The Art of Dentistry, Or: How Philanthropy Can Scale Away S.V.

Published August 23, 2010 Thought Leaders 1 Comment
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By Lisa Turngren, President, Frank and Ruth E. Caruso Foundation

As philanthropists, we are many times faced with finding ways to fill a funding gap with our grant dollars. What we may oftentimes overlook is that beyond the gap lies a chasm—a deeper underlying societal issue that affects each and every one of us. Certainly during these tough economic times we are seeing numerous instances where state and federal funding is being partially or completely cut, thus widening the already existing gaps.

Violence against women and girls continues unabated in every continent, country, and culture. It takes a devastating toll on women’s lives, on their families, and on society as a whole. Most societies prohibit such violence—yet the reality is that too often, it is covered up or tacitly condoned.

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Responding to Haitian Devastation, At Home

Published August 16, 2010 The Haitian Earthquake , Thought Leaders Leave a Comment
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By James R. Knickman
President and Chief Executive Officer, New York State Health Foundation

The devastating earthquake in Port au Prince in January has lately fallen off many people’s radar, for lots of reasons: six months is a long time in today’s world; Haiti is a long way from New York; the oil spill in the Gulf Coast is closer to home and continues to capture our attention. But the earthquake affected—and continues to affect—hundreds of thousands of Haitians and their families directly, and prompted millions of people across the globe to ask, “What can I do to help?”

At the New York State Health Foundation (NYSHealth), staff members almost immediately asked me whether our organization could find a way to help that was consistent with our mission to improve the health of New Yorkers. Although we quickly established that our Foundation could not support on-the-ground efforts in Haiti, we could identify ways to help meet an enormous need here at home.
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Equitable Recovery for All New Yorkers: The NY Stimulus Alliance

Published August 9, 2010 Thought Leaders 2 Comments
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By Maria Mottola
Executive Director, New York Foundation

Construction sites are common enough around New York and unlikely to draw much attention—so it must have seemed unusual to see a large group on a guided tour of construction sites in Northern Manhattan and the Bronx. On July 28th, I joined colleagues, community leaders, and grantee partners for a bus tour that began in Harlem, continued through Highbridge, and went on to Newburgh, Yonkers, and Poughkeepsie. The tour was organized by Community Voices Heard, a membership organization of over 35,000 low-income families with chapters throughout the state. The purpose of the tour was to highlight how federal stimulus dollars are being spent in different low-income communities. Where is stimulus funding working and what still needs to be done?
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Albany Dysfunction: Is Change Possible?

Published July 30, 2010 Program Recaps 1 Comment
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Philanthropy New York recently held a members briefing (sponsored by the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, The New York Community Trust, and The Clark Foundation) focusing on the current climate in the New York State legislature, how it affects the work of the nonprofit sector, and how funders and advocates can work together to produce change in Albany. We are pleased to have one of the program’s presenters, Dick Dadey, Executive Director of the Citizens Union of the City of New York, provide us with a recap.

Citizens Union Foundation participated in a thought-provoking session on July 20th at Philanthropy New York in which the impact of New York State government’s dysfunction on the nonprofit community was discussed. The conversation established the connection between the need for systemic reform and the desire of nonprofits to see their issues addressed more openly and the funding for the services they provide decided more impartially. The back-and-forth between the panel and the attendees opened the door for foundations to understand why change in Albany is not only needed but also possible, so that the nonprofits they fund can work more effectively and efficiently.
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Don’t Forget the Small Guys

Published July 19, 2010 Thought Leaders 3 Comments
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By Miguel Bonilla
Director of Strengthening New York City Nonprofits
United Way of New York City

Sometimes it’s easy to forget how much nonprofits touch people’s lives.

Reflecting on the ways my life has been touched by nonprofits, I realize I would be very different without them. I remember getting bags of canned food and warm jackets at our church from kids not much older than myself; I remember making smores during a Boy Scout camping trip; and I remember making pens filled with shredded money to learn about entrepreneurship from Junior Achievement. In college, I was active in Amnesty International and eventually earned a graduate scholarship through the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship.

