Philanthropy Front and Center-San Francisco

Middle School Math RFPs

I just got notice that Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF) has released a new request for proposals, or RFP, for grants that focus on education, specifically for closing the middle school achievement gap in mathematics. One is through an In-School Strategy due December 9 and the other is
through an Out-of-School Strategy due December 2. SVCF will host two information sessions designed for organizations eligible to respond to the education RFP.

• Tuesday, Nov. 17, 3 to 4:30 p.m. in Mountain View
• Thursday, Nov. 19, 10 to 11:30 a.m. in Mountain View

Check it out! New Library Books for Arts Organizations

We have just added to our collection a handful of new books concerning arts organizations--(*) are available to borrow through our lending program.

*Revitalizing Arts Education Through Community-Wide Coordination, by Susan J. Bodilly, et al. Santa Monica, CA: Rand Corporation. Also available online here.

*Management and the Arts, 4th ed., by William Byrnes. Burlington, MA: Focal Press. For instructor and manager resources, or student resources, visit the book's website.

Strategies for Survival of Performing Arts Organizations: A Study of Three Emergent Dance Companies, by Hortense Gerardo. Saarbrucken, Germany: VDM Verlag Dr. Muller. Provides results from a study of three Boston dance companies. Examines issues related to leadership, creativity, operational strategy, and resource development.

*Engaging Classrooms and Communities Through Art: A Guide to Designing and Implementing Community-Based Art Education, by Beth Krenksy and Seana Lowe Steffen. Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press. Section one provides background information for understanding community art; section two includes case studies for different media: murals, photography, posters, and billboards, video, and dance.

To find more books or articles for arts administration, arts education, or arts management, search the Foundation Center's Catalog of Nonprofit Literature. Also, be sure to check out our October calendar and register for free Funding for Arts Month programs.

Foundation Center Launches National Education Stimulus Initiative

The Foundation Center announced the launch of "Foundations for Education Excellence," a national initiative to engage philanthropic institutions and education leaders across the country in a unified, strategic drive to improve public education.

foundationcenter.org/educationexcellence, the web portal developed by the Foundation Center with a grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, was launched in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Education. It connects foundation funders in education to information and tools that will help them support ARRA's education reform goals.

"There is a unique window of opportunity in the coming weeks and months for private philanthropy to leverage its investment in education," said Bradford K. Smith, the Center's president. "Funders need fast-track tools to target areas of need and collaborate in new ways to improve educational opportunities across the country. The Foundation Center is ideally positioned to provide foundations with the knowledge platform needed to advance this process."

Read the full press release for details on the contents and uses of the portal.

The Foundation Center announced the launch of "Foundations for Education Excellence," a national initiative to engage philanthropic institutions and education leaders across the country in a unified, strategic drive to improve public education.

foundationcenter.org/educationexcellence, the web portal developed by the Foundation Center with a grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, was launched in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Education. It connects foundation funders in education to information and tools that will help them support ARRA's education reform goals.

"There is a unique window of opportunity in the coming weeks and months for private philanthropy to leverage its investment in education," said Bradford K. Smith, the Center's president. "Funders need fast-track tools to target areas of need and collaborate in new ways to improve educational opportunities across the country. The Foundation Center is ideally positioned to provide foundations with the knowledge platform needed to advance this process."

Read the full press release for details on the contents and uses of the portal.

ARRA Provides $650 Million to Innovative Education Programs

Innovative education programs around the country could soon benefit from a $650 million competitive grant fund included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Associated Press reports. Part of the $5 billion provided by ARRA to overhaul schools, the Investing in Innovation Fund will support programs run by school districts and nonprofits, including colleges and universities, organizations that work to turn around failing schools, and charter schools. According to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, programs that have proven successful will be awarded up to $50 million each, while programs that need money to expand or build a research base could receive up to $30 million and promising ideas worth trying could receive up to $5 million.

Fall 2009 Seminars at the Foundation Center-San Francisco, Apply for a Scholarship

This fall we are offering nine essential courses to help you get through today's tough fundraising environment. 

In addition, we are now accepting scholarship applications for our full-day training seminars. If you represent a California nonprofit organization with a budget under $1,000,000, you are eligible. Learn more and apply»

September:

Foundation Fundraising: An Introductory Course: September 15, 9 am - 4 pm.
Gain a thorough introduction to the world of foundations and instruction in identifying prospective funders.

Proposal Budgeting Workshop: September 24, 9 am - 4 pm. 
Learn to compose and present budgets for your organization and its programs.

Outcome Thinking & Management: September 25, 9 am - 4 pm.
Shift your organization's focus from project activities to outcomes and results. 

October:

Foundation Funding Research: Strategies for Finding & Evaluating Prospects: October 15 - 16, 1 - 4 pm, Day One, and 9 am - 4pm, Day Two.
Learn to chart your organization's needs and find funders using Foundation Directory Online Professional,the Foundation Center's top-tier online database of grantmakers.

Developing a Fundraising Plan: October 20, 9 am - 4 pm. 
Learn to plan and implement a critical-asset based approach to secure a diverse mix of funding.  

