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Seattle Foundation site seeks to inform, engage
Online giving has revolutionized philanthropy in the past several years. Now it's about to redefine the 64-year-old Seattle Foundation. (The Seattle Times, September 8, 2010)
Allen Foundation support for arts in Alaska profiled
The foundation recently supported the creation of four house posts at the Southeast clan house on the grounds of the Alaska Native Heritage Center. (Anchorage Daily News, August 30, 2010)
Nonprofit Fund Faces Questions About Conflicts and Selection Procedures
What was supposed to have been an emblem of the administration’s commitment to nonprofit groups has become instead a messy controversy over potential conflicts of interest and the process used to select the grantees. (The New York Times, August 21, 2010)
N.Y. Governor Signs Charitable-Gift Limits Into Law
New York Gov. David A. Paterson has signed into law a revenue bill passed by the state’s legislature that limits charitable deductions for “high earners”—a move that has nonprofits and a prominent New York philanthropist worried about a related significant loss in contributions to charity. (Chronicle of Philanthropy, August 10, 2010)
United Way of King County tops nation in fundraising
United Way of King County said it has raised $101.2 million through its annual campaign, making it the leading United Way in the country for fundraising. (The Seattle Times, July 21, 2010)
Petersburg Community Foundation meets Rasmuson challenge grant
A Petersburg community fundraising challenge introduced during Mayfest was successfully completed on July 5 when $50,000 in total donations was collected. The challenge, initiated by Ed Rasmuson, promised matching funds for every dollar collected up to $50,000 to be used by the Petersburg Community Foundation. (Petersburg Pilot, July 15, 2010)
Microsoft Co-Founder to Give Away Half of His Fortune to Philanthropy
Paul Allen, who founded the Microsoft Corporation with Bill Gates, announced on Thursday that he planned to give more than half of his estimated $13.5 billion fortune to philanthropy, including The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. (The New York Times, July 15, 2010)
Gates Foundation makes grant to help grow philanthropy
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is giving $3.7 million to Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors to allow the New York City nonprofit to study how to increase philanthropic giving. (Puget Sound Buisness Journal, July 6, 2010)
Editorial: College Success Foundation is, well, quite successful
THE College Success Foundation, based in Issaquah, is an example of philanthropy with measurable results. Started 10 years ago with grants from Costco Wholesale and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the College Success Foundation has helped through college more than 1,000 Washington students from disadvantaged backgrounds. (The Seattle Times, July 4, 2010)
Murdock Trust contribute to Today Show fundraising effort in Montana
Video: NBC Today Show weatherman Al Roker brought $1.2 million in donations to a Bozeman nonprofit that provides therapeutic recreation for people with disabilities.
Washington Women's Foundation: $10 million in 15 years
The Washington Women's Foundation, of Seattle, said Friday it's made $475,000 in grants to five local nonprofit groups. (Puget Sound Business Journal, June 18, 2010)
The $600 billion challenge
Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, and Warren Buffett are asking the nation's billionaires to pledge to give at least half their net worth to charity, in their lifetimes or at death. If their campaign succeeds, it could change the face of philanthropy. (Fortune, June 16, 2010)
United Way project seeks ways to use volunteers better
The United Way of King County is spending $110,000 on a pilot project with local hunger-relief organizations that it hopes will improve their ability to work with volunteers. (Puget Sound Business Journal, June 11, 2010. Subscription required for full text)
Gates Effort to Focus on Mother and Child
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation said it would spend $1.5 billion over the next five years on maternal and child health, family planning and nutrition programs in developing countries, representing a new emphasis for the foundation, whose health efforts so far have focused on infectious diseases, vaccines and H.I.V. and AIDS. (The New York Times, June 7, 2010)
United Way vital to getting kids ready for school
United Way of King County has launched an impressive effort to turn around this trend by training parents to serve as their child's first teacher, coach and advocate. (The Seattle Times, June 7, 2010)
Donors Value Charity Research, but Few Seek It Out
Most people say they care about supporting effective charities over mediocre ones, but they don’t necessarily have the appetite for research that could help them sort the good from the bad. (Chronicle of Philanthropy, June 2, 2010)
ACR Bill to Protect Foundation Giving Passes in Florida
