Over the past several decades, particularly in the 1990s, an explosion of newly created wealth occurred. Now, many of these same high net worth families are turning their attention and significant resources to philanthropy. As in their business endeavors, these families seek to be directly involved in their philanthropy, and many are addressing tough, lasting problems. While these families and their philanthropy have been compared to industrialists, like Carnegie and Rockefeller, their efforts are nascent and at times unproven. However, the report says, “If this new generation of philanthropists gets it right, they too can make a real difference in the world.”

A big area of potential impact these new philanthropic efforts can have is on the social sector, which is in the midst of a sea change. Changes in public policy and funding, an explosive growth in the number of nonprofits, a growing demand for greater accountability and measurable performance, and pervasive technology that is making the world smaller and flatter set the stage for change and greater innovation in philanthropy. With these changes has come a renewed focus on philanthropic innovation, which seeks to maximize the social impact of philanthropic actions.

The Economist’s "Business of Giving" survey discusses many of the innovations and new thinking that is emerging with this new breed of donor. The complete report, comprised of seven articles, presents an important viewpoint of how the process of giving is being shaped and changed.

The primary thrust of the report maintains that donors are becoming “much more businesslike about the way their money is used.” Venture Philanthropy Partners Chairman Mario Morino, tapping into the experience the VPP team has gained in its work in the National Capital Region, is pleased about the renewed philanthropic focus but cautions that many new arrivals to the field may find it harder than expected, noting that “…the nonprofit sector may be far more complex than where they have come from.”

In addition, in the section called "The Birth of Philanthrocapitalism," The Economist specifically cites Venture Philanthropy Partners as “perhaps the best example” of venture philanthropy.

Another section, “Virtue’s Intermediaries,” highlights VPP investment partner College Summit’s work and how it secured $15 million in growth capital for its expansion over the next three years.

A number of experts in the field, many of whom are colleagues of VPP, including Michael Bailin, Melissa Berman, Greg Dees, Peggy Rockefeller Dulany, Joel Fleischman, Katherine Fulton, Claire Gaudiani, Lester Salamon, Buzz Schmidt, Lynn Taliento, and Tom Tierney contributed to the report.

An Economist opinion wrap-up calls for better measurement of the impact of philanthropy, greater transparency, and greater accountability. The report is available for download at http://www.economist.com.

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Updates on Expansion and Financing Opportunities

AALEAD Celebrates Expansion into Maryland
Thanks to Rosetta Lai, Vice President for Development and External Affairs, for this update.

AALEAD’s 7th Annual Dinner, held on February 10, in Gaithersburg, MD, was also a celebration of the launch of AALEAD’s expansion into Maryland. The event drew about 500 attendees, including elected officials, school leaders, corporate sponsors, local and regional nonprofit organization leaders, media representatives, parents, students, and guests. The festival excitement was enhanced by a number of honored guests, including Montgomery County Executive Douglas Duncan, Montgomery County Council President, George Leventhal, Montgomery County Council Member Steve Silverman, and former Council Member Ike Leggett.

True to AALEAD’s mission, the mistresses of ceremonies, entertainment performers (chorus, poetry reading, and dance), and award presenters were youth from AALEAD. The chorus of “It’s a Small World” sung in English and Chinese Mandarin by After-School Enrichment Program students brought down the house. Award recipients, including the Freddie Mac Foundation; Hung H. Bui, AALEAD’s founding co-chair; and Elizabeth H. Eun and Nhai Nguyen, former AALEAD board members, endorsed AALEAD’s impact on youth and families and the promise of its “new horizons” in Montgomery County.

Supporters for this event increased this year with 12 institutional sponsors and 50 table sponsors. Stakeholders can relive the highlights of the evening on Vietnamese American Public Television and Radio.

Heads Up Launches Adopt-A-Class, Adopt-A-School
Thanks to Michelle deBaroncelli, Development Manager, for this update.

Heads Up recently introduced a new fundraising initiative—the Adopt-A-Class and Adopt-A-School program, which benefits both students and sponsoring corporations.

Heads Up’s first Adopt-A-Class sponsor is Avendra Corporation, a local procurement services company with clientele nationwide. Avendra’s CEO Dennis Baker said, “What Heads Up’s Adopt-a-School program provides is great for Avendra as well as Heads Up. We have a commitment to ‘giving back’ to our local community, but instead of just writing a check to a faceless nonprofit, our associates will become more engaged with the beneficiaries of Heads Up.”

Darin McKeever, Heads Up’s CEO, agreed, “The Adopt-A-School program is an exciting opportunity for Heads Up, and we’re thrilled that Avendra is our first partner. This foray into linking DC businesses with DC students is just one way that Heads Up is helping build communities.”

