In Search of Diversity

May 29, 2008
Benjamin Todd Jealous
Benjamin Todd Jealous
NAACP Photo

Did you see the announcement about the new leader of the NAACP, Benjamin Todd Jealous? The news caught my eye because of his varied background — Rhodes Scholar; editor of Mississippi’s oldest black newspaper, the Jackson Advocate; head of the National Newspaper Publishers Association; and leader of the Rosenberg Foundation, a California grantmaker dedicated to achieving economic and social equity. All that and he’s only 35 years old!

Other than his credentials cited in the news services, I know nothing more about Ben Jealous’ background, skills or talents. But I am especially intrigued by Jealous’ diversity. Not his race, mind you, but his diverse professional experiences. As an academic, a journalist, an administrator, and philanthropist, Jealous will surely bring an exciting array of perspectives to his new job.

Join the conversation: So how is diversity defined and redefined in your organization? When your foundation seeks out new talent, do you look at diverse demographic characteristics and a rich tapestry of professional experience? Where do we find the mavericks who will bring new vision to our goals of advancing philanthropy and strengthening our communities?

-Wendy Wehr, V.P. of Communications and Information Services

Comments Off | diversity, in the news, leadership | Permalink
Posted by Wendy Wehr

Helping Tornado Victims Recover – Using “Old-Fashioned” and New Methods

May 28, 2008
Twin Cities Red Cross responds
Twin Cities Red Cross photo

On May 25, a tornado with winds from 136-165 mph touched down in Hugo. The Twin Cities Red Cross reports that 36 homes were destroyed, while another 29 suffered major damage and 114 minor damage. An editorial in today’s Minneapolis Star Tribune, When disaster strikes, Minnesotans step up, says that “Hugo will recover with a lot of help from its friends.”

“Old-fashioned” support: No material donations are needed at this time; funds have been set up to take monetary donations. A large volunteer cleanup effort will take place on Saturday, although the city of Hugo reports that it already has enough volunteers.

Web 2.0 tools help, too: The national Red Cross has a “Safe and Well” website where people can register themselves or search for loved ones, and they link to partner websites that provide similar services.

The local Red Cross is using the micro-blogging site Twitter to provide updates on their progress, from the number of families the organization is working with, to the lunch they served for survivors, to announcing new photos of the relief efforts. They also solicit financial donations and presumably recruit volunteers, although they have capped that particular effort. (To sign up: go to www.twitter.com; register or sign in; follow Twin Cities Red Cross.)

Join the conversation: Have you seen other examples of nonprofits effectively using Twitter to provide updates? How could your organization use Twitter to communicate?

Comments Off | disasters, technology | Permalink
Posted by Crystal Colby

State Property Tax-Exempt Status Moratorim Passes

May 28, 2008

From the Minnesota Council on Nonprofits:

A Minnesota Supreme Court decision in December in Under the Rainbow Child Care Center vs. County of Goodhue narrowed the definition of “organizations of purely public charity” that is used in determining property tax exemption. But on the last night of the 2008 legislative session, the Omnibus Tax Bill passed with the House version of the moratorium language.

The final language includes the following text:

Moratorium on changes in assessment practices.
(a) An assessor may not change the current practices or policies used generally in assessing property of institutions of purely public charities.
(b) An assessor may not change the assessment of the taxable status of an existing property of an organization of purely public charity, unless the change is made as a result of a change in ownership, occupancy or use of the facility, or to correct an error. For currently taxable properties, the assessor may change the estimated market value of the property.
(c) This subdivision expires on the earlier of:
  (1) the enactment of legislation establishing criteria for the property taxation of purely public charities; or
  (2) adjournment of the 2009 regular legislative session to a date in calendar year.

MCN will meet with nonprofits and with the Department of Revenue and assessors this summer to work on language for a more permanent legislative solution for 2009. If you are interested in participating in this solution, contact MCN.

Comments Off | government, grantseekers, nonprofits | Permalink
Posted by Chuck Peterson

House Votes on IRA Charitable Rollover & Other Charitable Provisions

May 27, 2008

From the national Council on Foundations‘ May 27 Legislative Update:

CapitolBy a vote of 263–160, the House last week passed H.R.6049, which combines one-year extensions of tax provisions that expired in 2007 and those that will expire in 2008. Amendments, including one to add an Alternative Minimum Tax Patch (AMT), failed. The bill does include an extension of the IRA charitable rollover, at $465 million over 10 years.

