Families Bring Their Passion and Personalities to Philanthropy

October 31, 2008

Family foundations comprise the majority of philanthropic foundations in the U.S., yet their nature as extensions of an individual donor’s values and generosity and the personal relationships inherent in them make them very unique organizations.

Minnesota family foundations and donor fund advisors have a rare opportunity to connect and learn from each other on November 14, 2008 at the Minnesota Council on Foundations’ Family Philanthropy Symposium, a one-day event being held at The Saint Paul Hotel. The theme “Family Giving: Creating Meaning and Impact” will be explored through a plenary conversation moderated by Malcolm McDonald, trustee for Grotto Foundation, and including Noa Staryk, The McKnight Foundation, Julie Zelle, Marbrook Foundation, and Corey Sauer, Sauer Children’s Renew Foundation; breakout topics on Generations and Geography, Global Grantmaking, Trends Changing the Face of Philanthropy, Making an Impact and Aligning Assets with Mission.

We’re also pleased to have Judy Healey, a nationally renowned expert on family philanthropic, present a breakout session on “Keys to a Healthy Family Foundation Board.”

One of the most often-cited challenges in family philanthropy is developing the philanthropic spirit and legacy among upcoming family generations, and Nathan Dungan of Share Save Spend will provide practical ideas during a lunch presentation for inspiring and motivating new generations to embrace the family philanthropy and become philanthropists in their own right.

The day concludes with an inspirational story of a Minnesota-based family foundation’s desire to make an impact. You’ll hear from both the foundation’s perspective as well as the grantee’s point of view. Stewart Crosby, chair of the Carolyn Foundation, and Dacia Toll, President and co-CEO of Achievement First in Connecticut and New York, will demonstrate the synergy and change that can happen when you find that important intersection of meaning and impact.

If you are involved with a family foundation, or have a charitable trust or donor-advised fund, you’ll want to be part of this special day! Register now at www.mcf.org/family2008!

- Melissa Eystad, MCF VP of member services

Comments Off | conference, evaluation, family foundations | Permalink
Posted by Melissa Eystad, Vice President of Member Services

In the Media

October 31, 2008

Economy:

  • Signs That, Amid Tough Times, Americans Will Keep Giving
    Christian Science Monitor: Most donors plan to give to charity in coming months, an online survey finds. History bears that out.
  • The Quickest, Most Helpful Thing Foundations Can Do
    National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy blog: One suggestion I haven’t seen is a call to release restrictions on grants, and proactively contact grantees and invite them to reprogram the use of restricted grant funds. This might be the quickest, most powerful way for foundations to help their grantees.

Local:

  • Tom Petters: Giving That Hurts
    Star Tribune: Charities that invested with Tom Petters dropped the ball when it came to making wise choices with donated funds, experts say.
  • Petters Fraud Case Shakes his Family Foundations
    Star Tribune: The future of the Thomas J. Petters Family Foundation is in doubt, and another named for his son is bracing for fallout from the investment fraud investigation.
  • Pilot Program Creates Jobs to Coordinate Care
    Star Tribune: Health officials are using a $6 million grant from the Robina Foundation to see whether a new kind of health care worker can help the chronically ill get better care and save money.

National:

  • The Philanthropy 400
    Chronicle of Philanthropy: Donations to nonprofit groups on The Chronicle’s Philanthropy 400 list (the 400 charities that raise the most from private sources) grew 4.5 percent last year, but many of the most-successful charities say they are already feeling the pinch of the economic slowdown.
  • Club Generosity
    Forbes: Great wealth often inspires good works. Here’s a look at the philanthropy-adjusted fortunes of some of the more generous — and miserly — members of The Forbes 400.
  • Accountability Should Be a Two-Way Street
    Philanthropy Journal: The problems are twofold: We don’t know much about what we are talking about, and we don’t force any of this kind of thinking on ourselves. (Written by an anonymous veteran foundation officer.)

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

Leadership Strategies for Creating Sustainable Change

October 30, 2008

Northwest Area Foundation, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation and Blandin Foundation sponsored a workshop this week for grantmakers that provide support for developing leadership capacity in nonprofits, neighborhoods and communities. The workshop was presented by Deborah Meehan and Claire Reinelt of Oakland, California-based Leadership Learning Community (LLC), a national network of leadership funders, practitioners and researchers.

Their workshop was held at the Northwest Area Foundation in St. Paul and focused on the trend toward collective leadership and ways to get there through the use of a tool called “A Framework for Leadership Investment and Evaluation” that focused on individual capacity, organizational capacity, collective capacity and field capacity for individuals, organizations, communities of place, and fields of practice.

The LLC hosts a public wiki that provides valuable information and resources for those interested in this topic. They have also started learning circles on various leadership investment and evaluation-related subjects around the country and are thinking of starting one here.

If you’re interested in participating in a local funders learning circle, please notify Deborah Meehan at LLC.

