When planning the launch of Minnesota Philanthropy Partners, we knew creating a video about our grantmaking work was an important component. As we unveiled a new name for our network of 1,600 funds, foundations and organizations, we wanted to reassure nonprofits that the grantmaking for three of our anchor foundations,  The Saint Paul Foundation, F. R. Bigelow Foundation and Mardag Foundation, remained the same.

Video is also a great way to make our grantmaking processes more transparent. We hope that an insider peek into our practices will help nonprofits be more informed when working with us, which would then result in more powerful collaborations. Our program team wants to work closely with nonprofits. We welcome conversations with organizations to learn about their work and understand if their programs and objectives fit with our funding priorities and commitments.

Ultimately, this new grantmaking video, along with other communication efforts like our Nonprofits to Know^TM  video series and MNSights magazine, is intended to help strengthen philanthropy in Minnesota. We hope the outcome of the new video is that more great programs find our foundations and that our community is the better for it. Have a look and let us know what you think!

1. Pet Peeves from Program Officers – How to steer clear of some common annoyances in the grantmaker/grantee relationship.
2. Program Evaluation or Research and Development? – We need both! Six principles for engaging in sound research & development.
3. Grantmaking at Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies – Minnesota’s largest grantmaker gears up and starts granting.
4. Blandin Foundation Names New CEO – We welcome Kathleen Annette to her new role.
5. What Does It Take to Lead in Diversity and Inclusivity? – Excerpts from an interview with Headwaters Foundation for Justice program director David Nicholson.
6. High Praise from Program Officers – The flip side of pet peeves: how to make that relationship a good one!
7. Youthprise Launches to Champion Learning Beyond the Classroom – A new grantmaker and MCF member hits the scene.
8. Five Critical Ways to Address the Education Gap – Recommendations from the Minnesota African American Leadership Forum.
9. We All Lose: Impact of Deep Cuts to NEA – Thoughts on arts-related cuts passed in Congress earlier this year.
10. Native Americans in Philanthropy Giving Research Shows Inequities – Some bad news (national funding to Native Americans is low), and some good (Minnesota-based grantees receive the largest share of grant dollars targeting Native Americans in the nation).
11. Teaching Kids to Share, Save and Spend – Some lessons from Teach Your Kids to Share Day, presented by MCF member Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.

Join the conversation: What were your favorite blog posts of 2011?

And don’t miss the What Gives, Minnesota? feature, reflecting on why Minnesotans rank near the top of national charts on giving their time and money. Reporter Jean Hopfensperger reflects that a reputation for giving goes back to some of the early pioneering Minnesotans, like William McKnight, an early leader of 3M who went on to found The McKnight Foundation, and George Dayton, who founded what would become Target Corporation and the Target Foundation. The McKnight Foundation and Target Foundation, both MCF members, are now two of the largest foundations in the state.

Be sure to look for the section on giving in today’s edition of the Star Tribune! You can also find all of the articles on their website.

-Chris Oien, web communications associate

Valerie Halverson Pace, center

If you don’t think philanthropy in Minnesota and the Ukraine have much in common, think again.

On October 20-21, I attended MCF’s conference in St. Paul, The Evolution of Corporate Philanthropy: Building Value and Creating Change, where discussion revolved around truly integrating corporate citizenship and philanthropy within a company’s business strategy.

The previous week in Mykolajiv, Ukraine, the Ukrainian Philanthropists Forum, in conjunction with the Center for Social Programs RUSAL, East Europe Foundation, held Ukraine’s first international conference on corporate volunteering.

Both groups heard from Valerie Halverson Pace, west region manager, Corporate Citizenship, at IBM in Rochester, Minnesota, and an MCF member. She spoke of the change that she’s seen in the past 15 years at IBM, a company cited here and halfway around the world for doing things right and pushing the boundaries of corporate citizenship.

According to Pace, IBM is working across business units in 170 countries on pressing issues including the environment, economic development, education, health, literacy, language and culture.

IBM is applying their technology and the talent of their employees to solve problems, rather than simply making cash donations. They provide leadership and insist on excellence. And, whether it’s using voice recognition technology to help children learn to read or cloud computing to make disaster relief tools instantly available to recovery workers, they collaborate with qualified partners and fully expect to effect widespread positive change.

IBM’s efforts include: the Smarter Cities Challenge, a competitive grant program awarding $50 million worth of IBM expertise over three years to 100 cities around the globe; Service Jam and more.

Turns out MCF and the Ukrainian Philanthropists Forum are both members of WINGS, a global network of 145 grantmaker associations. And Bill King, MCF president and a WINGS board member, is responsible for facilitating the Ukraine-Minnesota philanthropy connection.

It’s a great example of one way that MCF is working to promote and strengthen philanthropy in Minnesota and far beyond the borders of our state.

