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New Bills Introduced to Strengthen Foundation Field
As reported by the Council on Foundations, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) recently introduced private foundation excise tax bill S. 593, which would replace the current two-tiered excise tax with a simplified flat rate of 1.39 percent. Read the full article.
Additionally, Senator Schumer and Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME), John Kerry (D-MA) and Richard Burr (R-NC) recently introduced the "Public Good IRA Rollover Act of 2011." S. 557 would extend the IRA charitable rollover beyond 2011 and would allow gifts to donor-advised funds, supporting organizations, and private foundations to qualify for the incentive. The bill would also lift the $100,000 cap on distributions and allow planned gifts beginning at age 59 1/2. Read the full article.
Both these bills need additional co-sponsors to receive further consideration (particularly, co-sponsors that serve on the Senate Finance Committee). To contact your Senators to ask them to co-sponsor S. 593 and S. 557, you can now use our quick and easy online forms. Simply click the links below to access the contact forms for these bills.
E-mail your senator in support of the Private Foundation Excise Tax Bill (S. 593).
E-mail your senator in support of the Public Good IRA Rollover Act of 2011 (S. 557).
Slow Economic Recovery Poses Persistent Challenges for Nonprofit Sector
Of the 1,900 nonprofit leaders surveyed for the 2011 State of the Sector Survey, 85 percent anticipate an increased demand for their organization's services this year. The 2011 edition of the Nonprofit Finance Fund's annual survey finds that the social sector continues to struggle, with less than half of the survey's respondents expecting to be able to fully meet needs in the communities they serve. As further evidence that the demand for nonprofit services is increasing, the survey found that 55 percent of respondents added or expanded programs in the past year and 49 percent increased the number of clients served. Read the full report.
Education Statistics Show Minority Students Now Majority in Largest School Districts
According to a new report by the National Center for Education Statistics, 63 percent of students in the country's 100 largest public school districts are black or Hispanic. Of these 100 largest school districts (determined by size of student population), 38 were located in the South. In these districts, black students made up 26 percent of the student population (compared to 17 percent in all districts) and Hispanic students represented 37 percent of the student population (compared to 22 percent in all districts). Read the full report. (This file is very large; allow ample time to load)
Foundation Funding Essential to Economic Growth, Report Finds
A new report from the Philanthropic Collaborative outlines the ways foundations foster economic growth and workforce development. According to Creating Jobs and Building Communities, foundations generated "nearly $512 billion in household income" through their support of 9.2 million jobs in the nonprofit sector. The report also presents a series of case studies demonstrating foundations' support of job creation in rural communities, innovative business ventures that put at-risk individuals to work, skill-building programs that give low-income workers access to new jobs. The report stresses the importance of foundations as "laboratories of innovation," asserting that "foundations can take risks to explore and find solutions...that for-profit businesses and governments cannot." Read the full report. (This file is very large; allow ample time to load)
New Book Outlines "Six Practices of Donors Who Change the World"
Do More Than Give, a new book by the leaders of FSG Social Impact Consultants, identifies six core practices of foundation leaders, trustees and individual donors that enable them to "go beyond simply giving money away to proactively solve significant social problems." Co-authors Leslie Crutchfield, John Kania and Mark Kramer studied diverse funders - from large private foundations and corporations to small family and community foundations - and found that they all focus their energy on one or a few causes and then utilize all their available resources to "catalyze significant change." Visit the Do More Than Give website.
To learn more about Do More Than Give, join us for a teleconference with author Leslie Crutchfield on May 12, 2011.
Building Stronger Economies Through Increased Graduation Rates
A new report from the Alliance for Excellent Education examines the vast economic benefits of improving high school graduation rates. Education and the Economy provides state-specific and national analysis of how increased high school completion rates could impact key factors in society's economic health including, individual earnings, consumer sales, job growth, spending and investments and tax revenue. The report finds that graduating half of the nation's current 1.3 million dropouts would create $7.6 billion in additional earnings, increase consumer spending by $5.6 billion and yield an additional $713 million in state tax revenue. Read the full report.
SECF Members Honored for Excellence in Foundation Communications
Several SECF members were winners of the 2011 Wilmer Shields Rich awards, which recognize excellence in foundation communications. Presented by the Council on Foundations, these SECF members were acknowledged for their exceptional work:
Blue Foundation for a Healthy Florida (now Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Foundation)
Silver - Annual or Biennial Reports
The Greater New Orleans Foundation
Gold - Annual of Biennial Reports
Gold - Newsletter
Gold - Websites
Community Foundation of Sarasota County
Gold - Electronic Publications
Foundation for the Mid South
Silver - Electronic Publications
Silver - Websites
Hampton Roads Community Foundation
Silver - Newsletter
Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation
Gold - Electronic Publications
Gold - Websites
View the complete list of winners. | 
