GCRI’s sister organization, Northern California Grantmakers, shared about two funds that have been established to support the victims of the Carr wildfire in Shasta County, CA. Currently, the fire is only 20% contained, and 720 homes and 100,000 acres have been burned.
One fund has been established by Shasta Regional Community Foundation and the other by United Way of Northern California.
Meet the Funders — February 15, 5:30-8:00pm, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of RI
Federal and State Budget Impact on RI Communities — March 29, 9:00-11:00am, Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island
CyberGrants Users Group webinar on reporting — February 15, 2:00pm
Employee Engagement Conference Calls — February 27, 9am and March 27, 9am
Early Literacy and RI Reads — February 26, 3:00-4:30pm, United Way
Financial Empowerment — March 6, 9:00-10:30am, United Way
Hurricane Harvey Recovery Funder Briefing Webinar
Monday, February 12, 3:00-4:00pm
In addition to a recovery update, this briefing will focus on research that is helping to identify community needs. Funders will have an opportunity to share their work and to ask questions of each other at the close of the briefing. Speakers include Traci Brasher, TEM, Recovery Division Director FEMA Region 6; and Shao-Chee Sim, Ph.D., Vice President for Applied Research at Episcopal Health Foundation. Sponsored by The Simmons Foundation and Center for Disaster Philanthropy.
Going Public: Overcoming the Foundation Transparency Challenge – Webinar
Thursday, February 22, 2:00-3:00pm
Join United Philanthropy Forum and Foundation Center for the “Going Public: Overcoming the Foundation Transparency Challenge” webinar. This program will begin with a compelling case for greater transparency; provide an overview of the powerful and free tools designed to help you improve the transparency of your foundation’s online presence; demonstrate a free tool for assessing your foundation’s online transparency practices (how will yours stack up?); and highlight examples from foundation peers that have been active in creating greater openness at their foundations. Calls for greater transparency and accountability in the philanthropic sector are nothing new, but today as people access greater quantities of information online, public expectation is rapidly growing about what information is made available. And today’s reality is that transparency and openness are not only trending, but revolutionizing the world around us. From user experience designed websites to Twitter to LinkedIn to the explosion of the blogosphere, shared networks and open data are transforming the way we shop, learn, and connect with each other. There is also the deeper conversation about the nature of openness in our philanthropic relationships versus just being transparent about our work. Openness referring to more of a relationship between philanthropy and their grantee partners and the communities they serve. While many of us generally agree that transparency is a virtue, figuring out how to assess and improve existing foundation transparency practices can be a challenge. Attend this webinar to learn about free tools that are designed to help philanthropy work more openly, efficiently, and effectively.
Everything I Needed to Know..But Nobody Told Me: A Retreat for New Foundation Staff — 2/25-27, Ardmore, OK. Sponsored by Philanthropy Southwest
Grantmakers Concerned for Immigrants and Refugees National Convening — 2/27-3/1, Los Angeles
Funders Together to End Homelessness Funders Forum — 2/28, Los Angeles
Funding Forward (LGBT Funders) — 3/14-3/16, New Orleans
AACP: The Conference (corporate philanthropy) — 3/18-3/21, Portland, OR
CFUnited (community foundations) — 3/18-3/21, Las Vegas
PEAK Grantmaking Annual Conference (grants management) — 3/19-3/21, Orlando
Resource Generation’s Transforming Philanthropy (younger generation members of family foundations) — 3/22-3/25, Pomona, CA
Vanita Gupta, President and CEO of The Leadership on Civil and Human Rights, wrote a compelling piece on the critical importance of the 2020 Census for the future of public and private support of vulnerable communities. We have excerpted from the piece below:
The decennial census is a massive, complex undertaking with far-reaching impacts on American democracy, the effectiveness of government and private sector investments, and the lives and health of every person who lives in America.
The Census Bureau needs a steady and significant ramp-up in funding in 2018 and 2019 to test new technologies and procedures, from start to finish, in a census-like environment and to create an effective outreach and advertising campaign. However, the Trump administration’s budget request for next year is woefully inadequate. Necessary testing has already been cut back due to lack of sufficient funds.
The recent congressional failure to pass an appropriations bill and instead merely pass a short-term continuing resolution until Dec. 8 will force the Census Bureau to operate at current year funding levels, leaving the agency without any budget ramp-up well into the first quarter of the new fiscal year (which begins on Oct. 1). This will further stall much-needed, rigorous planning and preparations for the upcoming census. The window for the administration and Congress to prevent a failed 2020 Census is narrowing quickly.
