HEALTH - Bread for the City will receive $1.35 million as part of the DCPCA’s Medical Homes DC initiative. Exec. Director George Jones: “a critical step forward in our capital campaign to double the size of the Northwest Center.” “It will have twice as many visitation rooms, specially-equipped for specialty care and almost tripling our capacity to serve the community.” (BeyondBread, 1/29)
- Senate Approves Children’s Health Bill (NYTimes, 1/29) – “to cover more than four million uninsured children by 2013, while continuing coverage for seven million youngsters.”
EDUCATION Stimulus Plan Would Provide Flood of Aid to Education (NYTimes, 1/27) – “The District of Columbia would get the most per student, $1,289, according to the [New America Foundation's] analysis.” [Thanks Darcy!]
ONLINE FUNDRAISING
And finally, if your fundraising isn’t going very well… just win an online contest! Apparently, nonprofit Atlas Service Corps won/raised over $100,000 that way in 2008. Okay, perhaps hard to replicate completely, but still goes to show–there’s gold in them thar internets.
…and finally, “DEMAND THE VOTE,” a song by Joe L. Da Vessel in collaboration with band Melodic, commissioned by DC Vote. Not bad! If you want to see Eleanor Holmes Norton throw her hands in the air, and wave them as if to indicate that she does not care, please to be clicking.
The Nonprofit Roundtable’s five-part workshop series is “designed to provide nonprofits with tools and knowledge to lead, adapt and thrive through economic change.” Feb. 2 Workshop: “Nonprofit Mergers”…. Feb 3 Workshop: “Shared Back Office Administration.” [Click here to register.]
Appropriate for nonprofit executive directors, staff, board members, and funders.
LEAD IN THE WATER Walter Smith of the nonprofit advocacy group D.C. Appleseed Center for Law and Justice said his organization is still pushing for independent testing of the water. (WaPo, 1/27)
And now, some pick-me-ups:
In midst of economic recession, WG member Calvert Foundation experienced robust asset growth in 2008 and attracted more socially minded investors (wire, 1/27). “Calvert Foundation focuses on using investment capital, rather than conventional philanthropy, to create a sustainable, scalable model that enables nonprofit organizations, microfinance institutions and social enterprises to address critical social problems.”
“Among the many indelible images from the past week is one of Barack Obama, paint roller in hand, volunteering at Sasha Bruce Youthwork, our city’s only emergency shelter for homeless youth and one of 4,000 active nonprofit organizations serving our region. [more]
ECONOMY/ARTS Arts Leaders Urge Role for Culture in Economic Recovery (NYTimes, 1/25) – “We wanted to make sure arts were not left out of the recovery,” said Robert L. Lynch, president of Americans for the Arts … “The country’s 100,000 nonprofit arts groups employ some six million people and contribute $167 billion to the economy annually.”
> Bob Lynch will join Washington Grantmakers on Thursday for “WG Thought Leaders.”Register here!)
Walmart gives $300,000 to local nonprofits (WBJ, 1/16) - The WG member gives $150,000 each go to D.C. Central Kitchen and the Covenant House Washington. “We realized that the money Wal-Mart might spend on a reception or forum could be put to better use helping people who might live only a mile or two from the inaugural parade route, but who lack food and shelter.”
SOCIAL SECTOR Opinion: Volunteer to save the economy (NYTimes, 1/23) – “Providing more opportunities for national and community service won’t just lift the nation’s spirit, it could help save the economy” [Right on.] “And because jobs at nonprofit groups pay so little, they would cost the government less than many other stimulus measures.” [OUCH!]
HEALTH Mentally ill in D.C. will be shifted to private clinics (WaPo, 1/23) - Vanessa Dixon, a representative for the Doctors Council of the District of Columbia: “What they propose to do is take a public system that works extremely well and close it down and give it to private providers who admit that they don’t have the capacity to serve clients.” I don’t know muich about this particular plan, but I’m pretty sure that history will judge our treatment and care of the mentally ill to be barbaric/shameful.
PHILANTHROPY & JOURNALISM Newspapers may seek philanthropy to support news-gathering (OJR, 1/22) – Very interesting. Seth Godin recently asked, “When newspapers are gone, what will you miss?” That is, what functions of newspapers aren’t already being done better elsewhere? His answer: “Local news, investigative journalism and intelligent coverage of national news. Perhaps 2% of the cost of a typical paper.” Should foundations consider funding those functions? (Would they disappear otherwise?)
DC VOTE? D.C. officials see great hope for city through Obama (Examiner, 1/21) – Ward 5 Councilman Harry Thomas Jr.: “I think we have a great deal of optimism and hope for a lot of things we couldn’t get done under the last administration.”
PHILANTHROPY Chronicle survey of foundations - with endowments taking a hit, over half of respondents expect to give less in ‘09.
LOCAL BUDGETS - Maryland: In O’Malley’s $14.4 billion budget proposal, “community colleges would not receive expected funding increases, which would be likely to lead to tuition increases. The phase-in of a subsidized health initiative would be slowed down, delaying planned coverage to adults without children. An education program that benefits Montgomery and Prince George’s counties would be scaled back.”
- Virginia: Innovative Guidance Program At Fairfax High Is Threatened (WaPo, 1/22)
CHARITABLE GIVING Opinion: Conservatives Have Answered Obama’s Call (WSJ, 1/22) – “people on the political right outperform those on the left when it comes to charity”
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- Bread for the City will receive $1.35 million as part of the DCPCA’s Medical Homes DC initiative. Exec. Director George Jones: “a critical step forward in our capital campaign to double the size of the Northwest Center.” “It will have twice as many visitation rooms, specially-equipped for specialty care and almost tripling our capacity to serve the community.” (BeyondBread, 1/29)
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Posted by nick geisinger 
Posted by nick geisinger 
Posted by nick geisinger 
