Region’s neighborhoods becoming more diverse, except in Prince George’s…Lehrman Foundation announces Impact Award winner…Bullying a major problem in region’s schools [News, 10.31.11]

REGION | In a two-part report, The Washington Post takes a deep look at what census data reveals about diversity in our region’s neighborhoods. Part one explores the fact that the “archetypal all-white neighborhood is vanishing with remarkable speed,” due to major increases in the number of Hispanics and Asians. More specifically (WaPo, 10/29):

From The Post: An interactive comparison of census data

In the District, just one in three neighborhoods is highly segregated, the Post analysis found. A decade ago, more than half were.

In the Maryland suburbs, one in five neighborhoods is dominated by one race or ethnicity, down from almost a third in 2000.

The biggest drop has been in Northern Virginia, where only one in 20 neighborhoods is a racial or ethnic enclave. No suburb is more diverse than Fairfax County, where just 2 percent of neighborhoods are segregated.

Part two is focused on Prince George’s County, which is bucking the trends of the rest of the region and is actually becoming more segregated (WaPo, 10/30):

[T]he number of Prince George’s neighborhoods where more than 85 percent of residents are the same race or ethnicity — what demographers consider a high level of segregation — has inched up, from 25 percent in 1990 to 27 percent last year.

Though the increase is small, any uptick is startling in comparison with everywhere else in the region.

Related: Funders and nonprofits – join us as we continue the conversation about regionalism on November 16th at WRAG’s annual meeting, A Region United: Act II.

GIVING | The Jacob & Charlotte Lehrman Foundation has selected The Literacy Lab as the 2011 Lehrman Foundation Impact Award recipient. The Literacy Lab, which provides individualized support to increase literacy in low-income students, will receive a one-time $25,000 grant “to strengthen its infrastructure, and ultimately serve more students.”

The Lehrman Foundation also announced that One World Education was a finalist for the Impact Award. Read the press release for more information on the two nonprofits and the history of the Impact Award.

HUNGER | From DC Central Kitchen’s Roger Egger – Tackling Hunger: Here’s Hoping This Nonprofit Goes Out of Business (HuffPo, 10/31)

YOUTH | Schools across the region report that bullying is a major problem. (Examiner, 10/31)

HAUNTING | Is the District’s Brooks Mansion haunted? It sure seems like it. (WAMU, 10/31)

LOCAL | Have you ever wondered where the Shaw neighborhood got its name? DCist knows! (DCist, 10/29)  I can tell you where the Capitol Hill neighborhood got its name – and it all started with General John F. Capitol, I think.

TRANSIT | Metro has recorded fewer complaints over the course of the last year (which I would attribute only to a collective understanding of the futility of registering complaints). (Examiner, 10/31)

MASH GOOD! | I was working in the lab late one night, when my eyes beheld an eerie sight…

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Usually the Redskins wait a little longer to meltdown. But, hey, the snow came early this year, so why not the annual meltdown, too?

I hope everyone has a terrifying Halloween!

The impact of 1M new jobs in the region…MD focusing on early childhood education reform [News, 10.28.11]

JOBS/HOUSING | By 2030, the Greater Washington region is predicted to have one million new jobs and three times the current number of commuters. A new report from the Center for Regional Analysis at GMU calls for local governments to focus on housing needs to ensure that future workers can live close to their jobs, thereby preventing a “catastrophic” traffic situation in the region. (Examiner, 10/28)

EDUCATION | The State of Maryland is applying for Race to the Top funds again this year, specifically to support reforms focusing around early childhood education. (Gazette, 10/26)

FOOD | Just because the food you can buy at your neighborhood farmer’s market is sourced locally, it doesn’t necessarily mean it is more environmentally-friendly. (WAMU, 10/21)

REVIEW | Looking to learn how to be a better philanthropist? I recently reviewed Thomas Tierney and Joel Fleishman’s book, Give Smart: Philanthropy That Gets Results. Here’s a snippet:

While grantmakers have the best of intentions, it is easy to underestimate the complexity of entrenched social problems, and it can be hard to resist the urge to jump right in to try to fix them. In the authors’ words, “ignorance is the paramount philanthropic sin.” Continuous learning, therefore, is imperative to impactful philanthropy.

