What’s New at Foundation Center (February)

Last month, we launched this monthly series as a way to keep you posted on what we at Foundation Center are learning, where we're speaking, what data we're collecting, and how you can contribute to that story. And while athletes from around the world are slipping, sliding, and jumping their way to glory in South Korea, we've been hard at work bringing data and knowledge to the fore for philanthropy globally. Here's the latest:

Projects Launched

• Our Advancing Human Rights platform was updated with new trends data, revealing a 45 percent increase in human rights funding worldwide between 2011 and 2015, from $1.4 billion to more than $2 billion. In partnership with the Human Right Funders Network, we began to map the landscape of human rights grantmaking in 2010, which led to this first-ever five-year analysis. In addition to the site update, we also launched a blog series featuring human rights funders who provide a behind-the-scenes glimpse into key trends related to their areas of focus. And we created an infographic that distills the key findings from the analysis.

• Help us spread the word with a tweet!

Content Published

• New posts on PhilanTopic on the tax bill, creating high-performing teams through community-focused initiatives, and strengthening philanthropy's role in the resistance, as well as Newsmaker interviews with Fred Blackwell, CEO, The San Francisco Foundation, and Kavitha Mediratta, executive director, Atlantic Fellows for Racial Equity.
• New posts on Glasspockets on foundation transparency highlights from 2017 and, as part of the ongoing #OpenForGood series, about how foundations are sharing their knowledge for the benefit of the philanthropic sector.
• New posts on GrantSpace on leveraging donor motivation and articulating impact for your arts program.
• New posts on GrantCraft about how loans can keep impact on track in the social sector and what's in store for philanthropy in 2018.

What We're Excited About

• We are a founding partner of the first U.S.-based Opportunity Collaboration Conference, taking place in Florida in May.
• We answered nearly 900 questions about nonprofit management and the social sector more broadly through our online chat service in January.
• We're giving GrantSpace — our website geared to grant seekers — a makeover so it's simpler to find what you're looking for. Keep your eyes peeled for the new site in April.
• Our revamped custom training program for grantseekers uses in-person and online tools to connect participants in meaningful ways and promote concrete outcomes. Through assignments, peer review, expert coaching, and workshops, you'll be supported from start to finish. Email our training team at fctraining@foundationcenter.org for more information.
• A soon-to-be-released GrantCraft Leadership Series paper by Barbara Chow focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion in philanthropy.

Projects in the Pipeline

• In partnership with Sustain Arts and Audience Architects, a new report mapping the dance ecosystem in the Chicago area
• In partnership with the Council on Foundations, a report on international grantmaking by U.S.-based foundations

For more on these projects or how to work with us, send us an email.

Upcoming Conferences and Events

Our staff will be speaking at these upcoming events:

• "Mapping the Money: A Changing Landscape of Human Rights Funding," February 14, San Francisco, CA (in partnership with the Human Rights Funders Network)
• Webinar: "Funding Arts Programs: How to Articulate Your Impact," February 15
• Webinar: "Going Public: Overcoming the Foundation Transparency Challenge," February 22 (in partnership with United Philanthropy Forum)
• Funding Forward Conference, March 14-16, New Orleans, LA
• PEAK Grantmaking Conference, March 19-21, Orlando, FL
• Salzburg Global Seminar on the SDGs, March 18-21, Salzburg, Austria
• NetFWD Annual Meeting, March 22-23, Paris, France
• Proposal Writing Bootcamp (various dates); we'll be hosting several upcoming bootcamps in a variety of locations — take a look!

Our staff will be attending and/or exhibiting at these events:

• American Library Association Midwinter Conference, February 9-13, Denver, CO
• SXSW, March 10-13, Austin, TX

Data Spotlight

• 328,486 new grants added to Foundation Maps since January 1, of which 4,045 were made to 2,591 organizations outside the U.S.
• New data sharing partners: Austin Family Foundation, Charities Aid Foundation of America, ClimateWorks Foundation, Laffey-McHugh Foundation.

Tell your story through data so we can communicate philanthropy's contribution to making a better world — learn more about our eReporting program.

If you found this update helpful, feel free to share it or shoot us an email! I'll be back next month with another update.

Jen Bokoff is director of stakeholder engagement at Foundation Center.