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The Social/Nonprofit Sector - what will it look like decades from now?
February 15th, 2012
Provocateur: a person who provokes trouble, causes dissension, or the like; agitator. OR, according to the Sieger definition, is it a person who causes one to step out of their zone and look at the world in another way!?
I am constantly thinking about the future and the role that Grand Rapids Community Foundation is playing and can be playing in that future. For me, it is no longer just a question of our relevancy but something much more than that. Are we really ready for what is just over the horizon?
At the annual Council on Foundations’ Conference for Community Foundations last September, a leader in our field challenged the audience to really look at ourselves and question whether the community foundation “model” was sustainable. I am used to this fine gentleman’s attempt to try to create a stir. And while I was listening to some degree, I thought he was asking the wrong question.
The question is whether the social sector – the nonprofit field if you will - actually be the same in 10 – 20 – even 50 years from now. And community foundations aren’t the only nonprofit corporations that need to really think about this.
More specifically, will fund raising really sustain the sector in terms of revenue generation to build capacity and continue to make an impact? It could be argued that partnerships with governmental sources, creating subsidiary businesses to provide income, and other ideas will help bolster the sector. But what I’m looking into - - - - what will the sector look like and how will the sector grow in terms of resources beyond asking for money? Hmmmm. Ponder that one. More to follow.
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I love our donors!
September 15th, 2011
This past Monday we hosted our annual Metz Legacy Society Luncheon at the Prince Conference Center at Calvin College. In a word, it was fabulous! Metz members are those generous donors who have indicated that the Grand Rapids Community Foundation is in their estate plans or who have created a life income gift.The luncheon featured Micki Maynard the senior editor of Changing Gears heard on Michigan Radio. The program is one of my favorites and is a joint project of public radio stations in Chicago, Michigan and Northeast Ohio. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed her talk and how she weaved in comments about her mother who sounds absolutely delightful and quite a fan of the Detroit Tigers!
The thing of it though, is how I love our donors! The people who support the Foundation are so engaging and interested in what is going on in our community and around the globe. They care deeply and express their opinions freely. And for those of you who know me, I love those opinions! I have been thinking about how much I enjoyed the luncheon and having the opportunity to talk to all of our Metz Society members.
And then today I signed a stack of letters to donors who have given in the past asking them to once again consider a gift! Many of these fine people have been supporters for years. I found myself just smiling as I signed each and every letter remembering a special moment with each person to whom the letter was being sent or just the wonderful causes they care so deeply about. What a privilege!
As I celebrate my 24th year serving as president of the Grand Rapids Community Foundation, I cannot think of any other place to be than here in our Grand Rapids AND at the community foundation. Phenomenal community and phenomenal community foundation!
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Penny Wise?
August 10th, 2011
I recently had a friendly debate with a woman on Facebook about whether tax incentives really matter when it comes to charitable giving. My summary of the discussion was "it doesn't hurt!" The headline for a strong case for giving to a nonprofit organization certainly includes transparency as well as what impact is being made because of the programming of the organization. As I have written in past blogs, the reality of really getting the message out to the community on the good works of organizations is tough given constraints on budgets but really necessary.In early May, the Michigan Legislature passed the Governor's tax reform package in a close vote and this bill eliminates the three charitable tax credits for gift to community foundations; public institutions, such as universities, libraries and public radio; and food banks and homeless shelters. These changes to the charitable tax credits are effective on January 1, 2012. Gifts made before midnight on December 31, 2011 may be used for the tax credit. We will be promoting these credits until the end of 2011.
The tax credit pertaining to community foundations has been in existence since 1988 having been passed in 1987. It provides up to a $200 State tax credit for gifts of $400 to community foundations for married couples and a $100 tax credit for gifts of $200 for a single person. Businesses can take a tax credit up to $5,000 on gifts of $10,000. In order to qualify for the tax credit though, all gifts have to go to permanent endowment only and does not include any "pass through" donations.
Michigan was the first state to have such a tax credit for gifts to community foundations and frankly it has been instrumental in growing the endowment of the Grand Rapids Community Foundation as well as the agency funds that we hold. The entire cost to the state of Michigan for the tax credit since its inception in 1988 has been $50M. HOWEVER, the endowed assets of Michigan's community foundations have grown to exceed $2B due in part to the offering of the credit.
So when we are working in partnership with the public sector, our dollars have definitely made a difference in braiding funding and leveraging dollars for our communities! We have definitely added tremendous value!
Yes I know the opposing view to this could read: "What do you expect the state of Michigan to do when revenues are severely diminished and we are all struggling to keep our state moving forward?"
The Grand Rapids Community Foundation will continue to grow and provide needed financial support and strong leadership in our area. We will miss the opportunity to introduce people to the community foundation using the tax credit as an incentive to come to know us and gain an understanding of philanthropy. It did provide a terrific way for us to establish relationships with new donors. We do feel confident though that our current and future donors will continue to support the work we do and to support the strength of building our community's endowment!
The looming concern on the horizon is the preservation of the federal charitable tax deduction which if eliminated or somehow diminished could have a devastating impact on the entire nonprofit sector in our country. But that's a topic for another blog entry!
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Hey Grand Rapidians! We need to love ourselves more!
