Philanthropy Front and Center-Cleveland

Listen! Brad Whitehead Discusses Philanthropy's Role in Economic Competitiveness

Brad Whitehead discusses economic development grantmaking and shares information about Cleveland's Fund For Our Economic Future, where Mr. Whitehead serves as president. A philanthropic collaboration of more than 70 foundations and agencies, the Fund has taken on activities aimed at increasing economic competitiveness across a 16-county area. Mr. Whitehead provides insights from the Northeast Ohio experience that may be useful to other philanthropic communities that may be grappling with how to leverage finite resources in response to significantly altered economic landscapes. Listen>>

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Steep Decreases in Assets Will Impact Grants by Ohio Funders in 2009

I just received this news release from Ohio Grantmakers Forum, reprinted here in its entirety:

Contact:
George E. Espy, president, Ohio Grantmakers Forum
Phone: 614.224.1344
Date: February 19, 2009

COLUMBUS: After witnessing steep declines in their assets, some Ohio funders expect to hold steady or increase their grants although the majority will decrease the amount of grant dollars they give in 2009. These are among the key findings from a survey of foundations and corporate grantmakers Ohio Grantmakers Forum conducted in January and released in its annual grantmaking outlook report.

With 90 percent of survey respondents reporting their assets dropped in the last 12 months, 60 percent expect to decrease the amount of dollars they give to nonprofits. About one-quarter expect to hold their grant dollars at 2008 levels and just over 10 percent expect to increase the amount they grant. Over 80 percent of respondents expect to review more requests for funding in 2009, particularly from agencies focusing on human services.

"This year's report shows that, although grantmakers have experienced declines in their asset base, their commitment to support local non profits remains high. Grantmakers are tightening their own belts and are working hard to be as helpful as they can be," says OGF President George E. Espy.

OGF's report details the belt-tightening, as about half of those surveyed anticipated making cuts to travel, professional development, print communications and event costs this year. A smaller percentage of funders said they expect to cut staff, salaries or benefits.

Grantmakers are employing other strategies to help their grantees face the consequences of the economic downturn, using staff and trustee expertise to help build capacity of local agencies. Over 42 percent will provide one-on-one consulting or work on leadership development with nonprofits, 38 percent will facilitate mergers, 36 percent will conduct programs on capacity building and 33 percent expect to help with strategic planning. Additionally, 46 percent will increase funding for general operating support and 29 percent plan to streamline application and reporting processes.

The 92 survey respondents reflect the diversity of Ohio's grantmaking community, from small private foundations to large community foundations as well as corporate giving programs, and from all regions of the state. Together, respondents held 40 percent of the state's charitable assets and awarded 36 percent of the state's grants. The full report, complete with charts and more analysis, is available on the OGF website.

Ohio Grantmakers Forum is an association of foundations, corporate contributions programs and other grantmaking organizations. Its mission is to provide leadership for organized philanthropy in Ohio and to enhance the ability of members to fulfill their charitable goals. Together, its more than 200 members provide over $600 million in grants to nonprofit organizations that work to improve the lives of community residents.

Ohio Nonprofit Excellence Award

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2009 Ohio Nonprofit Excellence Award. The Ohio Nonprofit Excellence Award recognizes the creativity, execution, achievement, and overall excellence of a specific project or program completed by an Ohio nonprofit in 2008.

There are 6 awards available, 2 for each Ohio region (Northern, Central, Southern). Winners will be announced at a luncheon and will receive an award and stipend to help further their program or service. Download and complete an application [PDF].  Last year's winners were:

• Sylvania Area Family Services, Inc., Sylvania/Program: Sylvania Youth Diversion Program
• Providence House, Inc., Cleveland/Program: Parent Education Program
• MAP Furniture Bank, Columbus/Program: Tables for Thanksgiving
• FIRSTLINK, Columbus/Program: FOODLINK, Online Food Pantry Referral System
• Crayons to Computers, Cincinnati/Program: Crafts with Conviction
• Cincinnati Youth Collaborative, Cincinnati/Program: Luxottica Retail Workplace Mentoring Program

Are you a past award winner? Tell us what it meant to you!

