From Inside Philanthropy
October 20, 2008
Despite fear and uncertainty among nonprofits about the sliding economy and turmoil in the financial markets, a leading expert on wealth and philanthropy is optimistic about charitable giving.
While giving fell in the recession that followed the bursting of the dot.com bubble in 2000 and the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, the rate of the decline was only half that of the decrease in wealth, says John J. Havens, senior associate director and senior research associate at the Center on Wealth and Philanthropy at Boston College.
And despite the recent plunge in the stock market, which already has recovered some of its losses, stocks account for less than 10 percent of households' assets, and stocks affect mutual funds, bonds and pension reserves, which together account for another 15 percent to 20 percent, Havens says.
Americans also own homes and businesses, so the market does not immediately affect the remaining 70 percent to 75 percent of household assets, he says.
Although their wealth affects Americans’ capacity for charitable giving, he says, their giving also reflects their personal income, their employment and their access to credit.
“I tend to be optimistic,” he says. “People are overreacting to the current bad conditions.
”In fact, he says, “large gifts are continuing at a high level.”
Large planned gifts, or those that are deferred or complex or involve assets other than cash such as stock or real estate, for example, have “inertia of their own” because they take time to plan and often involve lawyers, documents and accumulated funds, Havens says.
And that inertia “continues through the first year of a downturn,” he says.So instead of panicking, he says, nonprofits should watch for trends in personal income, unemployment and government efforts in the U.S. and abroad to ease the credit freeze.
“If personal income were to drop and wealth were to drop off and remain low, we’d be in serious shape with respect to philanthropic giving,” he says.
And if government efforts to loosen credit “do not have a major effect,” he says, “I would anticipate we’re going to have a very long and deep recession, with declines in both wealth and income, and therefore a major impact on philanthropy as well, although probably less so in percentage terms than on income itself or wealth itself.”
But he says he believes those efforts “will have the desired impact.
”Haven, who looked at per-household data on net worth, personal income and charitable giving for the period before and after the most recent recession, says wealth and giving patterns for households tend to be more stable than those of capital markets or personal income.
“So if past is prologue, we would expect the total amount of philanthropy to continue or increase for another several months or two to three quarters, but possibly not as rapidly,” he says.
“The real big question is whether the economy can sidestep this crisis so it doesn’t extend into employment and incomes of people,” he says. “I’m optimistic because I think we’re panicking too much.”
October 31, 2008
Riding the Roller Coaster
Thoughts on the Times We are Living In
By Paul Shoemaker, Founder and Executive Director of Social Venture Partners Seattle
I’m sitting at 6:37am watching the markets take another roller coast dive, Dow down 338 points in 7 minutes. I’ve had a number of thoughts rolling through my head for several days now (as I’m sure all of you have too). I very much hope that you will not take my few words here as some kind of opportunistic join / rejoin / renew with SVP message. I am speaking to something far bigger than SVP or ourselves.
It goes without saying that we are living through a period of time, who knows how long it will last, that is different than anything any of us have ever experienced. It seems destined to make the ’01 dot-bust look like a blip / dip comparatively. You all know that the social needs in our neighborhood, cities, region, nation, world are going to grow and the public funds are gonna concurrently tighten (they have to). Philanthropy can’t begin to replace but a fraction of those dollars and this is going to affect all of us.
When people ask me in the last few weeks how all his will affect SVP, I say I don’t know yet, it’s been so quick. I do know that in ’01 individuals were more persistent and stretched their giving longer and further than institutions did or could, though none of our wallets are bottomless.
