SD Grantmakers Update
"In this world it is not what we take up, but what we give up, that makes us rich." -- Henry Ward Beecher
Welcome New Member
Stemedica Foundation
In This Issue
Third Thursday Update
Last week, we launched SDG's Guiding Principles effort at our May Third Thursday event. Join us for the next stage at the first meeting of the Guiding Principles Task Force on May 31. This task force will be chaired by Tim McCarthy of the McCarthy Family Foundation, and the May 31 meeting will be facilitated by Dr. Bob Donmoyer, USD Center for Applied Nonprofit Research. Email Nancy if you would like to join the task force.
Make sure to RSVP now for June's Third Thursday event:
Turning Silver to Gold in San Diego:
The Impact of Aging
June 21, 2007
8:30 AM-10:30 AM
Location: United Way of San Diego County, 4699 Murphy Canyon Road, San Diego, CA 92123
Special Guests: E. Thomas Brewer, Director of Programs, Archstone Foundation; Carol Farquhar, Executive Director, Grantmakers in Aging; Gregory Hall, Senior Program Officer, The California Endowment; Pam Smith, Deputy Director, County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency
Aging influences nearly every aspect of our communities and nation. As individuals, we are affected by our own aging, as well as by our aging families, friends and colleagues. Regardless of your funding interests – the arts, environment, health, neighborhoods, social services, children and youth, families, or education – older adults are increasingly relevant to your work. They may already benefit directly or indirectly from the programs you fund. Conversely, they may serve as critically needed volunteers or supporters for your grantees. Join us to look at your funding through an "aging lens."
Save the Date: SDG Annual Conference on November 8
Mark your calendars: the 2007 SDG Annual Conference will be held on Thursday, November 8. This is our most popular event of the year, so don't miss it. Stay tuned for more details!
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.
San Diego Grantmakers is seeking summer interns! If you know of any college students looking for summer internships, please let us know or have them send a resume to Nancy.
Congratulations to Judi Larsen of The California Endowment and her family on the birth of her daughter, Zoe.
The Jewish Community Foundation is celebrating its 40th Anniversary at an event on May 31 at the Museum of Man.
The San Diego Chargers Community Foundation was featured in a Union-Tribune article for making $400,000 in Chargers Champions grants to local schools and students.
The San Diego HIV Funding Collaborative has released its 2006 annual report.
New Findings in the Operating Support Debate
The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University and the Aspen Institute's Nonprofit Sector and Philanthropy Program have released a new study called Paying for Overhead: A Study of the Impact of Foundations' Overhead Payment Policies on Educational and Human Service Organizations. The study (based on a survey of 3,500 foundations, 6,000 nonprofits, and six case studies) finds that a surprising majority (69%) of foundations do fund nonprofit overhead costs. Two-thirds of the nonprofits studied lack adequate overhead funding, but 75% do not rely on foundation funding for this need. The study's authors ascribe this seeming contradiction to the short-term nature of much foundation funding: nonprofits are hesitant to rely on short-term and unpredictable funding for recurring overhead expenses. Click here for more information.
The Charity Gap, Continued
Last month, we included a WSJ opinion piece by Sheryl Sandberg of Google, in which she argued that there is a "disconnect between Americans' philanthropic aspirations and their charitable giving." Sandberg highlighted the twin facts of public desire to help those less fortunate and donations that do not target disadvantaged populations, as found by a study that Google commissioned the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University to conduct.
Susan Raymond of the consulting firm Changing Our World Inc. has penned an OnPhilanthropy blog post in response. Raymond argues that the premise of the "charity gap" claim (that "the philanthropic expression of concern for the 'needy' is measured by dollars allocated to immediate services") is flawed. Rather, Raymond says, "Philanthropic investment in resolving root causes of problems will often not show up on measures of services to the needy. But, if we truly do not understand a problem, if we truly do not know what is wrong, let alone how to fix it, how is investing in the knowledge not helping the needy?" In other words, immediate transfers of goods and services are not the only means by which the needy are served through philanthropy--and in fact, "funding complex, long-term problems with uncertain outcomes" may be the only way to ultimately ensure that there are fewer needier people.
Carlsbad Community Foundation May Take Over City Grants Program
The North County Times reports that Endow Carlsbad, a community foundation, has offered to take over the management of the city's Community Activity Grant program, which distributed $30,000 last year and has a $1 million endowment. Under the proposal, Endow Carlsbad would select grant recipients, and The San Diego Foundation would manage the program's endowment (it also manages the community foundation's endowment). The city is unsure of the legality of transferring program management to the community foundation. Endow Carlsbad was established last year and currently has 44 members.
More Philanthropic Headlines
Corporate Volunteerism
A May 8 article in The New York Times reports that "more corporations are turning to hands-on volunteer projects to get their people motivated and working as a team."
Report from the 2007 COF Conference
Speaking at the fifty-eighth annual Council on Foundations conference in Seattle, Melinda Gates of the Seattle-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and former Virginia governor Mark Warner urged grantmakers to work with governments, businesses, and other foundations to help solve the world's problems, the Chronicle of Philanthropy reports. Click here for more information. SDG members Judy McDonald, Janine Mason, Mary Herron, Barry Newman, Richard Kiy were among those who attended the conference--next time you see them, ask what they learned! Mark your calendars for next year's conference: Philanthropy Summit 2008, held May 4-7 outside Washington, DC, will combine all three COF conferences into the largest gathering of philanthropic leaders in history.