Live from How Funders are Responding to the Economic Crisis

Ohio Grantmakers Forum is convening a moderated panel discussion about the Cleveland funding climate in the current economy. Here's what I am hearing:

Mchael Benz, president and CEO, United Way of Greater Cleveland: We are still in the middle of our campaign. I believe we will be down. Even with the continuing generosity of our donors, there's no way to buck what's going on in the economy.

Barry Doggett, vice president for public and community affairs, Eaton Corporation: Our fourth quarter profits over last year were down 38%. Business continues to deteriorate globally due to soft markets. Eaton's giving is based on a percentage of pre-tax income. I am trying to convince management to hold the line on our level of giving, but it's likely that we'll come in lower. Most of my corporate colleagues are looking at lower numbers for 2009.

Robert Eckardt, senior vice president for programs and evaluation, The Cleveland Foundation: All funds managed by The Cleveland Foundation have been impacted. Overall, our portfolio is down 25%, to $1.7 billion. Becasue of the way we budget for grantmaking, using rolling averages, the impact this year will not be as signifiicant as it will be in the future. This year will be flat. Next year will be down as we average in "bad" quarters.

Joseph Gaunter, director, Cuyahoga County Department of Employment and Family Services: More than $200 million goes out into the community from County funds. The County has obligations (like food stamps) and elective initiatives (like early childhood). We are forced right now to figure out the balance between the two with existing and projected resources. We saw a net increase of 1,000 people each month, September - December, needing public benefits. We are hopeful that the stimulus package will help. We have begun cost-saving by cutting administrative costs.

Robert Jaquay, associate director, The George Gund Foundation: We've taken a double digit hit to our portfolio, close to 30%. We are budgeting a minimum 6% payout this year and intend to be more open-minded around operating support. We are looking to our grantees to create efficiencies where they can through collaboration and other efforts.

--Cindy Bailie

 

News Roundup: Ohio's Infrastructure Czar, Community Foundation Report to Obama, Dayton Foundations, More

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland announced the appointment of Ronald B. Richard, president and CEO of the Cleveland Foundation, to the position of infrastructure czar for the State of Ohio. Richard will head a process, in consultation with the state legislature, the federal government, local communities and other partners, to determine the most efficient and effective distribution of the infrastructure component of the federal stimulus funds.

A report (PDF) prepared for the Obama transition team by the Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh foundations, says that Pennsylvania and Ohio will need an additional $3.3 billion in funding over the next two years to safeguard their social services safety net, a new report from five area community foundations finds.

Dayton Daily News reported (12/28/08) that giving by the Dayton Foundation and the Dayton Power and Light Foundation are holding steady. Dayton Foundation President Michael Parks said grants continue to be awarded to local charities and the foundation continues to receive donations, commenting, "Is it slower? Yes. Is it grinding to a halt? Absolutely not." The Dayton Foundation added 257 funds to its portfolio in the last fiscal year. Its assets fell from $325 million in June of 2008 to $292 million by September. Dayton Power and Light Foundation executive director Ginny Strausburg said the number of grant requests has jumped one-third over the last 18 months. "As the economy tightens up more and more, they need help. People just aren't able to give as much as in the past. They're trying to find new sources of funding." 

Ironton Tribune reported that Jennifer Simon of Athens, Ohio, has been elected to serve as the next Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio, a community foundation that works to improve lives in the Appalachian Ohio region through grants, scholarships, leadership and other types of support.

The Dominion Foundation announced awards totaling $1.1 million to foodbanks in 14 states, including $250,000 in Ohio.

Live from 'Transforming Philanthropy' - Ohio Grantmakers Forum's Annual Conference

The following 'sound bites' were heard at the opening session at Ohio Grantmakers Forum's annual conference (in Cleveland),Transforming Philanthropy, presented by Michael Lerner, president/founder of Commonweal and president of the Jenifer Altman Foundation and Barbara Smith Fund.

"I want to tell you how Ohio can change the world. It is a microcosm of the entire United States. Social innovation tends to start in the west and roll eastward. Financial innovation starts in the east and rolls westward. We are at a point in history when innovation can start right here. What would happen if all Ohio philanthropies got together and decided to focus on finding solutions to our dependence on fossil fuels, investing in clean energy and educating people to commercialize what happens at that intersection and to work in those emerging industries? Figuring this out could provide jobs for Ohioans, the nation, and the world. And the industrial and technological infrastructure already exists here to make it happen." 

