Community Foundation Invites Local Nonprofits to Learn About Partnerships & Collaborations

February 22, 2013 (Syracuse, NY) – The Central New York Community Foundation will be hosting a Nonprofit Strategic Partnerships and Collaborations Symposium from 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at the Genesee Grand Hotel, 1060 East Genesee Street, Syracuse on March 27. This special one-day event will be presented by Jo DeBolt of LaPiana Consulting, David J. Watson of New York Council of Nonprofits, and other local nonprofit leaders.

The Community Foundation invited these national consultants to Syracuse, to help nonprofit leaders and board members explore and discuss well-planned strategic partnerships. With a well matched partnership, nonprofits can enhance their missions, build credibility, strengthen their brands, engage more individuals, create efficiencies, and making a bigger difference in the community. To register and see more details, visit www.cnycf.org or call 315-422-9538.

This event would not be made possible without the support of the sponsors: The John Ben Snow Memorial Trust, Richard S. Shineman Foundation, the Dorothy and Marshall M. Reisman Foundation, the Gifford Foundation, the Allyn Foundation and the Central New York Community Foundation.

About the Speakers

Jo DeBolt brings nearly 30 years of experience as a nonprofit executive and consultant. As a consultant and nonprofit leader, much of Jo’s work involves starting and growing organizations including designing and developing systems, building boards and staff, implementing new programs, translating vision into action, and ensuring that mechanisms were in place to measure the impact of these new ventures.

David J. Watson has been employed by the New York Council of Nonprofits, Inc. since 1991. The proactive services provided by the Legal Accountability and Compliance Service division requires a sophisticated knowledge of and sensitivity to nonprofit issues as well as an ability to present complicated legal information to nonprofit managers and Boards of Directors.

About the Community Foundation

Established in 1927, the Central New York Community Foundation encourages local philanthropy by supporting the growth of a permanent charitable endowment for the betterment of the region.  The Community Foundation is the largest charitable foundation in the region with assets of more than $130 million. It awards close to $6.7 million in grants to nonprofit organizations annually and has invested more than $100 million in the community since its inception. The Community Foundation serves as the steward of charitable legacies for individuals, families and corporations through the administration of nearly 600 funds. The organization also serves as a civic leader, convener and sponsor of special initiatives designed to strengthen nonprofits that address the region’s most pressing challenges. For more information, visit www.cnycf.org.

Data Are Transforming Philanthropy and the Social Economy

Data Are Transforming Philanthropy and the Social Economy

Lucy Bernholz Joins Forces With GrantCraft, Predicts Big Shifts in 2013

New York, NY — January 7, 2013. A GrantCraft publication released today,Philanthropy and the Social Economy: Blueprint 2013, written by leading philanthropy scholar Lucy Bernholz, captures the changing landscape of what it means to use private resources for the public good. No longer the purview of foundations and nonprofits alone, philanthropy is now defined by an array of increasingly diverse activities, such as impact investing, social businesses, peer networks, and crowdfunding. The Blueprint outlines how these and other innovations are transforming the "social economy."

The fourth edition of the Blueprint has joined the suite of materials in GrantCraft — a joint project of the New York-based Foundation Center and Brussels-based European Foundation Centre — which taps the collective knowledge of funders to share insights to help them hone their craft. The analysis and forecasting showcased in the Blueprint provides the GrantCraft community with keen observations about the current landscape, emerging trends, and important breakthroughs likely in the year ahead.

Bernholz notes that the big shifts that matter for donors and "doers" are data-related, and she provides more than a dozen examples of foundations embracing data. Looking into the future, she sees data as transformative for philanthropy, in terms of both practice and policy. Indeed, Bernholz asserts that the use, ownership, and access rules of data will be as definitional for the social economy in the 21st century as the charitable tax deduction was for nonprofits in the 20th century.

"I’m hopeful the Blueprint can contribute to a global discussion about philanthropy, nonprofits, and how we use our private resources for public benefit," said Lucy Bernholz, visiting scholar at Stanford University’s Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society and author of Blueprint 2013. "There are big changes ahead, and theBlueprint gives readers a heads-up on the most meaningful trends."

In this year’s report, Bernholz includes a scorecard for the previous year’s predictions and a list of 2013 forecasts covering crowdfunding, social impact bonds, and political advocacy. She also points out the catchiest philanthropy-related buzzwords of the year and lists possible "wildcard" world events — legislation, scandals, or disasters — that have the potential to mitigate or accelerate the timing of big shifts in the social economy.

"The Blueprint serves as a finger on the pulse of the social economy," said Lisa Philp, vice president for strategic philanthropy at the Foundation Center. "Lucy’s insights about the changing nature of philanthropy have become required reading for funders and anyone concerned with aligning resources toward the greater good."

