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September 2011 E-newsletter

Letter from the President

With the arrival of fall comes a great sense of anticipation for all of us at PFC. Our October conference is just weeks away. As the sessions begin to come together, and our exceptional plenary speakers share their ideas with us, I am looking forward to the stimulating conversations and active sharing of ideas that I expect at the conference. We have put together a program that has something for everyone: board members, foundation leaders, grant managers or philanthropic advisors. The full program of two and a half days is longer than any previous PFC conference. For those who take full advantage, it will provide a unique exposure to the latest in philanthropic thinking and practice. There is still time to register. And consider inviting a board or family member or colleague if they are pressed for time to attend our Sunday pre-conference learning events, especially the Sunday evening dinner focusing on the role of the foundation board. Find all the details on the conference web site.

Another major gathering later this fall will be the National Summit of the Voluntary Sector, organized by Imagine Canada, to take place at the end of November in Ottawa. PFC is proud to be a partner of this event in collaboration with Community Foundations of Canada and United Way/Centraide. This will be an unprecedented gathering of the sector with the goals of establishing a shared agenda and celebration of its many roles and contributions to society. It is particularly noteworthy that all of the major umbrella associations representing non-government funders of the sector have joined with Imagine Canada in this ambitious effort to engage the sector at large. I will keep PFC members updated as planning for this event unfolds. I fully expect it to be the second major highlight of the fall.

Turning back to philanthropy, I note that the philanthropic “blogosphere” has been active over the summer, even while people were on holiday. In this newsletter, you will find several links to some of the most interesting blog posts that we came across in July and August. The debate about effectiveness versus passion in philanthropy continues to be a big theme, as you will see. This will help prepare you for the lively debates that are certain to take place in Toronto. Be sure to join us there!


Hilary Pearson
hpearson@pfc.ca

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Grantmakers Roundup

On Public Policy and the Voluntary Sector

In early April, Max Bell Foundation hosted forty-five people from across Canada in Calgary to join a conversation about Canada’s voluntary sector and the development of public policy. Their collective insights were summarized in a report that confirms the existence of an informal network of dozens of individuals and organizations across the country who share a strong belief, rooted in evidence and experience, that voluntary sector organizations can and do make important contributions to public policy in Canada. Private funders can play a significant role in supporting these contributions, including funding data and evidence gathering, helping to start coalitions, supporting the production and dissemination of policy ideas and recommendations etc.

In Calgary, it was agreed that the network has a strong interest in growing and further developing the policy capacity of the voluntary sector. One of the inhibiting factors in doing this work is lack of information about what is possible and what is allowed. So, as a next step, Max Bell Foundation and partners have committed to building and disseminating a series of in-depth case studies to demonstrate how voluntary sector organizations have successfully contributed to public policy. They expect to launch the case studies in late 2011, as a way to educate and motivate sector organizations and funders to do more.

 

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Interesting Reading 

On Giving Styles

If you or your board members are reflecting about what determines your choice of giving strategy, a thoughtful short guide written by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, What Is My Giving Style? might be helpful. The guide identifies two (among many) considerations that shape a philanthropist’s giving style. The first is the degree of visibility a donor wants (or does not want): at one end of the spectrum is the anonymous giver, and on the other end is the public advocate. The second consideration is the level of impact the donor desires: at one end is the giver who is interested in providing immediate, direct relief, and at the other is the philanthropist committed to long-term social change.

These two considerations – visibility and impact – are often the first decisions made by philanthropists when contemplating a major gift. As this guide suggests, there are many different ways to give, and gifts at any point along these spectra can be effective. What is most important is that donors discover the giving style that best reflects their values, respects their wishes, and inspires continued giving. The Guide provides a useful framework for creating more clarity around making major gifts. A companion guide produced by Rockefeller PA, First Steps in the Philanthropic Journey includes further relevant questions for reflection.
 

On Reclaiming the Moral Life of Philanthropy

In its ongoing series of conversation about philanthropy, the Bradley Center for Philanthropy and Civic Renewal in Washington hit on a particularly interesting topic for its July panel. Reclaiming the Moral Life of Philanthropy was the theme of a speech given in 2010 by Gara La Marche, the recently retired president of the Atlantic Philanthropies. In his speech, La Marche expressed a disquiet about foundation philanthropy: “We have become more about the fix, the intervention – to use a horribly dominant word in the field that calls to mind invading armies – than about the reasons for doing or caring about it.  In marching under the flag of “what works”, and in particular what can be proven or demonstrated through the rigours of evidence, we risk straying too far from what is right. I think it is time to strike a better balance.”

La Marche and fellow panelists such as Phil Buchanan of the Center for Effective Philanthropy were invited by the Bradley Center to discuss this theme. The transcript of the stimulating discussion that followed will allow you also to listen in as La Marche expands on his themes and others offer their critique. Well worth reading!

Sean Stannard-Stockton, writer of the widely-read Tactical Philanthropy blog, posted a commentary on La Marche’s perspective and on the ongoing debate on American philanthropy circles between the advocates of metrics and effectiveness on the one hand, and the proponents of passion and empathy on the other, and offered a caution.

