News You Can Use
Online SD Grantmakers Update
Our online SDGrantmakers Update is a monthly electronic publication for SDGrantmakers'
members, featuring member updates, programs, and breaking news. Access current and past issues here.
Online Family Ties
Family Ties is published 3-4 times a year for our San Diego Grantmakers Family Foundation members. Starting in Summer 2006, Family Ties became an electronic publication. Access current and past issues here.
Online Corporate Link
Corporate Link includes news covering corporate foundation and corporate giving interests. It is published 3-4 times a year for our San Diego Grantmakers corporate members, and became electronic in 2006. Access current and past issues here.
Online Philanthropy & the Economy
In 2009, SDG is publishing a monthly bulletin on Philanthropy & the Economy. SDG members may access current & past issues on the members-only Philanthropy & the Economy webpage.
Online SDG In-Depth
This monthly electronic publication was published from 2006-2007. It provided members with focused information about a new topic each issue. Access archived editions here.
Paper Newsletter Archives: Philanthropy Link
Philanthropy Link is a paper newsletter that was mailed to our members concerning critical issues in grantmaking. Due to member feedback, all SDG newsletters are electronic as of 2006. Click below
for pdf versions of archived editions of the print newsletter.
Top Stories from SDGrantmakers Archives
Collaboration
Fall 2005
Assistance with collaboration is the number-one service that members
request from San Diego Grantmakers. After all, SDG is itself the
result of collaboration among funders, and collaboration remains
one of our core values. Still, collaboration can be a vague--and
overused--term. What do we mean, as grantmakers, when we talk about
collaborating? This article features several local grantmaking partnerships,
including San Diego Neighborhood Funders, the San Diego HIV Funding
Collaborative, SDG Working Group on Homelessness and the Child Welfare
Services Working Group.
Advocacy:
What You Can and Cannot Do
Winter 2005
Today, people often relate the word "advocacy" to "lobbying."
The Alliance for Justice indicates that lobbying is indeed an essential
part of advocacy work, but advocacy efforts perhaps are much broader.
Organizing, picketing, litigating, speaking to government officials,
and other methods of influencing policital, economic, and social
systems are all included in advocacy. In many cases, lobbying and
advocacy are both permittable and suitable actions to fund.
Doing
Well and Doing Good:
Why a new golden age of philanthropy may be dawning
Fall 2004
Now, another golden age may be about to dawn, and for similar reasons:
inequality is a friend of philanthropy, and large fortunes encourage
individual generosity. Bill Gates of Microsoft and Pierre Omidyar
of eBay are today's Carnegies: successful entrepreneurs who are
rebranding themselves as imaginative philanthropists.
And yet to predict another golden age requires a leap of faith.
The latest figures published by Giving USA, an annual survey compiled
by the Centre on Philanthropy at Indiana University, do indeed suggest
that America's giving has risen: it has been 2% or more of GDP since
1998, following more than two decades below that mark, and last
year total contributions were 2.2% of GDP, only a whisker below
the all-time high of 2.3% in 2000 (see chart 1). But sceptics ascribe
this recent rise to the dotcom boom, which caused an unexpected
surge of wealth that has not yet shrunk back into line with the
slowdown in the economy.
Chronicle
of Philanthropy Shares Today's Top Trends
Summer 2004
Recently, Stacy Palmer, editor of the Chronicle
of Philanthropy, addressed a group of grantmakers about the
top news stories facing the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors
today and in the near future. The following includes highlights
from her remarks:
- Advocacy
- Economy
- Presidential Campaign
- Competition for Resources
- Communication/Education Gap
- "Hiving"
- Demographics
- Leadership Gap
- International
- So What?
"Making
a Difference":
What Does an Effective Nonprofit Look Like?
How Effective Nonprofits Work: A Guide for Donors, Board Members
and Foundation Officers
Fall 2003, by Marcia Festen and Marianne Philbin
How Effective Nonprofits Work provides an easy-to-understand introduction
to how effective nonprofits operate, geared to donors and new staff,
board members and grantmakers. Beginning with the basics of the
nonprofit sector, the book progresses to essentials such as assessing
nonprofits' effectiveness; the roles of staff, boards and donors;
and the importance of fund raising and preparation for the future.
The book is infused with lessons learned, including the centrality
of funding operating costs, the importance of understanding the
financial situations of nonprofits, and the importance of continually
developing human, financial and technological resources to keep
nonprofits efficient and secure.
The 106-page book blends practical information along with the analytical
perspectives of its authors and other experts in an easy-to-scan
format filled with charts, bullets and lists. Quick takes on nonprofit
strategies, structures and best practices are interspersed with
short essays, with special emphasis placed on the importance of
educating donors by providing them the means to give with their
hearts as well as their heads.
Accountability:
What Does it Mean for Grantmaking? Spring 2003
The tragic events of September 11 and the corresponding surge in
charitable giving have brought greater attention to the notion of
accountability -- or how we measure effectiveness and responsibility.
