Philanthropy Information Retrieval Project
Report #110

Period Covered: January 27 – March 7, 2003

SPECIAL NOTE TO READERS

I am pleased to announce that the Aspen Institute’s Nonprofit Sector and Philanthropy Program has assumed responsibility for this publication, begun in 1996 by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.  As the new Editor, succeeding Ray Boyer of MacArthur, I am committed to maintaining and even advancing its original purpose: to identify and report, in a timely fashion, new ideas and other developments that might significantly affect the field of philanthropy. In contrast to other bulletins that usefully report on today’s breaking news, this newsletter tries to look “over the horizon” and identify issues early in their life cycle. We expect that this “early warning system” is useful to foundation and nonprofit leaders, policymakers, researchers, journalists, and others who will track, study, and address the issues identified in this newsletter. To maximize its value as an early alert system, the newsletter contains material from a great variety of sources with a wide range of viewpoints and includes both complimentary and critical items.

Burness Communications, Bethesda, MD, which has prepared these reports for the MacArthur Foundation from the project’s inception, will continue in that role under my direction.  Together we will seek to improve our product while simultaneously building the base of financial support essential to its continuation.  As I assume the editorship of this publication, I would welcome your comments and suggestions at abramson@aspeninstitute.org.

– Alan J. Abramson, Director, Nonprofit Sector and Philanthropy Program, The Aspen Institute


1. CONGRESS, MEDIA SHOULD INVESTIGATE FOUNDATIONS FOR ALLEGED THREATS TO NATIONAL SECURITY, SEVERAL COMMENTATORS URGE

On several occasions last month, Congress and the media were urged to monitor and investigate foundations for undermining national security. The media watchdog Accuracy in Media issued a notice Feb. 5 reporting on foundation-supported efforts opposing U.S. military action against Iraq. The notice called on Congress to monitor domestic threats to America’s national security by reestablishing a “homeland security” investigations committee in the spirit of the 1950s anti-communism committee. See www.aim.org/publications/media_monitor/2003/02/05.html. In his Feb. 21 Wall Street Journal opinion column, Daniel Henninger called for greater media scrutiny of the “numerous American foundations” that have funded recent anti-war activities. And Fox News host Bill O’Reilly also called for Congress to investigate foundations and other organizations that are “actively undermining our security” through their funding of efforts to counter crackdowns on immigration. In two episodes of his nightly show – Feb. 18 and Feb. 24 – O’Reilly brought on two guests who specifically criticized foundation support of groups that are trying to block efforts to tighten immigration to America.

2. PUBLICATIONS OFFER DIFFERING ANALYSES ON WHY CONSERVATIVE POLITICAL THOUGHT PREDOMINATES; WHAT’S MONEY GOT TO DO WITH IT?

Two publications last month offered analyses of the influence of foundation funding in the nation’s “marketplace of ideas.”  According to the Feb. 15 Economist, foundation money supporting conservative think tanks is not the reason they are becoming “America’s shadow government.” After all, the British newsweekly said, conservative foundation assets are “dwarfed” by the resources of foundations with a liberal bent and by American universities. Rather, conservative think tanks’ remarkable success over their liberal counterparts results from their being extremely well-organized, their working in tandem on influencing policy, and their acting more like businesses than universities, according to the article.

The Feb. 17 Nation isn’t so quick to dismiss the influence of money, reporting that left-leaning foundations, unlike conservative ones, do not generally support media or broad-based ideological movements. The liberal newsweekly reported on the struggling nature of alternative college newspapers, calling on foundations to support these student publications to help “develop future thinkers” and stem the news media shift to the right that conservative foundations have in part propelled with their well-tended support of conservative college newspapers. See www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20030217&s=waligore.

According to the Feb. 9 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, one of the right’s mightiest funders, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, has a new neighbor. The newspaper reported on the move from Boston to Milwaukee of the Argosy Foundation. According to the paper, Chris Abele, Argosy’s leader, has recently toned down his talk from last fall of wanting to best in size and influence Bradley, but he still intends to offer a liberal counterweight, especially in national politics, the article said.

