DC SCHOOLS
- D.C. Schools Chancellor Proposes Teacher Reforms (WJLA, 7/23)
- WaPo editorial board finds it ironic that some members of the D.C. teachers union would deny teachers information. (WaPo, 7/23) “[Teachers] should wonder why those opposed to change want to keep from them the facts that would help them to make those decisions.”
- Arts Plan Could Cause Funding Gap, Study Says (WaPo, 7/23)

PHILANTHROPY
- Gates Foundation breaks ground on new headquarters (SeattleTimes, 7/22)
- The rock band OAR conducts its philanthropy through the Montgomery County Community Foundation. (WaPo, 7/23)

ENVIRONMENT
Panel to Study Montgomery County’s Carbon Footprint (WaPo, 7/23 - scroll down)

HEALTH
Virginia Sees Record Highs in Health Care Coverage (WCAF, 7/22)

SOCIAL PROFIT COMMUNITY
- D.C. Council eases restrictions on earmarks to help nonprofits (Examiner, 7/22) - “The council “will allow recipients to partner with a ‘fiscal agent’ who does meet the government’s conditions and can act as a pass-through for the earmarked dollars.” 2009 earmarks total over $56 million to roughly 170 organizations.
- Local Perspectives on Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac (Kojo, 7/21) - Most of the discussion about impact on social profit organizations is from min. 4:50 to 9:00.
- Study: Nonprofits Less Optimistic About Fundraising Climate (wire, 7/22) - Ya think?

PHILANTHROPY
WAMU covers giving circles (7/21)

GREEN AFFORDABLE HOUSING
“A year after doors opened on the city’s first green affordable housing complex [Galen Terrace], proponents say the benefits go well beyond the bottom line.” (WAMU, 7/18, via)

DC SCHOOLS
- Some Washington Teachers Union board members do not want Chancellor Rhee to speak to teachers at an informational session. (WaPo, 7/22)
- Doubts Linger on Pre-K-8 Strategy (WaPo, 7/22)

“Nonprofits fear Fannie, Freddie giving could dry up” (WBJ, 7/18)  -The article notes that the Freddie Mac Foundation “controls an endowment of about $180 million [that] cannot be taken from the foundation.” CEO Ralph Boyd: “The foundation is a separate corporation …Our grantmaking for this year won’t change.” Stacey Stewart, executive vice president for Fannie Mae’s Office of Community and Charitable Giving (and WG Board member) recently stated: “We will not abandon our commitment to be philanthropic and to serve particularly our hometown, but we’ll have to be realistic around what we’re able to do.”

TEEN PREGNANCY
D.C. neighborhoods plagued by youth violence are the same neighborhoods where birth rates among teenagers are highest. (WaPo, 7/19) - See for yourself.

HEALTH
- Profile: Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (FT, 7/19)
- Fairfax lags on Medicaid for mentally ill, report says (Examiner, 7/21)

DC SCHOOLS
“Union Chief Sets Meetings, Says Talks at ‘Very Critical Stage’” (WaPo, 7/19)

POVERTY
- The federal definition of poverty is challenged by local government (Economist, 7/17)
- Obama endorses new poverty measure (CQPolitics, 7/18)

CRIME
Peacoholics holds event to put rest fear of “snitching” (WaPo, 7/20)

EDUCATION
About those higher test scores in Md… “Skepticism Greets Big Gains” (WaPo, 7/19) - “This year, the state dropped questions from the national exam. Instead, students answered similar questions that were written by state educators.” Good luck figuring this out, since the experiment seems to have lacked a control group. Is the future of education going to be test score controversy?

Public Service Announcement: “AAAAAAGHHHHHH”
Did you order the code red?! I sure didn’t. Nevertheless, today’s air quality is horrendous. Be careful.

POVERTY
How to accurately define poverty (Washington Independent, 7/17) - The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Douglas Nelson testifies before Congress: “[T]he lack of an accurate, credible and relevant poverty measure has itself become a major impediment to combating poverty effectively.” Created decades ago, the old formula is based primarily on food costs. But while “food accounted for a third of household spending in the 1960s, food now accounts for only an eighth of spending, with housing and transportation taking a larger slice of income.” That’s why NYC Mayor Bloomberg unveiled a new formula last week.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING
- Will the Arlington Board vote to allow [gasp] rental units? Stay tuned. (Examiner, 7/18)
- Bread for the City’s new blog “Beyond Bread” has been focusing on affordable housing–scroll down for good stuff from both policy experts and community members.

HEALTH
- Disease Prevention Called a Better Bet (WaPo, 7/18) - Prevention saves lives AND money.

EDUCATION
- Education Reformers Tackle NCLB Flaws (USNews, 7/17) - In a Congressional hearing, “Michelle Rhee offered another idea to improve NCLB that has also been highly contentious: tying teacher pay to student outcomes.”
- Fairfax Board to seek cuts in schools budget (WaPo, 7/18)

PEOPLE
Millicent Williams has been named the president and chief executive of the D.C. Children and Youth Investment Trust. Amy Ward is Williams’s replacement at Serve D.C.  (WaPo, 7/18 - scroll down)

CHILD WELFARE
D.C. Child Agency To Borrow Staff, Hire Workers (WaPo, 7/18)

HOMELESSNESS
Council Votes to Sell Former Homeless Shelter (WaPo, 7/18)

PHILANTHROPY
Johnson Center launching national philanthropy journal (mLive.com, 7/17)

Post and find jobs here. (WG members post for free. See “30-second Update” page for the code.)

