Philanthropy Front and Center-San Francisco

$3 Million Grant For San Francisco Schools

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the National League of Cities have announced grants totaling $12 million to help boost college completion rates in four U.S. cities. San Francisco, along with Riverside, Mesa, Arizona, and New York City, will receive $3 million over the next three years to align academic standards between high school and college, strengthen data systems, implement early assessment and college prep strategies, and create support systems to help dramatically increase the number of students who earn a postsecondary degree or credential.  Read more about the grant in the San Francisco Chronicle article "Gates foundation grant goes to S.F. schools" and the Gates Foundation press release "Four Cities Receive $12 Million to Improve College Graduation Rates."

This Week at the Foundation Center (September 27-October 1)

Monday, September 27, 2:30-4:00 pm Grantseeking Basics for Individuals in the Arts; and 4:00-4:45 pm Getting Started with Foundation Grants to Individuals Online

Tuesday, September 28, 9:30-11:00 am Grantseeking Basics; 11:00 am-12:00 pm Introduction to Foundation Directory Online; and 5:00-6:30 pm Networking Night

Wednesday, September 29, 1:00-2:15 pm Fundraising in a Challenging Economy; and 3:00-5:00 pm Meet the Grantmakers: Online Grant Applications and Reporting

Thurday, September 30, 9:30-11:00 am Introduction to Corporate Giving; and 11:00 am-12:30 pm
Corporate Partnerships in a Downsized World

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

Library Hours:
Monday--11:00 am-6:00 pm
Tuesday/Thursday/Friday--10:00 am-5:00 pm
Wednesday--10:00 am-8:00 pm

South Hayward to become 'Promise Neighborhood' Thanks to Dept. of Education Grant

The community of South Hayward is the recipient of a one-year planning grant for $499,406 from the Federal Department of Education. The money has been granted to set up a 'cradle-to-career' program within South Hayward. Cal State University East Bay will take a leadership role in planning the Hayward Promise Neighborhoods Partnership (HPNP). The program is modeled after the Harlem Children's Zone (HCZ), Geoffrey Canada's revolutionary, and somewhat controversial, program designed to lift children from poverty and help them become educated, contributing members of society. HCZ is a focus of Davis Guggenheim's Waiting for Superman, a documentary about America's distressed public education system, due to release into theaters in October.

South Hayward is one of 21 communities that received grants and was chosen over 330 other communities, tribal areas, and cities that applied for funding. South Hayward is the only Bay Area recipient and even beat out nearby Oakland and San Francisco that also applied for grants. Only one other California city, Los Angeles, received funding.

Request for Qualifications Now Open – Apply to Join the REDF Portfolio

On Monday, REDF released a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to invite nonprofit organizations to apply to join REDF’s portfolio. A little background--in July, REDF was one of 11 organizations selected to receive the Social Innovation Fund (SIF) federal grant. As a recipient of the SIF, REDF will be selecting nonprofit organizations through an open, competitive process to join its portfolio and receive SIF subgrants. REDF is looking for strong organizations committed to building social enterprises to employ low-income individuals with barriers to employment in California.

Check out the web-based Request for Qualifications (RFQ) as the first step in selecting  SIF subgrantees. Completed applications must be submitted by 5:00 PM Pacific Standard Time (PST) on Friday, October 15, 2010, although submissions prior to the deadline are encouraged and accepted.

For additional information such as eligibility requirements, evaluation criteria, selection process, and documents required to complete the application, please download and review this PDF document.

Also note that Tuesday, September 28, REDF will hold a technical assistance call for interested applicants. Information about this call or the RFQ generally can be found at www.REDF.org/rfq.

Upcoming Meet the Grantmakers Sessions

October is Funding for the Arts Month at the Foundation Center. As such, we have developed programming and events with a focus on the arts and arts organizations. This programming includes our popular Meet the Grantmakers series. Meet the Grantmakers provides an opportunity for a panel of grantmakers to discuss issues in philanthropy and the nonprofit sector and answer grantseekers' questions. Grantseekers can benefit greatly from these sessions come grant application time.

For arts month in the San Francisco region, we have planned three exciting art-themed Meet the Grantmakers sessions:

• Meet the Grantmakers: Funding Opportunities for South Bay Artists and Arts Organizations, Wednesday, October 20, 11:00 am-12:30 pm (in San Jose)
• Meet the Grantmakers: Opportunities for Individual Artists, Monday, October 25, 6:00-7:45 pm (in San Mateo)
  
• Meet the Grantmakers: Navigating the New Normal in the Arts World, Tuesday, October 26, 10:00 am-12:00 pm

All Meet the Grantmakers sessions are free to attend; however, the sessions will take place at different locations throughout the Bay Area. Visit our calendar of events for locations and to register.

Don't forget about Meet the Grantmakers: Online Grant Applications and Reporting, Wednesday, September 9, 3:00-5:00 pm. We look forward to seeing you.

National Philanthropy Day

On Friday, November 5th, the Association of Fundraising Professionals-Golden Gate Chapter (AFP-GGC) will be holding a National Philanthropy Day awards luncheon. The luncheon is an annual event held to honor exceptional work in the nonprofit and philanthropy sectors for the past year. The award recipients for 2010 are as follows:

• Outstanding Philanthropist – Richard Gibbs, M.D. and Patricia H. Gibbs, M.D.
• Outstanding Fundraising Professional – Claire Axelrad, J.D., CFRE
• Outstanding Fundraising Volunteer – Patricia Sughrue Sprincin
• Outstanding Corporate Grantmaker – Borel Private Bank & Trust Company
• Outstanding Foundation or Community Grantmaker - SPARK
• Outstanding Foundation Professional – Marcia M. Argyris
• Vineyards Award – Mujeres Unidas y Activas (MUA)
• Lifetime Achievement in Philanthropy Award – Rolland C. Lowe, M.D.

