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.

New Public Policy Grantmaking Toolkit from NCG

In June, Northern California Grantmakers (NCG, our counterpart organization to the north!) launched the Public Policy Grantmaking Toolkit. This new online resource is available at www.ncg.org/toolkit. The Toolkit was created to demystify public policy grantmaking with an eye toward building the capacity of funders to engage in public policy initiatives. It is a useful resource for both experienced funders and those new to public policy grantmaking, as well as nonprofit organizations. The Toolkit contains basic information on funding public policy, including sections on definitions and strategies of public policy and legal parameter. A more in-depth look at public policy grantmaking, under a section entitled “Digging Deeper,” provides information on evaluating public policy grantmaking and case studies of NCG members’ public policy funding.

The key principle guiding the development of the Toolkit is that foundations and nonprofit organizations play a critical role in society and the welfare of its members, and should have an influential voice in public policy. Society is stronger when everyone participates in the public policy process, and foundations can play a role in ensuring participation. More information about the NCG toolkit is available by calling (415) 777-4111x12, and mark your calendars for the San Diego Grantmakers workshop on this important issue. On October 25, we will present A Funder's Guide to Supporting Advocacy: The Rules for Private and Public Foundations. for more information or to RSVP, click here.

Since 2001, foundations and corporations have had to engage in additional due diligence with regard to their grantmaking. Grantmakers check prospective grantees against various watch lists produced by the government and document their compliance to protect themselves from possible prosecution. Now, provisions of the Patriot Act are under consideration for reauthorization or revision in Congress. If certain measures are reauthorized and revised, the FBI will be granted more expansive investigative powers. This development could have important consequences for the work of grantmakers:

• Section 215 of the Patriot Act currently (and if reauthorized) allows the FBI, with permission from a judge, to request any tangible item from a person or organization as long as that item is relevant to an investigation. If the FBI believes that a grantmaker has materials on an organization that are pertinent, the donor institution would be forced to turn them over. These documents could run the gamut from confidential internal files to information about grantees.
• With the addition of “administrative subpoena” power in a proposed Section 213, the FBI itself would be allowed to issue subpoenas. This power would permit the FBI to act more quickly in its investigation of terrorist activities. Administrative subpoenas will allow the FBI to obtain any records it deems relevant, which means that any grantmaking organization could be forced to turn over sensitive and confidential information. Privacy advocates believe that giving this additional power to the FBI is unnecessary and dangerous. Aside from the issues of confidentiality, compliance could be arduous for grantmakers of all sizes.
  
  For links to related resources and updates on this topic, click here for the New York Regional Association of Grantmakers website.
  

As San Diego Grantmakers has reported, the Panel on the Non-Profit Sector has presented its final report to the Senate Finance Committee and legislators are working to draft new regulations governing how private foundations operate. Finance Chairman Senator Grassley has signalled his intent to combine the charity reform proposals with efforts to increase charitable giving through the federal tax code. A recently-released Finance Committee discussion paper includes a number of proposals pertinent to foundations. These include:

• Expanding the definition of disqualified persons to include corporations where a disqualified person has substantial influence.
• Increasing penalties for acts of self-dealing, jeopardizing investments and taxable expenditures.
• Prohibiting the payment of compensation to trustees or limiting compensation to a minimal amount.
• Changing the way administrative expenses are treated, limiting what may be counted in payout. Prohibiting private foundations from making grants to donor advised funds.
• Limiting amounts paid for travel, meals and accommodations.
• Eliminating the excise tax in years in which a foundation pays out more than 12% exclusively for grants.
• Mandating the size of charitable boards to no fewer than 3 and no more than 15 members.
• Requiring tax exempt organizations to undergo a five year review of their status, submitting extensive documentation about their operations.
• Limiting the valuation of gifts of property to basis rather than fair market value, for purposes of charitable deduction.

For more information, or to read the Panel's final report, visit Independent Sector. Remember, Diana Aviv of Independent Sector (and Chair of the Panel convened by Congress) will speak on November 14 as part of San Diego Grantmakers Distinguished Speaker Series (see below or click here for more details).

