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Celebrate Corporate Philanthropy Day
February 25 was National Corporate Philanthropy Day. Corporate foundations, giving programs and volunteer initiatives are vital contributors to the well-being and enhancements of our communities. Massachusetts-based corporate foundations and giving programs contributed more than $150,000,000 in 2005.
AGM supports our corporate members through conferences, roundtables, and other resources that target the needs of corporate philanthropy professionals.
To celebrate the achievements of our corporate members, AGM hosted a Corporate Philanthropy Roundtable on February 25 to highlight successful partnerships between corporations and community programs. We partnered with the Massachusetts Business Roundtable for this event.
Learn more about the innovative and supportive relationships that AGM’s corporate members have developed with local nonprofits:
Bill Requiring Diversity Data Collection and Reporting in California
On January 29, 2008 the California Assembly passed AB 624, a bill that would require foundations (private, public operating, and corporate) with assets of greater than $250 million to disclose the race/ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation of their boards and staff, as well as collect and report data for how many and what percentage of total grant dollars were awarded to organizations where at least 50% of the board and staff are members of ethnic minorities, lesbians, gays, bisexual, and/or transgendered individuals. Further, these foundations would be required to report a breakdown of the number of grants and percentage of dollars that go to organizations that serve different ethnic groups or sexual orientations, as well as the percentage of contracts awarded to businesses owned by members of those groups. The bill now goes to the California Senate.
There has been, not surprisingly, a strong opposition to this bill from the California grantmaking community.
* The three California Regional Associations of Grantmakers, and the Council on Foundations all oppose this measure. The COF press release about their positions.
* The Nonprofit & Unincorporated Organizations Committee of the Business Law Section of the State Bar Association of California also opposed the bill, on grounds that included privacy concerns, and this was prior to a later amendment that added collecting data on the sexual orientation of staff, trustees and grantees of foundations.
While many foundations, leaders and associations in philanthropy recognize that, historically, there have been a disproportionately small percentage of grants and dollars awarded to communities of color, the GLBT community and other under-served populations, there is significant concern that this bill is not the most useful approach to addressing this disparity. Further, there are significant concerns about the invasion of personal privacy of foundation and nonprofit staff and trustees, and finally, about the administrative burdens this bill will impose.
It is worth noting that the impetus for this bill came from the Greenlining Institute studies, Fairness in Philanthropy.
* The Chronicle of Philanthropy has written about the bill and its potential impact.
* The Assembly’s analysis of the bill.
* Op-ed published in Los Angeles time, the President and Vice President of Community Advocates opposed the bill.
As of yet, AGM has not seen anything to suggest that other states are considering this type of action. However, we will continue to monitor the situation in California, as well as to see if other areas of the country begin to consider similar legislation.
Funders are looking... will you be there?
New search tool helps grant makers find nonprofits.
AGM announces the release of the first searchable database of nonprofit organizations in the region. The NonProfit Directory (NPD) characterizes AGM’s Nonprofits by mission, service area , population, and geographic focus. The NPD provides a searchable database so that grant makers can search for and locate nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit Partners will also be able to search for and check out their competition and/or other organizations to partner with.
If you are a Partner or Member, you can search the NPD. Partners can learn how to add their organization here.
Disaster Grantmaking Resources
As Nicaragua and Honduras face the landfall of Hurricane Felix, and other parts of the Caribbean and Central America continue to clean up after the damage of Hurricane Dean, we know that many of you will be looking for ways to be helpful and respond to the needs of affected areas. As you think about the response you may want to make to these humanitarian crises, we wanted to provide some links to information that may be useful in helping to guide your thinking and donations.
The Council on Foundations/European Foundation Centre publication Disaster Relief: A Practical Guide for Foundations and Corporations
Foundation News and Commentary article, “Legal FAQs on Disaster Grantmaking”
Guidelines for Appropriate International Disaster Donations (Center for International Disaster Information)
Publication Disaster Relief: Providing Assistance through Charitable Organizations
Click here for a look at how foundations have responded to other natural disasters.
