WELCOME TO JULY!
I HOPE YOU DANCE
Song refrain: “When you have a choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance.”
As we emerge from the pandemic, nonprofit people, especially fundraisers, are faced with this choice every day. The last couple months, we’ve noticed a lot of people who just want to sit it out. We empathize. But if you need a paycheck or a soul-check, we hope you get up and dance.
We’ve been spending a lot of time helping clients get back on their feet and figuring out which funding ballets to dance. It’s hard. But if you’re only halfway on your feet, find SOMEONE, a friend, a former employee, a co-worker, or your mom to help you dance.
THIRTY MINUTES WITH AN AP ADVISOR, WRITER OR RESEARCHER
See all the stuff in this newsletter? It’s the collective information from the 20 researchers, writers, and senior advisors who together call ourselves Access Philanthropy. And this is just the data. If you would like to chat with an AP advisor or writer, we can also talk about strategies, analysis, approaches, messaging, and far more stuff than we can put on our website.
SPONSORSHIPS – ARE THEY STILL A THING?
You betcha! There are two reasons.
First, in Minnesota, most major corporations still have some form of sponsorship program.
Here’s a sample profile:
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota
Sponsor? Yes, primarily through the Center for Prevention (CFP) arm
Some opportunities are directly through Blue Cross itself, though these are very limited.
Focus areas are generally wellness-related (community gardens, bike rental programs, walks for diseases, etc.)
Process? For the Center for Prevention: “For further questions about funding, please contact us via email at Prevention.Funding@bluecrossmn.com or call toll-free at 1-800-760-0052.”
SECOND, there’s this new group, Zipsprout.com, that provides lists of hyper-local (love that word) sponsors. You can search by zip code for sponsors. Here’s the thing, though. Most of the sponsors Zipsprout has found are NOT business corporations, but nonprofits and government agencies who need to reach out to your constituents, such as US Post Office, Rotary Clubs, and Turkey Day 5K.
Next Month our Researchers Dive into Local Foundation Funding for MENTAL HEALTH
SUCH GOOD NEWS: THE SAUER FAMILY FOUNDATION
It couldn’t happen to a nicer family foundation. The St Paul based
Sauer Family Foundation has more than tripled its assets from $28 million to $100 million. Truly, one of the best family funds in the U.S., the Sauer family has been a steady and strong child welfare funder for years.
LOCAL FOUNDATION JOBS AND PEOPLE NOTES
-
Bush Foundation is looking for a Chief Operating Officer, a Communications Associate, and a Grantmaking Coordinator
-
Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies needs Program Officers for its Twin Cities Local Initiatives & Opportunities program and Legacy Program in Southern California (all the groups that Margaret worked with when she lived and worked in San Diego). They also need a Grants Management Associate.
-
Cargill Corporation needs a Corporate Responsibility Senior Manager, Grant Operations and Reporting person (lead grant operations, administration, and financial reporting)
SAMPLING OF LOCAL GRANT REPORTS
WELCOME JANE CUNNINGHAM
Our good friend, Jane Cunningham, is joining AP as a senior writer and senior advisor. She spent several years as a lead writer for the Amherst Wilder Foundation. Jane will start off working in partnership with our writer Serena Xiong, for two of our clients – Asian American Organizing Project and MicroGrants. We’ve always admired her passion, her work, and her sense of organization. Welcome, Jane!
Jane is one of the AP staff people who are available for free thirty minute chats.
“If you’re just keeping up, you’re probably behind the times.” AP Senior Advisor John Munger
MINNESOTA FUNDING SHORT TAKES
-
PNC is opening a permanent bank branch in the Roseville area, their first branch in the Twin Cities. This makes the Twin Cities a real-life Community Reinvestment Act location, and increases giving responsibilities
-
Boston Scientific is expanding its health and education funding criteria, but eliminating other focus areas
-
.A. O’Shaughnessy Foundation has an interesting board structure. If you aren’t president, treasurer, or secretary of the board, you’re a vice president. Five different VPs. Good resumes?
-
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative now has quadrupled commitment to justice reforms and immigrant issues and has increased its education work to emphasize student teacher relationships
-
J.A. Wedum Foundation explains its commitment to creating community foundations in every town in Minnesota. See the 16-page FAQ
-
Old National Bank is merging with Midwest Bancorp, to create Premier Midwestern Bank, and has named a new Minnesota State President – Christine Hobrough. Both actions are good news for Minnesota nonprofits looking for support
DID YOU REALLLLY THINK WE’D GET THROUGH AN ISSUE OF FLUFF-FREE FUNDRAISING WITHOUT TALKING ABOUT MELINDA AND BILL?
Is there anyone NOT talking about the former mega-power couple? Well, one group is keeping relatively silent – the Foundation’s employees. There’s no overt pressure, but according to Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) employees, it’s considered VERY tacky to talk about the marital issues that will soon change their own lives forever.
Some employees are freaking out, but many are just watching and waiting for the next step. We did talk to seven BMGF employees (out of more than 1,200 employees and permanent contractors) and they agree on four things:
- Staff says the Foundation started going downhill when Bill Gates Sr. died last year. He was the wise old owl who kept everyone smooth and together. Without Bill Sr. there were bad blood and bad relationships all around, which in turn resulted in no Warren Buffett. Many staff people think there will be several new trustees in a month or two
- Eventually, BMGF will be 2-5 different foundations. Maybe global health, gender equity, domestic giving, venture investments (à la Emerson Trust or Arnold Ventures)
- It will take 2-3 years to get sorted out. In the meantime most employees will be able to keep their jobs, but what those jobs will look like is a big question. Meantime, don’t expect a lot of transparency from foundation leaders.
