By Mandi Moshay
Communications Manager
Philanthropy Northwest

Project Streamline has a simple premise:  that the cumulative impact of the philanthropic sector’s requirements undermines nonprofit effectiveness, causing grantseekers to devote too much time to seeking funding (often without payoff) and reporting on grants (often without benefit) to the detriment of their mission-based work.

Five years ago, Project Streamline – a field-wide effort led by the Grants Managers Network – published “Drowning in Paperwork, Distracted From Purpose,” a study of the burdens of application and reporting.

Since then, the effort has developed resources to help grantmakers understand this burden and take steps to reduce it. Project Streamline produced practical tools, convened conversations, offered workshops and webinars, and released a self-assessment instrument, developed in partnership with the Center for Effective Philanthropy. Many grantmaking associations and other philanthropy support groups have promoted streamlining concepts and principles.

Has it worked?  Well, it depends on who you ask.

In a just-released report, Practices That Matter, Project Streamline documents how even as many foundations are increasingly aware of and committed to streamlining, the experience of the average nonprofit organization with multiple funders still spends time responding to application and reporting requirements that are poorly designed, redundant, inappropriately scaled, or mystifying.

Across the sector, a lack of feedback and a mismatch between foundation values and practices lead to persistent problems and bad habits that waste grantseeker time and cause unnecessary aggravation.

For example, many grantmakers surveyed reported that they have streamlined by moving to an online application system. But grantseekers reported that most of the online systems they encounter are extremely cumbersome to use: timing out the user, failing to save work, and preventing easy cutting and pasting.

Practices That Matter doesn’t just point out problems – it also suggests five streamlined practices that matter most. Not surprisingly, nonprofits want online systems that work well and save their work from year to year. They also want to be able to submit budget and financial information in their own authentic formats. And they want consistent, collegial communication that answers questions that arise during the process.

Grantmakers can test their own streamlining prowess by taking the lighthearted “How Do You Line Up” quiz, and get no-nonsense advice from Ask Dr. Streamline on Project Streamline’s blog. A new workshop focusing on connecting values with the practices that matter will be offered in 2013.

By Carol Lewis
CEO
Philanthropy Northwest

Sometimes we forget what it means to live in a community with a private sector so willing to support civic life! For example, last year Washington businesses contributed more than $112 million in cash (much more if we counted in-kind and volunteer activities) to support the nonprofit infrastructure that we’ve come to rely on: the social safety net for people in need, arts organizations that enrich us all, environmental stewardship to protect the state’s gorgeous landscape, healthcare and education that ensures a strong workforce. This week, The Puget Sound Business Journal (PSBJ) – in partnership with The Seattle Foundation – did a great job reminding us just how important this civic leadership is. On Thursday, they hosted an inspiring event honoring 75 of the businesses who take their corporate citizenship very seriously.

The top corporate donors in Washington state have long been Microsoft and Boeing. This past year, the two corporations accounted for more than half of the cash donations made. It is hard to imagine what our community would look like without the generosity of these two companies. In truth, they set the bar for the entire corporate community’s giving. But as I sat next to Boeing’s Director of Global Corporate Citizenship for the Northwest region, Liz Warman, at the PSBJ event, I can report that she is equally inspired by smaller companies who find new and creative ways to demonstrate their commitment to the community. Take for example, Chef John Howie who, among his many other contributions, routinely opens Seastar Restaurant in Bellevue on Thanksgiving to serve 600 people in need for a meal they will never forget.

The stories we heard at lunch were an inspiration to all of us in the audience. But it was also interesting how this event inspired the honorees – all of whom promised to do more next year. This culture of giving, reflected in this event and in the philanthropy of everyday citizens – who gave more than $11 million dollars in one day through “GiveBIG” – improves all of our lives. Every day.

Special recognition as corporate champions went to three of our members: Microsoft for its work to support arts and culture, Regence BlueShield for its work to support basic needs and Safeco Insurance for supporting education. We are so proud to call them Philanthropy Northwest members. But I know they would also agree that its time for “hats off” to all 75 companies recognized. We owe them so much!

By Jim Hopper
Executive Director
Bainbridge Community Foundation

What does it mean to be a community foundation in our community in the modern day? It is a question that has been posed  by many in our organization. In truth, as we have asked ourselves that question over time, the answer has changed.

