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Every week Connections presents fresh links to the best the Web has to offer on issues related to the changing world of philanthropy. Subscribe to our biweekly Connections newsletter and receive two weeks' worth of links delivered to you by e-mail. If you have an item you'd like to share, drop us a line at connections@foundationcenter.org.
January 16, 2013
African Americans/Blacks
The Growing Electoral Clout of Blacks Is Driven by Turnout, Not Demographics
African Americans voted at a higher rate in the 2012 elections than other minority groups and, in what would be a first, quite possibly at a higher rate than whites, a report from the Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends project finds. According to The Growing Electoral Clout of Blacks Is Driven by Turnout, Not Demographics (13 pages, PDF), African Americans in both 2008 and 2012 made up 12 percent of the eligible electorate but accounted for an estimated 13 percent of all votes cast, while Latinos and Asians — whose rising share of the vote has been driven primarily by population growth rather than increased participation — accounted for 11 percent and 4 percent of the electorate but cast only 10 percent and 3 percent of the votes, respectively. The report also notes that the turnout rate among African American voters in presidential elections has steadily increased since 2000, reaching 65.2 percent in 2008, compared with 66.1 percent for whites; and that the number of white voters as a percentage of the electorate has been shrinking for years and, according to exit polls, may have declined for the second presidential election in a row.
January 13, 2013
Minorities
Diversity, Inclusion and Effective Philanthropy
Funders can make their grantmaking more responsive and efficient by combining the concepts of diversity and inclusion with basic due diligence, a new guide from Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors argues. According to Diversity, Inclusion and Effective Philanthropy (13 pages, PDF), donors who seek the participation of individuals from diverse backgrounds and with a wide range of perspectives, ideas, and experience in the planning, design, implementation, and evaluation of programming tend to make better-informed funding decisions. The guide also highlights the work of the D5 Coalition, which seeks to create a unified strategy for philanthropy for achieving greater impact in an increasingly diverse world; offers basic tips to funders related to self-assessment, research, prototype planning, and evaluation; and highlights lessons learned.
January 10, 2013
Health
Connections - Insurers' Responses to Regulation of Medical Loss Ratios
Although the Affordable Care Act's medical loss ratio rule requiring health insurers to pay at least 80 percent of premiums for medical claims and quality improvement — as opposed to administrative costs and profits — helps lower administrative costs, benefits to consumers have been limited, a report from the
Commonwealth Fund finds. According to Insurers' Responses to Regulation of Medical Loss Ratios (14 pages, PDF), insurers cut administrative costs by more than $785 million in the large-group market, $190 million in the small-group market, and $209 million in the individual market in 2011, the first year the rule was in effect. But while insurers in the individual market passed the savings on to consumers, in the large- and small-group markets administrative cost savings were offset by increased profits ($960 million and $226 million, respectively). Indeed, if consumers are to benefit from reduced overhead costs in group insurance markets, the report argues, stronger measures in the form of rate regulation, tighter loss ratio rules, and/or enhanced competition may be needed to encourage insurers to pass on more of their cost savings to consumers.
January 7, 2013
Education
Rethinking Remedial Education: The Role of MSIs in Serving Underprepared Students in the 21st Century
For the United States to achieve a significant increase in degree attainment, institutions of higher education must adopt new approaches to meeting the needs of underprepared students — and minority-serving institutions are especially well positioned to do so, a report from the Institute for Higher Education Policy argues. Rethinking Remedial Education: The Role of MSIs in Serving Underprepared Students in the 21st Century (10 pages, PDF) notes that, in serving students from historically underserved and disadvantaged communities, MSIs typically have implemented policies, instructional approaches, and support strategies which ensure access to opportunities, facilitate learning, and promote agency among students. The report highlights themes emerging from the
Lumina MSI-Models of Success initiative as well as a variety of promising practices, including dual enrollment, early assessment, and summer bridge programs that identify the need for remedial instruction early; acceleration models that shorten semester-long courses, break up traditional curricula into skill-based units, and/or mainstream students directly into college-level courses with additional supports; and learning communities.
January 4, 2013
Arts and Culture
Knight Arts Challenge: Miami
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation's Arts Challenge: Miami, a five-year initiative launched in 2008, has been an important vehicle for generating new ideas and attracting new capital to the South Florida arts and cultural scene, an interim review conducted by AEA Consulting argues. The report, Knight Arts Challenge: Miami (58 pages, PDF), looked at the activities of the initiative through 2011, which included $20 million in grants awarded through a community-based competition to strengthen the region's artistic and cultural development and encourage the use of the arts to bridge differences among diverse groups. Recommendations for the initiative going forward include the creation of a "people's choice" award to more actively engage the entire South Florida cultural community and distributing Arts Challenge applications in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole.