"Philanthropy as a practice is at a crossroads and will be re-invented. Working with one voice can effect policy to advance a shared agenda."

"The only way for solutions to emerge is through dialogue. The truth belongs to no one and it also belongs to everyone.  Philanthropy's power to convene (a dialogue) is magnified a thousand times at a very teachable moment in history, especially as it pertains to the green economy."

***

From the economic forecast session presented by Knight Kiplinger, editor in chief, The Kiplinger Letter, Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine and Kiplinger.com. He's also a trustee of the Kiplinger Foundation and a well-respected economic journalist and business forecaster:

"This is a humbling time for financial experts and also for economic forecasters, I might add."

"My first look-see into Cleveland was in the 1970s. I can tell you that even in this economic climate, Cleveland is a much happier place today than it was in the 70s."

"This is indeed a financial crisis, a panic, even though some assets should not be tarred with the same brush as other assets. Some sectors are booming and have been offsetting, to some degree, the problems in other sectors. Strong sectors include agriculture, technology, IT, telecommunications, health care, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, aerospace and civil aviation, defense, and heavy machinery that we sell over the world. The U.S. steel industry is going strong as are business services like accounting and law, along with the domestic sector of the energy industry."

"There are 4 major players in the U.S. economy: consumers, businesses, governments, and overseas customers.  All will be pulling back. Consumers are mired in debt. Businesses are doing ok, but are pulling back in an overly cautious mode; government spending is being cut drastically as mandates to balance budgets take effect, although the federal government will continue to spend like a drunken sailor, paying down the deficit not being as high a priority right now as spending money to get the financial systems back on track."

"More relevant than the Great Depression, for sake of comparison, are the recessions in the 1970s and early 80s when we saw 15 percent inflation and 20 percent interest rates, 10-fold increases in the costs of petroleum, and jobless rates of 9-10%. I don't predict that the jobless rate will get that high. We will have several quarters of negative GDP this year and in '09. Things will start to look up in 2010."

"Not since does not mean as bad as. During the Great Depression we had a 29% unemployment rate and GDP fell by 50% between 1929-1933. Savers and depositors were wiped out. We've had none of that this time."

"What will moderate the recession? Massive government intervention, which has already begun. Lower gas prices will help and we're already seeing a pick up in housing sales, signaling a return to reasonably priced housing, a good thing for us, our children, and grandchildren who still value the American dream of home ownership."

"I think we will see a wave of consolidations and mergers in the nonprofit sector. Foundations have valuable resources to offer in this scenario."

"I think we will see a revisiting of asset allocation policies among foundations and other large endowments, like those in higher education."

"Remember, we are in the process of returning to normal lending standards and that's a good thing. But right now, cash is king. Those with cash, like investors and businesses, will drive some tremendous bargains in the coming months and years in real estate, stocks, and elsewhere."

News Round Up: Marion Community Foundation, The Civic Life, and Dominion Foundation

Quite a bit of news crosses the "desks" at the Foundation Center-Cleveland and on occasion we like to share some of that news with you.

Bradley C. Bebout, president and CEO of the Marion Community Foundation (OH) offered a great big thanks in the Marion Star (9/25/08) to the generous residents of  Marion, Ohio for 10 years of community philanthropy.  He writes, "thank you for your philanthropic spirit; thank you for your generosity; and thank you on behalf of the many students, charities and worthy organizations that we are able to help because of you and your gifts. Thank you, Marion!" (Read a related article here.)

This post by "John" at the Nord Family Foundation in the blog The Civic Life ponders the role of philanthropy in education in the context of his personal experience hosting a teacher book club that discussed the book Victory in Our Schools: We Can Give Our Children Excellent Public Education written by John Stanford (1999) who served as superintendent of the Seattle Public Schools.  Stanford wrote, "schools were accustomed to operating as if they were part of a command economy like the one in the former Soviet Union. Money and students were alloted by the central administration; the survival of individual schools was guaranteed regardless of customer satisfaction and customers had to accept the product whether they liked it or not.”  Lamenting that little movement has taken place away from the "command economy" described by Stanford towards a culture of innovation in the classroom, John writes "in philanthropy, I think we have a growing number of people who see the writing on the wall and realize we must look for pockets of innovation in education and help bring them to scale."  What do you think?

