SD Grantmakers Update
"Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future." --John F. Kennedy
In This Issue
Guidestar is Coming!
Join us for a special opportunity to hear from the leader of one of the highest-profile nonprofit sector websites. Learn how Guidestar can help YOU in your due diligence. RSVP to programs@sdgrantmakers.org or 619/744-2180 today!
Researching Nonprofits: GuideStar President and CEO Robert Ottenhoff
January 31, 2007, 12:00-2:00pm (Lunch will be served)
Location: National University, 9388 Lightwave Avenue,
San Diego, CA 92123
- GuideStar is a leading source of information on US nonprofits and a valuable resource for funders.
- Mr. Ottenhoff's presentation and the question and answer session will address: the role of research vehicles like Guidestar in the nonprofit sector and how they can assist foundations with due diligence.
- Mr. Ottenhoff will also share his personal experiences in the nonprofit field (he sits on the boards of Grameen Foundation USA, AAFRC Trust for Philanthropy, and the e-Philanthropy Foundation, among others) and implications for developing greater nonprofit transparency in the future. Click here for more information about Mr. Ottenhoff.
Member & Community Partner News
YOUR ORGANIZATION COULD BE FEATURED HERE! Don't forget to let SDG know what's new with you, from grantmaking to awards, events, and more. We want to share the good news about all of our members. To submit an item for the newsletter, email nancy@sdgrantmakers.org.
The California Endowment is seeking a Program Associate in the San Diego office. Click here for the job announcement.
The Council on Foundations is seeking a Managing Director, Corporate Services. Click here for the job description.
Fieldstone's Volunteer Day took place on October 24 and included over 1,500 hours of employee volunteering at four organizations that address homelessness and affordable housing.
The Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation and Market Creek Plaza were featured in Stanford Social Innovation Review: click here.
The Jewish Community Foundation has announced a special opportunity to engage new Donor Advised Funds and promote Jewish giving. A limited number of new Donor Advised Funds established at the Foundation will have their first grants to Jewish nonprofit organizations matched up to $1,000 by the foundation.
The San Diego Foundation is now accepting Scholarship Applications for the 2007 - 2008 academic year. Click here for more information.
Welcome to the San Diego Foundation for Change's new Executive Director: John Fanestil. Click here for John's bio.
The San Diego HIV Funding Collaborative, a program of the Alliance Healthcare Foundation, announced that $486,795 in grant awards will be distributed to 34 HIV/AIDS service organizers that provide direct service to those impacted by the disease in the San Diego region. The funds were raised through AIDS Walk San Diego and a number of local and national donors, including The Sunshine Brooks Permanent Fund of AIDS Foundation San Diego, Alliance Healthcare Foundation, Elton John AIDS Foundation, Guys Like Us, Johnson & Johnson, La Jolla Cardiovascular Research Foundation, McCarthy Family Foundation, National AIDS Fund, The Parker Foundation, Price-Galinson Collaborative Fund, San Diego Human Dignity and the James Ziegler Advised Fund at The San Diego Foundation.
San Diego Magazine honored several SDG members at their Charitable Events Registry Celebration, the 2006 Art of Giving Awards. Linda Katz of the San Diego Women's Foundation was named the Community Volunteer of the Year, San Diego National Bank was named Philanthropic Business of the Year, and Joan and Irwin Mark Jacobs were named Philanthropists of the Year.
QUALCOMM's holiday toy drive for HeadStart was featured on KUSI's Good Morning San Diego. Also, Irwin Jacobs discussed San Diego philanthropy in a San Diego Business Journal article.
United Way was featured in a San Diego Business Journal article.
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.
Foundations on the Hill: February 27-28, 2007
Foundations on the Hill, co-sponsored by the Council on Foundations and the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers, is an opportunity for grantmakers to share their views directly with their members of Congress on Capitol Hill. We will be meeting with Senators and Representatives in the California delegation on February 27-28, 2007. Click here for information about joining the SDG delegation to Washington, DC!
More Philanthropic Headlines
New Foundation in Escondido: Formed in conjunction with The San Diego Foundation, The Escondido Community Foundation's goal is to develop an endowment of $5 million by 2011 and provide at least $250,000 per year in grants. Click here for a North County Times article about the foundation.
Are Southern Californians more generous? A NewTithing Group study suggests that affluent Southern Californians give more than their Northern Californian counterparts, once a few "blockbuster" Silicon Valley donations are factored out. Click here for more info.
Bill Gates on Using Technology to Save Lives: the new issue of Fortune magazine features an essay in which Bill Gates discusses the role of technology in philanthropy.
Reality TV Show to Focus on Giving: Oprah Winfrey and ABC have announced plans to create two new reality-television shows that involve giving. One show, entitled The Big Give, will donate money and resources to 10 contestants who will compete to come up with the most inventive ways to increase their holdings and then give them away to help others. Click here for more.