This Chapin Hall Center for Children Discussion Paper reports on a study of a group of foundations actively engaged in place-based community-change initiatives. These eleven funders are applying many of the principles identified as key for foundations attempting to promote positive community change. Foundations included in the study grant money directly to outside organizations or individuals, emphasize a place-based approach, are located in the community in which they invest, and have staff and trustees who are personally engaged in the community-change work.

The research suggests that these funders appear to constitute a community of practice and share important commonalities, including a civic commitment and desire to increase the impact of their philanthropy; the nature and quality of their partnership with their grantees and the community at large; a responsive and dynamic operating approach; and a diverse array of financial and nonfinancial investment forms. In addition to general discussion, the paper includes profiles of each foundation’s beliefs, funding strategies, operating procedures, and challenges. In conclusion, the paper reflects on how embedded funders’ work can shed light on some of the field’s persistent dilemmas in conducting community-change initiatives. To download the full report, click for the Chapin Hall website.

GRANTMAKING 101
Grantmaking 101 is for the passionate, perplexed, and recently arrived grantmaker. The series of workshops offers a comprehensive review of the art and science of grantmaking, and includes presentations by experienced grantmakers, experts, and peer-to-peer discussions.

Light refreshments will be served at all sessions. Each event is free for SDG members and $45 for nonmembers. Nonmembers may also register for the full series at a discounted rate of $110. RSVP to programs@SDGrantmakers.org.

Reviewing Grant Proposals, Conducting Site Visits
and How to Say "No"
August 11, 2005
9:00am-12:00pm
4305 University Avenue, 6th Floor Conference Room

In developing guidelines, your foundation must be clear about its funding goals--how does a foundation incorporate different directors' and staff ideas and remain focused investors? Guidelines must also make sense to potential nonprofit partners. We will walk through exercises designed to align your passions with your foundation and to put them on paper so they make sense.
The session will explore how to review grants effectively, manage the barrage of requests, and learn from grantmaking peers.

Between You and Your Board:
Decisions, Recommendations, and Inventive Funding
September 1, 2005
9:00am-12:00pm
4305 University Avenue, 6th Floor Conference Room

The second workshop examines the decision-making process from multiple perspectives, whether you sit on the board or report to the board. We present different examples and models and discuss the strategic interaction required for organizational success. In addition, we hear from foundation representatives who are using assets creatively. We’ll discuss PRIs (program related investments), gifts to individuals, loans to nonprofits, and other creative means to invest in nonprofit partners. Hear from foundation trustees and staff on how to make sense of it all.

Panelists include Ann Bossler, Price Charities, Ann Davies, Parker Foundation, and Christina Wilson, Rancho Santa Fe Foundation.

Evaluations: Methods and Models of Measuring and Monitoring Grants
October 6, 2005
9:00am-12:00pm
4305 University Avenue, 6th Floor Conference Room

The third session in the series brings us Paul Harder and Sonia Taddy, Harder & Co., who work locally and nationally with many foundations to measure the impact of their work and to determine the social impact of grants. They join us to discuss evaluating grant programs, how your dollars make an impact.

• How do you balance scientific rigor with a flexible, community-based approach? What is affordable?
• It's not about the number of people served, but about the lives changed. How do you evaluate for outcomes?
• Nonprofits evaluate the impact of the work they do, how do funders evaluate the impact of the work they do?

Numbers and Sense: Understanding the Danger Signs and Success Stories Nonprofits' Financial Statements Hold
November 9, 2005
9:00am-12:00pm

Our featured speaker will be Jeff Goepfert, CPA. This popular session will help answer these questions and more:

• What are some important tips in reading financial statements?
• How should grantmakers use financial statements to evaluate grant applicants and determine fiscal accountability?
• What are common problems and common solutions?

Behind the Walls: Inside Donovan State Prison
August 18, 2005
8:30am-1:30pm
Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility

Join San Diego Grantmakers on a private tour of Donovan State Prison. Experience the state prison from the inside. See the walls, visit compounds, intake areas, and even the industries (bakery and optical), followed by a lunch panel Q&A with ex-offenders themselves from Second Chance’s PREP (Prisoner Re-Entry Program). As one funder noted: We work so hard to keep them out of “ there.” What, in fact, is there?

