By Suzanne Perry
Reporter
Chronicle of Philanthropy*

Alliance for Justice, a coalition of advocacy groups, has published a chart outlining how the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on corporate campaign spending affects nonprofit groups.

The ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission allows corporations — including nonprofit advocacy groups covered by section 501(c)4 of the federal tax code — to use money from their general treasuries to promote the election or defeat of political candidates, without having to set up separate political-action committees.

Previously, only 501(c)4 groups meeting certain criteria, such as accepting no business or labor contributions, had the right to make such “independent expenditures” — that is, spending that is not coordinated with political candidates or campaigns.

The chart notes that tax-exempt groups must still comply with Internal Revenue Service rules, for example those that prohibit 501(c)4 groups from undertaking partisan political work as their “primary activity.”

The ruling does not remove the ban on partisan political activity that applies to charities covered by section 501(c)3 of the tax code, although some legal experts have speculated that the court’s rationale could prompt a legal challenge to that restriction.

The chart also discusses the ruling’s impact on labor unions, trade associations, and political-action committees.

*Originally published January 29, 2010 in the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Re-posted with permission.

Melinda Tuan, a consultant working in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Impact Planning and Improvement Division, spoke about emerging approaches to strategy development for foundations, for the series Reflections on Philanthropy from Today’s Leaders. The series is co-sponsored by Philanthropy Northwest, Social Venture Partners, and the UW Evans School’s Nancy Bell Evans Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy.

*Click here to view Melinda’s Power Point presentation for reference.

Introduction of Melinda Tuan

Melinda Tuan’s Presentation

Q&A with Melinda Tuan

Arabella Philanthropic Advisors has posted thoughtful advice for grantmakers interested in making grants to support mid- and long-term recovery efforts:

“Most donors will see the stirring images from Haiti and react today, donating dollars that are allocated for emergency humanitarian relief. Relief activities are obviously critical, but they do not address the need for longer-term recovery, which will require even more dollars and receive far less attention. Donors should consider making longer-term investments. They should also consider making their investments more strategic by following the Hurricane Katrina response mantra, “Build it Better.” In Haiti, donors can provide financial support to improve the water and sanitation infrastructure, education system, housing stock, access to healthcare, and more.”

The Chronicle of Philanthropy has an update on what’s happening with relief and aid organizations who were already in Haiti when the earthquake struck.

Please keep leaving your thoughts and recommendations in the comments!

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation pledged $1 million to Catholic Relief Services, which has experienced personnel and a stock of emergency supplies in Haiti. The grant will help cover initial relief efforts as well as continued on-the-ground assessment of the damage. Read more. UPDATE: The Gates Foundation also made a $500,000 grant to Partners in Health.

Seattle Times reporter Kristi Heim interviewed John Stanton, founder of the Aven Foundation and chairman of Trilogy International Partners, which provides a third of Haiti’s phone connections through its wireless service Voilà. Triolgy’s CEO is in Haiti working with the company’s local staff to maintain and repair critical wireless service in a country virtually devoid of traditional landlines. Read more.

UPDATE January 20, 2010: The Glaser Progress Foundation pledged $25,000 to the Voila Foundation, the corporate foundation of the Voila telecommunications company of Haiti (a subsidiary of Trilogy Partners of Bellevue).

Montana Senator Max Baucus is offering to help Montanans who need help finding loved ones in Haiti. They can contact his office toll free at (800) 332-6106. Read more.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy published another compilation today of resources and suggestions for where to make donations.

Keep updating us in the comments!

Photo: United Nations Development Programme.

Northwest corporations are working quickly to respond to the earthquake disaster in Haiti.

Amgen made an emergency $2 million grant for relief efforts and set up a special website for staff to make donations, which the company will match dollar-for-dollar.

JP Morgan Chase committed $1 million to the relief and recovery and is encouraging employees to contribute to the rescue efforts. Chase will provide $250,000 each to The American Red Cross and CARE for immediate relief efforts, and will match up to $250,000 in employee donations to those organizations. The company will also donate an additional $500,000 to the Red Cross, CARE and World Vision for recovery and rebuilding.

Microsoft will donate $1.25 million and in-kind materials to Haiti’s earthquake relief effort and is encouraging its employees and customers to donate as well.