Corporations can adopt a Heads Up class or an entire Heads Up program at one of the schools Heads Up serves.

Updates on Programs/Services

CFNC Expands Literacy Program to Empower Families
Thanks to Susan Francis, Director of Development, for this update.

CFNC announces the expansion of its Family Literacy/Parent Involvement Program, in collaboration with the Alexandria City Public School (ACPS) and local PTAs. For several years, CFNC has offered English as a Second Language (ESL) classes at its Birchmere facility. Usually attended by more than 75 individuals, the ESL classes allow parents to learn English, assimilate to a new culture, and become reading role models for their children. Based upon the success of the original program, a second program launched in February at the West End location in collaboration with the Northern Virginia Literacy Council.

CFNC’s Family Literacy/Parent Involvement Program creates linkages with public school principals and PTA presidents at the eight schools where families will attend classes. According to the National Center for Family Literacy, numerous studies link a child's literacy development and school success to parental involvement and the literacy environment in the home. CFNC has been very successful at engaging parents in their child’s education and is working with Arlington Public Schools and PTAs to continue parent involvement once they leave CFNC, by enabling parents to play four key roles in their children's learning:

• As teachers, by helping parents create an environment at home that promotes learning.
  
• As supporters by giving parents the English/literacy skills they need to support their child’s education.
  
• As advocates, by helping parents negotiate the public school system, receive fair treatment, and work to make the system more responsive to all families.
  
• As decision makers, by encouraging parents to serve on CFNC’s advisory councils and transitioning parents into their child’s elementary school PTA by year’s end.

Literacy is not just reading and writing. At CentroNía, family literacy is defined as how education impacts the family as a whole. It incorporates all of the pieces that strengthen the family, including financial and technology literacy, health education, and systems literacy (understanding how the social system works).

On Saturday May 20, CentroNía will host the second in a series of three literacy conferences under the umbrella “Literacy: A Priority for Everyone/ Alfabetización: Una prioridad de todos.”

This second conference, “Advancing Literacy, Strengthening Families/ Promover la Alfabetización, Fortalecer Familias,” is being planned by a committee of parents along with CentroNía staff. Parents and children will attend the morning sessions together, with workshops on topics such as infant massage, managing finances as a family, and easy recipes to make with children. During the afternoon sessions geared towards parents and educators, there will be free childcare for the little ones and a Teen Talk for older children.

The first conference, “Developing language in young children,” was held December 3, 2005, and attracted nearly 100 attendees ranging from parents and educators to administrators and policymakers.

CMHS Program Deals with Trauma at School
Thanks to Executive Director Dennis Hunt for this update.

The Center for Multicultural Human Services (CMHS) is implementing a skills-based group intervention called CBITS (Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools) to deal with trauma at school. CMHS currently runs five school-based mental health programs, and CBITS will be used at three of these schools. Untreated traumatic incidents can lead to slipping academic performance, behavior problems, delinquency, and even gang involvement.

These groups, with a planned start date of mid-March, will be for six to ten participants who have witnessed or experienced traumatic events, such as domestic or community violence. CBITS teaches six cognitive-behavioral techniques: education about reactions to trauma; relaxation training; cognitive therapy; real-life exposure; stress or trauma exposure; and social problem-solving.

CMHS will also assess participants for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety symptoms, and will measure the impact of CBITS on these symptoms. The efficacy of CBITS has been established through several studies, and is distributed by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, of which CMHS is a partner.

LAYC Tracks Outcomes for the Evening Reporting Center (ERC)
Thanks to Lori Kaplan, Executive Director, and Isaac Castillo, Learning and Evaluation Specialist, for this update.

To identify and implement effective and efficient alternatives to juvenile incarceration, the Annie E. Casey Foundation established the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI). In 2005, DC’s Department of Youth Rehabilitative Services (DYRS) was named a JDAI site and began to explore potential alternatives to juvenile detention. During the summer of 2005, DYRS asked LAYC to pilot the first program under the local JDAI initiative with the establishment of the district’s District’s first Evening Reporting Center (ERC) over a period of six months.

LAYC’s ERC began operation in July 2005 and works with youth who have been arrested and are awaiting trial. The ERC operates six days a week from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.. Youth are picked up after school and receive homework assistance, computer literacy classes, sex education workshops, mental health counseling, recreational activities, and a meal at the ERC.

Through January 2006, the ERC served 65 participants residing in all eight DC wards and in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties. LAYC tracks a range of data on each participant including attendance, transportation provided, and meal service. In addition, through a partnership with DYRS, LAYC obtained important outcome information on each of the participants which demonstrates the ERC has had an extremely positive effect on participants despite the limited amount of time spent in the program.