On May 27, 2010, Governor Charlie Crist of Florida signed into law Senate Bill 998 which protects Florida foundations and the charities they support. (Alliance for Charitable Reform, June 1, 2010)
Young generation redefines culture of Microsoft philanthropy
Microsoft alumni have founded and supported more than 150 non-profit organizations and social ventures working around the world. Employee giving and company matching funds totaled almost $90 million last year. (The Seattle Times, May 24, 2010)
Gates Foundation committed to tribes, but unfocused
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded more than $20 million to tribal programs since 2002, although the philanthropy has yet to develop a clear plan for its activity in Indian Country. (Puget Sound Business Journal, May 21, 2010)
Foundations Need to Step up Advocacy in Congress
Editorial: Foundation leaders can no longer assume that policymakers share their view of the sector's role -- it is up to these leaders to tell philanthropy's story in a way that can be appreciated and understood. (Huffington Post, May 17, 2010)
Northwest sends larger share of giving overseas
A gradual growth in international giving among local corporations reflects those companies’ increasing global reach, said Carol Lewis, CEO of Philanthropy Northwest, an association of the region’s grant makers. (Puget Sound Business Journal, May 14, 2010)
How Much to Donate? God Knows
If we’re going to try to set standards that might offer guidance for us all, shouldn’t we look not just at what people earn but what they have? Once you do, it suggests a whole new way of thinking about what to give and a couple of ways to donate higher amounts more easily. (The New York Times, April 30, 2010)
The Fawning of the Foundations
Anthony Paletta, a Wall Street Journal reporter who attended the Council on Foundations conference this week, wrote: "It's no surprise that President Obama, with a lengthy background in the non-profit sector, has made strong efforts to reach out to the philanthropic community. What may come as a surprise is just how exhilarated the philanthropic community is by the attention." (Wall Street Journal, April 30, 2010)
Found: Matching Funds for Federal Grants
A coalition of foundations is offering up to half a billion dollars to match federal grants meant to encourage education reform, taking the pressure off schools scrambling to find the matching dollars they need to get the money. (The New York Times, April 28, 2010)
The Need for a Blended Approach to Philanthropy
Microsoft's Akhtar Badshah authored a Huffington Post editorial from the Council on Foundations conference in Denver, Colorado. (The Huffington Post, April 27, 2010)
Philanthropy Northwest member sells start-up to Netflix CEO
Online education startup DreamBox has been sold to Netflix Chief Executive Reed Hastings and a nonprofit venture fund. DreamBox was started in 2006 by former Microsoft executive Ben Slivka and Lou Gray, former president of UIEvolution. Ben Slivka and his wife, Lisa Wissner, have a family foundation in Seattle. (The Seattle Times, April 20, 2010)
69 Organizations Applied For $125 Million in Social Innovation Funds
The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) received 69 requests totaling $125 million during the first-ever round of Social Innovation Fund (SIF) applications, which has a federal allocation of $50 million. (The Nonprofit Times, April 26, 2010)
Gates Foundation pledges $57 million for education
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation intends to spend an additional $57-million over the next two years to improve classes designed for college students who have fallen behind academically. (Chronicle of Philanthropy, April 20, 2010)
Educating creative thinkers is good for the economy
Sue Coliton, CEO of The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation and Philanthropy Northwest board member, co-wrote an editorial about the role of arts education in developing creative thinkers. (The Seattle Times, April 19, 2010)
Some Wealthy Say: Go Ahead, Tax Me More
The Responsible Wealth Network, a group of wealthy citizens with members in the Northwest, advocate preservation of estate taxes, restoration of higher tax rates for wealthy, and ending preferential treatment of dividends and capital gains. (Wall Street Journal, April 8, 2010)
How Foundations Can Prevent Populist Backlash
Several philanthropy experts have predicted that Tea Party activists and others who are staunchly antigovernment—and in some sense anti-institution—will eventually take aim at big grant makers that are perceived as elitist. (Chronicle of Philanthropy, April 2, 2010)
Grants Nurture Arts Spaces and Housing
The Ford Foundation will dedicate $100 million to the development of arts spaces nationwide over the next decade. The plan is by far the largest commitment the foundation has ever made to the construction, maintenance and enhancement of arts facilities. (The New York Times, April 4, 2010)
Quixote Foundation announces plan to "spend up"
The foundation will increase its yearly grantmaking to spend its full endowment by 2017, through a combination of increased annual grants and one-time landmark grants.