AGM's 38th Annual Meeting Connected Old Friends and New Features
The 38th Annual AGM Annual Meeting on June 19 kicked off to a great start with a lively and engaging keynote address by Kathleen Enright, Executive Director of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO). Kathleen presented the results of a GEO study about what changes grantmakers could make to most effectively support their grantees.
Meeting Summary
Download AGM's 2007 Annual Report
If you would like a hard copy of AGM's Annual Report, please email Gail Pinkham.
IRS Releases Major Revision of Form 990
Friday, June 15, the IRS released a draft of a major revision of the Form 990, which many tax-exempt organizations must file annually with the IRS and make available to the public. The new draft proposes significant changes to the ways in which public charities and other exempt organizations will report information on finances, fundraising activities, governance, executive and board compensation, and program services. The IRS has not proposed changes to the Form 990-PF.
The IRS is now asking for comments on the form. In order to have a new form available for use in Fiscal Year 2008, the IRS must complete its revisions before the end of this year. Because of this tight schedule, the public comment period is scheduled to close on September 14. It is critical that organizations provide thoughtful feedback on the draft to ensure that any new form is useful and relevant for our own organizations, for government officials responsible for oversight and enforcement, and for the donating public. Independent Sector is therefore asking all of our members to share their reactions to the draft to inform the comments we will submit to the IRS. IS will post an analysis of the new Form 990 on our website next week. More information.
AGM Corporate Philanthropy Conference: Smart. Simple. Strategic. March 30, 2007 at
Babson Executive Conference Center
Over 100 attendees participated in first annual Corporate Philanthropy Conference: Smart. Simple. Strategic hosted by Associated Grant Makers at the Babson Executive Conference Center on March 30, 2007. The day long conference offered 13 workshops and keynote presentations from Stephen Alder, CEO of Charity Brands Marketing and Bert Jacobs, co-founder and Chief Executive Optimist of Life is good, Inc.
Details
Hurricane Katrina Reports and Responses
There are a growing number of analyses
and reports about the impact of Katrina and recommendations from
advocacy and research groups. View sampling
of these analyses and reports.
Hurrican Katrina Responses
Immediate Responses/National Responders
Long-term Responses/Local Gulf
Coast Funds
Funder/Donor Resources
Massachusetts Responds to Hurricane Katrina
Several AGM members have made contributions toward Katrina
relief and recovery. Please click on the names below for details
on these grants and contributions:
Boston Globe Foundation (New York
Times Foundation)
Clowes Fund
Draper Laboratory
Massachusetts Bar Foundation
Middlesex Savings Bank
Millipore Foundation
State Street
Verizon
Michael
Brown, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness
and Response, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) August 29, 2005
New Study Released Confirms Higher Participation Rates
in Overall Giving by New Englanders
New national research reveals that New Englanders not
only participate more frequently in charitable giving than their
counterparts across the country, but they also give to secular
(non-religious) causes at significantly higher levels. Specifically,
the study, A Closer Look at New England Giving (November
2005) indicates:
- Eighty-two percent (82%) of New England households gave to
a charitable cause (either secular or religious) in 2002, compared
to 67% of households nationally.
- New Englanders who give at all to secular causes give a much
higher amount (average of $1,190) compared with giving to secular
causes nationwide (average of $863).
- New Englanders who give at all to religious causes give much
less (average of $918) compared with national religious donors
(average of $1,743).
The study was commissioned from the Center on Philanthropy and
co-funded by organizations in the six New England States: Associated
Grant Makers (Massachusetts), Connecticut Council for Philanthropy,
Maine Center for Philanthropy, New Hampshire Charitable Foundation,
Rhode Island Foundation and Vermont Community Foundation.
Read Press Release
Download
A Closer Look at New England Giving Report
More
Resources
Massachusetts Giving
Report
Extreme Makeover for AGM Grant Makers Directory Database
New Resource for Engaging Young
People in Family Foundations
Local responses to Tsunami Relief
Tsunami
Relief Donation Bill Approved
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