Young Philanthropists: The San Francisco Chronicle profiled young philanthropists in the Bay area. Click here for the article.
Philanthropy Advisors: This article details the rise of philanthropy advisors, featuring Melissa Berman of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.
SDG Member Survey Results
Thank you to everyone who participated in our recent SDG member survey! We had 60 responses, even higher than last year. We will be basing our 2007 programming on the results of this survey: Click here to view the results.
Corporate Philanthropy
National Corporate Philanthropy Day: February 26
National Corporate Philanthropy Day is the only nationally recognized day for celebrating the social contributions of companies in their communities. Created to inspire corporate America to engage further in philanthropy, National Corporate Philanthropy Day is your opportunity to showcase the tremendous support businesses provide to society and the essential partnerships that make corporate giving programs powerful and sustainable.
Corporate Social Responsibility: Good for Business
In the new book THE HIGH-PURPOSE COMPANY: The Truly Responsible (and Highly Profitable) Firms That Are Changing Business Now, corporate strategist and researcher Christine Arena shows readers why corporate responsibility is necessary for success in today's business world, and tells how to distinguish between the extraordinary companies driven by purposeful ideals and those companies that merely pretend to be responsible. Click here for a press release about the book.
A Federal Agency for Nonprofits?
Reported by our colleagues at the Southeastern Council of Foundations: Recently at least two speakers at conferences proposed the idea of a governmental agency for nonprofits along the lines of those serving businesses, like the Small Business Administration. The Council on Foundations' Steve Gunderson talked about the possibilities of regulating and promoting philanthropy at the federal level in an Oct. 16 keynote address to the National Association of State Charity Officials. Though qualifying his remarks by saying that he's not ready to officially propose the idea, Gunderson said he's beginning to think a government agency should be established to promote philanthropy the way government already promotes business, through the Commerce Department. Currently, the federal government largely engages philanthropy on tax and legal issues through the Internal Revenue Service. There's no public agency primarily tasked with working on the growth and effective operations of nonprofits' work.
Mark Lloyd of the Center for American Progress called on the sector to push for a federal agency to champion its interests in his Oct. 17 plenary speech at the Nonprofit Congress. Lloyd said he was surprised that a sector as large as the nonprofit sector does not already have the equivalent of a Small Business Administration to represent and serve its interests. One of the co-conveners of the Congress was Audrey Alvarado of the National Council of Nonprofit Associations (NCNA), an organization that proposed the idea of a SBA-like agency for nonprofits as part of its Nonprofit Agenda (pdf), which was developed prior to the 2004 elections. NCNA continues to call for such an entity through its Nonprofit Capacity Building Initiative, which advocates for greater federal support of nonprofit capacity-building efforts.
Resources
Phone Bill Refunds for Foundations:
Click here for information about how your foundation and grantees can get a refund from the federal government for taxes paid on your long-distance phone bills since 2003!
New in the SDG Library:
(email Nancy to check these or any other books out!)
New Reports on Operating Support:
Operating support is important to nonprofit grantees, but only when grants are larger and longer term than what is typically provided today by even the country's largest foundations, according to a report from the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP). The report In Search Of Impact: Practices and Perceptions in Foundations' Provision of Program and Operating Grants to Nonprofits brings new data to the debate about current foundation practices, attitudes underlying those practices, and the impact on grantees of foundation choices. The report was mentioned in a Wall Street Journal article, while another WSJ article discussed how nonprofits are trying to overcome the hesitance of some individual donors and foundations to cover these costs. Another new report on this topic, from the Institute for Nonprofit Organization Management, is available through GEO here. The author of that report will be at an SDG event on March 7: click here for details.
Foundations & Advocacy
The California Endowment has funded Blueprint Research & Design to develop two reports on how to evaluate advocacy and policy work by grantees. You can access the reports here (Part 1 pdf) and here (Part 2 pdf).
Also, the Alliance for Justice has a series of one-hour online workshops for funders interested in supporting and evaluating advocacy efforts. Click here for the schedule.
GrantCraft Special SDG Discount:
A source of practical wisdom for grant makers on the tools and techniques of effective grant making. GrantCraft offers guides, videos, and case studies that present the practitioner’s view of philanthropy, on subjects like:
- Practice and methods that make grants more effective
- Insights into relations between grantees and grant makers
- Lessons about how to organize grant making work for best results
GrantCraft’s latest guide, Executive Transitions: Grant Makers and Nonprofit Leadership Change, explores the grant maker’s role when grantee organizations go through a change at the top. For more information, visit www.grantcraft.org. All the materials are free to download online, following a short registration. The guides are also available in print for purchase, and SDG members receive a 20% discount (use the special code SDG20).