The seeds of our community foundation were planted over 30 years ago when a trust committee of the local nonprofit “community chest” was established to steward donated assets, including a landlocked piece of real estate, the note on the local barber shop building, and one share of the General Electric Company. At that time, giving in our community was largely local, simple gifts to help keep the lights on at the beloved organizations doing good work.

Closer to 15 years ago, the trust committee was able to free-up access to the landlocked property and sell it, at which time all of the other assets were converted into investable cash. Simultaneously, the philanthropic landscape was changing. Donors were becoming more sophisticated not only in the assessment of their charitable dollars’ impact, but also in the vehicles utilized for philanthropy. The rise of donor advised funds was giving donors the option to be more intentional and strategic about their giving. It was in this environment that the trust committee, with its $172,000 in assets, officially organized to become a community foundation, enabling better facilitation of local philanthropy. Since then, the community foundation has grown to nearly $10 million in assets and has given out over $3.7 million to important community causes. And we’re far from finished.

When our annual grants cycle was started in 2005, the organization focused primarily giving money to important causes. As we’ve matured, however, we’ve realized something very important: no other entity in our community is made aware of community needs as extensively as our community foundation. Not only that, but we’re consistently asked to be a part of meeting those needs. Today, giving money is only part of our mission-based work.

With such extensive understanding of community needs, we have a responsibility to think beyond money – to use non-monetary resources to meet community needs. This responsibility adds gravity to our work and sets us apart from other nonprofits and grantmakers, which is one of the reasons we love the Washington State Community Foundation Convening.

For us, the Convening is an opportunity to interface with innovative leaders from across our state, each representing unique organizations that share the same core goal of making our communities a better place for everyone. For our board leaders, it is the chance to talk to peers in the field – to benefit from others’ counsel and to share their counsel with others. For our staff leaders it is the chance to put our work into a larger professional framework – to be a part of a bigger mission to make our state a better place.

Great things happen when people who care work together for a common goal. A community foundation is a great example of this. I look forward to seeing my community foundation colleagues at the Convening next week, where more great things will happen.

By Suzanne Lagoni
Consultant
The Foraker Group

What’s the impact of your work? How can you create a story that brings people into your organization? And what are the best ways to get your stories to people who support your cause?

Close to 500 Alaska nonprofit leaders can better answer those questions after attending the 2013 Foraker Leadership Summit in Anchorage on April 22-23.

Participants were able to enhance their skills with some of the top nonprofit marketing and communication professionals from Alaska and across the country. Not only did they learn how to craft and present a compelling story, they received tips on writing, editing, video production, social media, public policy, and cross-cultural communications.

Foraker President and CEO Dennis McMillian captured the event in his monthly newsletter.

Among the conference sponsors were Philanthropy Northwest members Rasmuson Foundation, Mat-Su Health Foundation,  Wells Fargo, the Alaska Community Foundation, and the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority.

Foraker Launches Book on Nonprofit Sustainability
As part of its Leadership Summit, The Foraker Group launched its new book on nonprofit sustainability. Rasmuson Foundation President and CEO Diane Kaplan made the formal announcement and the foundation provided a free copy for each person who attended.

Focus on Sustainability: A Nonprofit’s Journey was written by Dennis McMillian. It’s intended to provide insights and helpful tips for organizations that want to practice sustainable behavior in their leadership and management.

The book is available for sale at the Foraker office, or on Amazon.com.

In late January Nathaniel James, Seattle-based founder of Philanthrogeek, presented at a workshop at the Council on Foundations Family Philanthropy Conference in San Jose. Along with presenting colleagues from the Roy A. Hunt Foundation and ioby.org, Nathaniel explored opportunities opened by “social giving” technologies and practices for institutional philanthropies. A full room of trustees and philanthropy professionals responded by mapping opportunities and challenges they would face in adopting social giving. What follows is an overview of the workshop, as written by Roy A. Hunt Foundation Executive Director, Tony Macklin. Philanthrogeek is a hybrid publication and consultancy providing navigation for leaders making sense and seizing opportunities in the emerging social giving landscape.

By Tony Macklin
Executive Director
Roy A. Hunt Foundation

A couple months ago, Philanthrogeek founder Nathaniel James, ioby co-founder Erin Barnes, and I set out on a small adventure to answer two questions:

• How do we describe the new trends in social giving to the family philanthropy world?
• What do family foundations make of the opportunities and challenges in these trends?

