Philanthropy Front and Center-San Francisco

Understanding the California Budget

In an effort to help us better understand the massive budget challenges facing the state of California, Blue Shield of California Foundation commissioned Tim Gage, a California finance and budget policy expert, to write a short primer highlighting the major structural budget challenges before our state.

We thought this information might be helpful to you and the work you do.  Read California's Budget Crisis (12 page PDF).

Hopeful Sign?: $125 Million to UCSF Medical Center

Charles Feeney, founder of the Atlantic Philanthropies and co-founder of Duty Free Shoppers, is giving $125 million to UCSF Medical Center for a new hospital complex at its Mission Bay campus. The gift requires a 100 percent match and is so far the largest donation to the capital campaign for a complex that will provide medical services to children, women, and cancer patients.  The New York Times says it's the "first [gift] of $100 million or more since last fall" citing the Center of Philanthropy  at Indiana University.  The gift is certainly the largest ever given by Feeney or the Atlantic Philanthropies. It also makes the Atlantic Philanthropies the largest cumulative supporter of UCSF since the university began in 1864.

The complex, scheduled for completion in 2014, will include a children's hospital with urgent and emergency care, pediatric ambulatory care facilities, a women's hospital for cancer care and specialty surgery, a center for mothers and newborns, and a hospital for adult cancer patients. According the Mark Laret, chief executive of the medical center, the new complex will benefit programs throughout UCSF by allowing expansion at all sites. Construction will also provide more than 1,000 jobs at its peak with several hundred permanent health care positions once the medical center opens.

Nonprofits and the Stimulus Bill

The DC-based National Council of Nonprofits recently released a series of four Special Reports about our nation’s economic recovery, including analysis of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 (commonly referred to as the economic stimulus bill) that President Obama signed into law on February 17, 2009.

The National Council decided to share this information broadly, saying, "With individuals and communities suffering, Americans in all three sectors – business, government, and nonprofit – need to come together and share information. By working together, we can collectively develop better solutions for the common good."

• Nonprofit Grant Opportunities [PDF]
  This core report analyzes the $787 billion economic stimulus legislation, summarizing the major spending and tax cut provisions and identifying potential grant opportunities for nonprofits.

• Stimulus Grant Tips and Thoughts [PDF]
  This report offers grant information, tips, and considerations - including that the stimulus package offers some grant opportunities, but is not a universal remedy for everyone.

• Whether and How States Are Accepting & Distributing Federal Stimulus Funds [PDF]
  This report reviews how various Governors have indicated they will handle the federal funds.

• Sources of Information Regarding Stimulus Funds [PDF]
  This report identifies national and state sources of information about the federal stimulus funds, including official recovery websites that states have established.

These Special Reports will be revised on a periodic basis, so you may want to visit the National Council's web site to look for future updates.

Don't forget that the Obama administration has created a web site, Recovery.gov, to track the distribution of stimulus funds.

This post is from Katrina Brown, reference librarian, Foundation Center-Washington DC.

Apocalypse Now for Nonprofits?

Light, Ni, Schambra, Salamon, and Frumkin

Not exactly! On February 20, 2009, The Hudson Institute’s Bradley Center for Philanthropy and Civic Renewal and The Nonprofit Quarterly presented a knowledgeable and lively panel discussion about an article by Paul Light titled “Four Futures”, which appeared in the Winter 2008 issue of The Nonprofit Quarterly. The session was moderated by the Bradley Center’s William Schambra, and panelists included:

• Paul Light, New York University
• Perla Ni, Great Nonprofits
• Peter Frumkin, University of Texas Austin
• Lester Salamon, Johns Hopkins University

Rick Cohen from The Nonprofit Quarterly welcomed the group and offered some observations on the stimulus package and what it might do for nonprofits. He posited that the real question about the stimulus package should be not what effect it would have on nonprofits but what impact it would have on the communities they serve.

