In the Media

September 19, 2008

Local philanthropy/nonprofit stories:

  • St. Paul Schools Call For Foundations To Step Up To The Plate
    Star Tribune: Superintendent calls corporate, philanthropic support “shockingly small” and says the district needs more stable funding to help it improve.
  • Helping Kids Grow
    St. Paul Pioneer Press: A nonprofit’s program puts teens to work in community gardens on St. Paul’s East Side. The goal: to teach about the foods they eat, the neighborhoods they inhabit and the careers they could have.
  • Event Explores Creative Side of Northland Forest Industries
    Duluth News Tribune: 90 artisans will take part in the sixth Up North Marketplace this weekend in Grand Rapids. The Blandin Foundation is a major backer of Goods from the Woods, the organization sponsoring the Marketplace event, and Friday’s daylong series of workshops titled Up North and Living Green, teaching people how to sustainably make money off their forest lands.
  • Building for a Boom
    Marshall Independent: Rich Karlgaard isn’t worried about the economic future of southwest Minnesota. Quite the opposite, Karlgaard told an audience of area business leaders, saying that America’s heartland is headed for a “sustainable boom” in the next 30 years. Karlgaard is the publisher of Forbes magazine and an author and columnist. He was speaking at the Premier Leadership Event at Southwest Minnesota State University on Monday. The leadership conference was sponsored by the Southwest Initiative Foundation.
  • State Parks Expanding
    Minnesota Trails: A four-year fundraising campaign by the Parks & Trails Council of Minnesota will help expand of Whitewater, Tettegouche and Crow Wing State Parks. In the last days of the campaign, the McKnight Foundation contributed $250,000 to put the Council over their goal. Then came a pledge of a $1 million over two years by the WM Foundation of Wallace and Mary Lee Dayton.
  • Grant To Aid River Efforts
    St. Cloud Times: Efforts to reconnect St. Cloud-area communities to the Mississippi River are getting a boost from a $130,000 McKnight Foundation grant. The grant ties with recent efforts by the Central Minnesota Community Foundation and other groups encouraging St. Cloud to “rediscover” its place on the Mississippi, said Mark Hauck, community assistance specialist with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

National/international:

  • Senate Aide Says IRS Could Tighten Rules on Nonprofit Hospitals
    Chronicle of Philanthropy: A top aide to U.S. Sen. Charles E. Grassley has said the Internal Revenue Service currently has the authority to tighten the requirements on nonprofit hospitals for retaining their tax-exempt status. But she said the senator also is considering legislation to achieve that end.
  • Nonprofit Hospitals See Drop in Investment Returns
    Chronicle of Philanthropy: Nonprofit health-care organizations generated 8 percent on their investment assets last year, down from nearly an 11-percent average return the previous year, according to a new study from Commonfund Institute.
  • Community Organizers Have Deep Roots in Democracy
    Los Angeles Times column: The title may be nebulous, but the job of helping citizens bring about change — once held by Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama — is ‘as American as apple pie.’
  • Giving Lessons
    Financial Times: Being given a big cheque and told to make a difference in the world would be daunting for any teenager. But increasing numbers of wealthy parents are handing control of philanthropic projects to their children in an attempt to educate them about the power and practicalities of inheriting wealth and encourage them to discover their own passions.
  • Donors Leave the Details to a Fund
    New York Times: Some experts say donor-advised funds are particularly appealing for people giving $1 million or less, because the costs of using such a fund are generally less than running a private foundation, particularly if its arrangements are complex. In the current economic downturn, when investment returns are generally not rising, funds have been aggressive in trying to control costs. Even some people in the foundation business rely on a donor-advised fund for their own charitable giving.

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

Many Lessons Learned about Disaster Response this Year

September 18, 2008
Hurricane Ike.
Credit: NASA/NOAA GOES Project

The Minnesota Council on Foundations held a discussion on disaster response on Tuesday at the Red Cross – Twin Cities Chapter, to discuss how funders have stepped up to meet the challenges they’ve faced this past year brought on by the flooding in southeastern Minnesota, the I-35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis, as well as Hurricanes Katrina, Gustav and Ike.

The most common themes to come out of the discussion were communication and collaboration — both were key factors in providing assistance. Communication was important both with donors and collaborators. Funders need to be sure their statement of intent — what they are going to do with the money they collect — is crystal clear so that donors will not feel misled later. The importance of early and constant streams of communication with other funders and the community programs could not be stressed enough. This saves time and money especially to help prevent duplication of efforts.

