Today the role of philanthropy is expanding and so are its responsibilities. Philanthropy Link is published by San Diego Grantmakers to help you meet the challenge. Our mission is to connect, inform, develop, and inspire a diverse group of foundations and corporations to stimulate effective philanthropy in the San Diego region. For more information visit www.SDGrantmakers.org.

Great Grants
Casey Family Programs

Casey Family Programs and the Jim Casey Youth Opportunites Initiative is extending its reach nationally as the San Diego YES Collaborative prepares to become an "intensive research" site for a new program for foster youth called the Opportunity Passport. The Opportunity Passport will center its attention on 75 youth per year and feature program characteristics such as:

• Youth Driven philosphy with a youth and community board to guide the program direction and develop opportunites for participants
• 12 hour financial literacy program that opens a checking account and savings account with Union Bank of California, in order to match savings up to $1000 per year
• "Door Openers, " or community supports and services for the participants in Opportunity Passport
• UPS Interlink Partnershiip School-to-Career employment services through the San Diego Workforce Partnership

For more information, go to www.jimcaseyyouth.org

Send us your "Great Grants"
Funders throughout San Diego want to hear about your great grants. Send your Great Grants to info@sdgrantmakers.org.

2-1-1 Dialing is Almost Here

2-1-1 planners will turn on 2-1-1 dialing in test mode on February 11th, 2005 (2-1-1 … get it?). Supporters plan to ceremoniously "flip the switch" at the annual 2-1-1 Day Luncheon at the Prado in Balboa Park. Rumor has it they'll auction off the first 2-1-1 call. (Can you imagine having had the chance to make the ceremonial first call to 9-1-1?!)

If you haven't heard of 2-1-1, you will soon. Friends and family in other states are probably already calling this number. 2-1-1 is the new FCC-designated, three-digit dialing code for community, health, and disaster information and referrals. Free, 24/7 and multilingual, it will be provided locally by INFO LINE of San Diego County. 2-1-1 San Diego will be formally launched in a July public splash timed to coincide with the simultaneous launch of 2-1-1 dialing in Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Alameda, and Contra Costa counties.

INFO LINE has spent the last 15 months furiously building capacity, fundraising, and upgrading its telecommunications systems in preparation for providing 2-1-1 service. Currently helping 80,000 callers per year, INFO LINE (2-1-1) is expected to serve annually about 10% of the county - some 300,000 people - by its fifth year of service.

For more information, please contact Daisy Gordon Crompton at (858) 300-1242.

Alliance for Justice: Investing in Change
Rules for Private and Public Foundations Supporting Advocacy
This is the second in SDG's series of advocacy "how to's"

Rules governing support of lobbying and election-related activity vary based on the following:

• Type of foundation (private or public)
• Grantee's tax-exempt status (public charity or other tax status)
• Type of advocacy being funded (lobbying, election-related activity, or other)

In general, private foundations can support advocacy but cannot enage in lobbying. You need to be aware of the implications of the term "in general". It is a costly implication!

Private foundations can spend money on lobbying. However, the dollars spent acquire a taxable expenditure on those activites. The tax is so substantial that it acts, in effect, as a lobbying prohibition for private foundations.

There are, however, regulations endorsed by the IRS, providing safe harbors for private foundations to support public charities that lobby, so long as the foundation does not allocate the money directly to such activities. Private foundations may fund and even earmark funds for activites that are considered exceptions to lobbying or non-lobbying advocacy. Examples of such exceptions include:

• commenting on regulations
• seeking enforcement of a law
• filing a lawsuit
• writing editorials or letters to the editor

Public foundations have more flexibility to support advocacy. Public foundations may engage in lobbying themselves and, therefore, may allocate grants for lobbying. They also may use the funds for charitable purposes without presuming expenditure responsibility. A public foundation may fund public charities to comment on regulations, seek enforcement of a law, or file a lawsuit. They also are permitted to fund any work of nonprofit charities that the foundation could engage in itself.

For more information on this topic, please refer to the Alliance for Justice's "Investing in Change: A Funder's Guide to Supporting Advocacy." To access this booklet, please visit Alliance for Justice or contact San Diego Grantmakers.

Upcoming Programs

Family Foundation Track
Mission Possible: Guiding Your Foundation Now and Into the Future
February 24th, 11:30am-1:30pm (lunch is provided)
NTC Foundation
Members free, non-members $50 for the series

Jill Seltzer facilitates a series of interactive programs designed to bring family
foundations together to hear about noteworthy solutions to family foundation
issues and to learn from each other through shared insights and experiences. The
first in the series covers the following foundation essentials:

• How does your board develop a mission that is relevant today and flexible
• Can disparate family passions be turned into missions?
• Vision vs. mission: what's the difference?

