the donors forum blog

work in progress: understanding illinois foundation expenses

Donors Forum has launched a research project in collaboration with the Foundation Center to document the expense patterns of larger Illinois foundations and explore the characteristics that influence these patterns and contribute to foundations' understanding of best practices. This work will produce a report tentatively titled Understanding Illinois Foundation Expenses and will be distributed free of charge.

The report will include:

• A “primer” in question-and-answer format that highlights the principal characteristics influencing foundation expenses based on prior research conducted by the Foundation Center.
• A brief analysis of the expense composition and ratios of Illinois independent and family foundations based on a 2008-10 expenses data set and comparing these findings with all U.S. independent and family foundations in the set for the same period.

In addition, some foundations will be asked to participate in brief interviews to illuminate the many contexts that surround administrative expense decisions and practices.

If you have questions about this research project, please contact Carol Carter, Allstate Foundation Philanthropy Fellow, at ccarter@donorsforum.org; or Robin Berkson, Senior Vice President, at rberkson@donorsforum.org.

~Carol Carter, Allstate Foundation Philanthropy Fellow, Donors Forum

 

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lgbt community needs assessment data presentation and conversation at donors forum on friday, march 8

From October through December of 2011, in partnership with The LGBT Community Fund of The Chicago Community Trust, Morten Group conducted the Chicago LGBT Community Needs Assessment, a comprehensive needs assessment of the entire Chicagoland LGBT community. 

The project team used a four-part strategy to gather responses from more than 2,000 unique participants in just 11 weeks: online surveys, paper data cards, focus groups, and interviews. The LGBT Community Fund, established in 2010, is currently in the process of using the information gathered in order to guide their grantmaking priorities and strategies as they work on raising their first million dollars.

Among the survey’s key findings:

• 68% of data card respondents reported feeling safe at school/work but only 56% said they felt safe within the city at-large
• 66% of survey respondents ranked healthcare/health insurance as their number one concern
•  63% of data card respondents have access to both physical and mental healthcare services (conversely, this means that approximately 1 in 3 respondents report not having access to such services)
• 43% ranked issues related to access to government rights and services (including marriage equality) as their number one concern
• 33% ranked employment as their number one concern

When controlling for demographic variables such as race and age, percentages often shifted from those found in the general survey population. For example, of the one in five survey respondents who reported being unemployed or underemployed (not earning a livable wage), nearly half were people of color. Regarding individual income, when controlling for age (looking only at data from respondents 24 and younger and 55 and older) more than half of respondents reported earning less than $15,000 individually per year, whereas only 25% of overall survey respondents reported falling into this income bracket.

Supplementing the quantitative data were qualitative accounts illustrating individuals’ perspectives on numerous aspects of daily life. Such anecdotes ranged from difficulty obtaining employment, to conflicts with law enforcement, to experiences with “safe spaces” throughout the city and positive connections formed in those spaces. Unexpected similarities were found across demographics; for example, youth, and seniors reported many similar needs, and both groups reported experiencing age discrimination within the LGBT community.

Morten Group and The LGBT Community Fund of The Chicago Community Trust at the Donors Forum Data Presentation on March 8. Left to right: Bob Eichinger, The Chicago Community Trust; Evette Cardona, Polk Bros. Foundation; Roger Doherty, Horizons Foundation; Prue Beidler, The LGBT Community Fund; Mary Morten, Morten Group; Jim Alexander, The LGBT Community Fund; and Dr. Keisha Farmer-Smith, Morten Group.

On Friday, March 8, Mary Morten, President, Morten Group and Dr. Keisha Farmer-Smith, Methodological Lead and Consulting Associate, Morten Group, presented the data in a lunchtime meeting at Donors Forum. Moderated by Prue Beidler, Co-Chair, The LGBT Community Fund, and introduced with remarks by Evette Cardona, Vice President of Programs, Polk Bros. Foundation, the presentation to Donors Forum grantmaking Members and advisory Associate Members led to a robust conversation about ways in which the data gathered for the assessment can guide LGBTQ community funding here in Chicago.