June 30th, 2011
I have so much I want to write about but I have so little time! However, I want to take a moment to comment about the great column that Tommy Allen wrote in today's (June 30, 2011) edition of Rapid Growth. His weekly "G-Sync" column is always thoughtful, engaging and sometimes edgy - and that is good! Today's column is titled, "Not the Visiting Kind" and you can link to it here. I too have had the same experience that Tommy had when he was visiting another city on the east coast recently.
I do believe that we in West Michigan and more specifically in Grand Rapids need to love ourselves more! As Tommy so aptly notes: ". . . while we have worked to create a community that we want to live in, we seem to be obsessed with crafting our image in the shadow of another. . . maybe we need to stop trying to make people love us and simply learn to love ourselves a bit more." Yes indeed!
Grand Rapids continues to evolve into an even more attractive city to visit and live in! As the Grand Rapids Community Foundation's vision statement states: "We envision a magnetic, interconnected West Michigan community." Let the people from more renown cities love their cities and they will love us too because we love our city without having to do cartwheels to get the attention from the rest of the world!
I used to start meetings for a committee I chaired for a national association a few years back in Washington, D.C. by saying: "Greetings from the center of the universe . . . Grand Rapids, Michigan!" And I wasn't kidding! (This was before Guy Bazzini named the corner of Diamond and Lake Dr."The Center of the Universe".)
There is a certain connection that we have to people and/or places we visit or in which we reside that cannot be measured by any study and research! It's that first few seconds when you meet someone for the first time as Malcolm Gladwell writes in the book, Blink. He writes on his website: "There's a wonderful phrase in psychology--"the power of thin slicing"--which says that as human beings we are capable of making sense of situations based on the thinnest slice of experience."
Whether or not this "rapid cognition" is always valid, there is a sense or "vibe" that I do get when I visit a place new to me or a restaurant or a person. I may be wrong sometimes (hard to believe I know!) but Tommy is right on! No need to feel any less about this great place - we have so many great things going on! We need to continue "to build" the best Grand Rapids embracing difference and welcoming one and all to share in living in one of the finest places on this planet!
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#grcollegebound
June 17th, 2011
For those who follow Twitter you know that the hash tag connected to a phrase or word is an identifier for collecting like "tweets" for a particular topic. For those who haven't experienced Twitter, well now you have information you didn't have before! :- ) We used this identifier this past Wednesday on Twitter reporting on details from the press conference we hosted and then throughout the day! The impact of what is behind the #grcollegebound will definitely be game changing! That is how I view an effort that our staff, Cris Kooyer and Ruth Bishop, have been planning hand-in-hand with key staff at the Grand Rapids Public Schools for more than two years. This past Wednesday Mike Nassar, principal at Harrison Park School, Bernard Taylor, superintendent of the Grand Rapids Public Schools, and I outlined an effort that we all plan will make a significant difference in the lives of children and their families. We are calling it the "Partnership Pipeline" which aptly describes the partnership between the district and the Grand Rapids Community Foundation with some aspects that also involve many other funders, the county, and a large number of nonprofit organizations. In future blogs I'll describe these relationships more clearly. BUT essentially, the partnership is meant to ensure that a pre-K through 12th grade school culture is supported that promotes post-secondary learning for all students. Some detail: On Monday June 13th the Foundation board of trustees approved the first $250,000 to launch the partnership building on a college-going culture for students at Grand Rapids Public Schools' Harrison Park School. Ultimately we plan to expand this programming into Westwood Middle School and then increase our funding to include Union High School. This "feeder system" will help foster an academic and social climate at the grade school that will fully support education beyond graduation for every child. The Foundation is investing an estimated $4.5M that will go to the schools within the Union High School feeder system over the next 10 years. Plans include the hiring of a College Pathway Coordinator, a math coach and a literacy coach. In addition, grant funds, to the tune of $1.5M, will provide summer and after school learning opportunities for students spread out over the next 10 years. But that's not all! This partnership also includes a very special college scholarship component. Beginning with the 4th grade class this September the Foundation plans to provide about $3M per year on college scholarships or support for a higher education program to students who move through the program from start to finish graduating from Union High School. With the assistance of our program and various supports these students will receive last dollar scholarships! These students will become this community's Challenge Scholars! In part, Harrison Park School was selected by our staff and the key staff from the school district because it offers on-site health and human services to students and families through the Kent School Services Network (KSSN) which operates in many schools in various districts. Through the Kent Intermediate School District, the Kent County Family and Children's Coordinating Council and many nonprofit organizations and funders, the KSSN is a great support to relieve families of many stressors in their lives giving students the opportunity to come to school ready to learn! We have worked alongside many to create and fund this tremendous resource and have granted more than $2M to the KSSN program since 2006! Further, Harrison Park School is a Meijer Good School a program generously funded by the Meijer Foundation and operated by the Community Foundation. In case you haven't gotten the message yet, education of our youth is a very big deal to the Community Foundation ultimately leading to an educated work force and keeping these young professionals compelling reasons to return to Grand Rapids to live and work! This is the best economic development strategy around! Over the past 10 years the Community Foundation has invested nearly $10M in funding for community-wide education strategies. We aren't new to the business of education. In fact, we have been giving scholarships to area students since the 1940's! I'll write more about this exciting effort in future blogs! The press release announces the Partnership and the Challenge Scholars!
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