QENO Executive Director Roundtable March 25, 2010 GRANTMAKING TRENDS: A Collection of Quotes & Stats Foundations are reporting declining grantmaking for 2010 and are redesigning the way they distribute funds. Examples of their public statements are being collected by Philanthropy News Digest. A (very) partial list follows: The Duke Endowment: Announced that due to a decline in asset value, consideration for new grantmaking will be limited in 2010. The Wallace Foundation (New York): The foundation has fulfilled all of its existing commitments and will invest in new work for the future. Its assets have decreased so the plan for 2010 will include internal reductions. The San Francisco Foundation: The foundation established the Nonprofit Transitions Fund to help organizations rethink and regroup in order to reduce costs and time spent on administrative work, as well as increase productivity. The Pittsburgh Foundation: The foundation created "Neighbor‐Aid", a special emergency fund to support nonprofit organizations struggling to meet the surge in demand from families and individuals. The Meadows Foundation (Dallas, TX): With less money overall for grants this year, the foundation will be shifting funding priorities to provide emergency operating support and funding for critical needs, as well as deferring most capital projects. Foundation for the Carolinas: The foundation launched the Critical Need Response Fund in partnership with the Leon Levine Foundation, Mecklenburg Ministries, the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, and the United Way of Central Carolinas. Grants will be awarded to local nonprofit human service providers. The Community Foundation of Southeastern North Carolina: Has moved under the umbrella of the North Carolina Community Foundation and has suspended discretionary grantmaking. According to their website, no grants will be available during the 2010 cycle but perhaps in 2011. A Reset, not a Recovery According to Steve Gunderson, president and CEO of the Council on Foundations, “We call it a reset, not a recovery. Some of the changes we’re experiencing are not temporary. Foundations are changing what they do and how they do it.” Now, More than Ever, Relationships are Key to Giving Ret Boney’s September 15, 2009 article in Philanthropy Journal (Foundation Recovery Likely Slow) makes it clear that in tough times, relationships are what will keep a funding partnership alive—or set the stage for future grantmaking. Steven Lawrence, senior director of research for the Foundation Center, says: “This is the best opportunity (nonprofits) may ever have to have candid conversations with grantmakers. It’s the perfect time to begin a relationship—there’s no money on the table.” Trends in Corporate Philanthropy Gifts from corporations may have fallen by as much as 10% in 2009, leaving nonprofits, particularly those with a cultural focus that usually are more dependent on corporate gifts, working harder to find revenue, according to Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. According to Leslie Pine, senior vice president for programming at The Philanthropic Initiative, there are three big trends in corporate philanthropy:  Long‐term, systemic solutions to critical social problems  Innovative approaches to partnerships to increase leverage and impact  Doing more to respond to the direct impact of the economy on people and their basic needs According to Todd Cohen’s September 15, 2009 report for The Philanthropy Journal, corporate philanthropy is changing, becoming more ‘strategic, collaborative and productive.” These changes include an increase in in‐kind support, funds directed toward basic needs such as homelessness and hunger and capacity‐building funds. As an example, Bank of America is allocating 25% of its giving for capacity and operating support. Could 2010 Bring a Recovery? Asset values for foundations peaked in 2007 and plunged during the 2nd half of 2008. Despite losing almost $150 billion in assets, foundations gave away $41.2 billion in 2008, a 3% increase over 2007. But, since foundations award grants based on an average of their assets for the past three to five years, this increase is not expected to hold, according to The Philanthropy Journal. On a positive note: According to a recent survey reported by The Philanthropy News Digest on March 18, 2010, small to mid‐size foundations found that the majority of respondents saw an increase in net assets for 2009 and believe that 2010 will provide opportunities to make up lost capital. 28% of Wealthy Americans Trimmed Giving in 2009 Wealthy (investable assets of $500,000 or more) and “ultra” wealthy (investable assets of $5 million or more) individuals gave less to charity in 2009. Although wealthy Americans generally feel obliged to give financially to their communities during tough economic times, more than one in four reduced the amount they gave last year, according to a survey conducted by PNC Wealth Management. The survey also found that the wealthy are refining their giving to reflect the potential for greater impact to specific issues that are most meaningful to them, sometimes restricted by geographical preferences. They are purposefully becoming more mission‐driven and governed less by emotion. Giving in Southeastern North Carolina While New Hanover has one of the highest percentages of people in the state living in extreme poverty (6.7%) grantmakers have not taken notice. According to a sector analysis by Dr. Laurie Paarlburg, UNCW, when compared to giving in parts of the state outside of southeastern North Carolina (SENC), our region is receiving far less from foundations and public gratmaking bodies. For example, foundations distribute on average $150 per capita in the rest of the state as compared to $22 in Southeastern North Carolina.