During the discussion, much attention was paid to the topic of investing resources in training non-LGBT-specific organizations to better serve LGBT members of their communities, as well as focusing on LGBT-specific organizations, since many LGBT-identified Chicagoans receive services such as healthcare from organizations serving the general population. Given the prominence of healthcare-related concerns in the study’s findings, attendees also discussed the necessity of disseminating report information to healthcare funders specifically.

Other topics of discussion included philanthropic giving within the LGBT community alongside ally giving, the difference between lack of resources and presence of resources which people feel unsafe to access, and comparisons with similar citywide studies in New York.

Want to take a look at the report? Just click here. For last September’s blog Donors Forum guest blog entry about the project, click here. If you have any questions, please email jessica@mortengroup.com.

 -- The Chicago LGBT Community Needs Assessment Project Team, Morten Group
Mary Morten, President
Dr. Keisha Farmer-Smith, Methodological Lead, Consulting Associate
Jessica Kadish, Project Coordinator

nonprofit finance fund unveils illinois' results from 2013 state of the sector survey

On March 25, the Nonprofit Finance Fund unveiled the results of its 2013 State of the Nonprofit Sector Survey, detailing the finances, operations, and outlook of 5,983 nonprofit organizations across the U.S. The organization was kind enough to supply its data from Illinois organizations to Donors Forum. 

Click the image to enlarge it.

Illinois nonprofits continued to report strong demand for services, with 76 percent of respondents indicating that service demand either slightly or significantly increased in 2012. However, just 51 percent of organizations said that they were able to meet service demand in 2012, and 52 percent expect to be able to meet demand in 2013.

 

The NFF data emphasizes the significant impact of nonpayment by the Illinois state government to nonprofits for services rendered, with just 16 percent of organizations surveyed indicating they receive state and local government payments on or ahead of schedule, compared with 39 percent in the full data set. Forty-two percent of organizations said they anticipate and plan for this delay, while the most commonly report impacts of the late payments were use of reserve funds, accessing lines of credit, and utilizing funding from other sources.

Click the image to enlarge it. 

Sixty-three percent of responding nonprofit organizations in Illinois said that funders asked them to measure the long-term impact of their programs, and 82 percent said they collect such information either regularly or sometimes. Of the organizations that do not regularly measure long-term program impact, the most common reasons for not doing so were a lack of staff or time, no resource to hire outside consultants, or program impact that is not easily measured.

 When asked what they expect to be the most significant factors for their ability to fulfill their mission in 2013, the most common answers from Illinois nonprofits were recent natural disasters, the preservation of the charitable deduction, continued slow jobs recovery, and the outcome of the fiscal cliff negotiations. Forty-nine percent of respondents said the 2013 financial outlook for their organizations should be more or less the same as in 2012, with 16 percent saying 2013 would be easier than 2012 and 35 percent saying 2013 would be harder.

The report with data specific to Illinois can be found here. The full report with data for the United States can be found here.

~Nick Ammerman, Library Services Coordinator, Donors Forum

 

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coming in mid-march: the 2013 economic outlook survey

Donors Forum has conducted an annual economic outlook survey of its grantmaking Members and nonprofit Partners since 2002, and in the upcoming weeks we will launch the 2013 Economic Outlook Survey, designed to gauge the impact of current economic trends on grantmaking plans and strategies as well as nonprofit operating capacities. In an effort to better capture and forecast the financial climate of all Donors Forum’s members, this year’s survey will ask participants for actual year-end 2012 financial information, instead of year-end fiscal estimates as requested in past surveys.

The 2013 Economic Outlook Survey will be emailed to Donors Forum's grantmaking Members and nonprofit Partners in mid-March. If you are the main representative to Donors Forum for your organization, please complete and submit the brief survey emailed to you. To show our appreciation, participants will be entered into a random drawing for the chance to win one of three $50 Amazon gift cards.

We encourage all Members and Partners to participate, as the survey data will be used by funders and nonprofits alike to benchmark and to inform strategy and operations. Donors Forum will also use the report to help policymakers, the media, private sector leaders, donors, and the general public understand the demands on nonprofits and grantmakers, and the importance of supporting these organizations and creating an environment that allows them to fulfill their missions efficiently and effectively. Dissemination of Donors Forum’s 2013 Economic Outlook Report is scheduled for late Spring 2013.