November:

Foundation Fundraising: An Introductory Course: November 5, 9 am - 4 pm.
Gain a thorough introduction to the world of foundations and instruction in identifying prospective funders.

Cultivating Grantmaker Relationships: November 10, 9 am - 4 pm.
Strengthen the partnership between your organization and its funders.

Grantseeker Training Institute: November 16 - 20, 9 am - 4 pm daily.
Update your grantseeking strategy to meet current economic challenges in a single week.

December:

Proposal Writing Seminar: December 3, 9 am - 4 pm.
Gain proposal writing experience needed to secure grants from foundations and corporate sources.

Foundation Funding Research: Strategies for Finding & Evaluating Prospects: December 7 - 8, 1 - 4 pm, Day One, and 9 am - 4pm, Day Two.
Learn to chart your organization's needs and find funders using Foundation Directory Online Professional,the Foundation Center's top-tier online database of grantmakers.

Securing Corporate Partnerships: December 10, 9 am - 4 pm.
Learn the unique characteristics of corporate funders and where to make inroads to gain their support.

RFP: Census 2010 Grants Program

The San Francisco Foundation is launching a grants program to strengthen local nonprofits in their campaigns to bring visibility to hard-to-count populations. Grants of up to $10,000 will be awarded, with an additional $2,500 available for the engagement of an artist to design and produce visual art media to create visibility around the census.

The Foundation is particularly interested in organizations that can substantially strengthen community outreach for the census in San Francisco, Alameda, and Contra Costa counties. Successful applicants will target hard-to-count populations in counties, cities and neighborhoods that have been undercounted in the past. Priority will be given to organizations that have a clear strategy for their outlined work that includes education, outreach, establishing Questionnaire Assistance Centers, etc.

Applications are due September 25, 2009. Decisions will be made in November 2009.

For more information, please visit.

For organizations interested in applying for Census 2010 grants, go to: https://granteecenter.sff.org.

$500 Vocational Studies Scholarships in Alameda County

Philanthropic Ventures Foundation (PVF) now presents $500 vocational training scholarships to full-time students of Berkeley City College, Chabot College, College of Alameda, Laney College, Las Positas College, Merritt College, and Ohlone College.

The Charles and Connie Meng Scholarship Program was established over 10 ten years ago by PVF to provide $500 scholarships to Alameda County community college students pursuing vocational and trade careers such as cosmetologists, cooks, bank tellers, pharmacy technicians, dental assistants, paralegals, x-ray technicians, carpenters, and more.

To apply, download the forms [pdf] from the PVF website and follow the instructions.

There is plenty of funding available for students in need, and no application deadline.

Watch! Meet the Grantmakers: Improving Public Education

View the recording of our Meet the Grantmakers program, presented June 18, 2009, featuring Anu Greenlee Cairo, Walter and Elise Haas Fund; Rogeair Purnell, James Irvine Foundation; Sandra Treacy, W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation; and Lisa Villareal,  The San Francisco Foundation. These panelists discuss funding programs and guidelines pertaining to improving K-12 public education. Topics include support for in-school and afterschool programs, efforts aimed at closing the achievement gap and supporting college readiness, and other trends in foundation support of public education.

Falling in Love with Fundraising

Yes "falling in love with fundraising" is truly a subheading in an article I read recently on SF Gate. Rob Baedeker's "Giant steps: A jazz musician's business education, in 'real time'" tells the story of Susan Muscarella and how she founded Jazzschool, a nonprofit music school dedicated to the study and performance of jazz, in Berkeley 12 years ago. If perhaps not jazz it's music of some kind to my ears when I read that despite being primed to dread grantwriting Muscarella noticed she loved it.  Why did she love it?  Because she could "share [her] passion for jazz with other people who were also passionate about it." This is exactly the message we try to convey at our proposal writing classes.  Muscarella has certainly had some success with her fundraising. Coming this fall Jazzschool will be offering a new, four-year bachelor of music degree program in jazz studies.

New Director of Education at the Stuart Foundation Announced

The Stuart Foundation announced today that Greg John will join the Foundation as Director of Education. Greg brings to the Foundation more than two decades of service in public education. Greg has most recently served as principal and instructional leader in two Bay Area schools, most recently as Principal for John Muir Elementary School in the Berkeley Unified School District. In this leadership position, Greg's worked to shape and sustain a team charged with designing, aligning, and implementing a focused effort to close the achievement gap and improve academic performance for every child. As Principal for Treasure Island School in the San Francisco Unified School District, he worked closely with the central office to transition the school as part of the district's Dream School Initative.

Greg's experience in public education also includes classroom teaching, coaching and program development for a county office of education, and leadership in school-based restructuring.  Greg began as a high school teacher in 1984, where he realized that strategic changes to the educational system could yield vastly improved results for children, educators, parents, and the community at large. In 1997, Greg brought his experience as a classroom teacher and a reform coordinator to the Bay Area School Reform Collaborative where he served as Director of the School to Career Initiative. He worked with numerous high schools, district offices, foundations, and county offices to implement innovative reform plans.

Greg earned a Masters Degree in English from San Francisco State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Music from University of California, Santa Barbara. He also serves as board president for a local conservation foundation.