Yesterday, in the company of more than 1,000 people, I attended the first regional meeting of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF) at the Flint Center in Cupertino. The new foundation was formed in January 2007 through the merger of Community Foundation Silicon Valley and Peninsula Community Foundation.  Several board and staff members spoke about the complexities of the merger, SVFC's current progress and remaining work, and the opportunities and challenges in building the foundation's reputation for leadership both in the community and among philanthropic institutions.

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As the Saratoga County Arts Council gears up for its fall fundraising season, executive director Joel Reed doesn’t know what to expect.

He’s not alone.

With the economy in free fall, area arts organizations are preparing for uncertainty. They anticipate that their grant funding will decline, donations will fall off and ticket sales and attendance will dip. But they’re also guardedly optimistic about their ability to weather the storm.

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Plansource, Inc. is proud to have been chosen as the designers for the Greater Brandon Community Foundation charity house.  This Foundation serves the local Brandon area, and focuses on the community at large.

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The James Irvine Foundation today released a pathbreaking new report detailing best practices for increasing voter turnout in low-income and ethnic communities. The research documented in the report indicates that rather than the more-typical mailers and prerecorded phone calls, quality personal contact is the key to reaching these underrepresented groups. (more…)

Poverty rates in the United States have remained stubbornly consistent for the past 35 years, despite significant efforts to reduce them (and some success in lessening child poverty in the 1990s).

This paper begins by tracing economic and social trends that help explain the persistence of poverty, as well as by describing some of the unintended consequences of public policies that have exacerbated the challenges facing poor families. (more…)

The nation's financial crisis is hurting more than banks and investment houses.

Charities also are worried that giving could drop off at the end of this year because many stock portfolios have taken a hit.

But the Kalamazoo Community Foundation is touting a little-publicized piece of the $700 billion bailout package approved in Washington last week that it hopes could stimulate giving.

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Energy policy is by far the most important issue in this year's presidential election, one that transcends partisan politics and dwarfs the nation's current economic crisis, according to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Kennedy, an environmental activist and attorney, addressed a crowd of nearly 700 people Tuesday at Grant High School. His visit was part of the Fremont Area Community Foundation (MI)'s Speaker Series.

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BY JULIA EAST President and CEO Southwest Florida Community Foundation

This article about community leadership is the third in a five-part series on the gift of leadership.

The term community has a variety of meanings, but it has historically meant the bonds between those who live and work together. Community has many levels. (more…)

The Community Foundation of Chippewa County will be accepting applications for grants from the funds listed below. Applicants may apply for any amount up to the total amount available from each fund.

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It's the good the bad and the ugly of Waterloo Region's day to day life. 

The second annual Vital Signs study was released today by the Kitchener and Waterloo Community Foundation and other agencies.

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