Please watch for your email invitation to participate in the 2013 Economic Outlook Survey. Your participation is very important to the success of this survey.  If you have any questions on the survey, please contact Carol Carter, Allstate Foundation Philanthropy Fellow, at ccarter@donorsforum.org; or Robin Berkson, Senior Vice President, at rberkson@donorsforum.org.

Read or download the most recent Economic Outlook Report here.  

~Carol Carter, Allstate Foundation Philanthropy Fellow

illinois ranks 5 out of 51 for total individual giving; 30 out of 51 for percentage of income

According to an interactive online tool from The Chronicle of Philanthropy, people in Illinois give an average of 4.2% of their income, ranking the state 30 out of 51. However, in terms of total dollars, Illinois ranks much higher, coming in at 5 out of 51 states for total contributions of $6 billion.

Donors Forum collected highlights about individual giving in Illinois in a fact sheet, which you can find here. “Illinoisans are a generous people but we can always give more,” said Valerie S. Lies, President and CEO of Donors Forum. “Nonprofits and the people they serve continue to face enormous challenges that can only be overcome with strong support from individual donors and volunteers.” The free tool, called How America Gives, can display information such as total contributions, contributions by household, and percentage of income given by household. The statistics can be narrowed to specific metro areas, counties, towns, and zip codes. Also available are several other breakdowns, including giving in "red states" and "blue states."

The figures come from The Chronicle's study in which the original data was recorded from the Internal Revenue Service based on tax records from 2008—the most recent year for which such data were available. Nonprofits can use the data to target their fundraising campaigns to very specific areas. For example, The Chronicle found that “wealthy donors who have ritzy addresses tend not to be as generous as affluent people who live in areas that are more economically diverse.” Find more information at the links in this article and also in The Chronicle’s main story on the tool.

~ Celeste Wroblewski, VP, External Relations, Donors Forum

guest post from compasspoint: seeking to understand the role of fundraisers

As soon as we hit “send” we knew we were onto something. 

CompassPoint and the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund just launched a national survey exploring the role of development in nonprofits. The purpose of the research is to better understand the unique challenges of fundraisers and learn more about the issues that are contributing to high turnover in this critical leadership position.

The survey, aimed at development leaders and the executive directors who work with them, is being distributed across the country by over 20 foundation and capacity building partners.  Just as soon as the survey launched we started to hear from people—lots of people—reaching out to air their frustration, share stories, but also to thank us for asking the right questions.

So what exactly is touching a nerve? Here are a few of the voices from my inbox:

Thank you for taking on this important work…I’m retiring at the end of this year and the board has formed a transition team to prepare the search for a replacement. The survey brought up a lot of specific points about executive director and development director roles that the board needs to understand.

I am a dyed-in-the-wool development associate. The only thing I want to direct is the traffic between my ears. However, you could not hope for a better right hand to carry out your plans if you ARE a director….I am writing to tell you that I BURN to know why the position of development director has the occupational hazard of stressaholocism… You want to hear from development directors? I think they need to hear from us.

Having been both an executive director and a development director, I find that the development role is far more stressful, requiring God given intuitiveness and a very unique set of sales skills typically learned best in the for-profit world.  And in the for-profit world, one is both praised and paid for success. There is unfortunately a different approach when it comes to nonprofits. I believe that this is one of the main reasons for the incredibly high turnover in development personnel. I hear about it weekly as development directors determine that it is a thankless job for what is expected and paid. 

CompassPoint's “on-the-ground" research methodology, combined with our ability to move quickly to address emerging sector issues, allow us to identify and explore the leadership and management topics that will be useful to nonprofits now. This project, modeled after our executive director leadership series Daring to Lead (which significantly influenced how the sector understands leadership and supports executive directors) promises to make a similar contribution.  And like all of our research, we ensure its relevance by engaging sector experts, choosing the right partners, and listening deeply to nonprofit leaders. 