Throughout 2013, Bernholz will explore the ideas in the Blueprint, as well as trends in Europe and other regions of the world, in an ongoing conversation atField Notes, the GrantCraft blog, as well as on her own blog, Philanthropy2173.

Philanthropy and the Social Economy: Blueprint 2013 can be downloaded for free at www.grantcraft.org.

About the Foundation Center
Established in 1956, the Foundation Center is the leading source of information about philanthropy worldwide. Through data, analysis, and training, it connects people who want to change the world to the resources they need to succeed. The Center maintains the most comprehensive database on U.S. and, increasingly, global grantmakers and their grants — a robust, accessible knowledge bank for the sector. It also operates research, education, and training programs designed to advance knowledge of philanthropy at every level. Thousands of people visit the Center's web site each day and are served in its five regional library/learning centers and its network of more than 470 funding information centers located in public libraries, community foundations, and educational institutions nationwide and around the world. For more information, please visit foundationcenter.org or call  (212) 620-4230.

About the European Foundation Centre
The European Foundation Centre, founded in 1989, is an international membership association representing public-benefit foundations and corporate funders active in philanthropy in Europe, and beyond. The Centre develops and pursues activities in line with its four key objectives: creating an enabling legal and fiscal environment; documenting the foundation landscape; building the capacity of foundation professionals; and promoting collaboration, both among foundations and between foundations and other actors. Emphasising transparency and best practice, all members sign up to and uphold the European Foundation Centre Principles of Good Practice. For more information, please visit www.efc.be.

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Oneida Improvement Committee Wins CNY85 Giving Project Grant

January 16, 2013 (Syracuse, NY) – Oneida Improvement Committee (OIC) was announced the winner of an $8,500 grant from the Central New York Community Foundation today after successfully garnering the most public votes in The CNY85 Giving Project’s final round. Twenty-seven nonprofit organizations were competing in the online vote, which ran the entire month of December. More than 50,000 total votes were cast before polls closed.

The OIC will use the award to create a non-motorized multiuse trail system in and around the City of Oneida. It will establish committees, recruit volunteers, design signage and work with local government, utility companies and homeowners to bring the trails to fruition. The trail system will connect shopping, neighborhoods, schools and parks, benefitting all who utilize its paths. The OIC projects that the new trail system will generate economic development, enhance the community’s quality of life and good health, improve the local environment, develop civic engagement, and preserve the area’s heritage.

The CNY85 Giving Project was created to engage the public in the Community Foundation’s 85-year anniversary celebration while also drawing attention to the many nonprofit organizations benefiting Central New York. The online campaign encouraged visitors to its website – cny85.org – to vote for a project once a day during the designated month. A full list of the projects that have participated so far can be viewed at www.cny85.org.

The month of December was the fourth and final voting period of The CNY85 Giving Project over the course of the year. The December round featured arts, culture, recreation and civic engagement projects.

Winners of the previous three rounds were as follows:

Round 3: Education and Technology Projects – Jowonio School

• The Jowonio School received this grant to provide tablets and specialized communication apps to young children with special needs. The technology will allow children, some who struggle to or cannot speak, to engage with the classroom curriculum and participate socially with peers and adults, preparing them for the next level of their schooling.

Round 2: Housing, Health and Human Service Projects – Orenda Springs Experiential Learning Center

• The Orenda Springs Experiential Learning Center received this grant to provide 200 Syracuse City middle and high school students with the opportunity to participate in a day-long empowerment program at the facility. Activities include a low and high element ropes course where students learn to overcome their insecurities. The grant will be used to provide transportation, programming and food for eight trips of 25 students each.

Round 1: Environmental, Economic Development and Transportation Projects – Madison County Office for the Aging

• The Madison County Office for the Aging received this grant for its elderly medical transportation program, which provides seniors with rides to their physicians, eye care professionals, pharmacies and other medical-related appointments.

About CNYVitals

Each round features projects of different themes based on findings of a community indicators project, CNYVitals. The community indicators were the result of a collaborative effort between Syracuse University's Maxwell School, FOCUS Greater Syracuse, the Central New York Community Foundation, city and county municipalities and a host of community-based organizations that have signed on to help gather and analyze the data on Central New York’s greatest needs.

The resulting data is a snapshot of Central New York's current state of affairs within various interest areas. The architects of the project hope that making this information available to the general public will inspire collaborative discussion and action to address the community's most pressing needs while also focusing funding and programming on projects and initiatives that will have the greatest positive impact on the region. All of the data can be viewed and contributed to at www.cnyvitals.org.


