SD Grantmakers Update

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.

"Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds."
-- George Eliot

SDG Annual Conference: 
Grantmakers as Change Makers

Thank you to everyone who attended and supported the 2006 SDG Annual Conference, held October 4. We will be reporting in depth on the conference and providing materials for those who were not able to attend in our October "IN DEPTH" newsletter, coming later this month. Also, all materials will be posted on our website in the coming weeks.

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's President and CEO Robert K. Ross wrote an opinion piece published on September 26 in the San Diego Union-Tribune, called "Taking the Lead on Health Care."

Ellen G. and Edward G. Wong Family Foundation now has a website. Check it out!

The Chronicle of Philanthropy recently ran an article about grantmakers responding to Hispanic populations, featuring Julieta Mendez of the International Community Foundation.

Nonprofit Management Solutions held their annual "Salute to Excellence" awards luncheon on October 17, sponsored by Sempra Energy and several other SDG members.

On October 10, the Rancho Santa Fe Foundation hosted "Think We. Pass it on," a very successful outreach event featuring the founder of Free the Children.

The San Diego Foundation moved on October 16 to its new home in Liberty Station: the new address is 2508 Historic Decatur Road, Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92106. Click here for more information and directions. Also, the foundation and its partners the Natural History Museum, Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and the San Diego Regional Energy Office were featured in a San Diego Business Journal article about their global warming initiative.

Southern California Grantmakers has appointed Sushma Raman, currently a program manager at The Ford Foundation, as the new president, effective January 1, 2007.

The Union Bank of California Foundation announced the beneficiaries of its Cornerstone Awards, a $685,000 grant program founded in 2002 to fund emerging nonprofit housing developers in California. This unique program provides flexible operating grants and funding for technical assistance to up-and-coming affordable homebuilders. Click here for details.

National Philanthropy Day 2006

Mark your calendars for this year's celebration! SDG is a community support sponsor of this event, and we look forward to seeing you there on November 15, 2006. Click here for more information.

Are Californians Cheap?

The NewTithing Group's study of IRS data revealed that California has the largest number of wealthy households: 407,000 with over $200,000 or more in adjusted gross income and a total of $1.04 trillion worth of investment assets. However, the study found that California ranks only 21st among states for actual gifts per wealthy filer as a percentage of assets. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that "Affluent Californians donated an average of $19,000 per household -- 0.74 percent of their investment assets and 3.24 percent of their adjusted gross income. Using the percentage of assets as a measure corrects for cost-of-living differences." Utah was the most generous state, where gifts per wealthy filer averaged $38,000. NewTithing seeks to encourage charitable giving.

Improving Nonprofit Evaluation

Alana Conner Snibbe is senior editor at Stanford Social Innovation Review. The current issue features her article "Drowning in Data," a discussion of the "frenzy over accountability in the nonprofit sector." Snibbe says that few funders understand evaluation well enough to conduct or bankroll quality studies. Thus, nonprofits are collecting a lot of data--at great cost--for no good reason! Click here to read the article, which addresses ways funders can begin to understand how complicated and expensive good evaluation is, and how nonprofits can conduct more meaningful evaluations.

Promoting Ethical Action

The USD Nonprofit Leadership & Management Program and Center for Applied Nonprofit Research, in conjunction with the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, present "Beyond Regulation: Tools for Promoting Ethical Action in Nonprofit Organizations," an event that will introduce tools based on discussions held last year with more than 168 nonprofit practitioners.

Friay, October 27, 2006
8:00am-12:00pm
University of San Diego, Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice
$25 per person

Click here to register.

Resources

Focus on Outcomes: Some of you may have attended the SDG event with The Rensselaerville Institute in June. Now, the Institute is working with MicroEdge to provide outcome tools for their software, including models of outcome-based applications and templates for applicant and grantee exchanges with foundations to focus less on activities and more on results. Remember, SDG members are eligible for discounts on MicroEdge software. Click here for the press release.

Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR) recently released the publication, Investing in Our Communities: Strategies for Immigrant Integration, which seeks to guide the development of effective program, policy, and grantmaking strategies to promote effective immigrant integration in local communities across the United States. Click here for more information and to download the toolkit.

Teleconferences

Effectiveness and Accountability: The Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers presents two upcoming teleconferences in this series, including "Communications Strategies for Greater Transparency" on October 26, 2:00-3:00pm ET, and "Understanding Administrative Expenses" on November 7, 2:00-3:00pm ET. There is a $25 fee for each call.

Board Issues: Deborah Hechinger, president and CEO of BoardSource, will partner with the Forum for a series of teleconferences for grantmakers on board leadership issues.  Board Chairs: Best Practices of Board Leaders Today will take place on Tuesday, November 28, 2006, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time and Governance Committees: Motivating and Maximizing Opportunities for Excellence will take place on Tuesday, December 12, 2006, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time.  Click here for more information and to register.

Generous Nation Campaign

The Advertising Council, the nonprofit organization that coordinates pro bono campaigns on behalf of the agency and media industries, has launched a new public service effort to persuade Americans to actually act upon their altruistic impulses. The campaign, called "Generous Nation," is epitomized by its theme, "Don’t almost give. Give," which will be reiterated in television and radio commercials and print and online ads as well as on dontalmostgive.org, a dedicated Web site.

Foundations on the Hill: Save the Date!

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. For more information on Foundations on the Hill, visit www.foundationsonthehill.org. Next year's event will occur on February 27-28, 2007.

