In Times of Rancor, Nonprofits Help Americans Find Common Ground

Plus, charities are concerned about soliciting and processing donor-advised-funds (study), and the Mellon Foundation is committing $250 million to its Monuments Project ADVERTISEMENT [Advertisement]( [Advertisement]( [Advertisement]( [logo] We’ve made some changes and improvements to [philanthropy.com]( such as ending the distinction between free and premium articles. Now free registration is all that’s required to read any Chronicle article. [Read about these and other changes](. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? [Please sign up to receive your own copy.]( You’ll support our journalism and ensure that you continue to receive our emails. [Read this newsletter on the web](. CIVIL DISCOURSE [In Times of Rancor, Nonprofits Help Americans Find Common Ground]( By Alex Daniels [image] Conservative and liberal foundations are putting money into a cadre of nonprofits working to help Americans find common ground on political and public policy matters. ADVERTISEMENT [Advertisement]( [Advertisement]( [Advertisement]( GIVING [Study Finds Widespread Concern Among Nonprofits Over Soliciting and Processing Donor-Advised Fund Gifts]( By Dan Parks [image] Concern about the difficulty of soliciting gifts from donor-advised funds was especially high — 70 percent — among nonprofits that had never received such gifts. GRANTS ROUNDUP [Mellon Foundation Commits $250 Million to Its Monuments Project (Grants Roundup)]( By M.J. Prest [image] Also, the Ford Foundation and a consortium of other funders pledge at least $156 million for arts groups led by people of color. DISPATCHES [Foundations That Are Serious About Achieving Equity Need to Rethink How They Work]( By Lisa Pilar Cowan [image] Ditching old ideas, structures, and titles, like the program-officer term that connotes people of wealth commanding others to take action, will help us do more to meet our aspirations. Paid for and Created by M&T Bank [Navigating a Pandemic and Social Justice]( From transitioning to digital programming and new online content, to placing added importance on an organization’s mission and values, cultural institutions are beginning to plan for a safe reopening during these uncertain times, positioning themselves to be even more successful in the nation’s new normal. Nonprofit News From Elsewhere The Harold Alfond Foundation in Portland, Me., has pledged $500 million to boost education, work-force training, science, and the arts in that state. It is the largest set of grants, which will range from $5 million to $240 million, in the foundation's 70-year history. Most of the money will build on Maine's burgeoning technology jobs base. Some funds will go to several colleges and universities, including the University of Maine, which will build a new college of engineering, computing, and information science. Other money will boost efforts to revitalize the town of Waterville and allow the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor to offer patients better access to genomic therapies and clinical trials. The Alfond Foundation was started in 1950 and has $860 million in assets. ([Portland Press Herald]( An environmental activist from Alabama is among the 21 recipients of this year's life-changing awards from the MacArthur Foundation. Catherine Coleman Flowers, who founded the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice in Montgomery, Ala., focuses on how a lack of clean water and sanitation can trap communities in a cycle of poverty. Rural Black communities, such as her native Lowndes County in Alabama, are particularly at risk. Flowers and her co-winners will each receive $625,000 over six years. Other recipients include scientists, writers, sociologists, a legal scholar, a poet, a composer, an anthropologist, an econometrician, an artist, a historian, and a filmmaker. ([Associated Press]( Although the notion of philanthropists or foundations giving away all their money relatively quickly is not new, it has gained momentum recently. The movement is catching on because many of this era's billionaires are younger than their predecessors, so they will give away more during their lifetimes; because contemporary problems, including climate change and the coronavirus, require urgent attention; and because a growing body of evidence suggests getting no-strings-attached grants out the door quickly can make a difference. The directors of three spend-down philanthropies — the Compton and Stupski foundations and the Whitman Institute — recently argued in the [Chronicle]( that foundations should spend now, when the moment is ripe to bring about real reform in racial justice. ([MarketWatch]( More News How Philanthropists Can Support Transformative and Equitable Change in Education ([Worth]( New Prize Honors Ordinary New Yorkers Doing Extraordinary Things ([Wall Street Journal]( — subscription) Portrait of an Art Collector and Philanthropist Agnes Gund by Her Daughter ([New York Times](. Plus, read a Chronicle article about [Gund's Art for Justice Fund](. Flaws in LAPD’s Process for Accepting Donations Cited; Fixes Promised ([Los Angeles Times]( Nonprofit Helps the Unemployed Find Careers in Community Health ([Associated Press]( Wisc. Nonprofit to Settle Charges It Received 'Countless