Individual Giving:
A Wall Street Journal/Harris Interactive poll found that 83% of American adults report contributing to a charity in the past year. Click here for the article and here for the chart showing motivations for giving. Meanwhile, The Case Foundation has compiled a list of simple ways individuals can give their time or money to improve their communities and the world, including giving trends and tools.
Forum Teleconference Series:
The Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers will hold its Effectivesness and Accountability Educational Series of Teleconferences on March 7 (Introduction to Conflicts of Interest), March 20 (Basic Self-Dealing and Intermediate Sanction Rules) and March 27 (Common Self Dealing Issues). Click here for registration information. Other upcoming calls include: March 13: 990-PF Review for Foundation Staff, April 24: 990-PF Review for Preparers, May 22: The Importance of Advocacy, June 5: Advocacy Rules for Private Foundations, and June 14: Advocacy Rules for Public Foundations.
Diversity Fellowship Program
Associated Grant Makers is accepting applications for its 2007-2008 Diversity Fellowship Program. This program is intended to provide a comprehensive training program to people of color interested in pursuing a career in the field of philanthropy. The application and additional information can be found here.
Upcoming
SDG Programs
SHOW ME THE DATA!
A Series of Research-Related Programs
Join us to explore, learn and dialogue about:
- Important current research findings and their implications for giving.
- A useful research tool to access information to support your grantmaking.
Researching Nonprofits: GuideStar President and CEO Robert Ottenhoff
January 31, 2007, 12:00-2:00pm (Lunch will be served)
Location: National University, 9388 Lightwave Avenue,
San Diego, CA 92123
GuideStar is a leading source of information on US nonprofits with a searchable database and a valuable resource for funders. Mr. Ottenhoff's presentation and the question and answer session will address: the role of Guidestar in the non-profit sector, how Guidestar can assist foundations with "due diligence," and implications for developing greater nonprofit transparency in the future.
California Foundations: An Examination of Recent Trends and Future Prospects
February 15, 2007, 12:00-2:00 pm (Lunch will be served)
Location: The California Endowment, 600 West Broadway, Suite 1250, San Diego, CA 92101
The California foundation community was unquestionably affected by the technology sector downturn and overall economic decline that marked the early years of the 2000s. More recent economic trends suggest a modestly more positive outlook for funders. Learn about and discuss the implications of the San Diego data – where we stand and how we relate to other parts of the state from Jim Ferris, Director of The Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy, USC, and author of the study, California Foundations 2004: Trends and Patterns. A facilitated discussion will follow.
General Operating Support: Funders’ Perspectives, Policies, and Practice
March 7, 2007, 11:30am-1:30pm (Lunch will be served)
Location: American Red Cross, 3950 Calle Fortunada,
San Diego, CA 92123
Ask a nonprofit what types of funding are the hardest to get and the most needed, and the answer is likely to be general operating support. This is no secret to foundations. Many foundations are exploring this funding possibility but wonder how to select grantees, how much to give and how to evaluate grant results.
Carol. J. Silverman, Research Director of the Institute for Nonprofit Organization Management at the University of San Francisco will report findings from a recent statewide survey and focus group discussions on operating support. A panel (TBA) will respond and offer their experiences with this kind of funding.
All programs are free for SDG members except where indicated.
To RSVP, please call (619) 744-2180 or email programs@sdgrantmakers.org.
Other Events of Interest
Grantmakers for Children, Youth & Families Learning Summit
January 31-February 1, 2007
Memphis, TN
USD Institute for Nonprofit Governance: Governance Matters
February 2-3, 2007
San Diego, CA
JAG (Joint Affinity Groups) Unity Summit
February 5-7, 2007
Los Angeles, CA
Grantmakers In Health Annual Conference
February 14-16, 2007
Miami, FL
2007 COF Family Foundation Conference: Building Communities February 25-27, 2007
Baltimore, MD
Foundations on the Hill
February 28, 2007
Washington, DC
Association of Corporate Contributions Professionals Conference
March 4-7, 2007
Scottsdale, AZ
The Center for Effective Philanthropy Assessment to Action: Creating Change
March 8-9, 2007
Chicago, IL
Philanthropy Roundtable K12 Math & Science Education Conference
March 14, 2007
San Francisco, CA
International Corporate Citizenship Conference
March 25-27, 2007
San Francisco, CA
California Charter Schools Conference
March 27-30, 2007
San Diego, CA
Council on Foundations Annual Conference
April 29-May 1, 2007
Seattle, WA
Palo Alto, CA
Alliance for Nonprofit Management Annual Conference
July 18-20, 2007
Atlanta, GA
For questions or comments about SDGrantmakers or our online
update, visit www.SDGrantmakers.org or contact Nancy Jamison, 619/744.2180
Nancy@SDGrantmakers.org.
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