I’m describing some results of our adventure in this post. Nathaniel and Erin will be adding their thoughts in future posts at Philanthrogeek and elsewhere. For ease of writing, I’ll use the term “family foundations” to be inclusive of foundations, donor-advised funds, trusts and other forms of family philanthropy.

Framing “Social Giving” (vsn 1)

We started our adventure with the rapid rise of crowdfunding sites and grassroots giving circles. Both tools help donors of any means directly connect with and support ideas, projects, and organizations. Both tools allow donors and requesters to bypass traditional intermediaries ranging from record companies to community foundations. Not all raise money for traditional charitable purposes and very few crowdfunding sites are sponsored by charitable organizations.

The term “social giving” is sometimes narrowly used to discuss online fundraising. We purposely used a broader definition that emphasized the “social” aspect, as not all giving circles are online and both tools truly succeed when people reach out to their offline and online social networks to make great things happen.

Our overview of the field of social giving showed that the tools share three common traits and have at least four trends driving their growth.

Erin created a matrix of a larger variety of tools for giving, showing how they compare in the proximity of donors to recipients and how driven the tools are by technology.

Family Philanthropy’s Reaction (vsn 1)

Forty or more people attended our session at the 2013 Family Philanthropy Conference. They represented different generations and roles in family philanthropy. Few had direct experience with crowdfunding sites or giving circles.

After our overview of social giving and some quick case studies, we asked small groups of attendees to discuss how social giving trends and tools might complement or distract from their family philanthropy work. Discussion topics came from the National Center for Family Philanthropy’s Pursuit of Excellence framework for assessing family foundations:  legacy, vision, and mission; governance; family roles; program development and grantmaking; and finance, administration, and responsibility. You can download notes from their responses at the end of this post, but I wanted to comment on four reactions from the small groups.

“[We would] need assurance about proper due diligence and legal issues. This adds a layer of complexity to grants.”

Grantmaking – Every small group brought up challenges with supporting crowdfunded projects and giving circle award recipients that aren’t IRS-approved charitable organizations. Many projects provide community benefit, but create the burden of exercising expenditure responsibility. Crowdfunded support for small businesses, even socially-minded ones, likely don’t qualify as Mission-Related Investments, but this could change over time.  In the meantime, organizations such as ioby, Donors Choose, Global Giving, and Social Venture Partners’ chapters are public charities, providing easy testing grounds for grantmaking.

“[Social giving] can be a glue that brings family together – a family foundation exists for more than just grantmaking.”

Family giving culture – Most founders of family foundations want them to be tools that bind family together over time. Family foundations already use storytelling, family legacy documents, and other tools beyond grantmaking to build cultures of giving. Family offices and some family foundations will assist family members with giving beyond grants made by the foundation. Social giving tools can be a terrific means of family members discovering and acting on their philanthropic passions, either individually or in groups. And, because many social giving projects are short-term in nature, families can learn quickly from the experience and decide what did and didn’t work for their culture.

“[Social giving tools] meet Next Generation members ‘where they are’…They add new dimensions of giving from younger trustees.”

Trustee preparation – Attendees easily linked social giving tools to the interests and behaviors of young philanthropists described in the recent #Nextgendonors report. Family foundations often struggle with finding meaningful ways to involve teens and Millennials in foundation grantmaking processes. Involvement in a giving circle or crowdfunding campaign can be a valuable experiential learning opportunity. In a giving circle, a family member can learn about evaluating ideas, projects, and organizations without the pressure of conforming to foundation processes or parental expectations. Often, participants in giving circles lend expertise to grant or award recipients – another chance a for family member to practice volunteering or learn leadership skills. Foundations could encourage trustees to pitch their favorite giving circle or crowdfunding projects to other family members in an environment that would likely have lower stakes than pitching an official grant proposal.

“[Social giving is] a great way to bring family foundation work to the people, to make it understandable.”

Community relations – Welcome to the magic of crowdsourcing ideas. Nathaniel, Erin, and I hadn’t thought of this in our session preparation. A few years ago, the Philanthropy Awareness Initiative reported that 60% of people in community leadership roles felt they didn’t understand how and why foundations work. Only 15% could describe a foundation’s impact in their community. Everyday people presumably knew even less. In this era of government budget cuts and tax reform conversations, I think this lack of understanding can only hurt traditional foundations. (See my previous post on the topic). Family foundations could use social giving tools to learn about community opportunities, solve community problems, and provide financial support alongside everyday members of their communities. Family foundations have already been providing matching grants to encourage support of projects through ioby and DonorsChoose. And, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation seems to be the first foundation to have a curated page on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter.

