AGF Member Benefit Update!
Just a reminder that AGF members are eligible to receive a special 10% discount on MicroEdge software systems in 2008! MicroEdge Solutions provide a network of software and processes connecting charitable organizations. Click here to download a PDF outlining the discount and how to receive it, or visit www.microedge.com to learn more about the product.

UPCOMING EVENTS

AGF Programs
Unless otherwise indicated, to rsvp for any of these events, contact Lauren Shebuski.

February 28 - Lessons Learned from Grantmaking Failures
In the new book The Foundation by Joel Fleischman, grantmakers are called upon to provide more documentation about their grants, analyze and call attention to their failures, and conduct public evaluations of both their existing and potential new programs. We invite you to an informal discussion with your colleagues about your own thoughts and feelings regarding grantmaking “failures”, what barriers tend to discourage the sharing of mistakes with colleagues and nonprofits, and the lessons you’ve learned from those grants that didn’t go as planned.
(Open to Members only - click here)
Thursday, February 28 | 11:30 - 1:30 | Arizona Community Foundation (2201 E. Camelback Rd.)

March 27 - Essential Skills for Grantmakers
Join the Council of Southwest Foundations and Arizona Grantmakers Forum, along with grantmakers from across the Southwest, to participate in this workshop designed for those new to the field of philanthropy or anyone wanting a refresher on the basics of grantmaking.  There are three different sessions presented: Navigating Legal and Ethical Issues, Managing the Personal and Professional Challenges of Grantmaking (Lunch Session), and Making Sound Funding Recommendations.  You may join us for the morning session (and lunch) only, or the afternoon (and lunch) only, or stay with us for the whole day!
(Non-Members Welcome! - click here for more information)
Thursday, March 27 | 8:30am - 1:30pm | Flinn Foundation (1802 N. Central Ave.)

Teleconferences and Webinars
Visit the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers website for more information on this list of teleconferences, or click on the date of each event to register and see more details.

February 28 - From Insight to Action: New Directions in Foundation Evaluation

March 13 - How to Survive an IRS Audit

March 18 - 990-PF Review for Foundation Leaders.

March 25 - Introduction to Conflict of Interest

April 1 - Basic Self-Dealing & Intermediate Sanction Rules

April 8 - Common Self-Dealing Issues and Scenarios

April 22 - What Preparers Need to Know for the 990-PF

May 13 - Private Foundation Compensation

Other Events of Interest...

Feb. 7: National Center for Family Philanthropy, Family Philanthropy Symposium

Feb. 27-29: Grantmakers In Health, Annual Meeting on Health Philanthropy

March 4-5, 2008: Foundations on the Hill, Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers and the Council on Foundations, Washington, D.C.

March 10-12: Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, GEO 2008 National Conference & 10th Anniversary Celebration
Ideas to Action: Grantmaker Practices that Improve Nonprofit Results

March 31-April 2: Funders' Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities, Funders' Network 2008 Annual Conference

March 31-April 3rd: Jewish Funders Network, Jewish Funders Network International Conference

May 2-3: Native Americans in Philanthropy, Native Philanthropy - National Gathering

May 4–7, 2008. Philanthropy's Vision: A Leadership Summit
Join a gathering of philanthropic leaders unlike any the world has seen before, in the Washington Metropolitan Area. Whether you’re brand new to philanthropy or have years of experience, from a small family foundation or a large corporate giving program, from a rural area or a big city—you’re a part of the vision and we need to hear your voice. Registration is now open!

June 18-20: Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, 2008 National Convening

PHILANTHROPY NEWS

Can Foundations Take the Long View Again?
As business leaders like Ted Turner, Bill Gates and George Soros have moved vast swaths of their private wealth into the philanthropic sector, market expertise has migrated there, too. As a result, foundation directors, trustees and advisers from corporate America have taken a stance that the return on charitable dollars should be tangible and measurable, and should drive capital flow in much the same way that earnings figures do in commerce. But a small and increasingly vocal group of foundation leaders is challenging the benefits of this approach. To read more, click here.

United Way Launches "Pennies for Change"
United Way of America hopes to turn the billions of credit- and debit-card transactions made across the U.S. each year into cash for its local affiliates. By partnering with financial institutions, the new "Pennies for Change" program will allow participating consumers to donate one penny to United Way for each purchase made with a debit or credit card. Money donated will be used to fund United Way programs in local communities. If a significant number of banks and consumers participate, the numbers could add up, given that Americans charge about 40 billion purchases to their credit cards each year. Click here to learn more.