That’s where you come in. 

1. Participate in the Survey—if  you are a senior-level fund development staff or an ED/CEO who works with one you can participate in this important research effort by completing this short online survey by the end of June.  If you do not meet either of these criteria, please forward this to other people inside or outside your organization who do.  

2. Share your Stories—to complement the survey data we are looking for “bright spot” successes and nightmarish lessons learned. If you want to share your stories please contact me.

We look forward to hearing from you and sharing the research findings with you later this year.

 

~Marla Cornelius, Senior Project Director, CompassPoint

 

 

 

 

latest giving in illinois report shows illinois foundations' giving outpaces u.s. foundations overall

Although lagging behind foundations in other states with regard to asset growth, Illinois foundation giving outpaced U.S. foundations overall, says the latest Giving in Illinois report issued today by Donors Forum. This year's report was produced in partnership with The Foundation Center and uses data reported to them by the foundations. The report examines data from 2010, the most recent full year for which data has been reported, and reveals the varying ways in which donors support nonprofits in the arts, health, human services, and several other nonprofit sectors.

"To ensure their effectiveness in Illinois, especially in such tough economic times, many grantmakers are sharpening their focus, and seeking to increase efficiency and impact, while objectively demonstrating value of their support. Giving in Illinois, and Donors Forum's partnership with The Foundation Center, shows how Illinois Philanthropy works to improve the quality of life in communities across the state," said Gregory S. Gross, Ed.D., President and CEO of Michael Reese Health Trust, and a Member of Donors Forum's Board of Directors. "It's an unusually clear and valuable resource for nonprofits, government agencies, policymakers, grantseekers, and other stakeholders," he added.

Key takeaways from the report include:

• The giving of 4,031 Illinois foundations reached a record $2.4 billion in 2010, up 81% since 2000 (adjusted for inflation, giving rose 43%). This outpaces giving by U.S. foundations overall, which rose a more modest 66% (31% adjusted for inflation).

• The $27.9 billion in assets reported by Illinois foundations have grown more slowly than the national average, although this largely reflects the concentration of new foundations in areas of rapid economic growth, such as the West Coast. 

• Illinois funders' support of general operating expenses exceeds the national share, and accounted for the second largest share of funding in Illinois -- almost 30%, which surpassed the 22.4% reported nationally.

• Independent and family foundations account for the majority -- almost nine out of ten -- of Illinois foundations and resources, including the state's largest foundation by assets -- the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

• Illinois corporate foundations account for one in ten grant dollars, giving more than $222 million in 2012. Peoria-based Caterpillar Foundation tops that list.

• The Chicago Community Trust leads among community foundations in the state, accounting for 86% of all community foundation assets in the state and 91% of community foundation giving.

• Foundations in Cook County and surrounding areas control the majority of resources, representing 61% of total giving by Illinois foundations. Similarly, nonprofits in Cook County benefited from the single largest share of Illinois foundation funding, 85.1% of grant dollars.

• Education and human services are the top funding priorities in Illinois, with foundations providing just over half of the 2010 giving in Illinois for education (27.1%) and human services (23.5%). 

Download a copy of the report here.

~Marilou Jones, Director of Communications, Donors Forum

state budget preview: further cuts to safety net on the horizon

Illinois' economic vitality and the strength of our communities depend on a well-managed and well-maintained network of nonprofit services. While the details of Governor Quinn's fiscal year 2013 budget won't be released until his budget address on February 22, an analysis from Voices for Illinois Children's Fiscal Policy Center estimates that cuts to human services represents 60 percent of the Governor’s total cuts of $574 million. These cuts are being justified as a necessary response to weak projected revenue growth and skyrocketing pension liabilities.These cuts will likely add an extraordinary burden to the already hollowed out social safety net. 

The analysis projects that human services (including funding for the Department of Human Services, Department of Children and Family Services, Department on Aging, and several smaller agencies) will bear the brunt of the state’s total budget cuts. The $350 million reduction translates into programmatic cuts of about 10 percent (excluding programs funded by Medicaid dollars); these eliminations are on top of FY12’s 12.8 percent reduction in programs and operations. To see this from a long-term perspective, from FY09 to FY12 addiction treatment was reduced by 69%; youth services by 41%; and mental health grants by 36%. 