Your Thoughts?

You can download our session handout (including the graphics above) here and a summary of the small group notes here. Erin, Nathaniel, and I would welcome your feedback:

• What do you think of our first stabs at condensing the key concepts into a couple graphics?
• How do you see social giving trends and tools complementing or distracting from your family’s philanthropy?
• Who do you think will be the first foundations savvy enough to include social giving tools as part of their family engagement and grantmaking work?

Feel free to email me, or reach us on Twitter at @tonymacklin1, @erinargyle, and @Pg33k.

By Kris Hermanns
Executive Director
Pride Foundation

Each year Philanthropy Northwest and a group of our member grantmakers travel to Washington, D.C., to share our views on the latest charitable legislation. Attendees have the opportunity to develop and grow relationships with Members of Congress, who are most influenced when constituents from their states or districts advance a cause on behalf of themselves and their national organizations. This year, a number of funders that are based in or support causes in Montana attended, including representatives from Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation, M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, Northwest Area Foundation, and Pride Foundation.

Kris Hermanns

I was fortunate to be invited to Foundations on the Hill last March, an event coordinated by the Council on Foundations and the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers, which includes our own Philanthropy Northwest. The two-day program came as the U.S. Senate was debating and voting on the FY2013 Continuing Resolution to prevent the government from shutting down one week later. It was also a timely opportunity to be in our nation’s capital because of the growing chorus calling for serious tax reform. Senator Max Baucus (D-Montana), Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, is heading this effort.

Changes in the tax code could include eliminating or restricting charitable tax deductions. While different scenarios are being hashed out, one thing we do know is if we create disincentives for people to donate to charity, it will seriously affect the lives of economically vulnerable people who count on nonprofit groups to provide a safety net for themselves and their families.

The nonprofit sector is a critical component of the U.S. economy that deserves to be protected. The Urban Institute projects that nonprofits generate more than $1 trillion every year through jobs and services, including employing 10 percent of the workforce. And according to Giving USA, individuals donated nearly $300 billion to charitable causes in 2011. It is also important to state the obvious—since the onset of the Great Recession, many nonprofits have been asked to do more with less. If the charitable deduction is reduced and the government simultaneously continues to cut back the services it provides, all of us worry about the deep and long-term consequences that will impact our communities.

It was in this context that I, along with other colleagues from the sector, met with many members of our congressional delegation and their staff, sharing stories of how the charitable deduction positively impacts nonprofits. Since Pride Foundation works across five Northwest states, I was able to meet with the Chiefs of Staff for Sen. Baucus and Sen. John Tester (D-Montana) as well as Sen. Tester himself, along with his Senior Economic Advisor. I also met with Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington) and her staff, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), and a legislative assistant for Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho). Many of us also had the chance to meet with the Chief Tax Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, who is gathering input and feedback from various constituencies who will likely be impacted by tax reform.

During these meetings, we emphasized how community groups are continuing to find innovative solutions to long-standing challenges, filling voids created by government cutbacks, and providing critical and essential services in our communities. We discussed how the charitable tax deduction is unique among all other deductions because it does not solely benefit the individual taxpayer – it provides essential financial support to every nonprofit in this country; we should be creating more incentives for people to give, not fewer.

One of the highlights of the trip for me was when Sen. Tester stopped by on his way to the Senate Floor to vote on the Continuing Resolution. A few of us were meeting with his Senior Economic Advisor, Alison O’Donnell. When I introduced myself, he immediately recognized Pride Foundation’s name, and said that he knew of our good work and appreciated all that we were doing.

I am grateful for the time the Senators and their staff gave to us as well as their willingness to listen to our hopes for further strengthening the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors in our region. I walked away with a strong sense that the Northwest is blessed to have such a respected and powerful congressional delegation.

By Mandi Moshay
Communications Manager
Philanthropy Northwest

Managing Partner Audrey Haberman

The growing team at The Giving Practice, Philanthropy Northwest’s consulting service, is made up of some of the brightest minds in the philanthropic sector. What characteristics are necessary to lead a group of smart, experienced, independent consultants while fostering a team spirit in a group that’s spread across a several-state region? Commitment to collaboration, a strong sense of place, and a curiosity for new and innovative approaches to solve our communities’ problems are a just a few. Add to that mix the enthusiasm and motivational capabilities of a summer camp counselor and you’ve got the fearless leader of our region’s premier philanthropic consulting service: Managing Partner Audrey Haberman.

