Recent Mott Foundation News -- Civil Society

Kosovo Today: NGOs could stir “powerful social movement”

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:00:00 GMT

For many years, Mott has been funding democracy-building initiatives in the Western Balkans, including Kosovo, through its Civil Society program. This article is the last in a three-part series that focuses on Mott grantees' current work in Kosovo.

• Kosovo Today: Strengthening the nonprofit sector [first in series]

• Kosovo Today: Women on frontlines of democracy building [second in series]

By MAGGIE I. JARUZEL

These are exciting times to live in Kosovo, says Bashkim Rrahmani, executive director of the Foundation for Democratic Initiatives (FDI), a Mott grantee.

From his perspective, now is the perfect time to build and strengthen the country’s overall civil society sector, and its nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in particular.

“When NGOs really start working together, it could be like a powerful social movement,” Rrahmani says.

“For us, it could be like it was in the 1970s in the United Sates when there were many active human rights and women’s groups working together for social change.”

Bashkim Rrahmani is executive director of the Foundation for Democratic Initiatives. Although there are 5,000 registered NGOs in Kosovo, only about 500 remain active, Rrahmani says. As a result, before a genuine movement can gain momentum, the nonprofit sector needs to develop a Kosovo-wide survey to determine who the country’s current service providers are, what they do, for whom, and how they are funded. He says that NGOs and grassroots groups also could start asking questions, such as “What is our social vision for Kosovo?”

In addition, Rrahmani says, NGOs need to reach beyond Pristina, the nation’s capital and largest city, to meet with residents and hear them describe their needs firsthand instead of relying on “generic pre-packaged strategies” for change.

By design, he says, FDI works throughout all areas of Kosovo from its main office in Gjakova, a historic city in Western Kosovo, and also plans to have a small office in Pristina. Hopefully, having breadth and depth will enable FDI to use both the bottom-up and the top-down approach to fill a national void, Rrahmani says.

“What we are lacking -– what all institutions in Kosovo are still lacking -– is a clear understanding of how to bring citizens close to the government and the government close to its citizens.”

Two other pressing problems cannot be solved without the government and its citizens working together, he says. They are widespread unemployment -- ranging from 50 to 60 percent in some places, to as high as 60 to 80 percent in others -- and equal treatment for Serbian citizens in the new Kosovo where they are now a minority.

For almost a decade, FDI has tried to tackle the region’s toughest issues. Established as a NGO in Kosovo in 1999, FDI began making small grants two years later to other NGOs. It has provided more than 80 grants totaling about $700,000 to Kosovo grantees from 2005 to 2007 alone.

While FDI is Kosovo’s only indigenous grantmaker today, Rrahmani wants that status to change soon.

“Even though Kosovo is a small country, there is still a need to have more indigenous grantmakers because there are so many issues to address.”

T“What we are lacking – what all institutions in Kosovo are still lacking – is a clear understanding of how to bring citizens close to the government and the government close to its citizens.”hrough its grantmaking, FDI supports projects that encourage citizens, including local youth, to tackle specific community development problems. FDI also provides opportunities for majority Albanian and minority Serbian populations to work together in designing local programs and events that promote the region’s diverse cultural heritage.

Rrahmani says he enjoys meeting with other NGO leaders from the Balkans -- such as those from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia -– and sharing similar experiences and ideas.

“We discuss common projects, integration into the EU (European Union), and the strengths and challenges of the ethnic groups we have in common,” he says.

“What we are really doing is opening channels for future cooperation.”

Kosovo Today: Women on frontlines of democracy building

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 12:00:00 GMT

For many years, Mott has been funding democracy-building initiatives in the Western Balkans, including Kosovo, through its Civil Society program. This article is the second in a three-part series that focuses on Mott grantees' current work in Kosovo.

• Kosovo Today: Strengthening the nonprofit sector [first in series]

By MAGGIE I. JARUZEL

Since Kosovo became the world’s newest nation, traveling internationally has become easier for Igballe Rogova.

“If you come from an established country with widely recognized travel documents, you cannot imagine the feeling of not having an identity and trying to explain the place from which you come,” she said.

Igballe Rogova is executive director of Kosova Women’s Network. Prior to independence, Kosovo had been a province in Serbia but administered by the United Nations since the end of the Kosovo war in 1999. This left Kosovo in somewhat of a legal limbo for the past decade, said Rogova, executive director of Kosova Women’s Network (KWN).

She was one of many residents who danced in the streets when the small country in the Balkans region declared its independence from Serbia in February 2008. In April, Kosovo’s assembly adopted the nation’s first constitution, which was hailed as another move toward full statehood.

“Finally we have a name, finally we have an identity, finally we are one step closer to a peaceful future for our country and the region,” Rogova said.

The monumental events have been especially significant for the women's network, based in Pristina, the nation's capital and largest city. It's membership includes 85 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that are located throughout the country and represent the nation’s many ethnic groups. Collectively, these groups work to support, protect and promote the rights and interests of women and girls throughout Kosovo.