While participating in the ERC program, only 7 percent of participants displayed any negative outcomes. Only 5 percent of participants were rearrested while participating in the ERC, and only 2 percent of youth failed to make all scheduled court appearances, ultimately allowing them to stay in their community, go to school, and continue to interact with their families rather than being incarcerated while awaiting trial. As Mai Fernandez, Chief Operating Officer for LAYC, said, “Kids are worse off after they leave jail than before they go in. The ERC makes sure that kids in the juvenile system get the supervision they need to stop them from committing further crimes but, at the same time, get the nurturing they need to become healthy adults.”

Based on these results, DYRS has decided to expand the ERC model throughout the city and has renewed LAYC’s contract to operate the ERC for four years.

See Forever/Maya Angelou Add New Tutors Through Challenge
Thanks to Stacey Miller, Director of Development, for this update.

At Maya Angelou Public Charter School, the evening tutoring program provides students with one-on-one help on homework, projects, and educational planning. Tutoring sessions are an important part of the students' day, and tutors play an important role in the students' academic success as they provide instruction, guidance, and support.

At the end of 2005, over 200 individuals were volunteering as tutors, but 450 tutors are required each week across the two MAPCS campuses. SFF/MAPCS created an ambitious "100 Tutor Challenge" and used its distribution list of over 2,000 supporters to get the word out. It also encouraged current tutors to promote the Challenge at work, college, and through their own electronic networks. Over a six-week period, the 100 Tutor Challenge brought in 126 new volunteers. Of particular note, SFF developed a partnership with the law firm of WilmerHale. A shuttle bus brings WilmerHale volunteers to the Evans Campus each Monday for tutoring sessions and then returns them to the office (or the subway). Other similar partnerships are in process.

Updates on Presentations

FPCS Receives Incentive Awards
Thanks to Candice Tolliver, Director, Public Affairs and Media Relations, for this update.

District of Columbia Mayor Anthony A. Williams presented Friendship Public Charter School (FPCS) with three High Performing School Incentive Awards at a press conference on March 8.

Two FPCS campuses, Chamberlain Elementary and Woodridge Elementary and Middle, received High Performing School Incentive Awards of $125,000 and $75,000, respectively, for their exemplary academic performance and progress as measured by the 2004 Stanford 9 student achievement test. The Central Office received an award of $20,000 in recognition of its support of school excellence and for achieving the milestone of accreditation.

“The Friendship school system applauds our principals, teachers, staff, and students who made these awards possible. Their work is a resounding testament to Friendship’s commitment to provide the District with a public school system where all learners can and do succeed,” said Chairman Donald L. Hense, Friendship Public Charter School.

The High Performing School Incentive Award is a federal appropriation incentive designed to distinguish exceptional charter schools for achieving accreditation, providing timely and accurate annual reporting, implementing comprehensive staff development policies, and maintaining strong academic and fiscal viability.

Mary's Center CEO Leads Discussion on Capitol Hill
Thanks to Lyda Vanegas, Communications Officer, for this update.

Maria Gomez, the President and CEO of Mary's Center, joined United States Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) on Capitol Hill on February 15 to discuss the impact of President Bush's budget on Hispanic families.

"Cuts in programs like SCHIP (the State Children's Health Insurance Program) will increase the number of children that will turn to the emergency rooms for minor health problems, such as earaches," said Gomez. "These cuts will also increase the number of children who will go unimmunized and undiagnosed for preventable diseases, costing the states many more dollars in the end."

Mary's Center serves more than 10,000 families with health care, social services, and educational programs. Representatives of the National Council of la Raza, the Hispanic Federation, the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, the National Hispanic Medical Association, the Cuban American National Council, ASPIRA, the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, MALDEF, and NALEO also participated in the discussion.

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Advances in Business Planning for Nonprofits

The Bridgespan Group has released Business Planning for Nonprofits: What it is and why it matters. The report illustrates the key components of the business-planning process, shares practical tips about getting started, and describes a typical written plan. Download the 27-page PDF.

The National Center on Nonprofit Enterprise (NCNE) has also launched a project to produce a nonprofit-specific approach to business planning that can be used by different types and sizes of organizations. An advisory group will help frame questions and points for analysis and identify business planning approaches.

New Report on Nonprofit Executive Leadership

Daring to Lead 2006, a joint project of CompassPoint Nonprofit Services and The Meyer Foundation, is a national study of executive leadership at community-based nonprofits. Based on nearly 2,000 surveys from eight metropolitan areas, the report provides current data on executive turnover, compensation, career plans, and retirement. It identifies the skills that community-based executives most want and need to build along with the professional development strategies that they employ. The report concludes with recommendations to executives, boards, funders, and capacity builders. Download an electronic copy of the 40-page report.

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