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| San Diego Grantmakers Update | |
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"Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare." - Japanese proverb |
March 2009 | |
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| Report from Foundations on the Hill
SDG Executive Director Nancy Jamison and Public Policy Chair Sid Voorakkara (The California Endowment) were joined by Linda Lloyd (Alliance Healthcare Foundation) and Tracey Bryan (Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation) at this year's Foundations on the Hill event, which took place in Washington, DC on March 24-25. SDG participated in the event as part of our ongoing efforts to develop relationships with policymakers and to raise the profile of San Diego philanthropy.
The San Diego delegation met with Congressmembers Duncan Hunter, Bob Filner, and Susan Davis and with a representative from Brian Bilbray's office. The full California delegation (including SDG, Northern California Grantmakers, and Southern California Grantmakers members) met with staff of Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer as well as Representative Henry Waxman. We discussed the philanthropy caucus, charitable deduction rates (check out the SDG Philanthropy and Economy webpage for headlines on this issue), IRA charitable rollover, and private foundation excise taxes, along with other topics of concern to grantmakers.
Foundations on the Hill is a great way to educate legislators about philanthropy and advocate on issues affecting our sector. Click here for a Chronicle article highlighting the event. | |
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.
Welcome new SDG member Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and new SDG guest member Oro Y Plata Foundation!
SDG is pleased to welcome our new intern, Scott Blitgen. Scott is a graduate of the University of Virginia and is also a volunteer with the San Diego River Park Foundation.
Several SDG members made it onto Fortune magazine's annual " World's Most Admired Companies" list: congratulations to Qualcomm Incorporated, Sempra Energy, Northern Trust, Hitachi, Jack in the Box, and Sony Electronics.
Alliance Healthcare Foundation has announced that fellow SDG member San Diego Human Dignity Foundation (SDHDF) has been selected to be the next convener of the San Diego HIV Funding Collaborative. In addition, Alliance Healthcare Foundation will be awarding SDHDF a three-year grant to support implementation of the new program.
The Gary and Mary West Foundation has given $45 million to establish the West Wireless Medicine Institute: see this front-page Union-Tribune article for more info. Holland America Line and the Port of San Diego are debuting Ship to Shelter, an innovative community charitable program designed to donate valuable and reusable goods from the line's cruise ships to local people in need. The goods will be distributed by Alpha Project. Earlier this month, the program was profiled on CNN.
Qualcomm Incorporated is sponsoring "The Qualcomm Extreme Technology Makeover Program 2009," which will provide 4 non-profit organizations in San Diego County with complete and customized information technology updates. Organizations can apply here.
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NCRP Report Sparks Debate
The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy recently released Criteria for Philanthropy at Its Best: Benchmarks to Assess and Enhance Grantmaker Impact, calling the report the "first ever set of measurable guidelines foundations and other grantmaking institutions can use to maximize their contributions to society and make a positive difference in the world today." The report has made major headlines: Click here for a Chronicle article about the report and here for a PND News piece. In addition, media outlets and philanthropic organizations have responded with opinions and commentary:
- This Wall Street Journal opinion piece says the report's "real aim is to push philanthropic organizations into ignoring donor intent and instead giving grants based on political consideration." Click here for NCRP's published response.
- This Forbes commentary is critical of the report: click here for NCRP's response.
- COF complains that NCRP is advocating a one-size-fits-all approach: click here for Steve Gunderson's statement.
- Philanthropy Roundtable issued a statement (pdf) calling the report's standards "too narrow and arbitrary."
- Paul Brest at his Huffington Post blog responded to the report by noting that while he shares many of NCRP's stated goals, he finds their prescriptions "breathtakingly arrogant." He discusses the report further here and here.
- The California Wellness Foundation has canceled its NCRP membership and rescinded a $10,000 grant to the organization, reports the Chronicle.
- NCRP has responded to what it calls "recurring pieces of misinformation and mischaracterization" about the report.
- This Wall Street Journal article covers the foundation response to the report.
On a related note, prominent foundation watchdog Pablo Eisenberg has also written two columns advising changes in how foundations operate: check them out here and here. |
| Did You Miss Forces for Good?