- Susan Stehling, communications associate

Stories of unassuming farmers who have left thousands – and in some cases, millions – to their hometown schools, churches and favorite charities will become increasingly common, according to the “Minnesota Generational Transfer of Wealth” (TOW) study commissioned by the Minnesota Initiative Foundations. “Farmers and business owners, who retire and sell their assets because their children don’t want to carry on, often find themselves with sizeable estates,” explains Bill King, MCF president.

Between 2011 and 2030, as an entire generation of baby boomers reaches retirement age and beyond, the TOW research estimates that the historic sum of $47.9 billion will be passed on. In 14 central Minnesota counties, that wealth transfer is approximated to be $5.8 billion.

The magnitude of this is illustrated in “The Great Succession” graphics that accompany my article “New Dawn,” which appears in the spring issue of IQ Magazine. IQ is published by the Initiative Foundation, based in Little Falls, Minn.

What does being on the brink of this new horizon mean? Historic windfalls often trigger introspective moments when people consider whether charitable giving is something they value and want to pursue.

“Every person, no matter how much or how little they have, reaches a moment in their lifetime where they consider doing something greater than themselves,” says Matt Kilian, Initiative Foundation’s vice president for external relations.

Although only time will tell if the generational transfer of wealth will inspire increased nonprofit donations or endowed funds in central Minnesota, Kilian envisions the possibilities: “What if a tiny portion of those dollars – say 5 percent – were invested in permanently endowed funds? What a gift from one generation to future generations.”

Titled “Outpourings,” the IQ spring issue looks at the trends and tradition of charitable giving in central Minnesota. Among the features:

• A profile of four silent, selfless and inspiring givers
• Charitable giving strategies employed by central Minnesota businesses
• Creative, win-win philanthropic vehicles for donors
• How donors and nonprofits click with online giving
• Young Americans’ belief that giving isn’t a spectator sport
• How legacies begin
• Raising kids who give

As the magazine’s subtitle notes, generosity is truly flowing in central Minnesota.

- Chris Murakami Noonan, MCF communications associate

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend the launch of their 20th Anniversary Journey: Weaving Leadership, Indigenous People & Resources. St. Paul was the first stop on a year-long journey across the nation to launch NAP’s Regional Action Networks.

As I sat in a room filled with Native people affiliated with local organizations and grantmakers, I was moved by their deep passion and commitment to the vision and mission of NAP. The organization is rooted in a vision of healthy and sustainable communities, enhanced by the Native spirit of generosity. They work to advance philanthropic practices grounded in Native values and traditions.

One program offered by NAP is called The Art of Giving. Grounded in Native experience, history and culture, it reflects the Native community’s culture of giving and draws on their personal experiences and visions of the future. Rooted in the seven directions of the Native medicine wheel, it inspired me to look at my family’s philanthropy in a way that draws its purpose and motivation from a grateful heart.

We at the Minnesota Council on Foundations offer our congratulations to NAP for their achievements in advancing Native philanthropy in our nation and their efforts in educating communities on the history and culture of Native peoples. We hope to be a continued partner for the next 20 years!

If you are interested in learning more about Native Americans in Philanthropy, their programs and the 20th Anniversary Journey, visit their website at nativephilanthropy.org. NAP will present their day-long program at least nine times in seven regions around the country this year.

- Chuck Peterson, MCF vice president of member relations

The Daily Beast

According to the Beast, here’s proof that Minneapolis-St. Paulites have big hearts:

• Percentage of earnings donated: 2.9 percent
• Average household income: $98,578
• Giving per foundation: $703,354
• Annual volunteers: 905,400
• Population that volunteers: 27.7 percent

By comparison, here’s the lowdown on the #1 most charitable city – Seattle:

• Percentage of earnings donated: 3.2 percent
• Average household income: $109,401
• Giving per foundation: $2,633,739
• Annual volunteers: 943,600
• Population that volunteers: 27.7 percent

To dive deeper into giving in Minnesota, take a look at MCF’s just-published research report, Giving in Minnesota, 2010 Edition, which presents the most comprehensive look at charitable giving in our state during 2008, the most recent period for which complete data are available.

A bright spot in the data: Grantmakers contributed 26 percent of total charitable giving in Minnesota. Foundation and corporate giving in Minnesota totaled $1.42 billion, an increase of 3.6 percent, from $1.37 billion in 2007.

This increase occurred despite a decline in foundation assets to $17.3 billion in 2008 from $19.55 billion in 2007, an 11.5-percent decrease. This is the largest single-year decline since 1994. Without the first-time addition of the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation’s $2.12 billion in assets, the decline would have been much steeper – 22.4 percent – in 2008.

A summary and the full Giving in Minnesota report are available on the MCF website.