Other provisions (and their cost over 10 years):

  • The enhanced charitable deduction of food inventory ($71 million), book inventory ($31 million), and computers ($260 million)
  • Modification of the tax treatment of certain payments under existing arrangements to controlling exempt organizations ($35 million)

Neither the House nor Senate versions change the extension of the IRA charitable rollover in its most recent form (which expired in December 2007), as both bills exclude distributions from IRA accounts to donor-advised funds, supporting organizations, and private foundations. In addition, neither bill changes the age requirement (70 1/2) nor donation cap ($100,000 per taxpayer per taxable year).

The Senate bill will not be marked up in the Senate Finance Committee until June, according to Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT). Although all differences between the bills will have to be worked out in conference, a final bill is expected to be sent to the President sometime after the November 2008 election. COF’s Public Policy team does expect that all charitable giving incentives included in the final bill will be retroactive to 2008.

Comments Off | government, nonprofits | Permalink
Posted by Chuck Peterson

Farm Bill Passes After Veto Overriden

May 27, 2008

From the Council on Foundations’ May 27 Legislative Update:

CapitolDespite a presidential veto, the farm bill became law last week after the House and Senate voted to override the President’s veto. The law only contains 14of the original 15 titles due to a staff error. House and Senate parliamentarians and constitutional scholars have determined that the omission of Title III did not invalidate the whole bill. However, erring on the side of caution, the House adopted a new version of the entire 15-title farm bill, and the Senate is expected to do the same in June.

The farm bill includes a two-year extension of the expired conservation easement tax incentive and a new Rural Collaborative Investment Program (RCIP). This program is designed to enhance rural competitiveness through matching long-term loans to eligible community foundations. Note, the term “community foundation” is not defined in the bill. COF staff will work with the federal department of agriculture when it begins the process to develop the necessary regulations to implement this new program. The manner in which the term community foundations will be “defined” or interpreted will be of utmost importance to us. The farm bill, which will cost $300 billion, reauthorizes the 2002 Farm Act, expands nutrition programs, and makes some reforms to conservation and farm subsidy programs.

Comments Off | community foundations, government | Permalink
Posted by Chuck Peterson

Welcome, New MCF Associate Member!

May 21, 2008

Northfield Area FoundationThe Northfield Area Foundation, a community fund of the Minnesota Community Foundation, was created in 1993, and its initial funds were scholarships for Northfield High School graduates. Over the years, additional donor-advised funds have been added, and in 2000, the Marston and Dorothy Headley Fund provided an endowment from which grants can be made by the Advisory Board. Contributions from individuals, families, businesses and charitable organizations build the endowment, the earnings from which are used to fund community needs and interests.

Comments Off | mcf | Permalink
Posted by MCF Webmaster

‘Disaster Fatigue’ Leads To Drop In Donors

May 21, 2008
International disasters
Back-to-back disasters in Myanmar (top) and China (bottom) are “paralyzing” donors from contributing money for relief.
Reuters photos

“As bodies pile up in disaster after global disaster, even the most sympathetic souls can turn away.” An Associated Press story says that the back-to-back disasters in Myanmar and China are overwhelming donors:

Ironically, the more bad news there is, the less likely people may be to give. “Hearing about too many disasters makes some people not give at all, when they would have if it had been just one disaster,” says Michal Ann Strahilevitz, who teaches marketing at Golden Gate University and specializes in the factors at play in charitable giving.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that about $8 million has been raised by U.S. organizations for the two disasters to date. Compare that to over $1 billion for the 2005 hurricane relief and $2.7 billion after 9/11. (The Washington Post reports that Chinese residents have donated $192 million to earthquake relief efforts.) But there isn’t one single database for information about how much has been donated, and Lucy Bernholz of the Philanthropy 2173 blog asks why not.

MCF posts information about which Minnesota grantmakers have supported relief efforts. (Grantmakers can submit their information here.)

More news about the disasters:

Join the conversation: The GiveWell blog says that donors need help choosing which charity organizations to support. How would you help donors? Are you suffering from donor fatigue?

Comments Off | disasters, individual giving, international | Permalink
Posted by Crystal Colby

MCA Defeats State Cuts to the Arts

May 20, 2008

Summary provided by Minnesota Citizens for the Arts’ Arts Alert:

Minnesota Citizens for the ArtsMinnesota Citizens for the Arts successfully defeated a proposed cut to arts funding. The arts were facing a cut of $175,000 from the Minnesota State Arts Board (MSAB) and Regional Arts Councils (RAC) budgets. This funding reaches every Minnesota county in grants and services from the MSAB and RACs. Read more…

Comments Off | arts, government, grantseekers, nonprofits | Permalink
Posted by Chuck Peterson

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