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October 2009 |
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A monthly e-newsletter for people interested in Florida philanthropy |
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Headlines |
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Chiles Begins "Journey of One Million Steps"
Bud Chiles of The Lawton Chiles Foundation kicked off the "Journey of One Million Steps" in Escambia County. Through his walk across the state, Chiles hopes to raise awareness
about Florida's challenges, with education being a primary focus, and to bring a call to action on the part of Florida leadership.
Watch local TV new coverage of the launch of Chiles'
cross-state walk. |
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Economy Matters Across Florida |
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Economy Not Key in Residents' Love for Where They Live, New Study Finds
A Gallup study of 26 U.S. communities finds that the worst economic crisis in decades is not a key factor in attracting and retaining residents.
The Soul of the Community survey, funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation,
reveals that a community's social offerings, physical beauty and openness to new and different people are most important to
making residents love where they live.
Bradenton, FL has the most resident attachment of all communities surveyed.
Download the full report
here (PDF). |
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Florida Posted Largest Poverty-Rate Increase in 2008
Florida saw the largest one-year poverty-rate increase of all states in 2008, according to a new Census Bureau report. The state's poverty rate
grew from 12.1% to 13.2%
(+1.1%), followed by California, which saw a +0.9% rise. Florida’s
2008 poverty rate was equal to the national average, and ranked 23rd out of the 50 states and D.C. View a state-by-state table
here. |
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Southeast Florida: Miami-Dade County commissioners have voted to give cultural and social groups at least
70% of their county funding, but groups won't know the actual amounts they'll receive for a while. To survive the recession, many South Florida nonprofits are engaging
in more collaborations, trying new fundraising strategies and forging more meaningful connections with donors,
The Palm Beach Post reports. |
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Tampa Bay: Tampa-area charities are facing potential cuts in local government funding, as an advisory
committee has suggested that the city
further reduce its subsidies to nonprofit organizations. |
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Jacksonville: The current economic crunch has not been easy on the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, but the
group is
used to tough times and is
celebrating its 60th season. |
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Orlando: The Destiny Foundation of Central Florida, which has served an estimated 10,000 people a month with subsidized groceries, clothing,
medical care, emergency assistance and counseling, was
planning to close at the end of
Sept., a victim of the recession.
But in a last-minute reprieve, the nonprofit reopened Oct. 1 as the
Community Food & Outreach Center, through an arrangement with the Harvest Food & Outreach Center in Vero Beach. |
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Jacksonville Nonprofits Making Strategic Changes to Cope With Recession, New Jessie Ball duPont Fund Report Shows
Jacksonville nonprofits have made numerous changes in
how they operate in response to the current economic
downturn, according to a new report by the Jessie Ball
duPont Fund. 76% of nonprofits surveyed have made
strategic organizational changes, with the most common
change being a shift in target client base or
programmatic focus, while 59% have increased advocacy
with government, 52% have changed board operations, 46%
have reduced or frozen wages and benefits, and 35% have
reduced staff. Download the report (PDF)
here. |
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| Find More Resources at FPN's
Economy Matters page.
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FPN News |
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Nikia Kaiza (c.) with FPN President Katie Ensign and FPN Vice President David Biemesderfer. |
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Nikia Kaiza Named Inaugural FPN-Anchin Center Research Fellow
University of South Florida graduate student Nikia Kaiza has been named the inaugural Florida Philanthropic Network-David C. Anchin Center Research Fellow. As part of this one-year fellowship, Kaiza will assist FPN in numerous research projects to analyze and document Florida philanthropy,
including research on the overall size and scope of Florida's charitable giving and the future outlook for Florida grantmaking. |
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Legislative Update |
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Rep. Posey Co-Sponsors IRA Charitable Rollover Bill
As the result of a Sept. 9 meeting with local foundations,
Florida Congressman Bill Posey (R-15th) has signed on as co-sponsor of the Public Good IRA Rollover Act of 2009 (H.R. 1250). The bill would make the charitable rollover incentive permanent and expand the incentive to cover IRA distributions to donor advised funds, supporting organizations and private foundations. The bill would also
lift the $100,000 cap on distributions and allow planned gifts beginning at age 59.5,
down from the current age limit of 70.5. |
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Baucus Agrees to Tax Credit for Small Charities in Health-Care Bill
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) has agreed to amend his health-care bill to provide a tax credit to help small charities provide health insurance to their employees.
His original language would have allowed the credit only for small businesses that pay income taxes, excluding most nonprofits. |
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Senators Propose Charitable-Deduction Limits in Health Bill
In amendments proposed to Sen. Baucus' health-care bill, a handful of senators have proposed limiting to 35% the tax break that wealthy people can get for their itemized deductions, including gifts to charity. That is less drastic
than the 28% limit proposed by President Obama, but a coalition of nonprofit leaders sent a letter to Baucus opposing the amendments. |
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Evaluation Will Play Critical Role in Work of White House Office
Measurements and evaluation will play an important role as government and the nonprofit world work together to identify and expand the best solutions to the country's most pressing social problems, Sonal Shah, director
of the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation, told participants at the Social Capital Markets Conference. |
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Jobs |
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New job postings on
FPN's Jobs Board: |
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People |
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DeYoung to Retire from Darden Restaurants Foundation
Patty DeYoung, executive administrator of the Darden Restaurants Foundation, will retire from the post at the end of October after almost 30 years with the company. Darden will pay her salary for a year as she works for Heart of Florida United Way as a special assistant to the president and
CEO, starting in January. DeYoung has served on Florida Philanthropic Network’s board of directors since
January 2006 and has been involved in numerous FPN leadership activities. |
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Manatee Community Foundation
board has elected R. Chris Jones, vice-president and private client advisor, U.S. Trust Private Wealth Management, as board president;
W. Stuart Gregory, vice-president; Dale Hoffner, treasurer; Alexander (Sandy) Kirkpatrick, secretary; and Sara Baden, past president.
The board also elected Dave Bassett, senior vice president-wealth advisor for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, to the board. |
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Giving Trends |
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Executives Value Corporate Citizenship More Than Ever, Study Finds
The recession has not spelled the end for corporate citizenship, but it has forced corporations to rethink their approach, according to a new study by The Hitachi Foundation and the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship. Based on a survey of 750 business executives, the study found that 38% of companies cut their cash giving this year, while just 10% increased it.
Still, 54% of corporate executives said they believe corporate citizenship is even more important in today's economic downturn. |
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New Resources |
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On the Money
This publication from Grantmakers for Effective Organizations highlights the financial challenges nonprofits face, the ways in which grantmakers are both
improving the situation for nonprofits and perpetuating the problem, and the areas where knowledge and practice need further development. |
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Special Report: The Economic Downturn and LGBTQ Grantmaking
As the economic storm strikes the philanthropic sector, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) organizations
- and their funders - brace for 2010.
How are foundations responding? Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues investigates. |
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Florida Philanthropic Network is a statewide association of grantmakers
working to strengthen philanthropy through research, education and public policy.
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