January 1, 2013
Children and Youth
The Recession's Ongoing Impact on Children, 2012
The economic well-being of children in the United States barely improved in 2012 and remained considerably worse than before the onset of the Great Recession, a report from the
Urban Institute and First Focus finds.
Based on the number of children with an unemployed parent, the number of children receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, and the child poverty rate, the report, The Recession's Ongoing Impact on Children, 2012 (21 pages, PDF), tracked how children fared from 2007 through September 2012. Among other things, the report found that in an average month in 2012, an estimated 6.3 million children were living in families with an unemployed parent — slightly below the average monthly figure of 7 million in 2011 but well above the pre-recession figure of 3.5 million — and that 2.8 million children lived with a parent who had been unemployed for at least six months. The report also found that an estimated 21.6 million children nationwide — more than one in four — received SNAP benefits in 2012, and it projects that, when the final tally is in, the child poverty rate will hold steady at 22.5 percent.
December 29, 2012
Substance Abuse
The Death Penalty for Drug Offences: Global Overview 2012
The increase in the number of countries imposing the death penalty for drug offenses appears to have leveled off and many countries are re-examining and enacting the abolition of capital drug laws, a report from Harm Reduction International finds. The Death Penalty for Drug Offences: Global Overview 2012 (48 pages, PDF) presents case studies of constitutional challenges to the death penalty for drug offenses in India, Indonesia, Singapore, and South Korea and compares how national legal contexts affected the way those challenges were adjudicated and how judges interpreted international laws. Still, considering how clearly international human rights bodies have established standards that argue against the death penalty for drug offences, the report argues, legal communities in countries with the death penalty need to continue to challenge those laws and work to align national practices with international standards.
December 26, 2012
Philanthropy and Voluntarism
2012 Donor-Advised Fund Report
Contributions to donor-advised funds in 2011 increased 10.6 percent on a year-over-year basis, to $9.64 billion, or 3.2 percent of total charitable giving in the United States, while assets under management by DAFs increased 17.5 percent, to $37.43 billion — well above the pre-recession high of $30.6 billion in 2007, an annual report from the
National Philanthropic Trust finds. According to the 2012 Donor-Advised Fund Report (20 pages, PDF), grantmaking by donor-advised funds in 2011 rose 13.6 percent, to $7.7 billion, while the payout rate for DAFs fell slightly to 17.1 percent, from 17.6 percent in 2010. While donor-advised funds at national charities outnumber those at community foundations and single-issue charities and account for more than half of total assets held by DAFs, the report also found that the average fund size is larger at community foundations, while the payout rate is higher at single-issue charities.
December 23, 2012
Agriculture/Food
Innovations in Sustainable Agriculture: Supporting Climate-Friendly Food Production
Given that agriculture is the human endeavor most vulnerable to the effects of climate change as well as a major driver of human-caused climate change, it follows that sustainable agriculture will play an increasingly important role in climate change mitigation and adaptation, a report from the Worldwatch Institute argues. Innovations in Sustainable Agriculture: Supporting Climate-Friendly Food Production (44 pages, PDF) highlights six sustainable approaches to land and water use that are helping farmers and other food producers mitigate or adapt to climate change: developing fertile soil while reducing the need for chemical fertilizers; agroforestry, or growing trees on farmland to reduce erosion and store carbon dioxide; urban farming, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions caused by the transportation, processing, and storing of food and makes cities more resilient to flooding; planting cover crops to improve soil fertility and moisture as well as deter pests and diseases; improving water conservation and recycling; and preserving biodiversity and indigenous breeds. Nevertheless, for sustainable agricultural practices to make a significant impact on climate change mitigation and adaptation, the report's authors suggest, the public and private sectors need to encourage more research on, awareness of, and investment in the issue.
December 20, 2012
Public Affairs
Connections - No Easy Way Out: Citizens Talk About Tackling the Debt
While citizens across the United States agree that tackling the national debt requires tough measures, many question whether elected officials will take those measures even if there's broad public support for them, a report from the Charles F. Kettering Foundation finds. Based on public conversations promoted by the National Issues Forums network, No Easy Way Out: Citizens Talk About Tackling the Debt (36 pages, PDF), found that most participants saw shared sacrifice as the best approach to tackling the debt, so long as that sacrifice is distributed in a way that protects the most vulnerable members of society. At the same time, many respondents worried that allowing the economy to strengthen and stabilizing the debt were incompatible goals and that the nation might, in the short term, have to choose one over the other. The challenges for lawmakers and the media, the report adds, include balancing austerity with stimulus, possibly through "phase-in" solutions, and addressing the public's distrust of the political elite and their ability to come up with solutions to the nation's problems.