COMMUNITY | Last week, CEOs and trustees of many of the region’s family foundations gathered at the Verizon Center to hear from Ted Leonsis, who spoke about his commitment to our region and his vision for the next generation of community investors.

AAAHHHHH | Watch out for a rogue mountain lion… (NBC Washington, 10/28)

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According to the BBC, I was the 79,780,066,096th person to have lived on Earth. What about you? – Rebekah 

Freddie Mac CEO to step down…Top DCPS teachers left jobless…More young people coming to the region [News, 10.27.11]

PEOPLE | Charles E. Haldeman, Jr., chief executive officer of Freddie Mac, announced that he will step down next year. Haldeman’s exact departure date remains to be seen, but he has agreed to stay on until a firm transition plan is in place. (The Hill, 10/27)

GIVING | Some Companies Increase Giving as Downturn Recedes (Chronicle, 10/27)

EDUCATION | DCPS’ process of “excessing” teachers – layoffs due to factors other than performance – leaves some of the city’s best educators jobless. (WAMU, 10/27)

ENVIRONMENT | The head of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation warns that as the congressional super committee rushes to make budget cuts by Nov. 1 (simply for the sake of meeting the deadline), local conservation funding is at stake. “This week, anyone who cares about clean water ought to pay attention,” he says. (HuffPo, 10/27)

REGION | Thanks to a (relatively) strong local economy, more young adults are moving to our region – “putting it in the company of capitals of cool such as Seattle and Denver.” (WaPo, 10/27) Finally, I can tell people that I live in a capital of cool! Soon we’ll all be doing awesome dance moves like this girl.

EQUITY | A new report from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office shows that the country’s income gap has grown consistently over the last thirty years. (WaPo, 10/27)

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Rebekah will lead you into the weekend with tomorrow’s Daily, a weekend that holds the possibility of…snow?!

I’m excited for Halloween festivities tomorrow and Saturday. I’ll be dressing up as Vinz Clothro, Keymaster of Gozer. (From Ghostbusters, of course.)

Hope everyone has a frighteningly great weekend!

- Christian

Walmart donates $5 million to African American history museum…District focused on veteran unemployment…Double-standard for homeless and protesters? [News, 10.26.11]

ARTS | Walmart has donated $5 million toward building the planned National Museum of African American History and Culture at the Smithsonian, scheduled to begin construction next year. (WTOP, 10/26)

WORKFORCE | Yesterday, the District partnered with the federal government and the American Legion for a job fair focused on veterans. Veteran unemployment in D.C. is at 13 percent, though it is more than double that in Ward 8. Chronic homelessness for veterans is also a continuing challenge and an area of focus for the District. (WAMU, 10/26)

Related event: Arabella Advisors is hosting a conference call on Nov. 10th for funders focused on helping America’s veterans.

- 7-Eleven Hiring Event Big Draw For D.C.’s Unemployed (WAMU, 10/26)

EDUCATION
- Survey: Parents, students happier with D.C. schools (Examiner, 10/26)

- Cate Swinburn moves from wooing donors to crunching test data (WaPo, 10/26)

JUVENILE JUSTICE | In the wake of yesterday’s news about an escaped DYRS ward being accused of murder, Jim Graham calls for more accountability from the agency. (Examiner, 10/26)

GIVING | Another new study on President Obama’s proposed limit to charitable deductions finds that the plan would cost charities less than $1 billion. (Chronicle, 10/26) That’s still a lot of money, but the lowest figure yet. What’s confusing is how these various projections are so far off from each other.

COMMUNITY | Congratulations to the Washington AIDS Partnership’s Channing Wickham for being honored by the Whitman-Walker clinic as one of “25 individuals who have played prominent roles in the fight against HIV/AIDS in DC. Bios of the honorees are attached.”

HOMELESSNESS | Here’s an interesting perspective on Occupy DC (WaPo 10/26):

Robert Brown, 51, who said he’s been homeless for six months, questioned why the park service has decided not to enforce the ban on camping in downtown parks.

