Recession lessons? [News, 2.26]

GIVING
- Trading Filet Mignon for Chicken Pot Pie (NYTimes, 2/25) – I wonder if many of these no-frills tactics we keep reading about might not work during boom times as well.
- In Uncertain Times, Donors Hold Back (NYTimes, 2/25)

FORECLOSURES
Report: Renters in Foreclosed Properties May Face Homelessness (wire, 2/25) – Without Just Cause outlines the rights, and lack thereof, for renters in in foreclosure.

LOCAL BUDGETS
D.C. CFO Natwar Gandhi: “An economic tsunami” has toppled the city’s budget - “[H]e now expects that D.C. will collect $500 million less in revenue for this year and next than anticipated just three months ago.” (WBJ, 2/25)

DC VOTING RIGHTS
Foes Fight D.C. Vote Measure In Senate (WaPo, 2/26) – And here come the amendments.

ARTS AND HUMANITIES
In Tough Times, the Humanities Must Justify Their Worth (NYTimes, 2/25) – in which a Yale prof opines that “coming ‘to grips with the question of what living is for’ — may become ‘a great luxury that many cannot afford.’”

Medicaid patients face lack of access to healthcare in D.C. [News, 2.25]

Medicaid Patients Face Lack of Access to Healthcare in D.C. (WAMU, 2/25) - Why is this so? As Sharon Baskerville of DCPCA explains in this WAMU story, it’s because DC’s Medicaid reimbursement rate doesn’t even come close to covering the cost of care. So many doctors try to limit their Medicaid patients. That’s why nonprofit clinics like Bread for the City “are often the only places that see Medicaid patients.” But Bread for the City can only take two or three new patients per day–and “in twelve seconds, those two spots are gone.” On the Beyond Bread blog, one woman shares her story.
- WG’s Health Working Group will meet on March 2.
- Read about WG’s support of DCPCA’s Medical Homes initiative

PHILANTHROPY
Number of Large Gifts Fall (NYTimes, 2/24)

CORPORATE
Corporate Leaders Tout Philanthropy’s Benefits Amid Grim Financial News (Chronicle, 2/24)

DC SCHOOL REFORM
Union Chief Weighs In On Rhee’s Comments (WaPo, 2/25) – in which the Post fans the flames of whatever’s going on between Ms. Rhee and Ms. Weingarten.

ENVIRONMENT
Grants Available for Solar and Wind Power (WaPo, 2/25) – for residents, nonprofits, businesses, schools. More info here.

DC VOTE
Senate To Weigh D.C. Vote Measure (WaPo, 2/25) – The Bill still faces obstacles. Ilir Zherka, the executive director of DC Vote: “We’re anticipating amendments on all the hot-button issues”

Prince George’s Community Foundation’s latest grants include general operating support [News, 2.24]

Prince George’s foundation awards National Harbor grants (WBJ, 2/24) – “This year, unlike past years, the grants can be used to support not only projects but also internal operations…”

Google Chief for Charity Steps Down on Revamp (NYTimes, 2/23) – Larry Brilliant signals that “Google.org might curtail its financing of nonprofit groups unless they are closely aligned with Google projects.”

BEYOND DOLLARS
Agree with them or not, the Peter G. Peterson Foundation is a private foundation that understands communications and advocacy: “The movie [I.O.U.S.A.], financed by the Peterson Foundation, has been described as the “Inconvenient Truth” of the debt crisis.”

HEALTH
$250,000 grant from from Washington Adventist Hospital to Mary’s Center to add prenatal care services (WBJ, 2/23)

HEALTH
Low-cost health care in Howard County “not an easy sell” (WaPo, 2/24) – Enrollment is much lower than expected, but: ”We’ve cut by 10 percent the number of uninsured people with very little added cost.”

DC VOTING RIGHTS
Drive to enfranchise DC clears Senate hurdle (WaPo, 2/24) – Senate votes 62-34 to begin debate on the measure

EDUCATION
Democrat inserted provision endangers DC Opportunity Scholarship program (Examiner, 2/23)

It’s International Corporate Philanthropy Day! [News, 2.23]

> WG’s corporate members respond to the economic downturn.
> WG event - March 12: Corporate Philanthropy Affinity Group – “High Impact Nonprofits: Investing for Results”
> International Corporate Philanthropy Day is “a day to showcase strategic corporate philanthropy initiatives and encourage further cross-sector partnerships in support of social and environmental causes” (wire, 2/23). 

DC VOTE
The Senate is scheduled to take up the D.C. voting rights debate today ahead of a critical floor vote Tuesday (Examiner, 2/23). Supporters are upbeat (WaPo, 2/23).

PAPERWORK!
MoCo’s DHHS can’t account for more than $900,000 it paid to Centro Familia child care center (Examiner, 2/20).  Centro Familia responds: We are in “complete compliance.”

HUNGER/NUTRITION
Demand for Food Stamps Surges in Fairfax (WAMU, 2/23)

DC SCHOOL REFORM
Takeover Idea Out of Consideration, Rhee Says (WaPo, 2/22)

EDUCATION
Giving leaders creative freedom key to success at KIPP schools (WaPo, 2/23)

The Obama Transition Team reached out and Washington Grantmakers responded

By Carolynn Mambu, Vice President, Washington Grantmakers

In its quest to receive community input on health care reform, the Obama-Biden Transition Team encouraged groups across the country to hold Health Care Community Discussions.  Members of the WG’s Health Working Group responded using its December meeting to discuss health care issues facing the area’s uninsured and underserved and developed their own set of recommendations.

“The health care system that this nation develops should regulate health in the public interest, said Patricia Mathews, Chair of the Health Working Group and a WG board member.  “Not having a comprehensive system creates significant gaps in who receives care and what care they receive.”