Congressman Xavier Becerra (D-CA) has urged foundations to meet with their lawmakers in Washington, D.C. “You don’t have enough money to help everyone in my district buy a home or to get every child in my district to graduate from high school,” said Becerra, whose district lies entirely in the City of Los Angeles. “But you do have the money to come to Washington, D.C. to make sure I am working with (Council President and CEO) Steve Gunderson and my colleagues to get the Congress...to invest the money it should to complement the work that you are doing.” Becerra also discussed congressional interest in charitable reform and the recent enactment of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (H.R. 4). “For some of you, [H.R. 4] was not as beneficial as it could be because the IRA rollover left out gifts to donor-advised funds and supporting organizations,” said Becerra. “We need to see you, to hear from you because that needs to change.”

Foundation Salary Information

The 2006 Council on Foundations salary tables are now available online. The tables are based on responses from 802 foundations and giving programs, which reported salaries for 6,451 full-time staff in 35 positions. These tables present gross base salary, exclusive of benefits, bonuses or other special compensation. Salary information is presented by grantmaker type, categorized by community foundations, corporate grantmakers, private foundations (family and independent) and public foundations. Each table also contains an extensive breakdown by assets or, in the case of corporate grantmakers, by annual grant amounts. Click here to download the tables.

Upcoming SDG Programs

San Diego Neighborhood Funders Open House-Reception for Market Creek Plaza Investors
October 26, 2006, 4:30pm-6:30pm
Location: Where the World Meets, International Marketplace Plaza
342 Euclid Avenue, San Diego, CA

Distinguished Speaker Series: Mayor Jerry Sanders
A Philanthropic Lens for San Diego’s Future
November 1, 2006, 11:30am-1:00pm
Location: Aboard Holland America Lines ms Zaandam (in port), 1140 N. Harbor Drive, San Diego
Lunch
$25 includes parking

Presented in conjunction with program partners San Diego Social Venture Partners and San Diego Women’s Foundation.

Sponsor:


Gangs & Youth Violence Learning Agenda
November 3, 2006, 12:00pm - 4:00pm
Location: Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation
Lunch

Former gang members, youth, and leaders from the nonprofit and public sector will come together to discuss causes, effects, challenges, and community responses to gangs and youth violence. Hosted by San Diego Neighborhood Funders.

A Forum on Immigration: Implications for Funders
November 9, 2006, 8:30am - 10:30am 
Location:  NTC Promenade
Light Breakfast  

Moderator: Ambassador Jeffrey Davidow, President, Institute of the Americas and former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico. Presenters:  Richard Kiy, President of the International Community Foundation, Allison Di Lucca, Program Officer, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, Dr. Konane Martinez, National Latino Research Center, and Sid Voorakara, Program Officer, The California Endowment.

Collaborations, Connections and Community RelationSHIPS
November 29, 2006, 8:30am - 10:30am
Host & Location: Time Warner, 10450 Pacific Center Ct., San Diego

Sponsored by the San Diego Chargers Community Foundation

Presenter: Ed Wallace, Director, Community Affairs, Sony Electronics and Vice President, Sony USA Foundation. Guest Moderator: Paul Thompson, Global Community Solutions (formerly of The San Diego Foundation and Callaway Golf Foundation).

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

Independent Sector 2006 Annual Conference
Many Voices, Shared Purpose:  Working Together to Improve Lives
October 22-24, 2006
Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN

Click here for more information or to register.

Grantmakers in Aging 2006 Annual Conference
October 25-27, 2006
Milwaukee, WI

Click here for details about the conference.

Forum Teleconference: Communications Strategies for Greater Transparency
October 26, 2006
Teleconference

What does it mean for a foundation to be transparent? Click here to register.

USD Nonprofit Leadership & Management Program's
Beyond Regulation: Tools for Promoting Ethical Action in Nonprofit Organizations
October 27, 2006
San Diego, CA

Click here for information and to register.

SCG: The Fundamentals of Effective Grantmaking
October 27, November 3, November 17, 2006
Los Angeles, CA

Click here for more information.

Association of Small Foundations 2006 National Conference
October 26-28, 2006
New Orleans, LA

Click here for details about the conference.

Grantmakers for Education Annual Conference
November 6-8, 2006
San Francisco, CA

Click here for more information.

American Association of Grant Professionals Annual Conference
November 8-11, 2006
Nashville, TN

Click here for more information.

Philanthropy Roundtable's Annual Meeting:
“Raising the Bar: Achieving Excellence in Giving”
November 9-11, 2006
Charleston, SC

Click here for details.

Grantmakers in the Arts 2006 Conference
November 12-15, 2006
Boston, MA

Click here for details about the conference.

National Philanthropy Day 2006
November 15, 2006
San Diego, CA

Click here for more information.

BoardSource 2006 Leadership Forum
December 3-4, 2006
Chicago, IL

This conference on nonprofit governance will feature James E. Canales of SDG member The James Irvine Foundation. For details, click here.

JAG (Joint Affinity Groups) Unity Summit
February 5-7, 2007
Los Angeles, CA

Click here for more information.

Grantmakers In Health Annual Conference
Feb 14-16, 2007
Miami, FL

Click here for details.

Foundations on the Hill
February 28, 2007
Washington, DC

Click here for more information.

Association of Corporate Contributions Professionals Conference
March 4-7, 2007
Scottsdale, AZ

Click here for details.

International Corporate Citizenship Conference
March 25-27, 2007
San Francisco, CA

Click here for registration details.

Council on Foundations Annual Conference
April 29-May 1, 2007
Seattle, WA

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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