FN&C Now

Volume 7, Number 32 – August 4, 2006 IN THIS ISSUE NEWS COVERAGE: Steve Gunderson issues statement on Senate passage of charitable reform legislation; Knight Foundation endows 20th chair in scholastic journalism JUST PUBLISHED: Foundation leaders named to Power and Influence Top 50; Seattle Foundation report helps donors target their giving NOW ONLINE: Read three advisors' perspectives on how Warren Buffett's gift to the Gates Foundation might affect donors internationally ACT NOW: Sign up for teleconference on sharing values across generations; submit an idea for a philanthropy research project by August 31; nominate an organization for the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize ON THE MOVE: Emmett D. Carson (Silicon Valley); D.G. Edgerton (Community Foundation of Delaware County); Eileen Kuperavage (Schuylkill Area); Meridian Napoli, Scott Glasser and Bernadette Horvat (Templeton); William Schawbel and Charles I. Cohen (Sports Philanthropy Project); Kensei Hunter Brittain (Council on Foundations) NEWS COVERAGE CHARITABLE REFORMS: Late last night, the U.S. Senate passed the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (H.R. 4), legislation that includes charitable reforms and incentives, by a vote of 93-5. This follows action by the House, which passed H.R. 4 on July 28 by a vote of 279-131. The bill now heads to President Bush, who is expected to sign it into law shortly. Steve Gunderson, president and CEO of the Council on Foundations, issued a statement on the enactment of H.R. 4 which began, "The Council is dismayed by the recent congressional attacks on community foundations. Last year, Congress chose to deny donor-advised funds and supporting organizations the benefit of the 100 percent charitable donation incentives included in the Katrina legislation. Now Congress has denied these same funds and supporting organizations the benefit of the IRA charitable rollover." Read the full statement at: http://www.cof.org/council/prdetail.cfm?ItemNumber=5273&navItemNumber=3990 . For more information on H.R. 4, visit the Council's H.R. 4 Resources page: http://www.cof.org/Action/content.cfm?ItemNumber=5275&navItemNumber=5276 . Listen to an audio file of the August 1 Council on Foundations' Charitable Reform Update Conference Call on H.R. 4: http://www.cof.org/Action/content.cfm?ItemNumber=4978&navItemNumber=4252 . KNIGHT CHAIR: A Knight Chair in Scholastic Journalism will be established at Kent State University in 2007. A total of $2 million in past and current funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to the university is providing the chair's endowment. A search will be launched this fall to find an outstanding journalist to fill the position, helping to lead national campaigns to increase scholastic journalism education and student media in high schools, increase the use of news in classrooms and educate students about the First Amendment. The chair is the 20th Knight Chair in Journalism to be established, endowed and filled by the foundation since 1990. The chair honors brothers John S. and James L. Knight, who championed editorial quality and the power of community at the newspapers they owned. Read more: http://www.knightfdn.org/default.asp?story=news_at_knight/releases/2006/2006_07_25_kentstate.html . JUST PUBLISHED TOP 50: On Tuesday, the NonProfit Times released its annual Power and Influence Top 50 list. Among those on the list are: Susan Berresford, president, Ford Foundation; Paul Brest, president, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation; Emmett D. Carson, president and CEO, the Minneapolis Foundation; Rick Cohen, executive director, National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy; Carla Dearing, president and CEO, Community Foundations of America; Sara L. Engelhardt, president, Foundation Center; Melinda Gates, co-founder, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Robert K. Goodwin, president and CEO, Points of Light Foundation; Steve Gunderson, president and CEO, Council on Foundations; William C. McGinly, president and CEO, Association for Healthcare Philanthropy; Lorie A. Slutsky, president, New York Community Trust; Patty Stonesifer, CEO, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; and Eugene R. Tempel, executive director, Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. The top 50 were selected from field of more than 200 nominees by staff of the NonProfit Times and members of the nonprofit sector. Read the list: http://www.nptimes.com/Aug06/sr1.html . TARGETED GIVING: The Seattle Foundation released A Healthy Community: What You Need to Know to Give Strategically to help donors target their giving in the greater Seattle area. The report is organized around the foundation's seven Healthy Community elements, which are basic needs, health and wellness, education, economy, arts and culture, neighborhoods and