Among other things, KWN provides members with opportunities to interact and learn from one another and it helps strengthen their organizations internally. Additionally, the network partners with members for joint educational and informational media campaigns about a variety of issues, such as the nation’s election procedures, gender laws, domestic violence, transitional justice, peace and security, and other topics.

Rogova said she and others were bewildered that not a single Kosovar woman was invited to participate in the United Nations’ negotiations in 2006 that helped determine Kosovo’s legal political status. Fortunately, she said, KWN representatives did meet several times with staff of the Special Envoy for Kosovo. They shared their expertise and experiences as Kosovar women, including their work for peace.

“Back in the 1990s, we wanted to show publicly that as women from different ethnic, religious and national backgrounds we were standing in solidarity against the war,” Rogova said.

“While the men were fighting, we women were standing together in peace.”

Although Kosovar women have engaged in peace activities for more than a decade, a formal independent coalition -- Women’s Peace Coalition -- wasn’t created until 2006. It was then that KWN partnered with Women in Black-Serbia, an international peace network whose members wear black for mourning and stand in silent peace vigils.

“Finally we have a name, finally we have an identity, finally we are one step closer to a peaceful future for our country and the region.” Kosovar women also have shown solidarity when meeting with officials of the European Commission (the executive branch of the European Union), the Swedish International Development Agency, and several ministries and departments within the Kosovo government. Together, they proclaim that pressing women’s issues -- insufficient education and health care, and prostitution prompted by high unemployment –- should be named as top national concerns, Rogova said.

In early 2008, Mott provided a two-year, $50,000 grant to KWN in support of its efforts to ensure that women actively participate in the nation’s decisionmaking processes related to its political, economic and social development.

The network promotes these goals by sharing women’s concerns with decisionmakers at the local, national and international levels; encouraging and preparing women to be political candidates; and providing venues for women’s groups to work together for common causes.

Rogova’s dream is to see Kosovar citizens continuously pushing government officials to fulfill their campaign promises.

“I’d like to say to them, ‘We are the voters. Pay attention to us!’”

Created in 2000 as an informal network and then registered as an official NGO in 2003, KWN’s name and its work are both gaining recognition, she said.

“Some people have heard leaders say, ‘We have to make sure that gender issues are included. Otherwise, we will hear from the Kosova Women’s Network,’” Rogova said with a smile.

“That makes me happy. They know we will not remain silent.”

Kosovo Today: Strengthening the nonprofit sector

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:04:41 GMT

For many years, Mott has been funding democracy-building initiatives in the Western Balkans, including Kosovo, through its Civil Society program. This article is the first in a three-part series that focuses on Mott grantees' current work in Kosovo.

By MAGGIE I. JARUZEL

Building and strengthening Kosovo’s physical and governmental infrastructure remains an important concern, especially following the adoption of its formal constitution on June 15 -- making it the world’s newest nation, says Fron Nahzi, vice president of programs at East-West Management Institute (EWMI).

“Right now, stability is even more important than civic development. How can citizens become engaged and responsible if they do not feel their country is secure?”

For many residents, national stability translates to having access to basic necessities such as adequate electricity and water, Nahzi adds.

Since 1991, he has worked in the Western Balkans, where he was born. Although he and his family moved to the United States after his parents became political refugees when he was a child, Nahzi’s career path led him back to the region.

A Mott grantee, EWMI was founded in 1988 as an international nonprofit organization that promotes the rule of law, civil society and free markets globally. In addition to its Kosovo office, EWMI has staff based in several other countries in the Western Balkans, Southeast Asia, and also the U.S.

Nahzi’s Kosovo work includes helping develop a strong civil society sector -- evidenced by vibrant nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Following the end of the conflict in 1999, new NGOs mushroomed throughout Kosovo. Unfortunately, Nahzi says, many organizations were created in response to donors' interests, not civic responsibility.

“We had groups doing whatever there was donor money to do –- whether or not it was in their mission statement. There was so much money available in 1999 and 2000 that people were literally getting money to plant grass in front of restaurants,” he says, adding that the funds were given with little follow up to determine whether they were spent effectively.

“Years later, along come people asking for accountability,” Nahzi says. “For the majority of NGOs that appeared as a totally new concept.”

Another new concept for most people was shared decisionmaking, which Nahzi implements by encouraging grassroots groups to work with local municipalities to identify and address their community’s challenges.

“When there’s a common cause, people work together,” he says, adding that EWMI promotes ways for citizens to see themselves as “agents of change.”

Although divisions still exist between the country’s majority Albanian population and its Serbian minority, Nahzi says, each local municipality now provides a fund for multi-ethnic projects to encourage shared decisionmaking between groups that waged war against one another in the late 1990s.

Together, they are rallying around key issues, such as the critical need for more jobs in a country where 50 to 60 percent of its residents are unemployed.

In addition, most Albanians and Serbs are united in their efforts to address the nation’s inability to deliver education and health care services to its citizens. They also are equally frustrated with Kosovo’s ongoing water and electricity shortages, Nahzi says.