But even more important than our financial capital, and I mean this 100%, is our spirit and our human capital. None of us can avoid feeling the stress and pain we are going through, but we can choose to not let it overwhelm and redefine us as human beings and citizens and philanthropists. I’ll share two thoughts I’ve received in the last few days –
“There’s plenty of reason for hope. Following a decade of record-breaking, boundary-spanning philanthropic efforts, bigger dollars and more people are engaged in philanthropy than ever before. By showing bold, effective leadership at a time of such global uncertainty, we could tap latent interest and entice others to join us in this collaborative effort to improve lives.” – Kathleen Enright
“I will not be sending stock. (My gawd, it’s sooo LOW that would be crazy), but I will send a check tomorrow. And just so you know, I thought about backing off, but in these times, figured it was even MORE important to continue giving – at least to those orgs that are efficient & effective.” – SVP Partner, 10/22/08
What we can do is be role models, we can persist, we can be the kind of people that don’t lose hope and remember that history shows there is ALWAYS a new AND better day on the horizon, no matter how far off it may appear. America, SVP, each of you, and countless philanthropic and non-profit organizations WILL persevere and we will make a huge difference in the lives and institutions that we all care about deeply. Our wallets are not bottomless, but our courage, our optimism, and our fortitude can be. At SVP, we have spent nearly 11 years building a model and body of work that has leverage, effectiveness, passion – we need to amplify and accelerate our efforts, not back off. We need to look upward and outward and work harder, not hunker down.
It’s 51 minutes later now and the Dow is down another 131 points … I was looking for one specific quote from Martin Luther King to close with – “The ultimate measure of a human is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where she stands at times of challenge and controversy.” And as I was searching for that one, I found many others that might speak to each of us personally and intimately so I’ll share a few of those too, just in case one of them speaks directly to one of you.
I suspect times will get tougher before they get better, but we have each other and we always have our hearts and minds and souls and strength to continue to make a positive difference in our world, especially when it is needed most. Carry on!
Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better.
Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle ... A human can't ride you unless your back is bent. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.
Every person must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.
Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.
Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'
We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.
We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now.
Whatever your life's work is, do it well. A human should do her job so well that the living, the dead, and the unborn could do it no better.
By Paul Shoemaker, Founder and Executive Director of Social Venture Partners Seattle
I’m sitting at 6:37am watching the markets take another roller coast dive, Dow down 338 points in 7 minutes. I’ve had a number of thoughts rolling through my head for several days now (as I’m sure all of you have too). I very much hope that you will not take my few words here as some kind of opportunistic join / rejoin / renew with SVP message. I am speaking to something far bigger than SVP or ourselves.
It goes without saying that we are living through a period of time, who knows how long it will last, that is different than anything any of us have ever experienced. It seems destined to make the ’01 dot-bust look like a blip / dip comparatively. You all know that the social needs in our neighborhood, cities, region, nation, world are going to grow and the public funds are gonna concurrently tighten (they have to). Philanthropy can’t begin to replace but a fraction of those dollars and this is going to affect all of us.
When people ask me in the last few weeks how all his will affect SVP, I say I don’t know yet, it’s been so quick. I do know that in ’01 individuals were more persistent and stretched their giving longer and further than institutions did or could, though none of our wallets are bottomless.
But even more important than our financial capital, and I mean this 100%, is our spirit and our human capital. None of us can avoid feeling the stress and pain we are going through, but we can choose to not let it overwhelm and redefine us as human beings and citizens and philanthropists. I’ll share two thoughts I’ve received in the last few days –
“There’s plenty of reason for hope. Following a decade of record-breaking, boundary-spanning philanthropic efforts, bigger dollars and more people are engaged in philanthropy than ever before. By showing bold, effective leadership at a time of such global uncertainty, we could tap latent interest and entice others to join us in this collaborative effort to improve lives.” – Kathleen Enright
“I will not be sending stock. (My gawd, it’s sooo LOW that would be crazy), but I will send a check tomorrow. And just so you know, I thought about backing off, but in these times, figured it was even MORE important to continue giving – at least to those orgs that are efficient & effective.” – SVP Partner, 10/22/08
What we can do is be role models, we can persist, we can be the kind of people that don’t lose hope and remember that history shows there is ALWAYS a new AND better day on the horizon, no matter how far off it may appear. America, SVP, each of you, and countless philanthropic and non-profit organizations WILL persevere and we will make a huge difference in the lives and institutions that we all care about deeply. Our wallets are not bottomless, but our courage, our optimism, and our fortitude can be. At SVP, we have spent nearly 11 years building a model and body of work that has leverage, effectiveness, passion – we need to amplify and accelerate our efforts, not back off. We need to look upward and outward and work harder, not hunker down.
It’s 51 minutes later now and the Dow is down another 131 points … I was looking for one specific quote from Martin Luther King to close with – “The ultimate measure of a human is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where she stands at times of challenge and controversy.” And as I was searching for that one, I found many others that might speak to each of us personally and intimately so I’ll share a few of those too, just in case one of them speaks directly to one of you.