Reserve your seat today! RSVP to programs@SDGrantmakers.org.
IMPORTANT NOTE: For security purposes, SDG needs identification no later than August 1.

The River Runs Through It: Parks, Wetlands, Kids and Philanthropy
September 10, 2005
9:00am-12:00pm
San Diego River Mouth/Mission Hills Regional Park

We invite you, your families, children and grandchildren to join San Diego Grantmakers in touring the San Diego River. This is a special opportunity to share your work and lessons about our community with your families, involving youth in philanthropy. Learn why our parks, rivers, and wetlands are so critical to our community’s well-being and how a countywide collaboration is leading the nation in creating a regionally connected system of open space preserves. Starting and finishing at the San Diego River Mouth, the morning's agenda includes:

• Hiking at Mission Trails Regional Park: Rob Hutsel, San Diego River Park Foundation hikes us through the San Diego River, sharing its history, and community involvement.
• Animals, animals, animals: We will meet a few new creature friends and get an introduction to local wild animals that inhabit the area.
• Travelling to where the River meets the Sea, our kids will become marine scientists. Hands-on exercises for kids, fun science activities, animal interaction and marine mayhem! Our future generations will experience the wild and marine life behind the funding.
• As the kids enjoy marine adventures, an adult panel discusses Generation to generation: how we share lessons of philanthropy.

This tour involves walking. Please wear comfortable walking shoes.
RSVP to programs@SDGrantmakers.org.

A Funder's Guide to Supporting Advocacy:
The Rules for Private and Public Foundations
October 25, 2005
9:00am-12:00pm (optional technical assistance 12:00-1:00pm)

San Diego Grantmakers presents Alliance for Justice, the premier source for information and training on the federal rules for foundation support of advocacy, in conducting this special program for foundation managers and staff in the greater San Diego area. Experienced attorneys will cover the rules for private and public foundation grantmaking involving public policy work. This lively interactive session, with ample time for questions and answers, will cover topics such as:

• Can I make a grant to a nonprofit that wants to lobby?
• What kinds of advocacy activities are permitted under the IRS rules?
• How can I evaluate a grantee that works on legislative or election-year activities?
• How might our foundation help build our grantees' advocacy capacity?
• What are other foundations doing to support nonprofit advocacy?
  
  Registration fee of $60 includes all workshop materials and meals. RSVP to programs@SDGrantmakers.org.
  

DISTINGUISHED SPEAKER SERIES 2005:
Diana Aviv, President & CEO, Independent Sector
November 14, 2005
12:00pm-1:30pm

Diana Aviv is the president and CEO of INDEPENDENT SECTOR, the national leadership forum for America's nonprofit organizations, foundations, and corporations. Collectively representing tens of thousands of charitable groups in every state across the country, INDEPENDENT SECTOR's mission is to advance the common good by leading, strengthening, and mobilizing the independent sector.

INDEPENDENT SECTOR leads the nonprofit community by promoting effective public policies to help not-for-profit initiatives thrive, identifying emerging trends facing the nonprofit sector, strengthening nonprofit accountability, and providing the "meeting ground" for leaders in philanthropy to address challenges facing the sector.

Free for SDG Members, $40 for SDG invited guests. RSVP to programs@SDGrantmakers.org.

Aging with Attitude: Transforming Our Communities and Our Nation
Grantmakers in Aging Annual Conference
October 26-28, 2005
Baltimore, MD

This conference promises to be of interest to any grantmakers who fund projects relating to aging. Conference highlights include tracks such as "Controlling Lifespan Transitions" and "Elders Giving Back," as well as skill-building sessions, program models, and a welcoming reception at the Annie E. Casey Foundation. For additional information or to register, click here for the GIA website or call (937) 435-3156.

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

Feel free to comment, suggest article ideas, or submit news items. Link@SDGrantmakers.org -- We're always happy to hear from you. Philanthropy Link is a service to San Diego Grantmakers members. Copies of past editions are archived here: News You Can Use.

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