In Pennsylvania, we’ve recently seen the failure of our state’s political leadership become a threat to many local nonprofits that provide much-needed assistance to our friends and neighbors. The governor and the state Legislature have not yet agreed on a budget, which has frozen funding for nonprofits that depend on those dollars. Some nonprofits are almost entirely dependent on state funding for their operations. Others operate with little or no state funds. Which organizations will be affected, and how badly they will be affected, will depend in part on how long the impasse in Harrisburg drags on. Nevertheless, in prior budget impasses, the challenges to local communities have been significant. When a state government fails its constituents, it is up to communities to sustain those in need. That’s where community foundations come in.
Strengthening Communities
The Council on Foundations, nonprofit media organizations, foundations, journalists, academics, and other stakeholders held a conversation about the role of nonprofit media in fostering a vibrant civil society in local communities.
This morning, Council President and CEO Vikki Spruill helped launch a new platform on the Huffington Post that highlights important developments and leading thinkers on social innovation. The blog features thoughts from leaders such as Clara Miller of the F.B. Heron Foundation and Maria Rodale of the Rodale Institute.
This webinar discussed the role of a funder relative to the local community when working in place, and addressed additional challenges when initiating a place-based initiative. The webinar included lessons learned from The Aspen Institute and Neighborhood Funders Group’s Towards a Better Place Conference including how others have dealt with the various challenges involved in place-based grantmaking, and advice from the field on how to improve upon current practices.
Even as the high human, economic, environmental, and planetary costs of climate change come into sharper focus, global greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, tightening the timeframe for a transition to a low-carbon future. Climate change exacerbates growing pressures on life-sustaining resources, including freshwater, soil, and biodiversity. We all have a stake in efforts to mitigate the emissions that contribute to climate change and to increase adaptive capacity to cope with its effects.
Welcome to San Francisco! What a way to kick off a conference in such an amazing place! The Bay Area represents so much to so many. This community has incubated great iconoclasts -- leaders, like Harvey Milk, Clint Eastwood, and Maya Angelou. Some of the leading technology companies on the planet are here shaping how we interface with the world. The natural beauty of this region inspired a world-wide conservation effort, as well as the art of Ansel Adams and so many others.
Where you live shouldn’t determine how far you can go in life. The Opportunity Index is the nation’s first tool to holistically measure opportunity in communities. Connecting multiple economic, educational, and civic factors, the Index is a powerful way for states and counties to track and advance opportunity. The webinar included key highlights and trends from the latest data as well as examples of how leaders from the philanthropy, business and non-profit sectors around the country are using it to drive positive change.
Low-income families typically have few options for emergency cash, forcing many to rely on high-cost payday loans for unexpected financial needs. But these loans, which are disproportionately marketed to low-income and minority communities, lead to repeated cash shortages that drive consumers to take out successive payday loans, trapping them in vicious cycles of debt.
Americans donated an estimated $335 billion to charitable causes, and foundations an estimated $50 billion in 2013 according to Giving USA. These numbers validate President John F. Kennedy’s notion that philanthropy is “a jewel of an American tradition.”
For over 25 years Blandin Foundation has provided community leadership training across rural Minnesota. One thing we’ve learned is that resilient, vibrant and sustainable communities are anchored in the quality and diversity of their connections.