“If we had set up tents, the police would be here in a second, and they just come and get to do what they want,” Brown said.

BUDGETS | Mayor Gray proposes 5% sales tax on movie theater concessions (WBJ, 10/26) Further encouraging patrons to just sneak food into the theater.

FACTOID | Speaking of movies and concessions, today’s Philanthropy Factoid Wednesday is about a true Hollywood icon and food! (WG Daily, 10/26)

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Last night, I laid restlessly in bed with my mind occupied by a serious question – The Addams Family or The Munsters? I’m leaning toward the latter, but I just don’t know…

Philanthropy Factoid Wednesday – A delicious model of philanthropy

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The late actor Paul Newman started the food company Newman’s Own in 1982 with a purpose – “Shameless exploitation in pursuit of the common good.” Using his name and likeness on every product, Newman grew the company with the goal of giving 100% of the profits back to charity. Since the company opened, the Newman’s Own Foundation has given more than $300 million to thousands of nonprofits.

Hitachi Foundation celebrates young entrepreneurs…Educating senior citizens on HIV/AIDS…Survey finds nonprofit employees largely dissatisfied [News, 10.25.11]

GIVING | For the Council on Foundation’s blog, The Hitachi Foundation’s Barbara Dyer talks about the foundation’s Yoshiyama Young Entrepreneurs Program and how the entrepreneurial spirit is essential for tackling our country’s problems. (RE:Philanthropy, 10/24)

ARTS | The National Center for Responsive Philanthropy recently found that arts funding disproportionately supports whiter and wealthier audiences. Responding to the report, the Kennedy Center’s Michael Kaiser warns that increasing foundation support to diverse arts organizations is not the right reaction (HuffPo, 10/25):

[A]s a proportion of their funding, arts organizations receive too much from foundations. These important institutions are overly reliant on foundation and government support. Their bigger weakness is in raising funds from individual donors.

AGING/HIV-AIDS | District Councilmember David Catania, who chairs the Committee on Health, writes about proposed legislation aimed at the city’s senior citizens. According to data, the national percentage of new HIV cases in adults over 50 has been increasing significantly – partly due to the fact that “only about a third of older men and just a fifth of older women surveyed had discussed sex with a doctor since the age of 50.” (HuffPo, 10/25)

JUVENILE JUSTICE | An escapee from the District’s Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services has been accused of murder – the latest in a series of fatal incidents involving wards of the agency. (Examiner, 10/25)

NONPROFITS | New reports based on surveys of 3,500 nonprofit employees in the Greater Washington region and metropolitan New York show that a whopping 70 percent find their jobs to be “disappointing or only somewhat fulfilling.” The reasons include bad pay, lack of appreciation for hard work, poor management from employers, and disillusionment with organizational mission. (Chronicle, 10/25)

HOUSING | Obama Touts Plan to ‘Help Responsible Homeowners Refinance’ (WSJ, 10/25) “Mr. Obama also called for lawmakers to pass “Project Rebuild,” a $15 billion fund to get construction workers to rehab vacant and foreclosed homes and businesses.”

SPOOKTACULAR | WTOP’s staffers pick their favorite scary movies. I agree with the morning anchors – it doesn’t get scarier than The Exorcist. (WTOP, 10/25) What movie scares you the most? Comment below!

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For our email subscribers, tomorrow’s edition of the Daily will go out a little bit later – check your inboxes around 3pm. If you need something to do as you anxiously wait, try wrapping your mind around the paradox of a hotel with infinite rooms. Infinity hurts my noggin.

William Hite on ‘principal pipeline’…Jeffrey Slavin profiled…Exploring Prince George’s Port Towns [News, 10.24.11]

EDUCATION | William Hite, superintendent of Prince George’s County schools, writes in the Post about building a “principal pipeline” – a project funded in part by the Freddie Mac Foundation (WaPo, 10/22):

We are investing in this work because we believe expanding the capacity of our instructional leaders will directly improve the quality of teaching and increase student achievement.
…
Today’s public education system requires high-quality principals who provide the vital link between the curriculum and learning, programs and outcomes. The principal sets the vision that enables teachers to carry students from grade to grade.

