Our MISSION is to connect, educate, develop and inspire a diverse group of foundations and corporations to stimulate effective philanthropy in the San Diego region.

Top Stories
Resources
National Events of Interest

TOP STORIES

Disaster Grantmaking
The recent tragic events in China and Burma/Myanmar have again brought disaster grantmaking to the fore. Click here for our resource page on this subject, which includes general information as well as sections on philanthropic responses to the earthquake in China, cyclone in Burma/Myanmar, and last year's wildfires in San Diego.

Guiding Principles Announced

SDG has released our Guiding Principles. Click here to review them.

2007 Fires Philanthropic Response
We send thoughts of support to the entire San Diego community in the wake of 2007's devastating fires.  Another developing story is about the philanthropic community's contributions toward the relief efforts. Click here for information about how SDG members and others are responding to the fires, and for helpful resources related to disaster grantmaking.

Diversity in Philanthropy
In addition to being one of San Diego Grantmakers' Guiding Principles, diversity is a hot topic all over our sector. COF has launched a major Diversity & Inclusiveness initiative, several national funders have formed a Diversity in Philanthropy Project, and legislative interest in California has led to Foundation Center research that will benchmark diversity in the staff and leadership of foundations, their grantees and communities served. Additionally, in 2007, California State Assemblymember Joe Coto, Democrat from the 23rd District and Chair of the Latino Legislative Caucus, introduced California AB 624, which would require private, corporate, and public foundations with assets over $250 million to track and disclose diversity-related data (race, gender and sexual orientation) of their boards, staff, nonprofit grantees, business contracts and their clients served through grants. Click here for more information on the topic of diversity in philanthropy.

Thursdays with SDG Program Series

Building upon the success of last year’s series, we are offering a wide range of topics to meet the varying interests of our membership. Please take a few minutes to read about the individual programs and mark your calendars! Click here for the full listing of Thursdays with SDG programs.

Materials Online!
SDG 2007 Annual Conference: November 8, 2007

The 2007 Annual Conference was held on Thursday, November 8. Click here for the conference page with session information, presentations, and handouts (SDG member login required, contact us if you need login information).

Press Room
Click here for our press room, including links to recent news stories that feature San Diego Grantmakers.

Charitable Giving Reached $295 Billion in 2006
Giving USA 2007, a report from the Giving USA Foundation that is researched and written by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, finds that U.S. charitable giving reached an estimated $295 billion in 2006--a 4.2% increase (1% after inflation) over the 2005 estimate of $283 billion. Giving by individuals (75.6% of all giving) increased 4.4%, while foundation grantmaking rose 12.6%. However, corporate giving decreased 7.6%. Click here for more information.

San Diego Business Journal Publishes Supplement on Corporate Philanthropy
San Diego Business Journal, San Diego Grantmakers, and Volunteer San Diego worked together to launch this special supplement on local corporate philanthropy. Published on May 28, 2007, the piece highlights the contributions of current corporate giving and employee volunteer programs and will hopefully inspire more companies to get involved. To download the supplement (large pdf), click here. If you would like to receive a hard copy, contact us.

Research Report:  California Foundations 2004: Trends and Patterns
The Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy has released California Foundations 2004: Trends and Patterns, an update of the Center’s 1999 baseline analysis of California foundations. This update examines changes in the size, growth, and structure of California foundations as well as the changing patterns in foundation capacity and grantmaking across the regions of the state over the 1999-2004 period. The report reveals that California foundations have weathered the economic downturn of 2000-2001 and are now returning to the peak asset levels from earlier in the period and an increased pace in the growth of giving. To find a summary of the report, click here. To read the press release, click here. Click here to download (pdf) the Foundation Center's highlights of the report.

Controversy Over Foundation Investments
The Los Angeles Times article series criticizing the investments of the Gates Foundation as socially irresponsible has led to more media attention on this topic. Click here for the Chronicle of Philanthropy's initial report, and here and here for articles describing how the Gates Foundation plans to review its investments because of the coverage. However, in a subsequent response, the Gates Foundation chief executive then clarified that it would not be changing its policies. Some have argued that all foundations should take this opportunity to review their own investment practices--click here for a Seattle Times article discussing the issue.

Locally, San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Lynn O'Shaughnessy wrote a column in December about the sometimes-ill-informed investment practices of foundations and nonprofits. Click here for the article, which generated letters to the editor (scroll to the very bottom!) both applauding and objecting to it.

Click here for a summary of top stories in 2006 on socially responsible investing.

Congressional News...

On August 17, 2006, the President signed into law a bill that will impact grantmakers and donors.  The new charitable provisions, part of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (H.R. 4), include the first comprehensive regulation of donor-advised funds, as well as reforms or incentives that will affect private foundations, supporting organizations and individual donors.  The provisions are many and complex, but SDG has a brief overview of what the law could mean for you: click here to download.

The Council on Foundations Charitable Reform Resource Center offers the latest on charitable reform efforts. Check for new analyses on COF's H.R. 4 Resources web page. For more information, also visit Independent Sector.

Latest SDG Newsletters
San Diego Grantmakers electronic newsletters are always available here at the site! You can access this month's edition of SDG Update (our regular monthly newsletter) or click here for archived editions.

SDG in the Union Tribune
The San Diego Union Tribune ran an op-ed by Nancy Jamison on August 3, 2006: "I have the good fortune to work with philanthropists every single day. Not Warren Buffett or Bill and Melinda Gates, but good people right here in San Diego County who are all, in their own ways, making a significant contribution to the well-being of our community. Nearly everyone can be a philanthropist – and you don't have to have billions. Philanthropy – which translates from Greek as “love of mankind” – is no longer the domain of the Rockefellers and Carnegies. Today's philanthropy is much more widespread, democratic and even scientific." Click here for the entire article.

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RESOURCES

MicroEdge GIFTS Grantmaking Software - 10% Discount
Through this program, members of San Diego Grantmakers are eligible for a special 10% discount on GIFTS and Essential GIFTS new system sales or upgrades (through December 31, 2008). Contact MicroEdge at 800/899-0890 x 250 or solutions@microedge.com. For more on this offer, click here to download an information form. To learn more about the software, go to www.microedge.com.

Collaborations: San Diego Partnerships
Assistance with collaboration is the number-one service that members request from San Diego Grantmakers. After all, SDG is itself the result of collaboration among funders, and collaboration remains one of our core values. Still, collaboration can be a vague--and overused--term. What do we mean, as grantmakers, when we talk about collaborating? This article features several local grantmaking partnerships, including San Diego Neighborhood Funders, the San Diego HIV Funding Collaborative, SDG Working Group on Homelessness and the Child Welfare Services Working Group. Click here to read more (pdf).

San Diego Common Grant Application
The San Diego Common Grant Application (CGA) is now available. Designed to help make the grantseeking process simpler and more efficient for nonprofits, the CGA has become a standard concept and practice among grantmakers and regional associations in the U.S. To learn more about the San Diego CGA and participating organizations, click here.

Click Here to Download the Common Grant Application

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NATIONAL EVENTS OF INTEREST

CECP Corporate Philanthropy Summit
June 3-4, 2008
New York, NY

The Rensselaerville Institute Corporate Philanthropy Workshop
June 11-12, 2008
Rensselaerville, NY

The Grantmaking School Advanced Proposal Analysis
June 11-13, 2008
San Francisco, CA

Stanford Executive Program for Philanthropy Leaders
July 27 - August 2, 2008
Application deadline: May 19, 2008
Palo Alto, California

Association of Small Foundations National Conference (SDG members can register at the member rate)
September 18-20, 2008
Denver, CO

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