the donors forum blog

"community of practice" to focus on solving the nonprofit overhead challenge

Donors Forum’s second "Community of Practice" focused on Solving the Nonprofit Overhead Challenge launched on January 25, 2012 with leaders from 26 grantmaking and nonprofit organizations participating. The group discovered that in total they had worked in the sector for over 576 years! Combined they bring a significant amount of on-the-ground experience working in nonprofit and funder organizations, and dealing with the challenges around the issue of nonprofit overhead – which will serve to inform this important conversation this year.

Helping to frame the launch of the Community of Practice were two national experts on the topic:

Ann Goggins Gregory (left) from Bridgespan and Kathleen Enright (right) from Grantmakers for Effective Organizations. Ann and Kathleen shared the research on overhead in the sector and talked about “the nonprofit starvation cycle” that nonprofits often find themselves in as they respond to funders’ demands and pressures to conform. The group also discussed the “burning platform” that exists and motivates them to make change here in Illinois on this important issue.

We're excited to welcome the Overhead Community of Practice group and to see the dialogue and change that develops from their community this year. 

Find more on the other Community of Practice Donors Forum is sponsoring – its title is Streamlining Grantmaking – here.

 

~Robin Berkson, Senior Vice President, Member Relations 

and Laura Zumdahl, Vice President, Nonprofit Services

 

The Brinson Foundation  and the Eleanor Petersen Fund for Donor-Donee Relationships provided partial funding for the Communities of Practice.

     

Image 1: Solving the Nonprofit Overhead Challenge inaugural meeting, January 25, 2012

Image 2:   Ann Goggins Gregory (left) and Kathleen Enright (right) presented at the meeting.

illinois grantmakers + nonprofits come together for a unique "community of practice" on streamlining grantmaking at donors forum

Donors Forum’s new "Community of Practice" on Streamlining the Grant Process kicked off January 18 with an enthusiastic group of 30 leaders from Member and Forum Partner organizations, and Associate Members from the Chicagoland area. Participants began a journey focused on finding mutual understanding and fostering working together as grantors and grantees to find solutions to streamlining the grant process in the sector.

The Community will meet multiple times throughout 2012 to learn from one another. The session on January 18 was spent getting to know the Community members and hearing from national streamlining expert Jessica Bearman about the work that has already been done by Project Streamline and others in the sector up until this point. Jessica spoke about the importance of streamlining for both grantors and grantees and where opportunities exist for change. She encouraged participants to spend 2012 “putting on their streamlining hats” as they tackle this challenging problem.

 A huge welcome to the Streamlining Community of Practice members! We’re excited to see the conversations and change your Community develops this year.

~Robin Berkson, Senior Vice President, Member Relations 

and Laura Zumdahl, Vice President, Nonprofit Services

 

The Brinson Foundation and the Eleanor Peterson Fund for Donor-Donee Relationships provided partial funding for the Communities of Practice. 

        

 

Image: Donors Forum's Streamlining the Grant Process "Community of Practice" first meeting, January 18, 2012

author series launches with jason saul on the end of fundraising

Jason Saul, author of The End of Fundraising, was featured at Donors Forum’s inaugural Author Series event on October 11.  Saul emphasized the importance of nonprofits raising money by showing how the outcomes they achieve relate to the goals of the businesses and consumers from whom they seek support. Non-financial returns of “doing good” do not give nonprofits much leverage, but it doesn’t need to be this way if we realize that social change has economic value.

Touching on concepts and techniques covered in more depth in his book, Saul offered several starting points for opening up a new dialogue about corporate-nonprofit partnerships:

• Capture, market, and sell your impact. We need effective methodology to measure and value outcomes.
• "It's not about you, it's about them." We in the independent sector need to understand who the stakeholders are that benefit from our impact.
• We can strengthen the sector by focusing on impact while providing economic value to businesses at the same time.

The talk was thought provoking and well received by an audience more than 120 nonprofit and foundation leaders. During a substantive question and answer segment, Saul offered additional specific examples and insights into connecting nonprofit outcomes to for-profit needs.

The event, sponsored in part by Kraft Foods, took in a space generously donated by the law firm Mayer Brown.  All attendees received a copy of The End of Fundraising. See event pictures on Donors Forum's Facebook page. Watch Donors Forum’s event page for future author events.

 

 

 

~Mary Penn, Communications and Development Consultant

brokering a constructive dialogue on the state budget

Members of the foundation and nonprofit community left a meeting last week with representatives from the Governor’s office and the General Assembly with a better understanding of how far the state has come with its Budgeting for Results project – and how far they have to go. Donors Forum assembled key members of the foundation and nonprofit community, national experts, and representatives from the Governor’s Office and the General Assembly at the MacArthur Foundation last week to address the challenges, opportunities, and impact BFR - the state's new approach to outcomes based budgeting - will have on the nonprofit community.

“Our goal with BFR is to be better stewards of the taxpayers’ dollars.  To get the highest return on investment for each dollar spent, we need to know what works for every program – and we need help.”  said John Kamis, Senior Advisor to the Governor, conveying the state’s vision and addressing the real challenges that lie ahead. He was joined by Senator Dan Kotowski, who shared his vision with the assembled group of a process that “takes the politics out of budgeting.  BFR represents historic change for Illinois that will require external partnership and support to aid with administrative and technical capacity given our ambitious timeframe.” 

While prioritizing funding for programs that can demonstrate effectiveness is a laudable goal, Layla Suleiman Gonzalez from the Illinois Department of Human Services reminded the group how much of a paradigm shift this is for Illinois. “DHS is committed to moving towards performance contracting, but we still have a ways to go.  Particularly in the human services field where results are not easily quantifiable, connecting funding to positive, demonstrable results is difficult.” 

But the difficulty of performance measurement offers an opportunity for foundations to enter the process. Gary VanLandingham, Director of the Results First project at The Pew Center on the States presented one way for foundations to help relieve some of the State’s burden.

“The foundation community is far ahead of government in results measurement,” he said. “For philanthropy, connecting funding to effectiveness is practically a no-brainer so it will be critical for foundations to lend their expertise and where possible, their financial support in that arena.”

Echoing VanLandingham, Tracie Hall from The Boeing Company urged the group to think creatively about how the foundation community and government could work together to “reduce administrative burdens on service providers by creating more seamless data collection and reporting systems.”

But John Bouman, from the Shriver Center, cautioned for discipline as these conversations continue.  He urged those gathered around the table to be mindful of the two very different areas where BFR will play out and address the unique issues each of those will demand on their own terms.  First, there is the decision making around agency allocations that will have very distinct winners and losers.  The other half of BFR will involve the evolving relationship between nonprofit service providers and the state agencies.  While related, Bouman suggested that these conversations should not be conflated.

 As BFR takes root in Illinois, the nonprofit and foundation community should be a part of the process.  Senator Heather Steans summarized these opportunities, which include:

• Nonprofits can attend and weigh in at the public Budgeting for Results Commission meetings or the Human Services Commission public hearings;
• Foundations can serve as a neutral bridge between state agencies and nonprofit service providers;
• Foundations can provide assistance to the state through support for infrastructure and technical capacity;
• Nonprofits and foundations can help spread the word.  Share insight and information with your own networks.

Moving forward with BFR, it is clear there are significant challenges in store but despite that, Donors Forum, with its nonprofit and foundation partners, will work with the state to inform a common strategy, communicate progress and challenges, and assist with leveraging available resources and expertise to ensure BFR works for Illinois.

Head over to the Donors Forum website for meeting notes and presentations from Senator Kotowksi and John Kamis.

donors forum calls for transparency and accountability in state budget

On Thursday, September 9, 2011 the Human Services Commission held a public hearing on Budgeting for Results (BFR) and the impact of the state budget crisis on the human services sector in Illinois.  As the state readies for the implementation of this new budgeting process that will have a significant impact on Illinois communities, we are advocating for accountability and inclusion of nonprofit and philanthropic stakeholders.