December 17, 2012
Arts and Culture
The Role of Art-Making and the Arts in the Research University
Because greater support for the arts and art-making in research universities benefits other disciplines of study, universities should ensure that their arts programs have sufficient resources and use philanthropic funds for the enhancement of such programs rather than for base funding, a report from the ArtsEngine initiative at the University of Michigan argues.
The Role of Art-Making and the Arts in the Research University (74 pages, PDF) highlights a number of discussions and case studies related to the impact of the arts and artists on research, how art-making is being integrated into university curricula, and how best to advocate for such integration. According to the report, the arts can advance the study of other disciplines by, among other things, serving as a catalyst for the creation of data visualizations, new ways of conceptualizing questions and information, and different strategies for working through problems; spurring technological innovation through artists' creative vision; and improving retention of at-risk students and students from diverse backgrounds.
December 14, 2012
Philanthropy and Voluntarism
Untitled
The success of impact investing funds is determined by the interplay among three stakeholder groups (funds, investors, and investees), two influencing factors (platform and financial innovation), and the ultimate indicator of success (fund performance and growth), a report from the InSight at Pacific Community Ventures, ImpactAssets, and the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship at Duke University argues. A Market Emerges: The Six Dynamics of Impact Investing (42 pages, PDF) identifies trends in and challenges for the field, including investors playing a more active role than in conventional funds, funds being creative and resilient in the face of uncertainty, an increase in impact investment offerings and distribution platforms, and the emergence and continued evolution of common metrics for evaluating success. Funded by Omidyar Network and the Annie E. Casey and F.B. Heron foundations, Deutsche Bank, and the RS Group (Hong Kong), the report also includes case summaries and questions related to the development of best practices around each dynamic.
December 11, 2012
African Americans/Blacks
Untitled
More African-American donors in Los Angeles give exclusively to social justice and advocacy organizations (34 percent) than to social service agencies (29 percent), their church (26 percent), or family and friends (15 percent), a report from the Liberty Hill Foundation finds. Giving Black in Los Angeles: Donor Profiles and Opportunities for the Future (24 pages, PDF) identified three donor types among African Americans: the "building the black community" donor, who fits the conventional definition of an identity-based giver; the "issue impact" donor, who connects across age, race, and class with those who share similar policy goals; and the "hardwired to give" donor, who does not target his or her giving to a specific issue or population. Funded by the California Endowment, the Tides Foundation, and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, the report recommends ways to strengthen support for social justice issues, including educating "mainstream" African Americans about the benefits of a collective investment in social justice, engaging millennials, building the case across racial groups for a broad agenda that includes African Americans' concerns, and greater collaboration with black churches.
December 8, 2012
Health
Boosting the Immunization Workforce: Lessons From the Merck Vaccine Network-Africa
In collaboration with ministries of health and education, nongovernmental organizations, medical and nursing schools, and multilateral organizations, significant improvements can be made in the quality and reach of vaccination programs in Africa by addressing the chronic under-capacity in the immunization workforce through a train-the-trainer model, a report from FSG and the
Merck Company Foundation finds. Boosting the Immunization Workforce: Lessons From the Merck Vaccine Network - Africa (29 pages, PDF) highlights the program design and outcomes of the Merck Vaccine Network-Africa (MVN-A), a ten-year, $4.8 million philanthropic initiative funded by the Merck Company Foundation and endorsed by the
GAVI Alliance that provided customized hands-on training designed to enhance immunization managers' knowledge and skills and raise coverage rates in Kenya, Mali, Uganda, and Zambia. Lessons learned from the initiative include the importance of creating a sustainability plan at the outset and embedding programs into local health systems, the need to conduct ongoing monitoring and evaluation, and the importance of using locally adapted curricula and teaching techniques.
December 5, 2012
Education
Connections - The Economic and Social Cost of Illiteracy: A Snapshot of Illiteracy in a Global Context
Illiteracy, the inability to read or write, costs the global economy an estimated $1.19 trillion annually, a new report from the World Literacy Foundation finds.
The Economic and Social Cost of Illiteracy: A Snapshot of Illiteracy in a Global Context (18 pages, PDF) examined the impact of illiteracy in developing, emerging, and developed countries and found, in all three categories, clear-cut links to poverty, unemployment, long-term illness, dependence on welfare or charity, social exclusion, and crime. The report calculates the cost of illiteracy due to lost earnings and business productivity, missed wealth-creation opportunities, and inadequate high-tech skills capacity at 2 percent of GDP for developed countries, 1.2 percent for emerging economies, and 0.5 percent for developing countries — and puts the opportunity cost associated with illiteracy at $250 million for Iceland, $1.4 billion for Bangladesh, and $300 billion for the United States. To reduce and eventually eliminate those costs, the report's authors recommend establishing adult and parental literacy programs; improving school attendance and retention strategies; securing resources, training, and technology for literacy efforts; and strengthening national governments' commitment to literacy initiatives.
