New report finds Bay Area foundations responsive during recession
posted on: Tuesday, June 08, 2010
by Julia Craig
A new report from the San Francisco Foundation found that Bay Area funders responded to the recession by increasing their grant dollars to safety net organizations, such as those focused on providing shelter, food, and other basic human needs. Strengthening the Safety Net (pdf) collected information on more than 1,000 grants worth more than $47 million from 24 grantmakers in the region. This represents a significant proportion of national safety net grantmaking: according to the Foundation Center, between 2008 and November 2009, $170 million was granted to almost 1,500 nonprofits nationwide working on these issues.
One key element of the response was collaboration. Bay area foundations are leading by example, pooling their resources and listening to their communities to identify pressing needs. In September 2009, the Walter and Elise Haas Fund, the Y&H Soda Fund, United Way of the Bay Area and The San Francisco Foundation launched the Safety Net Funders Network. Since that time, more than a dozen additional funders have joined the collaborative. These and other funders in the report utilized a range of strategies to address their communities’ needs. Some leveraged grants by securing matching private donations and corporate contributions, while others funded events and programs designed to promote collaboration among service providing grantees. In short, this is exemplary philanthropy in practice.
The report also identified an emerging interest in “safety net systems change funding” as one effect of the recession on funders and their relationships with their grantees. Examples of this include advocacy for publicly funded programs and improving access to public benefits such as Food Stamps. NCRP’s Grantmaking for Community Impact Project has identified many examples of the ways in which nonprofit advocacy leverages limited foundation resources for significant public benefits, such as improvements in healthcare, wages and the environment. Especially as nonprofits are feeling the strain from state budget deficits and reduced foundation reserves, advocacy will play an even more important role in ensuring nonprofits and the communities they serve have the resources they need to be economically secure.
Kudos to the Bay Area Funders for leading by example – responsive philanthropy in action is something I think we all could applaud these funders for.
Julia Craig is research associate at NCRP. Labels: Grantmaking for Community Impact Project, nonprofit advocacy, Philanthropy at Its Best, recession, safety net, San Francisco Foundation, social justice
A new report from the San Francisco Foundation found that Bay Area funders responded to the recession by increasing their grant dollars to safety net organizations, such as those focused on providing shelter, food, and other basic human needs. Strengthening the Safety Net (pdf) collected information on more than 1,000 grants worth more than $47 million from 24 grantmakers in the region. This represents a significant proportion of national safety net grantmaking: according to the Foundation Center, between 2008 and November 2009, $170 million was granted to almost 1,500 nonprofits nationwide working on these issues.
One key element of the response was collaboration. Bay area foundations are leading by example, pooling their resources and listening to their communities to identify pressing needs. In September 2009, the Walter and Elise Haas Fund, the Y&H Soda Fund, United Way of the Bay Area and The San Francisco Foundation launched the Safety Net Funders Network. Since that time, more than a dozen additional funders have joined the collaborative. These and other funders in the report utilized a range of strategies to address their communities’ needs. Some leveraged grants by securing matching private donations and corporate contributions, while others funded events and programs designed to promote collaboration among service providing grantees. In short, this is exemplary philanthropy in practice.
The report also identified an emerging interest in “safety net systems change funding” as one effect of the recession on funders and their relationships with their grantees. Examples of this include advocacy for publicly funded programs and improving access to public benefits such as Food Stamps. NCRP’s Grantmaking for Community Impact Project has identified many examples of the ways in which nonprofit advocacy leverages limited foundation resources for significant public benefits, such as improvements in healthcare, wages and the environment. Especially as nonprofits are feeling the strain from state budget deficits and reduced foundation reserves, advocacy will play an even more important role in ensuring nonprofits and the communities they serve have the resources they need to be economically secure.
Kudos to the Bay Area Funders for leading by example – responsive philanthropy in action is something I think we all could applaud these funders for.
Julia Craig is research associate at NCRP.
Labels: Grantmaking for Community Impact Project, nonprofit advocacy, Philanthropy at Its Best, recession, safety net, San Francisco Foundation, social justice
posted by Julia Craig at
10:17 AM
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