"How can citizens become engaged and responsible if they do not feel their country is secure?” “It’s a Catch-22 situation. There is such a major shortage of basic services that people say, ‘Why should we pay taxes?’ But when no one pays taxes there are poor public services.”

According to Nahzi, Kosovo has made little progress in addressing its major problems because the country has been strapped with a unique and ineffective form of government. Currently, the United Nations’ Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), the European Union, and citizen-elected officials share power.

The governing system is difficult to understand, he says, and even more difficult to maneuver.

“After we [EWMI] published a citizens’ guide describing the governing structure in Kosovo, parliamentary members asked for copies of it because they wanted a way to understand the parallel system, too!”

But that three-pronged system is expected to dissolve now that the Constitution has been formally adopted, making the country’s government look more like a typical democracy.

While there is much hope associated with that next step toward total independence as a nation, many major obstacles remain, Nahzi says. For him, two of the biggest challenges facing Kosovo’s citizens are fatigue and frustration. Still, he says, it’s crucial for citizens to stay involved and keep holding their government accountable.

“The people of Kosovo wanted independence based on the rule of law, not dictatorship, like they had with [Slobodan] Milosevic. We can -– and should -– develop a system with high principles and transparency. We have to hold ourselves and our government to a higher standard.”

New report analyzes diversity in U.S. foundations

Thu, 22 May 2008 09:13:34 GMT

By MAGGIE I. JARUZEL

A peek behind the doors of the nation’s foundations today, compared with the foundations of 25 years ago, reveals that the field has become more diverse in nearly all aspects. Yet, there is still much that can be done to make U.S. foundations more reflective of the country’s overall diversity, says a newly released report by the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA).

“The good news is that there has been much progress over the 25 years, but it has not been consistent with the greatest gains seen in the first half of that period,” said Melissa Berman, president and CEO of RPA, an independent nonprofit organization with offices in New York City, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

“We hope that this report will help colleagues find new ways to accelerate diversity in the field.”

The report, Philanthropy in a Changing Society: Achieving Effectiveness through Diversity, is the first of three publications to be released by RPA that explore the subject of diversity in philanthropy. According to the report’s authors, it is the most comprehensive study of diversity in foundations for this time period.

Key findings include:

From 1982 to 2006, diversity in overall foundation staff grew from 12. 6 percent to 23.2 percent, and board diversity rose from 4.3 percent to 13.0 percent.
Most advances in diversity were made in the first half of the 25 years studied, resulting in a tripling of CEO and board diversity for the entire period, although only 41.5 percent and 32.7 percent of the respective change occurred between 1994 and 2006.
Diversity within foundations varies greatly, evidenced by minorities representing 35 percent of program officers in 2006, when compared with only 15.4 percent years earlier. The percentage of minority CEOs grew from 1.6 percent to 5.8.

As a result of its findings, RPA made several recommendations to the field, including:

Increase advocacy and outreach by networks of foundation leaders and philanthropic affinity groups;
Improve and expand existing internships/fellowship and community foundation programs; and
Increase research on trends in diversity staffing, board composition and grantmaking.

The report was funded by two Mott grants totaling $112,250 that were earmarked for collecting the data and sharing it broadly within the field of philanthropy and also with media outlets.

“We hope our colleagues will join us in exploring and implementing models that will promote greater inclusiveness within the field, and, in turn, better help society’s underserved communities,” said Maureen Smyth, Mott’s senior vice president of programs and communications.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

News release: http://rockpa.org/news/press-releases/
Report (executive summary): http://rockpa.org/pdfs/Philanthropy_in_a_Changing_Society_summ.pdf
Full report: http://rockpa.org/pdfs/Philanthropy_in_a_Changing_Society_full.pdf

Online system for nonprofits makes filing tax returns a snap

Thu, 01 May 2008 13:01:54 GMT

By ANN RICHARDS

The May 15 deadline for nonprofits to file their IRS Forms 990 and 990-EZ is fast approaching. Nonprofits across the nation now can take advantage of the 990 Online Web site, which provides a user-friendly way to electronically prepare tax returns -- and in Michigan and Pennsylvania file them as well. Developed by the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C. with the support of a $300,000 grant from the C.S. Mott Foundation, the electronic filing system is the key to more accurate reporting on nonprofits, more cost-effective capturing of data, and better oversight of the sector, according to Elizabeth Boris, the center's director. Ultimately, "e-filing" will save millions of philanthropic and government dollars, Boris said. Housed at the Urban Institute's National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS), services available through the 990 Online Web site are free to nonprofit organizations with less than $100,000 in gross receipts. Tom Pollak, a program director at NCCS who has worked with the Internal Revenue Service and state charity regulators since 1999 to develop the tax preparation and e-filing software, recently spoke with Ann Richards, a Communications Officer for Mott, about the advantages of this new system.

Mott: In 2002, several states went live with the new NCCS e-filing software. In 2004, NCCS’s new 990 Online Web site became the first system to permit e-filing of the Form 990-EZ directly with the IRS. What are the advantages of using the new program and how has this new technology been received?

