Whether an Ohio funder’s interests are place- or position-based, determined by funder type or funding interest, OGF’s interconnected network will become an indispensable “app” for achieving greater impact, more effectiveness and better results. Our new strategy will add value to personal and professional life whatever role a person plays in their grantmaking organization, whether trustee, program officer, CEO, grants manager or CFO.

OGF members can contact Melissa Forbes,  for more information about these meetings:

February 7: Cincinnati
February 15: Dayton
March 14: Zanesville
March 27: Columbus
April 2: Cleveland
April 4: Canton
April 18: Toledo

George Espy
President, Ohio Grantmakers Forum

Now that our own New Year’s resolutions are behind us, perhaps we can turn our attention to predictions for the field, offering up a compilation of interesting predictions about philanthropy and nonprofits for 2012.

The Year of Controversial Giving
Philanthrocapitalism authors Matthew Bishop and Michael Green
“Having peered into our philanthrocrystal ball, we see giving becoming more dangerous, more controversial, and more political, among other things, as philanthrocapitalists find themselves at the centre of some of the year’s biggest news stories.”

Seven Predictions for Philanthropy in 2012
The Nonprofit Quarterly  correspondent Rick Cohen, published first in December’s OGF Connection
“Neils Bohr and Casey Stengel both uttered the Yogi Berra-ish statement that predictions are especially difficult concerning the future. They were only addressing quantum mechanics and the prospects of the Mets’ pennant chances, not philanthropy amidst a persistent economic free-fall.

But the quote is apropos here given the possible twists and turns for philanthropy writ large in 2012, drawing from big themes in play during 2011.”

Cone Communications’ 10 Predictions for 2012
Cone Communications’ What Do You Stand For? Blog
“We’ve convened the biggest and brightest minds in cause marketing, corporate responsibility, nonprofit marketing and volunteerism to share their top predictions, programs and issues for the New Year.”

Social Sector Predictions for 2012
David LaPiana
“I am going out on a limb to suggest ten predictions we will likely see in 2012. Some of these are extensions of current trends and some are new; some are sector-specific and some will impact all sectors.”

Giving 2.0: Transform Your Giving and Our World
Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen, Stanford Philanthropy and Civil Society founder and Advisory Board chair, has created a sensible yet entertaining, rousing call to action. The book presents stories about the innovative and powerful ways people give of their time, money and expertise while trying to create greater social impact.

Giving Back: A Tribute to Generations of African American Philanthropists
Valaida Fullwood’s moving portrait of African American philanthropy is a marriage of powerful photographic images and portraits of a cross-section of black philanthropists from various backgrounds and forms of giving. The givers profiled are reminders that each individual is valuable to the strength of community.

Impact Investing: Transforming How We Make Money While Making a Difference
Written by two pioneers in the growing field of impact investing, authors Antony Bugg-Levine and Jed Emerson assert that it is both feasible and advantageous to tackle social and environmental issues with investments that generate financial profits. Along with the historical roots, Emerson and Bugg-Levine explore a wide range of issues essential to developing impact investing and they present many examples of the various incarnations of development finance, microfinance, socially responsible investing and philanthropy.

Philanthropy and Social Investing Blueprint 2012
Lucy Bernholz’ third annual industry forecast is a must-read for donors and impact investors. She offers readers a look at the current landscape, calls attention to major trends and turns a spotlight on where key breakthroughs will occur in the coming year. Bernholz says “the major challenge for philanthropists going forward will be to understand and adapt to the actual landscape of funding in which they now work.”

Philanthropy in America: A History
Olivier Zunz, Professor of History at The University of Virginia, combines case studies, biography and academic theory in this highly-readable account of American philanthropy. He emphasizes the close connection between private giving and public affairs and demonstrates how this union has increased democracy and shaped our history.

