Philanthropy Front and Center-Cleveland

This Week at the Foundation Center (June 1-5)

Classes:

Wednesday, June 3:

Finding Foundation Support for Your Education, 5:30-7:30 pm.
Join us for our one-hour class on obtaining financial aid for your studies immediately followed by a special presentation from panelists, Antoinne McKinney and Cortrell Kinney, who will give “scholarship research testimonies” from their perspective as successful scholarship-seekers!

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

Grants That Make a Difference: World Savvy

June is Funding for Education Month at the Foundation Center, and to celebrate we'll be offering a full slate of special events and programs designed to help grantseekers find education-related funding resources. In the following story, Dana Curran Mortenson at World Savvy describes how a grant and a collaborative relationship with the funder that made the grant have advanced the organization’s mission to educate students about global issues. (For stories about other grants that made a difference, click here and here.)

Grant Recipient
World Savvy
San Francisco, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and New York

World Savvy’s mission is to educate and engage youth in community and world affairs to prepare them to learn, work, and live as responsible citizens in the global community.

Grantmaker
Walter & Elise Haas Fund
San Francisco, California

About the Grant
Two-year, $80,000 grant to support Global Educators Program.

The grant provides comprehensive professional development for middle and high school teachers (grades 6-12) in the Bay Area, building educators' content knowledge, skills, and capacity to consistently integrate contemporary world affairs into their teaching in all subject areas. School partners of the program are provided access to the following services:

1. Professional Development, including one-on-one consulting; provision of relevant global issues curricula resources and materials for classroom use; one-day Global Education Institutes in August 2008 and 2009 and two on-site workshops annually.

2. Online Global Educators Network: A range of online services that provide timely and high-quality global education resources to teachers.

3. Community Connections: Partnerships with individuals, organizations, and associations in the local community and beyond.

Impact of the Grant
The program integrates relevant, current, age-appropriate global issues curricula into the classroom. By leveraging this work to reach more teachers and schools across California and the entire country, World Savvy seeks to promote systemic change in education so as to prepare youth for success and engagement in the global community in the 21st century. An example is World Savvy's Global Youth Media and Arts Festival at Zeum, which featured an exhibition of student’s original artwork on "immigration and identity," including that of students from Phillip & Sala Burton Academic High School (pictured). Through support from the grant by the Haas Fund, teachers from Burton High School received comprehensive professional development and resource support from World Savvy on integrating global issues in their teaching.

How did the funder and grantee work together effectively during the course of the grant project?

The program officer at the Walter & Elise Haas Fund shared knowledge and best practices observed from the field with World Savvy and took a genuine interest in learning about World Savvy's model and approach. The conversations did not revolve exclusively around grant guidelines or geographic areas of service and evaluation tools, but rather the larger issues that the mission and vision of World Savvy sought to remedy. Since the program officer has extensive knowledge and experience in education and reform efforts and is deeply committed to those efforts, the partnership was mutually beneficial in that it offered opportunities for World Savvy to share challenges openly and explore solutions with the Haas Fund during the course of the program's implementation.

What makes this particular grant a good example of the effective use of philanthropic funds?

So often in funder-grantee relationships, the candor in approaching the challenges of difficult work is compromised by a need to demonstrate that the grantee has met strictly defined reporting guidelines and/or to showcase only those aspects of the work that exceeded expectations. It is a missed opportunity for the grantee to learn from the breadth of knowledge of the funder and for the funder to understand the challenges in the field from the grantee’s perspective. The best relationships grow from deep faith in the work and a commitment to institutional learning for both funder and grantee. World Savvy is fortunate to have benefited from such a relationship in this work. Our program officer is in every way an advocate for us and for the work we do.

-----------

Do you have a story about a grant that made a difference? Submit your story, and we'll continue to feature them on a regular basis on PhilanTopic, at one or more of our regional Philanthropy Front and Center blogs, and at other areas of our Web site. We also encourage you to submit stories of grants that are addressing needs associated with the economic crisis.

Grant Recipient
World Savvy
San Francisco, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and New York

World Savvy’s mission is to educate and engage youth in community and world affairs to prepare them to learn, work, and live as responsible citizens in the global community.