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

Comments Off | evaluation, leadership | Permalink
Posted by Lisa Johnson

Around the Philanthropy Web

October 29, 2008

What bloggers are saying about philanthropy and nonprofits (mostly about the economy, this time):

  • Nonprofits Need Gen Y Leadership in an Uncertain Economy
    Perspectives from the Pipeline (cross-posted on the Stanford Social Innovation Review blog): It’s clear that the old top-down hierarchy isn’t the best model for what needs to happen in organizations today. When we just don’t have time to come up with another 5-year strategic plan to survive in this economy, how do we generate new ideas to address issues head on? Right now is an opportunity for young nonprofit professionals to bring fresh, innovative ideas for how we do the work of social change.
  • Charity Uses Blog to Disclose its Financial Woes
    Give and Take: Kjerstin Erickson’s charity is in financial trouble — and she’s telling the world about it. Tactical Philanthropy’s Sean Stannard-Stockton has been following the story and says that “if you care about nonprofit transparency, I think this is a conversation you need to be a part of.”
  • A Trip Down Merger Lane
    Stanford Social Innovation Review: Is yours a mid-size agency that is strong and that wishes to grow, but you don’t have the financial capital to do so? Is your unrestricted financing shrinking? Are you having difficulty raising the quality of your back-office services because you can’t afford the investment? If so, perhaps it is time for you to seek a full or partial merger partner for your nonprofit.
  • Philanthropy Calls to Action
    Philanthropy 2173: There are at least five current examples of organizations that are promoting or encouraging certain types of collective action by philanthropists during this economic cycle and in preparation for a new presidential administration. These are positive signs of efforts to work together, to aggregate action, to respond and work within tough external realities, and to think deeply about the timing and commitment philanthropists make to the causes they care about.
  • Start Your Turnaround Stories Today
    Balancing the Mission Checkbook: Turnarounds make great case stories after the fact – when the organization is revitalized and builds a new reputation for connections with the community, strong leadership, and financial health. Who wouldn’t want all that? So why wait until things are bad?
  • In Defense of Raising Money: A Manifesto for Nonprofit CEOs
    The director of business development at the Acumen Fund has been linked all over the web for his essay that begins “I’m sick of apologizing for being in charge of raising money.” He wonders, “How is it that in the nonprofit sector we create this illusion that growth and change and impact can happen absent … energy and engagement?” This link goes to Seth’s Blog; original PDF here.

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

Welcome, Nicole!

October 28, 2008

Nicole Ellanson joined MCF on Monday as an administrative assistant. She was most recently with the Wells Fargo Housing Foundation. Ellanson will be responsible for program registration and database management. Contact her at nellanson@mcf.org or 612.338.1989.

Comments Off | mcf | Permalink
Posted by MCF Webmaster

A Call for Shelter in the Economic Storm

October 27, 2008

It’s certainly not news that charities are among those struggling right now. Every day seems to bring more and more stories about the impact of the economy on nonprofits.

A survey by Convio, conducted in September and released today, has good news: nearly 70 percent of Americans plan to give at least as much as they did last year, though 33 percent plan to give less.

Rich Cowles, executive director of the Charities Review Council, wrote an editorial in today’s Star Tribune, arguing that the values that drive charitable giving are just as important now:

Just as we wouldn’t think of leaving our neighbors to flounder in a snowbank, we shouldn’t leave behind the most vulnerable among us to struggle for survival. [...] Perhaps we can identify better with the truly needy when we are less comfortable ourselves. And perhaps we can understand better what we need vs. what we want, and find money left over to help others who don’t have enough to cover basic needs.

More links:

2 Comments | economy, individual giving, nonprofits | Permalink
Posted by MCF Webmaster

Minnesota Community Broadband Awards

October 27, 2008

The Blandin Foundation is accepting nominations for its first statewide recognition program for communities at the forefront of broadband technology use. All units of government, nonprofit, for-profit business and community organizations are eligible. Awards will be made in three population ranges for two categories:

  • Broadband infrastructure and services, which recognizes the provision of high-speed broadband capacity and services to a community, area or region
  • Broadband market and application development, which recognizes efforts to stimulate community demand for broadband services and/or to deploy advanced broadband applications in business, education, government and health care

Deadline: Nov. 1, 2008.

Comments Off | awards, private foundations, technology | Permalink
Posted by MCF Webmaster

“Shaping Minnesota’s Future with New Americans” To Air Saturday

October 24, 2008

A new Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation program, “Shared Values: Health and Community — Shaping Minnesota’s Future with New Americans,” will air Saturday (Oct. 25) at 9 p.m. on Minnesota Channel 17.

Part of the foundation’s Healthy Together: Creating Community with New Americans initiative to reduce health inequities for immigrants and improve the health and vitality of the entire community, the 30-minute program will show how newcomers from Myanmar and Cameroon learn about their new Minnesota community. In addition, the program shows examples of local organizations that are helping both immigrants and long-time residents understand each other and identify common goals across cultures.

The program is also available on a free DVD; organizations can order a copy at bcbsmnfoundation.org.

Comments Off | corporate, health | Permalink
Posted by MCF Webmaster

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