Nonprofits – including foundations – need to register in the new system to fulfill their duties under the Charitable Trust Act (RC 109.23) and the Charitable Solicitations Act (R.C. 1716.02).  Based on the answers they provide to some basic questions, the system determines what filings and information they must provide. It then guides users through the efiling process and will also send charities email reminders about future filing deadlines as well as other helpful information. First-time filers may want to read the AG’s 30-page, step-by-step guide before they start the process. The efiling system also allows consumers – and funders – to easily check the filing status of nonprofits. As AG DeWine said in a recent article in OGF Connection, “For the first time, the public will be able to search online for organizations in our database to get basic information in real time on charities and learn if they are in compliance with registration requirements.”

AG DeWine says the online system, which has been several years in development, is a “first step forward in a series of initiatives that will provide the public with more useful information in evaluating the effectiveness of charities.”

Why are we doing this? The board’s new strategic plan, developed after three years of intensive research and discussion and announced at this year’s annual conference, recognizes that philanthropy is growing and changing…that giving is not limited to the traditional “foundation” form and that, if better linkages existed among more of those involved in charitable giving, philanthropy would be better informed and perhaps more effective in addressing the issues of the day.

What does this mean for the current members of OGF? Simply put, it means that while OGF will continue to provide leadership and service to its existing members, over the next few years additional linkages, information and opportunities will become available that add to the value of OGF membership. As Ohio’s philanthropic network expands, OGF members can expect that desired programming will continue, “safe space” will be respected and “organized philanthropy” will remain the core focus of the association for the foreseeable future. 

What does this mean for Ohio philanthropy as a whole? It means that a vehicle will exist whereby all those involved in the practice of philanthropy in Ohio will have access to a vibrant network that will enable the exchange of information and ideas, access to programs and training, trusted representation before important external audiences and increased potential for greater effectiveness and impact. 

OGF’s new vision will be presented to members in a series of 7 regional convenings, beginning in February, 2012. Watch your “in box” for details about the convening nearest you.

George E. Espy
President, Ohio Grantmakers Forum

Funding Recovery stalls

An erratic, volatile stock market and lagging economic recovery top the list of issues worrying Ohio funders as they look ahead to 2012, according to a survey we conducted in November with our members. It’s not a surprise that 40 percent of respondents cited general economic conditions as the most important issue they face, while another 28 percent said a lack of asset growth or income was most important. The great majority – 89 percent – of those we surveyed said economic conditions in Ohio are either moderately (51 percent) or severely (38 percent) impacting their grantees.

Not quite half – 40 percent – told us that they made grants or provided other assistance in direct response to government budget cuts, which have hit human services and education funding areas pretty significantly in the last year. Just over half of the respondents anticipate increasing funding for vulnerable populations next year. It’s clear that our members are continuing their efforts to help neighbors survive the tough economic reality here in Ohio, with unemployment still at 9 percent.

What is surprising is the response we got when we asked if they agreed with this statement: “As the public sector is increasingly unable to meet funding needs, foundations should help respond to the gaps.” The respondents split almost evenly in their responses, with a slightly larger number (51 percent) agreeing with the statement. Let me hasten to add that there was widespread recognition that private dollars by themselves cannot fill those gaps, however. We followed up with some of the survey respondents to glean more about their thoughts on this topic for an article that will appear in this month’s OGF Connection quarterly newsletter.

In the face of the slow economic recovery, funders cited a variety of ways they are responding to grantee and community needs: many are focusing on collaboration, working with other funders and encouraging/helping their grantees to partner or merge. You can learn more about the outlook for next year in the full report, available online.

I had the pleasure of attending Philanthropy Forward 2011, the annual conference of the Ohio Grantmakers Forum, last month in Columbus. For me the conference was an initiation of sorts into the world of philanthropy. I came to my job as the Health Foundation’s Director of Publications in June after a 15-year career in the newspaper industry.

