Philanthropy New York Currents April 2012

Dear Members,

Did you know that Philanthropy New York is the fiscal sponsor for several innovative initiatives? Fiscal sponsorship of member-driven projects is one of the member benefits that may be least familiar to many, but immensely valuable to funders developing new initiatives. As a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, Philanthropy New York acts with increasing frequency as a host and administrator for external projects that require financial support but do not have tax-exempt status.

We have served as fiscal sponsors for the National Diversity in Philanthropy Project, the Asset Funders Network, and the Palliative Care Initiative, and recently agreed to work with Veterans on Wall Street, an initiative dedicated to facilitating career and business opportunities in the financial services industry for former military personnel.

Not only does our tax status enable donations to the projects to qualify as tax-deductible contributions, but perhaps more importantly, our fiscal stewardship comprises full financial and administrative responsibility for these projects, including accounting and cash management, oversight of financial and program reporting, and Form 990 tax reporting.

Fiscal sponsorship is squarely within Philanthropy New York's mission—strengthening grantmakers as they strive to serve the public good. We are honored when we can help support our members' projects through this service.

You can read more about fiscal sponsorships on our website and we encourage you to share the page with colleagues who may be starting a new initiative that requires a fiscal sponsor.

For more information about sponsoring your project through Philanthropy New York, please contact our Chief Financial Officer, Katy Toolin, via email or at 212.714.0699, ext. 207.

Best regards,

Ronna Brown
President, Philanthropy New York

Welcome New Members

• Capital One
• Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation

Philanthropy New York's 33rd Annual Meeting: A Dialogue with Education Reform Leaders

For our 33rd Annual Meeting, Philanthropy New York is bringing together for the first time ever in one forum:

• U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan,
• New York State Education Commissioner John King, Jr., and
• New York City Education Chancellor Dennis Walcott.

These panelists will discuss education reform and the role of philanthropy based on questions formulated by Philanthropy New York members. The event will bring funders who have supported some of the most innovative education reform projects in the city, state, and nation together with these public officials to discuss how private donors and government at all levels can better coordinate their efforts.

Philanthropy New York's Annual Meeting will be held on Monday, June 4, 2012 from 3:15 to 7:30 PM.

RSVP for our Annual Meeting.

Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation Seeking Board Members

The Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation is seeking recommendations for board members. The Foundation has one current vacancy and two vacancies that are opening up in January 2013. The board term is six years.

Potential candidates must be committed to the Foundation's vision, mission, values, and theory of change; think broadly about issues and social change; and be willing to listen and exchange views and ideas.

The Foundation has also identified additional preferences for board candidates—while a candidate does not have to fit all three preferences, an ideal one would

• be a person of color, in particular a Latino/a for the current vacancy;
• live in the South or Midwest; and
• have community organizing and/or coalition building experience in the areas the Foundation funds: Environmental Justice, Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems, and Reproductive Rights.

In addition to the above preferences, the Foundation is interested in candidates with skills in social media, fundraising, or the arts. (Due to potential conflicts of interest, the Foundation has decided that current Noyes grantees are not eligible to serve on the Board.)

If you have someone you would like to suggest, please feel free to email Noyes Foundation President Vic De Luca or call him at 212.684.6577, ext. 17.

The 2012 New York Community Trust-New York Magazine Nonprofit Excellence Awards

The New York Community Trust, The Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York (NPCC), and Philanthropy New York are pleased to announce the sixth annual Nonprofit Excellence Awards, sponsored by New York Magazine. The Awards acknowledge the important role played by New York's nonprofit organizations in improving our lives and our communities. They also help nonprofit leaders improve the management of their organizations and inform all New Yorkers about management excellence at nonprofits.

Winning organizations will be recognized at a special Awards Presentation in November 2012. Each winner will also receive a cash award, a special mention in New York Magazine, and a scholarship towards tuition at the Social Enterprise Programs in Executive Education at Columbia Business School.

We hope our members will encourage their grantees to apply for the Awards; the application deadline is 10:00AM on Friday, May 18, 2012.

Learn more about the Awards and how to apply.

Participate in the 2012 Grantmakers Salary and Benefits Survey

Each year, Philanthropy New York partners with the Council on Foundations and the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers for the annual Grantmakers Salary and Benefits Survey.

This survey collects data on compensation, staff demographics, and benefits costs across a wide range of positions and grantmaking entities, and is one of the most important and effective tools produced for our sector.

The deadline for participation is May 18, 2012.

Learn more about the survey and how to participate in the 2012 edition.

NYU Wagner Capstone Program: A University Resource for the Public Good

Part of the core curriculum of the Masters program at New York University's Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, the Capstone Program is a resource for nonprofits, government agencies, health institutions, urban planning firms, international NGOs, and private organizations with a public service component.

Capstone brings together teams of NYU Wagner graduate students with client organizations over an academic year. Project teams research important issues, address complex challenges, and identify opportunities key to organizational growth.

NYU Wagner is currently accepting applications for its 2012-2013 Capstone Program; the deadline for proposals is May 25, 2012.

Learn more about the Capstone Program and the guidelines for proposals.

Congratulations

• Charles "Robin" Hogen, the Director of Strategic Communications at Yale University, has been named to the position of Vice President of Communications at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Hogen has previously served as Executive Director of Public Affairs for Merck & Co, Inc. and President of The Merck Company Foundation.
• Gail Gershon has been promoted to Executive Director, Community Leadership at Gap Inc. She is now responsible for the Gap Foundation's youth grantmaking, global employee engagement, service leadership, and in-kind giving.
• Sara K. Gould, former President and CEO of the Ms. Foundation for Women and most recently the Atlantic Philanthropies Senior Fellow at the Foundation Center, has joined the staff of Caring Across Generations as Associate Director and Director of the organization's Care Fund campaign. Gould, who authored the recent report Diminishing Dollars: The Impact of the 2008 Financial Crisis on the Field of Social Justice Philanthropy, also serves on the boards of the National Immigration Law Center and the Proteus Fund, and on the steering committee of the Opportunity Agenda.
• The David and Lucile Packard Foundation has announced the appointment of Tamara Kreinin as Director of its Population and Reproductive Health Program. Kreinin, most recently Executive Director of the United Nations Foundation's Women and Population Program, previously served as Interim Executive Director of Philanthropy New York (formerly the New York Regional Association of Grantmakers).

(View a full text, PDF version of Philanthropy New York Currents, April 2012.)