Philanthropy Front and Center-San Francisco

New RFP for Economic Security

Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF) has released a new request for proposals for grants that focus on the need for economically-vulnerable residents to have more financial knowledge and opportunities to build assets. SVCF will host one information session for organizations eligible to respond to this RFP. Register online by Thursday, April 1 by clicking on the information session below.

• Friday, April 2, 9:30 to 11 a.m. in Mountain View

Foundation Center Cooperating Collections: Free Local Funding Information Centers

The Foundation Center is looking for host organizations that are ready to join with us to meet the information and training needs of organizations and individuals whose grantseeking needs are not currently being met.

The Foundation Center needs your help in identifying appropriate host organizations for our Cooperating Collection network.  Cooperating Collections are free funding information centers in libraries, community foundations, and other nonprofit resource centers that provide a core collection of Foundation Center print and electronic publications and a variety of supplementary materials, training, and services in areas useful to grantseekers. 

We are particularly interested in reaching under-resourced and underserved populations throughout the U.S. and in other locations around the globe that are in need of this useful information and training to become successful grantseekers.

Share our video (above) with your contacts and colleagues and watch it now to find out more about the Foundation Center's Cooperating Collection program. If you are aware of a potential host organization, we invite you to nominate them.

With your help we can ensure free public access to these needed resources throughout the country and around the world.

(This post is from Kief Schladweiler, Coordinator of Cooperating Collections, The Foundation Center)

The Foundation Center is looking for host organizations that are ready to join with us to meet the information and training needs of organizations and individuals whose grantseeking needs are not currently being met.

The Foundation Center needs your help in identifying appropriate host organizations for our Cooperating Collection network.  Cooperating Collections are free funding information centers in libraries, community foundations, and other nonprofit resource centers that provide a core collection of Foundation Center print and electronic publications and a variety of supplementary materials, training, and services in areas useful to grantseekers. 

We are particularly interested in reaching under-resourced and underserved populations throughout the U.S. and in other locations around the globe that are in need of this useful information and training to become successful grantseekers.

Share our video (above) with your contacts and colleagues and watch it now to find out more about the Foundation Center's Cooperating Collection program. If you are aware of a potential host organization, we invite you to nominate them.

With your help we can ensure free public access to these needed resources throughout the country and around the world.

(This post is from Kief Schladweiler, Coordinator of Cooperating Collections, The Foundation Center)

This Week at the Foundation Center (March 29-April 2)

Tuesday, March 30, 10:30-11:45 am Fundraising in a Challenging Economy; and 1:00-4:00 pm Maximizing Your Organization's Potential through Strategic Human Resources 

Our library is open Monday through Friday free of charge and no appointment is necessary.

Library Hours:

Monday/Tuesday/Thursday/Friday
10:00 am-5:00 pm
Wednesday
10:00 am-8:00 pm

Our library is open Monday through Friday free of charge and no appointment is necessary.

Library Hours:

Monday/Tuesday/Thursday/Friday
10:00 am-5:00 pm
Wednesday
10:00 am-8:00 pm

March Madness for the Mind

I just heard about this cool event, March Madness for the Mind, a free, public showcase of student innovation. It's put on by the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) and will be held this year at the Exploratium on March 27, 2010.  The event is an opportunity for the nation’s top Excellence and Entrepreneurship Teams (E-Teams)—collaborating groups of college students, faculty and industry mentors who have received NCIIA grants—to unveil their inventions to the public, many for the first time. More than fifteen E-Teams will display their state-of-the-art innovations during the exhibition.  It sounds very interesting.

New Publication - After the Grant: The Nonprofit's Guide to Good Stewardship

At the Foundation Center, we teach that the fundraising process should focus on building long-term relationships between an organization and funders. While the successful receipt of a grant may seem like the reward for navigating a lengthy, challenging process, in reality it is just one more step in the ongoing cultivation of a grantmaker.

This concept is at the heart of the Center's new guide, After the Grant: The Nonprofit's Guide to Good Stewardship, which explores the issues of developing a lasting grantmaker-grantee partnership through proper grants management and communication techniques. The guide contains chapters written by expert fundraisers and foundation staff on managing the grant, meetings with funders, composing the grant report, and other relevant topics. Also included are case studies of actual grants and a "troubleshooting guide" with advice from foundation executives on what to do in typical problem situations.