I suspect times will get tougher before they get better, but we have each other and we always have our hearts and minds and souls and strength to continue to make a positive difference in our world, especially when it is needed most. Carry on!
Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better.
Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle ... A human can't ride you unless your back is bent. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.
Every person must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.
Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.
Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'
We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.
We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now.
Whatever your life's work is, do it well. A human should do her job so well that the living, the dead, and the unborn could do it no better.
October 29, 2008
Investment Working Group Update - October 2008
- The IWG reviewed the Letters of Interest (LOI) and selected 16 agencies to submit proposals. The proposals are due December 3 and the Proposal Review Teams will be meeting during December. If you have not been contacted by your Team Leader or are interested in serving on a review team, please contact Joyce Ross at JoyceDRoss@aol.com.
- The November 11 Partner Bootcamp meeting listed on the IWG schedule has been cancelled. Instead, workshops will be offered in January and February. Sherri Neasham will be sending out an announcement soon regarding content and dates.
October 15, 2008
Cool Things Our Partners Are Doing
- Interested in solar energy? SDSVP Partner, David Field, CEO of Open Energy, was interviewed on Fox 6 News about the new technology behind solar panels to save energy and reduce costs. Click here to view news clip.
- Our Partners are making the news… in the New York Times! Trevor Callan, Callan Capital, weighs in on these challenging economic times. Click here to read article.
Money to Grow On
From the Stanford Social Innovation Review
Fall 2008
In the for-profit world, the term “investment” has clear meaning and investors have sophisticated techniques for spotting and growing the most promising companies. Yet foundations and other nonprofit donors have not developed similar clarity or approaches. As a result, the nonprofit sector’s greatest gems often languish well below their full potential. By better translating for-profit concepts, donors can learn how to scout out and grow the best nonprofits. Likewise, certain nonprofits can take a page from business’s playbook and learn how to attract cash for expansion.
Click here to read the full article.
Fall 2008
In the for-profit world, the term “investment” has clear meaning and investors have sophisticated techniques for spotting and growing the most promising companies. Yet foundations and other nonprofit donors have not developed similar clarity or approaches. As a result, the nonprofit sector’s greatest gems often languish well below their full potential. By better translating for-profit concepts, donors can learn how to scout out and grow the best nonprofits. Likewise, certain nonprofits can take a page from business’s playbook and learn how to attract cash for expansion.
Click here to read the full article.
Philanthropy is HOT!
Well known author and philanthropist, Sean Stannard-Stockton, attended the SVPI Conference in Cleveland this year! Sean, principal and director of Tactical Philanthropy, reports on the Conference and shares his thoughts about the direction in which philanthropy is going.
Click here to read his article.
Click here to read his article.
October 14, 2008
Success for La Cuna
By Rachel Humphreys
As summer winds down and a change of seasons is in the air, change is happening within the homes of many La Cuna families right now as they become adoptive parents. By now La Cuna has placed 70 children in safe and loving homes. As of now, 11 have been adopted or are in process of being adopted by their La Cuna families. (Many more cases are still up in the air, and approximately 60% have been successfully reunified with rehabilitated family members.)
Although La Cuna tries to reunify our La Cuna children with biological or extended family whenever they can, they are also committed to permanency for each child, and their foster families are excited to adopt when reunification is not possible. They have incredibly heartwarming stories around their little adopted sweet peas and their loving La Cuna families. Below is one such example.
Little Arturo came to La Cuna on December 20, 2006 at the tender age of 11 days old. His parents were young teenagers themselves who are prone to violence and drug use. Cesar was born “pos tox,” with crystal meth in his system. For his first year in care, his wonder-parents, April and Ben Flores, tried very hard to help reunify him with his biological parents, and then when that could not happen, they tried to place him with a variety of extended family members. The latter were all ultimately unable to pass a background clearance check.
Along the way it became clear that Cesar needed a “forever home.” Meanwhile, along with his La Cuna parents, April and Ben, he was being equally adored by his La Cuna Grandmother, who lives with the Flores family. Cesar is now in process of being adopted by the Flores family.