One glance at Audrey’s resume reveals a deep commitment to the nonprofit sector in the Northwest. When she moved to Seattle in 1990, she worked for  Seattle Rape Relief, setting off a string of experiences that would eventually lead her to Philanthropy Northwest.

“I was worried about how dependent [Seattle Rape Relief] was on government grants and decided to help the organization by talking to its donors,” Audrey explained. “I loved the conversations; it was so meaningful to hear stories about connection and passion and hope. This led me to seek out opportunities to support more organizations and I ended up at a public foundation – the Women’s Funding Alliance.”

Audrey’s role at Women’s Funding Alliance provided the opportunity to not only raise money for an organization she believed in, but also support the efforts to grant funds to a variety of organizations that benefit women and girls. From Women’s Funding Alliance, Audrey moved on to Pride Foundation and, while serving as executive director for 12 years, was invited to join the board of Philanthropy Northwest.

When it came time to select a leader for The Giving Practice, Audrey’s experience in the community and deep understanding of the needs of the Northwest philanthropic community made her a natural choice to fill the role.

After just two years at the helm of The Giving Practice, Audrey’s team has grown to include 12 individual consultants, all with national experience and knowledge of what makes the Northwest philanthropic sector unique. With a mission to inspire collaborative action between philanthropic organizations, The Giving Practice, and especially Audrey, is always exploring new models, perspectives, and ways of thinking that are helping to evolve the sector.

“It is great news for our field that so many foundations and corporate giving programs are interested in working closer with each other, and are looking for ways to partner with government, nonprofits and individual investors. Yet, creating the environment and agreements to work together, although rewarding and ultimately more effective, takes time and resources. I am a firm believer though, and I expect The Giving Practice’s involvement in guiding some of this work, and sharing new models and strategies that reflect our national and local expertise will be beneficial.”

Stay tuned to this blog to hear more about what The Giving Practice is thinking about and working on. As a member benefit, Philanthropy Northwest members are eligible for one free hour of consulting service from The Giving Practice each year. You can contact Audrey herself for more information. Visit our website to learn more about The Giving Practice and explore the bios of the full consulting staff.

By Jennifer Warren
Intern
Mission Investors Exchange

Now that I am halfway into my internship with Mission Investors Exchange, I realize how many valuable skills I’ve developed!  Most recently I’ve been responsible for major event logistics – specifically for the Mission Investing Institute that took place earlier this month in Austin. (If you are interested in the Institute, it will be offered again in September in Detroit.) Logistics planning was a new experience for me. I enjoyed it, but at the same time, I was challenged!

Given the new assignment I had, I was grateful that the multi-talented staff at Philanthropy Northwest works so well together. During my internship, I’ve learned from my colleagues as they pursue a variety of strategies and activities to support organized philanthropy. You may not know it, but Philanthropy Northwest is home to three connected, but distinct, enterprises. Initially, Philanthropy Northwest was a pretty typical regional association of grantmakers – in our case, serving six Northwest states. Now we are more complex. We provide (1) traditional services focused on 180 members in our region. We are also home to (2) The Giving Practice – a consulting group that offers fee-for-service support to individual organizations and cross-sector collaborations, and (3) Mission Investors Exchange, an association of over 200 foundations working nationally to promote program-related and mission-related investing. I’ve noticed that all three arms of Philanthropy Northwest are incredibly effective forging effective networks that share information and drive philanthropic impact. The synergies created when Philanthropy Northwest core services, The Giving Practice and Mission Investors Exchange are housed together are impressive, and they really helped me learn the ropes of event planning.

It reminds me of the synergies created in our mission investing work when different forms of capital work together. For example, investors teamed up to build a new building for the TAF Academy (explained in an earlier post). Each investor in the project played an important and unique role. This is what I have learned is called a “capital stack*:”

“Capital Stack” (click to enlarge)

Specifically, in the TAF Academy project:

TAF Academy Funding Stack (click to enlarge)

This coming together of partners, at the right time, each with its own unique skills, resources, and capacity was central to the project’s success.

As my internship rolls into its second half, it is clear that our three-part partnership here at Philanthropy Northwest is driven by the desire to create significant impact—which is precisely what mission investing aims to do. And me, too!

* In the illustration, PRI means program-related investment (social return first, but with financial return); MRI means mission-related investment (financial gain first, but with social return); tranche means layer, capital means money, subsidies are often government infusions of capital—or money!—into a project.