Grantmaker
Walter & Elise Haas Fund
San Francisco, California

About the Grant
Two-year, $80,000 grant to support Global Educators Program.

The grant provides comprehensive professional development for middle and high school teachers (grades 6-12) in the Bay Area, building educators' content knowledge, skills, and capacity to consistently integrate contemporary world affairs into their teaching in all subject areas. School partners of the program are provided access to the following services:

1. Professional Development, including one-on-one consulting; provision of relevant global issues curricula resources and materials for classroom use; one-day Global Education Institutes in August 2008 and 2009 and two on-site workshops annually.

2. Online Global Educators Network: A range of online services that provide timely and high-quality global education resources to teachers.

3. Community Connections: Partnerships with individuals, organizations, and associations in the local community and beyond.

Impact of the Grant
The program integrates relevant, current, age-appropriate global issues curricula into the classroom. By leveraging this work to reach more teachers and schools across California and the entire country, World Savvy seeks to promote systemic change in education so as to prepare youth for success and engagement in the global community in the 21st century. An example is World Savvy's Global Youth Media and Arts Festival at Zeum, which featured an exhibition of student’s original artwork on "immigration and identity," including that of students from Phillip & Sala Burton Academic High School (pictured). Through support from the grant by the Haas Fund, teachers from Burton High School received comprehensive professional development and resource support from World Savvy on integrating global issues in their teaching.

How did the funder and grantee work together effectively during the course of the grant project?

The program officer at the Walter & Elise Haas Fund shared knowledge and best practices observed from the field with World Savvy and took a genuine interest in learning about World Savvy's model and approach. The conversations did not revolve exclusively around grant guidelines or geographic areas of service and evaluation tools, but rather the larger issues that the mission and vision of World Savvy sought to remedy. Since the program officer has extensive knowledge and experience in education and reform efforts and is deeply committed to those efforts, the partnership was mutually beneficial in that it offered opportunities for World Savvy to share challenges openly and explore solutions with the Haas Fund during the course of the program's implementation.

What makes this particular grant a good example of the effective use of philanthropic funds?

So often in funder-grantee relationships, the candor in approaching the challenges of difficult work is compromised by a need to demonstrate that the grantee has met strictly defined reporting guidelines and/or to showcase only those aspects of the work that exceeded expectations. It is a missed opportunity for the grantee to learn from the breadth of knowledge of the funder and for the funder to understand the challenges in the field from the grantee’s perspective. The best relationships grow from deep faith in the work and a commitment to institutional learning for both funder and grantee. World Savvy is fortunate to have benefited from such a relationship in this work. Our program officer is in every way an advocate for us and for the work we do.

-----------

Do you have a story about a grant that made a difference? Submit your story, and we'll continue to feature them on a regular basis on PhilanTopic, at one or more of our regional Philanthropy Front and Center blogs, and at other areas of our Web site. We also encourage you to submit stories of grants that are addressing needs associated with the economic crisis.

Community Foundation Giving Increased 6.7 Percent in 2008 Despite Economy

The Foundation Center's new study, Key Facts on Community Foundations, finds that between 2006 and 2007 the nation's community foundations grew in asset size by close to 14% and increased giving by over 20%. Moreover, between 2007 and 2008, community foundations increased giving by close to 7%, surpassing increases in giving by both independent and company-sponsored foundations.

Though strengthened by increases in their assets, community foundations will face funding challenges similar to other grantmakers. Steven Lawrence, senior director of research at the Foundation Center notes, "Community foundations may fare better than other types of grantmakers, given their large pool of donors and leading role in responding to those affected by the economic crisis. But most will have no choice but to pull back on giving in the near term."

Learn more about community foundations' giving patterns and funding priorities by downloading the report [pdf] at no charge from the Gain Knowledge area of the Foundation Center's web site.

From the Answer Desk: Where Can I Find Case Studies of Nonprofit Collaborations, Mergers, and Other Strategic Alliances?

A: Reviewing strategic alliance case studies is a good way to analyze the factors leading to the successful (or failed) coming together of two or more organizations. You may want to review our other post, "What do I need to know about collaboration and other kinds of strategic alliances?" for basic information about and definitions of various types of alliances into which nonprofits enter.

