Reducing Summer Learning Loss: Thoughts from Ron Fairchild

On February 4th, Philanthropy New York hosted a members briefing (presented by the Altman Foundation, The Wallace Foundation, and The New York Community Trust, with the New York City Youth Funders Network) that explored how funders can better coordinate and support access to high-quality summer learning programs in New York City. We are pleased to have the program’s moderator, Ron Fairchild, Founding CEO of the National Summer Learning Association, share his thoughts with Smart Assets.

For decades, driven by research that shows the devastating effects of summer learning loss, private philanthropy has funded relatively small-scale programs run by nonprofits and other entities designed to expand summer learning opportunities for low-income youth. In most major U.S. cities, it’s not difficult to find a small number of comprehensive, high-quality summer programs that use philanthropic support to provide disadvantaged youth with a mixture of academic enrichment and recreation during the summer months. Such programs often partner with public schools, but generally exist outside the formal structures and funding streams of large urban districts and other public agencies, which constrains efforts to bring comprehensive programs to scale.
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The Spend-Out Presumption And The Value Of Enduring Institutions

Charles Hamilton

By Charles H. Hamilton
Senior Fellow, Philanthropy New York

Foundations should explicitly consider their lifespan options. However, in my last contribution, I wrote that focusing simply on foundation perpetuity or spending out was, per se, a distraction from: (1) attending to mission and effectiveness first and foremost, and (2) considering other forms of foundation “existence,” such as foundation mergers. I remain distracted by two things: (1) much of the discussion about foundation lifespan tends to skew in favor of spend-out, and (2) the value of enduring, independent philanthropic institutions to civil society is unfortunately ignored.
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The Post-Copenhagen Funding Landscape: Thoughts from Rachel Leon and Terry Odendahl

On January 20th, Philanthropy New York presented a collaborative program with the Environmental Grantmakers Association (EGA) and the Global Greengrants Fund to hear from our philanthropic colleagues about the outcomes from the 2009 Copenhagen UN Climate Change Conference (where world leaders discussed their responses to the climate emergency facing the planet) and what immediate opportunities there are in environmental grantmaking. We are pleased to have Rachel Leon (pictured left), Executive Director of EGA, and Terry Odendahl, CEO of the Global Greengrants Fund, share their thoughts with Smart Assets.

Rachel Leon:
Countries responsible for the bulk of climate pollution passed the first step and submitted their goals on time, as they promised at the Climate Summit in Copenhagen in late December. I had the pleasure of moderating the Jan. 20th discussion of next steps after the Copenhagen summit with Tom Kruse, Program Officer for Democratic Practice-Global Governance at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and Terry Odendahl, CEO of the Global Greengrants Fund. Dozens of foundations attended the session, where we discussed: Who will be most impacted by the next climate treaty framework? What is at stake in terms of economic benefit, human rights, and environmental protection? How can we promote rapid, effective, and coordinated action among governments, NGOs, and civil society organizations?
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The Spend-Out/Perpetuity Distraction…and the Merger Option

Charles Hamilton

By Charles H. Hamilton
Senior Fellow, Philanthropy New York

There is renewed interest in the issue of lifespan for foundations (spend-out versus perpetuity). Nonetheless, these discussions seem like a distraction to me, for two reasons: 1) the perpetuity versus spend-out debate isn’t relevant by itself and distracts from questions of mission and impact, and 2) it diverts us from looking at other options for foundations.
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After We Say Goodbye

By Jane D. Schwartz
Executive Director, Paul Rapoport Foundation

In August of 2009, Anita Nager, the former Executive Director of the Beldon Fund, began a discussion on this blog regarding “spend out” versus “in perpetuity.” At the time Anita was blogging, the Paul Rapoport Foundation had already made the decision to follow Beldon down the spend-out path and disburse our assets in five years, closing our doors completely in 2015. Yes, our decreasing assets played a major role in the board’s decision to adopt this course of action, but in fact, increasing or maintaining our assets was never the driving force in our grantmaking strategy. Rather, how we could best support our grantees always took—and continues to take—precedence. Our concern for our grantees’ current precarious economic situation was the ultimate prod that moved us to the decision to spend out.