UPDATE January 20, 2010

First Interstate Foundation lifted the geographic funding restriction on its Employee Gift Match Program. Employee donations to the American Red Cross Haiti Relief Fund will be matched by the company through February 15.

Getty Images is making a selection of images from the company’s news teams in Haiti available to its PR/Communication agency customers who are helping relief organizations with their communications at this challenging time.

RealNetworks Foundation donated $50,000 to Medical Teams International and encouraged employees to donate to a relief charity of their choice. RealNetworks matches up to $10,000 per year.

Starbucks donated $1 million to the American Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti is encouraging customers to donate to American and Canadian Red Cross relief efforts at store registers.

Wells Fargo donated $100,000 to the American Red Cross disaster relief fund to assist with recovery efforts.

UPDATE January 26, 2010

Given the unprecedented cash contributions to assist the people of Haiti, Weyerhaeuser announced an initial donation of up to $250,000 in building materials to help with temporary housing and explore alternatives that could help introduce safer products, practices and technical assistance for the longer-term rebuilding efforts, to help increase the likelihood that buildings will survive future earthquakes in the region. Weyerhaeuser will identify and work with a strong partner on the ground to ensure the materials and expertise are used at the appropriate time and place. This partnership may also include allowing employees to volunteer to help in the rebuilding process, under the umbrella of the identified partner.

According to the Puget Sound Business Journal:

“The US Chamber of Commerce says as of Thursday morning, American companies have pledged more than $16 million in relief for Haiti [...]. According to Business Civic Leadership Center, companies are on pace to donate more than $70 million in relief, a figure that would make the ongoing commitment one of the largest disaster-response efforts by US companies, according to the US Chamber of Commerce.”

UPDATE January 26, 2010

The US Chamber of Commerce reports US businesses have donated $122 million to relief efforts in Haiti.

For those looking to support local organizations responding to Tuesday’s 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti, Clay Holtzman at the Puget Sound Business Journal has compiled a strong list.

Global Washington is keeping an updated list of Washington nonprofits working in Haiti, and NPR has full coverage and a national list of organizations accepting donations.

Please tell us in the comments if your foundation is making a donation to a relief organization, and share your resources as we all work to respond to this tragic event.

UPDATE: Partner’s in Health, Dr. Paul Farmer’s organization in Haiti, is working to bring medical relief to those injured by the quake. Follow their live updates on Twitter and learn more on their website.

UPDATE: Moving to Higher Ground, a report on the role of funders in disaster preparedness and response supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Seattle Foundation and United Way of King County, may be a timely and helpful resource.

(Photo: Matthew Marek/American Red Cross)

By Shelley Means
Native Americans in Philanthropy Circle of Leadership Fellow
The Russell Family Foundation

It’s a rainy Puget Sound day, and 200 years ago the people indigenous to this area would be ensconced in the cedar longhouses. It’s a time for families, age-old spiritual traditions and storytelling near the cedar-burning fire.

From this early January vantage, I am thinking of all of you who have undertaken the journey into Indian Country through Philanthropy Northwest conference offerings and collaboration with leaders from the American Indian and Alaska Native communities in our region.

I hope you have made a New Year’s resolution to continue the journey, and this leads me to offer a few website suggestions that may help you to stay connected until we meet again. To keep current with regional and national Native philanthropy news, check out:

www.firstnations.org
www.nativephilanthropy.org
www.potlatchfund.org

I also regularly connect to these Indian Country news sites:

www.reznetnews.org
www.indianz.com
http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/
http://www.indiancountrynews.com/

What sites did I miss?  How else can we stay connected to Native issues? I look forward to comments on this blog.

Finally, I offer some inspiring words from a Ponca man from Oklahoma named William Penseno, a small excerpt from his testimony in 1969 before the Senate Special Subcommittee on Indian Education. He so aptly describes what I hope Philanthropy Northwest members are learning about the Indian community:

“Let it be heard here we are not people of a romantic past or irrelevant present. We intend to live until the end of time. Indians are a different people; different, not wrong; different, not opposing; different, not inferior; different, not anomalous. We are not culturally deprived, disadvantaged, or under-achievers…Tribalism is no hindrance to us but support. We have a basic confidence about our affairs that has been developed over thousands of years. It takes imagination and cohesion to survive the way we did for the past hundred years or so.”

I urge us all to take our imagination into 2010 to build deeper relationships between Native communities and philanthropy. Happy New Year!