On March 9, the Survive and Thrive initiative (a partnership of The United Way of San Diego County and The San Diego Foundation) presented a workshop for funders called "Forces for Good: What Makes Great Nonprofits Great?" The discussion featured Heather McLeod Grant, co-author of the book Forces for Good. If you missed it, you can check out the book's website, or read an executive summary article at SSIR. |
Philanthropic Headlines
"The measure would change the way foundations are taxed on their investment income, replacing the current two-tiered system with a single tax rate. Foundations complain that the current system effectively penalizes them when they give away more money than usual." Also, click here for the Chronicle article on the measure.
"The number of charities and private foundations registered with the Internal Revenue Service has increased by more than 5 percent in each of the past two years, according to figures released by the tax agency, and reached a total of nearly 1.2 million last year."
Tactical Philanthropy (and Chronicle): "It's Time to Share More Information About Worthy Charities"
The "lack of information about what works and what does not is a major obstacle to the most-effective nonprofit organizations of all types receiving the money they need."
Stanford Social Innovation Review: "Interview [with] Collaboration Prize Co-Winners"
"On March 5th, the winners of The Collaboration Prize-the national competition with a cash award of $250,000 for the best nonprofit collaboration in the U.S.-were at long last announced by the Lodestar Foundation and AIM (the Arizona-Indiana-Michigan) Alliance. Appropriately, it was a tie! The blue ribbon panel of judges selected the YMCA & JCC of Greater Toledo and Dallas Museum of Nature and Science to share first place." This article is an interview with leaders from the YMCA & JCC collaboration. |
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Resources
A Brief Guide to the Law of Mission Investing for U.S. Foundations
This FSG Social Impact Advisors report provides practical guidance on the legal constraints of mission-related investing - the extent to which foundations can choose investments for their social impact rather than financial performance while meeting their fiduciary responsibility.
The Communications Network
The Communications Network is an association of grantmakers dedicated to helping advance, promote, and encourage the adoption of effective communications practices in philanthropy. Check out their website for tools and resources, including tips for writing news releases and a foundation "jargon finder."
Limited Life Foundations: Motivations, Experiences, and Strategies
This Urban Institute publication compares characteristics of perpetual foundations and limited life foundations, set to be terminated at a specified time. It explores both personal and strategic reasons for "sunsetting" and positive and negative effects of limited life on the foundation.
Advancing Good Governance: How Grantmakers Invest in the Governance of Nonprofit Organizations
When grantmakers help nonprofits build stronger boards of directors, both the organizations and the communities that depend on their programs and services benefit, according to a new report by BoardSource and FSG Social Impact Advisors.
Philanthropy Annual: 2008 ReviewThe Foundation Center has released this compendium (free download) of highlights from 2008, including interviews, commentary, notable publications, and key statistics.
The Robertson v. Princeton Case: Too Important to Be Left to the Lawyers
This Hudson Institute publication offers comments from eleven contributors on the Robertson family's donor rights suit against Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs for violation of donor intent. |
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Upcoming SDG Programs
Association of Small Foundations Spring Seminars
April 19-22, 2009
Embassy Suites San Diego Bay - Downtown, 601 Pacific Hwy, San Diego, CA 92101
Seminar choices:
April 19: Next Generation Retreat
April 20: Foundations 101 -OR- Trustee Leadership Seminar
April 21: Legal Essentials -OR- Funding Public Education
April 22: Planning for Impact -OR- Climate Change
Distinguished Speaker James A. Phills, Jr.
May 8, 2009, 8:30-10:30 amPrice Charities, 4305 University Avenue, Suite 630, San Diego, CA 92105
Click here for a complete list of SDG programs. To RSVP, please call (619) 744-2180 or email programs@sdgrantmakers.org (include your full name and organizational affiliation with your response, please).
Reminder: SDG programs are open only to member grantmakers and nonmember grantmakers as invited. | |
| This online SDGrantmakers Update is published by San Diego Grantmakers to help SDG members meet the challenges of philanthropy today. 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. Copies of past editions are archived here.
Contact Nancy Jamison, 619/744.2180 or nancy@sdgrantmakers.org to suggest article ideas or submit news items. | |
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