Visit the National Philanthropy Day registration page to register for the event.

This Week at the Foundation Center (September 20-24)

Monday, September 20, 2:00-3:15 pm Prospect Research Basics

Tuesday, September 21, 9:30-11:00 am Proposal Writing Basics; and 11:00 am-12:00 pm Proposal Budgeting Basics

Wednesday, September 22, 5:00-6:30 pm Grantseeking Basics; and 6:30-7:30 pm Introduction to Foundation Directory Online

Thurday, September 23, 1:00-2:30 pm How to Approach a Foundation

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

Library Hours:
Monday 11:00 am-6:00 pm
Tuesday/Thursday/Friday 10:00 am-5:00 pm
Wednesday 10:00 am-8:00 pm

First Fundraising Strategies for New Nonprofits: Recap

This morning, Foundation Center-San Francisco was fortunate to have Ilona Bray, author of Nolo's Effective Fundraising for Nonprofits: Real-World Strategies That Work, present a seminar about how new nonprofits can raise money. The seminar, First Fundraising Strategies for New Nonprofits, focused on some of the tougher aspects of fundraising when your organization is still getting off the ground.

One of the main factors involved in getting a foundation grant is a steady track record of effective programming; however, if an organization is brand new to the field, this track record doesn't necessarily exist (the new nonprofit chicken vs. egg phenomenon). There are a number of strategies a new nonprofit can use to mitigate this issue. Mainly, looking within the organization to discover what assets already exist and how your organization can re-purpose those assets to support fundraising.

• Individuals: An important, and occasionally overlooked, source of funding comes from individuals. According to Giving USA, 89% of households give. Of that 89%, eight out of ten individuals make less than $90,000 per year. Quite literally, the majority of donations come from people like you and me. Keep that in mind the next time your organization needs funding. It is also a good idea to look to individuals in the community surrounding your organization. Bray used the example of a neighborhood restoring a building or structure in its community. They will want to look to individuals within the community for funding as the project serves the best interests of that community. Another reason to look to individuals when it comes to fundraising: It's an excellent way to make connections and build support for your cause.

• Donations or In-kind Gifts: New nonprofits might also want to explore the possibility of cash or in-kind donations as a first fundraising strategy. Soliciting donations from businesses located within the same community is another good way to generate support for your project and become known within your community. As well, relationships between local businesses and nonprofit organizations are beneficial to both parties. Supporting a nonprofit is often positive for a business' reputation, whereas a nonprofit will benefit from the relationship financially. In-kind support from a business also generates positive PR.

• Selling Things: People forget that nonprofits are allowed to sell things in order to support their operations. It must be that whole "nonprofit" title, but let's not forget the Girl Scouts of America. The Girl Scout Cookie Program is responsible for $700 million of the organization's operating budget, yet they are still considered a nonprofit. Your nonprofit organization may not be able to kick-off a cookie campaign, but there are plenty of other ways to generate earned income. This is a good area to look at assets that already exist within your organization. For instance, your organization might already have access to a space to do business in, or you could sell the art of one of your employees, volunteers, or clients. For more information on earned income, The Society for Nonprofit Organizations’ Fundraising Guide to Earned Income is a good start. Bray reiterated that profits generated by a nonprofit organization must fall within the limits set by the IRS.

While the key to foundation fundraising is a good track record of effective programming, there are plenty of fundraising options to explore until an organization has developed their track record. Until then, it helps to look within your own organization to see what assets you already have and how they can be re-purposed for early fundraising.

Meet the Grantmakers: Online Grant Applications and Reporting

Many nonprofits are used to submitting their grant applications the old-fashioned way; however, a lot of foundations are migrating to online applications in order to streamline the grant application process.

On September 29th, the Foundation Center-San Francisco will be hosting Meet the Grantmakers: Online Grant Applications and Reporting. The session will take place at 3:00 pm until 5:00 on the 2nd floor of the World Affairs Council building (312 Sutter Street).

Panelists include:

• Janet Ferraiolo, grants manager, May and Stanley Smith Charitable Trust
• Jade Nelson, manager of grants administration, San Francisco Foundation
• Taryn Ishida, program associate for local grantmaking, David and Lucile Packard Foundation
• Jessamine Chin, philanthropy program manager, Adobe Foundation

The panel will draw upon Project Streamline's Guide to Streamlining series, Online Applications and Reporting, as a framework for their dialogue.

TRASI Virtual Meet and Greet

The Foundation Center is excited to announce the September 20, 2010 launch of a new online database, Tools and Resources for Assessing Social Impact (TRASI),* which contains a comprehensive collection of more than 150 approaches to measuring and analyzing social impact for programs and investments.

Please join us for a Virtual Meet & Greet event on Wednesday, September 22, 2:00-4:00 pm EDT, on our TRASI Community web page.  This will be an opportunity for practitioners to connect with peers and meet some of the experts behind TRASI, who will be on hand 2:00-3:00 pm in a live chat session to answer questions about social impact assessment.

Sign-up and become part of the TRASI Community today. Once a member, you can register to participate in our Virtual Meet & Greet. You may also RSVP for the virtual event by sending an email with your name and organization to rsvp@foundationcenter.org.  

More information about TRASI:
In addition to the searchable database of assessment tools—which were authored by a range of organizations, including social investors, foundations, NGOs, microfinance institutions, and others seeking social change—the TRASI web portal will provide videos, podcasts, articles, an expert section, and a social networking page for connecting with peers.

*We acknowledge McKinsey & Company for providing analytic support and the fact base upon which the database was created. Their support and work on social impact assessment has been an integral part of this work. For more information on McKinsey's Learning for Social Impact initiative, please visit http://lsi.mckinsey.com/.