Vol. 4, No. 6
June, 2007

In this issue:

Upcoming AGF Programs

Grants/Contributions Received to Support AGF

Member News

Philanthropy News

News & Notes is a monthly email newsletter designed to keep the Arizona community updated on local and national developments in the philanthropic sector. This service is provided free of charge by the Arizona Grantmakers Forum - please feel free to forward this on to your colleagues.

AGF June Program on Evaluation
June 28 | 11:30am - 1:30pm | ACF

More than 35 funders gathered at the Arizona Community Foundation to discuss their use of evaluation. Some of the questions explored included:

• How important is program evaluation to your staff/trustees? Is accountability to stakeholders/stockholders one of the factors that influence your organizations desire for evaluation data?
• Do you specify that grantees use a certain evaluation process?
• How do you determine what aspects of the program should be evaluated?
• What do you do with the evaluation results?

The discussion was a lively one and and it was clear that funders take multiple approaches to evaluation with some placing greater emphasis on evaluation results than others. Most agreed that the evaluation requirements should increase with the size of the grant.

Upcoming Programs

To reserve a seat at any of the programs listed below, please email AGF's registration box at register@arizonagrantmakersforum.org.

Fri. July 20 Movie Screening & Discussion | Clear Cut: The Story of Philomath Oregon. Program will discuss the role of philanthropy in rural communities. 11:00am - 2:00pm, Location: Flagstaff Arboretum Open to AGF Members Only

Public Programs

July 19-20 Raising Arizona: A Growing Culture of Giving AFP Greater Arizona Chapter presents a conference involving prominent philanthropic leaders who will address contemporary issues influencing the growing trends in Arizona. Topics will include venture philanthropy, transformational giving and economic community development. 11:30am - 1:30pm, NEW LOCATION: Royal Palms Hotel, Phoenix, AZ. For more information click here to visit the conference website.

2007 Grants in Support of AGF

AGF receives revenues from three primary sources: Dues, Program Revenues and Grants/Sponsorships. We are grateful to the following members who, in addition to their dues, committed to supporting AGF in 2007 with general operating dollars and/or program underwriting:

Leadership Circle:

• Arizona Community Foundation
• BHHS Legacy Foundation
• Dorrance Family Foundation
• Flinn Foundation
• Helios Education Foundation
• Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust
• St. Luke's Health Initiatives
• The Lodestar Foundation
• The Rodel Charitable Foundation of Arizona
• The Stardust Foundation
• Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust

Partners Circle:

• APS
• Mr. Tom Chauncey
• Salt River Project

Program Hosts:

• Mr. Tom Chauncey
• F2 Family Foundation
• Phelps Dodge Corporation
• The Arizona Republic
• Southwest Gas

Member News

Piper Trust awards $5 mil in grants
The Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust has awarded 16 grants totaling more than $5 million to local non-profit organizations. The grants are in response to the growth in the area, which leaves non-profits struggling to meet needs. "Buildings that serve children, families and the elderly cannot be built fast enough to meet the extraordinary growth in this community," said Judy Jolley Mohraz, trust president and chief executive officer. Click here to read the full article in the Arizona Republic.

Endowment for the Arts Fund 2007 RFP
Small, emerging, urban and rural arts organizations in southern Arizona now can apply for funding from the Endowment for the Arts Fund held at the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona. The Endowment for the Arts Fund aims to support emerging arts groups to develop into organizations that possess a mission/vision that promotes high quality artistic expression; an active, engaged Board of Directors; and volunteers and staff that have a fundamental relationship with the community. This relationship can be described as providing arts “by the community—for the community.”

Qualified applicants must have an annual budget of $300,000 or less and have been in existence fewer than eight years. Priority will be given to those that serve low-income and/or minority participants, are based in rural areas, or have a plan to grow their audiences. Grants range from $500 to $5000. The funding is unrestricted, or available to nonprofits to spend at their discretion. Last year, a total of $20,000 was granted among nine organizations. Applications must be received by the Community Foundation offices by 5:00 p.m. on July 19, 2007.

More information and a link to the grant application is available online at the Community Foundation’s website, www.cfsoaz.org. Applications can also be mailed to you. Please call 520.770.0800 for more information.

