Women’s Foundation Online Auction

March 11, 2009

The Women’s Foundation of Minnesota has added a new component to its fundraising efforts for the 20th annual Joint Dinner of Women’s Professional Organizations. The dinner is an event for members of several Twin Cities-area organizations to network and celebrate women professionals; for the ninth year, proceeds from the event will benefit the Women’s Foundation.

Tickets to the dinner itself are sold out, but members of the public can still support the foundation by participating in a new online auction. (Update: this auction is now closed.) As of 2:00 on the 11th, 15 items were still available, such as:

  • A day at the spa
  • An “Italian escape” (tickets to the opera, dinner, and one night at the Marquette Hotel)
  • Golf lessons with LPGA pros
  • A one-week stay at a Florida condo
  • Tickets to Lynx, Timberwolves and Twins games

Time is running out, though: the auction ends Thursday afternoon, hours before the dinner.

Comments Off | community foundations, fundraising, technology | Permalink
Posted by MCF Webmaster

First Issue of The Foundation Review

March 11, 2009

The brand-new Foundation Review just released its first edition. Published by the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership at Grand Valley State University with help from a grant from MCF member W.K. Kellogg Foundation, The Foundation Review is a peer-reviewed, quarterly journal for philanthropy.

The first issue is about comprehensive community issues. Kellogg Foundation’s Yes We Can! initiative to improve educational and economic outcomes in Battle Creek, Mich. is profiled in one of the articles. The information can be viewed as individual articles, or you can subscribe to receive the printed version.

The summer edition, about advocacy and policy change, is already in production, but you can contribute to the fall edition on strategic communications. Submission deadline is March 20; find out more in this PDF document.

Comments Off | communication, community foundations, in the news | Permalink
Posted by MCF Webmaster

Releasing Trapped Potential

March 10, 2009
Photo: DJOtaku

Photo: DJOtaku

My colleague Chris’s blog post on corporate and nonprofit partnerships, as well as last week’s article in the New York Times on social entrepreneurship, got me wondering about social entrepreneurship in Minnesota. Since I moved to Minnesota in the fall of 2008, I’ve heard and read a lot about the generosity of Minnesotans and their commitment to public service (and I hear the stat about the high number of nonprofits per capita in the state everywhere I go … which may tell you I don’t get out enough). But I can’t say I’ve heard much about social entrepreneurship, and I’m not sure why that is.

Ashoka and the Skoll Foundation are two of the best known organizations to invest in and promote social entrepreneurship, along with the online community social edge, launched by Skoll. These organizations share a belief that the same entrepreneurial and competitive spirit that has fueled innovation in the business sector can transform the citizen sector.

An article published by the Stanford Social Innovation Review has defined social entrepreneurship as distinct from both social activism and social service provision. The following components are necessary:

  1. the identification of a stable but unjust equilibrium that has marginalized a segment of society that lacks financial or political means
  2. the identification of an opportunity, the development and articulation of a social value proposition, and the ability to challenge the status quo
  3. the creation of a new equilibrium that releases trapped potential and ensures a better future for the marginalized community

Inspiration, creativity, direct action, courage, and fortitude are identified as key characteristics of the social entrepreneur.

I love the idea of systemic change resulting in the “release of trapped potential.” Isn’t that an inspired framework for public service?

Join the conversation: So, I’m curious about the intersections of philanthropy, nonprofits, and social entrepreneurs in the state. What are Minnesota’s grantmakers doing to encourage social entrepreneurship, and what should they be doing?

- Juliana Tillema, research manager

4 Comments | research | Permalink
Posted by julianatillema

2009 Best Corporate Citizens

March 10, 2009

Corporate Responsibility Officer magazine has released its annual ranking of the 100 best corporate citizens. The final results are based on the company’s performance in seven categories. In order of importance: environment and employee relations (tied for most impact on the overall score), climate change, human rights, financial, philanthropy, and governance.

Eight MCF members made the list:
2. General Mills
3. IBM
17. 3M
40. Hormel Foods
64. Wells Fargo
68. U.S. Bancorp
72. Xcel energy
74. Best Buy

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

New Grantmaker Guidelines

March 9, 2009

Three Minnesota grantmakers have announced changes to their grantmaking procedures:

Comments Off | community foundations, family foundations, grantseekers | Permalink
Posted by MCF Webmaster

You Awarded a Grant. So What?

March 6, 2009
Photo: PaoloMazzo

Photo: PaoloMazzo

This week’s release of the NCRP report Criteria for Philanthropy at Its Best is creating quite a stir. Just read Paul Brest’s Huffington Post commentary and Trista Harris’ response. (Harris is executive director of Headwaters Foundation for Justice, an MCF member.)