We were called to testify, and gave the state credit for its efforts to reform the budgeting system while urging caution, collaboration, and transparency.  If done right, BFR has the potential to restore some faith in Illinois leadership and elected officials. If done poorly, it could defund vital services due to lack of appropriate outcome measurement and further alienate whole constituencies, including nonprofits that provide critical services to the state and those they serve.  

We emphasized the need to focus on three key areas:

 1) A transparent and accountable system. For BFR to work well in Illinois, we must be a collaborative process for collecting, sharing, selecting, and analyzing data for the proper establishment of goals and outcomes in order for the State to meet its own targets. In addition, it is critical to get an explicit statement about which programs will be included and which will not. This will be enormously important for nonprofits determining how to engage in the process.

2) Inclusion of nonprofit and foundation community. Nonprofit and foundations expertise should be tapped. If BFR is to work well in Illinois, the process by which data is gathered, collated, and indicators and outcomes created needs to be open to subject matter experts, particulary from  the nonprofit and foundation communities. 

3) Realistic assessment and allocation of necessary resources. If BFR is to work in Illinois, ‘doing more with less’ cannot be the guiding principle. Lack of management, buy-in and staffing across and through departments will not only lead to bad resource allocation, it will lead to fundamental misreading of program goals and outcomes – resulting in less needs being met. If the state doesn’t have enough resources, it should tap the expertise of the nonprofit and foundation communities.

Read Laurel's full testimony here.

~Laurel O'Sullivan, Vice President, Public Policy

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rsutphin/4281439888/sizes/s/in/photostream/ via Creative Commons

 

bfr commission begins its work

The newly reated Budgeting for Results (BFR) Commission began its work last Friday on their charge to issue recommendations and guide the implementation process, and timeline, for Illinois’ new budgeting process. The Commission has three directives: 1) advise the governor on the state’s goals and outcomes; 2) propose a percentage of the budget to be allocated for the state’s goals and outcomes; and 3) review existing mandated expenditures. On November 1, the Commission will release its first report to the Governor, making final recommendations on outcomes, allocations and mandated spending. 

The Commission is a diverse group drawn from the private, public and charitable sectors, chaired by Illinois Sen. Dan Kotowski and includes John Bouman (Executive Director, Shriver National Center of Poverty Law) and Jim Lewis (Senior Program Officer, The Chicago Community Trust.) John Bouman serves on Donors Forum’s Board of Directors and is co-chair of the Public Policy Committee; Jim Lewis is a member of the Public Policy Committee.  Recognizing the need for community representation on the Commission, Donors Forum recommended and supported Mr. Bouman and Mr. Lewis’ appointments. Their expertise and high level perspective on the needs of the nonprofit sector will help ensure the Commission fulfills its obligations.

Members will be breaking into three groups over the next month to establish recommendations for: Outcomes, Allocations and Mandated Expenditures. On November 1, the Commission will release its first report to the Governor, making final recommendations on outcomes, allocations and mandated spending. 

The state has shown some early progress. The Governor’s Office of Management & Budget (GOMB) analysts have completed SMART training; sub-goals and logic models from all agencies have been submitted (with the Dept. of Human Services leading the way with best practices); finally, the State is in the process of reviewing consultancies interested in helping the State with its change management efforts.

However, challenges remain. The government acknowledged their timeline was aggressive, requiring the Commission to make its recommendations quickly; metrics have yet to be developed; stakeholder engagement and outreach continues to be difficult; and funding is a distinct need.

But despite these hurdles, Commissioners appeared eager to play an active and leading role in establishing BFR as a rational measuring stick for the state. The Commissioners asked difficult questions: How exactly will the state plan to address grassroots engagement? How can the Commission can make recommendations to put all revenue on the table, not just General Funds and particular special funds?   Echoing a Donors Forum concern, Commissioners questioned the feasibility of achieving their directives in the timeline provided, by November 2011. 

For further questions, and opportunities for philanthropy to become involved, please email Laurel O’Sullivan, Vice President Public Policy (laurelosullivan@donorsforum.org).

 ~Laurel O'Sullivan, Vice President, Public Policy

 image: http://www.google.com/imgres?q=state+of+illinois+seal&hl=en&sa=X&biw=1440&bih=785&tbm=isch&prmd=ivns&tbnid=0UyVpbdKoIRSJM:&imgrefurl=http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/general/seal.html&docid=CFSceazxp7yeYM&w=254&h=252&ei=SlxWTrLxEpLksQLUoP24DA&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=331&page=1&tbnh=140&tbnw=141&start=0&ndsp=29&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&tx=58&ty=61

the heat is on in D.C.: federal policy and implications for grantmakers

The heat is on in D.C. Negotiations in Congress over the debt ceiling are entering the 11th hour and the ramifications for long-term spending priorities and revenue enhancing measures are huge.  In this landscape, what are the big ticket items grantmakers should be watching out for?  That question was the focus of Philanthropy Responds to Federal Tax Policy, a program with Andrew Schulz, Vice President, Legal and Government Relations at the Council on Foundations for Donors Forum Members on July 14.

Mr. Schulz emphasized the importance of grantmakers developing relationships with Federal lawmakers, or building off existing ones, to advocate for policies that benefit the sector and strengthen public/private partnerships.  "There is a need in our society," noted Schulz, "for government, philanthropy, and the private sector to work together."

So, what are the most pressing federal issues grantmakers should be engaged about? The Council on Foundations' four top policy priorities are:

• Promoting the Charitable Sector (Charitable Deduction),
• Expand and Extend the IRA Rollover,
• Simplify Private Foundation Excise Tax, and
• Promote Rural Philanthropy.

These are areas where small changes can mean big things for grantmakers and nonprofits alike and if our sector is not "at the table," we may be "on the menu." What can you do? 

• Learn about the issues (start by taking a look at Mr. Schulz's presentation and heading over the the Donors Forum website),
• Set up an in-district meeting with your local Representative or Senator and Donors Forum,
• Stay tuned for future opportunities to engage with Donors Forum on Federal policy.

~Hannah White, Public Policy Associate

Image: Valerie Lies, President and CEO, Donors Forum with Andrew Schulz at the Union League Club on July 14

inspiring the next generation: the young leaders public interest seminar series

A panel of five philanthropy leaders shared their career insights and personal stories at the first 2011 seminar of the Young Leaders Public Interest Seminar Series, offered by The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, a Donors Forum Partner. The audience was made up of summer interns from all over Chicago. The panelists, representing The Boeing Company, the MacArthur Foundation, the Mivka Challenge, the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, and the Woods Fund, had diverse backgrounds and each came to their career in philanthropy in different ways. In fact, a significant insight the group provided was that a career is almost never a linear path.

As the majority of panel members were from area foundations, many audience questions were about funding priorities, accountability, and evaluation. Several key points were made:

• Written strategy guides their giving, and they are accountable to that strategy.
• Foundations want to invest money in ways that are going to make a difference over time. They are not necessarily interested in short-term measurement of results.
• Funders may be more interested in evaluating an entire effort, rather than individual efforts.
• Philanthropy's role is to supplement, not replace, dollars that government is taking away.
• Philanthropic efforts that do not succeed are not failures. Organizations must take risks in attempt to help solve issues.
• Careers in philanthropy often involve long hours and large workloads. It is important to be committed to your cause and prepared to work overtime.
  

The group’s discussion about careers was especially inspiring. Panel members offered the following tips on what they look for in a resume:

• How are you engaged in the community? Are you on a board? Do you volunteer?
• Are you willing to take risks? Are you dedicated to philanthropy or a certain cause?
• Do you have experience in a broad range of things, and exposure to different audiences?
• Do you have direct service experience? Do you have previous experience in communications?
• Do you have interpersonal and organizational skills? Are you people-oriented?
  

Parting words were also offered: “Do the work that you’re passionate about;” and “Own what you know, but be curious.”