Turnbow Foundation to Receive Pat Tillman Award
The Leadership Consortium (TLC) announced the Pat Tillman Community Leadership Awards for 2007. The Turnbow Foundation, a member of the Arizona Grantmakers Forum, is among the winners.

The awards are named in honor of Pat Tillman, the ASU alumnus and Arizona Cardinals football player who was tragically killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan. They recognize individuals, who have demonstrated courage of their convictions and served as excellent role models for youth, and organizations, which have worked to enhance the relationship among athletes, sports organizations.

In addition to the Turnbow Foundation, other winners include: Shane Doan, Phoenix Coyotes, and Taitusi "Duce" Lutui, Arizona Cardinals (Individuals: Professional Athletes); Ryan McBride and Amber Rose Horvath (Individuals: Amateur or student); Arizona State University Women's Basketball Team; and Connie Harris (Lifetime Achievement).

Philanthropy News & Resources

IRS Proposes New Form 990 to Improve Nonprofit Transparency
The Internal Revenue Service has proposed a significant overhaul of Form 990, the main tax form used by charities, to make it easier for the agency and the public to track tax-exempt organizations' finances, governance, and accomplishments, the New York Times reports.

The proposed changes also include separate schedules to help determine how much nonprofit hospitals actually spend on charity care and to provide more information about gifts of goods and services to charities. While the IRS has occasionally tinkered with the form to accommodate changes in laws and regulations, the last major revamping of it was more than twenty-five years ago, said Lois G. Lerner, director of the tax-exempt division of the IRS. "We now have large organizations that look like for-profit organizations, and many types of organizations doing business that weren't around twenty-five years ago," she said. "While the sector has changed, the form has pretty much stayed the same." Click here to read the full article.

From The Chronicle: Insider Deals and Charity Boards
At least 20 percent of nonprofit groups make insider deals with board members and more than 70 percent have not adopted policies to insure that such deals could be easily identified as posing a conflict of interest, a new study of 5,100 nonprofit organizations finds. The study, whose results were reported by The Chronicle of Philanthropy, also found that many groups are failing to attract ethnically diverse leaders to guide their decision making. Half the boards examined in the study had only white members, none of whom were Hispanic. Click here for the full article. (Subscription Required)

Supreme Court Overturns Ruling Against Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives
In a five-to-four decision, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that federal taxpayers cannot challenge the constitutionality of White House efforts to help religious groups obtain federal funding for their social programs, the Washington Post reports.

The decision involving a suit brought by a Wisconsin-based group of atheists and agnostics was widely seen as a victory for the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, which was established early in President Bush's first term. In Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation, the court ruled that the suit could not go forward because ordinary taxpayers lack legal standing to challenge executive branch expenditures. Click here to read the full article.

Online Giving Continues to Rise, Study Finds
Online giving to the nation's largest charities continued to grow in 2006, a new survey by the Chronicle of Philanthropy finds.

Gifts made online to the 187 organizations that provided figures for 2005 and 2006 grew by 37 percent, from $880.7 million to $1.2 billion, and eighty-five of those groups saw online giving grow by more than 50 percent. In addition, fifteen of the organizations raised $10 million or more online in 2006, while four of the groups — the American Red Cross, United Way of America, and the American Cancer and Leukemia & Lymphoma societies — raised more than $40 million. Nick Allen, CEO of the San Francisco-based consulting company Donordigital, credited the increase in e-giving to that fact that more people have broadband access and are comfortable using their credit cards online.

Still, despite the increases in online giving that many charities have seen, Internet donations account for a very small portion of overall giving. In the survey, online gifts represented less than 1 percent of total contributions for most organizations that reported both the amount of money they raised online and their total contributions in 2006, and only thirteen charities collected more than 5 percent of their total contributions online. Click here to read the full article.

Most Wealthy Americans to Spend Money on Charity This Summer
Many wealthy people plan to give to charity this summer, according to a new study whose results were summarized by The Wall Street Journal. They study of 198 people with a net worth of $10-million or more shows that 98 percent of them plan to donate an average of $82,000 to charity this summer. Those same people also plan to spend $384,000 on yacht charters, $56,000 on entertaining, and $24,000 on wine for entertainment. The study was conducted by Prince & Associates, a private-wealth consulting and market research firm, for Elite Traveler magazine.