News about nonprofits and their work

Lawsuit against Northwest Area Foundation dismissed

Some time ago, the Northwest Area Foundation of St. Paul, Minnesota, began an ambitous project to define a long-term community-building and anti-poverty project for the Lower Yakima Valley.  Many residents and organizations participated in meetings, discussions and planning sessions. After a good deal of work had been done, the foundation decided that the prospects for success of the project were not good enough, and backed away from the long-term effort.  A group based in Yakima County filed a federal lawsuit, based on the theory that the work done by area residents to support the foundation's initial efforts had created an obligation to follow through.  On August 18, the US District Court in Spokane dismissed the lawsuit.  A press release available online from the foundation announces the decision. A story in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune in December 2002 reported the complaints of Yakima-area residents.

Tough times on the news pages

Newspapers over the last few days have offered a good deal of grim news about nonprofits:

• The closing of the Bellevue Art Museum was headlined in several local papers. See P-I coverage; the Seattle Times; and the King County Journal.
• The Seattle Times reported questions about fair dealing at the Western Washington Fair under the headline "Puyallyup Fair is Big Business for Insiders."
• Seattle Weekly reported under Rick Anderson's byline that there are fundraising and accountability problems with the "continuum of care" at the Seattle Children's home.
• Carol Tice in the Puget Sound Business Journal continued her investigations into compensation for foundation and nonprofit directors with details about the Casey Family Program and other local organizations.
• On September 25, the P-I reported that the president of the Magnolia Little League had not been able to account for $85,000 of the organization's funds and the Seattle Police Department had been asked to investigate.  The next day, the paper reported that the funds had been returned and Kyle Heinrich was no longer serving as president while the police investigation of questions surrounding the handling of the funds continued. See September 25 and Septermber 26 stories online. A September 30 followup reports the board is not pressing charges and the investigation has been closed.

'Blue' conversion on the horizon

Premera Blue Cross is seeking to convert from nonprofit to for-profit status (background on the request is presented on the Blue Cross 'newsroom' web page). This request has not been greeted by the level of controversy that Californians and New Yorkers (as two examples among many) saw.  In California, after several years, permission to convert was finally granted in 1996 on condition that a new foundation be endowed in the process; the resulting California Health Care Foundation instantly became one of the largest in the state. Washington's Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler is responsible for reviewing the proposed conversion; the progress of that review is reported on a special "Premera Conversion" page on the Insurance Commissioner's web site. The two sides disagreed last month over the timing of the review and then agreed on September 12 to a schedule that includes a public hearing on January 15 and a decision by March 15, 2004.

UWKC Day of Caring September 26

More than 300 projects registered to be part of 2003's 12th Annual Day of Caring -- all of them online, using United Way's volunteer request webpage that was introduced as part of a new volunteer matching system for the 2002 event. Preliminary registrations suggest that there may be some fall off from last year's record 11,000 volunteer participants on the day; people report finding it more difficult to take time to volunteer during the work day this year.  In response, United Way has set things up so any project that doesn't get attention on the day itself will automatically be posted on the volunteer opportunities page at the website.  During last year this page was visited more than 70,000 times by people looking for ways to get involved in the community. To catch up on what happened at the 2003 day of caring, check the reports that will be posted on its webpage as soon as the United Way people catch their breath.

Microcredit Abroad and 21st Century Philanthropy (etc!) at SVP

Social Venture Partners (Seattle) offers regular programs for its partners and invites others with an interest to attend when space is available.  The full list of planned events is maintained on the wepage at http://www.svpseattle.org/events_pub/fulllist.asp. Two events in October suggest the range of topics addressed. On October 6, staff from Global Partnerships will talk about the approach being used by Global Partnerships to identify and work with organziations in Central America, and the challenges and successes they are seeing. On October 20, Lucy Bernholz, founder Blueprint Research & Design, will explore how the dynamics affecting 21st century philanthropy apply to the ways people think about their own gifts to the community. These events, and others, are open to interested people without charge, but registration is required (and SVP partners have priority if space becomes limited).

"The Whole Enchilada" -- October 29, 2003

Puget Sound Grantwriters Association's 2003 Fall Conference will cover the grantwriting process from vision to reality at the Washington State Convention Center. Sessions explore the facets of grantwriting from clarifying the vision and planning a project, to identifying and cultivating the right funders, from writing a compelling letter or proposal to creating a tight budget and managing the project. A special feature is the opportunity to apply for a $1,000 grant for a project and watch funders debate its merits. Visit PSGA's events page for details.

Join Idealist's Career Fair October 31

Action Without Borders, the source of the interesting and useful website Idealist.Org, will host another of their lively Career Fairs at Seattle Central Community College on October 31.  It only costs $50 to reserve a spot where you can meet prospective employees, recruit volunteers, talk about your programs and activities, and be part of one of the year's outstanding events for nonprofits from around Seattle.  For details, and to sign up to participate, visit the registration page at their website.

Hear Lester Salamon October 31 at New Holly Park

Professor Lester Salamon of Johns Hopkins has led research efforts to map nonprofits (and similar sorts of organizations, whatever they may be called) around the world and across America.  The Brookings Institution has just published a survey he edited, with 17 chapters by leading scholars in the field, called The State of Nonprofit America (learn more, and order the book from Amazon.Com if you want, through this link).  From 8:30 a.m. until noon on October 31 at New Holly Park in south Seattle, he will be talking with nonprofit people from our region about what he and the other authors have found under the title "America's Resiliant Nonprofits" (the phrase comes from his introductory chapter).  This event is organized by the Executive Alliance; to register, print out this registration form (a .pdf file) and send it along to the office with the appropriate fee; members of The Evergreen State Society are offered a discounted rate of $40 (just note on the registration form that this discount applies).

Board Competency: Reducing Your Liability -- November 6

Clark Nuber and Smith Barney will present their Fifth Annual Not-for-Profit Workshop on Thursday November 6, 2003, from 7:30 am to 4:15 pm at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel. Intended for board members, trustees, directors, and executives, the workshop will help not-for-profit board members and their key staff develop knowledge of the applicable legal and regulatory requirements they are expected to operate within by focusing on several current important issues: Role of the Audit Committee in a Nonprofit Organization; Procedural Prudence: A Fiduciary's Guide; Taxes - the Nonprofit Board's Roles and Responsibilities; and the Developing Spending Policy Crisis. An advanced afternoon session will address what not-for-profit organizations should know about absolute return Investing and funds of hedge funds. Cost is $50.  To request more information, fill out the form at Clark Nuber's website.

Financing Nonprofit Facilities -- November 6

The Washington Housing Finance Commission hosts a morning presentation on planning for new or expanded buildings and other large capital expenditures at Town Hall in Seattle.  See http://www.wshfc.org/bonds/events.htm. Reserve by October 29 at the discount rate of $30 for the first person and $20 each for additional registrations from the same organization.

PRSA's "Connecting for a Cause" November 12

A full day on planning and implementing communications programs for nonprofits.  Details at http://www.prsapugetsound.org/events.html.

Learn "All About Boards" November 14 in Tacoma

Along with a full day of workshop sessions, people at this annual nonprofit governance conference organized by Tacoma's Nonprofit Center will hear from Dr. David Maurrasse of Columbia University (he is also the chair of the board of The Alliance for Nonprofit Management). He will be speaking on "Stepping Up to the Plate: Nonprofit Governance and the Challenge to the Sector." Early bird registration (before October 17) is $125 ($90 for members of the Center).  Full details are on the Center's website.

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