Minnesota Council on Foundations Blog – Philanthropy Potluck

Lots of media clippings this week about nonprofits and philanthropy!

Election:

• With Obama’s Election, Nonprofits Aim for a Seat at the Table
  NonProfit Times: National Council on Foundations president Steve Gunderson has a prediction: Someone from the foundation world will be in Barack Obama’s administration. Gunderson agreed that there will be an increased focus on partnerships among public, private and philanthropic sectors, but was unsure it would result in formalizing a structure within government.
• Charities Can Expect New Regulations and Increased Giving in an Obama Administration
  Chronicle of Philanthropy: Charity leaders can expect President-elect Barack Obama and Congress to push for changes in the federal tax structure that could spur giving and add new regulations for charities and donors, tax experts say.
  > More post-election coverage from the Chronicle of Philanthropy

Economy:

• Funders and Nonprofits Alike Must Adopt New Strategies in Face of Economic Woes
  Column written in the Maryland Daily Record by Betsy Nelson, executive director of MCF colleague Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers.
• Think Tanks Need Fuel
  Congressional Quarterly (CQ): Foundations are suffering badly from the plunge in stock market prices, so they plan to lobby for their own form of help: better tax breaks for making big donations to foundations and other 501(c)(3) organizations.
• Amid Turmoil, Corporate Giving Seen Steady in 2009
  Reuters: Requests for help from top U.S. corporate charities have risen sharply, but spending in 2009 by some of America’s largest foundations is likely to be flat as the companies behind them weather the global financial crisis.
• Fasten Your Seatbelts: It’s Going to Be a Bumpy Giving Season
  GuideStar: The results of GuideStar’s seventh annual nonprofit economic survey indicate that the news stories you’ve been reading are right on money (pun unintentional but apropos).

Local:

• No Teacher Left Behind? Bush Foundation Looks At How To Improve Preparation Programs
  MinnPost: One of the more intriguing ideas floated by foundation President Peter Hutchinson is having teaching programs keep education majors enrolled for four years after they graduate to receive ongoing coaching and mentoring.
• Schools Chief Makes Pitch To Donors
  St. Paul Pioneer Press: A dozen local businesses and foundations have made new commitments to provide funding and other support to St. Paul schools as the district heads into a time of declining enrollment, financial shortfalls and rising academic challenges, Superintendent Meria Carstarphen said Thursday.
• Twin Cities Food Shelves Get Boost
  Star Tribune: Emergency grants from the Greater Twin Cities United Way, The Minneapolis Foundation and F. R. Bigelow Foundation will help Twin Cities banks fill the gap as demand rises while donations fall.

National/International:

• The Latest Charity Shakedown
  Wall Street Journal editorial: It’s been four months since 10 of California’s largest foundations agreed to hand over millions of dollars to “minority-led nonprofits.” That shakedown worked so well that Greenlining is taking its race gambit national. We hope foundation leaders will continue to stand up in the face of this onslaught from the race grievance industry. This exercise isn’t about helping the poor. It’s about greenlining the pockets of political activists.
• Kellogg Foundation Suspends Operations in Southern Africa
  Philanthropy News Digest: Preliminary indications from a financial audit of its Pretoria, South Africa, office are that several hundred thousand dollars — and possibly more — may have been diverted illegally. A foundation spokesman said that all assets had been secured and that the foundation would cease financial transactions in the country until the audit had been completed.
• Some Philanthropists Are No Longer Content to Work Quietly
  New York Times: A growing number of philanthropists’ foundations are spending increasing amounts and raising their voices to influence public policy — a marked shift from their traditional position.
• Americans for the Arts, Business Committee for the Arts to Merge
  Philanthropy News Digest: The merger will create the largest-ever arts advocacy group in the private sector.
• Foundations Get Help Vetting Foreign Grantees
  Chronicle of Philanthropy: A San Francisco nonprofit group has been picked to help private foundations in the United States ensure that recipients of grants to foreign charitable groups meet U.S. antiterrorism standards.
• Giving Circles
  TIME Magazine: With the markets sinking, a lot of retirees may be cutting back on charitable giving along with their discretionary spending. But it’s still possible to effect a philanthropic impact by organizing or joining a giving circle.