November 14, 2008
What the news media are saying about philanthropy/nonprofits:
- Nonprofits Get Chance to Buy Homes in Foreclosure
Star Tribune: Minneapolis and St. Paul, working with key nonprofit developers, will be able to pick off strategic properties for their efforts to rebuild neighborhoods. Some could be discounted by 10 to 15 percent off current market values to reflect what lenders save by avoiding holding costs.
- Thirteen Communities To Be Participants in Horizons Program
Hutchinson Leader: The program, funded by Northwest Area Foundation, mobilizes community members to learn more about poverty, to support and uncover emerging leadership and to engage the entire community in establishing a future that addresses poverty and creates a new future.
- IRS Officials Say Nonprofit World Must be ‘Squeaky Clean’
Chronicle of Philanthropy: Two key Internal Revenue Service officials pledged that the agency will continue efforts to ensure that tax-exempt organizations are following federal laws.
- Charity Leaders Offer Tips for Tough Economy, Holiday Season
CNN: CNN talked with the leaders of six charitable organizations to see what they’re doing to address the tough economic times and what everyday folks can do to make a difference, even without spending a dime.
- Charity Begins in the Office
Financial Times: Too often, funding comes with strings attached - strings limiting the spending to programme work rather than on support functions such as staff training, improved IT systems or HR management. Yet, as many in the sector point out, boosting operational efficiency by investing in technical training, HR management or streamlined procurement systems not only helps organisations work more effectively but can also mean more cash for mission-driven activities.
- Despite Sour Economy, Gates Foundation Plans To Expand
Seattle Times: Next year the foundation, with an endowment of $35 billion, will grow “significantly” in both grant-making and operations.
> Gates Foundation Releases Ambitious New Giving Plans for Education (Seattle Times)
- Instant Arts Grants
Twin Cities Business: The Generosity Foundation sets up shop in a New York park, or other public place, and gives small “micro-grants”—between $10 and $50—to anyone passing by who will use the money to start an art project.
- ‘American Idol’ Gives Over $64 Million in Grants to 6 US, International Charities
Associated Press: “Idol Gives Back” said Wednesday that grants have been made to The Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria; Malaria No More; Children’s Health Fund; U.S. programs of Save the Children; Children’s Defense Fund; and Make It Right, Pitt’s campaign to help New Orleans recover from Hurricane Katrina.
- From A Corporate Job to a Nonprofit
Wall Street Journal: Here are some things to consider when making a transition to nonprofit management.
No Comments » | 
arts, in the news | 
Permalink
Posted by MCF Webmaster
November 7, 2008
Lots of media clippings this week about nonprofits and philanthropy!
Election:
Economy:
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.
1 Comment | 
arts, corporate, economy, government, in the news, international | 
Permalink
Posted by MCF Webmaster
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.)
No Comments » | economy, evaluation, in the news, individual giving | Permalink
Posted by MCF Webmaster
October 24, 2008
Economy:
Local:
- Teen Challenge’s Petters Investments: A Wake-Up Call for Nonprofits
MinnPost: Minnesota Teen Challenge will try to rebuild its finances and credibility after apparently large investment losses in Petters Co., a company now being investigated for fraud. It’s a wake-up call for other nonprofits to review their investment policies and portfolios.
- Four Big Clients Sue Wells Fargo Over Investment Loss
Star Tribune: The Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Reinsurance Association, the Minnesota Medical Foundation, the Minneapolis Foundation and the Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi Foundation for Children asked a judge to find Wells Fargo in violation of state consumer fraud and unlawful trade practices laws and to pay unspecified damages and return several hundred million dollars in related securities.
- St. James Receives Town Meeting Grant
Mankato Free Press: A $15,000 grant from Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation will be used toward the completion of a “community-selected project” about entrepreneurs and experiential career education for students.
- A Poet Hooked on Rhyme, Reason and Recycling
MinnPost profile of one of The McKnight Foundations’ writer fellows.
National/international:
- Charities Urge Next President to Expand Giving Incentives
Chronicle of Philanthropy: As charities grapple with the economic crisis, their executives would like to see the next president take steps to promote giving and to strengthen the nonprofit work force, according to a report released by the Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies.
- Nobody Does It Better
Wall Street Journal: Should the charitable tax deduction be reserved only for those organizations that can show they are directly serving “the poor and disadvantaged”? If the IRS begins micromanaging the charitable tax deduction, it is hard to know where it will stop.
- Post-Cyclone Aid Divides Myanmar Between the Helped and the Helpless
New York Times: Outside the delta, the list of those in need of food and medical attention in Myanmar is long and distressing.