I don’t know the answer, but I do know it’s not a fun day to be Food & Friends’ CEO or on the F&F board of directors (WaPo, 7/17). ”Out of line” executive compensation, and what one blogger called the ”strong CEO/weak board syndrome,” were hot topics about nine months ago, after the release of the 33 Principles for Good Governance and Ethical Practice for nonprofits, which didn’t address those issues.

CHILD WELFARE
D.C. Child and Family Services Director Resigns (WaPo, 7/17)

ENVIRONMENT
- Climate Report from COG Sets Goals for the Region - “This is not just about changing light bulbs,” says George S. Hawkins, director of the D.C. Department of the Environment. (WaPo, 7/17)
- Gov. Kaine encourages teleworking (WaPo, 7/17 - scroll down) - happy to oblige, Guvnah.

WG MEMBERS
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History has received a $15 million gift from the Roger and Victoria Sant Founders’ Fund of the Summit Fund of Washington. (6/26)

NONPROFITS
Building Your Online Presence on a Tight Budget (Chronicle, 7/15) - a live discussion with Beth Kanter and Jonathan D. Colman

ENVIRONMENT
“Retrofitting for ecology - Diplomacy helps ‘green’ D.C. firms” - This article on the new Energy Efficiency Partnership of Greater Washington mentions support from  the Cafritz Foundation. (WaTimes, 7/16)

ECONOMY
Economy continues slide with no relief on horizon (Examiner, 7/16) - “Locally, food at grocery stores and restaurants cost consumers between 4 and 5 percent more in May than a year ago…” “Transportation costs…rose 9 percent over the past year in the Baltimore-Washington area, with gas prices climbing 23 percent.”

WORKFORCE
Domestic Workers Bill Passes in Montgomery (WaPo, 7/16) - Requires written contracts for employment of over 20 hours per week. Marc Fisher thinks it’s a bad law.

The latest edition of CDSC’s Newsbriefs is online.

Headlines:
- Partnership for Supportive Housing for Individuals with Mental Illness
- Freddie Mac Hosts Regional Housing Foreclosure Summit
- CNHED Hosts DHCD Director Leila Edmonds and Councilmember Marion Barry at its Monthly Meetings
- Manna Celebrates Spring Road Property
- Rent Supplement Update

A project of Washington Grantmakers, the Community Development Support Collaborative is a joint fund and program working since 1992 to revitalize and stabilize low-income, distressed neighborhoods in the D.C. - especially in the preservation of affordable housing.

PHILANTHROPY/SOCIAL PROFIT
- Nonprofit Roundtable Announces First Class of Future Executive Directors (WBJ, 7/14 | wire) - fellowships funded by multiple WG members, including Consumer Health Foundation, the Freddie Mac Foundation, the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation, the Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation, and Capital One.
- New from the United Way and CreateHope, Inc., Truist “optimizes the supply chain of giving from donor to recipient.” (And if you understand what that means, please let me know.) (wire, 7/14)

$4 per GALLON
- Metro sets one-day record (Examiner, 7/15)
- If you’re interested in the future of DC’s streetcar system, read GreaterGreaterWashington.org. (7/14)

EDUCATION
Md. Scores In Reading, Math Show Big Strides (WaPo, 7/15) Baltimore, Prince George’s lead gains (BalSun, 7/15)

CHILD WELFARE
Court monitor: The city needs to look at the overall problems of the CFSA, not individual workers. (WaPo, 7/15)

________________________
THIS WEEK @ WG:
- Webinar: How Funders Can Choose to Manage Advocacy Campaigns - July 15
- Nonprofit Mergers: The Funders’ Role (part of the *Nosh, Network & Knowledge* corporate luncheon series) - July 17
- Public Education Working Group Update from Michelle Rhee - July 17

ARTS
Capital idea: Stage is set for D.C. to become a theater mecca (PittPostGazette, 7/13) - “add ‘cultural center’ to Washington’s history, government, monuments and museums…”

PHILANTHROPY
- Charities Crushed Under Soaring Demand (USNews, 7/11) - “83.2 percent of fundraising professionals say the economy is now actively harming donations.”
- The Facts on Our Gifts (Letter to Editor, WaPo, 7/13) -WG member Maria Harris Tildon sets the record straight on CareFirst’s gifts to the D.C. Public Education Fund.
- Philanthropic leverage … “A straightforward but often overlooked strategy for leveraging greater social return is to develop a communications plan around your philanthropy.” (FT, 7/12)
- COF’s Steve Gunderson responds to the NYTimes Helmsley dog bequest column. (7/14)

HOUSING/HOMELESSNESS
- What It Will Take to End Homelessness in D.C. (WaPo, 7/13) - from two Urban Institute researchers
- Tenants Demand Rental Reform (WaPo, 7/13)

FUNDRAISING
- Charitable Giving’s Efficiency Problems (BusinessWeek, 7/11) - another article about how fundraising galas are overrated
- Private Groups Pocket Vet Donations (Wash Independent, 7/11) API: “”Professional for-profit fund-raising companies like to work with veterans and police and firefighter charities. They know that people are more likely to respond.” I hate those calls even more now.
- Future is now: At yesterday’s Nats game, fans were invited to use cell phones text $5 donations to the Children’s National Medical Center. (wire)

EDUCATION
Ads Hope to Inject U.S. School Challenges Into White House Race (WaPo, 7/13) - The philanthropic initiative “Strong American Schools” targets seven markets including N. Va. See new ads.

JUVENILE JUSTICE
- District Cites Gains in Jail’s Treatment of Youths (WaPo, 7/14) - City is still considering building a new juvenile facility