Bipartisan action is needed immediately to shore up the Census Bureau’s budget and to put in place experienced, qualified leadership in the wake of the previous Census director’s unexpected resignation.
Why the Census is so important
The decennial census is mandated by the U.S. Constitution. It is central to the constitutional design of the United States as a representative republic.
It determines the apportionment of the 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives among the states. The same data are used to ensure that congressional districts within states comply with the principle of one person, one vote, to configure state and local voting districts, and to assist in the implementation of the nation’s civil rights laws, under the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.
Census data guided school desegregation after Brown v. Board of Education and continue to inform Voting Rights Act enforcement. Nothing less than fair representation in our public lawmaking bodies is at stake.
Data collected in the decennial census and the ongoing American Community Survey (ACS) provide information that is vital to effective decision-making by policymakers, government and nonprofit agencies, and private industry. Congress allocates at least $600 billion annually in federal grants or direct payments to states, localities, and individuals/families for a range of vital programs and services, based on census-derived data. Business leaders use the data to make decisions about where to locate and market their businesses.
Why the 2020 Census is at risk for a potential disaster
Congressional expectations that the 2020 Census must cost less than the 2010 enumeration have driven efforts to develop and deploy new technologies and procedures. For example, giving people the option of responding online and equipping enumerators with connected handheld devices are advances that could dramatically reduce paperwork and streamline operations, with potential savings of more than $5 billion.
But technological failures could compromise data security as well as accuracy. These new technologies and procedures must be fully developed, tested in the field, and refined well before final preparations for the 2020 enumeration start in 2019. That requires a significant ramp-up in funding.
Insufficient funding for 2017 and uncertainties for 2018 have already forced the Census Bureau to cancel final testing of some key activities, including the only field evaluation of special methods for counting rural and remote communities. The bureau has canceled two out of three planned sites for the 2018 End-to-End Census Test – informally known as the “dress rehearsal” – which will severely limit the scope of the only integrated evaluation of all operations and technological systems before the 2020 Census takes place. Other damaging program changes resulting from underfunding include delays in opening regional census centers and in developing the advertising and partnership programs that are essential to ensuring participation in historically hard-to-count communities.
Bipartisan action is needed now
There are two urgent steps that the administration and Congress must take. First, the Trump administration must nominate a highly qualified, well-respected, and nonpartisan candidate with a clear vision for an accurate, fully inclusive census to fill the now-vacant position of director of the Census Bureau. If the administration’s nominee meets those criteria, the Senate should make confirmation a top priority.
And, second, as Congress takes up fiscal year 2018 appropriations bills this fall, it must give the Census Bureau sufficient funding to ensure comprehensive final testing and development of all 2020 Census systems and operations. To achieve that goal, Congress should allocate at least $303 million over the administration’s irresponsibly inadequate request.
There will be no second chance to get the 2020 Census right, and the nation must live with the results for the next 10 years.
Vanita Gupta was appointed by President Obama in 2014 to lead the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Justice Department. Earlier this year she became president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy’s newsletter on importance of Census 2020 for funders
The Forum and a number of our partner organizations have teamed up for a webinar on November 16, “Key 2020 Census Milestones: Preparing to Invest in a Fair and Accurate Count.” The session will look at important decision-making points as the Census Bureau finalizes the 2020 census operational plan; key milestones in census preparations and implementation, including when the standards of collection of race and ethnicity data will be released, when local offices will open, and when address canvassing will begin; what is already happening on the ground to ensure a fair and accurate census and how that informs your grantmaking timeline; how philanthropy can play a key role as a census partner and catalyst of statewide get-out-the-count activities; and effective ways philanthropy can influence the formation of effective and representative complete count committees at the state and local levels. More information
Proposed tax reform changes could have drastic effects on charitable giving. Be sure to read the National Council of Nonprofits’ analysis of the implications of the proposals, as well as Nonprofit Quarterly‘s analysis. Marts & Lundy analysis
September 14 GCIR Webinar for Funders
The Forum will be co-sponsoring a Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees webinar, Dreams in Limbo: A Look at the Future of DACA, Young Immigrants, and How Funders Can Respond, that is being held on September 14, 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. PDT.
Philanthropic Responses to the DACA Decision
Areas in Texas and Louisiana have experienced extreme flooding due to Hurricane Harvey, a record-breaking storm. As always, philanthropy is stepping forward to assist those whose lives have been devastated by the flooding. GCRI sister organizations in the region, as well as individual local foundations have established relief funds in the region, to assist in the long recovery and rebuilding process.
Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund
The Greater Houston Community Foundation
After receiving an overwhelming number of inquiries from citizens and companies who want to help, Mayor Sylvester Turner has established the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund that will accept tax deductible flood relief donations for victims that have been affected by the recent floods. The Greater Houston Community Foundation is administering the fund.
Hurricane Harvey Disaster Relief Fund
The Dallas Foundation
The Dallas Foundation has also established a fund that will support nonprofit organizations providing aid to Hurricane Harvey victims.
CDP Hurricane Harvey Recovery Fund
Center for Disaster Philanthropy
In response to the needs that will arise following this devastating storm, the Center for Disaster Philanthropy has established the CDP Hurricane Harvey Recovery Fund that will focus on medium and long-term rebuilding needs. We expect the long-term needs to be rebuilding homes, businesses, infrastructure, meeting the needs of young children, supporting mental health needs, and boosting damaged agricultural sectors.
Best Friends’ Relief Fund
This fund brings emergency assistance to animals in the wake of disasters. Donations to this fund are used exclusively to support lifesaving work wherever and whenever a catastrophe occurs.
NOLA Pay It Forward Fund: Hurrican Harvey
Greater New Orleans Foundation
Activated by the Mayor of New Orleans in partnership with the Greater New Orleans Foundation, the NOLA Pay It Forward Fund: Hurricane Harvey will provide resources for the early relief and rebuilding efforts of those communities impacted by Hurricane Harvey.
Hurricane Harvey Relief
GlobalGiving
This fund will initially support first responders and survivors’ immediate needs, and also direct funds to local organizations to provide long-term support and build stronger response capacity.
Hurricane Harvey Community Relief Fund
Texas Organizing Project Education Fund
Rebuilding in areas impacted by Harvey will be most challenging for marginalized communities. Nearly a quarter of Houstonians live in poverty, approximately 550,000 people, and there are about 575,000 immigrants in the Houston metro area. TOP will work to ensure that Harvey’s most vulnerable victims have access to critical services from first response and basic needs to healthcare, housing and transportation.
Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund
AARP Foundation
Recognizing the immediate and longer-term challenges so many will face in the coming days, weeks, and months – especially people over age 50 who have been affected – AARP Foundation created a relief fund to support the victims devastated by Hurricane Harvey. To meet their needs, AARP and AARP Foundation will also match – dollar for dollar – contributions up to a total of $1 million. Working with the AARP state offices in the affected areas, we will direct 100 percent of all funds raised to organizations providing relief and recovery support to disaster victims.
Houston Chronicle: How to Help Victims of the Texas Storm
The Houston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle offers a list of local, national and global organizations that are accepting donations to help the victims of Hurricane Harvey.
Philanthropy Southwest Texas Hurricane Relief Efforts
Philanthropy Southwest
Our member located in Texas has compiled a list of Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.
Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services Harvey Fund
t.e.ja.s
The Climate Justice Alliance asks that you donate to t.e.ja.s., the oldest environmental justice organization in Houston.
Texas Tribune: How to Get (and Offer) Help After Hurricane Harvey
Texas Tribune
The Texas Tribune has compiled a comprehensive list of resources on how to help with Hurricane Harvey relief and recovery, including where to make charitable donations.
After Hurricane Harvey: Specific Challenges Facing Immigrants and Refugees
Following Hurricane Harvey, the immediate needs of Houston’s immigrant residents are generally no different from other displaced residents; however, they also face particular circumstances that can prevent them from accssing assistance and that impair their ability to rebuild their lives and communities. Join Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, Philanthropy Southwest, and Center for Disaster Philanthropy for a webinar on September 18 to learn about unique post-hurrican challenges facing immigrants and refugees, particularly those who are low-income and limited English proficient. RSVP and watch the webinar at the link above.
Hurricane Harvey Recovery: How Donors Can Help
In response to significant flooding in Texas and potentially parts of Louisiana, the Council on Foundations and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy hosted a webinar on August 29 on how to allocate resources—human, financial and technical—to meet the needs of Hurricane Harvey-affected communities. Watch the webinar recording at the link above.
Creating Order From Chaos: Roles for Philanthropy in Disaster Planning and Response
The Jessie Ball duPont Fund published this guide in 2015 to outline the best roles for funders in a disaster, culled from its many decades of experience in responding to the needs of communities and nonprofits beset by disasters, human and natural alike.