Grantmakers for Children, Youth & Families Announces Call for Program Ideas
Grantmakers for Children, Youth & Families (GCYF) is creating a learning community where GCYF members and colleagues generate and develop program ideas. They are asking members, as well as colleagues at grantmaking affinity groups and regional associations of grantmakers, to share program ideas with them. Visit their site to become a part of GCYF's 2008 program calendar, learn more about the Call for Program Ideas, and view submission deadlines and instructions for submitting your idea.

IRS Issues 2008 Nonprofit Priorities/Revised Form 990
In a briefing on December 13th, the IRS provided information on their priorities for the nonprofit sector. Donor-advised funds, business practices and political activities of nonprofits tops the IRS hit list. According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy article (subscription required) the IRS plans to examine 100 community foundations in 2008 concerning their donor-advised funds. On December 20th, the IRS issued the revised Form 990, meaning a re-designed 990-PF cannot be far behind. Among the new items requested on the Form 990 are whether or not the organization has written Conflict of Interest and Document Destruction/Record Keeping policies. Information on and samples for these types of documents can be found in AGF's Foundation Resources.

Nonprofit Leaders Shown to be Highly Effective
The Nonprofit Quarterly has released the initial findings of a research study that reveals that nonprofit leaders may well be more effective than for-profit leaders. An article detailing this landmark study and its results is published in the winter issue of the journal. Over 2,500 management leaders in the nonprofit and for-profit sectors were studied through feedback surveys submitted by peers, direct reports, and managers, with a total of 22,859 respondents. The study shows that nonprofit leaders significantly outscore their for-profit counterparts across the board in 14 out of the 17 dimensions of leadership practices. These dimensions include persuasiveness, risk-taking, demonstration of effectiveness and vision. For-profit leaders score higher in only three dimensions. Click here to view the full article.

USEFUL RESOURCES

Improving the Grantee Experience: A Case Study
A new Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) case study highlights how one foundation sought to improve the experience of its grantees by developing clear and public standards and by holding its program officers accountable for adhering to them. Improving the Grantee Experience at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation describes how leaders at the Packard Foundation reacted to the results of CEP's Grantee Perception Report®(GPR) – a management tool that provides comparative data on grantee perceptions of foundation performance – and how staff mobilized to make improvements in the grantee experience. The Foundation faced some hurdles along the way, including skepticism and resistance from some program officers. To read more about the report, click here.

The Effective Exit: Managing the End of a Funding Relationship
In grantmaking, is there such a thing as the good goodbye? Yes, say contributors to this guide, who have found ways to plan for exits upfront, clarify expectations with grantee organizations, and overcome the tensions that so often arise. Learn how to use the end of a funding relationship to boost a grantee’s capacity, find new sources of support, and even multiply the value of the foundation’s investment. Click here to downlad the guide.

Site Promotes Justice in Philanthropy
A new online tool for grantmakers, donors and advocates is taking aim at social injustice and racial inequality. Created by Effective Communities, a Minneapolis project working to increase nonprofit effectiveness, www.justphilanthropy.org summarizes findings gleaned from conversations with more than 100 philanthropic groups. The hands-on tool is designed to provide organizations with an understanding of how to carry out their missions while keeping an eye on social justice and fairness.

New Report Measures Status of America's Middle Class
By a Thread: The New Experience of America’s Middle Class is a new report that measures the economic stability, size and accessibility of the middle class in the United States. This report is based on a Middle Class Security Index developed through collaborative research by Demos, a non-partisan public policy research and advocacy organization, and the Institute on Assets and Social Policy at Brandeis University. The Index provides a comprehensive portrait of how middle-class families are faring in each of four key areas—education, assets, housing, budget and healthcare. The findings show some cause for concern, with less than one in three middle-income families matching the criteria for being “securely” middle class. Minority families are among those most at risk for falling out of the middle class. According to the study, 34 percent of white middle-income families are securely in the middle class, as compared to 26 percent of African-American middle-income families and only 18 percent of Latino middle-income families. The report includes policy recommendations for strengthening the nation’s middle class. Click here to download the report.

New Website Launched To Spur Action On Poverty And Opportunity
The Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Eos Foundation have created a new website to build momentum for national action related to addressing issues of poverty and opportunity. In addition to posing questions to presidential candidates, the website also includes community data, information on local, state and international initiatives, and links to research on poverty. Visit the website, Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, at www.spotlightonpoverty.com.

Rural Fund Development 101
In collaboration with the Aspen Institute, the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers created Rural Fund Development 101 to offer volunteer leaders a practical guide for starting or growing rural community endowments. Click here to read more about the program, or download the guide by clicking here.