-Related: Over the summer, Hite and County Executive Rushern Baker discussed education reformwith funders. (WG Daily, 7/7)

- D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown says that schools east of the river have been ignored in favor of schools in more affluent neighborhoods. (Examiner, 10/24)

COMMUNITY | In an article titled “Man of Persuasion,” Bethesda Magazine profiles Jeffrey Slavin, head of the Sanford and Doris Slavin Foundation. He’s being honored by the Community Foundation for Montgomery County as the 2011 Philanthropist of the Year:

“Jeffrey is genuinely interested in who philanthropists, heads of nonprofits and political leaders are as people, not just as whatever role they’re playing,” says Sally Rudney, executive director of CFMC. “He uses that deeply personal knowledge to make matches that are satisfying for the donor as well as the recipient. When he says to a philanthropist, business leader or a politician: ‘I know something you’ll love,’ he’s almost always right.”

LOCAL | The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region held its second community tour, titled Race and Community Wellness, which visited Prince George’s County’s Port Towns communities. Georgetown University’s Caroline Wanjiku Kihato, PhD, recaps the tour and asks, “Does where you live determine how long you live, or how you die?” (CFNCR, 10/21)

Related: Rebekah wrote about the last tour focused on H Street. (WG Daily, 9/29)

ARTS | A new report shows arts funding increasing, but in a way that “serves audiences that are wealthier and whiter than the country as a whole.” (NPR, 10/23)

GIVING | Charities Oppose Plan to End Their Postal Discounts (Chronicle, 10/24) Unfortunately, things like this might be necessary to have a postal service at all.

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Good Monday to you, folks. We’re running out of days until Halloween – never enough time to watch all the scary movies – but I have to give a plug for something very cool. I went to Markoff’s Haunted Forest in Poolesville, Md., this weekend. It was fantastic – incredibly scary with tremendous attention to detail. If you can make the trek out there, you won’t be disappointed. If you survive, that is…bwahahahaha!

Also, a message to Poolesville: Driving nearly an hour out of the city to support your economy is no easy task. Your ultra-sensitive speed cameras are not appreciated at all.

Calvert Foundation’s Lisa Hall talks impact investing with Forbes [News, 10.21.11]

PEOPLE | In a recent interview with Forbes (10/20), Lisa Hall, President and CEO of the Calvert Foundation, and member of the Finance Committee of WRAG’s Board of Directors, discussed the importance of impact investing in addressing the widening economic inequality in our society:

Impact investment creates a virtuous circle of empowerment, opportunity, and engagement by connecting investors, underprivileged individuals, and communities. We need more people to get involved in impact investing because it is a critical part of the solution to closing the wealth gap…We need to act. And growing awareness about the possibilities is the best way to get investors to rethink their portfolios. Once people understand the concept, they get on board – some trying it out at the $20 level and others committing to more, investing millions.

EDUCATION | In an effort to address inequality in teacher quality across the city, D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown has put forth a proposal to waive the IMPACT teacher evaluations for teachers willing to work at high-poverty schools.  (Examiner, 10/20)

POVERTY | A food pantry in Prince William County that serves over 1,000 people is shutting down until November 1, due to a lack of food and cash donations. (WAMU, 10/20)

HEALTH
- D.C. Councilmember Catania introduced legislation earlier this week to address the lack of information available to seniors on HIV/AIDS. Among other initiatives, the legislation calls for the recruitment and training of older adults to serve as peer educators.

- A new report from the Institute of Medicine calls for the FDA to put simple labels on the front of food products to advertise their relative healthfulness. The labels would allow consumers to make healthier decisions when purchasing food without having to analyze the nutrition facts themselves. (WaPo, 10/20)

WEALTH | Reports on census data showing that the Washington region is the wealthiest in the nation got a lot of play this week, but here’s an important reminder from Richard Florida that household income is not the same as wages. On that critical measure, we only rank 57th. (Atlantic Cities, 10/20)

GIVING | Here’s a close look at the philanthropic habits of the current crop of presidential contenders. (Huffington Post, 10/21)

ENVIRONMENT | A new report rates Maryland 10th in the country for energy savings, partially due to 2008 legislation that requires utility companies to help customers save energy. (WAMU, 10/20)

NONPROFITS | Create your own Twibbon for Give to the Max Day (and don’t forget – it’s coming up on November 9)!