3. JOEL FLEISHMAN: STRENGTHENING FOUNDATION BOARDS KEY TO IMPROVING ACCOUNTABILITY AND AVOIDING LOSSES IN PUBLIC TRUST

The wave of corporate scandals over the past year or so should serve as a “wake-up call” to foundations and the nonprofit sector to reform their practices, with a special focus on improving board oversight, according to Duke University’s Joel Fleishman. Former head of and currently a senior advisor to the Atlantic Philanthropies, Fleishman discussed the dangers to maintaining foundations’ status quo in a new publication from the consultancy Center for Effective Philanthropy. Fleishman said the whole nonprofit sector is at risk to suffer greater losses in public and political trust than corporations have because it is guided by weaker enforcement and accountability mechanisms. He called on foundations to help strengthen the Internal Revenue Service’s oversight of foundations and nonprofits and to establish a sector-wide initiative supporting government oversight organizations. He also called for formalized foundation board selection criteria and enhanced responsibilities of boards. The Center’s publication, Assessing Foundation Performance: Current Practices, Future Possibilities, is available at www.effectivephilanthropy.org/seminars/CEPSeminar02.pdf. Joel Fleishman also spoke about foundation and nonprofit accountability in an October 4, 2002 speech that was part of the Waldemar A. Nielsen Issues in Philanthropy Seminar Series at Georgetown University. The text of his remarks is available at http://csvos.georgetown.edu/pdf/fleishman.pdf.

4. FOUNDATIONS WORK WITH HOLLYWOOD TO GAIN PUBLIC ATTENTION ON PRESSING SOCIAL CONCERNS, NEWSPAPERS REPORT

Two newspapers have reported on the increasing efforts of advocates to work directly with the entertainment industry to draw public attention to pressing domestic social needs. The March 4 Wall Street Journal reported on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s efforts to incorporate information about people lacking health insurance, among other health concerns, into various television programs. The March 6 Chronicle of Philanthropy reported on a confab of foundations and filmmakers at January’s Sundance Film Festival that explored how foundation-supported social messages can be included in films and other entertainment. And much attention has been paid to the inclusion of the nonprofit Childreach into the Oscar-nominated film About Schmidt, though in this case, the idea originated with the film’s writers. While many support the use of the entertainment media for public policy purposes, one university professor quoted in the Wall Street Journal article said it is wrong for ideas generated by advocates to be woven into story lines without notice to the viewer.

5. PAUL SCHERVISH: SENSE OF REVOLUTION CHARACTERIZES TODAY’S PHILANTHROPY SIMILAR TO THE ENLIGHTENMENT CENTURIES AGO

In one sense, today’s philanthropy is a revolution on the scale of the Enlightenment, according to Paul Schervish of Boston College. Schervish was interviewed in the Feb. 7 Observations in Philanthropy newsletter about the continuing validity of his research on the forthcoming intergenerational transfer of wealth. When asked about changes today that have made for greater giving than in the past, Schervish offered three. First, many people today enjoy a standard of living that is at least comfortable enough to allow for helping others without great sacrifice; global communications has made people more aware of worldwide needs and the interconnectedness of everyone’s fate; and greater resources and awareness have made people feel obligated to help solve others’ problems – and not just help cope with them. This last change, according to Schervish, echoes the Enlightenment, when people were convinced they could change governments in the United States and France, making them more accountable. See www.onPhilanthropy.com/op2003-02-07.html.


6. PROVIDING NONPROFIT OPERATING SUPPORT SAID TO BE EMERGING AS FOUNDATION TREND, INFLUENCED IN PART BY VENTURE PHILANTHROPY

Whatever its lasting achievements, last decade’s trend of venture philanthropy has forced traditional foundations to reevaluate their grantmaking and to offer more support for nonprofit operations, according to one university professor. John Quinterno of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill wrote in the Feb. 7 Philanthropy Journal that foundations are increasingly funding, or helping establish, innovative organizations, not just innovative programs. And providing operating support for nonprofits is emerging as the latest trend among grantmakers, according to the March 6 Chronicle of Philanthropy. While it reported that the connection between trendiness and charitable giving is problematic, the Chronicle said trends exist in a field “ruled by grantmaking cycles as short as a year.” In the publication’s accounting, welfare is “out” this year, and criminal justice “in,” collaboration has replaced civil society, and global AIDS concerns have trumped domestic AIDS matters.