Rural America's Most Prosperous Counties
Contending that the success of rural areas is too often measured in terms of population and income growth, economist Andrew Isserman decided to adopt an alternate measure for rural success. Instead of growth, Isserman looked for which rural counties were prosperous. Prosperous counties, according to Isserman, graduate their students from high school, have low rates of unemployment, have less poverty, and offer housing that is both affordable and in good repair. To see a map indicating the prosperity of U.S. counties, and to learn more about the study, visit http://www.dailyyonder.com/finding-rural-americas-prosperous-communities. To see a list of the 289 rural counties that have better housing, a more educated population, less poverty and more jobs than the national average, visit http://www.dailyyonder.com/rural-americas-most-prosperous-counties.

Toolkit Released to Help Communities Implement Smart Growth
The Smart Growth Leadership Institute has released a suite of tools to help communities identify and overcome barriers to smarter growth and more sustainable development. The Smart Growth Implementation Toolkit helps communities across the nation to encourage development that creates safer, healthier, more livable neighborhoods; helps to protect the environment and reduce energy consumption; expands housing options; helps households lower their expenses; and maximizes returns from existing community investments. The Toolkit and the individual tools are available as free downloads at http://www.smartgrowthtoolkit.net.

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

Three Reports for Education Funders
Neither Art nor Accident: New Research Helps Define/Develop Quality PK-3 Teaching In a recent Harvard Education Letter interview, Robert Pianta, Dean of the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia, discusses the value of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System, a classroom observation instrument known as CLASS. CLASS provides a standardized, evidence-based tool that measures how teachers interact with children from one year to another, starting with PK and continuing into Kindergarten through Grade Three. CLASS is correlated with children's achievement, and can be an important part of professional development efforts to create high quality learning experiences in PK-3 programs. Read Neither Art nor Accident: click here.

The Twelve Habits of Highly Effective Schools The report, Effective Schools Common Practices, highlights the twelve ingredients of success in Tennessee’s six most effective schools. To identify these schools, researchers use the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS), a system that measures the “value-added” of attending a school—each student’s year-to-year gains in achievement. The six “highly effective” schools educate a large proportion of children from low-income families, but despite challenges, produce gains among the highest in Tennessee in reading/language arts and math. For a full synopsis of the twelve habits of highly effective schools, visit http://www.education-consumers.org/tnproject/EffectiveSchools_CommonPractices_ECF.pdf.

Do State Tests Make the Grade? According to researchers, “differences in state standards that are used to create the tests and the reluctance of some states to spend money for high-quality, challenging tests have caused a great disparity in testing from state to state.” Findings suggest that the variation and low-level of competence required on the exams might create a “race to the bottom,” resulting in little academic improvement. This lack of improvement is evident in America’s performance in the Program for International Student Assessment, an exam comparing how 15-year olds in 57 countries perform. Several countries caught up to or passed the U.S. with American teenagers ranking 29th in science and 35th in math, behind many formerly socialist states, including Slovenia and Latvia. For more information visit http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=272382.

U.S. Department of Education Sheds Light on 2004-2005 High School Dropouts
The U.S. Department of Education report, Numbers and Rates of Public High School Dropouts, shines light on the geographic and demographic profile of the more than 540,000 students that left high school during the 2004-2005 school year. In the South, the dropout crisis is greatest for schools located in large and mid-sized urban areas and among Hispanics and African-American students. The South’s largest (those with more than 50,000 students) and smallest (those with less than 1,000 students) high school districts exhibited the least success in student retention with four to five percent of their students leaving each year. For a profile of high school exiters in your state, visit http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2008/2008305.pdf.

Report Outlines How Adult & Postsecondary Education Can Be Better Aligned
“Two-thirds of America’s 2020 workforce is already beyond the reach of our elementary and secondary schools,” according to the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP). The majority of America’s future workforce is of working-age, requiring that the nation utilize adult education and training as a central tool for economic competitiveness. The CLASP report outlines three actions to provide adults with the skills needed for economic mobility: 1) increase state capacity to track individual outcomes across organizations and over time, 2) integrate English language services and adult education with postsecondary education, and 3) adapt financial aid policies to support the needs of lower-skill, low-income working adults. To learn more about Policies to Promote Adult Education and Postsecondary Alignment, click here.

2008 Edition of Quality Counts: Tapping Into Teaching Available Online
Edweek.org recently released its 2008 edition of Quality Counts: Tapping Into Teaching. The entire report is FREE online at edweek.org. In this issue you'll examine strategies that states can use to unlock the full potential of the teaching profession. View feature stories, commentaries, and analyses such as: Human Resources a Weak Spot by Lynn Olson, Advancing Pay for Performance by Vaishali Honawar & Lynn Olson, and Working Conditions Trump Pay by Debra Viadero. The publication also includes State Highlights Reports, which include state-specific indicators on Chance-for-Success and K-12 Achievement, and a Grading Calculator, which lets you calculate grades for states based on weighting schemes of your choice.