Foundation Chief Equity Officers Are Next Step in Pushing Diversity

Plus, New Jersey City University lands $10 million from a former state lawmaker, and midsize nonprofits won’t survive without federal help (opinion) [Philanthropy Today] Are you working remotely? Many organizations provide access to premium Chronicle content in the office. If your group is one of them, you can maintain that access when you’re at home. Read this helpful [FAQ]( to see how. Your account is easy to set up and will provide you access wherever you are. Management and Leadership [Chief Equity Officers Are the Next Step in Promoting Equity at Foundations]( [Image]( MEYER FOUNDATION By Alex Daniels More grant makers are appointing senior-level people to focus exclusively on ways to help share power and promote diversity and inclusion. (PREMIUM) ADVERTISEMENT [advertisement]( Gifts Roundup [New Jersey City University Lands $10 million From Former State Lawmaker]( By Maria Di Mento Plus, two colleges receive multimillion gifts for mental-health services, and YWCA and Houston Food Bank take in large gifts Opinion [Nonprofits Won’t Survive Unless the Federal Government Helps More Medium-Size Groups]( By Susan N. Dreyfus and John MacIntosh The Paycheck Protection Program excludes nonprofits with more than 500 employees at a time when their services are more critical than ever, say two nonprofit leaders. Paid for and Created by Veritus Group ["Giving is Never About Money"]( Coaching nonprofits on pursuing transformational major gifts, the Veritus Group focuses on donors’ priorities and values, providing an increased level of personalization. Shifting a donor’s gift from a transaction to a genuine connection provides them with a return on their philanthropic investments, creating a real and immediate impact. Nonprofit News From Elsewhere A decision five years ago to shun fossil-fuel investments has paid off for the $1.1 billion Rockefeller Brothers Fund, which has escaped the crash of “dirty energy” industries. Built on an oil fortune amassed 150 years ago, the fund cut its endowment’s investments in fossil-fuel companies from 7 percent in 2014 to less than 1 percent today. At the same time, it put more money into renewable energy and pollution mitigation, along with programs to help workers and the poor in the United States and abroad. In the past five years, the fund has earned an average of 7.76 percent annually, as opposed to a benchmark investment portfolio return of 6.71 percent annually. ([Washington Post]( About three-fourths of the 17,000 Catholic parishes in the United States have applied for federal pandemic relief, and about half have received the funds. Parishes receive most of their donations during Mass services, which are now suspended. Experts on Catholic finances predicted that many parishes, mostly in inner cities, will be forced to close; church schools would suffer as many parents could no longer afford to enroll their children; and the church’s charitable arm, hospitals, and universities would also take a hit. One expert estimated the church’s shortfall in “unmet needs” would be $700 million to $1 billion. ([Washington Post]( Chicago’s Poetry Foundation is under pressure from arts leaders and others to give more from its $257 million endowment. Activists posted a petition on Change.org seeking a $5 million emergency fund for artists, but the foundation rejected the idea, noting it had given $25,000 to an artist relief fund in Illinois. The organization says because it is an operating fund whose founder required it to exist in perpetuity, it has to be careful about taking too much from its endowment. That statement prompted additional calls from leaders of poetry groups and others for greater transparency about the organization’s finances. And they said they worried if arts organizations crumbled, it would be harder for the Poetry Foundation to carry out its mission over the long haul. ([Chicago Tribune]( More News Does L.A. Catholic School Have a Religious-Liberty Right to Fire a Teacher Who Gets Cancer? ([Los Angeles Times]( Favre Denies Auditor’s Claim he Was Paid for No-Show ork ([Associated Press]( Prince Andrew's Charity to Be Wound Up Amid Investigation Into Payments ([Scotsman]( More on Nonprofits Responding to the Crisis As Demand for Food Skyrockets Due to Coronavirus, Food Banks Play Catch-Up ([Los Angeles Times]( Sean Penn’s Nonprofit Testing for Covid-19 Receives $10 Million From Twitter Founder ([City News Service]( Will COVID-19 Change the