Indeed, many in our sector believe this is a pivotal time that will
set the tone for the future of charitable giving. Given the heightened
awareness of accountability and that nonprofit agencies are being
asked to respond responsibly and effectively to charitable support,
it certainly seems appropriate for the philanthropic sector to think
about accountability as well. The Independent Sector suggests all
nonprofits, including grantmaking organizations consider giving
themselves an accountability audit.
The
San Diego Foundation's New Philanthropy Study
Building The San Diego Tradition of Giving Spring 2003
Half of SD residents volunteered in the past year and almost one-fourth
volunteered more time than last year. Over two-thirds of SD County
residents said they had made a charitable donation in the past 12
months. On average, San Diegans donate around $1,857 each year,
with the majority of this money staying within San Diego County..
California
Foundations: A Profile of the State's Grantmaking Community
- Fall 2002
Between 1992 and 1999 California foundations outpaced U.S. foundations
in asset growth and annual giving, San Diego foundations included.
However, San Diego's foundation growth ranked 5th compared in a
statewide study of foundations in California's 5 metropolitan areas:
Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose. Click
to read more on San
Diego Foundation Data. Click to read more on California
Foundation Data
Successful
Collaboration September 2002
The terms collaboration and partnership have become so overused
that they have moved from couture to off-the-rack status. And that's
too bad, because we run the risk of organizations paying lip service
to the concept, programs masquerading as collaboratives, and diminished
value being placed on the benefits that can be realized through
the true hard work of collaboration.
Collaboration
September 2002
With the evolution and growth of philanthropy, collaboration has
evolved from a tactic to a strategy and value. Investing in community
is the essence of our work, but it is in developing nonprofit partnerships
that our work is done.
PRIs:
Program Related Investments July 2002
PRIs are not grants. Rather they take the form of loans, loan guarantees,
lines of credit, and equity investments. Similar to grants, PRIs
utilize capital to support charitable projects and activities, however,
there is an expected fiscal return.
"The
Internet is a Mess!" How to Navigate the Seas of Information
April 2002
If you are sifting through the bad and the good in an effort to
conduct research on issues, here are a few online libraries that
help organize the vast information on the web.
Accountability:
What Does it Mean for Grantmaking? December 2001
How we measure effectiveness and responsibility. This is a pivotal
time that will set the tone for the future of charitable giving.
Given the heightened awareness of accountability and that nonprofit
agencies are being asked to respond responsibly and effectively
to charitable support, it certainly seems appropriate for the philanthropic
sector to think about accountability as well.
Technology
and the Role of Nonprofits in Society
December 2001
If there is one thing we should learn from September 11 attacks,
it's that there are agencies and individuals who will be there for
is when we need them, with counseling, shelter, food, and information.
SDGrantmakers
Respond to September 11th--A Call to Action
October 2001
As we struggle to comprehend the events of September 11th, the
San Diego philanthropic community grieves with everyone around the
country and around the world. The bravery and kindness, as well
as the countless acts of dignity and courage that we will never
hear of, will stay with us for a long time.
Cultures
of Caring: October 2001
We need to broaden the definition of philanthropy to include the
more direct and personal ways people reach out to help their neighbors
if we are to appreciate the generosity of diverse communities.
Total
Charitable Contributions Exceeds $200 Billion July 2001
Two new publications track growth and giving, with charitable contributions
increasing nationwide.
Growth
in California Foundation Assets Outpaces Asset Growth Nationwide
July 2001
A new study by the USC Center of Philanthropy and Public Policy,
prepared in cooperation with the Foundation Center, finds that the
assets of California's foundations are growing at a faster rate
than the assets of foundations in the rest of the country.
Foundation
Growth and Giving Estimates July 2001
The existence of foundations is growing, with foundation giving
doubling since 1996 and the doubling of existing foundations jumping
to nearly 50,000.
The
Buzz about Capacity Building July 2001
Capacity Building goes by many names but whatever the label, the
goal is constant, strengthening the organizational infrastructure
to allow non-profits to meet their missions.
Involving
Youth in Philanthropy December 2000
Americans strongly believe that children should participate in
charities to become better citizens, yet the vast majority of parents
confess they are not helping their children get involved. An overwhelming
majority of Americans (85%) agree that children should be introduced
to charities by the age of thirteen and even more (94%) feel that
parents play a key role in getting children involved. Yet almost
three out of four (70%) parents admit their children are not involved
in any philanthropy.
Trends
in Technology November 2000
As technology evolves it becomes more difficult to play catch-up,
this the Digital Divide expands exponentially, therefore it is critical
for Grantmakers to recognize and plan for the new emerging technologies-to
keep an eye out for trends and opportunities.
Knowledge
as Capital July 2000.
Money and funding area always imperative, but it is always critical
to capitalize on both our financial and knowledge investments for
authentic change. |