The Young Leaders Public Interest Seminar Series will continue every Wednesday through the end of July. A list of the upcoming sessions can be found here.

~Mary Penn and Lucy Williams, Communications and Development Volunteers

charitable giving show modest rise in 2010 after two years of declines

An excerpt from the press release on the latest Giving USA study, considered one of the most important sources on charitable giving in the country, is below. Download an executive summary here. Edith Falk, Chair of Giving USA, is quoted below; she is also a Donors Forum Board Member and President and CEO of Campbell & Company, a Forum Partner.

Giving USA Foundation and its research partner, the Center of Philanthropy at Indiana University, today announced that total charitable contributions from American  individuals, corporations and foundations were an estimated $290.89 billion in 2010, up  from a revised estimate of $280.30 billion for 2009. The 2010 estimate represents growth of 3.8 percent in current dollars and 2.1 percent in inflation-adjusted dollars.

Our revised estimates show that 2008 and 2009 saw the largest drops in giving in more than 40 years as a result of the Great Recession, exceeding previous recessions' impact on giving. Despite the fragile economy recovery, though, Americans continued--and even increased--their support of organizations and causes that matter to them in 2010. The $10.59 billion increase in the estimated total suggests that giving is beginning to recover as the economy slowly climbs out of the recession.

A recent press release said this:

Total giving grew by 2.1 percent last year after adjusting for inflation. That's good news following a combined drop of over 13 percent in 2008 and 2009," said Patrick M. Rooney, Ph.D., executive director of the Center on Philanthropy. "But the sobering reality is that many nonprofits are still hurting, and if giving continues to grow at that rate, it will take five or six more years just to return to the level of giving we saw before the Great Recession.                                                    

Campbell & Company, a Donors Forum Partner, has webinar slides, a podcast, and other resources on Giving USA here.

Arabella Advisors, whose principals are Donors Forum Associate Members, has a webinar on Giving USA here.

- Lucy Williams, Communications and Development Volunteer

it's all about succession planning: a preview of daring to lead 2011

Engaging, inspiring, and informative.

As a sector-switcher, I don’t represent the target audience for “Daring to Lead 2011,” a presentation offered by Donors Forum in May, but I found myself riveted by the presentations and panel discussion. What could have been dry statistics was transformed into a compelling, and at times humorous, presentation by Jeanne Bell, CEO of Compass Point.

Daring to Lead explored findings from a major survey of executive directors from around the country. In a nutshell, it is all about succession planning. But from my perspective, the event provided some key insights into the nonprofit sector and strategies for my own career trajectory.

First, the idea that there is going to be a huge vacuum in the nonprofit sector created by retiring baby boomers is, according to Bell, a false alarm. The data show that there are plenty of upper-level managers itching to become executive directors, and that only 34% of executives are 57 or older. Tom Adams (President of Transition Guides), who also gave a fascinating presentation, said we can expect the recent 10-12% turnover rate among executive directors to remain steady.

So the sector does not suffer from a lack of people, but a lack of transition planning. While this may be a little disappointing to job-hunters (like me) that were hoping for that job vacuum to open up, all is not lost. I learned that finding a mentor is a key step I can take right now. Moreover, when I begin interviewing for management positions, I know to be on the lookout for a few things:

• Do the board and executive director relate as trusted partners?
• Does the organization have a written succession plan and a clear organizational plan?
• Do executive level managers actively develop leaders in their organization?
• Will the organization create new job descriptions as employees grow and develop?
• Does the board support and develop executive leadership?

An effective board and an organization committed to leadership development are important not only to succession planning, but also to career planning for up-and-coming nonprofit leaders.

~Mary Penn, Communications and Development Volunteer

guest post: a round-up of coverage of the council of foundations' conference, april 10-12

Since I wasn’t able to attend the Council on Foundations’ just-wrapped 2011 Annual Conference in Philadelphia, I kept up with the sessions by following the steady stream of blogs summarizing what was happening.  It was a pretty good way to be part of the latest national discussions about philanthropy without actually getting on a plane to go there.

• COF website blogs   - particularly note comments on the interesting closing plenary  Philanthropy On Trial. The charge: Philanthropy is not fulfilling its mission of advancing the common good. Gara LaMarche, President and CEO of The Atlantic Philanthropies, represented the prosecution; and Ralph R. Smith, Executive Vice President of The Annie E. Casey Foundation and former COF Board Chair, served as the defense attorney. A former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice, the Honorable Jane Cutler Greenspan, acted as the judge.

• Philanthropy411 also covered the conference with the help of an insightful blog team.

And if you have the time, there was one more blog about the conference that is worth the read for – if nothing else – its frankness: White Courtesy Telephone blogger (and Greater New Orleans Foundation president) Albert Ruesga shared some pointed thoughts about the celebration of philanthropy that is the COF Annual Conference via PhilanTopic.

 --  Nancy Jamison, Executive Director, San Diego Grantmakers

The Donors Forum staff knows Nancy through our membership in the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers. The post above was originally a message she shared with her grantmaking members in the San Diego area, and we thought it would be useful to grantmakers and nonprofits in Illinois.

guest post: the messiah, an anniversary that also celebrates philanthropy

Most people think of Handel's Messiah as English Christmas music, but in reality it premiered on Good Friday in 1742, and not in England but in Dublin, Ireland.  Handel wrote it when he was down and out, but when he got back on top he used Messiah's profits for good causes. Here's the story:

George Frederick Handel was born in Halle, Germany to a wealthy family, and his musical genius was "discovered" by a nobleman when he was 11 years old. He composed his first opera at age 18; and in 1710, moved to London and jumped on a new type of composition: oratorios (a type of choral music that tells a story). Handel flourished in London and made a good living selling subscriptions to his oratorios.

But, it was when he was at his lowest that he wrote the Messiah, one of his most glorious oratorios. Burnt out from business failures and a stroke at age 52, he went to Dublin for the winter in 1741 to recover at the home of friends, and wrote the Messiah in just 24 days -- by hand, using a quill pen.

He advertised in the Dublin Journal as follows: "For the relief of the prisoners in the several Gaols and for the Support of Mercer’s Hospital in Stephen’s Street and of the Charitable Infirmary on the Inn’s Quay, on Monday 12th April will be performed at the Musick Hall in Fishamble Street, Mr. Handel’s new Grand Oratorio called the MESSIAH…’ A ticket frenzy took off so that the promoters had to ask the gentlemen to 'appear without your swords' and the ladies to attend without hoops under their skirts [so more people could fit in the concert hall]. Seven hundred people filled a room designed for 600 and made Messiah a musical and philanthropic success.

Over the years, Handel continued to donate profits from performances of the Messiah and other works to his favorite causes. He was a founding member of the Society for Decay’d Musicians (now wisely rebranded as the Royal Society of Musicians), did many benefit performances and left a legacy of £1,000 (about $185,000 today) for his fellow musicians. He became a Governor of the Foundling Hospital, the first institution in England to care for abandoned children, and did sell-out concerts to attract more supporters for the hospital. Altogether he raised £10,299 for the Foundling Hospital -- about $2 million today. He also gave the hospital an original manuscript of Messiah, the extraordinary work that drove all his giving in his later years.

Classical music fans will celebrate the 252nd anniversary of Handel’s death on Thursday, April 14. People committed to justice for prisoners, retirement benefits for musicians, and healthcare for homeless children can be celebrating on the same day.

--  Joan Flanagan, Development Director for Interfaith Worker Justice.  A popular trainer for Donors Forum, Joan is next scheduled to teach Fundraising for Smaller Organizations and Congregations on Tuesday, April 19, 2011.  You can register now for only $64 for Forum Partners; $90 for others.

Parts of this article were posted in 2009 on www.Imagine2050.org.

guest post + link to a free webinar: what the hewlett foundation learned about communications training for grantees

The way Eric Brown, communications director for the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, tells it in a recent Communications Network webinar, it wasn't a sudden "Eureka moment" that sparked his desire to assess the effectiveness of the training programs his foundation had been offering for years to help grantees develop effective communications skills.