“The level to which the Flores couple has remained calm and supportive of whatever’s best for Cesar has been truly incredible. They have been amazingly selfless in their quest to look out for the beautiful boy in their home.” Says Executive Director Rachel Humphreys.
Meanwhile Cesar has blossomed into a very healthy toddler! He not only meets all his developmental milestones, but he’s a wonderful, completely well-adjusted little man. He’s outgoing, sociable, and his favorite TV show is “Wow! Wow! Wubbzy.”
This story is yet another success story for La Cuna. La Cuna’s ability to intervene at a very early age has allowed two critically important things to happen to Cesar. One: He has known the luxury of one solid, terrifically loving family, as opposed to having multiple placements. Two: the cycle of violence and drugs that is self perpetuating among troubled teenagers most likely ends with Cesar.
Social Venture Partners has played an instrumental role in every important area of La Cuna’s operations: leveraging grant money; playing key roles in all our major events and fundraisers; developing infrastructure support through pro-bono advisors and technology support; brand-new, securing a state-of-the-art donated phone system; helping us implement our first donor database; developing our website and our branding identity; helping us outreach to find quality La Cuna families; and sponsoring various retreats for us such as board development, fundraising and strategic planning retreats. If that isn’t support, I don’t know what is!!
As summer winds down and a change of seasons is in the air, change is happening within the homes of many La Cuna families right now as they become adoptive parents. By now La Cuna has placed 70 children in safe and loving homes. As of now, 11 have been adopted or are in process of being adopted by their La Cuna families. (Many more cases are still up in the air, and approximately 60% have been successfully reunified with rehabilitated family members.)
Although La Cuna tries to reunify our La Cuna children with biological or extended family whenever they can, they are also committed to permanency for each child, and their foster families are excited to adopt when reunification is not possible. They have incredibly heartwarming stories around their little adopted sweet peas and their loving La Cuna families. Below is one such example.
Little Arturo came to La Cuna on December 20, 2006 at the tender age of 11 days old. His parents were young teenagers themselves who are prone to violence and drug use. Cesar was born “pos tox,” with crystal meth in his system. For his first year in care, his wonder-parents, April and Ben Flores, tried very hard to help reunify him with his biological parents, and then when that could not happen, they tried to place him with a variety of extended family members. The latter were all ultimately unable to pass a background clearance check.
Along the way it became clear that Cesar needed a “forever home.” Meanwhile, along with his La Cuna parents, April and Ben, he was being equally adored by his La Cuna Grandmother, who lives with the Flores family. Cesar is now in process of being adopted by the Flores family.
“The level to which the Flores couple has remained calm and supportive of whatever’s best for Cesar has been truly incredible. They have been amazingly selfless in their quest to look out for the beautiful boy in their home.” Says Executive Director Rachel Humphreys.
Meanwhile Cesar has blossomed into a very healthy toddler! He not only meets all his developmental milestones, but he’s a wonderful, completely well-adjusted little man. He’s outgoing, sociable, and his favorite TV show is “Wow! Wow! Wubbzy.”
This story is yet another success story for La Cuna. La Cuna’s ability to intervene at a very early age has allowed two critically important things to happen to Cesar. One: He has known the luxury of one solid, terrifically loving family, as opposed to having multiple placements. Two: the cycle of violence and drugs that is self perpetuating among troubled teenagers most likely ends with Cesar.
Social Venture Partners has played an instrumental role in every important area of La Cuna’s operations: leveraging grant money; playing key roles in all our major events and fundraisers; developing infrastructure support through pro-bono advisors and technology support; brand-new, securing a state-of-the-art donated phone system; helping us implement our first donor database; developing our website and our branding identity; helping us outreach to find quality La Cuna families; and sponsoring various retreats for us such as board development, fundraising and strategic planning retreats. If that isn’t support, I don’t know what is!!
More Passion Than Ever!
By Mark Fackler
The model of San Diego Social Venture Partners is truly amazing. I hear the statistics of the incredible leverage that our dollars produce. I hear the feedback from the Investees about the amazing value of our time, expertise and recourses. I hear the stories from our Investees and how lives are being changed. Now multiply that by 25 cities and you get more than 2,000 dedicated individuals, giving more than $26.5 million in grant investments to more than 300 non-profit organizations. I just spent a few days at the Social Venture Partners International Conference in Cleveland, Ohio and I am more passionate than ever!
