The Erie Community Foundation will use $1 million in federal stimulus money to develop job-training programs for nearly 100 local nonprofit organizations.

The announcement of the grant -- part of a $46 million stimulus distribution -- came Wednesday. The day before, a census report confirmed what too many in the community already knew: Nearly one in four Erie residents is living in poverty.

The federal government draws that line at an annual income of $10,400. According to the census report, 24.2 percent of Erie residents lived on less in 2008.

Douglas Jansson, the president and chief executive officer of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation , has announced that he will retire next year.

Jansson said he will retire Sept. 30, 2010. He has led the Milwaukee community foundation for 16 years, a tenure that has seen the foundation's assets grow from $114 million to $574 million as of December 2007.

During the past decade of his tenure, Foundation investments have outperformed two key benchmarks, the S&P 500 and the Morningstar Balanced Mutual Index Fund, the foundation said.

Dan Skokan, president of The Jasper Community Foundation announced earlier this week that 16 area non-profit organizations received grants this year through the state-sponsored County Endowment Program.

A total of 25 proposals were received from educational, municipal and non-profit organizations throughout Jasper County.

“I am pleased to announce that the Foundation awarded $92,075 in 2009 grants,” Skokan said. “We are fortunate to have these funds available to help Jasper County charitable organizations in these difficult economic times. Each year we see more need and interest in the program.”

Citing the greatest need for emergency services seen in its 36-year history, The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region announced today that its Neighbors in Need Fund is awarding $714,300 in new grants to safety net organizations that serve vulnerable residents throughout the metropolitan Washington region.

The Community Foundation is the largest funder of nonprofit organizations in the Washington region.

The grants, awarded on a competitive basis, will help 37 charities including food banks, homeless shelters, and clothing, meal, and foreclosure-prevention programs meet the Washington, DC region`s escalating demand for basic human services.

A study of Florida's 911 system found several areas where it falls short of providing the best in public safety services.

The Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice, a nonprofit philanthropic organization, released its findings of a year-long study Monday.

The results of the study showed there is no single state agency that monitors the effectiveness of the 258 different call centers in Florida.

The grants given out Tuesday by the Craven County Community Foundation will go to a range of causes, from helping to equip a local school with band equipment to keeping nonprofit organizations up and running.

The foundation awarded $52,780 to 18 nonprofits, including Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southeastern North Carolina and The Radio Reading Service of Eastern North Carolina, in a ceremony at the New Bern Area Chamber of Commerce.

John Foschi is the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation’s newest financial officer.

Foschi brings more than 25 years of finance experience to the Community Foundation, most recently as comptroller for the Fond du Lac Reservation. Prior to that, Foschi worked as the city administrator and finance director for Proctor and comptroller for Grandma’s corporate offices.

The Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice awards more than $2 million to local nonprofit organizations

Looking to encourage growth and education while highlighting the positive aspects of its community, the Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice has awarded more than $2 million in grants to 25 local nonprofit organizations.

The organizations, which work in various different fields throughout the community including arts and culture, education, and environmental services, were each given a portion of $2.1 million in grants, the largest total amount of funding ever awarded by the Foundation in a single grant cycle.

When George Creel was getting ready to retire 12 years ago, he and his wife decided to invest in charities, but knew they didn't have the $5 million it takes to start a private foundation. Their financial adviser suggested a community foundation, where the cost to set up a fund is affordable.

Creel read about the Maryland-based National Catholic Community Foundation in The Catholic Review, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and he knew he found the right place to start his philanthropy. It took $10,000 to set up a donor-advised fund with the foundation.

This means the Creels, of Davidsonville, Md., can tell the foundation which charities they would like to invest in. Unlike other funds, theirs is not bound by geography.

There was so much interest in last month’s post of 90 Foundations That Tweet that I wanted to expand on it by sharing a list of funder networks on Twitter.

What is a Funder Network?

According to the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers:

Funder networks consist of grantmakers organized around a specific funding issue, geographic location, or identity-based community that come together to build their skills, capacity, and impact.