Philanthropy Front and Center-Cleveland

Cuyahoga Arts and Culture Names New Executive Director

The board of trustees of Cuyahoga Arts and Culture (CAC) announced (November 10, 2009) the appointment of Karen Gahl-Mills to the position of executive director. CAC is the public funding mechanism that supports arts and cultural organizations in Cuyahoga County. Trustees, in a unanimous vote taken at their regular, public meeting, appointed Ms. Gahl-Mills, currently the president and executive director of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, to a four-year term as CAC executive director. Ms. Gahl-Mills takes the reins of CAC at a critical time for an organization that, in fewer than three years, has become one of the nation’s top five sources of local public funding for arts and culture. To date, 145 Cuyahoga County organizations have been awarded CAC grants (General Operating Support, Project Support, and Special Initiative grants) worth a combined total of more than $33.5 million.

New Edition! The 21st Century Nonprofit

This November, the Foundation Center is offering free shipping on our new edition of The 21st Century Nonprofit when you order online.

The second edition of this popular title explores the increasing emphasis on nonprofit governance, including accountability, transparency, and responsibility.

Revised chapters contain updated information on strategic and operational issues, such as long-term planning, marketing, and earned income. The new edition also provides a special discussion of the strategic issues facing nonprofits during times of recession and severe economic downturn.

Visit the Marketplace section of our web site for more information on this essential title or to view the table of contents for the publication. The 21st Century Nonprofit is available for just $39.95 with free shipping online this month. Order your copy today! >>

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Launches Collaborative Effort to Improve College Graduation Rates

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced (November 5, 2009) $4 million in grants to the National League of Cities' Institute for Youth, Education and Families, and seven cities to boost college graduation rates by better coordinating the services that colleges, schools and communities provide to students.

The grants will help cities and colleges in New York, Florida, Arizona, Ohio, and California dramatically increase the number of young people who earn a degree beyond high school. These grants recognize that successfully reaching that goal will require education, business, and civic leaders working together to coordinate and streamline the guidance and services young people need to get into, and through, college.

Enrollment at the nation's 1,200 community colleges is at an all-time high, yet two-thirds of those attending will not graduate within three years. Often it's not a question of effort. Rather, these students face multiple challenges: Many are not academically ready for college-level work; they juggle school and family responsibilities; and many must work full time while attending classes. Because the help that students need to overcome these obstacles comes from a range of agencies, it is critical to better understand how to coordinate assistance.

The grants just announced will support nine-month collaborative planning efforts in each seven cities. The foundation is considering investing additional money in 2010 to support the implementation and expansion of the most promising ideas that result from this planning.

One of seven community colleges and city agencies that will receive the grants, Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio was awarded $250,000 to strengthen partnerships, services, education, training, and data systems to help low-income youth (ages 16-26) earn postsecondary credentials. Led by Sinclair Community College in collaboration with the City of Dayton, Montgomery County, and Dayton Public Schools, the planning process will build upon the existing, strong cross-sectional collaboration and past successes with disaffected youth. Dayton's project is unique among the other participating cities in its involvement of the Montgomery County Administrator. A large contingent of local school districts, community-based organizations, industry representatives, local foundations, and four-year universities will support the project.

This Week at the Foundation Center-Cleveland (November 9-13)

Monday, November 9:
Proposal Writing Basics and Proposal Budgeting Basics at Ashtabula County Medical Center Hospital Education Center in Ashtabula, Ohio, 10:00am-12:30pm.

Tuesday, November 10:
Introduction to Fundraising Planning, 1:00-2:30pm.
Your Board and Fundraising, 2:45-3:45pm.

Wednesday, November 11:
Before You Seek a Grant: A Checklist for New Nonprofits, 6:00-7:30pm.
Features a special presentation by Matthew Rossman of the Milton A. Kramer Law Clinic Center.

Thursday, November 12:
Positioning Your Organization to Survive and Thrive at Lakeland Community College in Kirtland, Ohio, 8:30-11:00am.

Library Hours:
Monday, 12:00-4:30pm
Tuesday, 9:30am-4:30pm
Wednesday, 12:00-8:00pm  Evening Hours!
Thursday, 9:30am-4:30pm
Friday, 12:00-4:30pm

Decline in 2009 Foundation Giving Steeper Than Anticipated, According to New Foundation Center Survey

The Foundation Center announced (November 4, 2009) that giving will likely decline by more than 10 percent in 2009, closer to the higher end of the 8 to 13 percent range estimated earlier this year. According to September 2009 survey findings released today in Foundations' Year-end Outlook for Giving and the Sector [PDF], foundation giving will also decline further in 2010, as previously predicted by the Center.  

Despite reduced resources, more than three-quarters of the close to 600 respondents to the new survey expect that the field of philanthropy will become more strategic as a result of having weathered the crisis. The focus of long-term changes range from governance to grantee relations to investments.

"Foundations will be giving less than they expected at the beginning of the year," said Bradford K. Smith, president of the Foundation Center. "But many are rethinking their grantmaking so that fewer dollars will not necessarily mean less impact."

Most grantmakers believe that the economic crisis will actually strengthen the nonprofit sector. Some recommend that nonprofits pursue more creative fundraising strategies and less traditional sources of support, such as revenue-generating activities; develop concrete sustainability plans; and collaborate more. However, some funders expressed concern that nonprofits were not using the recession as an opportunity to review and rethink their activities.

"Our survey found that many foundations have made difficult strategic choices as a result of the economic crisis, including reducing staff," said Steven Lawrence, senior director of research at the Foundation Center and author of the advisory. "They expect that their grantees will be similarly committed to restructuring their operations to reflect the new reality."

The report can be downloaded [PDF] at no charge from the Gain Knowledge area of the Center's web site.

This Foundation Center research advisory is the latest in a series that explores the impact of the economic downturn on the nonprofit sector. The advisories and the online chart "In Their Own Words: 2009 Foundation Giving Forecast" are available at the Center's Focus on the Economic Crisis web page, which offers a variety of resources to help nonprofits and foundations deal with the challenging economy. Also available there is the Center's interactive map that displays the most recent data available on U.S. foundation support for the crisis, totaling more than $427 million to date.

About the Survey

In September 2009, the Foundation Center launched a special online update of its annual Foundation Giving Forecast Survey and made it available to approximately 5,000 large and mid-size U.S. independent, corporate, and community foundations. The survey included questions on the outlook for foundation giving in 2009 and 2010, changes in their strategies and operations as a result of the economic downturn, and the impact of the crisis on the foundation and nonprofit communities. A total of 593 foundations provided useable responses as of early October 2009. The Center's next Foundation Giving Forecast Survey will be conducted in January 2010, with results released in the March 2010 edition of Foundation Growth and Giving Estimates.

This study was made possible in part by support from The Wallace Foundation. The Foundation Center's Research Institute is funded in part by The Wallace Foundation, which supports and shares effective ideas and practices to help institutions expand learning and enrichment opportunities. To learn more, visit the Knowledge Center at www.wallacefoundation.org.