Instead, he was just simply itching to know if these programs were doing any good.  "It was bugging me because I didn't know," says Brown.

"For years," he says, "the foundation has sponsored communications training for our grantees.  In the last five or six years we've sent more than 300 grantees from more than 200 organizations to communications training programs.  I've attended them.  I think they're terrific. Grantees seem to like them. But every so often a colleague would ask 'but do they work?' And I'd say, I don't really know." Adds Brown, "I thought it would really be interesting to go back to interview grantees and observe their work and see if these trainings made a difference. So we decided to embark on that kind of project."

That project, for which the foundation commissioned independent communications design firm the Williams Group, involved surveys of grantees who received Hewlett-sponsored training, interviews with select participants, some ten case studies, and direct observation of a three-day training program.

What did the survey reveal?

The training programs get high marks for quality.  In fact, Hewlett grantees say the training programs -- which covered topics such as the basics of developing a strategic communications plan and how to craft clear and compelling messages to leveraging social media -- were judged by participants as "among the most interactive and useful" they'd ever experienced.

But as good as the training is, it's not enough to make those who aren't professional communicators into experts. As the study found, "For most organizations, a single training experience may build individual awareness, appreciation, and skill — but those gains are not likely to increase over time, spread to others, or transform the organization as a whole without additional, ongoing support."

More so, even an already highly-rated training program can be made even better.  Specifically, the study found four ways it could be strengthened:

• Make sure participants, and the organizations they're from, are ready for training and can "put adequate human and financial resources into place to support communications."
• Invite teams, not individuals, to take part in training. As the study notes, when joined by team members, "participants felt better able to apply training lessons to their actual work while in training and to bring lessons back to the office. Those who attended alone wished they had been joined by at least one partner. Ideal training teams included a decision maker vested with authority (e.g., executive director) and an implementer (e.g., communications or program officer)."
• Robust follow-up is key.  What people learn in class won't stick if the lessons aren't reinforced.  For instance, participants told researchers that they felt they'd benefit from additional courses to "refresh or deepen skills."
• Support efforts to integrate communications with program strategy.  If foundations really wan to see their grantees make communications a key element of their overall work, they can help by similarly incorporating "communications into the development, management, and evaluation of grants/programs. This may involve financial support for communications and ongoing dialogue initiated by Foundation program officers."

Clearly, as the study results show, everyone likes the training they receive and they're more capable as a result, but training is most effective if it's reinforced.

For more on the study as well as the elements of the training itself, view a replay of our webinar and then visit whatnonprofitssay.org, a special Web site where you can download an executive summary of the study, review all the data from the grantees surveys, and read case studies, interview text, and verbatim responses.

~Bruce Trachtenberg, Executive Director, Communications Network

 

guest post: marc lane on tracking the social enterprise's social performance

The final chapter of my new book, Social Enterprise: Empowering Mission-Driven Entrepreneurs, (American Bar Association, 2011) raises the provocative question: "To What End?" 
 
The demand for metrics to evaluate social impact has never been stronger, and that demand comes from all quarters.  Donors and investors want to ensure that their gifts, grants and investments are directed at the most effective social programs.  Policy makers and lawmakers seek to focus on the most worthwhile and impactful segments of social enterprise.  Government budget officials need to allocate funds among those social enterprises which most effectively tackle social problems.  And, perhaps most important, social entrepreneurs themselves, along with their boards and other leaders, need to make informed decisions about their ventures based on hard empirical data.
 
Yet measuring the social good of a nonprofit, for-profit, or hybrid organization is tricky, given the wide range of social problems they seek to address. Some pursue their missions by providing products or services that address a social need directly to disadvantaged people as customers.  Others provide job and career training services directly to disadvantaged people as employees.  Still others combine both approaches. 
 
Measuring success is very different for a substance-abuse recovery center than it would be for a literacy initiative or a workforce development program.  But the process of discovering the social enterprise's impact includes the same elements:

1.    Tracking performance using selected indicators.
2.    Communicating performance both within the organization and to outsiders.
3.    Using the results to make better decisions.
4.    Implementing those decisions to improve both the organization's activities and its operations.
 
The process needs to be organization- and mission-specific, looking at inputs (the resources the organization uses to serve its beneficiaries), activities (the steps the program takes to meet its beneficiaries' needs), outputs (the program's units of service - - the number of people clothed, sheltered or fed, for example), and outcomes (the actual benefit created - - such as the number of once homeless people no longer homeless or the number of once unemployed now engaged in gainful employment). 
 
In all cases, the outcomes must serve as a fair proxy for social impact, and never should activities be mistaken for outcomes.  So a children's theater group shouldn't measure success by the number of children who see a performance, but rather by the number of children who now appreciate the performing arts.  And a food pantry that seeks to break the cycle of poverty shouldn't look only at the number of meals it's served, but the number of nutritious meals it's served while preserving the dignity of those it hosts.  Or perhaps even better, the number of newly self-sufficient people who no longer depend on free meals.
 
Where hard numbers may not be adequate predictors or measures of success, the task of measurement can be difficult.  Still, measuring social impact should be a high-priority goal of the social entrepreneur: if social impact isn't reliably measured, it surely won't be valued by the stakeholders on which the venture depends and to whom it is accountable.

~Marc J. Lane, President, The Law Offices of Marc J. Lane, P.C.

check out CTBA's fiscal symposium on march 25

Our partner, The Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, is holding a Fiscal Symposium, $7 billion in New Revenue, Now What Do We Do? on Friday, March 25 at the Union League Club of Chicago, 69 West Jackson Blvd. This annual event is a great opportunity for nonprofits and foundations to get the latest information on the budget and critical analysis of the economic outlook for the nonprofit sector. To register (tickets are $50) click here.

 It is critical for nonprofits and foundations to engage in these dialogues and keep up to speed on what the state's newly enacted tax increases and spending caps mean for everything from Illinois' economy and business climate, to capacity to core programs like education and social services. Join the panelists for a lively discussion on the interplay between adequately funding basic services and economic development.

For more information contact Tracy Schonberger at tschonberger@ctbaonline.org

-Hannah White, Public Policy Associate

photo credit: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_VzG9xhJEI-Y/SV4khEWcgyI/AAAAAAAACPo/7caGJAke1HA/s200/stack-of-money.jpg via Creative Commons 

highlights of the trib’s chicago forward event on philanthropy

Update as of March 25, 2011: The Tribune now has a video of the entire event here.

Donors Forum was delighted to be part of an event sponsored by The Chicago Tribune on March 16.  It was part of their new “Chicago Forward” series. Our President and CEO Valerie S. Lies opened the event with a video introduction providing an overview of Chicago-area philanthropy and nonprofits. 

Photos from the event can be found here, at Trib Nation’s Facebook page.

A good summary of the panel discussion is found here, on the Tribune’s blog, Trib Nation.  If you page down to the part of the post called “Cover It Live” and click on the arrow, you’ll see a brief ad, and then you’ll have access to running commentary about the event from the Trib’s James Janega, integrated with Tweets about the event posted by attendees using the Twitter hashtag #tribgive. 

As a precursor to the event, I spoke about philanthropy and giving with Bill Moller on his WGN radio show on March 12. An audio recording is here.

It was good to see longtime and new friends of Donors Forum at the Chicago Forward event, and I think James did a great job in live blogging the proceedings.  I’m not familiar with Cover It Live, the service he used to provide the live blogging, but it seems to be a good one. There’s a free version of it, too, making it something that grantmakers and nonprofits may want to consider for their own events.

~ Celeste Wroblewski, Vice President, External Relations

Video credit: The video was produced by The Chicago Tribune and is being shared with the permisson of The Chicago Tribune.

tell the future mayor what matters to you, and why you – and other nonprofits and grantmakers – matter to chicago!

