Helping Shape Minnesota Education

September 30, 2008

Last Wednesday, MCF’s Education Access Funders Network held a program and discussion that looked at the achievement gap in Minnesota schools, and potential ways to bridge that gap.

The session began with Ernest Davenport, Ph.D., an associate professor at the University of Minnesota, who gave some background on the gaps in education using various studies and research.

One report spoke to the correlation of scores in math and reading from grade three to grade five; another was on the performance differences between white students and students of color. He additionally shared information on how the data on school performance and rankings of states can be misleading, as well as the relationship between coursework and content.

In May 2007, Citizens League launched a youth civic engagement website called Students Speak Out. This social-networking website was created to empower young people to take charge and take control, allowing for debates on a number of different topics that students, educators, parents and other stakeholders can participate in including technology in the schools, standards and testing, respect and discipline. Brett and Holly, two students from Avalon Charter School, are contributors to Students Speak Out and see the value of the site and having their voices be part of the larger conversations on education in Minnesota.

The last speaker was from Parents United, a statewide, grassroots organization that engages Minnesotans to advocate for public school children, holds elected officials accountable for education policies and funding, and promotes an environment where public schools thrive.

Toward the end of the session, one question that was posed was, “How do we find what works and go to scale?” The group began to challenge themselves to look at how to work as a collective to enact change on the policy level, so that they are not being only responsive to programmatic efforts that are short-term solutions.

Join the conversation: What role do you believe foundations should take in shaping education in Minnesota? Should foundations be taking a leadership role in convening stakeholders in public policy, or do they drive change based on the work they have funded?

- Sundraya Kase, MCF’s education access funders network coordinator, and Megan Sullivan, MCF’s communications associate

Comments Off | education | Permalink
Posted by Megan Sullivan

MCF Welcomes Ryan Johnson as its first Public Policy Fellow

September 29, 2008

MCF is pleased to announce a new partnership with the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs to establish the Council’s first Public Policy Fellowship. Ryan Johnson, a second-year graduate student at the Humphrey Institute, has been selected to fill this position. In addition to working on his master’s of public affairs, Ryan is employed with the Children’s Defense Fund as an outreach specialist, where he is working to strengthen partnerships with nonprofits, public agencies, schools and faith groups. Ryan also has worked with the Minnesota Literacy Council as well as the United Way of Dane County in Madison, Wisconsin.

Over the next 9 months, Ryan will be working the Council and its membership to…

  • identify promising practices and strategies of current grantmakers currently engaged in public policy efforts
  • identify and develop topics, tools and trainings for MCF’s membership to help grantmakers develop advocacy and public policy strategies
  • convene MCF issue-based networks and others interested in advocating positions on public policy issues to identify ways the Council can support efforts to build coalitions of grantmakers to take action

If you are interested in learning more about the public policy fellowship, please contact Chuck Peterson or Ryan Johnson.

- Chuck Peterson, MCF’s VP of member relations and operations

Comments Off | mcf, public policy | Permalink
Posted by Chuck Peterson

Legislative Updates

September 29, 2008
  • The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that the House and Senate have each passed a bill that “would renew and extend several provisions affecting charitable giving,” including the IRA charitable rollover. However, the legislation may have difficulty passing “because the House and Senate disagree over how to pay for the overall tax package. What’s more, the House passed its legislation in a form that differs from the Senate version.” Update: Charity Tax Breaks Stall In Congress
  • Representative John Lewis (D-GA), Chairman of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight, introduced a bill that seeks to clarify reforms to tax law governing charitable organizations. The national Council on Foundations says that the bill, The Charity Enhancement Act of 2008 (H.R.7083) (PDF), seeks to clarify some of the charitable reform provisions in the Pension Protection Act of 2006. The bill was brought to the floor of the house on Saturday, and was approved via a voice vote. COF has endorsed the provisions outlined in H.R. 7083 and is encouraging contact with your representative to ask for his/her support of the bill, which so far has five co-sponsors, including Representative Jim Ramstad (R-MN). More information…

  • Alliance for Justice has released a new fact sheet (PDF) that tells how 501(c)(3) organizations may and may not interact with political campaigns and candidates.

Comments Off | government, public policy | Permalink
Posted by Chuck Peterson

In the Media

September 26, 2008

Several more articles about the economy and nonprofits/philanthropy:

Roundup of philanthropy/nonprofit articles:

Comments Off | economy, environment, in the news | Permalink
Posted by MCF Webmaster

Survey: Assessment of Arts Needs

September 25, 2008

The Minnesota State Arts Board and Minnesota’s eleven regional arts councils are requesting your opinions about needs and resources in your community, and how the arts can help communities thrive. The survey is part of a needs assessment that will set funding priorities over the next several years for this state system to support the arts throughout Minnesota. They are holding a drawing for prizes for entries completed by Oct. 3.

