Here's what's going on in and around your network...
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WG Member Profile
Meet Mieka Wick. Mieka is director of education partnerships, programs and strategy for CityBridge Foundation, which works to close the persistent education gap between higher- and lower-income American children. |
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Book Review
 Click here to read Tamara Copeland's review of The Tyranny of Dead Ideas: Revolutionary Thinking for a New Age of Prosperity. |
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"Hooray, It's Spring!" Happy Hour
 The WG staff invites you to join us for an important, boundary-crossing, vernal equinox meeting at Buffalo Billiards, Tuesday, March
23, 5:30pm. Agenda: hang out; kick back; shoot breeze. |
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Upcoming WG Events:
April 5: Health Working Group: Monthly Meeting
April 8: Family Philanthropy Teleconference: Travel Philanthropy: Getting the Most Out of "In-the-Field" Experiences
April 13: Northern Virginia Funders: Nosh, Network & Knowledge Breakfast
Other Events:
March 24: Defeat Poverty DC: Putting Economic Opportunity on the 2010 Political Agenda
March 26: DC Fair Budget Coalition breakfast briefing: HOUSING
March 31: Diversifying Local Nonprofit Leadership
April 12: - Arts Advocacy Day, Nancy Hanks Lecture: the Honorable Joseph P. Riley, Jr. |
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Note from Tamara
 Paying Dues vs. Making Grants
I had a conversation last week that surprised me. Two colleagues--one long-time WG member and a grantmaker who hopes to join--were unaware that Washington Grantmakers is a 501(c)3 nonprofit. They were surprised to learn that they could
make us a grant.
"Grants," said the prospect, "are a lot easier to justify than dues." [Read more...] |
Drowning in Paper?
 So are your grantees. The first two components of the Project Streamline Guide to Streamlining Series are now
available, including: Grant Budgeting and Financial Reporting and Online Applications and Reporting.
And here's info about right-sizing your grant application process. Food for thought: "If 100 nonprofits spend $1,000 each to pursue a $100,000 grant, then the net grant would be $0."
Do you accept WG's Common Grant Application? Please let us know if we should add you to this list.
New Reports
 1) Report: Coaching and Philanthropy: An Action Guide for Grantmakers (GEO/CompassPoint, March. 2010) -
"Describes the emerging practice of one-on-one coaching for nonprofit leadership development... practical guidance for grantmakers in supporting and advancing it."
2) Report: "The Power of Now: Spend Out Trusts and Foundations in the UK"
The Quest for Real-Time Data
Have you considered becoming a Foundation Center eGrant Reporter? Everyone wants real-time grants data—current data, not two-year-old data gleaned from Form 990s. Well, we CAN have current data—if everyone updates their own information by becoming a Foundation Center eGrant Reporter.
If you also update your foundation profile, you then get free access to the Foundation Center's database. That seems like a good deal.
Updating your own data will also keep your giving information current in Philanthropy In/Sight, a grants mapping service which WG members can use/test out for free through September, 2010.
Skill-building
WG members can receive a discount to GEO's 2010 national conference, April 10 - 12, in Pittsburgh, Pa. To register at the GEO member rate, go here, click on the "Register Today" button, and enter the registration code "memrate10" in the
ID code field. Online registration closes March 31.
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Announcements/News [submit one]
- Join the Washington Area Women's Foundation for a night of fun and philanthropy! Saturday, March 27th, 8 - 10pm, The Pug, 1234 H St., NE Washington, DC 20002. With a $20 donation you will: help low-income women & girls lift themselves out of poverty; drink unlimited beer from 8-10pm; meet like-minded people who help our community through smart social investments; have a chance to win a prize package that includes two tickets to WAWF's annual Leadership Luncheon and a
handbag from Hobo International. All proceeds will be pooled to support Washington Area Women's Foundation's efforts to improve the lives of women & girls. This event is brought to you by: The 1K Club is a network of emerging philanthropists committed to strengthening The Women's Foundation's work to transform our community.
- The Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership at Georgetown University is hosting its Nonprofit Management Executive Certificate Program Open House on Wednesday, March 31, 2010 from 5:30-7:30pm... designed to strengthen the leadership and management capacity of mid-to-senior level staff, board members, government and foundation grant makers, career transitioners, and others working with nonprofit and philanthropic organizations. For more information about the Open House and
to RSVP, please visit http://cpnl.georgetown.edu/rsvp.cfm?rsvp_id=32.