This essential publication will be an invaluable and practical resource for every nonprofit seeking funding from foundations.

After the Grant is now available for purchase at our five main library/learning centers or from the Marketplace section of our web site.

Pepsi Refresh Project Idea Seminar

Through its new Pepsi Refresh Project, Pepsi is helping move peoples' ideas from wishful thinking to reality. In 2010, the Pepsi Refresh Project will award more than $20 million in grant money for people's ideas that will refresh their world and lead to positive change. Grant recipients will be ranked by the public, who will vote online for the ideas they want to see taken from concept to reality. Pepsi will jump start projects in 6 categories: Health, Arts & Culture, Food & Shelter, The Planet, Neighborhoods, and Education. Submissions are accepted at the official website: refresheverything.com

To participate in the Idea Seminar in San Francisco, RSVP by tomorrow, Wednesday March 24th. All participants must be over 16 years of age and be pre-registered. To RSVP/pre-register, send full names and contact information to: SanfranciscoPRP@teamepiphany.com.

Please refer to refresheverything.com for additional information on the program.

This Week at the Foundation Center (March 22-26)

Monday, March 22, 1:30-3:00 pm Before You Seek a Grant

Tuesday, March 23, 9:30-11:00 am Grantseeking Basics; and 11:00 am-12:00 pm Introduction to Foundation Directory Online 

Wednesday, March 24, 5:30-6:45 pm Finding Foundation Support for Your Education; and 6:45-7:30 Getting Started with Foundation Grants to Individuals Online

Thursday, March 25, 10:00 am-12:00 pm Meet the Grantmakers: After the Grant; and 1:00-2:30 pm How to Approach a Foundation: From Initial Contact to Getting Funded - What Does It Take?

Friday, March 26, 12:00-1:15 pm Prospect Research Basics: Researching Individual Donors

Our library is open Monday through Friday free of charge and no appointment is necessary.

Library Hours:

Monday/Tuesday/Thursday/Friday
10:00 am-5:00 pm
Wednesday
10:00 am-8:00 pm

Friday, March 26, 12:00-1:15 pm Prospect Research Basics: Researching Individual Donors

Our library is open Monday through Friday free of charge and no appointment is necessary.

Library Hours:

Monday/Tuesday/Thursday/Friday
10:00 am-5:00 pm
Wednesday
10:00 am-8:00 pm

Philanthropy Chat: Charles Bronfman and Jeffrey Solomon Discuss The Art of Giving

In this interview, Charles Bronfman, former co-chairman of the Seagram Company and the founder of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, and Jeffrey Solomon, president of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, talk about their book The Art of Giving: Where the Soul Meets a Business Plan.

The two philanthropists discuss a number of topics including donors' motivational values, donor-grantee relationships, philanthropic mistakes, and the decision to spend down the foundation's assets. Listen>>

Find more Foundation Center podcasts here. You can also subscribe to Foundation Center podcasts on iTunes or get the RSS feed.

Thanks to Jimmy Tom, Manager of Bibliographic Services at the Foundation Center, for this blog post.

Foreclosure Prevention, Irvine, and Health Grants in Philanthropy News Digest

Our free news service, Philanthropy News Digest, is a great source for coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits. Here are a few recent regional stories that may pique your interest:

• Silicon Valley Community Foundation Awards $525,000 for Foreclosure Prevention Services
• Irvine Foundation Awards $9.2 Million in Grants For a complete list of grantees, visit the Irvine Foundation Web site.
• Blue Shield of California Foundation Awards $9 Million in First-Quarter Grants

New RFPs for Immigrant Integration

Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF) has released two new requests for proposals (RFP) as part of its immigrant integration strategy. The first focuses on bridging the cultural gap and seeks to leverage two-way educational programs that allow non-immigrant communities and immigrants and their receiving communities to learn about the diverse populations in Silicon Valley. The second RFP focuses on strengthening the legal services infrastructure and strives to address the need for affordable and reliable immigration legal services provided by nonprofit community organizations. Two information sessions for organizations eligible to respond will be held in Mountain View.

For organizations bridging the cultural gap, register online by April 5 for the session on Wednesday, April 7, 10:30 am-12:00 pm.  For organizations strengthening the legal services infrastructure, register online by April 7 for the session on Friday, April 9, 10:30 am-12:00 pm.