By Jeff Chapman
Research Director
Washington State Budget and Policy Center

Governor Gregoire released her 2010 supplemental budget proposal this morning. It includes $1.6 billion in cuts to essential public structures that promote health, education, economic security, and safe and thriving communities.

As required by law, the budget works inside existing revenue constraints. The Governor acknowledged her concern over this budget and plans to release a second budget that will include necessary revenue increases in order to avoid the most damaging cuts.

The Governor is right to be concerned about the effects this budget would have on Washington’s economy and people during these tough economic times. A balanced approach that includes meaningful revenue increases is a better alternative.

The budget released today proposes completely eliminating or suspending efforts including (this is only a partial list):

• Basic Health, which provides affordable health insurance to 65,000 people.
• General Assistance for the Unemployable, which provides help to people who are unable to work because of disability.
• Health insurance coverage for 16,000 lower income children.
• Benefits for Medicaid clients including vision, podiatry, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, prescription drug assistance for elderly patients, hospice care, dental, and maternity support.
• Funding to send more than 1,500 3-year-olds to preschool.
• State support for all-day kindergarten in high-poverty areas.
• Class size reduction efforts.
• A program that equalizes school funding between wealthy and poor school districts.
• Tuition assistance for over 12,000 lower-income students.

Check out the Washington State Budget and Policy Center’s schmudget blog (where this post was originally published) for more analysis of the Governor’s budget.

By Rod Brooks
Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer
PEMCO Insurance

We are all deeply saddened by the recent and tragic loss of law enforcement officers in the Puget Sound Region. As many of our Northwest neighbors have already demonstrated in countless ways, we want to help in whatever way we can.

On Friday, Dec. 11, PEMCO is hosting a fundraising event encouraging the Northwest community to join in supporting the families of local police officers who recently died. All are invited to come together in the holiday spirit of giving to help surpass PEMCO’s $12,500 matching commitment with additional contributions. Our ultimate goal is to grow the total funds PEMCO will match and donate to the police officers’ benevolent fund.

As part of our commitment, PEMCO will match all ticket sale proceeds dollar for dollar and will equally match additional donations made at the event, held at The Canal in Seattle from 6 p.m. – 9 p.m.

The price of admission directly benefits the fallen officers’ families and provides a festive evening to come together as a community to honor and remember those who lost their lives.

The holidays are always a busy time of year, and we announced the event on short notice. Still, we hope you can join us on Friday, Dec. 11 for this worthy cause. If you can’t attend, we’ve made it easy to offer support in other ways. We’ve posted additional information on our blog and you can also make a difference by donating directly to the Lakewood Police Independent Guild.

This is an overwhelmingly difficult time, and we appreciate your interest in this cause. Our heartfelt condolences go to the families and all those touched by this recent loss.

Photo by Mike Siegel/The Seattle Times

By Sue Bennett
Learning Manager
Philanthropy Northwest

On December 1, the Philanthropy Northwest Capacity Building Learning Circle hosted its first meeting for funders interested in exploring ways to strengthen the nonprofit sector. Members of the Learning Circle intend to study best practices in the field, network with other funders, hear from leading practitioners, and share resources, tools and the latest literature.

At Tuesday’s kickoff event, Kathleen Enright, CEO of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, spoke to over 70 funders in all six states of Philanthropy Northwest’s region about the underlying principles of capacity building. Kathleen believes good capacity building  is collective, continuous and contextual. She also shared her prediction that capacity building grants in the future will be less often focused on specific organizations; instead, they will support networks and adaptive capacity.

This session also marked the first time members in each of our six states participated simultaneously in an event. Funders gathered in AK, MT, ID, OR, and WY and video-teleconferenced with the group in Seattle, where Kathleen presented. As with any new effort, it did not work perfectly, and we have good ideas for how to make the experience even better next time. Still, we are very excited to explore ways to bring fabulous programming to funders wherever they happen to be in our six-state region.

The Learning Circle plans to meet – or meet by video-teleconference – quarterly. We would love to have you join us, so look for event announcements on the Philanthropy Northwest website.

In the meantime, we’d love to hear from you. Did you participate in the video-teleconference? What was that like? Are you involved in some aspect of strengthening the work of nonprofits? What have you learned? This blog is another place for us to have an ongoing conversation and learn from each other.  Please be a part of it!