December 2, 2012
Arts and Culture
How the United States Funds the Arts
Nonprofit arts groups receive 44.9 percent of their aggregate revenue in contributed income from government (6.7 percent) and foundation (9.5 percent) grants, corporate gifts (8.4 percent), and individual donations (20.3 percent), a report from the National Endowment for the Arts finds. Based on 2006-10 data, How the United States Funds the Arts (33 pages, PDF) found that earned income from ticket sales and subscriptions comprised 40.7 percent of arts groups' aggregate revenue, while income from interest and endowments made up 14.4 percent. The report also describes the NEA's funding process and highlights trends in grantmaking by state and local arts agencies, other sources of public funding, and private giving. In 2011, for example, Americans donated approximately $13 billion to arts, culture, and the humanities, while foundations gave $2.2 billion to the arts in 2010, a 29 percent drop on a year-over-year basis.
November 29, 2012
Higher Education
Men of Color: A Role for Policymakers in Improving the Status of Black Male Students in U.S. Higher Education
Institutional initiatives to boost college completion rates among African-American men will not succeed without a complementary policy agenda that addresses systemic gaps in educational opportunities for and achievement by black males, a report from the Institute for Higher Education Policy, Pathways to College Network, and the Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education argues. According to Men of Color: A Role for Policymakers in Improving the Status of Black Male Students in U.S. Higher Education (18 pages, PDF), two-thirds of African-American undergraduate men at public colleges and universities do not graduate within six years. In addition to highlighting promising campus initiatives and systemwide efforts at the state level to provide mentoring, outreach, and other programs, the report calls on institutional, federal, and state decision makers, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, community-based organizations, foundations, and other stakeholders to advance policies that increase investments in college preparation programs, address funding inequities, bolster financial aid, increase transparency in college athletics, and assist near-completers in attaining degrees.
November 26, 2012
Human Services
Unemployment Among Post-9/11 Veterans and Military Spouses After the Economic Downturn
Despite concerns that unemployment among veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is higher than it is for the rest of the U.S. population, veterans may not be doing substantially worse in the labor market than non-veterans with similar demographic and educational characteristics, a report from the
RAND Corporation finds. Based on American Community Survey data,
Unemployment Among Post-9/11 Veterans and Military Spouses After the Economic Downturn (12 pages, PDF) estimates the unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans to be about 10.4 percent, compared with 10.7 percent for non-veterans. And when adjusted for demographic and educational differences between recent veterans and non-veterans — veterans are younger, more likely to be African American, and more likely to have college experience, for example — the unemployment rate among non-veterans falls to 9.9 percent, leading the report's authors to conclude that high unemployment rates among young post-9/11 veterans can be largely attributed to weakness in the labor market for young adults.
November 23, 2012
Environment
Facing the Climate Gap: How Environmental Justice Communities are Leading the Way to a More Sustainable and Equitable California
Low-income communities and communities of color are likely to be the most vulnerable to the consequences of global warming, and market-based regulatory approaches to environmental policy could have unexpected and unequal implications for these communities, a report from the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity and the UC Berkeley College of Natural Resources finds. Facing the Climate Gap: How Environmental Justice Communities Are Leading the Way to a More Sustainable and Equitable California (84 pages, PDF) highlights case studies of community-based organizations that are helping low-income communities of color adapt to and mitigate the consequences of climate change and proposes policy reforms to better maximize local health benefits. In addition to noting that low-income communities constitute a strong base of public support for forward-looking policies, the report suggests that environmental justice initiatives, successfully implemented, promote community empowerment and civic engagement, leverage community knowledge, establish clear-cut thresholds for equity in climate change policy, and encourage collaboration within and among sectors.
November 20, 2012
Civil and Human Rights
Advances in Juvenile Justice Reform: 2009-2011
While states have dramatically reduced the number of youth held in secure prisons without seeing a rise in youth crime, investments in community-based services are essential to ensure that youth are held accountable and receive the services they need to succeed, a report from the National Juvenile Justice Network argues. Advances in Juvenile Justice Reform: 2009-2011 (66 pages, PDF) documents the steps taken toward meaningful reform of the juvenile justice system at the national and state levels, including new laws, changes in administrative rules and practices, court decisions, and commissions and studies. Funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the report also notes the role of advocacy groups in promoting reform through awareness building, the provision of expert knowledge, and the monitoring of outcomes.
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