The Dominion Foundation announced (9/22/08) nearly $320,000 in educational grants to schools in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. Grants to Ohio recipients include a $9,600 award to Crestwood High School in Mantua, where students will study the Cuyahoga River and its watershed to reinforce math and science lessons, and a $2,500 award to Cleveland Municipal School District's Waverly to provide 75 first graders with a chance to spend six weeks on outdoor field trips to learn about their neighborhood surroundings. View all of Dominion Foundation's Educational Partnership grants here. 

'Nonprofit Times' Top 50 List Includes Greater Cincinnati CEO

The NonProfit Times released its eleventh annual Power and Influence Top 50 list. As PhilanTopic reported last week, the big news in the current year is the number of first-timers on the list, perhaps signaling the beginning of the first wave of leadership transitions from the old guard to the new.

One Ohioan made the list, and for the first time. Here is her profile along with our hearty congratulations!

Kathryn E. Merchant, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Greater Cincinnati Foundation, Cincinnati, Ohio. 

"[Ms. Merchant's] leadership is moving beyond building assets for the greater Cincinnati area to building a national network for community foundation services. She might be the only executive to navigate the choppy waters between the Council on Foundations, GivingNet, and the state’s regional association."

News Round Up: Burton D. Morgan Foundation, Nationwide Foundation, Akron Community Foundation

News about foundations and the organizations they fund crosses the desks at the Foundation Center on a regular basis. Here's another installment in a series of posts featuring a summary of the latest information and news.

Crain's Cleveland Business reports that the Burton D. Morgan Foundation awarded $1.2 million in grants in June, nearly half aimed at youth entrepreneurship education. The largest grant ($250,000) was awarded to BioEnterprise, a nonprofit that identifies, evaluates and accelerates the most promising bioscience ventures in Northeast Ohio. Other grants included $50,000 to the Cuyahoga Valley Countryside Conservancy to support planning for a demonstration and training center to help farm entrepreneurs; $30,000 to the Boys and Girls Club of Cleveland to support Money Matters: Make it Count, a financial literacy program; and $75,000 to Westside Industrial Retention and Expansion Network (WIRE-net) to support the Great Lakes Wind Network, which is working to develop a wind-industry supply chain for Ohio.

***

The Ohio State University announced having received grants totaling $1.465 million from Nationwide Foundation to provide support to Columbus City Schools from the College of Education and Human Ecology and to support key University diversity programs. Support for the Columbus City Schools includes the development of the Knowledge Bank, a database of proven tools and techniques for use by teachers and administrators in addition to support for evaluating the effectiveness of Project Mentor, a program that is a partnership between Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio and the Columbus City Schools, which matches adult mentors with students. Diversity initiatives supported include the Critical Difference for Women Scholarship Fund, the Office of Minority Affairs President and Provost's Diversity Lecture and Cultural Arts Series, and the Multicultural Center's Nationwide Diversity Leadership Transcript Program.

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Akron Community Foundation announced that it is accepting requests for funding programs that will reduce the local stray cat population. The Animal Welfare Fund of Akron Community Foundation was established in 2007 through an anonymous gift to reduce the overpopulation and suffering of Summit County’s untamed stray or feral cats. In August, it will award grants totaling $10,000 to $15,000 to one or more nonprofits working toward this mission.

Funding for Environment and Animals--All Recipients vs. Ohio

June is Funding for the Environment Month at the Foundation Center. We are pleased to present the second in a series of snapshots into the state of funding for environment and animals in Ohio. The following table provides a look at giving for environment and animals by larger foundations to all U.S. recipients vs. Ohio.

About the data: Each year the Foundation Center indexes all of the grants of $10,000 and more awarded by some 1,200 of the nation’s largest private and community foundations. Our most recent (2006) sample includes 140,484 grants awarded by 1,263 larger U.S. foundations totaling $19.1 billion.