While cuts may be inevitable in order for Illinois to get back on track, Donors Forum will be in Springfield on February 22 for the Governor’s budget address and will continue to advocate for a budget that reflects the will of the people of Illinois and best serves our sector and our communities.

~Hannah White, Public Policy Coordinator

 image source via wikimedia commons

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

NO to new fees and taxes for nonprofits

As a significant economic engine in Illinois and Chicago, nonprofits contribute nearly 10% of state GDP and 10% of the workforce (with 70% of those employees working in Chicago); the nonprofit sector can't afford to lose its ability to operate under the additional burdens of new fees and taxes. But there's a more mission-oriented reason to protest these fees.

Without nonprofits, positive outcomes for education, health, economic stability, public safety, cultural literacy, and basic citizenship are harder to come by. Without nonprofits, our communities worsen. (In the long run, nonprofits are a bargain. See this new report on the specific socio-economic impact some nonprofit services have on our communities.)

Times are tough everywhere. But when calls for shared sacrifice (see the Chicago Sun-Times and the New York Times) specifically target nonprofits, it's time to reexamine whether we as a state and as a City can really afford such sacrifice. 

Here in Illinois, we are #1 in the country for late payment, #3 for contracts failing to cover the full cost of services, and #3 for contract terms changing in mid-stream -- all external pressures constraining the operating environment for nonprofits. Meanwhile, the demand for services from hundreds of thousands of people living in our communities continues to rise.

Across the country, local municipalities - including Chicago and municipalities in Illinois - are looking increasingly to nonprofits as a source of much-needed revenue. The National Council of Nonprofits has collected a sobering tally of attempts across the country of local governments asking nonprofits for Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOTS), water and utility usage fees, new property & sales taxes, and other new fees as a way to fill their gaping budget holes. Little by little, the social compact between the public and nonprofit erodes, to the potential detriment to the sector and our communities.

The issue isn't likely to disappear any time soon, so here's what to remember and repeat about new fees and taxes on nonprofits:

• In serving the common good, and easing the burden of government, nonprofits earn their tax exempt status everyday;
• They are a financial burden cash strapped nonprofits are currently unable to bear;
• They impair nonprofits' ability to provide critical services to thousands of people in local communities.

See how Donors Forum responded to the New York Times article here.

Look to Donors Forum as we keep an eye on this issue for you.

~Delia Coleman, Public Policy Manager, Communications & Outreach

photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nohodamon/3580748194/ via creative commons

donors forum report highlights nonprofits' contribution to the illinois economy

Donors Forum has released a new report, A Vital Force in Illinois: The Nonprofit Economy 2011, that shows that the nonprofit sector remains a key player in the state’s overall financial health. In Illinois, nonprofit organizations:

• Rival the state’s largest industries in size. The number of workers employed by nonprofits in Illinois exceeds the worldwide workforces of major corporate employers Boeing, Kraft, Abbott Labs, Sara Lee, and Motorola combinded, and is more than double the size of the entire construction and transportation, warehousing, and utilities industries' 2009 workforces.
• Account for ten percent of all private sector jobs.
• Contribute significantly to Illinois’ economy. 
• Have a positive multiplier effect on the economy. 
• Reduce state costs. 
• Generate $9.3 billion in volunteer time annually.

The report also suggests actions that the general public, lawmakers, foundation and corporate leaders, and nonprofit staff and board members should take to ensure that nonprofits continue to be a vital force in Illinois' economy.

A Vital Force was made possible in part by the Henrietta Lange Burk Fund, administered by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Read or download the full report, along with recommendations and implications, here.

