June 24, 2004

RESEARCH ROUNDUP

 

Short Changed:  Foundation Giving and Communities of Color

This report by Will Pittz and Rinku Sen of the Applied Research Center, outlines the giving practices of foundations and concludes that the indicators are moving backwards in regards to funding for communities of color.  The report finds that “although people of color make up nearly one-third of the general U.S. population... the average value of grants designated for populations of color decreased by 19 percent from 1998-2001.”  Funding designated for African American communities, for example, “has fallen to its lowest level in the past decade... to 1.4 percent of total foundation giving, after ranging from 2.0 to 3.8 percent of giving between 1994 and 1999.”  The report is available at: http://www.arc.org/Pages/pubs/shortchanged_b.html.

 

Philanthropy's Forgotten Resource? Engaging the Individual Donor

This study by Dan Siegel and Jenney Yancey of New Visions Philanthropic Research and Development, documents the results of comprehensive research on donor education practices.  The paper includes learning frameworks, components of effective donor education programs, a survey of current organizations that offer donor education, a map of donor education programs across the United States, and recommendations on how to build the infrastructure to support donor education.  A 20-page summary and the 80-page full report are available for free at www.newvisionsprd.org/Results/index.html.

 

Beyond City Limits: Philanthropic Needs in Rural America

Fifty-five million people, or 20 percent of the U.S. population, live in rural America, but reports released by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP) and Southern Rural Development Initiative (SRDI) show that rural development receives a tiny $100.5 million out of the more than $30 billion in grants that U.S. foundations distribute each year, and only a small fraction of all foundation assets are located in non-metropolitan counties.  This study is available at www.ncrp.org.

 

Executive Coaching Project:  Evaluation of Findings

CompassPoint Nonprofit Services has published the findings of its year-long research into executive coaching practices with 24 nonprofit executive directors in California.  This report includes the definition of coaching, approaches and techniques consultants can use in executive coaching, overall impact and outcomes of coaching and case studies.  The research found that coaching had a positive impact on leadership, management and technical skills, as well as on the organization.  Executive Directors reported greater comfort and success in fundraising as a result of coaching.  The 11-page executive summary and the 82-page full report are available at www4.compasspoint.org/p.asp?WebPage_ID=416.

 

Capturing the Power of Leadership Change: Using Executive Transition Management to Strengthen Organizational Capacity

Published by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Evelyn & Walter Hass Jr. Fund, the report is the first of a series from TransitionGuides and CompassPoint's Executive Transition Management Services.  The report provides a step-by-step overview of the Executive Transition Management (ETM) process, background information on challenges and opportunities associated with the ETM approach, and the development of the model in the past decade.  The report also highlights case examples of the capacity-building benefits of the ETM approach.  For a copy of the report, visit www.transitionguides.com.

 

Volunteer Management Capacity in America's Charities and Congregations

This study conducted by the Urban Institute finds that four out of five charities in the U.S. utilize volunteers, and that investment in management of volunteers reap rewards for organizations that do so.  However, it identified significant challenges in this area, especially in devoting staff resources and applying best practices in volunteer management.  It found that the most popular capacity-building option for charities and congregations is to engage a full-time volunteer with living stipend (such as AmeriCorps volunteers) to be volunteer managers.  It also pointed to the importance of intermediary organizations in recruiting volunteers, and availability of training for volunteers and managers.  The report is available at:  www.pressroom.ups.com/pix/Volunteer_Briefing.pdf.

Research Roundup from the March 2004 edition of Enhance

 

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