Each one of these organizations provided me with life-changing opportunities that might not have been available to the son of poor farm-raised immigrants from Puerto Rico and Mexico. Each organization was also a big risk for someone to start and to support financially.
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Finding the Right Balance: Thoughts on Advocacy and Direct Service Funding from Ashley Blanchard

Published July 9, 2010 Program Recaps , Thought Leaders Leave a Comment
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On June 10th, Philanthropy New York held a panel discussion to help funders consider how to strike their own balance between direct services and advocacy in a way that best matches their goals and achieves the greatest impact. We are pleased to have the session’s moderator, Ashley Blanchard, Senior Consultant at TCC Group, share her thoughts with Smart Assets.

As a strategic consultant to foundations, I work with clients to help them clarify what they want to achieve, and how they plan to achieve it. Among the strategies we typically discuss are advocacy and direct services. To some clients, the idea of advocacy is unappealing—it connotes protests and raises IRS concerns. For others, direct services seem too “simple,” merely plugging a hole when the core of the social problem remains unchanged. All too often, these strategies are seen to represent opposing values: you either fundamentally believe in advocacy or direct services, but certainly not both.
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What BP Won’t Be Paying For—and How You Can Help

Published July 1, 2010 Thought Leaders Leave a Comment
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Penny Fujiko Willgerodt

By Penny Fujiko Willgerodt
Executive Director, Prospect Hill Foundation

(This post originally appeared in OnEarth Magazine on June 11, 2010 and is reprinted with permission.)

We at the Gulf Coast Fund have noticed people asking why they should support nonprofit organizations responding to the BP oil drilling disaster when, as they say, “Isn’t BP supposed to be paying for this mess?”

Yes. BP should and will pay. There is no way of knowing when and how. (Exxon-Valdez is a case in point. Exxon/Mobil has still paid only a fraction of what they had promised.)

But one thing we do know is that what BP will eventually pay will in no way address the full costs of this disaster.
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The Juvenile Justice Initiative at Philanthropy New York: Closing Remarks from Judge Judith S. Kaye

Published June 22, 2010 Program Recaps , Thought Leaders Leave a Comment
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The Juvenile Justice Initiative at Philanthropy New York is philanthropy’s response to the growing momentum for systems reform in New York State and New York City. Its long-term goal is to ensure an organized and timely response by philanthropy to reduce the flow of children and youth into the juvenile justice system, and to reorient the system from a correctional to a youth-development and therapeutic model.

On June 14, 2010, Philanthropy New York held the first of a series of sessions designed to provide a forum for New York City foundations and donors to share information and develop an informed understanding of where their own funding priorities intersect with the continuum of reform efforts. The session’s closing remarks were delivered by The Honorable Judith S. Kaye, who served as Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals for 15 years until her retirement in 2008. We are pleased to share them here on Smart Assets.
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BoardServeNYC: Responding to the Challenge of Strengthening Grantee Boards

Published June 7, 2010 Thought Leaders 1 Comment
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By Gordon J. Campbell
President & CEO, United Way of New York City

According to data reported by the Foundation Center, the nation’s more than 75,000 grantmaking foundations distributed nearly $43 billion in grants last year. In 2007, foundations in the New York metro area distributed nearly $8.4 billion in grants worldwide. Government, of course, is an even larger source of funds for nonprofits in our area. The City of New York, according to The New York Times, annually awards nonprofits $4 billion in competitive contracts.

Given the magnitude of these investments, I think it’s fair to say that funders, whether they’re foundations, government agencies, corporations, or individual donors, have a vested interest in the governance of the nonprofits they support.
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Random Reflections By A New Author

Published May 24, 2010 Thought Leaders Leave a Comment
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By Jeffrey R. Solomon
President, The Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies

I recently heard the esteemed Israeli author, Amos Oz, remind us that when we dream we dream of perfection—whether of a person, an experience, or a country. Reality never gives us that same perfection. Since Charles Bronfman and I wrote The Art of Giving: Where the Soul Meets a Business Plan, we’ve been in a dozen states talking to numerous audiences, professional and lay, with serious interest in philanthropy. The give and take with these audiences provides a wonderful mirror to reflect upon some of the issues and challenges of the field. As with so many aspects of life, I am blessed from what I learn from these encounters and how these lessons inform my practice.
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