~Alyse Bentz, Communications and Development Volunteer

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

 

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

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: 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

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.

guest post: new research shows settled immigrants are as likely to give charitably as native born americans

Una Okonkwo Osili has been an immigrant twice. She is the daughter of an American mother and a Nigerian father who met as students at Cornell University. When she was six months old, the family moved from New York to Enugu, Nigeria, where she grew up among thousands of other immigrants looking for jobs in the Nigerian Oil Boom in the 1970s. When she was 15 she came back to America, where she got her BA at Harvard, and then got her Masters and PhD in economics from Northwestern University. Again she rode a wave of immigration as America’s foreign born population increased 57 percent, to 31.1 million.

Today Dr. Osili is the Director of Research at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. She is the go-to guy in academia for analysis of how immigrants in America give, or don’t give, to charities and friends. Like most people she learned about giving first from her own parents. She says her Nigerian father used to tell her, “If you close your hand, nothing will leave, but nothing will come in.” So she chose to combine her expertise in economics with a personal understanding of what it takes to become a part of a new land.

Her paper Immigrant Assimilation and Charitable Giving (pdf download) provides data to debunk myths about immigrants. Osili’s research shows that, after the first ten years, immigrants to America give to charities at the same rates as native born Americans, and they give more through what she calls “private transfer networks.” In fundraising terms, this means immigrants give the same as native born Americans through formal giving to charities and give more than native born Americans through informal giving to friends and families in need. Formal giving would be donating money to a hospital. Informal giving is giving money and goods to a family member outside your own household (not your own children), such buying medicine for your brother, giving your grandmother a ride to the doctor, or giving your cousin who just had a baby a bag of groceries and a box of diapers.

Using data from the Center on Philanthropy Panel Study (COPPS), Osili learned that:

• Immigrant status does not have a statistically significant impact on the probability of giving or the level of charitable giving.

• Only recent immigrants (who migrated within the past 10 years to the US) are less likely to give. As immigrants gain US experience, their participation and levels of charitable giving become the same as American natives.

• On the other hand, immigrants are 11 percentage points more likely to give private transfers of money to family, friends, and neighbors living outside their own household (not counting their own children or alimony.) Unlike their giving to charities, immigrants with 10-15 years experience in the US continue to have higher incidence and levels of income transfers. So after more than ten years, immigrants give as much as native Americans to formal charities, but also continue to give more in informal giving to help their family, friends, and neighbors.

University fundraisers are already using Osili’s data. Many universities use tailgating parties to cultivate their major donors, leveraging two great incentives for the traditional white male donors: exclusive parking spots and great quantities of adult beverages. However, the schools found they were not attracting their minority alumni from science and engineering to tailgating parties. When they offered scientific lectures by star professors, minority alumni turned out in much higher numbers to the cultivation events.

Americans are, by far, the most generous people in the world. The latest edition of Giving USA (pdf download) shows that Americans gave more than $303 billion to charities in 2009 in the midst of the Great Recession. This is more than the GDP’s of South Africa and Thailand, slightly less than the GDP’s of Argentina and Denmark. We give away a lot of money. But as Dr. Osili says, “Giving back is a part of every culture and every religion.” Her analysis shows that immigrants bring with them the traditions of caring directly for the people closest to them, and quickly learn to give through formal charity channels as well.

~ Joan Flanagan is the professional fundraiser for the Center for New Community, a Forum Partner.  This is a cross post from the Center's blog. A popular trainer for Donors Forum, Joan is next scheduled to teach Fundraising for Smaller Organizations and Congregations on Tuesday, October 19, 2010.  You can register now for only $64 for Forum Partners (regular fee is $90).

We invite other Members, Associate Members, Forum Partners, and allies of Donors Forum to submit guest posts.  Please contact the editor.

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

guest blog: leader honored by obama urges innovators to "head over" to donors forum

The Inspiration Cafe would not exist today if I didn't have the handy dandy resource of the Donors Forum. The Donors Forum offers a library for nonprofits and consultants that serve them. They have walls of books and magazines all pertaining to philanthropy and a very helpful and knowledgeable staff.

Twenty years ago I had one book about starting your own volunteer organization and a ton of crazy ideas in my head. When I arrived at the Donors Forum, I stood in the library with my mouth gaping open and my heart racing because I knew I was standing in a place that for me was the holy grail. I love to hunt and research ideas and because I had no job at the time I could spend hours in this library. So that is what I did.