Pollak: There are a couple of real advantages to the Web site we've developed. Most obviously, the system does the all the math for you. It offers standard formats for virtually all of the schedules and attachments that nonprofits need to file, and you don't have to browse through 40 pages of instructions to complete the form. When you are done with your form, it checks to make sure that all required sections and attachments are complete. Another big advantage is that when you use the system the next year, the program descriptions, board lists, and other information that stays more or less the same from year to year is automatically imported into your new return. It's a real time-saver for nonprofits.

For nonprofits with gross receipts of less than $100,000, use of the software is free. We've instituted modest fees for larger nonprofits, because we hope to make the 990 Online self-supporting within the next few years. We've had several large, national nonprofits use the system successfully. And over the last six months, we've completed an e-Postcard system for the smallest nonprofits -- those with less than $25,000 in gross receipts. Over the long run, we anticipate that the e-Postcard will make it easy for small nonprofits to check in with the IRS each year, and easier for donors and other stakeholders to get an accurate picture of the nonprofit landscape.

Another big advantage is that e-filing is more secure than paper filing. Obviously security is a huge issue for the IRS, and we seek to provide an equally secure system. We use PayPal for credit card transactions so payment transmissions are completely secure.

The system is Web-based -- any nonprofit with an Internet connection and a standard browser such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Firefox should have no trouble using it. It doesn't directly link with accounting systems, but it allows you to import key information such as the lists of board members, grants and contributors from Excel spreadsheets.

Mott: What states currently make this software available to nonprofit organizations?

Pollak: Nonprofits in every state can use this software to complete their federal return. Right now, nonprofits in Michigan and Pennsylvania can also use the 990 Online to e-file their state forms as well. Organizations that are registered in California, New York, Colorado, and Mississippi will soon be able to e-file in those states. One of our biggest challenges is working with state charity officials to make the system widely available. But it costs money to upgrade technology, and a lot of the state charity regulators don't control their own IT budgets. As the IRS moves to require more organizations to e-file, we anticipate more interest in the 990 Online. In the long run, adapting to electronic filing will be hugely valuable in terms of cost-savings.

Mott: What are some of the other big challenges related to electronically preparing 990 forms or extensions?

Pollak: Well, the biggest challenge right now is that the IRS has redesigned the 990. They've made major improvements to the form, but adapting our software -- making it compatible with the new form -- will be a huge cost endeavor that will preoccupy much of this coming year. The IRS still requires electronic filers to submit a signature form via fax or mail -- we'd like to eliminate that. We also want to continue making our software easier to use. Longer term, we are designing our new system so that it can be customized to meet the needs of funders seeking additional information from their grantees or umbrella associations trying to collect data from their members. Collecting this information through the Form 990 process could be a lot easier than trying to get organizations to complete member surveys that often ask questions that are similar to what’s already on the 990.

Mott: What do users have to say about the 990 Online software?

Pollak: We've had a number of nice letters and comments -- and cash donations to support the work -- from organizations who have used the software and our tech support. A very small agency with no overhead expenses or paid staff said they would have had to hire an accountant without the software -- they put the savings toward their work preventing domestic abuse. Another client -- a university -- wrote that they were delighted with the software's quality and ease of use. They also appreciated the appearance of the finished forms. Apparently they had tried another online service recommended by their auditing firm and it was too complicated. Now the auditors are recommending 990 Online.

Mott: We've talked a lot about the advantages of the 990 Online for users, but what are some of the other benefits of e-filing?

Pollak: Putting on my researcher hat, I'd say there are tremendous implications for data collecting. We'd like to expand the system's ability to collect supplemental information. Posting this information online will make it available much more accurately and quickly than key-punching it by hand and scanning documents, which is how the IRS currently handles 990 information. In the grand scheme, it would be great if we could use electronic filing to make more management data available to nonprofits. They could use the data to figure out how they're performing in comparison to nonprofits of a similar size. Ideally, they could access the data to make more sound programmatic and financial decisions.

E-filing is one of those win-win processes for charities and the IRS. Error rates are vastly lower when you e-file; the cost of processing the information for the IRS and other users is vastly lower as well. In preparing for this project in 2002, our surveys indicated that technical capacity is not a serious barrier to electronic filing. Of the very smallest organizations -- those with zero paid staff that prepare Form 990 internally, 86 percent reported having Internet access. Based on our experience with the e-Postcard project this year, we believe that the percentage is far higher now. As of 2007, more than 28,000 Form 990s, 990-EZs and extensions had been created using the 990 Online software. The number of charities using the software is modest but it's growing -- the incentives to file electronically are huge.

Grant program boosts information sharing

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 09:26:49 GMT

By ANN RICHARDS

Introducing a new idea and developing practical applications that will make it useful takes time, deliberation and very often, a financial boost to stay on track. The CFLT Idea Lab grants program -- now available to groups of three or more community foundations working on new ways to attack old problems --- is designed to stimulate creativity by eliminating some of the financial barriers that stand in the way of innovation, according to Heather Scott, director of Community Foundation Services at the Council on Foundations (COF) in Arlington, Virginia.

