What's New at Foundation Center Update (July)

Summer is a time to break from routine, rejuvenate, and reevaluate. As the thermometer climbs, Foundation Center is doing its part to refresh its thinking and processes to better serve the social sector. With that in mind, here's our June roundup:

Projects Launched

• IssueLab launched its special Democracy Collection. In it, you'll find reports about election and campaign administration, voting access and participation, government performance and perceptions of that performance, the role of the media in democracy, and more. With the midterm elections fast approaching, this is a collection I'm personally digging into with added interest. Check it out and suggest an addition.
• CF Insights launched the 2017 Columbus Survey Results Dashboard, which provides access to the most up-to-date, comprehensive dataset reflecting the current financial state of community foundations in the United States. The latest iteration of the dashboard also has new social media functionality that makes it easier for community foundations to raise their visibility in their communities by sharing their rankings with stakeholders and the public.
• Our decades-old Funding Information Network (FIN) launched two new partnership packages in June that are designed to help libraries, community foundations, co-working spaces, and nonprofit resource centers better meet their local social sector needs.
• Glasspockets launched a website refresh featuring a more user-friendly path for participation in the "Who Has Glass Pockets" transparency assessment and benchmarking tools. New content areas include how (and why) you can (and should) participate, and what to do if you're not sure where to start.
• SDGfunders.org was re-launched with a new, dynamically updated dashboard. The platform tells the story of how philanthropic dollars are being used to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) goals and aims to foster better coordination among those working to build a better future for all.

Content Published

• A new blog post on WASHfunders.org, "Planting Trees for the SDGS."
• New blog posts on PhilanTopic, including "The System Matters in CSO Financial Sustainability," "'Skin in the Game' and the Importance of Board Giving," and "CBMA Turns 10: A Decade of Daring Work for Black Male Achievement."
• New blog posts on GrantSpace, including one on the power of dialogue, one on investing in nonprofit talent, and a post on boosting your nonprofit's fundraising revenue.
• New blog posts on Glasspockets on topics such as engaging philanthropy in race and equity and an interview with Lateefa Simon on the power of openness.
• New blog posts on GrantCraft, including one on nurturing small experiments in grantmaking and a reflection on the latest Columbus Survey results.
• We added 151 new resources to IssueLab in June, including Supporting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Journalism: Trends in National Grantmaking, which looks at philanthropic interventions in support of diversity, equity, and inclusion in journalism.

What We're Excited About

• We'll be launching our 2017 Annual Report later this month. Look for stories on the importance of sharing knowledge, delivering data to local communities, strengthening the global philanthropic sector, servicing the needs of community foundations, and more.
• We'll also be launching a new GrantCraft guide on participatory grantmaking at the end of the summer. Check out these videos from funders already engaged in the practice answering commonly asked questions about shifting the power in decision-making. Stay tuned for more!
• Later this summer, our Midwest office will partner with DigitalC and Microsoft to launch the first Data Maturity Survey for Northeast Ohio/Cuyahoga County.

Upcoming Conferences and Events

Our staff will be attending these upcoming events:

• National Alliance of Preservation Commissions (NAPC) Forum 2018, Des Moines, IA, July 18-22
• EPIP 2018 National Conference, July 30-Aug 1, Detroit, MI
• Philanthropy Australia Conference, September 5-6, Australia
• Innovations in International Philanthropy Symposium, September 6-7, Boston, MA

Services Spotlight

• 436,678 new grants added to Foundation Maps in June, of which 14,033 grants were made to 4,014 organizations outside the U.S.
• Foundation Directory Online now includes more than 12 million grants. See this Eye on FDO blog post to learn more about the new Organization Search feature in FDO.
• New data sharing partners: Ausherman Family Foundation, Inc.; Australian Executor Trustees; Brooks Foundation; Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation; Lord Mayors Charitable Foundation; Media Development Investment Fund; Susan McKinnon Foundation; Mutual Trustees; and We Raise Foundation. Tell your story through data so we can communicate philanthropy's contribution to making a better world — learn more about our eReporting program.
• We provided custom searches for the Chronicle of Philanthropy and Executives' Alliance for Boys and Men of Color.
• We're hosting a Proposal Writing Boot Camp in Detroit, MI, July 25-27

Data Spotlight

• Funders have made grants totaling $3.8 billion in support of ocean and coastal waters around the world. Learn more at FundingTheOcean.org.
• In 2016, foundation funding for SDG 10, Reducing Inequalities, totaled over $340 million. Check out the latest data on SDG funding at SDGfunders.org.

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.