On the heels of our annual lobby day in Washington D.C., Donors Forum wants to remind grantmakers and nonprofits of the ongoing importance of engaging with public officials.  The mayoral election ushers in the promise of a new era for Chicago; as a city, Chicago faces many challenges, but this new administration also offers nonprofits and foundations an opportunity to build new critical relationships. We encourage you to submit ideas to Mayor-elect Emmanuel here on how to make Chicago better. 

Now is the time for grantmakers and nonprofits to amplify our collective voices and advocate for a stronger 3-way partnership between government, nonprofits, and philanthropy. Remind the Mayor-elect of the value nonprofits and foundations bring to communities through strong partnerships as well as the substantial economic contribution we make.

Donors Forum submitted this letter to the Mayor and will be engaging with the Mayor-elect's transition team, which includes a number of Donors Forum Members and Partners.  Here are some ideas for messages you may want to share:

• Nonprofit organizations are surprisingly robust economic engines, generating nearly 10 percent of Illinois’ gross state product and employing nearly 9 percent of the state’s work force.

• Without our work, change doesn't happen: nonprofits provide a spectrum of essential services - for example, job training, economic development, and housing, plus arts offerings, environmental protection, and much more.
• Foundations are critical repositories of independence, innovation and investment, as well as effective conveners of influential networks and catalysts for regional and local problem-solving.

When submitting your ideas online, we recommend that you include your name, title, the official name of your organization, and a phone number in the submission itself.

~Hannah White, Public Policy Associate

photo credit: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rahm_Emanuel_press_conference.jpg via Wikipedia Commons

economic outlook 2011: signs of recovery but challenges persist

Donors Forum has released its annual economic outlook report, based on survey responses from grantmaking Members and nonprofit Forum Partners. The survey indicates that – consistent with wider economic trends – there are some signs of improvement: fewer grantmakers reported a decrease in assets and fewer nonprofits reported revenue declines.

Nonprofits’ fundraising efforts over the past year showed increases in virtually all the targeted sources, including special events revenue, board contributions, major gifts, and individual donations.  And, the nonprofits surveyed were nearly evenly split between those who had experienced increases and those who had experience decreases in grantmaker support. 

However, an ever-increasing demand for services combined with continuing late payments from the state of Illinois continue to threaten many nonprofits’ financial stability. Nonprofit cash position has not improved, according to the survey; and not only are nonprofits not filling vacated positions, they are continuing to eliminate regular staff positions with about the same prevalence as shown in last year’s survey.

Grantmakers’ responses to the survey indicate continued caution and selectivity in their grantmaking approach; many continue to restrict the application pool and to offer fewer or smaller grants than before the recession. Interestingly, grantmaking support has increased in certain areas, including nonprofit capacity building. Also, awarding of non-monetary support – pro bono work and in-kind donations, is on the rise, especially among corporate giving programs.

Read or download the full report in PDF format here.

~Marilou Jones, Director of Communications

raising awareness of the value of philanthropy + nonprofits - one of the goals of an event 3/15. please join us!

 As part of its work to raise awareness of the value of philanthropy and the nonprofit sector, Donors Forum works with media outlets in Illinois.

Find here an open letter to the next mayor of Chicago (who was not yet elected at the time of submission) published in the Southtown Star on Feb. 20, 2011. It is about the importance of partnership between the public and private sectors, including nonprofits and philanthropy.  An excerpt:

            "One key but often overlooked element in the economy of our communities is nonprofit organizations and the foundations whose support sustains their work. Nonprofit organizations are surprisingly robust economic engines, generating nearly 10 percent of Illinois’ gross state product and making up nearly 9 percent of the state’s work force....We encourage the next mayor to tap the expertise and resources of the nonprofit and philanthropic communities to produce win-win efficiencies and reforms in the way government does business in Chicago’s communities."

Donors Forum also recently participated in a “Community Conversation” on reinventing philanthropy hosted by the Chicago Tribune. You can read more about it and add to the conversation here, at the paper’s newsroom blog, Trib Nation. Photos of the lunch are on Facebook.

The conversation was a precursor to a larger public event the Tribune is holding at 6pm on Tuesday, March 15: Chicago Forward: The Face of Chicago Philanthropy, Panelists will include Ellen Alberding, President of The Joyce Foundation, a Donors Forum Member; and Ric Estrada, CEO of Metropolitan Family Services, a Donors Forum Partner; as well as Susan Crown of SCE; James Kales, CEO of Aspire; and Patty Huber, community manager, Groupon/The Point. Valerie S. Lies, Donors Forum's President and CEO, will narrate an introductory video.

~ Celeste Wroblewski, VP, External Relations

opinion in chronicle of philanthropy on gun policies: ellen alberding, joyce foundation

The January 12, 2011 edition of the Chronicle of Philanthropy carried an opinion piece from Ellen S. Alberding, President of the Joyce Foundation, a Member of Donors Forum, on philanthropy's role in gun policy. An excerpt:

Foundations can play an important role in turning this issue around. Our resources can help reduce the financial imbalance that allows one site to overwhelm the debate on even the most modest policy changes. Putting our money into research on ways to prevent gun violence, analysis of the public policies that make the most difference, and advocacy efforts that mobilize the public can help ensure a balanced discussion about how our society should handle guns.

 ~Celeste Wroblewski, Vice President, External Relations

crain's includes df members + partners in special focus on nonprofits, giving

In case you missed it, the special focus of the January 24, 2011 Crain's Chicago Business was on nonprofits and philanthropy:

• Valerie S. Lies, President and CEO of Donors Forum, Rafael Malpica of Walgreen Co, and Jason Saul of Mission Measurement were quoted in an article about corporate giving.
  
• An article on L3Cs includes a quote from Harborquest, Inc. and an opinion from David Chernoff, Associate General Council at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, on why L3Cs may not be necessary.
• A story on tax policy in charitable giving quotes Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago and Metropolitan Family Services and cites a study by Bank of America.
• Another article discusses the trend toward smaller, more personal gatherings of supporters and quotes Chicago Cares, Inc. and Chicago Foundation for Women.
• The Active Transportation Alliance and Chicago Community Trust were quoted in a piece on nonprofits' use of social media.

 ~Celeste Wroblewski, Vice President, External Relations

df member in the news: eleanor foundation gives lower-income working women education + support for a brighter future

The December 13, 2010 edition of The Chicago Tribune featured Donors Forum Member Eleanor Foundation noting results of educational initiatives that help lower-income working women.  Strategies to help women secure better jobs and build a brighter future include offering skill-based training and financial literacy classes and matching employee savings.  These have led to promotions on the job and increased self sufficiency.  Among other organizations mentioned in the article were Donors Forum Partners Heartland Alliance and Jane Addams Resource Corporation, as well as two Donors Forum Partners that conducted research on lower-income women: the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois at Chicago.

~ Celeste Wroblewski, Vice President, External Relations

df associate members in forbes: philanthropy advisors can help ensure short- and long-term effectiveness

Several Associate Members of Donors Forum were quoted in an article on Forbes.com on the role that professional advisors can play in helping individuals and families make their philanthropy the most effective. 

The article quotes Betsy Brill, Strategic Philanthropy, Ltd; Kirk Hoopingarner, Wildman Harrold Allen & Dixon; and Lee Morava, Gresham Partners. It also mentions Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, a Donors Forum Member.  An excerpt:

Making sure that a philanthropic effort stays relevant well into the future can be an important part of planning, too, says Betsy Brill, president of Strategic Philanthropy Ltd. in Chicago. That's especially true if money is set aside to fund a cause after the donor dies. If the cause is, say, curing a disease, make sure there's a clear plan for where the money will go once a cure is found. Drafting legal documents in a way that allows for certain contingencies can prevent money from being tied up in a foundation that no longer makes sense.