Disaster Philanthropy Playbook
A compilation of philanthropic strategies, best practices and lessons learned that helps communities think through how a disaster will affect them and plan and prepare to respond when it happens. It is centered on 15 strategies, including community and economic recovery; education; health and behavioral health; aging and disabled populations; arts and culture; environment; and others. The Disaster Philanthropy Playbook is a joint project of Center for Disaster Philanthropy and Council of New Jersey Grantmakers in association with United Philanthropy Forum.
Disaster, Older Adults and Philanthropy
This article from Grantmakers in Aging details why disaster-related death rates are so much higher older adults and how philanthropy can help.
Disaster Planning and Recovery for Nonprofits, Charities, and Libraries
The Resilient Organization, developed with the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, is a holistic guide to IT disaster planning and recovery. This e-book is intended for organizations that are preparing for a disaster, as well as those that need to rebuild and maintain operations after a disaster.
Measuring the State of Disaster Philanthropy: Data to Drive Decisions
The Center for Disaster Philanthropy has partnered with Foundation Center on an interactive dashboard, which provides an analysis of disaster-related funding by foundations, governments, corporations and individuals. The data presented illuminates funding trends, exposes some of the imbalances in where and when contributions are made to help donors make more strategic decisions about their investments in the full life cycle of disasters, including preparedness and recovery efforts.
As a benefit of membership, GCRI members are eligible to receive legal support through United Philanthropy Forum at a reduced cost.
The Forum launched the Foundation Legal Help Desk a year ago for community foundations, and now that the pilot phase has concluded, the program is being expanded to serve private foundations as well. The Help Desk is operated by our colleagues at the Indiana Philanthropy Alliance.
The Help Desk is designed to provide foundations with access to answers to legal questions related to the operations of a foundation. The foundation world is a complex field that requires specialized legal knowledge and many foundations do not have easy access to an attorney with expertise in this field.
The service operates through a website. Participants log in with a username and password and type in their question. The software will send it to the attorney “on-call” for their topic area. The attorney will respond either with a written answer or will make arrangements for a phone conversation.
The attorneys providing this service have specialized knowledge in grantmaking, scholarships, fund management, planned giving, nonprofit law, the Pension Protection Act, UPMIFA and other laws that specifically affect the operations of a foundation.
Foundations will contact IPA directly to subscribe to the service, and IPA will provide them with a subscription agreement. Once they send the agreement back to IPA with their payment, IPA will provide them with their login credentials. IPA will let you know when any of your members sign up for the service, and will provide each PSO with an annual report on usage by your members and the topic areas of questions handled.
| Cost | Assets | Service | |
| Entry | $750 | Under $10M | 6 inquiries/year |
| Basic 1 | $1,000 | Under $25M | 10 inquiries/year |
| Basic 2 | $1,500 | Over $25M | 10 inquiries/year |
| Premium | $2,500 | Any size | Unlimited |
WITH NEW NAME & VISION, UNITED PHILANTHROPY FORUM LEADS A NEW NETWORK TO ADVANCE PHILANTHROPY
GCRI has a new national affiliate, as the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers has unveiled a new name and new visual identity to reflect a transformed organization. GCRI is now a member of United Philanthropy Forum, along with 60 regional and national philanthropy serving organizations, representing 7,000 philanthropic organizations across the United States.
“The Forum is creating a new kind of philanthropic network to lead change and increase impact in philanthropy,” said Forum President & CEO David Biemesderfer. “So we’ve changed our name and identity to more accurately reflect both the new organization that we’ve become today and the aspirations we share for a more united philanthropy field in the future. Our new identity reflects our network’s longtime spirit of generosity, inclusive nature, and passion for the common good.”
For the past 18 years, the Forum has led a vibrant membership network of 33 regional philanthropy-serving organizations (PSOs) working to advance, inform and support philanthropy. Over the past two years the Forum engaged in a collaborative and iterative visioning process, in full partnership with its national philanthropy partner organizations, to crystallize the Forum’s role in the philanthropy field. As a result, the Forum has implemented a new vision to be the place where philanthropy’s infrastructure comes together, integrating regional PSOs’ deep regional roots and connections with national PSOs’ deep content knowledge and reach in a more comprehensive and strategic way.
In January 2017, the Forum opened its membership to national PSOs, primarily national issue-based, identity-based and practice-based philanthropy affinity groups. In just the first six months under this new membership structure, the Forum has nearly doubled its membership, welcoming 27 new member organizations to its network. To date the Forum network is comprised of 60 regional and national PSOs representing more than 7,000 foundations and other philanthropic organizations—making it the largest network serving philanthropy in America.
