Today, the role of philanthropy is expanding and so are its responsibilities. This online SDGrantmakers Update is published by San Diego Grantmakers to help you meet the challenge. 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. For more information, visit www.SDGrantmakers.org.

"No one has ever become poor by giving." -- Anne Frank 

Welcome New Member:
Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation

Program Highlights

SDG has two very exciting programs coming up soon:

Our Changing Future: Demographic Trends Impacting San Diego Funders
With speaker Beth Jarosz, analyst at SANDAG
April 5, 2006
11:30 am - 1:30 pm
Location: Toby Wells YMCA, 5105 Overland Ave, San Diego, CA 92123

Ms. Jarosz will present relevant demographics to your funding. Then we will break for lunch so you can have a chance to discuss the impact of these findings with funders that have similar giving areas. Tours of the facility, which was funded by the Toby Wells Foundation, will be available after the program.

Members-Only Reception with Congresswoman Susan Davis
May 1, 2006
6:00-8:00 pm
Location: The Burnham Institute, 10901 North Torrey Pines Rd, La Jolla, CA 92037

You are cordially invited to take some time to connect and catch up with your fellow grantmakers over appetizers and beverages, and then meet with Congresswoman Davis to hear her views and discuss Government and Grantmaking: The Opportunity and the Challenge:

• The Opportunity: working together to create a better San Diego
• The Challenge: understanding the Congressional role in regulation

To RSVP, call 619-744-2180 or email nancy@sdgrantmakers.org by Monday April 24. $20 – paid at the door.

Member News

New Member: The Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation
Mr. Seth Sprague, the president of a drapery fabrics company on the east coast, established in 1939 the Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation. When he died in 1941, the foundation received the bulk of his estate. The mission of the Foundation was to aid "such religious, educational, charitable and scientific uses and purposes as shall be in the public welfare and tend to assist, encourage and promote the well-doing and well-being of mankind or the inhabitants of any community." The Seth Sprague Foundation continues to provide funding for a wide variety of philanthropic activities throughout the United States. Irène de Watteville, residing in Solana Beach, has served on the board of the Seth Sprague Foundation as one of the trustees for the past two years. She continues to provide funds for philanthropic activities on the east coast, and now is focusing on a wide variety of organizations in California and San Diego. Irène is a ceramic artist and an active art promoter; she serves on the board of the Tile Heritage Foundation in Healdsburg, California, and the Synergy Art Foundation in San Diego that has helped artists during the 2003 fires and now in any emergency situations.

Jacobs Family Foundation/Jacobs Center for Nonprofit Innovation: Stock Permit Issued. The specialized first-of-its-kind community development IPO for Market Creek Partners, LLC, was approved by the CA Department of Corporations!  This is an unprecedented event and one that JCNI hopes will expand the asset-building field.  This brings full circle the "resident ownership of change" for which Market Creek Plaza has come to be known. Diamond Neighborhood residents are invited to join Diamond Community Investors by investing in Market Creek Partners, LLC — the company that owns Market Creek Plaza and the property at 47th and Market streets. Up to 450 residents can purchase an ownership stake and become eligible for a preferred return of up to 10%, depending on profits. As owners, Diamond Community Investors will also have a voice in the operation and management of the two properties. Collectively, the Diamond Community Investors will own up to $500,000 or 20% of the project. Click here for more information.

In celebration of National Engineers Week, QUALCOMM recently partnered with The San Diego Foundation to establish the San Diego Engineering Scholarship Fund. The purpose of this fund, administered by TSDF, is to provide much-needed financial assistance (based on need and tuition expenses) to qualified and deserving local students majoring in math, science, or engineering and attending either the University of California, San Diego; San Diego State University or California State University, San Marcos.  The selection of scholarship recipients shall be conducted by The San Diego Foundation’s Scholarship Selection Committee in conjunction with the Science and Technology Working Group.

QUALCOMM has seeded this fund with a contribution of $250,000, and is urging other San Diego businesses to contribute to this effort. For additional information, please contact Sedra Shapiro, Director, Science & Technology Analysis and Strategy, The San Diego Foundation, (619) 235-2300 or sedra@sdfoundation.org.

Value of a Volunteer Hour

Independent Sector (IS) estimates that the value of a volunteer hour in 2005 was $18.04 (up from $17.55 in 2004). The total value of 2005 volunteer hours equals approximately $280 billion in services, assuming volunteers gave the same amount of time as in previous years. IS provides the estimate to give charities a tool to help quantify contributions volunteers make. Read more by clicking here.

Foundation Center Training in San Diego

Breaking News: Let your grantees know that The Foundation Center will be offering three upcoming courses in San Diego: Proposal Writing Seminar I on April 3, Proposal Writing Seminar II on April 4, and Outcome Thinking and Management on June 15 (this course may even be of interest to YOU!). Click here for more information.

Past SDG Program Materials & Other Resources Now Available Online

Did you miss an SDG program but wish you hadn't? Materials from select SDG events, including speaker presentations and handouts, are now available on our website. Click here to access (requires member login--if you have lost your username and password, email us). This section also includes other information for SDG members, such as the Self-Dealing Guide, Member Survey Results, and 990PF Resources.

