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January 8, 2017 2:12 AM

$500K grant to help Nocona revamp Justin Boot building

Times Record News via AP
Torin Halsey

Times Record News via AP
Torin Halsey

By JOHN INGLE Wichita Falls Times Record News

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They could also exacerbate income inequality leading to increased demands on safety net nonprofit organizations at the same time that tax incentives for giving are reduced.

Increased impact investing

The value of assets currently under management using environmental, social and governance factors has grown to $8.72 trillion in the U.S., according to the US SIF Foundation, which advocates sustainable, responsible and impact investing.

The nearly $1 trillion sitting in foundations and donor-advised funds represents an enormous new resource of capital to be invested for the double bottom line of both financial return and social impact. Expect that more foundations will follow the lead of The F.B Heron Foundation (and others) to ensure that all of their capital is invested to help achieve their missions.

More contributions from fewer, wealthier donors

Charities are increasingly relying on larger and larger donations from smaller numbers of high-income, high-wealth donors, while receiving shrinking amounts of revenue from the vast population of donors at lower and middle income levels, according to a new report, “Gilded Giving Top-Heavy Giving in an Age of Extreme Inequality.”

The report also says a growing inequity in charitable giving may hold risks not only for nonprofits themselves, but for the nation as a whole.

According to the report: “Risks to charitable sector organizations include increased volatility and unpredictability in funding; an increased need to shift toward major-donor cultivation; and an increased bias toward funding larger or heavily major-donor-directed boutique organizations and projects. The increasing power of a small number of donors also increases the potential for mission distortion.”

Risks to the public include the rise of tax-avoidance philanthropy, the warehousing of wealth in the face of urgent needs, self-dealing philanthropy, and the increasing use of philanthropy as an extension of power- and privilege-protection, the report states.

Support of constitutional principles

Many organizations that protect constitutional rights have seen a recent surge of donations. The Denver Foundation and others are working hard to recognize and grow philanthropy in communities of color.

Mainstreaming of philanthropic strategy

Leaders in families, foundations and businesses increasingly understand that philanthropy consists of more than the transactional act of writing checks. Today, philanthropy is seen as a strategic investment that transforms both society and the donor.

Truly transformational philanthropy requires careful strategic planning, which has fueled the growth of philanthropic consulting in financial and professional services firms. Denver-area Toys for Tots has only been able to fill 10 percent of toy requests The Denver-area Toys for Tots program has only been able to distribute 10,000 toys as of Tuesday, far from the more than 100,000 toy requests it’s received from non-profits, said Staff Sgt.

When discussing the generation of electricity from sunlight, Jon Thaxton says the biggest scientific debate of our time can be left out of the conversation.

Instead, focus on money and well-being.

“You can ignore all the climate-change arguments and this is still an economically viable program,” said Thaxton, a former Sarasota County commissioner who is the director of community investments at the Gulf Coast Community Foundation.

I spoke with Thaxton following an event Wednesday at Florida House in Sarasota that launched Florida Solar United Neighborhoods’ solar cooperative in Sarasota (FLSUN.org). We should be saving those resources for a time of crisis, not burning them now when we could be offsetting with renewable energy sources.”

It was repeatedly noted at the solar co-op launch event, which I emceed, that Florida, despite its abundant sunshine, harnesses very little solar power. The goal is to change this as the cost of photovoltaic panels decreases and they become accessible to a larger group of homeowners, especially when tax incentives and the co-op discount are factored in.

The best way to achieve affordability, Thaxton said, “is to look at tax incentives, first and foremost, which is the classic way we have done it.” Every bit of that money will be reinvested in the community in some way or another, and immediately.”

John Lambie of Florida House says the solar co-op concept could be used as a model to lower the cost of other energy-efficient improvements, especially to older houses.

“What are the other co-op programs could help?

It is reflected in the Red Kettles of the Salvation Army, the “Bring the Harvest Home” food drive, the Community with a Heart and the countless efforts of our extraordinary nonprofits, civic groups and faith communities that echo the very definition of philanthropy “for the love of humanity.”

We here at the Community Foundation have one overarching goal to build community by Connecting Donors to the Causes They Care About.

The Community Foundation serves donors, professional advisers and non-profits through personalized service, local expertise and community leadership offering a wide array of funding vehicles and gifting opportunities. As this transition continues and with it all of the uncertainties that naturally occur now more than ever your Community Foundation is focused on community building as all of us in Ocala/Marion County continue to work tirelessly to better the lives of all of our citizens. Working together with our donors and our public and private partners, in both the charitable and civic sectors, enables us to leverage charitable giving for maximum impact.

Our commitment to sustainable community building is evidenced by our core promises to be a center of excellence for investment portfolio management, the source for extraordinary grant-making opportunities coupled with access to targeted resources that best meet the needs of our community. We make charitable giving seamless and easy a great lasting benefit to our donors, the charities that they support, and the greater good of our community.