A component of the Council’s Community Foundations Leadership Team's new three-year Plan of Action is to encourage greater collaboration and innovation among community foundations across the country, CFLT Idea Lab grants provide up to $50,000 over 12 to 18 months to develop lessons and model programs based on field-identified projects.

"It's a new tactic for us," Scott said of the grants. "We're going to the grassroots to ask community foundations what issues they want to work on -- we hope it will result in deeper engagement -- particularly among the smaller community foundations across the country -- in helping us develop and disseminate knowledge that benefits the entire field."

There are 770 community foundations with collective assets of about $44.8 billion in the United States, according to 2005 data collected by the Foundation Center. Scattered across a wide geographic area, it is difficult to manage the collective knowledge that is generated by these organizations and even more difficult to pollinate ideas with potential to improve their management and grantmaking, said Scott.

"When we review the CFLT Idea Lab grant applications, we'll be looking at the potential scalability of projects. There are pockets of people all over the place doing interesting things, but for community foundations of all sizes, the expenses of partnering with each other can seem insurmountable. By providing dollars to cover meeting costs, expert assistance and facilitation, we hope that we can ease those financial difficulties, allow them to take measured risks, and invest their own time and experience to develop solutions to common problems."

"Over the last couple of years, in conversations with our national funders, we've been encouraged to move beyond efforts to strengthen the internal operations of community foundations and to take a look at how to assist them to become recognized leaders and partners of change within their communities." Since 1999, the Community Foundations Leadership Team has been charged with overseeing the work and priorities of Council’s community foundation members. Developed with ongoing support currently totaling more than $2 million from the Mott Foundation, the Leadership Team established a special projects fund in 2000. The fund has enabled COF to be responsive and proactive to opportunities in eight priority areas, which include accountability; the establishment of national standards; professional and organizational development; and fostering effective grantmaking and community leadership, according to Nick Deychakiwsky, Mott Foundation program officer.

"One of the most notable of the team's recent activities has been the launch of the National Task Force on Community Leadership, a group of 30 highly respected field leaders who will provide a framework and accelerate the shift to community leadership by community foundations at the local and field levels," Deychakiwsky said. "The Idea Lab grants are designed to further enhance the practice of community leadership by helping create, capture and share knowledge of value to the field."

"We'll continue to develop resources and tools to build a strong infrastructure for the field, but we're also going to try a bottom-up approach that enables the community foundations to be a part of this work.

"We don't expect that every project we fund will be a huge success, but we are confident that valuable new learning will emerge. And we plan to share and spread this innovation through the CFLT Idea Lab."

To apply for a CFLT Idea Lab grant or for more information on the Council’s Community Foundations Leadership Team, go to: www.cof.org/leadershipteam

Michigan's Office of the Foundation Liaison links mutual interests for the common good

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 09:28:20 GMT

By ANN RICHARDS

In 2003, Michigan's Office of Foundation Liaison was established through a joint agreement between Michigan foundations and the governor’s office. Karen Aldridge-Eason, hired to direct the new initiative, was charged with identifying innovative funding partnerships and strategic collaborations that align the priorities of the state's government and foundations. Before accepting the position as the country’s first, cabinet-level foundation liaison, Aldridge-Eason directed Michigan's Office of Health and Human Services at the Department of Management and Budget and served as budget director for the City of Flint. She is currently on loan from the Mott Foundation, where she was a member of the program staff for nine years. In an interview with Communications Officer Ann Richards, Aldridge-Eason shares some of the challenges of establishing the office and some of the rewards of building what is now considered a national model for governmental and philanthropic collaboration.

Mott: The Office of the Foundation Liaison (OFL) was created to foster strategic partnerships between Michigan's philanthropic community and state government. How has that work evolved?

Karen Aldridge-EasonAldridge-Eason: It's been almost five years since we established the office, and it's amazing how quickly the time has passed. We've gone through several educational waves -- first, figuring out how we would approach the work, then, how to explain it to our grantmaking and government clients. In the beginning, it was tough to convince people that we are a nonpolitical entity, particularly since we're housed in the governor's office. But gradually, after a lot of visits and meetings and conversations, we've been able to help state officials understand that the foundation community has a lot more to offer than money. They're beginning to appreciate that there's a tremendous amount of expertise that foundations have developed through decades of grantmaking.

Of course, we're always transitioning, and that forces ongoing exchange. People move in and out of positions, problems change, opportunities pop up. It's a continuous process of education and re-education. Fortunately, we've been able to establish some very strong networks that now include departmental managers as well as appointed officials, nonprofits and smaller foundations. The conversations have shifted and deepened over the years. As we approach year five, we have folks from both government and philanthropy talking with us about systems, strategic partnerships and policy change. And that's exciting to me.

Mott: Could you elaborate on that point?

