FN&C Now

Volume 7, Number 30 – July 25, 2006 IN THIS ISSUE NEWS COVERAGE: Peninsula Community Foundation, Community Foundation Silicon Valley take steps to merge; the Colorado Trust provides additional $3 million for immigrant integration; the James Irvine Foundation names first recipients of Leadership Awards IN MEMORIAM: Clifford (Cliff) Lee, Florida's philanthropy "dean" AT THE COUNCIL: Join the 2007 Annual Conference conversation by July 31; Council decides not to change membership eligibility of commercial gift funds; sign up for Breaking News NOW ONLINE: Transcript available from panel discussion on what Buffett gift means to philanthropy; enhanced GuideStar service gives grantmakers instant access to IRS Publication 78 JUST PUBLISHED: GrantCraft guide explains how to make measurement work ACT NOW: Register for seminar for new foundation CEOs ON THE MOVE: Sybil Jordan Hampton (Winthrop Rockefeller); Nancy L. Rackoff (Pittsburgh); Elena Cox (Open Society); Vivian L. Beetle (Roche); Tamara Copeland (Washington Grantmakers) NEWS COVERAGE LOOKING TO MERGE: The board of the Peninsula Community Foundation (PCF) and the Community Foundation Silicon Valley (CFSV) voted unanimously to work toward forming a single new foundation. Named the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the new foundation would be among the largest community foundations in the country, with more than $1.5 billion in assets. In a memorandum of understanding, each board approved the new name and a new central office in either Palo Alto or East Palo Alto, with branch offices in San Jose and San Mateo. Members of the new foundation's board will convene later this month to select a chief executive officer. Peter Hero, the current CEO of CFSV, will continue as a senior advisor. Final approval of the merger is scheduled for October and, pending legal review and an IRS ruling on tax exemption, the new organization will be in place by the end of the year. Read more: http://www.pcf.org/about/pr_71206.html . INTEGRATING IMMIGRANTS: The Colorado Trust will give an additional $3 million to support five more Colorado communities in their efforts to strengthen immigrant integration. The Trust's Supporting Immigrant and Refugee Families Initiative, begun in 2000, is a ten-year, $16.7 million initiative and the first effort in the nation to provide support to multiple communities across one state. Ten communities have already received grants from the project. Immigrant integration involves adaptation by both immigrants and the broader or "receiving" community. Communities that have completed their planning processes are now employing strategies that include integration resource centers, community dialogues and interpreter banks. Read more (PDF): http://www.coloradotrust.org/repository/newsreleases/pdfs/2006/2006-07-17.SIRFIintegration.cycle2.pdf . LEADERS NAMED: The James Irvine Foundation selected seven California leaders to receive its first Leadership Awards, which celebrate the ability of individuals to make a difference to California's future and spotlight the promising solutions they are advancing. Recipients are James Bell, founder, W. Haywood Burns Institute for Juvenile Justice Fairness and Equity (San Francisco); Mark Gold, executive director, Heal the Bay, (Los Angeles); Sister Eileen McNerney, founder, Taller San Jose (Santa Ana); Don Shalvey, co-founder and CEO, Aspire Public Schools (Oakland); Eric Weaver, founder, Lenders for Community Development (San Jose); and Kevin Sved and Jonathan Williams, founders, The Accelerated School (Los Angeles). Each receives $125,000 to $150,000 to advance their work and for professional development. Read more: http://www.irvine.org/leadershipAwards . IN MEMORIAM PHILANTHROPY "DEAN": Clifford (Cliff) Lee, 82, chairman and president emeritus of the Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation, died July 16, 2006, in Orlando, Florida. Lee's 40 years of service to the philanthropic field as a lawyer, foundation executive, and advisor to nonprofits and charities earned him the moniker of "dean" of Florida philanthropy. With the late Edyth Bush and his late friend and legal partner, David R. Roberts, Lee created the Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation, which is noted for its accountability, innovation, and creativity, in 1973. The Florida Philanthropic Network and the Rollins College Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership Center were also created under his leadership. Read more (PDF): http://www.edythbush.org/docs/CliffordLee.pdf . AT THE COUNCIL JOIN THE CONVERSATION: The Council on Foundations' 2007 Annual Conference, to be held April 29–May 1 in Seattle, will continue, culminate and celebrate a year-long, field-wide conversation on the search for philanthropic opportunities to meet challenges confronting our communities, regions and nations. Voices from around the world have already responded to the 2007 Annual Conference Call for Comments, Part 1, launched via e-mail and on the Council's website in June. A report will be compiled based on submissions received by Monday, July 31, 2006. To join the conversation, visit: http://www.cof.org/Network/external.cfm?ItemNumber=4176&navItemNumber=4198 . Return to the Council's website on August 11, for the Call for Comments, Part 2, which will look at four big issues in philanthropy: http://www.cof.org/Council/?ItemNumber=4009 . COMMERCIAL GIFT FUNDS: In 1997, the Council on Foundations' Board of Directors approved a moratorium