Child Well-Being Index 2007 Report
Following an upward swing that peaked in the early part of this decade, the progress being made improving American children's quality of life has come to a standstill, according to the Foundation for Child Development's 2007 Child and Youth Well-Being Index (CWI), an annual comprehensive measure of how children are faring in the United States. This stall can be found across the majority of the CWI's seven domains, with the exception of children's health, which continues its dramatic decline. In better news, children's safety continues its encouraging upward trend, buoyed by a general decline in teen pregnancy, violent crime, and drug and alcohol use among youth.
The Cost of Poverty
A new report by Urban Institute, University of Chicago and Northwestern University researchers estimates The Economic Costs of Poverty in the U.S. and the subsequent effects of children growing up poor. According to researchers, the national costs “associated with childhood poverty total about $500 billion per year…nearly four percent of GDP.” The multi-billion dollar estimated cost of poverty includes expenses associated with lost productivity and economic output, crime, and healthcare. Click here (pdf) for the full report.
Looking for Leaders and Philanthropists: National Philanthropy Day and LEAD San Diego Applications
National Philanthropy Day
This community-building event organized by AFP (and cosponsored by SDG, among others!) will be held on Wednesday, November 14, 2007. The highlight of the luncheon event is an awards ceremony that honors San Diego's most dedicated philanthropists, volunteers, and non-profit advocates. Do you know anyone who deserves to be recognized? The deadline is May 25, so act fast! Click here for more information and click here for the nomination form.
LEAD San Diego
LEAD San Diego has begun accepting applications for the 2007-2008 class and they are looking for San Diego’s best and brightest future leaders. Are there people in your organization, or among your grantees, who have a passion for San Diego and who you believe have potential to excel in community leadership? LEAD could help them strengthen skills, make an impact in the community, and understand critical community issues. LEAD graduates join a network of established leaders who are currently in senior level positions all over our region. The application deadline is June 8. Click here the application (large PDF).
Resources
Giving Circles:
The AFP Foundation for Philanthropy has a new publication: "Giving Circles and Fundraising in the New Philanthropy Environment." This report provides lessons learned from leaders of charitable organizations about how to approach and develop a relationship with a giving circle. Also, click here for a report on giving circles from the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers.
Special Events Study
Charity Navigator analyzed special events data from the IRS Form 990s of over 5,000 charities. The study concluded that while about half of charities use special events to fundraise, and special events generate 15% of all revenue to these organizations, events are inefficient compared to other fundraising strategies. The study also found that many charities are reporting events data incorrectly on their 990s.
Grantmaking with a Racial Equity Lens
Can a racial equity lens help you approach your work with greater clarity and impact? Read this new GrantCraft guide to see why, for increasing numbers of grant makers, the answer is yes. Learn how to apply a racial equity lens in understanding your field or community, working with grantee organizations, and promoting change within your foundation.
Resource for Community Development Funders
The Community Giving Resource (CGR) is a free online resource for grantmakers interested in giving more actively and effectively to issues facing disadvantaged communities. The guide covers topics like housing, employment, education, healthcare, and the environment. In addition, CGR offers “how-to” solutions, examples of funding strategies, and connections to other foundations and individuals working within their own communities.
Teleconferences:
The Forum offers an Effectiveness and Accountability Educational Series of teleconferences and webinars for grantmakers, including several on the following topic:
Upcoming
SDG Programs
Child Welfare Funders
May 22, 2007
12:00-2:00pm
Location: Alliance Healthcare Foundation, 9325 Sky Park Court, Suite 350, San Diego, CA 92123
SDG Guiding Principles Project Task Force Meeting
May 31, 2007
8:30-10:30am
Location: AMN Healthcare, 12400 High Bluff Drive, San Diego, CA 92130
Let's Talk! A Corporate Roundtable Discussion
June 1, 2007
8:30-11:00am
Location: Time Warner Cable, 10450 Pacific Center Ct, San Diego, CA 92121
Reception for Diana Aviv, President and CEO of Independent Sector
June 19, 2007
5:00-7:30pm
Location: Home of Deborah Szekely
Third Thursdays Breakfast Series (Nosh, Network, Knowledge)
June 21, Jul 19, Aug 16,
Sept 20, Oct 18, Nov 15
8:30-10:30am
Locations:
United Way of San Diego County (June, July)
4699 Murphy Canyon Rd
The San Diego Foundation (August-November)
June 21 Topic: Turning Silver to Gold in San Diego: The Impact of Aging
Click here for more information about the breakfast series.
SDG 2007 Annual Conference
November 8, 2007
Save the date!
Click here for more information about all of these SDG programs. 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
Palo Alto, CA
Alliance for Nonprofit Management Annual Conference
July 18-20, 2007
Atlanta, GA
BoardSource Leadership Forum: Shaping the Next Generation of Governance
October 12-13, 2007
San Francisco, CA
Grantmakers in Aging Annual Conference
October 21-November 2, 2007
San Diego, CA
Independent Sector Annual Conference
October 21-23, 2007
Los Angeles, CA
Foundations on the Hill 2008
March 4-5, 2008
Washington, DC
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FUNDRAISING STIPULATION: SDG was developed with grantmakers (staff and trustees) in mind so they could talk candidly with their peers about the challenges they face. With that in mind, we wish to impress upon members and potential members that fundraising or marketing is not allowed at any of SDG’s programs, meetings, or other events. |