The following case studies are available online:

Nonprofit Strategic Alliances Case Studies: The Role of Trust [pdf]
Three types of strategic alliances are analyzed in this publication authored by John A. Yankey, Ph.D.; Carol K. Willen, Ph.D.; Barbara Wester Jacobus, M.N.O.; Amy McClellan, M.N.O., issued in 2005 by the Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio: 
1. Merger (AIDS Task Force of Greater Cleveland)
2. Consolidation (ideastream)
3. Joint venture (Otis Moss, Jr. - University Hospitals Medical Center)

Nonprofit Strategic Alliances Case Studies: Lessons from the Trenches [pdf]
Six case studies are presented in this publication authored by John A. Yankey, Ph.D.; Barbara Wester Jacobus, M.N.O.; and Amy McClellan, M.N.O., issued in 2001 by the Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio:
1. The Alliance for Nonprofit Management (merger)
2. Applewood Centers (merger)
3. Catholic Charities Services Corporation (merger)
4. HelpSource (merger)
5. Metropolitan Alliance of Community Centers (joint venture)
6. Ottawa County United Way (administrative and financial operations consolidation)

Additional resources from the Mandel Center are available here.

Coming to Terms: A Case Study of Collaboration Challenges [pdf]
This paper is from a session presented at the 35th annual Association of Research on Nonprofit and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) conference, November 15-16, 2006. Authors Julie Pietroburgo and Richard Bush, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, Illinois, examine a failed attempt at collaboration between two hospice organizations and analyze why.

Managing Stakeholders Through the Merger Process: The Case of Utah Symphony & Opera [pdf]
This paper is from a session presented at the 34th annual ARNOVA conference, November 17-19, 2005. Authors Nancy Winemiller Basinger, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, and Jessica Romine Peterson, Make a Wish Foundation of Utah, examine the merger of the Utah Symphony and the Utah Opera from the stakeholder perspective. Stakeholders are identified as "clients/patrons, volunteers, board of directors, funding sources, staff, management, etc."

Bridging the Organizational Divide: The Making of a Nonprofit Merger
Issued in November 2001 and commissioned by Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, Boston, Massachusetts, author John Emmeus Davis, Burlington Associates in Community Development, Burlington, Vermont, examines the merger of French Hill Neighborhood Housing Services and the Greater Nashua Housing and Development Foundation with an eye on answering the question, "What makes a good process?"

The following case studies are available at Foundation Center and other libraries:

"Getting to Yes...or No: Nonprofit Decision Making and Interorganizational Restructuring." Nonprofit Management & Leadership, vol. 19 (Winter 2008,) p. 221-41.
This exploratory study looks at the ways in which nonprofit organizations make restructuring decisions, such as whether to pursue a merger. The author presents data collected through four case studies, and makes recommendations for future research. 

"Small Organization Mergers in Arts and Humanities." Nonprofit Management & Leadership, vol. 15 (Fall 2004,) p. 95-115.
A case study of the merger of a county arts council with a humanities commission, outlining the steps of the process, and initial reactions and outcomes. With bibliographical references.

"The Urge to Merge: A Multiple-case Study." Nonprofit Management & Leadership, vol. 13 (Winter 2002,) p. 169-86.
A comparative study of three mergers of nonprofits serving an urban community in Michigan. One involved the combination of five former nonprofits in the mental health and social service field; the second merged two hospitals; the third combined three mental health agencies.

Do you have questions? Ask Us!

This Week at the Foundation Center (May 25-29)

Classes:

Thursday, May 28:
Introduction to Fundraising Planning, 10:00 - 11:30 Learn how to analyze your organization’s situation and develop a fundraising plan that includes a variety of revenue sources.

Brown Bag Lunch: Building Relationships with Individual Donors, 12:30 - 1:30 pm. Bring your lunch and hear Jim Hickey, CFRE, and Senior Gift Planning Director/Northeast Ohio for the Ohio Presbyterian Retirement Services Foundation, share essential information about building relationship with individual donors in this turbulent economy. (This program is part of our ongoing Tackling Tough Times series).

