What's New at Foundation Center Update (October)

As the change of seasons brings cooler weather, I spend more time thinking about cozying up with a good book. Here at Foundation Center, we've released a lot of new content that might make for good armchair reading material. Read on to learn more:

Projects Launched

• We're thrilled to have launched GrantCraft's latest guide, Deciding Together: Shifting Power and Resources Through Participatory Grantmaking, a first-of-its-kind look at how funders can cede decision-making power about funding decisions to the communities they aim to serve. The guide is complemented by a suite of resources at participatorygrantmaking.org. This was a labor of love for me over the past nearly two years and I’m biased, but I really think you should read this!
• September was Nonprofit Radio Month and a number of Foundation Center staff, including Grace Sato and David Rosado of our Knowledge Services team and Susan Shiroma of our Social Sector Outreach team, were guests on Tony Martignetti’s Nonprofit Radio show, which was broadcast to viewers across the country from our beautiful library at 32 Old Slip in Manhattan's Financial District. Be sure to check out Grace, David, and Susan talking with Tony about why data matters, community foundations, and family foundations.
• Foundation Maps: Australia was launched at the Philanthropy Australia National Conference. A joint effort of Philanthropy Australia and Foundation Center, this interactive platform is designed to facilitate greater transparency and insights about the grantmaking practices of Australian foundations.
• In partnership with a group of community foundation leaders, CF Insights conducted a field-wide survey of community foundation CEOs to determine the level of demand for a formalized network that would help them connect with one another on issues relevant to the community foundation field. Check out the results of the survey here.
• Foundation Center, GlobalGiving, and GuideStar released BRIDGE (Basic Registry of Identified Global Entities) information as open data, making it easier to identify and share information about entities around the world that are working to advance social good. The launch of BRIDGE open data represents both a cross-organizational collaboration as well as a collaboration between our Data and Technology and Knowledge Services teams.
• During this webinar, Grantmakers of Western Pennsylvania, Northeastern Pennsylvania Grantmakers, and Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia announced the joint launch of Pennsylvania Foundation Stats, a new online dashboard that provides a window on the philanthropic landscape in Pennsylvania as well as four distinct regions in the state.

Content Published

• New blog posts on our WASHfunders platform, including "Challenging Gender Norms to Achieve Sustainable Sanitation" and "Developing a Taste for Artisanal Development."
• New blog posts on PhilanTopic, including a conversation with the president of the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands and a dashboard that tracks institutional pledges and commitments for Hurricane Florence relief and recovery efforts (since joined by a dashboard for Hurricane Michael pledges and commitments).
• New blog posts on GrantSpace, including one focused on rebooting board culture and another on starting a consulting business.
• New New blog posts on Glasspockets, including an interview with a MacArthur Foundation program officer about how citizen-made media strengthens democracy.
• The SSO team has been hard at work updating two self-paced e-learning courses — "Corporate Sponsorship for Nonprofits: How To Put a Price Tag On What You Do" and "Loving Your Mid-Level Donors: Creating a Retention Program" — with a series of short videos and quiz questions to help users assess their learning along the way.
• We've also added a new self-paced e-learning course, "How to Supercharge Your Fundraising with a Donor Club."
• We've added new videos on GrantCraft to the suite of resources on participatory grantmaking. Hear from funders across the globe, working in different issue areas and geographic areas, discuss why they engage in participatory grantmaking.
• We've added a new online course, Grankseeking for Libraries, with the help of a generous grant from the Knight Foundation. The course, which is available for free through our WebJunction Course Catalog, is designed to help libraries diversify their funding streams, learn how to work with funders, and find grants that support the local community.
• We added 814 new resources to IssueLab in September, including Giving Back to the Future, a report on the effectiveness and impact of scholarships. The report also includes a tool kit designed to help users enhance the effectiveness of their scholarship programs.

In the News

• "Increasing Transparency of Australian Philanthropy," by Luke Michael, Pro Bono Australia
• "Who’s funding what and where?", by Clare Joyce, Fundraising & Philanthropy Australasia Magazine
• "Grant Makers Boost Climate-Change Commitments by $3 Billion," by Alex Daniels, The Chronicle of Philanthropy
• "When the dichotomy blurs," by Jen Bokoff, Alliance magazine
• "Gates Foundation Assesses Progress on UN Sustainable Development Goals," Jim Schaffer and Steve Dubb, Nonprofit Quarterly

What We're Excited About

• We're partnering with the Early Childhood Funders' Collaborative and the Heising-Simons Foundation on a new interactive mapping tool that will serve as a valuable starting point for funders and practitioners looking to support the learning and development of young children across the country. The tool is expected to launch in December
• Foundation Center South doubled its Boys and Men of Color (BMOC) Executive Director Collaboration Circle funding with a $20,000 grant from the Charles M. & Mary D. Grant Foundation. The funds will support BMOC in the metro Atlanta region through a range of activities, including building the capacity of leaders and organizations, identifying and actively engaging leaders in and outside of philanthropy committed to investing in BMOC, and improving public policy in support of BMOC.
• We'll be launching a brand-new self-paced e-learning course, How to Start a Major Gift Program, in November.
• And we'll be participating in a panel discussion, Demystifying Nonprofit and Foundation Collaboration, at the IS-sponsored Upswell gathering in November, where we'll discuss valuable insights related to how you can create collaboration opportunities among your peers and with your grantees.

Upcoming Conferences and Events

Our staff will be attending these upcoming events:

• Alliance for Peacebuilding Conference, October 24-26, Washington, DC
• 2018 AIDS Philanthropy Summit, November 5-6, Washington, DC
• AFP National Philanthropy Day, Nov 2, Cleveland, Ohio
• African Philanthropy Network Conference, November 5-6, Mauritius
• Upswell, November 14-16, Los Angeles, California
• Southeastern Council on Foundations Annual Meeting, November 7-9, Louisville, Kentucky

Services Spotlight

• 212,359 new grants added to Foundation Maps in September, of which 45,078 grants were made to 6,810 organizations outside the U.S.
• Update Central is back in Foundation Directory Online. Register for monthly alerts to ensure you’re up-to-date on grantmaker leadership changes and new foundations.
• New data sharing partners: Muncie Altrusa Foundation; Harry M., Miriam C. & William C. Horton Foundation; Catherine McCarthy Memorial Trust Fund; and United Way of Western Connecticut. Tell your story through data so we can communicate philanthropy's contribution to making a better world — learn more about our eReporting program.
• 18 new organizations have joined our Funding Information Network this year, including the Puerto Rico Science Technology and Research Trust, the First Community Foundation Partnership of Pennsylvania, and the Roswell Public Library in Georgia.

Data Spotlight

• Did you know that 8 percent of all human rights funding is granted to support civic and political participation? Funders around the globe are working to support the right to peaceful assembly, informed voting, and full participation in political processes. Explore humanrightsfunding.org to learn more.
• In honor of Global Handwashing Day (October 15), we're highlighting the fact that more than 920 funders have made grants totaling $273 million to support basic sanitation and health education around the world. Check out WASHfunders.org to learn more about funders working to solve the world's water and sanitation crises.
• Lastly, we completed custom data searches for Oregon State University, the ClimateWorks Foundation, the Bush School, Texas A&M University, McKinsey & Company / Minnesota Community Foundation, and California Environmental Associates (CEA).

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.