7. WESTERN ALLIANCE FOR PHILANTHROPY FORMED TO ENCOURAGE AND INCREASE PLANNED GIFTS WORLDWIDE, INDIANAPOLIS STAR REPORTS

A new Western alliance, in effect, has been established to encourage philanthropy and make it easier to give to nonprofits outside a donor’s country of residence, according to the Jan. 27 Indianapolis Star. The newspaper reported on the network that the Indianapolis-based National Committee on Planned Giving is setting up with nonprofits and philanthropy professionals in Canada, through the Canadian Association of Gift Planners, and in Europe, through the European Association for Planned Giving. The most frequent kind of planned gift is a bequest left to charity through a will, the newspaper reported.


8. MERRILL LYNCH PARTNERS WITH COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS NATIONWIDE TO ALLOW CLIENTS TO ESTABLISH DONOR-ADVISED FUNDS

Years after Fidelity Investments and other mutual fund companies ratcheted up the popularity of donor-advised funds by directly competing with community foundations, Merrill Lynch & Co. is entering the field with a different approach. According to a Feb. 25 press release, Merrill Lynch will partner with community foundations nationwide, allowing its clients to establish charitable funds that will be held and administered by the foundations. Investors will have to contribute at least $25,000 to set up a fund through the Community Charitable Fund, or more than twice the standard minimum. While Merrill Lynch will provide investment advice for donors, they are not limited to using the company’s investment products, as Fidelity stipulates. Merrill Lynch will launch the program next month. See www.merrilllynch.com/about/press_release/02252003-1_charitable_fund_pr.htm.


Of Related Interest

Cisco Ends Fellowship Program But Continues as Philanthropy Pacesetter, Newspapers Report
The technology networking company Cisco Systems has ended its Cisco Community Fellowship program, through which a select group of laid-off employees were allowed to work for over a year at nonprofits at a third of their pay but with a chance to return to Cisco. The newspaper reported that 34 of the 81 fellows have since returned to Cisco while nine others remained at nonprofits. And Cisco will continue to allow select employees to take temporary positions at nonprofits as a form of leadership training, the newspaper reported. The Feb. 18 Philanthropy Journal reported that one of those fellows who returned, Peter Tavernise, now directs the Cisco Systems Foundation. Tavernise is developing an online grant system that automates the grant application, review and assessment processes, according to the article, at www.philanthropyjournal.org/more.asp?ID=2576.

New Resources

Digital Library of Philanthropy Resources Established by Indiana University
A foundation-funded digital library of resources about philanthropy and the nonprofit sector has been established by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. This library, Philanthropy Resources Online, or PRO, is a free, publicly available collection of original essays and addresses, as well as scanned images of pages from “rapidly deteriorating” books, journals and pamphlets, according to the Web site, at http://indiamond.ulib.iupui.edu/PRO/. A keyword search tool has been established, and far more documents will be added in coming years to the library, funded by Indiana University, the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action, and the Ford and W.K. Kellogg Foundations.

Online Resource Created with Information and Guidance on Nonprofit Advocacy
The federal watchdog group OMB Watch has in recent months launched an online resource for information and guidance on nonprofit advocacy. The site aims to help both groups already playing an advocacy role expand their work and groups not yet involved in advocacy gain valuable insights into entering the field. The site, funded by various foundations, is available at www.npaction.org.   


Note to Readers

We would appreciate your offering us information that we can include in a future edition. If you have an item you believe would be helpful to your colleagues, please e-mail it to Doug Rule at drule@burnesscommunications.com. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

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