We have taken to heart much of the wisdom offered in Beldon’s Giving While Living publication. For example, we are further narrowing our funding foci for our last grantmaking years, but we are especially mindful of one of the other major points made by Beldon: the need to find additional funding sources for our grantees after we spend out. That is my concern as I write today.
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Philanthropy in Haiti: Don’t Miss Out on the Opportunity

Penny Fujiko Willgerodt

By Penny Fujiko Willgerodt
Executive Director, Prospect Hill Foundation

A catastrophic earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale hit Haiti on Tuesday, January 12th, shortly after 5 p.m. The epicenter of the earthquake was just outside of Port-au-Prince, the nation’s capital and the most densely populated area in the country. Thousands of people have died, and thousands more are wounded, most of them without access to adequate medical facilities. Millions are homeless. The national government’s infrastructure has been seriously damaged: the Presidential Palace; Ministries of Finance, Public Transport, Communications, and Justice; and Parliament have all collapsed. Many leaders are missing or known to be dead. The Hotel Montana (built in 1947), one of the most famous hotels in the city, where many U.N. staffers lived, apparently was pretty much destroyed; another famous hotel, The Christopher, home of the U.N. Mission’s headquarters, was badly damaged.

Since daybreak on the morning of the 13th, when people could finally see clearly what the earthquake had wrought, there has been a lot of pain and despair. However, the Haitian people are demonstrating that they are strong, creative, and resilient in the face of such catastrophe. Getting information is difficult, but Facebook and Twitter have emerged as the main vehicles for communication. #haiti and #haitiquake are active Twitter sites; so are those for organizations like Partners In Health and the Lambi Fund of Haiti and individuals like the musician Richard Morse and Melinda Miles, Co-Founder of Konbit Pou Ayiti/KONPAY (both of whom are on the ground in Haiti). Since January 14th, film students from the Ciné Institute in Jacmel have been posting short videos in Kreyòl, French, and English.
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National Service and Grassroots Youth Organizing Groups: A Strategy for Building Diverse Nonprofit and Civic Leadership for New York

By Carmen Balentine
Program Officer, Edward W. Hazen Foundation

The fiscal 2010 budget includes an appropriation of $1.49 billion for the Corporation for National and Community Service, the largest budget in CNCS history. (For example, AmeriCorps, a well-known CNCS-administered program, will expand by 233 percent over the next eight years.) A panel discussion held on November 12, 2009 at Philanthropy New York focused on the potential opportunities for philanthropy to support the development of national service as a vehicle for building a diverse leadership pipeline in the New York City nonprofit sector.

To build a diverse nonprofit and civic leadership pipeline, funders must consider how to support and involve grassroots youth organizing groups. Research from youth activism in education reform shows that organizing provides an avenue for leadership development, social analysis, and political engagement that lasts beyond high school. Youth organizing is a development model that provides opportunities for young people of color to be agents of change and often leads to continued involvement in service and activism.
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The Haitian Earthquake: Response, Relief & Recovery

Philanthropy New York is currently working to coordinate and list our members’ support efforts and we will continue to track relief and recovery in the wake of the tragedy in Haiti. We encourage our members to visit our special webpage on the disaster in the days ahead for more information.

Tell us what your foundation is doing—please send us information about your support for Haiti.

Economic Recovery Through Racial Equity: Thoughts from Maya Wiley

Maya Wiley

 

 

 

 

 

On December 8th, 2009, Philanthropy New York hosted a program (presented by its Special Committee on Increasing Diversity in Philanthropy) with the Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity (PRE) and the Center for Social Inclusion on current strategies to increase the equitable impacts of government stimulus spending. One of the presenters was Maya Wiley, Executive Director of the Center for Social Inclusion, who shared her thoughts on structural racism in a time of economic challenge and political hope. Ms. Wiley was gracious enough to expand on her ideas for Smart Assets.
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Give Generously—You Can’t Help It!

Leonard Glickman

By Leonard Glickman
Chief Executive Officer
FJC – A Foundation of Philanthropic Funds

For those of you who read blogs about philanthropy and charity (you’re reading this, aren’t you?), maybe, like me, you’ve been struck by a few of the articles about altruism and giving and human biology. Since we are deep in the middle of the “Giving Season,” I decided to look further into this subject and see whether giving is indeed a unique human trait.
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