~ Julie Strand, Communications and Development Intern   

new essay serves as call to action for forging a new compact in illinois

How do we move from a system weighed down by mistrust and inefficiency to a new agreement in which all stakeholders work together to provide effective, high-quality services that truly reflect the needs of Illinoisans? 

A critical component to ensuring the sustainability of Illinois communities is advancing a three-way partnership between government, philanthropy, and nonprofits.  To begin this dialogue, Donors Forum commissioned an essay from the publication Illinois Issues.  Entitled “Renewing the partnership between the state and nonprofits” and written by Brent Never, the essay reframes Illinois’ fiscal and systems failures and gives us a new opportunity to engage with lawmakers, foundations, and nonprofits to forge a path ahead.

The work of nonprofits and government is interdependent – our system has developed in such a way that one cannot function without the other.  But, as Brent shows in the excerpt below, when the relationship is unbalanced, neither party can achieve its mission: to create a healthy, vital, and economically viable state.

As the consequences of fiscal imbalance sweep from Springfield across the state, Illinois’ most vulnerable citizens and others who rely on nonprofits face the specter of fewer services, longer wait times, and greater worry about the future. While the economic downturn eroded the ability of Illinois government to pay for services, it also forced more people to turn to human service providers and other nonprofits.  The strain of those twin pressures has stretched the bonds between state government and its contractors to a near breaking point….The social compact between Illinois government, its nonprofit service providers and the citizens who count on those services has been seriously damaged.

To make real, lasting change in Illinois, it is important that all stakeholders be flexible, open to change, and learn from others exemplifying best practices.   Never highlights (page 9) innovative solutions from New York City and England, which have both tackled problems similar to those we face in Illinois.  He also examines factors (page 7) that have allowed, over the long term, government to form strong compacts with institutions such as the military industrial complex and programs like Headstart.

To advance this three-way dialogue in Illinois:

Nonprofits must

• attempt to break down the silos that have typically stymied cross-sector solutions,
  
• engage in sustained dialogue with lawmakers, and 
• take a comprehensive look at the services it provides and engage in evaluation and improvement to maintain the trust of the public and state leaders. 

Government must

• recognize the central role nonprofits play in the delivery of service and
• involve nonprofits and philanthropy in the planning and development of progress metrics.

Philanthropy must

•  be willing to lead by bringing its best practices, innovation, and research and development expertise to the table as models for leveraging public-private partnerships.
  

As Donors Forum advances the development of this three-way partnership in Springfield, we want your input to achieve a healthier, stronger, more livable Illinois.

~ Laurel O'Sullivan, Vice President, Public Policy

guest post: grantmakers need to focus on growing impact, not size

Innovation and scale are key themes in several high-profile federal initiatives, including the Social Innovation Fund and the Promise Neighborhoods program, and even in Mark Zuckerberg’s $100 million donation to Newark public schools. These efforts respond to a growing feeling that current approaches to improve health, education, and economic opportunities are not having the desired impact. Government, private and individual funders alike have a keen interest in identifying and growing the impact of successful community-based solutions.

The focus on innovation and scale has been met with a healthy dose of skepticism. Some of the nonprofit sector’s greatest champions and most thoughtful leaders have voiced concern this is just the latest fad, that it doesn’t appropriately build on what we know works, and that it is an insider-only conversation with little relevance to the broader field. When innovation and scale are framed as ends in and of themselves, these criticisms are entirely valid. But when scale and innovation are exclusively in service of growing the impact of important programs, these criticisms fall away.

Insights generated by members of the Grantmakers for Effective Organizations’ community suggest we need to frame the conversation in some new ways, including:

1. Bigger is not always better: Many think of scale exclusively in terms of bigger organizations and programs replicated in more sites. These are important approaches, but not the only ones. The most important thing to scale is not the size of an organization, but the results it achieves. Scaling impact is about leveraging resources and relationships to achieve better results, namely significant and sustained benefit for people and communities.
2. Innovation and impact are not synonymous: Innovation is primarily important in so far as it enables an expansion of social impact.  While fostering innovation can lead to new breakthroughs, we must recognize that impact can grow by appropriately resourcing ideas that have been around for years.
3. Waiting for Superman can be your kryptonite: Leadership is a key ingredient for all efforts to grow impact. Yet the type of leadership the most effective social entrepreneurs are now exhibiting is a collective, facilitative and networked approach. Both individual and institutional donors can grow impact by supporting those organizations that are built to far outlast their founders. 
4. Funders can do harm: When funding nonprofit solutions, we must ensure our investments are not structured in a way that is harmful to those we intend to help. Funders can be sure to “do no harm” by weeding out inefficiencies in the grants process; picking partners well; providing significant, ongoing, flexible funding; and remembering that growing impact at any scale will take time. Additionally, funders are wise to steer clear of trying to be the sole architects of social solutions and instead trust the instincts and ideas of the high-performing nonprofits and other stakeholders that are closest to the problems we hope to solve.

For more information on GEO and Scaling What Works, visit www.geofunders.org.

~ Kathleen Enright, president and CEO, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations

guest post: chicago-based issue lab is a wealth of nonprofit research from across the nation -- and it's free!

Ask anyone at a gathering of nonprofit professionals whether they think its a good idea to share information and you will get a resounding yes. It sounds like a no-brainer right? I mean, why recreate the wheel if you don't have to? The more you know about what works and what doesn't, about how other nonprofits are addressing the issues that are core to your mission, or how different foundations are approaching our toughest social problems, the better you are at your own job.

But easier said than done. Most of us only share our knowledge with colleagues when we're asked. And most of our organizations only share their knowledge through their web site, which is too often a partial (and pretty passive) offering of what we actually know about an issue or set of specific practices. And in turn when we are looking for information we are most often limited to the small circle of people we know, the same old cast of organizational characters whose opinions dominate the discussion of an issue, or worse yet the thousands of unfiltered results from a Google search.

This is where IssueLab comes in. IssueLab is a an open access archive of nonprofit research. We gather research from nonprofits large and small on 34 different social issue areas -- everything from aging to housing to energy and the environment. It's free for nonprofits to share their work with us and it's free for users to view and download any of the thousands of white papers, case studies, and evaluations in the IssueLab collection. We also work hard to share this body of knowledge with a broader audience, through RSS feeds, content partnerships, and social media outreach, helping to enhance their understanding of tough social issues with knowledge from nonprofits that tackle these issues each day.

With resources as scarce as they are right now, we cannot afford, either ethically or practically, to reinvent the wheel over and over again. We have to begin to value what we know and to share that with other people working on the same issues. It's simple: everyone benefits when we share one of the sector's greatest assets, our unique understanding of social problems and the solutions to those problems.

Here are a few collections that may be of particular interest to grantmakers and nonprofits.

• Capacity Building
  Research that either explicitly addresses the question and challenge of nonprofit capacity building or offers an evaluation of programs where capacity building was part of the intended outcomes.
  
• The Volunteering Resource Library
  Includes dozens of research reports from IssueLabs collection on the subject of volunteering. (In partnership with VolunteerMatch and IdeaEncore)
  
• Communications
  A collection of reports on the how, why, and what of evaluating communications efforts. This collection was put together with the help of Edith Asibey from the Atlantic Philanthropies and Asibey Consulting

   ~ Gabriela Fritz, Co-Director, IssueLab

the importance of a 3-way partnership: government, philanthropy + nonprofits

Last week, Laurel O'Sullivan, Vice President, Public Policy at Donors Forum, shared remarks with colleagues from foundations and nonprofits at Independent Sector's Annual Conference in Atlanta.  The session, called Partnering With Government: Opportunities and Realities, was framed as a debate between Laurel and Otis Johnson, mayor of Savannah, GA.

Laurel's comments touch on the vital 3-way partnership between government, philanthropy, and nonprofits that is the cornerstone of a vibrant society.  

Here is an excerpt from Laurel's remarks.  Find the complete transcript here (PDF download). 