Microsoft, Starbucks step up as lead sponsors for Seattle 4th of July Fireworks show
The two companies each pledged $125,000 in matching funds during a fundraising effort spearheaded by Seattle radio host Dave Ross and restauranteur Tom Douglas to save the event, which had been seeking a lead sponsor for 15 months. Community businesses and individuals rallied to raise the remainder of the goal. (MyNorthwest.com, April 1, 2010)
Education Dpt. announces 1st Race to the Top winners
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced today that Delaware and Tennessee have won grants in the first phase of the Race to the Top competition. (U.S. Department of Education website, March 29, 2010)
Ex-foundation director ordered to repay $2M
An Oregon judge on Thursday ordered a former foundation director to repay $2 million that the court said she invested irresponsibly. (Portland Business Journal, March 24, 2010)
Giving Practice takes Capacity Building Study to ID
Giving Practice partner John Smith unveiled the results of the new Capacity Building Assessment study in a workshop organized by the Wood River Women's Charitable Foundation. (MagicValley.com, March 13, 2010)
Nonprofit Groups Forsee Tough Year
A new survey of nonprofit groups suggests that this year will be as challenging for them as 2009, when many organizations suffered from declines in giving, delays in government payments and increased demand for their services. (The New York Times, March 21, 2010)
Potlatch receieves Murdock grant for new staff position
The Potlatch Fund received a $225,000 grant from the M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust to expand its fundraising. The three-year grant has allowed Potlatch to hire its first full-time development director. (Puget Sound Business Journal, March 19, 2010)
Bullitt Foundation Planning Seattle's Greenest Building
Bullitt calls its building the Cascadia Center for Sustainable Design and Construction. It would house the foundation's headquarters and serve as a showplace for cutting-edge green engineering and architecture. (The Seattle Times, March 15, 2010)
NWAF Awards Prosperity Building Grants
The grants, including $150,000 to Rural Dynamics, Inc. in Great Falls, Montana and $75,000 to the Latino Economic and Development (LEAD) Center in Blackfoot, Idaho, are designed to attract additional funding to help people build the assets and wealth needed to get out – and stay out – of poverty. (Northwest Area Foundation, February 25, 2010)
Nonprofit Ecosystem Report in the News
Seven of Washington’s leading charitable foundations want to strengthen the nonprofit sector by asking other grant makers to fund gaps in how individual nonprofit groups— and the sector as whole — operate. (Puget Sound Business Jounral (subscription required), February 26, 2010)
Family Foundations Help Grow Mission Investing
Recent portfolio declines prompted family foundations - like The Russell Family Foundation, to supplement grant-giving with income-generating investments. (More for Mission blog, February 18, 2010)
Pick. Click Give. program faces uncertain future in Alaska Legislature
The price tag for the Pick-Click-Give program, which allows Alaskans to donate to a portion of their Permanent Fund dividend to charities, is raising eyebrows in the state Legislature.
Safeco donates $3.5 million art collection
Hundreds of pieces by Northwest artists that have been part of Safeco's private collection for years, will become permanently accessible for public exhibits. (The Seattle Times, February 11, 2010)
Seattle, Bellevue, WA, Among Top 10 Generous Cities Online
Despite a drop in average gift size in most cities, more than $284 million was donated by the 273 major cities in 2009, up from almost $240 million in 2008. (The Nonprofit Times, February 1, 2010)
Bill Gates Releases Annual Letter
The focus of this year’s letter is innovation and how it can make the difference between a bleak future and a bright one. (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation website, January 25, 2010)
Campaign-Finance Ruling May Affect Nonprofit Advocacy
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Thursday to lift restrictions on corporate campaign spending has drawn sharp attacks, but legal experts also say the decision may make it easier for nonprofit advocacy groups to try to influence elections. (Chronicle of Philanthropy, January 22, 2010)
Art industry faces slump
The number of U.S. arts organizations grew by thousands over the last decade, but many are now struggling with greater competition for audiences and charity dollars. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, January 20, 2010)
Grantmaking Update from Rasmuson Foudation
President Diane Kaplan posted a blog about the Foundation’s grantmaking projections for the upcoming year. (Rasmuson Foundation website, January 20, 2010)
Annual Letter on Gates Northwest Giving
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation posted a letter to its community partners about plans for the foundation's local giving in 2010. (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation website, January 20, 2010)
New York volunteer effort comes to Seattle
A New York effort to tap unpaid workers as a permanent, strategic element in solving city problems is spreading nationwide, including Seattle, thanks to Rockefeller Foundation grants. (The New York Times, January 17, 2010)
Recent Estate-Tax Changes Did Not Make Big Difference to Charities
Gradual increases in the level of the federal estate-tax exemption in recent years apparently did not cause wealthy people to change the shares of their estates that they left to charity. (Chronicle of Philanthropy, January 4, 2010)
IRS Provides Audit Guidance
The Internal Revenue Service has released a “guide sheet” and a “checklist” to help its agents as they gather data about the governance practices and related internal controls of charities they are auditing. (Chronicle of Philanthropy, December 11, 2009)
Nationwide decline in arts events attendance
A new report released by the National Endowment for the Arts said the number of American adults attending arts and cultural events has sunk to its lowest level since 1982.