The group focused on the fact that the medical system is limited, in that its mission is primarily to provide treatment to those already ill.  Policymakers, on the other hand, have the opportunity to make health a critical part of community planning and development by reaching across sectors to ensure that schools and workplaces promote healthy lifestyles.  The group also concurred that using place-based initiatives, such as Wellness Opportunity Zones, could bring to bear multiple design and development strategies to solve the problems of chronic diseases, such as diabetes and asthma.

Specific recommendations included:

• Develop comprehensive and integrated systems for primary care, including oral health, behavioral health, preventative services, health education, and affordable prescription drugs;
• Reduce the overall costs of health care by focusing on a “wellness” model, emphasizing strategies to avoid illness as well as chronic disease management; and
• Link health reform to workforce development and job creation with a focus on low and moderate income individuals and communities of color.

Read the full report here (pdf).

Meyer Foundation’s “Open Letter to the Nonprofit Community”

Meyer Foundation’s “Open Letter to the Nonprofit Community” (Feb. 19) – “Our foundation’s endowment lost close to 30 percent of its value in 2008, which under normal circumstances would have caused our grant target for 2009 to drop sharply. However, the foundation’s board of directors was unwilling to allow a precipitous decline in grants during a time of unprecedented community need.”

March 3 conference call: Local Impact of Economic Stimulus

With our fellow coalition members, Washington Grantmakers invites you to participate in a community-wide conference call on how the economic stimulus package will affect our region, on Tuesday, March 3, from 10:00am to 11:00am.

Speakers:
James R. Horney, Director of Federal Fiscal Policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Ed Lazere of the DC Fiscal Policy Institute; Henry Bogdan of Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations; and Michael Cassidy of The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis.

Please listen in groups! Space is limited, so one dial-in per organization would be ideal. (Audio will also be available later online.) Email questions in advance to Chuck Bean at cbean@nonprofitroundtable.org. Please RSVP to ajohnson@cfncr.org by Feb. 27. To join the briefing, dial 1-888-206-2266; PIN 1010873.

Eight Neighbors are: Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers, The Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington,  The Greater Washington Board of Trade, The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region, Leadership Greater Washington, Center for Nonprofit Advancement, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, and the United Way of the National Capital Area.

“NoVA Foreclosure Network” funded by two WG members [News, 2.20]

FORECLOSURES
Northern Virginia groups to help prevent foreclosures (WBJ, 2/19) – The NoVa Foreclosure Network “is funded by a $25,000 grant from Bank of America and $10,000 from the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region…The network will create a cohesive marketing plan to make sure homeowners know about available counseling services, said Chuck Bean, executive director of the Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington.

Analysts predict more DC area mortgage meltdowns (Examiner, 2/19) – “expected to be slammed by a second wave” … “The region has some of the highest rates of Alt-A mortgages in the nation”

SOCIAL SECTOR
- Government Cutbacks Leave Faith-Based Services Hurting (WaPo, 2/20) – “In the Washington region, faith-based charities from Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington to the Salvation Army’s National Capital Area Command are freezing job vacancies, postponing initiatives… “
- Charities Fear New Pay Limits Will Hurt Executive Donations (WSJ, 2/17) - Reminder to fearful charities: $20 from 1000 people is just as good as $20,000 from one.
- ‘Diversity’ regulation threatens to politicize philanthropy (Examiner, 2/19)
- Work for America: Nonprofits see applications rise (AP, 2/18)
- Charities Now Seek Bankruptcy Protection (NYTimes, 2/19)
- Today’s the last day to nominate a social profit organization for Independent Sector’s American Express Building Leadership Award.

DISABILITIES
Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation awards grants to support $3.2 million initiative focused on the full inclusion of young people with disabilities (2/18)

HUNGER
Newly Poor Swell Lines at Food Banks (NYTimes, 2/20)

“Social profits” pick up where school system leaves leaves off [News, 2.18]

EDUCATION
- Letter: “Helping Schools Help Homeless Students” (WaPo, 2/18) – by Tobeka Green, Communites in Schools of the Nation’s Capital – “[M]any students bring more challenges to the classroom than any teacher or administrator can possibly handle alone…That is why we, and a host of other [social profit] organizations, pick up where the system leaves off. “ CISNCAP’s supporters include many WG members.
- The District of Columbia will receive the most stimulus dollars per student in 2009: $1,152. (Ed Money Watch blog, 2/17)

NICE JOB!
“Philanthropic fundraising activities in stimulus bill preserved thanks to the efforts of the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy” (wire, 2/17)

COMMUNICATIONS 2.0
Charity-minded cast nets online (WaTimes, 2/18) – “Sarah Repking, director of marketing and communications with Greater D.C. Cares, says her organization started using Facebook more than a year ago to spike interest in the group’s projects.”

PSA (pass it on)
More People Will Qualify for Tax Credit, But Many Don’t Know It (WAMU, 2/18)

CHILD WELFARE
New Survey Finds that State Child Welfare Budgets May Face Perfect Storm (wire, 2/17) – funded by WG member Annie E. Casey Foundation

After review, Fannie Mae’s charitable giving to continue

We hadn’t yet linked to Fannie Mae’s most recent statement on its Community and Charitable Giving, posted Jan. 30, 2009:

After a review of Fannie Mae’s charitable giving by our conservator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Company will continue our support of nonprofit organizations and initiatives that tackle the most urgent needs of communities. This commitment includes support for the Fannie Mae Help the Homeless Program, which has been held annually for 21 years and is now the largest awareness-raising and fundraising event of its kind in the nation.

Our charitable giving will remain focused on a strategy that addresses the nation’s toughest housing challenges, works to prevent and end homelessness, and strengthens our hometown of Washington, D.C.

Related: Freddie Mac Foundation accepting grant applications for 2009 (Feb. 11)