We believe strongly in a 3 way partnership, with philanthropy the third partner at the table needed to leverage its best practices and ability to catalyze change.

Philanthropy bridges the distance between the government and nonprofits; serving one and regulated by the other, nonprofits and government have a symbiotic, yet sometimes adversarial, relationship to one another. As an invested stakeholder in the health of our communities, philanthropy understands the complexity of government, partners closely with nonprofits and is invested in a healthy State that is a careful steward of nonprofit resources and services. Above all philanthropy can navigate these mutual needs, accountabilities and processes while simultaneously de-politicizing the conversation.

Surely there is more agreement than disagreement on the fact we, government and nonprofits, are interdependent and share a mutual goal to create a livable America. This was the premise forged over 200 years ago during the days of Alexis de Tocqueville that our nonprofits have a vital and unique role to play in empowering the underrepresented in our democracy, amplifying their voice whether it’s through direct services, civic engagement, preserving the environment, or supporting the arts. 

Forty years ago this implicit agreement was made explicit under Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society by providing government funding to nonprofits, which has only grown and expanded under every president since Ronald Reagan.  Its premise endures today and includes these, eminently reasonable things that we can hopefully agree on: 1) that we should serve our most vulnerable, 2) that we must do the most with limited resources and 3) that we agree nonprofits are unique and valuable partners because they represent local communities in ways government doesn’t; and the underlying premise of all of this is that 4) we have mutual trust in each other..

To read the complete remarks, click here (PDF download).

 ~ Hannah White, Public Policy Associate

new study: illinois grantmakers engage in advocacy to get the most bang for their buck

Public policy grantmaking has been described as "one of the most powerful tools available to foundations for creating real change."¹  A new survey, conducted by Donors Forum and the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy confirms that many Donors Forum Members are using this funding strategy to maximize impact and outlines ways for more foundations to get involved.

Donors Forum distributed a survey to 191 of its grantmaking Members to learn more about their approach to policy engagement. As we continue to broaden the dialogue among funders and between funders and grantees about the value of engaging in advocacy and supporting the policy interests of nonprofits seeking to improve their communities, we wanted to have a baseline understanding of what foundations in Illinois are doing.

Here are the five main findings.  To see the rest of the report, click here.

1. Eight in ten of the grantmakers surveyed reported active involvement in policy outreach and advocacy-related activities, both directly and through their grantees.

2. Two-thirds of respondents provide funding support for policy advocacy-related activities.

3. One-fifth (21 percent) report allocating at least 25 percent of their grant dollars to advocacy-related causes.

4. Board interest or encouragement was the factor most likely to motivate grantmaker advocacy funding.

5. Familiarity with advocacy laws and practices correlates with likelihood of funding advocacy.

As shown by the survey, grantmakers can advocate in a number of ways:

• Convene stakeholders;
• Commission policy research;
• Foster public awareness using media;
• Provide leadership development to community members;
• Mobilize citizen participation;
• Meet with elected officials;
• Testify before a legislative committee or body.

It is well documented that funding advocacy is a strategy with a high return on investment and one of the most effective ways to bring about positive social change.  We are encouraged to see so many of our Members engaging in this work and will continue to provide information, resources, and opportunities for dialogue to facilitate wise decisions by funders about whether and how to fund advocacy.

 ¹ Alliance for Justice (2004). Investing in change: A funder's guide to supporting advocacy. Washington, DC. Author, pg 1.

~ Laurel O'Sullivan, Vice President, Public Policy

Photo 1: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fibonacciblue/4619893377/  via Creative Commons.

Photo 2: http://www.flickr.com/photos/maceelaine/3742117588/sizes/s/in/photostream/ via Creative Commons

*A special note to public and private foundations.  Make sure you know your rights when it comes to lobbying and advocacy.  For more information: Public foundations, go here and here.  Private foundations, go here.

crain's focuses on the nonprofit sector + corporate giving; includes df members + partners

It is no secret that discussion about the nonprofit sector has been increasing since this economic recession began. Crain Communications Inc. is no different. In the August 16, 2010 issue, they focus on the nonprofit sector. Discussing everything from corporate funding to emerging giving trends, Crain's dissects philanthropies and released its annual list of corporate giving, which included many Donors Forum Members.  The lead story on the Focus section of the Crain's Chicago Business website quotes Donors Forum President & CEO, Valerie Lies.

RELATED RESOURCES FROM DONORS FORUM: Find more on Donors Forum’s website about corporate giving. Nonprofits interested in engaging corporate volunteers and securing corporate support should attend Building Strategic Relationships with Corporations and Foundations on August 19, 2010.  One of the 21 shared interest groups that Donors Forum convenes on behalf of grantmaking Members is The Corporate Committee.  Members can log in to find more information on The Corporate Committee here.  I invite grantmakers interested in joining Donors Forum, its Corporate Committee, and other shared interest groups to contact me at 312-578-0090.

~ Robin Berkson, Senior Vice President, Donors Forum

donors forum members in the news about trends in corporate giving, pro bono services + volunteering

The donation of goods and volunteer service, in addition to or instead of cash, has been the subject of two recent news reports. Donors Forum Members Bank of America,  Deloitte Services LP, IBM, and Microsoft Corporation were mentioned while Abbott Laboratories and Kraft Foods, Inc. were listed as companies who gave 50% or more in products rather than money in 2009 in a new USA Today article, "Companies donate employees' time, service instead of cash." 

The article discusses a study done by The Chronicle of Philanthropy and USA Today, in which they surveyed the largest U.S. corporations to find out how much money they donate to charities and which causes they support. The results showed that the economic recession dramatically affected cash donations, but also showed a growing trend of companies donating their employees' time, advice, and service instead of cash.

In a similar vein, a Chicago Tribune article recently featured Family Focus, a Forum Partner, and Donors Forum Member MB Financial Bank in an article about Family Focus receiving donations of architectural design, legal services, and construction costs to help them install an elevator in their Evanston location.

RELATED RESOURCES FROM DONORS FORUM: Find more information on Donors Forum’s website about corporate giving. Nonprofits interested in engaging corporate volunteers and securing corporate support should attend Building Strategic Relationships with Corporations and Foundations on August 19, 2010.  One of the 21 shared interest groups that Donors Forum convenes on behalf of grantmaking Members is The Corporate Committee.  Members can log in to find more information on The Corporate Committee here.  I invite grantmakers interested in joining Donors Forum, its Corporate Committee, and other shared interest groups to contact me at 312-578-0090.

~ Robin Berkson, Senior Vice President, Donors Forum

chicago community trust offers new grants for programs, transition + restructuring in human services; proposals due 8/13/10

The Chicago Community Trust has announced $1.5 million in funding in a second round of Unity Challenge grants for organizations whose programs have been targeted for funding cuts by the State and the City while simultaneously experiencing increased demand for services.   Applications are due August 13, 2010.  Find:

• an overview of the request for proposals here (PDF download).
• the application here (Word Document).

Specifically, the funding will help nonprofits with

• Meeting increased needs related to aging, domestic violence, developmental disabilities, or mental health: Projects that respond to a demonstrated expansion of service caseload above previous levels because of increased client demand. This includes funding for direct services or alternative strategies for providing client services.

• Program conclusion or transition in services related to child care or youth, homelessness, aging, domestic violence, developmental disabilities, or mental health: Projects that provide for the orderly closing of programs because of loss of funding or movement of clients. This may include assisting clients with locating comparable services at another site, providing transitional or concluding services, or blending a closing program into another complementary program. 

• Agency streamlining, restructuring, or shutdown for organizations that provide services related to child care or youth, homelessness, aging, domestic violence, developmental disabilities, or mental health: Projects that create greater agency efficiency, necessitated by either the government funding crisis or the economic recession. Types of eligible projects would include agency mergers, collaborations, cost-sharing, and back-office or other service efficiencies. Proposed projects must show how agency change will lead to sustained or improved service to at-risk persons, how the project will result in a stronger agency infrastructure better equipped to weather economic hardship, and cost savings. Community-wide planning processes to address multiple local service needs will also be considered as will the one-time costs associated with closing an agency and transitioning the clients to a new service provider.