(LA Times, December 10, 2009)
Cobell Lawsuit on Indian Trusts settled
Secretary of the Interior Salazar and Attorney General Holder announced a settlement of the long-running Cobell class-action lawsuit regarding the U.S. government's trust management and accounting of over three hundred thousand individual American Indian trust accounts. (US Department of the Interior, December 7, 2009)
Seattle org named “Ultimate Game Changer in Philanthropy” by HuffPost Readers
Vittana, which is pioneering student loans in the developing world, was voted the next new thing in charity. (The New York Times, December 5, 2009)
Charities rise, cost U.S. billions in tax breaks
The number of organizations that can offer their donors a tax break in the name of charity has grown more than 60 percent in the United States, to 1.1 million, in just a decade.
(The New York Times, December 5, 2009)
Hutch gets $10M from Bezos family
Efforts to harness the power of the immune system to cure cancer got a boost today with a $10 million donation to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center from the parents of Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos. (The Seattle Times, November 24, 2009)
As Foundations Close, Anxiety for Charities
Foudations that increase grants to spend down their endowment and then close are proving to be a boon to charities in the short run, but the trend is also causing anxiety among the charities about their future fund-raising. (The New York Times, November 11, 2009)
What's Wrong With Charitable Giving
It's hard to overstate the crisis facing charitable giving today. So what can foundations and others do to make a difference for the nonprofits and the people they are designed to help? (The Wall Street Journal special section, November 9, 2009)
Bank of America cuts donor-advised-fund min.
Seeking to stimulate its philanthropic business, Bank of America is reducing the minimum contribution to open a donor-advised fund from $50,000 to $5,000, writes Bloomberg. (Chronicle of Philanthropy, November 5, 2009)
Sheridan Press profiles presentation by Ken Ristine, Ben B. Cheney Foundation
The article reported on Ken Ristine (of the Cheney Foundation in Tacoma) speaking to Sheridan-area nonprofits and community leaders on the impact of the recession on nonprofits and philanthropy; the meeting was organized by the Homer & Mildred Scott Family Foundation. (October 14, Sheridan Press)
Philanthropy Northwest Members encourage investment in women and girls
Women in our community and around the world face serious and systemic challenges of disparity, write guest columnists LeAnne Moss of the Women's Funding Alliance and Bill and Paula Clapp of the Seattle International Foundation. (The Seattle Times, October 11, 2009)
Good News from IRS for Public Charities
A new ruling from the Internal Revenue Service indicates that they will allow public foundations or other public charities that have made the 501(h) election to rely on the rules that already govern grantmaking by private foundations. (Alliance for Justice website, October 1, 2009)
Philanthropy NW members win ARRA grants
Two members, Building Changes and the City of Seattle, were awarded highly competitive capacity building grants through the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act. (Seattle Times, October 1, 2009)
The Nonprofit Starvation Cycle
A vicious cycle is leaving nonprofits hungry for decent infrastructure. The cycle starts with funders’ unrealistic expectations about how much running a nonprofit costs, and results in nonprofits’ misrepresenting their costs while skimping on vital systems—acts that feed funders’ skewed beliefs. (Stanford Social Innovation Review)
Bank of America study on high net worth giving
Deatils of trends in giving, the wealthy as volunteers and the effects of the economy. (PDF, June 29, 2009)
Local Women Propel Campaign to Historic Highs
A global campaign to get women to donate $1 million each toward non-profits that help women and girls surpassed its ambitious targets, thanks in part to a handful of Seattle philanthropists. (The Seattle Times, May 14, 2009)
WA Enacts New Rules for Charities
WA Gov. Chris Gregoire signed Substitute HB 1119, the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA),which changes the rules on how charities must manage and invest their charitable assets. (Davis Wright Tremaine, May 12, 2009)
More Than a Third of Family Foundations Uncertain About Lifespan or Expect to Spend Down
Results from the first large-scale study of family foundation lifespan plans, jointly released today by the Foundation Center and the Council on Foundations. (April 30, 2009)
Crapo Joins Philanthropy Caucus
Idaho Senator Mike Crapo is now one of seven Senators to serve on the Senate Philanthropy Caucus.Crapo agreed to join the Caucus after meetings with Daniel Kemmis, President of the Northwest Area Foundation and Megan McNally of Philanthropy Northwest. (American Chronicle, April 11, 2009)
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