The night before the conference started, we partied at the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame. The museum, in itself, was cool enough, but that was nothing compared to the live band that played for the guests. Our own SDSVP Partners Ray and Kim McKewon flew out to join in the one and only performance of Limited Capacity, a pick up band of SVPers. They ROCKED!
In addition to Ray and Kim, other SDSVP attendees were Alan and Louarn Sorkin, Peggy Kidd, and Mandy Sherlock. The conference started out with a keynote from John Wood. This former Microsoft executive founded Room to Read, an organization that has helped more than 1.7 million children across the developing world break the cycle of poverty through the power of education. He inspired the two hundred attendees from the US, Canada and Japan. Stephen Lewis, the former Special Envoy to the UN Secretary-General and current co-director of AIDS-Free World, provided the other keynote. He spoke about Africa, AIDS, sexual violence, death and luckily, hope. Simply put, he numbed the room.
There were breakout sessions ranging from how to measure, govern, plan and collaborate in the non-profit world. For me, the best part was hearing the innovative practices from other SVP chapters. The advocacy initiative in the Seattle Chapter is fascinating and makes so much sense. If SVP is going to create social/sector change, which is a fairly common vision for all the chapters, advocacy is a powerful tool to use.
SDSVP’s reputation is known throughout the chapters. Partners from around the SVP network wanted to know how we are able to continue to grow our organization. They wanted to know about our Environmental Accelerator Fund (EAF). They wanted to know how we get so many volunteer hours donated. They wanted to know how we have such great social events. My answer is always the same. SDSVP has smart, kind and great Partners who believe in giving back!
I hope to see at the 2009 SVPI Conference in Dallas Texas on October 16 and 17. I hear the first night might be a hoedown. Think the McKewons do hoedowns?
Click here to view pictures
The model of San Diego Social Venture Partners is truly amazing. I hear the statistics of the incredible leverage that our dollars produce. I hear the feedback from the Investees about the amazing value of our time, expertise and recourses. I hear the stories from our Investees and how lives are being changed. Now multiply that by 25 cities and you get more than 2,000 dedicated individuals, giving more than $26.5 million in grant investments to more than 300 non-profit organizations. I just spent a few days at the Social Venture Partners International Conference in Cleveland, Ohio and I am more passionate than ever!
The night before the conference started, we partied at the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame. The museum, in itself, was cool enough, but that was nothing compared to the live band that played for the guests. Our own SDSVP Partners Ray and Kim McKewon flew out to join in the one and only performance of Limited Capacity, a pick up band of SVPers. They ROCKED!
In addition to Ray and Kim, other SDSVP attendees were Alan and Louarn Sorkin, Peggy Kidd, and Mandy Sherlock. The conference started out with a keynote from John Wood. This former Microsoft executive founded Room to Read, an organization that has helped more than 1.7 million children across the developing world break the cycle of poverty through the power of education. He inspired the two hundred attendees from the US, Canada and Japan. Stephen Lewis, the former Special Envoy to the UN Secretary-General and current co-director of AIDS-Free World, provided the other keynote. He spoke about Africa, AIDS, sexual violence, death and luckily, hope. Simply put, he numbed the room.
There were breakout sessions ranging from how to measure, govern, plan and collaborate in the non-profit world. For me, the best part was hearing the innovative practices from other SVP chapters. The advocacy initiative in the Seattle Chapter is fascinating and makes so much sense. If SVP is going to create social/sector change, which is a fairly common vision for all the chapters, advocacy is a powerful tool to use.
SDSVP’s reputation is known throughout the chapters. Partners from around the SVP network wanted to know how we are able to continue to grow our organization. They wanted to know about our Environmental Accelerator Fund (EAF). They wanted to know how we get so many volunteer hours donated. They wanted to know how we have such great social events. My answer is always the same. SDSVP has smart, kind and great Partners who believe in giving back!
I hope to see at the 2009 SVPI Conference in Dallas Texas on October 16 and 17. I hear the first night might be a hoedown. Think the McKewons do hoedowns?
Click here to view pictures
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Share