Now more than ever JOIN US!

Frank Hennessey, businessman, entrepreneur, philanthropist and horse breeder, is also the founding chairman of the the Ocala/Marion County Community Foundation.

Grant to aid Caswell HIV testing – News – The Times-News – Burlington, NC 158, Yanceyville, has received a Bobby Hawker Memorial Fund Grant awarded by the Community Foundation of the Dan River Region.

The fund is to enrich the lives of individuals and families affected by HIV and AIDS.

In partnership with Alamance Cares, CFMC will now be able to hold quarterly meetings for the Caswell community with an emphasis on identifying resources for individuals who either have tested positive for HIV/AIDS or are at high risk of contracting it.

The partners and others, such as the Caswell County Health Department, also will work to ensure community access to free and confidential walk-in testing at least once per month at sites in Caswell County to be determined.

“The Community Foundation of the Dan River region is to be commended for their forward thinking and support of activities in Caswell for the people of Caswell,” CFMC CEO William Crumpton said.

According to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, 60 people living in Caswell County in 2015 had been diagnosed with HIV. The average for new diagnoses in Caswell from 2013 to 2015 was 7.2.

“One in eight Americans with HIV do not realize they are infected,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “and those people account for nearly one-third of HIV transmissions in the United States.”

Erie community college backer reaches out to Rural Regional College – News – GoErie.com – Erie, PA

Empower Erie officials believe there could be opportunities to work with the rural college if the local community college happens.

The nonprofit behind efforts to create an Erie County community college has reached out to officials affiliated with the Rural Regional College of Northwestern Pennsylvania to explore the potential for collaboration between the two if the community college becomes a reality.

Erie lawyer Ron DiNicola, the president and chairman of Empower Erie, and Duane Vicini, the Rural Regional College’s project executive, said officials from both groups have met to share information and talk about how the two schools might work together to benefit the region.

The Rural Regional College is designed to serve a region where there is no other community college, Vicini said.

Empower Erie plans to hire a consulting firm familiar with community colleges to conduct the state-required feasibility study that will look at possible locations for the school; staffing requirements; community needs; accreditation; funding sources, and other factors.

The nonprofit’s plan has support from the Erie Community Foundation, the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority and the Susan Hirt Hagen Fund for Transformational Philanthropy, which have contributed $300,000 toward the effort.

The Hagen Fund and ECGRA have promised an additional $3.7 million if Erie County Council ultimately votes to create a community college.

DiNicola said it is important to work with the Rural Regional College because the goal of both entities is the same improved access to affordable education across the region and creating programs that meet the needs of the community at large and local businesses. We know there are things that the rural college can bring to the region that are significant and important.”

Vicini said he expects conversations between Rural Regional College officials and Empower Erie to continue.

DiNicola and Erie County Councilman Andre Horton, an Erie County community college supporter, attended that meeting.

The Rural Regional College proposes offering courses at the Erie County Technical School in Summit Township; the Corry Higher Education Council and Corry Area School District; Central Career and Technical School, Erie; Harbor Creek School District, and Girard School District.

Tips from SCORE: Best practices for nonprofits during executive transitions – News – capecodtimes.com – Hyannis, MA Tips from SCORE: Best practices for nonprofits during executive transitions What are some best practices for remaining sustainable during these transitions?

Answer: As a former nonprofit executive director and CFO for 16 years, and current owner of Boardwalk Business Group, Matt Cronin has a wealth of experience implementing best practices that enhance nonprofit sustainability and improve operations. This work should be an important component of the tasks of the board and executive director, and includes three primary plans: 1. Nonprofit boards and executive directors must prioritize and be accountable for the development of other team members, including future leaders of the organization. Nonprofit management needs to invest in members of the team, including investing in future leaders, and identify leadership development opportunities for these future leaders. Use Executive Director vacations as opportunities to thoughtfully and proactively plan with a key management team member to “practice” leading the organization for a week. For each board meeting, have a standing agenda item where a rotating key staff member will present a board update, field questions, interact with the board and gain a better understanding of how board meetings work.

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After no prep work, lawmakers must write new school funding formula from scratch / LJWorld.com

Topeka During the 2015 session, Kansas lawmakers repealed the school funding formula that had been in place for more than 20 years and replaced it with a block-grant system that effectively froze funding in place for the next two years.

The rationale at the time was that it took two years to write the previous formula, which lawmakers had adopted in 1992, and so it seemed reasonable to give themselves two years this time to come up with a new formula.

But in the two years that have passed, the Legislature has done virtually nothing toward developing a new formula.

Instead, the past two years have been dominated by one budget crisis after another, and a special session in 2016 devoted to answering a Kansas Supreme Court order on school finance that threatened to close down public schools if lawmakers didn’t immediately fix certain equity problems.