Millions' Under False Pretenses ([Milwaukee Business Journal]( Prison for Twin Cities Woman Whose Insider Scheme Cost Catholic Charities $684,000 ([Star Tribune]( Subscribe to the Chronicle The Chronicle of Philanthropy is dedicated to helping nonprofits care for their clients and staff, manage financial setbacks, and stay connected with donors. Please consider subscribing, so that we may continue to provide essential news, resources, and analysis to the nonprofit world. [Subscribe Today]( Editor's Picks MAJOR DONORS [Wealthy Donors Make Big Gifts to Racial-Justice and Diversity Efforts]( By Maria Di Mento [image] So far this year, rich donors have given at least $208.3 million to such efforts. The number of large gifts far exceeds previous years. INDIVIDUAL GIVING [Giving Was Up 7.5% in the First Half of 2020, New Report Says]( By Eden Stiffman [image] The second quarter marked a five-year high in the number of donors and contributions. But experts warn fundraisers that dangers still lie ahead. FOUNDATIONS [New Data Show Foundation Assets and Grant Making Rebounded Fully After a Crushing Spring]( By Dan Parks [image] FoundationMark also revised a previous estimates of grant-making this year, saying it will hold steady at about $85 billion. OPINION [Foundations Need to Dig Deeper Into Their Endowments and Give More in 2021]( By Phil Buchanan and David Salem Philanthropic organizations have increased grant making, but often those increases are quite modest. Their approach doesn’t take into account market or social realities. ASK AN EXPERT [Your Questions About Winning Gifts From Major Donors During Socially Distant Times]( By Maria Di Mento [image] In this week’s addition of Ask an Expert, we answer reader questions about how to stay in touch with major donors in meaningful ways and how to ask for gifts at a time when traditional face-to-face fundraising practices have been upended. Job announcement Director of Development position available at The RAND Corporation.[Visit jobs.philanthropy.com]( for more details. ADVERTISEMENT [Advertisement]( [Advertisement]( [Advertisement]( Paid for and Created by Independent Sector [Community Unites in Crisis to Provide Essential Services]( Shifting the way they operated, staff at the Homewood Children’s Village reached out to their community to gain a sense of their level of need, partnering with local organizations to provide boxes of produce and school supplies to families in need. Cultivate Midlevel Donors [Join Our Webinar Tomorrow]( — Midlevel donors bring in a hefty share of annual revenue at many nonprofits. Plus, they’re loyal: 75 percent keep giving year after year, research shows. Yet these key supporters often get overlooked because their giving doesn’t fit into major gifts or direct-response fundraising. How can your nonprofit attract midlevel donors and hold onto them for the long haul ― despite the economic and health crises? Join us for a 75-minute webinar to learn from two senior fundraisers who oversee successful midlevel giving programs. They’ll share insights into what’s working now to keep these important supporters connected to your work. And even if you don’t have a strong midlevel program, they’ll offer simple steps you can take right away to nurture these donors and boost giving. Plus, you’ll get real-world examples of donor communications and fundraising appeals that hit the mark with those who make midlevel contributions. [Register now]( join us this Thursday, October 8, at 2 p.m. Eastern. Can't make it then? Watch it on demand at your convenience. How to Boost Your Planned-Giving Program [Join Our Webinar]( Jump-start your planned-giving program by learning how to create appeals and marketing materials that resonate — even during these challenging times. You’ll learn from a planned-giving director at a nonprofit, a veteran consultant, and a planned-giving director at a financial-services firm. They’ll share: - Strategies for strengthening legacy giving (even if you’re just getting started) - Tips for developing a planned-giving strategy - Real-world examples of how to frame conversations and messages, and - Detailed marketing advice and examples Plus, you’ll get tips on how to recognize these donors and keep them engaged in your work. [Register now]( to get the early-bird rate for this session, which airs Thursday, October 22, at 2 p.m. Eastern. Limited-Time Chronicle Webinar Offer: 30-Day All-Access Pass To help you make the most of this period of remote work and plan for that future, we’ve introduced a [30-day all-access pass to our full archive of webinars](. Our selection of nearly 100 on-demand webinars provides you and your team with the resources needed to sharpen skills and move forward. This pass can be shared with the rest of your organization and offers unmatched savings. Job Opportunities [Director of Development, North East]( RAND Corporation [Search the Chronicle's jobs database]( to view the latest jobs in higher education. What did you think of today’s newsletter? [Strongly disliked]( // [It was OK]( // [Loved it](. [logo]( This newsletter was sent to {EMAIL}. [Manage]( your newsletter preferences, [stop receiving]( this email, or [view]( our privacy policy. © 2020 [The Chronicle of Philanthropy]( 1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037