The world of foundations and grantmaking was almost completely new to me. Thanks to the conference, I now better understand the breadth and impact of philanthropy, both the kinds of organizations involved (from private community foundations to faith-based nonprofits) as well as the activities they fund (from health initiatives to social enterprise). Plus I met a lot of the great people who are doing this important work throughout the state every day.

The Health Foundation’s own Shelly Stolarczyk-George presented the session “What Due Diligence Delivers,” along with Kerry Shaw of the Osteopathic Heritage Foundations and Leonor Alfonso of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations. Shelly described her experiences with due diligence as the Foundation’s Grants Manager. She helped participants develop strategies for getting information they need to make informed decisions about awarding grants while not overburdening grantees with information requests.

In addition, the two communications sessions I attended reinforced the importance of organizations’ blogs and websites. It is there that groups can share their own story and engage advisers, donors and others interested in their mission. A well-designed, modern and sophisticated website can make a favorable impression of your organization on users. Thus, the use of photos and attention to the amount and spacing of type on a website are important. Finally, social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter are a great way to direct users back to content on your blog or website.

Interestingly enough, this exclamation is purportedly the first in a series of curses of increasing severity. The next one is strangely prescient: “May you come to the attention of those in authority” (sometimes rendered “May the government be aware of you”).

Placed within the context of current events, philanthropy seems to be experiencing the fulfillment of both of these curses. Not only do we have to navigate some very troubled economic waters, but the magnitude of the upheaval is resulting in considerably more scrutiny by government at all levels.

It remains to be seen whether philanthropy responds by seeking the safety of the familiar or finding more relevant ways to make private investments for the public good.

George E. Espy
President, Ohio Grantmakers Forum

Individual donations to charities fell 7 percent from 2008 to 2009 in Ohio, although still reaching a hefty $4.36 billion. The decrease follows on the heels of a more significant decrease of 11 percent in 2008. Individuals in Ohio make up the vast majority of charitable gifts: 75 cents of every $1 in gifts to charities came from Ohio residents who made cash donations to their favorite causes.

Foundation giving topped out at $1.22 billion in 2009, an 8 percent decrease from 2008. This was the first decrease in giving since 2002, during the aftermath of the country’s last recession. Most of Ohio’s foundations are small: over 90 percent have less than $1 million in assets and usually grant less than $100,000 per year. While foundations are spread across Ohio’s 88 counties, most are concentrated in three urban counties: Cuyahoga, Franklin and Hamilton Counties.

Aggregate Data For Ohio Foundations By Type, 2009

Read more about 2009 giving in our Ohio Giving Update.

Ohio Grantmakers Forum recognizes the need to simplify and revise the federal tax code, including charitable incentives. However, during these very difficult times we cannot support the current proposal to cap the charitable deduction for federal taxpayers at 28 percent. This 7 percent decrease would bring about dramatic drops in charitable giving at the very moment when such gifts are desperately needed in communities all across our state. We urge you to voice your support for the thousands of nonprofits providing critical, increased demands for service by joining us in opposing this proposal.

Independent research has analyzed the potential impact of the proposed change, estimating that charities would lose anywhere from $2.4 to $9 billion a year – funds that are desperately needed in the face of massive federal and state budget cuts and unemployment that hovers around 9 percent. These losses would result in cuts in services and employees at nonprofits, which account for about 10 percent of the economy in Ohio and the country.

Reducing the charitable cap not only will impact these charities directly, it will also impact the nation’s foundations, which rely heavily on charitable donations from individuals who trust foundation leaders – like Kathryn Merchant at the Greater Cincinnati Foundation – to identify the best nonprofits and critical needs in their communities. Such cuts also would come on the heels of dramatic decreases in charitable giving: individual donations to charities fell 7 percent from 2008 to 2009 in Ohio, following a more significant decrease of 11 percent in 2008.

We strongly believe that nothing should be done at this time to discourage charitable giving. Nonprofits are an important way the basic needs of Americans are met. To reduce their capacity to help, without providing alternative means of support, makes no sense to us.