Friday, May 29:
Coffee and Conversation with a Grantmaker: Cleveland Colectivo at the Idea Center at Playhouse Square, Cleveland, OH, 10:00 - 11:00 am. Come and start a conversation with a panel of giving circle members from Cleveland Colectivo.

Your Board and Fundraising at the Foundation Center's Cooperating Collection at the Lima Public Library, Lima, Ohio, 10:00 - 11:00 am.  Learn to to think systematically through the process of getting your board involved with fundraising.

Library Hours:
Monday: Closed for Memorial Day
Tuesday: 9:30 am - 4:30 pm
Wednesday: 12:00 - 4:30 pm
Thursday: 9:30 am - 4:30 pm
Friday: 12:00 - 4:30 pm

Read the Latest Studies on Family and Corporate Foundations

Two recently released reports provide useful perspectives for nonprofit grantseekers on company-sponsored and family foundations in the U.S.

Key Facts on Corporate Foundations presents data on, among many other topic areas, estimated giving, allocation of funding by subject area, and forecasts about future funding by the nation's 2,500 corporate foundations. Steven Lawrence, senior director of research at the Foundation Center, states in this report: "Corporate foundations will not be alone in having to reduce giving this year, but the cuts may well be deeper than for other types of grantmakers." Learn what else is happening with corporate foundations.
Download the full report>> [pdf]

Published jointly by the Foundation Center and the Council on Foundations, Perpetuity or Limited Lifespan: How Do Family Foundations Decide? presents results from the first national survey of family foundations on the topic of lifespan planning. Learn what family foundations are considering when they make these long-term decisions and see what factors and characteristics influence whether a foundation plans to exist in perpetuity or limit its lifespan.
Download the full report>> [pdf]

Watch This! Tina Dzik and Stephanie Zinniker Discuss Financial Internal Controls

Tina Dzik and Stephanie Zinnicker, accountants at Cohen & Company Certified Public Accountants, discuss internal controls, safeguards for protecting the assets of your organization from misuse or error, and ensuring accurate record keeping. Internal controls are an essential ingredient in building a strong financial infrastructure, something all funders look for. Watch!

Listen! Nicole Hanrahan Discusses Earned Income, Community Wealth, and Social Enterprise

Nicole Hanrahan, director, Community Wealth Ventures, discusses strategies nonprofits can use to generate their own revenue based on her experience as a consultant to an array of organizations pursuing business ventures in areas of economic development, education, and other major fields. In this interview conducted by Pat Pasqual, director of the Foundation Center-Washington, DC, Ms. Hanrahan shares advice, tips, and pitfalls to avoid when beginning a nonprofit social enterprise aimed at earned income. Listen!

This Week at the Foundation Center - Cleveland ( May 18 - May 22)

Classes:

Tuesday, May 19:
Proposal Writing Basics, Learn about the basics of writing a proposal for your nonprofit organization, 10:00 am - 11:30 am.

Wednesday, May 20:
NEW! Nonprofits and Social Media: A Live Q&A Session with George Nemeth
hat live with George right here and get answers to any and all of your social media questions about blogging, Twitter, podcasting, Facebook, you name it. Currently, Nemeth is working at Optiem in the Digital Content and Media Department as a social media marketing specialist with an emphasis on organic search. 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm.  

Thursday, May 21:
Prospect Research Basics This free, hands-on session will show you how to use Internet resources to help find information on prospective individual donors, 10:00 am - 11:00 am.

Grantseeking Basics with a Special Introduction to the Foundation Center web site, Learn how the Center's resources can help you become a more effective grantseeker, 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm. 

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

The Answer Desk Is Open. Ask Us!

Do you have questions about fundraising, nonprofit management, and related topics? We have answers and provide them fast. Our Ask Us service is available 24/7.

You can connect with a Foundation Center librarian and ask your question live, in real-time, Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays from 9:30am to 8:00pm Eastern Time and Thursdays and Fridays from 9:30am to 4:30pm Eastern Time. Other times, you can ask by e-mail.

We've answered more than 90,000 questions since our start in 1998 and our fans regularly tell us what they think. So, if you have a question, join the growing number of satisfied customers who regularly Ask Us!

(This post is from Katie Artzner, the Foundation Center's online librarian.)