This is the first in a series of family foundation programs. Upcoming programs include:

May 11th, 1:30-3:30pm
Balancing Act: Donor Intent and Mission
What "they" wanted and what is needed now

June 7th, 11:30am-1:30pm
Intergenerational Issues: From the classroom to the boardroom, how can we involve our younger generations?

From the Badlands... to the Foothills of the Future
February 28th, 9:00am-5:00pm
May 3rd, 9:00am-5:00pm
June 6th, 9:00am-5:00pm
Co-sponsored by LEAD San Diego, The San Diego Foundation, and Sempra Energy

"The leadership, competence, and management of the social sector nonprofit
organization will.largely determine the values, the vision, the cohesion, and the
performance of the 21st century society." --Peter F. Drucker

San Diego County's nonprofit sector has an opportunity to create the future of our
region instead of only responding to its challenges. For this reason, on January
24th LEAD San Diego, The San Diego Foundation, San Diego Grantmakers and Sempra Energy launched a four-part series of forums where the community will define a regional vision for a high performing nonprofit sector and begin to identify the steps needed to achieve this vision. At the first session, over 60 participants
explored their own individual leadership readiness as well as began to envision
what an effective sector would mean for San Diego. In the subsequent sessions
participants will assess the sector's readiness, February 28th, explore how
cutting edge management and business concepts can meet our sector's needs, May
3rd, and finally on June 6th, community leaders will create a vision for the
region. If you are interested in participating in these forums, please contact
Kerri Favela at (619) 235-2300 or kerri@sdfoundation.org.

San Diego's Best and Brightest Have Gotten In, How Do We Help Get Them Through?
Understanding the Scholarship Process
March 9th, 11:30am-1:30pm (lunch is provided)
SDGrantmakers offices
Members free, non-members $25

Join us for a lunch conversation as we begin to understand the scholarship
process. Vince De Anda, UCSD, Director of the Financial Aid Office, and Valerie
Attisha, The San Diego Foundation, Director of Scholarships, join us as we hear

• how are financial aid packages crafted for individual students?
• how is the expected family contribution developed?
• what are the trends in scholarships and what is the future?
  

Corporate Giving Roundtable
March 24, 8:00-9:30am
University Club
Members free, non-members $25

Recently, SDG asked its corporate members about what programs would be most
useful. The most common response was an opportunity to "talk" and to "share
information". Thus, we bring to you the Corporate Giving Roundtable, an
opportunity to learn of your colleagues burning questions, their strategic focus
in giving, and to generally talk about the challenges and best practices in
community investment. Join us for this collegial affair. Light noshes provided.

Join us for a cruise on the bay!
Clean Water, Healthy Beaches & Bays: Mobilizing Citizens to Monitor and Advocate for Improved Water Quality
March 30, 2:00-4:00pm
Hornblower Cruises
Members free, non-members $40

Tour San Diego Bay, the 2nd most polluted of 18 bays nationwide. Hear how local nonprofits teamed up with citizen monitors to advocate for higher standards of water quality. As a result of these efforts, San Diego County now leads the nation with the highest standards for storm water runoff regulations. Scientists are now joining activists and policymakers to reverse the contaminated status of San Diego Bay and ensure that all of our rivers, bays and beaches are swim-able, fishable, and surf-able. Learn how these groups successfully organized to attain such high standards for water quality and what are the opportunities and the challenges to implementing a comprehensive program to monitor and improve the region’s water.

Advanced Proposal Analysis: A Critical Examination of Complex Issues
A new university-based course for experienced grantmakers
April 6-8
The California Endowment

The Grantmaking School of Grand Valley State University is offering Advanced
Proposal Analysis: A Critical Examination of Complex Issues in conjunction with
San Diego Grantmakers April 6-8, 2005. The course provides a critical examination
of the complex issues faced by experienced grantmakers today. It combines
structured learning with substantive discussion and small group work among peers.
In initial course offerings in New York and Michigan, more than 40 practitioners
gave the course consistently high ratings for content, delivery and quality. For
more information, including online application, visit www.grantmakingschool.org.

Mark You Calendars:

The Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College presents... Evaluating Community Investment Programs
May 3rd
11:00am-2:00pm
Union Bank

Upcoming Funder Events

COF 56th Annual Conference
Building Strong and Ethical Foundations
April 10th-12th, 2005
San Diego, CA

For questions or comments about SDGrantmakers or our Philanthropy Link visit www.SDGrantmakers.org or contact Julie Holdaway, 619/744.2180
Julie@SDGrantmakers.org.

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