-
MEGA-MEGA grants will be the way the Foundation gets through the next couple years of chaos and questions. The recently announced $2.1 billion global gender equality program is an example. Also expect to see more mega-mega collaborations with other funders as well.
SPEAKING OF MEGA-MEGA GRANTS …
Most philanthropoids seem okay with the huge McKenzie Scott-size grants that foundations are putting out for good causes. But some foundation employees are side-barring concerns about the impact these grants are having on everyday grant programs.
Two Ford Foundation (low level) grant people point out the $420 million commitment the Foundation made for equity last month takes away $80 million/year from the grants budget.
These guys believe it won’t be the big annual grantees who will suffer from this decrease, but small, newer, less well-known groups, who will have an $80 million smaller chance to develop a relationship with Ford and other funders.
Hopefully, the mega-mega $400 million commitment will have a larger-than-life impact on equity, and this will overshadow and justify fewer grants to smaller, newer, community-led groups. It worked for health, libraries, and school lunches at the beginning of the 20th century. So, maybe.
SURVEY SAYS ...
Lots of new surveys about giving and asking this month. Some of the big deals:
-
Annie E. Casey Foundation’s annual Kids Count Data Book is out. By far, the best and most authoritative guide to child welfare data – state by state -- in the US. Find out how children and families in your state rank in depression, Covid recovery, hunger, and poverty. It’s free, easily downloadable, and click bait free!
-
When’s the best day and time to ask for a contribution? A Giving Way survey says that Tuesday and Fridays are the best days to ask, and weekends are the worst). The survey also found the best TIME to ask is generally between 9am and 4pm, but especially between 11am and noon
-
Giving USA 2021: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2020, the well-respected, gold standard compilation of data on individual and institutional giving, reported that overall giving rose 5.1% from 2019 to 2020. Individual giving was up 2.2% and institutional giving up an incredible 17%. Giving from bequests was also up – 10.3%, BUT… Corporate is down 6.1%
Giving to human services, education, religion, public-society welfare, international causes, environment/animals, and philanthropic foundations was up. But giving for to the arts and health (in a pandemic year!) was down.
Lots of fun details (such as giving to Lutheran institutions vs. Baptists), but the data is not specific enough to affect your fundraising. Read the summaries before you buy.
-
Minneapolis St Paul Business Journal did an interesting piece on the economic clout of immigrants and refugees in Minnesota. For example, in 2019, immigrants and refugees in the Minneapolis area held $1.2 billion in spending power - 11.2% of the area's total
-
Nonprofit Tech for Good produced 2020 Global Trends in Giving Report, a survey of giving on each continent, including top countries, top funding issues, top giving level, and giving by gender and age. Probably not going to change your five-year development plan, but it’s an interesting perspective on giving in Africa, Asia, South America, Europe
QUICK QUESTION FOR THIS MONTH
How’s your board handling all this? Some new clients and friends are struggling through the way the post-pandemic vagaries have affected their board members, and their board members’ ownership of their nonprofit. How about your experience? Are you thinking about new folks?
NATIONAL FUNDER JOB OPPORTUNITIES
(This is not a paid job board. We believe getting Minnesotans into national funding jobs will help all Minnesota nonprofits and will promote Minnesota nonprofit values)
-
Commonwealth Fund needs a Program Officer for its Advancing Health Equity program. One of the great (and oldest) health advocacy organizations
-
Swarovski Corporation needs a Head of Foundation, Americas, and Global Engagement. Yep, these are the beautiful cut-glass objects folks
-
Flora Foundation needs a President. This is the Hewlett family’s personal causes foundation, named for their mother, Flora Hewlett
-
Arnold Ventures (the “not necessarily nonprofit” arm of the Arnold Foundation) needs a Vice President of Advocacy - Health Care
-
Ford Foundation needs several Program Officers. Sort of a revolving door, but what an experience and what a resume shot! (But really, would you give up the friendly confines of Target Field for Yankee Stadium?)
-
Conrad N. Hilton Foundation needs a Program Officer for their Foster Youth Program, for their Early Childhood Development Program, and for their Catholic Nuns Program
-
Agilent Technologies needs a Manager of Philanthropic Programs. One of the few outside hire opportunities in corporate philanthropy
-
PEAK GRANTMAKING Job Board – This month, look at the Peak Grantmaking Job Board. Peak is a trade association of generally younger and more social change-focused grantmakers. Lots of community foundation jobs, some government jobs (National Academy of Sciences), and some traditional job
- If none of these satisfy your craving, the Steel Manufacturers Association is looking for a director or Government Affairs. Another great resume shot
AND WHILE WE’RE TOGETHER, LET’S RAISE A GLASS TO CARMELITA MARACCI
Keeping with the dance theme,
on July 17 (her birthday), let’s raise a glass to Carmelita Maracci, a “fiery and brilliant” dancer who created an extravagant badass blend of ballet and Spanish dance that opened dance arts to women with passion.
Eventually, her support for the Spanish Civil War republicans ruined her career, but not before Ms. Maracci created a whole new and exciting opportunity for badass dancers. This month let’s raise a glass to badass dancers and the people who enjoy their work.
Until next month, either dance, or find someone who can get you on your feet.