About the Central New York Community Foundation
In 2012, the Central New York Community Foundation celebrated its 85-year anniversary. Founded in 1927, it strives to inspire philanthropy in Central New York by connecting the generosity of donors with community needs - making grants to organizations working to enhance the quality of life of those who live and work in Central New York from nearly 600 charitable endowment funds that it manages. Grants are awarded for programs in the areas of human services, arts and culture, education, environment, health, economic development and civic affairs. As the region’s largest endowed philanthropic foundation, the Community Foundation awards more than $5 million in grants to nonprofit organizations annually. The Community Foundation is located at 431 East Fayette Street, Syracuse, NY 13202 and can be reached at (315) 422-9538 or www.cnycf.org.

How to Donate like a Pro

In a Time of Tighter Budgets—For Benefactors and Charities Alike—It's More Important Than Ever to Make Your Gifts Count. Here's How

Investors demand a good return from their assets. Now donors are increasingly seeking the same for their charitable dollars.

Many philanthropists, large and small, are anxious about writing checks—and many endowments have yet to recover fully from the bruising they took during the financial crisis. Finding the worthiest, most-efficient organizations to maximize the impact of your donations couldn't be more pressing.

Yet identifying the best charity can be as difficult as picking a good money manager, with philanthropists left to navigate a world of tax forms, ratings systems and often misleading jargon. It's easy just to write a check and hope for the best—but you stand the risk of getting a poor return on your charitable investments.

Making matters more complicated: Many long-cherished tax breaks are coming under fire. Next year could bring the return of limits on itemized deductions, including those for donations, if Congress doesn't extend the Bush-era tax cuts for couples earning more than $250,000 ($200,000 for individuals). Even if Congress extends the cuts for all, the idea of cutting back charitable tax breaks is still in play: President Obama's deficit commission this week proposed limiting the deductions for large gifts to amounts above 2% of adjusted gross income.

All this is making donors rethink their giving strategies, says Patrick Rooney, executive director of the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. "They want to make sure now more than ever that they're using their money wisely."

Overall giving is down sharply from its recent highs. Among high-net-worth households—who account for the bulk of individual charitable dollars—average giving dropped 34.9% to $54,016 in 2009, from $83,034 in 2007, according to a survey conducted by the center and sponsored by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

The downward trend appears to be continuing. One in five people say they are giving to fewer organizations than in the past, according to a November poll from Harris Interactive. A third are giving in smaller amounts this year than last. And the percentage of people not giving at all has doubled to 12% in 2010 from last year.

There are a host of charity-rating agencies to consult, but to get a more-accurate picture, consider volunteering your time before giving money. Do your own research: Talk to beneficiaries, visit work sites and study a group's finances yourself to judge the effectiveness of its programs.

That's what Denise Winston did. The former business banker "always just wrote a check," she says. But after leaving her job and starting her own financial-education business in 2009, the Bakersfield, Calif., resident became more frustrated over how little of her donations were going to beneficiaries. She decided she would spend time volunteering with different organizations before giving, partly to get a better sense of her time and money's impact.

"I'm closer to the person receiving support," she says. "Anyone can write a check. But I like to give things you can't buy."

Here's how to navigate the system and make sure the dollars you donate are making the biggest impact possible.

Article continued at Wall Street Journal.com, includes ways of gauging donor's impact and red flags that donors should watch out for.

Central New York Philanthropy Center officially opens today

A downtown Syracuse landmark built in 1917 as a private club for college-educated men begins a new chapter today as a hub for local charitable groups.

The former University Club building at 431 E. Fayette St. has been transformed into the Central New York Philanthropy Center, a new home and meeting place for nonprofits. The Central New York Community Foundation, the area’s largest endowed philanthropic foundation, bought the three-story Georgian Revival building in 2009 for $1 million and has spent $3.5 million renovating it.

The building will serve as the foundation’s headquarters. It is leasing space in the building to other nonprofits. Tenants lined up so far include the Junior League of Syracuse, the Allyn Foundation and the Community Health Foundation of Western and Central New York.

The Central New York Community Foundation moved in last week and will officially dedicate the building at a ceremony today. The foundation, which had leased space in the Chimes Building at 500 S. Salina St., expects the new location to increase its visibility. “This creates a storefront presence in a prominent place downtown,” said Peter A. Dunn, the foundation’s president and chief executive officer. “It also raises the visibility of philanthropy and giving in general in the community.”

The foundation began looking into the possibility of buying a building two years ago. Community foundations in other cities such as Rochester, Providence, R.I. and Grand Rapids, Mich. have bought buildings and turned them into philanthropy centers, Dunn said.

When the former University Club building went on the market, it seemed perfectly suited for the foundation, according to Dunn. “The building speaks to legacy and stewardship,” Dunn said. “It speaks to sustainability in terms of recycling a historic building for current purposes. It allows us to convene and bring folks together.”

Continued at syracuse.com