- Wal-Mart Charity Chief: Nonprofits Must Team Up
Boston Herald: Instead of fighting for survival in an economic downturn, these groups ought to be looking for ways to work together while continuing their mission, Margaret McKenna said.
- Gates Foundation Searches Out Nontypical Research to Fund
Wall Street Journal: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will give $100 million in small doses to researchers doing novel medical-research experiments — part of a new way to use the Web to reach medical researchers who might be missed in a traditional grant-selection process.
- Gifts to Pet Charities Keep Lawmakers Happy
New York Times: During the first six months of 2008, lobbyists, corporations and interest groups gave approximately $13 million to charities and nonprofit organizations in honor of more than 200 members of the House and Senate.
- On Capitol Hill: Philanthropy Caucus
NonProfit Times: With staff turnover expected in the House, Senate and administration after the fall elections, a new Senate caucus will help to educate those on The Hill about the nonprofit sector.
No Comments » | 
arts, government, in the news | 
Permalink
Posted by MCF Webmaster
October 22, 2008
Today’s print edition of the Star Tribune included its yearly Charitable Giving Guide.
The last page of the special section includes a list of “10 interesting facts about donating in Minnesota.” Citing MCF’s Giving in Minnesota research report, they list such facts as:
- Individuals contributed 80 percent of the state’s charitable dollars in 2005, with an average charitable contribution of $3,693.
- In 2005, individuals, foundations and corporations in Minnesota contributed more than $5.1 billion to nonprofits.
The Minnesota Twins, whose Community Fund is an MCF member, are featured in the Corporate Profile, which states that the organization donates 10,000 items for auctions as well as other in-kind donations to nearly 5,000 organizations every year. The Twins also give away game tickets, renovate ball fields through the Fields for Kids program, and support education with a Diamonds and Dreams scholarship program.
Unfortunately, this giving guide doesn’t appear to be available online, so you’ll need to pick up a print copy to read those articles as well as these others:
- Choosing a Charity
- Donating Your Time
- Donating Money: Plan for Maximum Impact
- Donating Goods and Services
- Need By the Numbers
- “Volunteering Has Helped Me Find Myself”
- 10 Helpful Things to Donate to a Homeless Shelter
- Corporate Profile: Mall of America
No Comments » | in the news, individual giving, research, volunteers | Permalink
Posted by Crystal Colby
October 17, 2008
Economy:
Local stories:
National stories:
No Comments » | corporate, economy, in the news, nonprofits | Permalink
Posted by MCF Webmaster
October 15, 2008
Over the past few days I’ve been called upon by a couple members of the media to comment on the evolving story surrounding Tom Petters, specifically about charitable contributions and the ethics of “tainted” money. With the Minnesota Council on Foundations’ work on public trust and our Principles for Minnesota Grantmakers, my approach on these issues is to examine them from an ethical point of view. Of course, I’m an association executive, not an ethicist, so I call upon my experience and background related to ethics and philanthropy.
In the Nick Coleman column in the Star Tribune, it is clear that he had a point of view that he wanted to express, and he made his opinion on these issues known. My point of view was about sustaining public trust as it relates to charitable giving. My basis for that is the work our association has done on Public Trust and Accountability.
As a result of that column, Dan Barreiro of KFAN called to interview me about these same issues. Barreiro was exploring whether nonprofits who receive “tainted” money should return that money. (Listen to the interview 
here.) It was an interesting exchange and a question that is not easily answered.
I maintain that each circumstance must be viewed separately and that there are tough decisions to be made by the boards of directors and staffs most closely involved: How much did they know about the donor when they received the contribution? Was there anything suspect that would suggest they should not accept the gift? Are there any policies that the acceptance of the gift would violate? And many more questions.
The tough part is deciding what to do when you are a worthwhile nonprofit organization or university that has received a gift, and at a much later date the reputation of the donor is called into question. Timing of when these things come to light is a big factor related to whether the gift should be returned by the nonprofit organization. Often this kind of situation doesn’t arise until well after the contribution has already been utilized for the charitable purpose it was intended to address; the money is spent and the community benefited from using the funds for their charitable purpose. The nature of these situations is that if we had known then what we know now, we may have made different decisions. Clearly, to me, these are ethical and values issues. Take a look at the Coleman article and listen to the Barreiro podcast and then let us know what you think.
Join the conversation: Should nonprofit organizations give money back if later there is a question based on the character or legal standing of the donor? On what do you weigh your decision? Who benefits and who loses?
- Bill King, MCF president
No Comments » | boards, fundraising, in the news, individual giving, mcf, nonprofits, principles for grantmakers | Permalink
Posted by billking