 By Dan Johnson
SVP Lead Partner
Encore Fellowship Network

Every day approximately 10,000 baby boomers reach retirement age. At the same time, it is projected that by 2016 nonprofit organizations will need twice the number of senior managers as they currently have. Nonprofits report that 50-75% of those jobs will require traditional business skills. Luckily for the nonprofit sector, many baby boomers, unlike previous generations, are choosing an “encore career” as a way to stay engaged and make a difference in their communities.

The encore movement is founded on the notion that by harnessing the largest, healthiest, most educated, most experienced generation in history, we can make a significant difference in our communities and the world.

Social Venture Partners (SVP), a capacity-building organization with a mission to help nonprofits become more effective, is working to establish the Encore Fellowship Network across a North American network of 28 affiliates. The Encore Fellowship Network enables professionals to transition from private sector careers into high-impact roles in the social sector by creating one-year (1,000 hours) fellowships within a nonprofit. Fellows receive a modest $20,000 stipend for their service during the fellowship engagement.

Part of SVP’s role is to generate financial support to help offset the cost of fellowships for nonprofits. Foundation sponsors provide funding which goes directly toward supporting the capacity-building needs of their priority nonprofits and causes. In short, everyone benefits.

SVP has launched the first fellowship in the Seattle area with Eastside Pathways – a Bellevue, Washington-based nonprofit that works with families, providers, schools, and cities to maximize children’s opportunities to have a productive life. We are also working with Seattle-based Northwest Energy Efficiency Council (NEEC) – a nonprofit trade association of the energy efficiency industry – which is currently seeking a fellow with marketing expertise. If you or someone you know is interested in an encore opportunity, we want to hear from you. We welcome individuals, nonprofits, foundations, corporations, and other agencies as participants in building the encore movement.

To learn more about the encore movement visit our page on the SVP website.

By Mandi Moshay
Communications Manager
Philanthropy Northwest

The Bank of America Charitable Foundation has selected its annual Neighborhood Builder winners in Washington and Oregon which include: Rainier Scholars (Seattle, WA), Metropolitan Development Council (Tacoma, WA), and Dress for Success Oregon (Portland, OR). The recognition awards high-performing nonprofits that have made a significant impact in the bank’s priority areas of housing, jobs, and hunger relief. The Neighborhood Builder program is a strategic investment that pairs leadership training with $200,000 in unrestricted funding so leaders gain valuable skills while applying funding where it’s needed most.

Rainier Scholars

Rainier Scholars is a rigorous and comprehensive educational program serving students over an 11 year journey from 6^th grade to college graduation. The organization is dedicated to providing promising students of color with academic opportunities and support otherwise unavailable to them. Rainier Scholars will use the funding from Bank of America to help support the addition of a new group of scholars each year for a total of 128 new students, which will equal a total of 550 scholars. Funding will be targeted across all four program phases to support academic enrichment, college readiness activities, youth mentoring and internships for high school and college scholars.

Metropolitan Development Council

The Metropolitan Development Council is a vital community resource for Tacoma and Pierce County. Founded in 1964 as a non-profit Community Action Agency, MDC is committed to providing innovative programs that help remove people from a life of poverty and prepare them for self-sufficient living. For most of our 48 year history, MDC has responded to community needs by providing services that address the needs of low-income families. The grant will help the organization reach the next level of quality of care through the chronic care model to help meet the needs of the newly insured.

Dress for Success Oregon

The mission of Dress for Success is to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support, a mentor and career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. Dress for Success Oregon plans to use the grant funds for growth, infrastructure and program expansion by enabling the organization to hire two new employees, implement a course on personal finance education and increase by 10 percent the number of women served by the organization. The grant will also help establish Dress for Success’ Career Center which will be the organization’s first permanent venue to hold regular educational workshops including financial literacy and job preparation courses.

According to the Bridgespan Group, Neighborhood Builders is the largest investment in nonprofit leadership development: 2.5 times the next largest program (in spending) and the third largest in number of leaders served. Since 2004, Bank of America has invested more than $165 million through the program, recognized over 730 nonprofits and trained nearly 1,500 nonprofit leaders. The Neighborhood Builders program is a capstone initiative building on the bank’s broader philanthropic commitment to addressing core issues that are critical to the economic vitality of local economies, with a particular focus on low and moderate income communities.