordination issues; creating a special Congressional designation (to be used during exceptional crises only) that, once invoked, mandates the American Red Cross to contribute five percent of its overall fundraising for that disaster to locally-based agencies; and making reimbursement and grantmaking policies at FEMA and private foundations more flexible to help funds reach organizations faster and allow them to be used for general operating expenses. Read more or download the report (PDF): http://www.nonprofitresearch.org/newsletter1525/newsletter_show.htm?doc_id=377736 . CD-ROM TOOLKIT: The Transatlantic Community Foundation Network (TCFN)'s CD-ROM Tools for the Field offers resources for community foundations developed by practitioners from Europe, North America and Mexico. The CD-ROM includes: a perception-based, self-assessment tool for community foundations; a workbook that defines and discusses the various non-grantmaking roles of community foundations, as well as the obstacles to playing such roles; PowerPoint presentations on marketing, originally developed for U.S. community foundations and adapted and customized for community foundations in several different countries and cultures; key elements of planning asset development and finding operating support; lessons and insights from the TCFN on building an international learning community; and a program outline for TCFN Phase III (2005-2008). The network was created in 1999 to promote development of community foundations on both sides of the Atlantic. For a free copy of the CD-ROM, e-mail tcfn@bertelsmann.de. AWARDS ROUNDUP HEALTH LEADERS: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation announced the 10 Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leaders (CHLP). Recipients are Elizabeth Arenales, healthcare policy director, Colorado Center on Law and Policy; Sharon Baskerville, executive director, D.C. Primary Care Association; Yolette Bonnet, CEO, Comprehensive AIDS Program of Palm Beach County; Gregg Croteau, executive director, United Teen Equality Center, Inc.; Monty Fakhouri, director of public health and youth services, Arab American and Chaldean Council; Annie Maxwell, director, STARS and volunteer services, Center for the Visually Impaired; Brent Moss, district court judge, 7th Idaho Judicial District; Kristy Nichols, director, Bureau of Primary Care and Rural Health; Michael Rodolico, executive director, Health Access Washoe County; and Bev Tittle-Baker, president/CEO, Community Asset and Resource Enterprise (CARE) Partnership. "This award is given to 10 people who have demonstrated through ingenuity, perseverance and social commitment, that moving the needle to improve the health and well-being of people in their communities and giving a voice to those who may need help in raising their own, can be achieved," said Catherine Dunham, CHLP program director. The winners receive $120,000 each ($115,000 for their program and a $5,000 personal award) for their work in solving complex health and social service problems. Read more: http://www.rwjf.org/newsroom/newsreleasesdetail.jsp?id=10417 . DONOR LEARNING: In the June issue of Alliance magazine, guest editors Jenny Hyatt and Allan Kaplan describe their ideal learning organization and suggest that many funders are failing to live up to it. Hyatt and Kaplan caution against the "we measure impact" mentality, which can result in a feeling that learning is mainly about measuring things, rather than something embedded in the fabric of organizational life. As a follow-up, the magazine is hosting a discussion on donors as learning organizations through Monday, June 26. Read the articles: http://www.allavida.org/alliance/jun06a.html . Join the discussion or read online contributions: http://www.socialedge.org/Events/ThoughtLeaders/31 . ACT NOW HEALTH FUNDING: The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University's 19th annual symposium, "Health and Philanthropy: Leveraging Change," will be held August 24–25, 2006, in Indianapolis. The meeting will bring together top nonprofit and for-profit practitioners, scholars and leaders from throughout the health and philanthropic sectors to reflect on the role of philanthropy in health, both in the United States and globally. Small-group discussions will address issues such as funding for ethically-sensitive research, the role of philanthropy in ensuring access to healthcare, alternative funding strategies for improving public health, the critical role of public-private partnerships in facing the global challenge of infectious diseases, and how expectations are changing for disaster relief organizations. Keynote speakers include Ambassador Stephen Lewis, special envoy to the United Nations for HIV/AIDS in Africa and former Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations; John Seffrin, CEO of the American Cancer Society; and Henrie Treadwell, director of Community Voices at Morehouse School of Medicine. Registration is $300 before July 7 and $375 afterward. Register or find out more: http://www.philanthropy.iupui.edu/Symposium2006Announce.html . ON THE MOVE The Clowes Fund elected: ALEXANDER W. CLOWES, president; JONATHAN J. CLOWES, vice president; MARGARET C. BOWLES, secretary; WILLIAM H. MARSHALL, treasurer; and ELIZABETH A. CASSELMAN, assistant secretary/treasurer. DANIEL P. CLOWES was elected board member and MARGARET J. CLOWES was voted emeritus status. Read more: http://www.indianagrantmakers.org/NewsRoom/Detail.cfm?details=317&Ref=News . In January 2007, BRIAN NICKLASON and KRIS FERRARO will become trustees of the Blandin Foundation. Read more (PDF): http://www.blandinfoundation.org/documents/June06_2_New_Members_Board.pdf . LANCE HENDERSON joined the Skoll Foundation as vice president, program and impact. Read more: http://www.skollfoundation.org/media/press_releases/internal/062006.asp . DAVID ADDISS is now a senior program officer at the Fetzer Institute. Read more: http://www.fetzer.org/WhatsNew.aspx?PageID=WhatsNew&NavID=4 . ANDREA L. TAYLOR was named director for U.S. community affairs at Microsoft Corp. Read more: http://www.csrwire.com/article.cgi/5789.html . Grantmakers in Film and Electronic Media appointed ALYCE MYATT managing director. Read more: http://gfem.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=44&Itemid=41 . Communities Foundation of Texas hired J. STEVEN ORR as senior money manager. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation named JOHN SLOCUM director of the Initiative on Global Migration and Human Mobility. He remains co-chair, Higher Education Initiative-Russia. Also, former Program Officer for Human Rights and International Justice MILENA NOVY-MARX was appointed program officer for the Initiative on Global Migration and Human Mobility. SPECIAL OFFER The Council on Foundations has a special offer made possible through the 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 also join the Council and receive half-priced membership dues. Your foundation may qualify—even if you've been grantmaking for several years. For specific eligibility information and more details, please contact the COF Membership Department at 202/467-0291. 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: 9.20.06