Today you can look up all the information you need by computer which is super fast and you can take classes on grant writing, board development, and leadership development which would really help you launch your organization. They even have a blog you can subscribe to which would keep you in the loop on trends and opportunities. I will admit there were many days that I was frustrated and miserable in the library because it was all so overwhelming but the days that I couldn't write fast enough about how to get my nonprofit off the ground outweighed them by a mile.

So all of you budding founders of nonprofits head over to the Donors Forum and let me know how it went. It will just be the first step for you because there are libraries like this in your cities as well. Drop me a line about your favorite resource center because it makes me happy when I get first hand feedback which then gives me a new place to explore....Hallelujah!

~ Lisa Nigro is the founder of Inspiration Corporation, a Donors Forum Forum Partner. In July she won the 2010 Presidential Citizens Medal, one of the highest civilian honors in the country. President Obama presented her with the award earlier this month as seen in the photo above. Originally recorded July 15, 2010.

a sorry state: the unfortunate facts + what illinois nonprofits + funders can do to fight them

It’s no surprise to anyone in the nonprofit and philanthropic sector that Illinois’ economy is in a sorry state.  Everyday, we are confronted with disturbing stories on the front page of the newspaper or from friends and colleagues about vital services being cut, sharply increasing need, lay-offs, and delayed State payments to contracted providers.  Due to a failure of State leadership, the basic services, essential safety nets, and core programs that make Illinois a great place to live are all in danger.

As part of its mission to strengthen the nonprofit sector in Illinois, Donors Forum is collaborating with a variety of organizations to promote accountability of the State through fiscal reform and reform of the human services system.

Voices for Illinois Children, a Donors Forum Partner and a member of Donors Forum's Public Policy Committee, recently released a report through its Tax and Budget Policy Initiative called Passing the Buck: FY 2011 State Budget Threatens Key Programs for Children and Families.  The report closely examines and analyzes the potentially devastating impact of the lump-sum budget passed by the Illinois General Assembly.

Passing the Buck (PDF download) is a disheartening examination of the failure of leadership in Springfield to take responsible action to fix the State’s structural deficit or reduce the huge backlog of unpaid bills and the fundamental need for a more fair and accountable system.  The report addresses four main issues:

• Lump-sum appropriations for education, healthcare, and human services, as well as additional lump sums to be allocated to the Governor
• Emergency budget powers enabling the Governor to control spending and make changes in state programs
• Stop-gap revenue measures that will exacerbate budget problems in future fiscal years
• The unresolved issue of state pension contributions for FY 2011

With a cumulative deficit nearing $10 billion and a $5 billion backlog of unpaid bills to school districts, human service agencies, and local communities, the report demonstrates how Illinois missed yet another opportunity to responsibly address the ongoing budgetary crisis.  How much longer can we afford to wait?

You can act now to help by reading and endorsing Donors Forum's Fair and Accountable: Partnership Principles for a Sustainable Human Services System.  Other ideas for taking action are here.

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

a handy round-up of resources on the giving usa 2010 report

Thanks to Edith Falk, a member of Donors Forum's board of directors; Campbell & Company, and the Giving USA Institute, we are able to provide you with a round-up of links on Giving USA 2010: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2009, which aims to reflect upon giving patterns of 2009 so that nonprofit organizations can adjust and improve their fundraising efforts in 2010 and beyond.  The resources include:

• an executive summary of the report (download a PDF or view online)
  

• a free 90-minute on-demand webinar on the report, called First Look: Giving USA 2010

• a video of Edith Falk introducing the report on the Giving USA website (Edith is also vice-chair of the Giving USA Foundation)

• a link for viewing a video on five ways to use the report as well as links for purchasing the report, slide decks with key tables from the report, and other resources related to the report.

~ Susan Parsons, Communications and Development Volunteer, 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

invitation to "america's fiscal future: making difficult choices" july 21 at university club of chicago

Andrew Solomon of The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has invited Members, Forum Partners, Associate Members, and friends of Donors Forum to a free event and reception, America's Fiscal Future: Making Difficult Choices. It will be held Wednesday, July 21, 2010 at 5:30 p.m. at University Club of Chicago's Michigan Room, 76 E. Monroe Street, Chicago. 