Discounts for SDG Members

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 31,2006). 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, click here.

Stanford Social Innovation Review
Featured articles from the Spring 2006 issue include Corporate Social Responsibility: Changing the Game, Management: Act on Facts, Not Faith (a new approach to management), Fundraising: Crisis Mentality (why disasters capture attention while chronic crises don't). For a limited time, new subscribers to the Stanford Social Innovation Review can get 33% off the $51.80 cover price, paying only $34.95 for one year. Offer ends April 30, 2006. Click here for more information.

Local Initiative Funding Partners is a collaborative program between RWJF and local grantmakers to fund promising, original projects to improve significantly the health of vulnerable people in their communities. Up to 14 three- and four-year grants between $200,000 and $500,000 will be available in this round, which must be matched dollar-for-dollar by local grantmakers (independent and private foundations, family and community foundations, and corporate and other philanthropies). Grantmakers propose funding partnerships with RWJF to support these projects. Stage 1 Brief Proposals are due July 6, 2006. To view the complete call for proposals, click here.

Federal Budget Impact on Nonprofit Sector

The Aspen Institute recently released a new report examining the FY 2006 Appropriations of Interest to Nonprofits, and the impact of the federal budget on the nonprofit sector. In their analysis of the recently completed FY 2006 appropriations process, the Aspen Institute found that discretionary federal spending on programs of interest to nonprofits will fall by $4.6 billion, or 2.8 percent, between FY 2005 and FY 2006, after adjusting for inflation. The Nonprofit Sector and Philanthropy Program of the Aspen Institute plans to continue to track important budget decisions affecting nonprofits through the coming year. Click here for a printable version of the report.

The Building Community Philanthropy (BCP) Project at the Graduate School of Business at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, just published new research on the philanthropy of the poor. The poor philanthropist: How and why the poor help each other by Susan Wilkinson-Maposa, Alan Fowler, Ceri Oliver-Evans and Chao F.N Mulenga documents the results of qualitative research into the philanthropic impulse and behaviour of poor people in four countries (Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe) and offers a deeper understanding of why and how people who are poor help one another. Click here for more information, and to download the report.

Upcoming SDG Programs


Network @ Noon @ Northern Trust
Networking Luncheon, hosted by SDG Member Northern Trust
March 30, 2006
12:00-1:30 pm
Location: Northern Trust, 4370 La Jolla Village Drive, 10th Fl, San Diego, CA 92122
Lunch provided; parking validated.

Our Changing Future: Demographic Trends Impacting San Diego Funders
With speaker Beth Jarosz, analyst at SANDAG
April 5, 2006
11:30 am - 1:30 pm
Location: Toby Wells YMCA, 5105 Overland Ave, San Diego, CA 92123
Lunch provided.

Member Reception with Congresswoman Susan Davis
Government and Grantmaking: The Opportunity and the Challenge
May 1, 2006
6:00-8:00 pm
Location: The Burnham Institute, 10901 North Torrey Pines Rd, La Jolla, CA 92037
Drinks & Appetizers; $20 at the door.

All programs are free for SDG members except where indicated. To RSVP, please call (619) 744-2180 or email programs@sdgrantmakers.org.

University of San Diego Nonprofit Leadership & Management Program
Ethics Dialogue Series
2nd Thursdays, 7:30-9:00am (4/13, 5/11)
USD Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice
San Diego, CA

Each session is free and includes breakfast. Register online here, or by phone at (619) 260-7442.

Forum Teleconference
Leading Boldly: Exercising Adaptive Leadership to Create Social Change
April 5, 2006
Teleconference: 2-3:30 pm EST

Learn how your foundation can become a true leader in creating community-wide change! This call will feature Mark Kramer and John Kania, Foundation Strategy Group Managing Directors and authors of the Stanford Social Innovation Review's Winter 2004 cover article "Leading Boldly." The cost for this call is $25. Register online here.

California Family Resource Association
First Annual Public Policy Conference
April 27-28, 2006
Sacramento, CA

CFRA invites you to attend this new conference, titled Families and Communities that Thrive and Succeed:  The Next Generation of Policy Advocacy in California. Click here for more information.

Northern California Grantmakers
Essential Skills & Strategies for New Grantmakers
April 27-28, 2006
San Francisco, CA

Part one of a two-part program for new grantmakers created through a partnership between the Council on Foundations and the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers. This event will help participants build a framework for ethical and effective grantmaking that identifies the key decisions, expectations, and core tensions of their role; develop a network of peers; and become familiar with other resources to support continued professional development. Click here for more information.

Council on Foundations Annual Conference
Philanthropy: Investing in the Vision of Progress
May 7-9, 2006
Pittsburgh, PA

COF has a special offer made possible by our "Building Strong & 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. Click here for more information about the COF Annual Conference.

Stanford Center for Social Innovation
Executive Program for Philanthropy Leaders
July 30-August 5, 2006

This program focuses on leadership development for high-level foundation executives with a special emphasis on vision, power and trust, governance, and collaboration. Click here for more information.

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

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