on admitting commercial gift funds as Council members. During the past year, the Council's Membership Committee reexamined the assumptions underlying the moratorium as part of its overall review of existing membership criteria. Their charge was to find ways to align more closely the Council's membership policies and the new Strategic Framework, which identifies strategies for welcoming all those engaged in organized philanthropy to become members, to benefit from Council services and to adhere to the highest standards of professional conduct. The committee, in consultation with the Community Foundations Leadership Team (CFLT), considered whether the moratorium should be lifted to allow any commercial gift fund that satisfies current membership criteria to become a member of the Council. To become better informed about community foundations' views on this issue, the CFLT conducted an online survey. It then re-convened by conference call to incorporate the survey findings in its own deliberations, and then made recommendations to the board. Responding to the meaningful discussions among the board, the committee, the CFLT and the field, the board concluded that now was not the appropriate time to rescind the moratorium. View the strategic framework (PDF): http://www.cof.org/files/Documents/Public_Policy/2005StrategicFramework.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, as well as members and staff of our colleague organizations. Subscribe by e-mailing your name, title and foundation name to media@cof.org. NOW ONLINE PANEL TRANSCRIPT: Warren Buffett announced in June that he's giving away 85 percent of his $44 billion fortune to support philanthropic causes, the largest of which is the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. To put the Buffett announcement into historical, cultural and political perspective, the Hudson Institute's Bradley Center for Philanthropy and Civic Renewal held the panel discussion "Buffetted by Fortune: What Does the Buffett/Gates Gift Mean for Philanthropy" on June 30. Panelists included Elizabeth Boris of the Urban Institute, Rick Cohen of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, James Allen Smith of Georgetown University and Adam Meyerson of the Philanthropy Roundtable. The Bradley Center's William Schambra served as moderator. Read the transcript (PDF): http://www.hudson.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=hudson_upcoming_events&id=276 . EASIER DUE DILIGENCE: GuideStar launched an enhanced version of Charity Check that gives subscribers instant access to IRS Publication 78. The publication, the IRS's Cumulative List of Organizations, is the definitive source for verifying a nonprofit's charitable status. Charity Check now shows Publication 78 data in both search results and GuideStar reports, for instant verification. Reports also now show a date-time stamp to record when verification was checked; include Section 509 information, providing the reason for non-private foundation status; and incorporate IRS Bulletin data, reflecting the latest IRS actions for each charity. Subscribe or find out more: http://www.guidestar.org/services/cc.jsp . JUST PUBLISHED TAKING MEASURE: Measuring outcomes can be a tricky and sometimes contentious issue. GrantCraft's guide, Making Measures Work for You: Outcomes and Evaluation, helps grantmakers understand the tensions that may be raised by measuring outcomes and learn how to make measurement work well for them and their grantees. The guide is the latest in GrantCraft's series on evaluation techniques. Read more or download the guide (PDF): http://www.grantcraft.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageID=835 . ACT NOW NEW CEOS SEMINAR: The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University and the Council on Foundations are offering a three-day Seminar for New CEOs. New foundation chief executive officers can join their colleagues on September 27–29, 2006, in Indianapolis, to learn about key responsibilities of foundation CEOs and tools of the trade, and make important contacts. Sessions and events will be facilitated by foundation executives and center faculty. Register or read more: http://www.philanthropy.iupui.edu/NewCEOSeminar.html . ON THE MOVE On August 31, 2006, SYBIL JORDAN HAMPTON will retire as president of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation after nearly ten years with the foundation. Read more: http://www.wrfoundation.org/index.php?page=mediacenter&num=12 . DENISE K. SPENCER, president and CEO of the Midland Area Community Foundation (MACF), was named president and CEO of the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry (CFL). She will also lead the Hilton Head Island Foundation, a CFL supporting organization. ELYSE ROGERS will serve as MACF interim president and CEO. Read more: http://www.mlive.com/news/sanews/index.ssf?/base/news-19/1153045337172130.xml&coll=9 . The Open Society Institute-Baltimore named ELENA COX director of development. Read more: http://www.soros.org/initiatives/baltimore/news/cox_20060707 . NANCY L. RACKOFF joined the board of the Pittsburgh Foundation. Roche promoted VIVIAN L. BEETLE, director of corporate relations and contributions and executive director of the Roche Foundation, to corporate projects coordinator in the corporate donations and sponsorship group in the chairman's office in Basel, Switzerland. TAMARA COPELAND was named president of Washington Grantmakers. 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