In the News…

is off today, on the Neighborhood Tour of Ward 8, sponsored by Washington Grantmakers’ Community Development Support Collaborative. Hope to see some of you there! 

Gilbert Mead, 1930 - 2007

Gilbert Mead, with his wife Jaylee

The Washington region suffered a tremendous loss this week with the death of Gilbert Mead, a philanthropist who, with his wife Jaylee, contributed over $50 million to theaters in our area, including $35 million to Arena Stage. The couple also formed the Mead Family Foundation in 1989, with a focus on education, children and youth, and strengthening families. His son, Rob Mead, served on the steering committee of Washington Grantmakers’ Washington AIDS Partnership, and Jaylee served on the Board of Washington Grantmakers from 1998 to 2004.  

An obituary detailing some of Mr. Mead’s many contributions to Greater Washington ran today in the Washington Post. A February profile in the Chronicle of Philanthropy provides additional insight into the Meads’ philanthropic goals:

Board membership [for Mr. Mead's children in the Mead Family Foundation] was conditional on making a $10,000 gift to the foundation each year — a requirement that Mr. and Mrs. Mead hold themselves to as well.

“It’s our feeling that when you give some of your own money to something, you take more interest and pride in it, and are more willing to help see how it’s operated,” says Mrs. Mead. 

* * * * *

At first, they thought about their giving largely in terms of leaving gifts to specific organizations in their wills.

“Then Jay and I at some point said, ‘Well, you know, it’s so much more fun to give it away while you’re living,’” says Mr. Mead.

That realization completely changed the trajectory of their philanthropy. Now, “we have very little in our will to anybody as a bequest,” says Mrs. Mead. “People are going to be very disappointed if they’re counting on anything.”

Mr. Mead laughs as his wife says this. But then, after a moment, he adds, “That was probably one of the most important decisions we ever made.”

Weds., May 30 - In the News

EDUCATION
[D.C.] Public education philanthropist Eli Broad (rhymes with road) turns his attention to D.C. (WaPo, 5/30)

[D.C.] Activists begin effort to gather 20,000 signatures to force a referendum on Mayor Fenty’s school takeover legislation. (WaPo, 5/30)

HEALTH
[Md.] Lawmakers renew effort for health coverage (AP, 5/30) - Maryland has 750,000 residents without health insurance.

Why Funders Should Invest in Child Welfare

By Terri Braxton and Rick Leon,
Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments

May is national Foster Care Awareness Month, when communities across the nation honor foster families who lovingly open their homes. The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, with funding from the Freddie Mac Foundation, recently celebrated the occasion with its Fifth Annual Regional Foster Parent Appreciation Gala to thank over 600 local foster parents.

 Many philanthropic organizations believe that federal, state and local governments provide all the funding needed to take care of children in the child welfare system. Many funders feel that private funds might supplant government funds. Others may believe that investments in child welfare cannot provide measurable outcomes, or might invest in direct services but not necessarily policy and advocacy. In truth, investments in both policy and practice are critical in making a positive impact for abused and neglected children.

As a regional organization, The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) is uniquely qualified to speak about the challenges that plague the region’s child welfare systems serving our most vulnerable citizens – children and youth who have experienced real nightmares in the daytime.

Through work with its local government members, COG has identified several gaps in government funding that seriously jeopardize how well children fare in the foster care system. While larger system reform efforts may be needed, it is often the less obvious, chronic problems faced by foster families that fall through the cracks. A small sampling of these funding gaps and potential entry points for funders are:

• Capacity to locate extended family members: Many foster children linger unnecessarily in foster care. Why? Social workers overloaded with caseloads rarely have extra time to locate and evaluate extended family members who could serve as caretakers or establish relationships. Through a grant from the Freddie Mac Foundation, many are now learning successful methods for finding family. Because connections with kin increase foster children’s likelihood of success as adults, additional funding to hire family finders is needed.
• Mentors for children aging out of care: Studies show that youth who age out of the system without being adopted or having adult mentors are most likely to drop out of high school, face unwanted pregnancies, be unemployed, experience homelessness, become imprisoned, or develop chronic mental health problems. Among those who go to college, only 2% graduate. The Orphan Foundation of America — a nonprofit that provides care packages, tutoring, mentors and financial aid — has demonstrated a college graduation rate of 68% with their foster youth.
• Assistance to foster parents: Foster parents are rare and precious resources, but government funds typically cover only basic reimbursements for these families. Many jurisdictions do not cover child care expenses or fund extra curricular activities like camp and music lessons. School pictures, field trip fees, transportation costs to visit siblings, and even certain dental and medical procedures are typically not covered. More is needed to provide the right tools and to prevent burnout. The value for your investment is priceless.