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Posted by MCF Webmaster

Community: Physical Places and Virtual Spaces?

September 24, 2008

What comes to your mind when you hear the word “community?” Since you’re a blog reader, you may immediately think of the growth of online communities . . . virtual spaces rather than geographic places.

This week MCF is all about communities. On Friday we’ll convene nearly 100 representatives of Minnesota community foundations at a conference on Leadership: Evolving Roles in Your Community. Next week our Fall edition of our print newspaper, Giving Forum, will hit snail mail boxes; its featured content explores how community philanthropists can lead and collaborate for good. The issue also profiles several of our 41 community foundation members, some of which serve a geographic area (such as the nine-county West Central Initiative) while others serve groups of people with common interests (such as the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota).

In the lead article in Giving Forum, Cindy Ballard, executive director of CFLeads, laments the loss of our traditional Main Street gathering places and challenges community foundations (and their nonprofit colleagues) to become the new leaders and conveners:

“Leadership, as we traditionally have experienced it from our community’s business and civic leaders, has eroded,” she explains. “The concept of the town hall meeting and the public square – what was quintessential America – does not exist anymore.”

Ballard asks, “Where are people from varying sectors meeting? Who will form the coalitions that will make things happen? Who will cross the sectors whose interests are connected to other groups?” The answer, she says, is community foundations. “They need to promote the ‘public space.’ They need to be that organization whose mandate is as broad as the community itself.”

The phrase “public square” conjures up historic images for me . . . a quaint New England town, the village green, an orator on an overturned soap box, an engaged crowd of onlookers. If those places are mere memories, what will our new public spaces look like?

Join the conversation: What’s your vision of “community?” In what spaces and places does your community function? Are your communities taking on new leadership roles, convening and connecting others for the common good?

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

1 Comment | collaboration, community foundations, conference, giving forum, leadership | Permalink
Posted by Wendy Wehr

The Effect of the Economy on Nonprofits

September 23, 2008

Lots of stories lately about how the current economy will affect philanthropy and nonprofits:

The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s live discussion this week was titled Weathering the Financial Storm. Three experts answered questions such as what impact the credit crunch will have on donations, whether to acknowledge the uncertain times in a solicitation letter or grant application, what fundraising strategies to avoid, how to make financial projections, and more. Read the full transcript…

Meanwhile, the Giving USA Foundation sought to answer the question “What Happens to Giving During Recessions and Economic Slowdowns?” by looking at the U.S. economy since 1969 and found that total giving rose in every year except one. In a press release (warning: PDF), past Giving USA Foundation chair George C. Ruotolo Jr. said:

“When the economy is uncertain, as it is in 2008, non-profits and others naturally assume the one sector that will be heavily impacted is philanthropy. With history as our guide, we know that’s not true. In fact, while charitable giving is impacted by recessions and/or economic slowdowns, it’s not by nearly as much as one might expect.”

Join the conversation: What do you think? Is it too soon to predict what will happen? Is your organization doing anything differently because of the current economy?

Comments Off | economy, in the news, nonprofits | Permalink
Posted by Crystal Colby

The Value of Service

September 22, 2008

Earlier this year, Independent Sector announced that their estimate for the value of a volunteer hour in 2007 was $19.51. The value is “the average hourly wage for all non-management, nonagriculture workers” that is determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 12-percent increase that estimates fringe benefits.

The value of national service was brought to the forefront on September 11 and 12, at the ServiceNation Summit in New York City. The summit was a chance to bring people together to celebrate the power and potential of service, and trade ideas for solving the world’s challenges through national service and civic engagement.

In advance of the summit, The Chronicle of Philanthropy had an opinion piece on How the Presidential Candidates Can Stimulate Public Service, which looked at the current barriers to attracting and retaining volunteers and what the author believes Sens. McCain and Obama should do to encourage public service.

The Chronicle also had overview of the summit, including the presidential candidates’ views on service revealed in an interview that was held on the seventh anniversary of September 11.

Additionally, Time (one of the presenting sponsors) released its second annual national-service special issue. The feature that I found most interesting was 21 Ways to Serve America. Ideas included supporting the “Serve America Act,” the value of starting young and how baby boomers can increase their volunteering in the next five years.

Join the conversation: What is the value of service to you? What, if any, obstacles can get in the way of your volunteerism? Does the current economy play a role in how much (or how little) you are able to serve?

- Megan Sullivan, MCF’s communications associate

Comments Off | volunteers | Permalink
Posted by Megan Sullivan

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