“The strong initial response to our new vision and membership structure—far exceeding our first-year goals—demonstrates that we’re on the right track to meet an important need for philanthropy,” said Forum Board Chair Marissa Manlove, President and CEO of Indiana Philanthropy Alliance. “This is a moment in time for philanthropy to step up in new ways, and the Forum is doing its part to maximize philanthropy’s impact in our country.”
“This new name and identity perfectly fits with the Forum’s new vision, one which aims to create a more united field of philanthropy,” said Kathleen Enright, President and CEO of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations and Co-Chair of the Vision Design Group that guided the Forum’s visioning work. “Through the new Forum network, regional and national philanthropy groups can work smarter and better together, which is more important than ever. The re-envisioned Forum will lead to more thoughtful, strategic and comprehensive partnerships among our organizations with the ultimate aim of helping philanthropy be more effective.”
“We’re thrilled to be a member of the new Forum network,” said Forum Board Member Susan Taylor Batten, President and CEO of ABFE. “National philanthropy associations like ours now have a network to support our work and our professional development, and to better connect us to all of our colleagues. We’re more powerful together.”
The Forum is supported by dues and additional financial support from its members; and by current general operating and/or project grant support from The Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Fund for Shared Insight, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, The Joyce Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Newman’s Own Foundation and The Trustees’ Philanthropy Fund of Fidelity Charitable.
For more information on the Forum’s new name and identity, please visit www.unitedphilforum.org/newname.
Boston will play host to two valuable conferences this summer:
June 21-23
This is a tremendous opportunity to engage with peers, colleagues, experts and innovative practitioners working in health philanthropy today.
August 29-30
Presented by the Forum in partnership with Associated Grant Makers, the two-day Community Foundation Boot Camp program offers a comprehensive overview of the structure and operations of a community foundation. The program is an ideal in-depth introduction to community foundations for new community foundation staff, community foundation board members, or more experienced community foundation staff looking for a good refresher. Training is provided by Indiana Philanthropy Alliance.
Join Philanthropy New York, GCRI’s sister organization, for a variety of civic engagement speakers on Friday, June 16.
Schedule:
9:00-10:00am Opening Panel: Voter Engagement, Access and Community Organizing for Action
10:00-10:45am PHIL Talks
Three fascinating, inspiring leaders on the work that drives them:
11:15am-12:30pm The Power of Participation: Democracy Building Now
Tweet your questions and comments using @PhilanthropyNY and #PhilTV
Capitol Hill: Forum Submits Statement in Support of Johnson Amendment
Last week, subcommittees of the House Oversight Committee held a hearing focused on the Johnson Amendment’s effect on churches’ and other nonprofit organizations’ freedom of speech. Forum staff attended the hearing and Forum President and CEO David Biemesderfer submitted a statement for the hearing record expressing the Forum’s continued support for the Johnson Amendment. The Johnson Amendment is a 1954 amendment to the tax code that prohibits 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations from participating in political campaigns (specifically, supporting or opposing a candidate). The purpose of the law is to prevent tax-deductible money from being used to support or oppose candidates for public office. The Johnson Amendment does not prohibit all electoral activity, and 501(c)(3) organizations may still actively participate in the election process. Forum’s position and statement
Forum Joins Giving100 Coalition to Support Charitable Deduction for All Taxpayers
The Forum has joined Giving100, a coalition working to encourage members of Congress and the Administration to expand the charitable deduction to all American taxpayers. The Forum’s board of directors recently approved the Forum’s support of such a “universal” charitable deduction (read the Forum’s new position on the charitable deduction). The charitable deduction, which provides a tax deduction for contributions to nonprofit organizations, has been in place for 100 years but is only available to roughly one-third of all Americans. Several provisions in recent tax reform proposals would severely reduce the number of taxpayers who would use the charitable deduction, resulting in a decrease in charitable giving of 10-20%, according to several estimates. Learn more about Giving100.
Excise Tax Bill Re-introduced in the House
On May 4, Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-MN) introduced legislation to modify the excise tax on investment income of private foundations by moving to a flat rate of 1%. The bill, H.R. 2386, has bipartisan support. Aside from Paulsen, additional co-sponsors include; Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL), Rep. Patrick Tiberi (R-OH), Rep. George Holding (R-NC) and Rep. Richard Nolan (D-MN).The bill has been referred to the House Ways and Means and Budget committees. The Forum supports simplification of the private foundation excise tax on net investment income to a revenue-neutral flat rate. Visit the Forum’s website for more information and resources.