Personally, I think the controversy is a good thing. But I’m a firm believer that healthy conflict can lead to creative, higher level solutions. No matter whether you agree with NCRP’s recommendations, this new work is forcing us all to examine core questions about the impact and effectiveness of philanthropy in our society.

Years ago I worked at a communications agency that used a simple “So what?” exercise to guide clients from talking about features to promoting the highest level benefits of their products or services. I’ve sometimes used the same device to develop more compelling messages for nonprofits: “We train 500 adult literacy volunteers each year.” “So what?” “The volunteers taught 2,000 refugees who learned English.” “So what?” “The refugees can now fill out job applications, decipher a bus schedule, follow medical instructions, read to their kids…” You get the idea.

If we all want to reach the ultimate ”So what?” of philanthropy — to enhance the public good — isn’t it useful to debate how to most effectively achieve that goal? And if we all start to more rigorously ask ourselves and each other the hard questions about impact and accountability, doesn’t this hullabaloo serve a useful purpose?

Join the conversation: What tangible steps is your foundation taking to maximize your impact? When you examine your work, can you answer the “So what?” question with confidence?

-  Wendy Wehr, MCF Vice President of Communications and Information Services

Comments Off | evaluation, leadership | Permalink
Posted by Wendy Wehr

In the Media

March 6, 2009

Economy:

  • Some Nonprofits Can’t Touch Their Money
    AP: Rules governing how nonprofits in some states use their endowments date to the 1970s, when most states adopted a uniform law that prohibits withdrawing money from endowments that fall below their “historic dollar value” — the money given to create the endowment, plus any later gifts.
  • Charities Say Government is Ignoring Them in Crisis
    New York Times: Last week, nonprofit leaders representing thousands of organizations across the country signed on to a manifesto that calls on political leaders to support the work of nonprofits.
  • Many Big Companies Plan to Give Less This Year
    Chronicle of Philanthropy: Forty-five percent of businesses surveyed by the Conference Board said they had already reduced the amount they plan to donate this year. Another 16 percent were considering such cuts.
  • Arts Get Whacked by Rich as Companies Face Losses in Endowments
    Bloomberg:     Corporations and wealthy individuals are donating less to nonprofits, with arts groups taking the biggest hit, according to two new studies.

Local:

National:

Comments Off | arts, corporate, economy, education, fundraising, in the news, technology | Permalink
Posted by MCF Webmaster

Corporate + Nonprofit = A Sum Greater than the Two Parts?

March 5, 2009
Photo: Hetemeel.com

Faced with a case of writer’s block as I tried to compose my first blog post for the Minnesota Council on Foundations, I decided to turn to my ally in times like these – Google – and I typed in “corporate and nonprofit partnerships.”

Google shot back 1.9 million results! A quick perusal of those at the top of the list revealed some authors’ feelings that corporate-nonprofit partnerships are inherently flawed, because of the disconnect between a company’s business objectives and a nonprofit’s mission. Others believe that the opportunities posed by marrying a company’s resources (cash, expertise, products, facilities) and a nonprofit’s ability to access and address community needs can lead to unlimited positive outcomes.

In the past, it seemed that if partnerships were formed, these were usually instigated by the nonprofit. It was the nonprofit that fueled the passion and mission of the partnership, while the company provided the financial foundation. Has this changed?

Even though she wrote it in the 1990s, Donna L. Cummings’ essay “Building Relationships with Grantseekers” sounds a still-relevant rallying cry to businesses:

In this era of mergers and acquisitions, downsizing and restructuring, and cost reduction and cost effectiveness, relationships (that is, partnerships) have emerged as an important strategy for delivering services and effecting positive change. … Fully engaging in problem solving, shaping solutions, and developing and implementing strategic plans is becoming a requirement for participation in the life of communities today. … Strong partnerships must be forged to tackle the complex issues our society faces, and corporations must be fully participant members in these partnerships.

(Cummings’ essay appears in The Corporate Contributions Handbook: Devoting Private Means to Public Needs, edited by James P. Shannon and published by the Council on Foundations.)

They didn’t appear in my Google search, but I know there have to be numerous examples in Minnesota of companies and nonprofits building effective partnerships that enhance both mission and business goals. I’d like to hear about these programs, projects, partnerships.

The spring issue of the MCF’s Giving Forum newsletter will focus on corporate philanthropy. Look for some of these partnerships to be highlighted.

- Chris Noonan, MCF Communications Associate

1 Comment | collaboration, corporate, nonprofits | Permalink
Posted by Chris Noonan

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 1,644 other followers