Aldridge Eason: System reform through policy change is one -- I should say the ultimate -- goal of the OFL's work. Foundations rightfully want to know what reforms have occurred as a result of their investment in us. Affecting this kind of deep and lasting change is our greatest challenge, in large part because you can't force it. Trust has to be built and silos have to be broken down before genuine conversations can even get started. It's hard work for everyone involved.

Mott: Given these challenges, why is it important -- in your opinion -- to encourage state governments and foundations to work together?

Aldridge Eason: Government and foundations very often work on the same kinds of issues -- and they have similar constituencies, particularly when it comes to vulnerable communities. The magnitude of the problems we face in Michigan -- workforce and job development, land use and preservation, education, health -- can't be dealt with in isolation. Neither government nor foundations can do it by themselves. It's good business to leverage money and expertise. It makes sense to put our heads together, to discuss mutual problems and find ways to deal with them together.

Mott: Your office has attracted more than $45 million in foundation investments, which has been essential to various state projects. Are there other ways you measure the value of the work carried out through the OFL?

Aldridge-Eason: Absolutely. We measure it in the partnerships we've helped create, the networks that exist. We've now completed three phases of formal evaluation, with the help of Dr. Mary Mc Donald, the director of the Community Research Institute [CRI] at the Dorothy Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership at Grand Valley State University. She's created measurements to help us define our work through six categories -- networking, facilitation, outreach, research, administration and something we call 'prospecting,' which is how we assign time spent uncovering issues, figuring out government and foundation priorities, identifying experts or models.

Mary has helped us compare the amount of time we spend on each activity and with our goals and objectives -- it's a kind of continuous 'learning loop' that helps us understand where we can be more efficient. The evaluation also helped us create a database and enhance our contacts, which have proved very valuable in building and strengthening relationships. CRI also conducts regular surveys of both government and foundation partners. So far, there have been strong indications that the OFL has been useful to them and their work. If your constituents and clients value you, I believe that’s the best indicator of your effectiveness.

Mott: What projects are currently a priority for the OFL?

Aldridge-Eason: Supporting an improved economy for Michigan is paramount. To that end, workforce education and development are really gathering strength. In her 2007 State of the State Address, the governor introduced the "No Worker Left Behind" initiative as part of her comprehensive plan to transform the state's economy. Foundations across the state have been discussing how they can support this effort and right now, we're trying to identify gaps along the educational pipeline and where interventions might be most effective in training older workers.

The magnitude of the problems we face in Michigan ... can't be dealt with in isolation. ... It makes sense to put our heads together, to discuss mutual problems and find ways to deal with them together.

Michigan's incarceration rates are the fourth highest in the country, so prisoner re-entry continues to be an important issue for us. Initially, we focused on early childhood education and land use issues. Foundations pushed hard to establish some type of umbrella agency that would focus on expanding the availability of high-quality early education and child care by leveraging public and private dollars.

In 2005, the state created the Early Childhood Investment Corporation for that purpose, and appointed two foundation representatives to the board. We plan to reconvene the early childhood group to figure out how foundations can continue to be helpful with this effort. Over the final three years of her term, the governor has indicated she wants an urban agenda, and land use may re-emerge as a key area for our work. Certainly there will be opportunities to stimulate some new ideas by exposing officials to urban initiatives and experts that Michigan's foundation community have identified and worked with.

Mott: What advice would you give to other states who are considering the establishment of a foundation liaison office?

Aldridge-Eason: I've had the opportunity to work with a couple of states interested in the Michigan model, including New Jersey, Louisiana, Wisconsin and a regional group in the Pacific Northwest. I always emphasize that patience and persistence are essential; you are building a network of relationships. Trust takes time to develop. If a state or municipality is going to set aside resources to do this, they need to recognize it is a slow process, dependent upon the liaison's ability to overcome resistance from two sectors that are often used to leading. Nothing significant is going to happen quickly. Our first 'victory' was a $25,000 grant to create the infrastructure for early childhood advocacy.

Staffing is very important -- I've been fortunate that our program associate, Maura (Dewan), has a strong background with both state and nonprofit agencies. It's worth taking the time to hire staff that can complement each other's strengths. Being selective about what you work on is very important -- some state agencies and foundations aren't ready to be involved at the onset. Go for the low-hanging fruit when you first start up. Of course, even as you work to narrow your focus, you've got to be flexible -- this work is fluid. The government's agenda will change, as will philanthropy's.

As I mentioned before, neutrality is key to working effectively. I can't emphasize how important it is to use private funding to support liaison activities. Letting government fund the office would significantly change its role. Having the support of an advisory committee -- and in our case, the Council of Michigan Foundations -- is critical in terms of keeping the work unbiased and neutral. Our advisory committee has been a great sounding board for me, and they're willing to provide some muscle when we need it. Finally, I believe respecting and honoring what government and philanthropy want to do is incredibly important, which means that you have to listen carefully and closely to what they say and then figure out what steps to take in helping them understand each other's perspective and develop effective partnerships.