communities, and the environment. It provides an overview of challenges facing the community, data to highlight needs, promising strategies and examples of local programs that donors can fund. The report also shows how issues are affected by education, income, race, age, gender and sexual orientation, and how the greater Seattle area stacks up against countywide averages. The foundation spent two years compiling the report with input from more than 2,000 community leaders, nonprofits and community groups. Download the report (PDF): http://www.seattlefoundation.org/images/HCReport_web.pdf . Readers can give feedback on which elements of the report were or were not useful to them through an online survey at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=243452308925 . NOW ONLINE TREND OR NOT? Is Warren Buffett's decision to give the bulk of his $44 billion fortune to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation a new trend, part of an existing trend or an isolated act of great generosity? Find out what a panel of people who advise donors around the world think in Alliance magazine's interview with Salvatore LaSpada of the Institute for Philanthropy (United Kingdom); Felicitas von Peter of the Forum for Active Philanthropy (Germany); and Melissa Berman of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (United States). Read the interview: http://www.allavida.org/allianceonline/html/aoaug06a.html . ACT NOW SHARING VALUES: The National Center for Family Philanthropy will hold the teleconference Sharing Values Effectively Across Generations on August 10, from noon to 1:30 p.m., ET. Whether you've already involved your next-generation family members in your philanthropy or are just starting to have discussions about philanthropic legacy, this session can help you strengthen your skills as generations learn to work together. Sharna Goldseker, director of special projects at the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, is the presenter. Register or read more: http://www.ncfp.org/program-teleconferences.htm#d081006 . PHILANTHROPY RESEARCH: The Aspen Institute's Nonprofit Sector Research Fund is requesting letters of interest for research that improves knowledge of new philanthropic vehicles, such as donor-advised funds, and important changes in the field of philanthropy, including the growth in the number of small family foundations. The fund is also interested in studies on the impact of technology and changing demographics on philanthropy. The goal of the grant program is to help inform efforts to create more strategic philanthropy in response to social and technological changes. Letters of interest describing the proposed research project, methodology and dissemination plan must be e-mailed to John Russell at john.russell@aspeninstitute.org by August 31, 2006. Questions about the program may be directed to Rachel Mosher-Williams at rwilliams@aspeninst.org. Find out more: http://www.nonprofitresearch.org/newsletter1525/newsletter_show.htm?doc_id=385427 . HUMANITARIAN PRIZE: The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation is seeking nominations for the 2007 Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize. The $1.5 million prize-the world's largest humanitarian award-is presented annually to an established nonprofit or non-governmental organization that has made extraordinary contributions toward alleviating human suffering anywhere in the world. The prize is not only intended to recognize and advance the efforts of the recipient organization, but also to call attention to the worldwide need for humanitarian aid and encourage others to expand their support. Nominations must be postmarked by November 6, 2006. Find out more: http://www.hiltonfoundation.org/main.asp?id=43&side=1 . ON THE MOVE EMMETT D. CARSON, president and CEO of the Minneapolis Foundation, was named CEO and president of the new Silicon Valley Community Foundation, which was created in a merger of the Peninsula Community Foundation and Community Foundation Silicon Valley. Carson will start his new position on November 1. Read more: http://www.pcf.org/about/pr_80206.html . The Community Foundation of Delaware County elected D.G. EDGERTON chair. ARNOLD PORATH, JAY SANDRICH, DIANA SIRKO and CARRIE WELLS joined the board of the Aspen Community Foundation. EILEEN KUPERAVAGE is now executive director of the Schuylkill Area Community Foundation. The John Templeton Foundation appointed MERIDIAN NAPOLI director of grants management, SCOTT GLASSER director of web communications and BERNADETTE HORVAT director of human resources. WILLIAM SCHAWBEL and CHARLES I. COHEN were elected to the board of the Sports Philanthropy Project. KENSEI HUNTER BRITTAIN joined the Council on Foundations as speaker relations coordinator in the Conference Programming department. 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: 10.16.06