After the crisis has passed, it is important to take a moment to write down the lessons learned and to share them with others. All of the presenters thought it was important to remain in contact with one’s network so that it is easy to mobilize resources should it become necessary again.

Presenters included Charlie Cook, LSW, of Emergency Behavioral Health Professionals and Louisiana Spirit; Hazen Graves, Attorney, Faegre & Benson; Karen Kelley-Ariwoola, Minnesota Helps-Bridge Disaster Fund and The Minneapolis Foundation; Julia Ross, Disaster Outreach Coordinator, Hennepin County; Karen Erlenbusch, United Way of Olmsted County.

Many resources on disaster grantmaking are listed on our website at www.mcf.org/disasters.

A couple recent articles from the Chronicle of Philanthropy about disaster recovery:

- Lisa Johnson, MCF’s manager of professional development and e-learning

Comments Off | collaboration, communication, disasters | Permalink
Posted by Lisa Johnson

The Importance of Nonprofit Taglines

September 17, 2008

Earlier this year, more than 3,000 people voted in nonprofit marketing consultant and blogger Nancy Schwartz’s survey of the best nonprofit taglines. Now, she has officially released a free report that announces the 12 winners, along with 1,000 other examples and, most importantly, what works and what doesn’t (what she calls the “10 have-to’s” and “7 deadly sins”).

I won’t repeat all of the winners here, but the one noted in the Grantmaking category is from the Greater Cincinnati Foundation: Make the most of your giving.

Why does your organization need a tagline? Schwartz says, “Think about it. Your tagline is seen more than any other 5 to 8 words you communicate. It’s on business cards, email signatures, signage, online and print communications and more. A bad tagline, or none at all, is a huge missed opportunity.” She explains further on her website: “The absence of a tagline — or the use of an ineffective one — will put your nonprofit at a competitive disadvantage in funding, building your staff and volunteer base, and increasing use of your programs and products.”

However, according to the survey, 72% of nonprofits either don’t have a tagline, or they rate their tagline as poor. But the report gives details about what to do to fix that “to ensure your tagline does as much for your organization as possible,” and shows examples of effective taglines throughout. Download a free PDF of the report…

Schwartz regularly reviews taglines on her blog, including a 2006 look at the University of Minnesota’s, Driven to Discover (she loved it). She will also discuss taglines during this week’s Magic Keys Radio Show and Podcast on Friday from noon-12:30 p.m. central.

Join the conversation: Did any of the report’s winners (or other nominees) resonate with you? What local nonprofits or foundations are using taglines effectively?

- Crystal Colby, MCF’s web communications associate

1 Comment | communication | Permalink
Posted by Crystal Colby

Top 50 Nonprofit Individuals

September 16, 2008

The Nonprofit Times recently released its 2008 version of the NPT Power & Influence Top 50 (PDF). Jon Pratt, executive director of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, was named to the list for the sixth consecutive year. Sterling Speirn, president and CEO of MCF member W.K. Kellogg Foundation, is also on the list.

Nonprofit leadership blogger Heather Carpenter created her own list, which features the top 50 “next-generation” nonprofit leaders. Again, Minnesotans are represented:

Comments Off | leadership | Permalink
Posted by MCF Webmaster

IRS Streamlines Application Process for New Tax-Exempt Organizations

September 15, 2008

From the Internal Revenue Service website:

The new regulations do away with the so-called advance rulings that granted public charity status for an initial five-year period but required exempt organizations to demonstrate, after the initial period, that they in fact received a substantial part of their support from public sources to receive a final determination letter. Private foundations under federal law are subject to more restrictions on the way they operate than publicly supported charities. To apply for exempt status either as a private foundation or as a publicly supported charity, an organization must file a Form 1023, the application for recognition of tax exemption.

Read more…

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Posted by MCF Webmaster

In the Media

September 12, 2008

Local news:

National news:

  • IRS Releases New Form 990-EZ
    Chronicle of Philanthropy: It’s the short version of its informational tax form for groups with 2008 receipts of less than $1 million. The tax agency said the new form — and its related instructions — is similar to earlier versions of the Form 990-EZ, although it includes updated schedules that coincide with the new Form 990. Both the new Form 990 and the new Form 990-EZ take effect for the 2008 tax year.
  • Presidential Candidates Support Expanded National-Service Programs
    Chronicle of Philanthropy: John McCain and Barack Obama both said on Thursday night that they support efforts to expand the country’s national-service programs. But Senator McCain, the Republican contender, said he was wary about too much government involvement. The presidential rivals were questioned separately by two journalists at Columbia University on the seventh anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
  • America’s Second Harvest is now Feeding America
    FeedingAmerica.org: “Our new name, Feeding America, directly conveys that we are providing access to food for people who need it. It also communicates the positive power of food to be a catalyst in people’s lives.”
  • TV Show Helps Raise $100m to Fight Cancer
    Reuters: A television celebrity fund-raiser aimed at accelerating research into the treatment of cancer has helped raise more than $100 million, organizers of the “Stand Up To Cancer” group said on Monday. Cancer survivors Christina Applegate, Patrick Swayze, Sheryl Crowe, cyclist Lance Armstrong and dozens of other celebrities took part in the one-hour special shown simultaneously on three U.S. television networks on Friday.
  • Phelps To Donate $1 Million Olympic Bonus to Charity
    Associated Press: Michael Phelps is starting his own charity and the swimmer who won a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics made the first donation by committing the $1 million bonus he earned for his golden haul. The Michael Phelps Foundation will launch an eight-city U.S. tour in collaboration with Speedo, Phelps’ swimsuit sponsor that paid him the bonus, to visit children and share his Olympic experiences.

Comments Off | arts, collaboration, fundraising, in the news | Permalink
Posted by MCF Webmaster

Native American Philanthropy: A Culture of Giving

September 11, 2008

This week I attended a reception honoring the work of Native Americans in Philanthropy (NAP). The W.K. Kellogg Foundation awarded a Leadership in Action Award to NAP for “its work to promote, facilitate, and celebrate philanthropic giving to Native communities, while providing professional development opportunities and support for Native Americans working in the field of philanthropy.”

While I was interested in the award presentation, I was especially moved and impressed by the messages threaded throughout the words, songs and prayers of the celebration: the importance of remembering one’s roots, of honoring our connectedness, and of cultivating a culture of giving.

Wilma Mankiller, former Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, shared her words of wisdom. She spoke of life as a series of reciprocal relationships. As we accumulate more materials things, she said, we have that much more to share with others. And giving is an authentic, enduring value that is rooted in native culture.

As we departed the event we were presented with a small gift — a lapel pin with the message “everyONEgives.” Enough said.

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

1 Comment | awards, diversity, individual giving, leadership, promotion of philanthropy | Permalink
Posted by Wendy Wehr

Around the Philanthropy Blogosphere

September 10, 2008
  • Charity Protests Remark by Sarah Palin
    Chronicle of Philanthropy: A civil-rights group and others are protesting Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s jab at community organizers during her speech at the Republican National Convention, where she accepted the nomination for vice president. Defending herself against those who say she has little experience in government, Ms. Palin described her work as mayor of a small town, saying, “Being a mayor of a town is like being a community organizer but with actual responsibilities.” In response, two different lively conversations are happening on philanthropy.com.
    > MinnPost: Community first: Organizers explain what they do
  • Tough Times? Don’t Give Up
    Donor Power Blog: The most effective reason for raising funds — the one reason that motivates donors more than anything else — is needing funds. So if the economy is causing you to need funds — either because the demand for your services is up, or donations are down, or both — you should be confidently, even aggressively, raising funds.
  • Compare and Contrast – Social Enterprise, Entrepreneur, and Business
    Balancing the Mission Checkbook: It may seem to some people that the definitions are just semantics, but I think they’re important if we want to create resources, find capital, and develop a knowledge base. The needs and demands are probably different if your focus is on revenue sources rather than a game changing strategy.
  • Vanity and Philanthropy
    Chronicle of Philanthropy: In an effort to play down its usual parade of vapid celebrities and private-jet-owning business moguls, Vanity Fair has shaken up its annual list of the 100 most powerful people in the world by including leaders in the nonprofit world.
  • Donation Dashboard
    Philanthropy 2173′s Lucy Bernholz and Tactical Philanthropy’s Sean Stannard-Stockton each wrote about a new service that, in its own words, “uses a collaborative filtering algorithm called Eigentaste to recommend a donation portfolio to you.” Tactical Philanthropy: “Donation Dashboard is an interesting philanthropy experiment from a team at UC Berkeley. The idea will be familiar to anyone who has ever used Pandora to find music to fit their tastes, Netflix rating system to find movies or iTunes recommendations to get turned on to new music.” Bernholz says, “This represents a significant moment in the evolution of philanthropy markets.”

Comments Off | economy, fundraising, philanthropy blogs | Permalink
Posted by MCF Webmaster

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