Nonprofit organizations are "training ground for democracy"

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 14:41:41 GMT

By MAGGIE I. JARUZEL

As editor-in-chief of The Nonprofit Quarterly, Ruth McCambridge knows the depth and breadth of the nonprofit sector. As a result, she is quick to trumpet the lasting value of nonprofit organizations (NPOs).

"Some nonprofits might need to Ruth McCambridgerevisit their identities as venues for citizens' activities, but NPOs really are the training ground for democracy," said McCambridge, who is responsible for content included in the Boston-based print and electronic publication.

"They are critical to the future of the country if they focus, at least in part, on that purpose.”

Still, she is not hesitant to discuss the challenges common to leaders of the nation's nonprofit sector, and she does not mince words. Instead, McCambridge uses short, punchy sentences to talk about what nonprofits need to do to take a more central role in society. She describes the issues that keep executive directors awake at night, many of which address interactions within nonprofits:

board members aren't fully engaged and sometimes do not fully understand the organization’s context and choices;
many boards and staffs lack diversity;
many nonprofits include far too few constituent voices in critical decision making;
funders' interests often trump others' interests, resulting in too many nonprofits with a collection of programs with no clear strategic direction; and
too much money is earmarked as restricted, often leaving nonprofits hamstrung in many ways.

These concerns, says McCambridge, also were widely cited by sector leaders during NPQ's annual survey, adding that the quarterly is the nation's "go to" source for nonprofit managers, just as The Harvard Business Review is the publication business leaders turn to for the latest information from thinkers in their fields.

The magazine is a project of the Nonprofit Information Networking Association, which has received two Mott grants totaling $350,000 since 2006 to support the publication and also to fund a study of the sector's infrastructure. The results of that 2008 study are expected to be published in an upcoming special edition.

With more than 35 years of experience working with nonprofit organizations, McCambridge has learned to listen beyond the buzz words. For example, while many people promote collaborations in glowing terms, experience has shown that these types of partnerships work best when they are not forced but emerge out of shared programmatic interests, she said.

"If we hope to build nonprofits that are powerful and effective, leadership development efforts shouldn’t wait for the executive to leave. They should concentrate on building the discernment and decisionmaking skills of all staff and board members -- as well as engaged constituent groups."

Mergers pose their own problems.

“The idea that you are going to get any short-term payoff in terms of economy of scale is a common fallacy that many funders still cling to. The result is that the merged organization often finds itself underfunded for what it hoped to do."

"Some people ask, 'Aren't there too many nonprofit organizations out there?' and I say 'no' because organizations are an expression of human endeavors. An organization may drop a program because somebody around the corner does it better, but that first organization, if it is purpose driven, will continue to operate and fill a niche."

While sticking to purpose (also called mission) is crucial for any nonprofit's success, another key characteristic is shared leadership, says McCambridge.

"Leadership transition should never be about replacing a single outstanding leader with another. It is more than selecting the next savior. If we hope to build nonprofits that are powerful and effective, leadership development efforts shouldn’t wait for the executive to leave. They should concentrate on building the discernment and decisionmaking skills of all staff and board members -- as well as engaged constituent groups. This results in an organization that is deeply wise wherever you look instead of being largely dependent on someone at the top to have all the wisdom."

For McCambridge, who sprinkles her speech with visual images, shared leadership is round-shaped while "savior" style is triangular because all the power peaks with a single person at the top.

"One-person thinking creates a frail organization," she said.

When McCambridge looks to the future, she is optimistic about the sector. She says it has pockets that are getting "more and more savvy" about ways to keep their constituents informed, utilizing both traditional and new media. At the same time, many NPOs also are focusing on ways to professionalize their operations and staff. While the latter is viewed as a plus, McCambridge cautions that it also has a downside that isn't immediately apparent.

"Just because somebody doesn't have the credentials doesn't mean they can't do the work. We need to be careful that we aren't driving away qualified volunteers who want to commit their time and creativity to the organization.

"First, these people often become or recruit our donors. And second, volunteers constitute an active base of supporters who know our work and the constituency. They are our advocates; the people who rally around our issues. When we neglect to build this base of non-paid advocates, we lessen our power with funders and policymakers, and we can ultimately lessen our ability to make change as organizations and as a sector. And isn't that what the sector is all about -- making change?"

First Murphy Lecture features President of Ireland, Mott CEO

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 15:37:22 GMT

By MITCH HURST

President of Ireland Mary McAleese and Mott Foundation President William S. White spoke at the inaugural Ray Murphy Lecture in Cork, Ireland on January 25.

The lecture, delivered by President McAleese, was the first of ten annual lectures that will take place in honor of Murphy, a leader in the field of international philanthropy and a senior adviser to the Mott Foundation at the time of his death in March 2007. The lecture series is funded with grants from Mott and Atlantic Philanthropies and is sponsored by Philanthropy Ireland, an association of Irish grantmaking organizations.

During his remarks to launch the lecture series, White talked about Murphy's passion for, and commitment to, the field of philanthropy. White highlighted Murphy's belief that philanthropy can empower and enable people to help them improve their lives, and emphasized Murphy's interest in the needs of vulnerable children and youth.