There are easy ways funders can assist local governments directly. Many wonderful nonprofits also provide a wide range of services. What is needed, overall, are more multifaceted investments and assistance from the funding community to help ensure positive outcomes for this most at risk population. We hope you can help.

COG is a regional organization composed of 21 local governments surrounding our nation’s capital, plus area members of the Maryland and Virginia legislatures, the U.S. Senate, and the U.S. House of Representatives.

YEAR OF ENGAGEMENT: A Report to the Membership

As you read this on Wednesday morning, I am in Landover, Maryland, at the last of our three Town Hall Meetings for members. These events are significant milestones in our Year of Engagement, which began in November of 2006, shortly after my arrival. Here’s what’s happened since then:

Year of Engagement: Six Month Snapshot May ‘07 – Town hall meetings held in D.C., Va. and Md. to get member input April ‘07 – Input from WG’s Program Committee on how WG should be structured March ‘07 – Small group of foundation CEOs provide advice and insight Feb. ‘07 – Input sought from WG’s Program Committee on what WG should be doing Jan. ‘07 – Contract signed with facilitator to guide the full strategic planning process Dec. ‘06 – WG Board of Directors finalizes ‘08 – ‘10 strategic framework Nov. ‘06 – WG kicks off Year of Engagement, a year long effort to seek input from all members for ‘08-’10 strategic plan

Listening
The six months since I announced Washington Grantmakers’ Year of Engagement has been a dynamic time. Conversations about what we should be doing and how we should do it have actually spanned the country, from here in the Washington metropolitan region, to Seattle, Washington, where many of us gathered for the Council of Foundations ‘07 Conference. People have been engaged, forthcoming and candid. I’m grateful that you’ve taken the time.

I’ve met with many, many members and community leaders and I’ve heard your ideas. You want us to be a convener and an information clearinghouse. You want us to be a venue for the promotion of collaborative and cooperative programming and funding, a change agent, and a voice for the philanthropic community. You want (and deserve!) a better association web site. And you want us to be a leader. I’ve heard, thought about, and considered all that you have said.

Reaching out
I’ve also had the opportunity to tell you about the work of Washington Grantmakers. I’ve introduced you to Washington Grantmakers Daily and our re-worked bi-weekly Update newsletter. I’ve assured you that all members are welcome at the working group meetings and clarified the distinctions between the working and affinity groups. I’ve continued to stress the importance of collaboration and I’ve celebrated the birth of what amounts to a new funding collaborative for those of you investing in Prince George’s County. With every new development I have encountered responsive members who have thoughtful ideas and suggestions—so again, I thank you.

Next Steps
So, what now? For the Board and staff of Washington Grantmakers, Memorial Day does not kick off a lazy, hazy summer. Our minds must remain sharp as we digest and reflect on all that we’ve heard and as we prepare our 2008-2010 strategic plan. The draft plan will go to the Board of Directors at its September meeting. Any desired refinements will then be made and the plan will be presented to you, our membership, at the annual meeting in November. This year’s meeting will not only be a 15th anniversary celebration, but a time to announce and celebrate our network’s future.

Greater Washington Cares - Business Philanthropy Summit

Tuesday, May 29 - In the News

PHILANTHROPY/FUNDRAISING
Facebook.com members can now raise money for nonprofits (SanFran Chronicle, 5/25) - Project-Agape (which I wrote about a couple of weeks ago) has launched via Facebook.com. Members of this popular social networking site can now “start a cause, nurture it through e-mail invitations and raise money from their networks of online friends to support any one of the more than 1.5 million registered nonprofits in the United States… A “scorecard” on their profile page will track how many people they have recruited and how much money they have raised for their cause. Techcrunch.com has more. (Nonprofits: sign up).  Facebook has 24 million members, and is growing by about 150,000 per day.