House and Senate leaders didn’t even appoint interim study committees that could have taken testimony and held hearings on various school funding alternatives.

Now, with the block-grant system set to expire on June 30, and Gov. Sam Brownback saying he is not interested in extending it for another year, the 2017 Legislature, with more than 50 brand new members, faces the daunting challenge of having to write a new funding formula from scratch.

Kansas Education Commissioner Randy Watson said he’s now worried that lawmakers won’t be able to meet the deadline.

“What concerns me is that some people are saying maybe we’ll have to extend the block grant for another year because this is complicated and we have to write a new school finance formula,” Watson said. Buie, executive director of United School Administrators of Kansas, a group that represents superintendents and other administrators.

New legal standard

This time around, though, there are even more complicating factors in the school finance debate, starting with the Kansas Supreme Court’s new legal standard for judging whether overall funding is adequate.

In 2005, during the school finance lawsuit Montoy v.

Karleskint, who spent six years teaching school finance for doctoral students at Baker University, said that if the court rules that a new formula must be based on outcomes, crafting such a formula will be extremely difficult.

“The Rose standards came out of Kentucky several years ago, and there have been various attempts at writing formulas which reflect those standards, and I’m not aware of any state that’s been successful at it because it’s such a moving target,” he said.

Both Karleskint and Watson said they think a new formula could be written using the same basic elements as the 1992 plan a base amount of per-pupil funding for each district, with weightings to provide additional money for hard-to-teach populations like low-income students and English language learners, and some amount of local discretion to raise money above and beyond what the state provides.

But Mark Tallman, of the Kansas Association of School Boards, said Friday that nobody is entirely sure that would pass under the Supreme Court’s new outcomes-based legal standard.

“We don’t know that the old formula would pass muster,” Tallman said. The court is still looking at how to apply their new test.”

Trump administration

Another potential complicating factor this year is the election of Donald Trump as president and his efforts to push through national legislation to promote “school choice” alternatives such as private school vouchers and charter schools, which are privately operated schools that receive public funding.

The school choice movement also has its advocates in the Kansas Legislature, although to date they have had only limited success in pushing through choice initiatives, such as tax credits for corporate contributions to private school scholarship funds.

Watson said regardless of what happens in Congress, he doesn’t think proposals for charter schools or private school vouchers will gain much footing in Kansas.

“Our state constitution really limits money going to parochial interests and has some things that would really limit our ability to do charters from a constitutional standpoint,” he said.

Klumpf, with an initial contribution of $26.50, the exact amount of the Rotary Club of Chicagoas operating surplus that year.A In his address at the 1917 Rotary International convention in Atlanta, Klumpf urged Rotarians to aaccept endowments for the purpose of doing good in the worlda.A The Rotary International Convention will return to Atlanta in June to celebrate The Foundationas one hundredth anniversary.

Technically speaking The Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation that supports the efforts of Rotary International to achieve world international understanding and peace through international humanitarian, educational and cultural exchange programs.A It is supported solely by voluntary contributions from Rotarians and friends of the Foundation who share its vision of a better world.

The Rotary Foundationas operations are financed primarily by the interest earned on its contributions over a three year period.A In the Rotary year 2014-2015 the goal of reaching one billion dollars in total endowment was reached two years early.A The Foundation fundraising goal of 300 million dollars for the current Rotary year is on target to be met.A But thatas not what The Rotary Foundation is about.A Its event filled 100 year history is a story of Rotarians learning the value of service to humanity, and of people worldwide benefiting from that service.

The humanitarian programs of The Foundation help fuel Rotary projects to improve the quality of life, providing health and dental care, clean water, literacy programs, food, education and other needs in areas of the world where the need is greatest.A Through its educational programs, The Foundation provides funding for thousands of students to study abroad each year.A Grants are also awarded to university teachers to teach in developing countries and for exchanges of business and professional people.A Even its former participants in the Foundationas programs can continue their affiliation with Rotary as Foundation Alumni.

Todayas Rotary Foundation is one of the largest and most respected NGOs in the world.A Its donors range from a one hundred million dollar matching grant from the Gates Foundation to small contributions from the worldas 1,200,000 Rotarians as part of Rotaryas EREY (Every Rotarian Every Year) program.A Arch Klumpfas $26.50 continues to pay massive dividends as Rotarians continue helping to make the world a better place.

In November, the Rotary Foundation was named the worldas outstanding foundation by the Association of Fundraising Professionals.A The annual award honors the Foundation for its commitment and leadership through financial support and involvement in public affairs.A The award will be presented early this year at the AFPas annual conference in San Francisco and will be accepted by Paul Netzel, Rotary Foundation Trustee Chair-Elect.

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