Paul Light outlined four possible scenarios for nonprofits: the rescue fantasy, a withering winter land, an arbitrary winnowing, and transformation. Each of the panelists then reacted to the scenarios.  Ni felt that smaller nonprofits would survive the crisis because they could be more flexible and had compelling stories. Salamon commented that in the proposed scenarios, nonprofits were acted upon, and he felt that there is resilience in the sector that will enable it to save itself.  Frumkin shared his concerns about the four funding streams for nonprofits:  earned income, individual giving, government funding, and foundations and corporations.  He then shared his theory that nonprofits who have been using the “rhetoric of reason and rationale” may begin using the “rhetoric of emotion” to maintain and attract donors. This issue sparked a lively discussion about how to measure a nonprofit’s value. Do we give with our heads, our hearts, or both? In the end, the panelists believed that nonprofits would adapt and survive.

An audio and video recording of this event will be posted at the Bradley Center's web site  shortly after the event. A transcript of the discussion will be posted approximately one week after the event.

This post is from Pat Pasqual, director the Foundation Center's library/learning center in Washington, D.C.

Have You Seen Our New Report?

Actually it's a research advisory that looks at foundation and corporate support in response to the economic crisis.  A First Look at the Foundation and Corporate Response to the Economic Crisis is the latest in a series that sheds light on the impact of the current economic downturn on the nonprofit sector. It examines giving by close to 50 institutional donors that have announced more than $100 million in support for efforts ranging from reducing the number of foreclosures to shoring up food banks and services for the homeless. We've been monitoring and collecting the most recent data on U.S. foundation and corporate support in response to the economic situation. Take a look at the interactive map displaying grants and program-related investments (PRIs), which is updated weekly and supplemented by a daily RSS grant feed.

Raising Money in Volatile Times

This is the title of the timely program we're co-sponsoring with DER in January. Kim Klein, a renowned expert in the field (and one of my favorite presenters), will speak about how the current economic situation isn't a crisis because a crisis actually ends. What we're experiencing now will likely continue for at least the next decade.  So what is a fundraiser to do?  Join us on Friday, January 9, 12:00-1:30 pm and find out.

Tracking the Economic Crisis

(This post is from Charlotte Dion, director, Foundation Center library/learning center in New York.)

We know that many of you are very concerned about the impact of the current recession on giving. To help you track what’s going on, and to give you some historical perspective, the Foundation Center has created a  new web feature that brings together headlines from Philanthropy News Digest, Foundation Center research, interviews with leaders in the field, podcasts, and other resources on the topic.

Here’s a sample of the expert information and advice you can access:

• Steven Lawrence, senior director of research, Foundation Center:  Past Economic Downturns and the Outlook for Foundation Giving
• Paul Brest, president, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation: Smart Philanthropy in Tough Times
• Deborah Hoover, president, Burton D. Morgan Foundation: The Economic Downturn, Entrepreneurship, and Foundation Giving for Economic Development 

Other resources on this topic:

Foundation Center’s MapShots lets you see the distribution of recent grants and program related investments, as well as the location of community foundations and Cooperating Collections.

Nonprofits and Economic Downturns: Reading List

PhilanTopic: Blog Posts on the Economy

For updates, check back with the Center’s  Focus on the Economic Crisis page. We hope you’ll use this space to let us know how you like this new feature, and to share your own experiences as well. 

SVCF Regional Meeting

Yesterday, in the company of more than 1,000 people, I attended the first regional meeting of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF) at the Flint Center in Cupertino. The new foundation was formed in January 2007 through the merger of Community Foundation Silicon Valley and Peninsula Community Foundation.  Several board and staff members spoke about the complexities of the merger, SVFC's current progress and remaining work, and the opportunities and challenges in building the foundation's reputation for leadership both in the community and among philanthropic institutions.

For me, and I suspect many others in attendance, CEO Emmett Carson's speech highlighted the event. (Download the transcript of his remarks.)  After giving some background on SVCF's new grantmaking strategies, Carson used the opportunity to launch the Strengthen the Safety Net campaign. With this $1-million challenge grant for every $1 donated SVFC will send $2 to nonprofits in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties that provide food and shelter. Overall it was an inspiring program. SVCF titled this meeting "A new tradition" and I hope it does become a recurring event.