- Chris Murakami Noonan, MCF communications associate

Photo CC mmlolek

This year, the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), the chief sponsor of NPD, celebrates its 50^th anniversary. Plus, it’s the 25th anniversary of this special day.

AFP’s Minnesota chapter will officially celebrate this Friday, Nov. 19, with an event in Minneapolis. One of the award recipients at the program will be Travelers Foundation, an MCF member, recognized as the outstanding philanthropic organization. Travelers provides support to charitable organizations through the Travelers Foundation and with corporate funding and in-kind services.

The foundation has a long tradition of supporting local communities by investing in community-based nonprofit organizations and their work serving others. In 2009, Travelers provided nearly $19 million in community support across the country. The company’s charitable grants are primarily focused on public education reform and improving academic and career success for underrepresented youth in Hartford, Conn., Saint Paul, Minn., and other cities where Travelers has a significant business presence. Employee volunteerism is also an important component of the company’s community relations work.

In addition to Travelers, AFP Minnesota will also honor:

• Mark Davy, Outstanding Professional Fundraiser
• Madi Arends, Outstanding Youth Award
• Roger Hale, Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser
• Lee & Penny Anderson, Outstanding Individual Philanthropists

In celebration of National Philanthropy Day, if you’d like some hard data on the incredible level of philanthropy in Minnesota, check out some research from the Minnesota Council on Foundations. MCF has compiled annual rankings of the top grantmakers in the state, as well as the most comprehensive analysis of charitable giving in Minnesota. (As a side note, if you’d like hot-off-the-press research, watch for MCF’s Giving in Minnesota, 2010 Edition report, scheduled to be released in early December.)

Happy National Philanthropy Day! And more importantly, THANK YOU to all of you who give and work in philanthropy. It goes without saying that our world would be a very different place without your generosity, hard work and vision.

- Chris Murakami Noonan, MCF communications associate

But why stop at just encouraging the rich to contribute? Why shouldn’t everyone who is able pledge to the cause of making our world just a little better? Contrary to some who believe that people shouldn’t be required to give to the poor (presented in one of our previous blog posts), the One Percent Foundation invites the whole American population to do just that.

The thought behind the One Percent Foundation is that every working man and woman in America should be able to contribute one percent of their incomes to the charities they choose. The initiative is primarily aimed toward people in their twenties and thirties, and in a recently published article in the Huffington Post, it was stated that if every person in that age bracket gave one percent to philanthropic causes the total annual sum would add up to $16 billion. Imagine what kind of effect that would have on our community! One cannot help being excited about statistics like that.

It doesn’t matter whether you sign the actual pledge on the One Percent Foundation website or simply commit on your own to support a charity – the act in itself is what is important. And if you are having trouble deciding on one cause or charity to give your money to, you can join the One Percent Foundation, which is a nationwide, online giving circle.

Happy giving everyone!  And, once you’ve signed your personal Giving Pledge, post a comment about what motivated you to make this bold commitment!

– Annette Wind, MCF administrative assistant

That was the conclusion from this year’s ”Great American Think-Off,” the amateur philosophy debate held annually in New York Mills, Minnesota.

When I wrote about this contest back in March, my attitude was, “Duh, of course the well-to-do should share with those less fortunate.”  But the winning debater — through personal story-telling and clever emphasis on the word “obligation” — was able to convince the audience (the final judges) that, indeed, we should not be required to share our wealth.  After all, if you are forced to share, then it’s really about taking, not giving, and wouldn’t you be abdicating your individual moral responsibility to share?  (You can read winner David Eckel’s essay at www.think-off.org.)

The outcome of the debate is a good reminder to us all that philanthropy in the U.S. is voluntary.  But it also brings to mind the heated discussions in the field today about the extent to which government should mandate giving toward certain groups or causes.

Well, no matter your point of view on those issues, we can probably all agree that more philanthropy is better.  And we should join forces to actively promote more voluntary philanthropy.  Today’s opinion piece by John Verant in the Star Tribune really reinforces why it’s more important than ever for the well-to-do to give, and to give generously.  Verant writes:

The past 30 years have witnessed the largest redistribution of wealth in the history of America. When Ronald Reagan came to power, the richest 1 percent of Americans held 20 percent of the total wealth. When he left office, that figure was 36 percent. Today it is 43. The distribution of income has similarly skewed. Since 1980, the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans had their share of all income increase 2 1/2 times. And the top 0.1 percent had their share of our national earnings increase an amazing six times.

This summer we heard that Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett challenged American billionaires to give at least half of their net worth to charity.  They apparently recognize their individual moral responsibility to care for their fellow men and women.  Let’s hope their wealthy friends — who are not obligated to give to the poor — do, too.

– Wendy Wehr, MCF v.p.  of communications and information services