"We have an ambition to create a society that is based on a true social order, a place where the dignity and equality of every human being is a lived reality, not simply a big unreachable aspiration but actually something that we are, in a focused and galvanized way, making our way visibly towards." - Ireland President Mary McAleese

"At the core Ray believed in the inherent goodness of people," White said. "He believed that regardless of which city or nation one calls home, there exists a universal human spirit of caring and giving."

White encouraged those in attendance that one way they could honor Murphy's legacy was to take the "long view" of philanthropy by developing strong relationships with grantees; that grantmaking is about the long-term bonds between foundations and grantees and those they serve.

"He lived his values," White said. "His vision for what was possible made a lasting impact. Through our memories and this lecture series, Ray's voice will continue to be heard."

President McAleese's lecture focused on the history and culture of philanthropy in Ireland. She highlighted the potential power for good of the new wealth created by Ireland's remarkable economic growth over the past two decades -- the "problem of wealth" that she said is a "good problem to have."

She also touched on Murphy's legacy and his values.

"Ray believed that the welfare of one is infinitely connected with the welfare of all, so that when one human being is weak or excluded or disadvantaged then we're all dragged down by that," McAleese said, "and we are all challenged to pull everybody up."

President McAleese cited Murphy's early career working with children with learning disabilities and other youth to emphasize the importance of the dignity of each individual in society.

"We have an ambition to create a society that is based on a true social order, a place where the dignity and equality of each human being is a lived reality," she said, "not simply a big, unreachable aspiration but actually something that we are, in a focused and galvanized way, making our way visibly towards.

In closing, President McAleese echoed White's remarks by talking about the importance of committing to solving problems for the long haul.

"Philanthropy allows us to contemplate taking the big problems, reducing them in scale," she said. "Sending them off, seeing them off, picking them off ... we root them out, we deal with them, we stay with them for whatever time it takes, and in a coherent and focused and managed and planned and intelligent and wise way we see the problem through to completion."

Additional Links

Philanthropy Ireland has posted a variety of content related to the Murphy Lecture event on its Web site. Resources include podcasts of both White's and President McAleese's full remarks, as well as the remarks of others who spoke at the event. Photographs from the event are also available. Click here to access links to this additional content. Click here to download a PDF publication of Mott Foundation President William S. White’s speech.

South African leader shares lessons on sustainable peace

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

By ANN RICHARDS

If South Africa had any hope of achieving sustainable peace following the dissolution of apartheid, it had to “come clean” and acknowledge what had happened.

“Thousands of South Africans had been jailed, evicted, gone underground or died,” said Alexander L. Boraine, global visiting professor of law at New York University’s School of Law.

“After [Nelson]

Alexander L. Boraine
Photo credit: Rick Smith

Mandela was elected, there was great joy. But we had to come down from that mountain very quickly. There were still many unanswered questions. We had to find a way to provide justice for victims, hold those who had committed crimes responsible and reintegrate the perpetrators into society.”

On Sept. 13, the former deputy chair of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) spoke before a standing-room-only crowd of students and faculty at the University of Michigan-Flint.

His appearance was part of a weeklong series of community events surrounding the South African play, Truth in Translation, which examines the stories of both the victims and perpetrators of apartheid through the experience of translators participating in the TRC. The Flint residency portion of the U.S. tour was funded with a $169,820 grant to the Flint Cultural Center Corporation from the Mott Foundation.

“Our first obligation was to restore dignity to the victim,” Boraine said of the TRC.

“Generally, the perpetrator -- not the victim -- is the focus of justice. We started with the victim, with the voiceless who had been ignored.

“We believed that the quality of justice is limited by reducing it to persecution only. We tried to achieve a justice that was both retributive and restorative.”

The reconciliatory approach of the TRC has been used as a model for other countries grappling with past human rights abuses.

In 2001 Boraine, a former Methodist minister and former member of South Africa’s Parliament, founded the International Center for Transitional Justice in New York City. Today, he travels the world, assisting with peace-building efforts in countries as diverse as Northern Ireland and Sierra Leone.

Through the center, which is working in more than 20 countries, governments, non-governmental organizations and international organizations are attempting to craft a balance between judicial approaches -- such as human rights litigation and war crime tribunals -- and nonjudicial approaches -- such as truth and reconciliation commissions, mediation and peace-building efforts.

Since 2002, Mott has provided more than $2 million in general support and project grants to the center.

UM-Flint students and faculty listen to Dr. Alex Boraine.
Photo credit: Rick Smith “What we sought was a broader definition of justice -- not a watering down but a deepening of that concept,” Boraine said of the center’s work. “The model we used in South Africa was flawed -- we made many mistakes -- but we believe that it was successful in beginning a change process that is still under way.”

Much work remains to be done to restore true equality for all citizens in South Africa, he said.

“The healing in South Africa is partial -- a lot remains to be done. If you are a professional peacemaker, then you believe that the greatest of human rights is life itself -- you want to stop the killing. Then your work has to shift to something else.”