Collaboration Group News
- Community Development Support Collaborative - In 2010, with a continued focus on the preservation and development of affordable housing in DC., the Collaborative will provide nearly $600,000 in grants to nonprofit housing developers and technical assistance providers for tenant-purchase projects.
- Family Philanthropy Affinity Group — Dates and speakers are set for the 2010 "Philanthropist to Philanthropist" lunch series. Trustees should have received invitations by now. Space is limited! Also, register for next month's teleconference: Family Philanthropy Teleconference: Travel Philanthropy: Getting the Most Out of
"In-the-Field" Experiences (April 8).
- Corporate Philanthropy Affinity Group — Click here for the materials from the recent "Future of CSR" event. At the next corporate philanthropy luncheon on June 9, we'll discuss how strategic philanthropy, corporate giving, and cause-marketing all work together to further your community investment goals. Click to register!
- Northern Virginia Funders — After getting snowed out, we've rescheduled the NoVA Funders' Breakfast for April 13th at Deloitte. Register today!
- The Washington AIDS Partnership is recruiting for its 2010-2011 AmeriCorps team. A 2008-2009 member noted that: "As a result of my year of service, I am even more inspired and committed to providing help and care in communities that are often underserved and overlooked. I could not be more thankful for this life-changing opportunity." In other news, the Partnership and colleague
organizations just launched an innovative program to provide access to female condoms in Washington, DC.
Paying Dues vs. Making Grants
By Tamara Copeland, President, Washington Grantmakers
I had a conversation last week that surprised me. Two colleagues--one long-time WG member and a grantmaker who hopes to join--were unaware that Washington Grantmakers is a 501(c)3 nonprofit. They were surprised to learn that they could make us a grant.
"Grants," said the prospect, "are a lot easier to justify than dues."
I'm sure that’s true. You pay dues for what might be perceived as selfish reasons--to receive benefits. You make a grant in support of the greater good.
But I think that we need to make something clear about WG dues. Our dues are different. They do support the greater good because they build your capacity to go "beyond dollars" for bigger impact. The knowledge and connections you gain through Washington Grantmakers help you to make the most of your philanthropic assets. By connecting you to issues, we help you make better investments. By connecting you with your colleagues, we help you figure out what's working and
what's not. By providing skill-building programs, we make you a better grantmaker.
And when you get more bang for your charitable buck, it benefits the whole region.
I hope you will re-join Washington Grantmakers by paying your dues by the end of the month, but remember that we do actively pursue grants to support the organization. We depend on both in helping you pursue effective, strategic, and efficient charitable investment in the Greater Washington region.
Together we are making a difference.
> WG dues are due on March 31st. Thank you to the 64 members who have already joined/renewed!
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Thank you for joining Washington Grantmakers in 2010!
- Alexander & Margaret Stewart Trust
- Arabella New Venture Fund
- Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery
- Bank of America
- Booz Allen & Hamilton
- Butler Family Fund
- Calvert Social Investment Foundation
- Capital One
- Carter & Melissa Cafritz Charitable Trust
- Chasdrew Fund
- Choice Hotels International Foundation
- CityBridge Foundation
- Clark Charitable Foundation
- Claude Moore Charitable Foundation
- Commonweal Foundation
- Community Foundation for the National Capital Region
- Consumer Health Foundation
- Corina Higginson Trust
- CTIA Wireless Foundation
- Curtis and Edith Munson Foundation
- DC Children Youth Investment Trust
- Deloitte, LLP
- Diane & Norman Bernstein Foundation
- Eugene & Agnes E. Meyer Foundation
- ExxonMobil
- Fight for Children
- Freddie Mac
- Gannett Foundation
- Hatti M. Strong Foundation
- Healthcare Initiative Foundation
- Horizon Foundation
- Horning Family Foundation
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute
- IBM
- J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation
- Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
- Jacob & Charlotte Lehrman Foundation
- Kaiser Permanente
- Kimsey Foundation
- Lois and Richard England Family Foundation
- MARPAT Foundation
- Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation
- Moran Family Foundation
- Morningstar Foundation
- Naomi & Nehemiah Cohen Foundation
- Northern Virginia Health Foundation
- Omega Foundation
- Patricia Alper
- PEPCO
- Philip L. Graham Fund
- PNC Bank
- Posner-Wallace Foundation
- Prince Charitable Trust
- Public Welfare Foundation
- Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors
- Summit Fund of Washington
- Vradenburg Foundation
- Wachovia Wells Fargo Foundation
- Walmart Foundation
- Washington Area Women's Foundation
- Washington Gas
- Weissberg Foundation
- World Bank
- Zickler Family Foundation
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