VOTING RIGHTS
The history behind D.C.’s missing voting rights–a story of what one historian calls “politics over principle” (WaPo, 5/28)

…and finally…
Where, exactly, is “Greater Washington”? (WaPo, 5/27)

June 7: Fashion Show Fundraiser

We cordially invite you attend the Washington AIDS Partership AmeriCorps team’s fashion show fundraiser, “Fashionably Aware”, June 7, 2007 at 7 p.m.!

- Buy tickets online - $35, or $75 for VIP seating
- Location: Public Welfare Foundation’s True Reformer building, 1200 U St., NW
- Show starts at 7 p.m., doors at 6 p.m.

Models will include Tamara Copeland, president of Washington Grantmakers, Channing Wickham and Jenn Jue of the Washington AIDS Partnership, Diana Goldberg of the Stephen A. and Diana L. Goldberg Foundation, Don Blanchon of Whitman-Walker Clinic, Maria Gomez of Mary’s Center, Adam Tenner of Metro TeenAIDS, Carol Marsh of Miriam’s House, and Craig Shniderman of Food and Friends. The event will include light appetizers, raffle prizes, and a silent auction.

Proceeds will benefit the Washington AIDS Partnership, a collaborative of Washington Grantmakers, which leads an effective private-sector response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Washington, DC metropolitan area through strategic grantmaking, technical assistance, public policy initiatives, and investment in youth development.

Friday, May 25 - In the News

FOSTER CARE
This region’s children in foster care are especially likely to “age out” with no legal family ties. ”Virginia had the nation’s highest percentage … 21 percent of its caseload. West Virginia ranked sixth and the District ranked eighth, with 12 percent of their caseloads aging out. Maryland ranked 11th, with 11 percent…”  (WaTimes, 5/25)

TRANSPORTATION/COMMUNITIES
Pearlstein: Water transport is a regional opportunity (WaPo, 5/25)
“Right now, much of the impetus is coming from National Harbor developer Milt Peterson…”

HOMELESSNESS
[D.C.] Metro and D.C. officials pursue plan to build a new Metrobus garage on land at the D.C. Village homeless shelter. (WaPo, 5/25 - Scroll down) - (as reported earlier in Street Sense)

REGIONAL BUDGETS
[Md.] Prince George’s, Montgomery, and Howard counties approve budgets for next fiscal year. (WaPo, 5/24)

Thursday, May 24 - In the News

HOUSING/COMMUNITY
Follow-up: HUD delays Sayles foreclosure for three weeks, but doesn’t say why. Tenants will keep trying to convince HUD to let them prepay the outstanding loan balance. (WaPo, 5/24 - scroll down) (See also Monday’s story.)

ARTS
Congratulations to Jane Lang, trustee of the Sprenger.Lang Foundation [WG member], who will receive a Founders Award this evening from The Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington for “Distinguished Service to the Arts.” (Playbill News, 5/23) The Alliance, on Lang’s work:

“In an effort to find a suitable mid-sized venue for productions by emerging playwrights, Jane Lang visited the dilapidated Atlas Movie Theater on H Street Northeast, and a much more ambitious plan took shape: a performing arts complex with roots in the community, which would become both a local and regional hub for the arts. Since 2001, Lang, a former attorney, has devoted herself full-time to the development of the non-profit Atlas Performing Arts Center. As Chair of the Atlas Board and of the Atlas Capital Campaign, she has raised over $17.6 million to date. Now completely restored, the Atlas boasts four theatres, three dance studios, a café, great hall, conference/classrooms, dressing rooms, a scene shop, and offices.”

PRINCE GEORGE’S CO.
An interesting assessment of the county’s short-term and long-term economic health (Gazette.net, 5/24) 

SCHOOLS TAKEOVER
If Tuesday’s ruling holds, D.C. residents will have one week in early June to collect 20,000 signatures to force an August referendum on the schools takeover. (WaPo, 5/24)

HEALTH
Greater Southeast Community Hospital, a once-respected community institution and D.C.’s only hospital east of the Anacostia River, is a disaster. (WaPo, 5/24)