The event will feature:

• Dr. John Palmer, Professor and Dean-Emeritus, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University; Former Trustee for Medicare and Social Security, and
• Dr. Rudolph Penner, Senior Fellow, Urban Institute; Former Director, Congressional Budget Office.

MacArthur President Robert Gallucci will introduce the event along with Daniel Sullivan, the Executive Vice President and Director of Research for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.  The event will be moderated by Patricia Widder, member of the Chicago Tribune editorial board.

Please RSVP to events@macfound.org or 312.516.1532.  For more information:

• visit this page on the foundation's website;
• download a PDF of a related report, Choosing the Nation's Fiscal Future; and
• visit the related website, www.OurFiscalFuture.org, for more on this topic and ways to get involved through social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter.

~ Celeste Wroblewski, Donors Forum

find tweets, posts, photos + more about the donors forum luncheon with nonprofit leader david la piana

We were excited to welcome almost 600 guests to Donors Forum's 36th Annual Members and Forum Partners luncheon today.  The luncheon featured David La Piana, a leading thinker in the sector, speaking on the converging trends that are affecting philanthropy and nonprofits -- the same subject as a paper his consulting firm produced (PDF download).

Guests were invited to blog, Tweet, and post to a variety of social media sites using the hashtag #dfconverge.   Donors Forum is tracking those through a Twitter widget and through Google alerts, and is aggregating them here:  http://bit.ly/DFconvergeTwt

We will continue to posts thoughts, photos, and video responses to the luncheon in the next few weeks. 

~ the donors forum team

nonprofit leaders invited to a free seminar june 9 on the latest "giving usa" report

Two Donors Forum Partners, Campbell & Company and the Northwestern Memorial Foundation, are inviting Illinois nonprofit leaders to a free seminar presenting the newly released Giving USA 2010, a comprehensive annual report from the Giving USA Foundation on results and trends in philanthopic giving in the U.S.

First Look: Giving USA 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010, 4:30-6:30 p.m. (Registration, 4:00 p.m)
Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Prentice Women's Hospital  - Conference Room "L", 3rd floor
250 East Superior St., Chicago, Illinois

Campbell & Company President Peter Fissinger will present the newly released findings.  Chair and CEO Edith Falk, a Donors Forum board member, will moderate a discussion with nonprofit leaders who will share their insights about the trends, how they may affect fundraising, and what the future may hold.  They will take questions as time allows.  The panel includes:

• Stephen Falk, President, Northwestern Memorial Foundation, Chicago (not related to Edith Falk)
• David Hawkanson, Executive Director, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago
• Laura S. Thrall, President and Chief Executive Officer, United Way of Metropolitan Chicago (a Donors Forum Member)
• Laura S. Washington, CEO, Woods Fund of Chicago (a Donors Forum Member)

A reception immediately follows the program.  Space is limited; RSVP immediately to rsvp@campbellcompany.com or telephone Noel Dunn at 312-896-8884.

~ the donors forum team

invitation to "aging of america: challenge and opportunities" april 7 at the spertus museum

Andrew Solomon of The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has invited Members, Partners, Associate Members, and friends of Donors Forum to a free event and reception, The Aging of America: Challenges and Opportunities. It will be held Wednesday, April 7, 2010 at 5:30 p.m. at the Spertus Museum Auditorium, 610 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago. Please RSVP to events@macfound.org or call 312.516.1532.

The event will feature:

• Dr. John Rowe, Professor, Columbia Mailman School of Public Health; former CEO, Aetna; and Chair, MacArthur Research Network on an Aging Society, and
• Dr. S. Jay Olshansky, Professor, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago.

MacArthur President Robert Gallucci will introduce the event, which will be moderated by Judy Graham, health reporter at The Chicago Tribune. For more information, see the video below and please visit this web page on the foundation's website.

~ the donors forum team

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

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

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