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I don’t know very much about astronomy/cosmology/geology/science so reading about things like this pretty much blows my mind: “Life-giving H2O was almost certainly delivered to Earth via comets and asteroids known to originate in these cold but water-filled zones [175 light-years away], which were assumed to also be present when our solar system was forming.” Whoa.

 - Rebekah

Ted Leonsis’ vision for philanthropy in our region…Health affected by your neighborhood…We’re revising the Common Grant Application [News, 10.20.11]

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Yesterday, Ted Leonsis hosted family philanthropists at the Verizon Center for WRAG’s Philanthropist to Philanthropist luncheon sponsored by the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region. Above, Leonsis shares his vision for philanthropy in our region:

We’ll have a full recap with some cool pictures. In the meantime, here’s Tamara’s tweet and a picture from the event:

At WRAG’s Philanthropist2Philanthropist, #TedLeonsis advice: the thrust must be social, local and mobile #RegionForward

NONPROFITS | WRAG is revising its Common Grant Application. Before we make final changes, we want to give our nonprofit readers the opportunity to weigh in. (WG Daily, 10/20)

HEALTH | A new medical study confirms that living in wealthier neighborhoods makes you healthier. (WAMU, 10/20)

Related: The Consumer Health Foundation’s Margaret O’Bryon talks about Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?, a documentary that explores the social determinants of health. (WG Daily, 6/7)

Related: In 2009, WRAG and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments released a report called Community Health Status Indicators for Metropolitan Washington. It includes the graphic to the right which illustrates life expectancy by geographic location in our region.

HOMELESSNESS | As part of a week of community service, Montgomery County held Homeless Resource Day yesterday, where homeless and transitional individuals were offered services ranging from medical care to legal help. (WAMU, 10/20)

WEALTH | The Greater Washington region is the wealthiest in the nation, according to census data. (Bloomberg, 10/19)

JUVENILE JUSTICE | Follow up to last week’s article on the Youth Court of the District of Columbia – “Why does it work? One theory is that anything would do better than the juvenile justice system, the worst place to send an angry or confused teenager.” (NY Times, 10/20)

ARTS | Michael Kaiser, president of the Kennedy Center, considers possible answers to the question, “[W]hy, given so much social progress, have we failed to produce more leading arts organizations of color?” (HuffPo, 10/19)

TRANSIT | More Than 200 Area Bridges “Structurally Deficient” (WAMU, 10/20) Meaning that we’ll see a major increase in drivers wearing life jackets.

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When Paul Simon played at Constitution Hall this year, he pulled up an audience member to help him sing the song Gumboots. The guy was clearly thrilled, and Simon seemed to really enjoy it. It was a nice moment. When Beyonce similarly gave a fan the mic recently, well…the result might be a good feature for a haunted house.

Nonprofits: Help us improve the Common Grant Application!

In February, we surveyed the community to gauge whether WRAG’s Common Grant Application (CGA) needed to be updated. We found out that many of the region’s funders accept it and that lots of nonprofits  have completed it at least once. And everyone appreciates the value of having a common application form that can be used for multiple funders.

Since then, we have convened a committee to guide us through the revision process. Thanks to their invaluable advice, insight, and edits we have developed revised versions of the CGA, the Common Letter of Inquiry, and the Common Grant Report. Now we want to open up the process to nonprofit organizations to provide us feedback on the draft forms. Your input will directly affect the end product. This is a two-step process:

1. Review each of the forms:

Common Grant Application
Common Letter of Inquiry
Common Grant Report

2. Take a quick survey to give us your feedback.

The deadline to complete the survey is Friday, November 4.

We very much appreciate your time and feedback in this process. Our goal is to create a strong Common Grant Application that is valuable to both our members and the nonprofits they support. Thank you!