"While I believe in the application of logic to solve social problems (says Stannard-Stockton), I doubt the potential for humans to master the dynamic world in which we live through ‘theories of change’. On the other hand, while I believe that the ruthless application of logic to philanthropy risks destroying the empathetic urge that animates our field in the first place, I doubt the potential for good intentions to actually turn into good results simply because we wish they would."

In a commentary to be found on Deep Social Impact, the blog of The Philanthropic Initiative, Ellen Remmer asks if passion is still relevant in effective philanthropy. In a series of three posts on this topic, she discusses questions such as: Why do we need passion in our philanthropy? Where does it come from? And more importantly, how do we muster and harness passion if it’s not yet there? She flags common obstacles such as issue complexity and lack of time and suggests possible solutions. Many of the blog posts provided by Remmer and other TPI staff on this site will be relevant particularly for family donors and philanthropists.

 

On Philanthropy and Social Media

Lucy Bernholz`s Philanthropy 2173 is another one of the more thoughtful philanthropy blogs around. In a recent post Why would a foundation tweet? Bernholz makes some interesting observations about why philanthropy should be part of ongoing social media conversations. “Smart philanthropy requires using good information well. Social media offers several new tools for doing so.” Its about listening and learning says Bernholz. “Being part of different conversations can change what you learn about, who you talk to and what you know.”

 

On Empathy in Philanthropy

The latest publication from Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, Widespread Empathy: 5 Steps to Achieving Greater Impact in Philanthropy looks at how grantmakers, both as individuals and through their organizations, can develop a more thorough, gut-level understanding or intuition of community needs and the work of grantees — why their work is important, what it’s achieving, whom it’s helping, where it’s falling short and what more needs to be done. The guide offers five tips for greater empathy in grantmaking:

  1. Make it about others not about you
  2. Get out of the office
  3. Bring the outside in
  4. Invest in what it takes
  5. Lead from the top.

While much of this is not new, the case studies and new stories in the guide as always enrich the ongoing conversation about grantmaking practice.

 

GiveSmart

A helpful, recently launched site (including a blog) for philanthropists and donors is Bridgespan’s GiveSmart.org. Givesmart is designed to help philanthropists make better decisions and get better results from their giving. This website is part of Bridgespan’s Give Smart philanthropy initiative (that includes the recent book by Joel Fleishman and Thomas Tierney, Give Smart: Philanthropy That Gives Results). Givesmart collects and shares effective practices, including case studies, practical how-to guides, and other decision-making tools. Materials will be contributed by the Bridgespan Group, informed by its 10 years of collaboration with philanthropists and foundations, as well as from leading organizations and associations in the field. Worth bookmarking.

  

PFC Family News and Events

PFC Publications, Reports & Stories


Member News

The Dr. Rogers Prize for Excellence in Complementary and Alternative Medicine, an initiative of the Lotte and John Hecht Foundation in Vancouver, will be presented by Dr. Rogers’ son, Gordon Rogers, on Friday September 23rd, at the Waterfront Hotel in Vancouver. In the afternoon, a colloquium will focus on the current state of integrative medicine and recent trends in the field. Professor Allen Grossman of the Harvard Business School will facilitate a session where four successful integrative medicine clinics will share their successes and challenges.

The Max Bell Public Policy Training Institute (PPTI) is now accepting applications with a deadline of October 14. This is a training program and excellent learning opportunity for staff or volunteers in non-profit organizations working in Alberta with an interest in public policy whose work brings them into contact with the activities of governments, whether municipal, provincial, or federal. The 12-day program will run between January and June of 2012 in Alberta.

Nineteen organizations from across Canada were named among the best-managed nonprofit social service agencies nationwide as finalists for the 14th annual Donner Canadian Foundation Awards for Excellence in the Delivery of Social Services. This year, 591 agencies from across Canada applied for the awards. Participating organizations are ranked on their performance in 10 key areas, including management and governance, the use of staff and volunteers, innovation, program costs, and outcome monitoring. A total of $60,000 will be distributed to winning organizations.

 

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Other News and Events

The Circle on Philanthropy and Aboriginal Peoples in Canada and CEGN are co-hosting a two-day workshop on Restoring the Life Blood: Water, First Nations, and Opportunities for Change. This two-day session will engage funders and Aboriginal peoples organizations in a discussion on key challenges and opportunities with respect to fresh water and First Nations communities. The workshop is open to individual philanthropists and representatives of funding organizations, as well as Aboriginal Peoples organizations. It will be held in Toronto on Oct 5 followed by a tour of the Six Nations of the Grand River territory on October 6.

 

Investing in Leadership

The PricewaterhouseCoopers Canada Foundation has launched an eight-week call for submissions for its Leadership Grants Program; a program that provides up to $200,000 in grants to leaders at small to medium-sized charitable organizations in Canada looking to fund professional development opportunities. Grants are made available in two categories:

The program has been designed in a way that gives charities the flexibility to take advantage of a development opportunity that best meets their needs. Examples could include anything from formal courses, conferences or training programs to informal learning experiences of the applicant’s own design that helps advance the applicant’s professional development and organization’s goals. Since the launch of the Leadership Grants Program in 2006, the PricewaterhouseCoopers Canada Foundation has awarded more than $973,000 in grants to 358 recipients from across the country. 

 

Upcoming Conferences

 

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