Washington state foundations suggest changing nonprofit funding methods

A study commissioned by seven of Washington State's leading foundations recommends that grant makers support charities' administrative and operating needs rather than just financing specific programs. Such an approach would help nonprofit organizations better weather tough economic times and strengthen the field over the long term, according to the report

Full text article by Clay Holtzman is available via Puget Sound Business Journal, 2/26/10.

Social Innovation Fund Issues Call for Grant Proposals

The Corporation for National and Community Service issued its final notice today on how it plans to spend the Social Innovation Fund, paving the way for organizations to prepare their grant applications. The notice includes several changes to an outline that the agency issued last month on how it would award the $50-million in grants designed to help nonprofit groups expand promising approaches to social problems. Notably, the agency cut the minimum grant award from $5-million to $1-million—responding to concerns that it would be difficult for some applicants to produce the required matching funds for the higher amount.
Full text article by Suzanne Perry is available via The Chronicle of Philanthropy, 2/16/10.

Gates Foundation Makes Changes to Improve Its Operations

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is taking several management steps designed to improve its ability to help impoverished people in developing countries and its other beneficiaries. It is now trying to clarify its strategies and decision making both for its employees and grant recipients, Jeff Raikes, the organization’s chief executive, said in an interview at the foundation’s Washington office.

Full text article by Ian Wilhelm is available via The Chronicle of Philanthropy, 2/10/10.

After 10 Years, Federal Money for Technology in Education

A national trust to funnel federal funds into programs to help schools, libraries, and museums tap into emerging digital technologies will be introduced Monday after nearly a decade in the making. The National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies grew out of a 2001 recommendation by Lawrence K. Grossman, a former network-news executive, and Newton N. Minow, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. It could begin distributing grants by fall.

Full text article by Elizabeth Jensen is available via The New York Times, 1/24/10.

With less money to dole out, foundations become more targeted in their giving

With less money to spend amid the economic downturn, many philanthropic foundations are shifting to a more strategic giving strategy, focusing on fewer goals with larger grants. More than three-quarters of respondents to a Foundation Center survey said they expect philanthropy to become more strategic as overall giving declines, with grant makers outlining a set of clear goals and supporting mainly larger organizations with administrations capable of tracking and reporting results.

Full text article by Monica Ginsburg is available via Crain's Chicago Business, 1/25/10.

Cargill charitable giving tops $58 million in FY2009

Minneapolis-based Cargill has announced grants of more than $58 million to organizations around the world working to promote nutrition, health, education, and environmental stewardship. In response to the global financial crisis, the company donated $5.5 million for emergency hunger relief in ten countries through organizations such as Feeding America, the Salvation Army, and the Global Foodbanking Network. In addition, the company, as part of a five-year, $10 million commitment, awarded $2 million to the humanitarian organization CARE, which works to alleviate poverty in the developing world. And to help foster science, technology, engineering and math learning in Minneapolis schools, the company invested more than $3 million in two programs. "We recognize our continued success depends on the growth and health of our communities and partners," said Cargill chairman and CEO Greg Page. "We are committed to investing in communities where we live and work to promote vibrant, stable communities and growth that improves living standards."

Full text press release available via Cargill, Inc., 10/28/09.

Lumina Foundation for Education Awards $4.5 Million to Minority-Serving Institutions

The Indianapolis-based Lumina Foundation for Education has announced nine grants totaling $4.5 million to foster models of success among minority-serving institutions (MSIs). Grants were awarded to organizations working to improve the capacity of MSIs to collect, analyze, and use data to inform decisions that promote student success; create a collective voice for policy advocacy on behalf of MSIs; strengthen policy and practice to improve developmental education; increase MSIs' commitment to transparency and effectiveness in improving student learning outcomes; and increase postsecondary completion rates for traditionally underserved students, especially men of color.

Full-text post is available via Philanthropy News Digest, 11/3/09.

World’s poorest farmers now offered insurance

The U.S. branch of the global development charity Oxfam is offering drought insurance to farmers in Africa to support agriculture and lessen the impact of climate-triggered famines. The program, supported by the Rockefeller Institute and the insurance giant Swiss Re, has thus far made coverage available to about 200 Ethiopian households, 38 percent of them headed by women. With a new $565,000 Rockefeller grant, the effort is set to expand from one village to five.
Full-text post by James F. Smith is available via The Boston Globe, 10/13/09.

Foundation Center Partners With Grantmakers for Effective Organizations to Offer Members New Philanthropy In/Sight(tm) Mapping Tool

"Philanthropy In/Sight" is a next-generation mapping application that uses Google maps to plot the location of foundations and their grantees. Behind these maps is the Foundation Center's database of some 96,000 grantmaking institutions and more than 1.6 million grants distributed around the world. Users can drill down to view individual grants and cross-link between the funder, recipient, and grant profiles. Maps can be customized to view aggregate giving trends from the broadest country or state levels to more narrow congressional district or zip code areas.

Full-text press release is available via Ascribe, 5.18.09.

Foundation of The Times Suspends Gift Program

The New York Times Company Foundation announced it was suspending its grant-making and matching gift program two days after the company reported a $74.5 million loss in the first quarter of 2009.

Full-text article by Stephanie Strom published via The New York Times, 4.23.09.

Senators Propose Measure to Encourage Foundations to Give More

A new bill pending in the Senate is designed to simplify the tax code for private foundations and encourage them to give more grants to charity. The bill, S 676, would change the way foundations pay excise tax on their net investment income.

Full-text article by Ian Wilhelm and Grant Williams is available via The Chronicle of Philanthropy, 3.25.09.

UBS Preps Philanthropic Foundation Program

UBS is rolling out a private foundation services program, in partnership with Foundation Source, to provide a more simple way for clients to manage their private foundations.

The program, set to launch the week of April 11, tracks grants and gives access to the performance of charities that clients support.

Full-text article is available via Asset Management, 3.19.09. [Subscription required.]

Bank of America linking donors, nonprofits

Bank of America is launching a new section on its website that will let nonprofits search for grant opportunities among some of the foundations whose charitable assets the bank manages.

With 150 professionals, the bank's Philanthropic Management unit manages $35 billion in charitable assets, serving as sole trustee or co-trustee for 2,000 private foundations, and advising over 10,000 individual and institutional clients.

Full-text article via Philanthropy Journal, 5.1.08.