Norms of Education Philanthropy? We Hope So. (Opinion: [Chalkbeat]( Franklin Graham Says His Charity Has No Interest in Federal Money Meant for WHO ([Associated Press]( ‘Street Sense’ Newspaper Was a Lifeline for the Homeless in D.C. Coronavirus Forced It to Stop the Presses. ([Washington Post]( How One N.J. Doctor Tests the Underserved for Coronavirus ([Wall Street Journal]( — subscription) What Everyone Else Is Reading [Nonprofits Led by People of Color Win Less Grant Money With More Strings (Study)]( A look at winners, finalists, and semifinalists in an Echoing Green fellowship program found that budgets of nonprofits led by whites were 24 percent bigger than those of groups led by people of color. ADVERTISEMENT [advertisement]( [One in Five Donors Has Stopped Giving, Survey Says]( But the share of donors who say charities are doing good or excellent work has soared, according to a new poll. [‘HalfMyDAF’ Movement Aims to Spur a Boost in Donor-Advised-Fund Grants]( Creators David and Jennifer Risher say they will give up to $1 million total to groups supported by other donor-advised-fund account holders who pledge to disburse at least half of the money in their accounts to charity. [Foundation Requests for Proposals for Covid-19 Relief (May 4)]( A compilation of RFPs for nonprofit groups focused on health care, entrepreneurship, food insecurity, human services, journalism, the arts, and more. [New Grant Commitments for Covid-19 Relief (May 5)]( Some of the grant making recently announced to address health, education, food insecurity, vaccine development, technology, and medical research in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. Help in the Pandemic Webinars and Other Events to Help You Deal With Covid-19 (May 11 - 15) [Our weekly listing]( of information and education events from nonprofit groups across the country. Fundraising in a Crisis: Focus on Donors Most Likely to Give [Coming Thursday]( — We’re offering a special discount to accommodate organizations in need during these tumultuous times. As nonprofits nationwide are reeling from a perfect storm caused by the pandemic and the economic freefall, it can be difficult for fundraisers and leaders to know which donors to focus on when everything feels urgent. Join us for a 75-minute webinar to learn how to identify those among your existing supporters who have the greatest capacity and inclination to give generously to your cause. You’ll learn from two fundraising executives how to filter your data to prioritize key donors during the pandemic, strategies for cultivating big donors amid the economic downturn, and tips for ongoing assessment of prospective donors. [Sign up]( and get 40% off the session on Thursday, May 14, at 2 p.m. Eastern time. How to Make Smart Financial and Program Decisions in the Covid-19 Era [Join Our Webinar]( — Nonprofit leaders today face extremely difficult decisions, such as how to reimagine fundraising events, whether to lay off workers, and how to determine the immediate, near-term, and long-term needs of their organizations and the communities they serve. How is the crisis changing organizations, fundraising, philanthropy, and donor relations? What can we learn from the recent past, and what steps can nonprofits take to survive and even improve? Join the Chronicle of Philanthropy and Women In Development New York on Tuesday, May 19, to get insights from a wealth manager who works closely with high-net-worth donors, a program officer from a large foundation, a veteran fundraising executive, and an expert on measuring outcomes and conveying impact. [Register today for 40% off the early-bird price.]( Subscribe to Our Other Newsletters [Sign up online]( - Philanthropy Today — Roundup of news, opinion, and features (daily) - Fundraising — Briefing on news and ideas (weekly) - Philanthropy This Week — Roundup of news, opinion, and features (weekly) - Nonprofit Adviser — How-to’s for nonprofits (weekly; subscriber only) - Chronicle Insider — Highlights from each new issue (monthly; subscriber only) Subscribe Now As the outbreak of Covid-19 upends all aspects of nonprofit work, the Chronicle of Philanthropy is dedicated to helping nonprofits deal with this unprecedented threat, care for their clients and staffs, manage financial setbacks, and stay connected with donors. Please consider subscribing today, so that we may continue to provide carefully vetted information in challenging times such as these. 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