Find information and resources on mergers and other types of strategic restructuring here.

The Chicago Community Trust is a Member of Donors Forum and a sustaining benefactor.  Find details here about what Donors Forum and other organizations have been doing -- and how you can help -- to sustain the human services system in Illinois during this economic crisis.

~ Celeste Wroblewski, Vice President, External Relations, Donors Forum

new report stresses importance of advocacy for nonprofits + need for grants for advocacy

Last April, Donors Forum and the Listening Post Project, an initiative from the Center for Civil Society Studies at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies, convened a group of 20 thought leaders from the region's nonprofit community.  Together, we explored the realities of nonprofit involvement in the policy process, the importance of advocacy, and increasing political engagement in order to support the sector.

The Listening Post Project recently released a report that summarizes the discussion (PDF download) and underlines the societal importance and organizational benefit of advocacy for all nonprofits, regardless of size or perceived capacity.  The key points addressed during the discussion were:

1. Advocacy efforts must directly involve nonprofit organizations themselves;
2. Intermediary organizations should play an active role in supporting the advocacy efforts of individual organizations;
3. Foundations must be better educated on the need to fund advocacy; and
4. The policy community itself needs to be educated and engaged.

While there are some obvious hurdles in mobilizing a greater portion of the nonprofit community in advocacy and lobbying, our discussion and this report are a reminder of the ways in which foundations, nonprofit associations, and direct service organizations can better leverage existing resources and assets to support political engagement.

~ Laurel O'Sullivan,, Senior Director, Public Policy, Donors Forum

giving in illinois '09 report shows grants during good years grew faster than national average

Though it’s in the rear-view mirror now, the prosperity the economy presented just a few years ago was not lost on Illinois foundations and nonprofits at the time, according to findings of Donors Forum's Giving in Illinois 2009 report.

Data gathered for the report shows Illinois private foundation assets grew 54% from 2005 to 2007, while foundation contributions grew 38%.  That far exceeded national growth rates of 34% for assets and 13% for giving levels during that time.

The report examines data from 2007 -- the most recent year for which a full year’s worth of form 990 financial data is available from public data sources. 

The report also includes perspective from Donors Forum's Economic Outlook 2010 report, released in early February 2010.  This was done so any long-range implications and trends that could be drawn from Giving in Illinois 2009 are measured properly against current economic conditions.  Of particular note is the large percentage of grantmakers in the survey who indicated that their giving levels had decreased in 2009:  a full 50 percent.  In addition, 43 percent reported that they had made at least temporary changes to their programs and funding priorities in response to the economic downturn.

Read or download:

• a four-page summary, Key Findings From Giving in Illinois 2009

• the full 40-page report, Giving in Illinois 2009

~ the donors forum team

illinois times covers hard times for central illinois nonprofits + philanthropy

Donors Forum’s Economic Outlook 2010 report was the inspiration for a news story.  The article, "Slow-pay state starves charities," in the Springfield-based Illinois Times, quotes John Stremsterfer, of the Sangamon County Community Foundation, a Donors Forum Member, as well as John Kelker of the United Way of Central Illinois, discussing how hard economic times have touched the Central Illinois philanthropic and nonprofit sectors. 

~ the donors forum team

economic outlook 2010: program, staff cuts for nonprofits; reduced giving by grantmakers

Economic Outlook 2010: Illinois Nonprofits and Grantmakers Still Reeling After Rough Year
Donors Forum’s recently issued report, Economic Outlook 2010: Illinois Nonprofits and Grantmakers Still Reeling After Rough Year, is based on a Donors Forum survey conducted in November, 2009. It documents the effects of the economy both on grantmakers’ current and planning grantmaking activities, and on nonprofits’ resources, capacities, and future survival strategies. For instance, 44% of nonprofits reported reduced staff, and half of grantmakers decreased their giving levels. Read or download the survey at Donors Forum's Scribd account by clicking on the image above.

~ the donors forum team

fair and accountable: partnership principles for a sustainable human services system

Partnership Principles
Donors Forum is pleased to present Fair and Accountable: Partnership Principles for a Sustainable Human Services System. This seminal document, created with the involvement of dozens of leaders and stakeholders in the human services system, recommends practices designed to strengthen the partnership between nonprofit human service providers and the City of Chicago or the State of Illinois.
 
"Delivering high-quality services that meet the needs of the people of Illinois depends on a fair, efficient, and transparent relationship between service providers and their government funders. Donors Forum is well positioned to help Illinois take this next important step because of our non-partisan reputation and our longstanding work to promote public policies that support philanthropy and nonprofits," said Valerie S. Lies, President and CEO of Donors Forum.  These are the basic ideas addressed in Partnership Principles:

• Comprehensive Planning. There should be a comprehensive and inclusive planning process to determine what services need to be available where.
• Transparent Selection. There should be a transparent and rational system for selecting service providers.
• Performance-Based Renewals. Contract renewals should be awarded based on performance and consumer best interest.
• Fair Payment. There should be fair payment for services and payment should be timely.
• Streamlining Reporting. There is too much waste in reporting and monitoring; these systems need to be streamlined
• Communication. Better methods of communication among government agencies, with providers and to the public, need to be developed.

Read or download the document at Donors Forum's Scribd account by clicking on the image above.

~ the donors forum team

boston foundation makes most grants unrestricted; pallota calls it a "brave act of leadership"

In his blog, "Free the Nonprofits," Harvard Business Publisher blogger Dan Pallota writes about "Letting Non-Profits Act Like Businesses: One Foundation's Brave Act of Leadership." An excerpt: "... The Boston Foundation unveiled major changes in its grantmaking strategy and announced that 'the most dramatic change is a shift of emphasis to unrestricted operating support.' You're not hallucinating, and it's not a typo. As if the emphasis on operating support were not jaw-dropping enough, it's going to be unrestricted. This is not a narrow experiment. It involves the 'majority of the Boston Foundation's competitive grants.'"

~ the donors forum team

photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dazzied/ / CC BY 2.0

paper shares stories of five organizations that apply "illinois nonprofit principles and practices" to their work

Illinois Nonprofit Principles and Best Practices Case Studies Publication

Donors Forum issued its seminal publication Illinois Nonprofit Principles and Best Practices in 2004 as part of its Preserving the Public Trust Initiative. The publication, which offers guidance to nonprofits and grantmakers on governance and management, was updated in 2008 to reflect regulatory and legislative changes made since 2004, and to align with a set of national principles issued by Independent Sector. Endorsed by the Illinois Attorney General, the principles cover a wide range of important issues related to ethics, effectiveness, accountability, and transparency -- and go beyond federal, state, and local laws. The practices are specific steps organizations can take to implement these principles.

To demonstrate how grantmakers and nonprofits are applying the Nonprofit Principles to their work, Donors Forum developed five case studies published in a documented called Practical Application of Illinois Nonprofit Principles & Best Practices.   Grantmakers profiled are The Chicago Bar Foundation and the Polk Bros. Foundation.  Nonprofits profiled are Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago, Camp of Dreams, and Metropolitan Family Services.  Read the report at Donors Forum's Scribd account by clicking on the image above.

~ the donors forum team

woods fund creates video to demonstrate successes of its south side initiative

After five years of strategic support to build community organizing capacity on Chicago’s South Side, the Woods Fund, a Member of Donors Forum since we were founded in 1974, announced in the fall of 2009 that it was phasing out of the South Side Initiative.  To document the results of the project, which include, according to a press release from Woods, “nascent organizations have strengthened capacity, powerful relationships have been formed among organizers, and a deeper understanding of key South Side issues” the foundation has created a video.   

Woods Fund South Side Initiative from Jeff Pinzino on Vimeo.

~ the donors forum team