Philanthropic practice

I was twenty-three when I arrived in San Francisco, fresh from assistant-directing at the Royal Court in London and eager to start my theater career. I was brimming over with enthusiasm, and maybe just a little hubris. Shortly thereafter, I founded Crowded Fire Theater Company and was full of plans for it to quickly become the next major regional theater.

2010, 98 pages, The Cleveland Foundation, 1422 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH, 44115, (216) 861-3810 http://www.clevelandfoundation.org

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2010, 547 pages, The Aspen Institute, One Dupont Circle NW, Ste 700, Washington, DC, 20036, 202-736-5800   www.aspeninstitute.org

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2007, 32 pages,   www.tdavid.net

Because an intermediary organization (IO) is being asked to take on a function for a foundation, lines of power and authority can become blurred, especially in cases when an outside entity is making grants and convening key parties with the foundation’s dollars and under the foundation’s imprimatur. Tom David offers a series of best practices and outcomes based on interviews with over 50 foundations who have partnered with IOs:

2010, 504 pages, The Aspen Institute, One Dupont Circle NW, Ste 700, Washington, DC, 20036, 202-736-5800   www.aspeninstitute.org

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2010, 24 pages, FSG Social Impact Advisors, 20 Park Plaza, Ste 320, Boston, MA, 02116, 866-351-8484   www.fsg.org

This paper profiles funders based in the Pacific Northwest and their response to the economic downturn, which the authors found to be largely effective. The actions and experiences of the profiled funders offer a set of guiding principles:

2009, 126 pages, ISBN: 978-0-615-27727-1. National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, 1331 H St NW, Ste 200, Washington, DC, 20005, 202-387-9177   www.ncrp.org

Arts nonprofits working with youth are often asked, “What impact does your program have on the youth you serve?” They respond that youth keep coming. They bring friends. They’re proud of what they create. Some even make careers in the arts. But how often can youth-serving arts organizations really make the case that it was their program that made a difference in life outcomes of their youth? Can a case be made on more than attendance figures and anecdotes? Since 2008, the Boston Youth Arts Evaluation Project (BYAEP) has been working on these very questions.

• US computer and video game software sales totaled $11.7 billion in 2008.
• Sixty-eight percent of American households play computer or video games.
• Forty percent of all game players are women.
• The average game player is thirty-five years old and has been playing video games for twelve years.
• Twenty-five percent of Americans over the age of fifty play video games.

Source: The Entertainment Software Association¹

2010, 43 pages, 79 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10003, (212) 620-4230, www.foundationcenter.org

Download Report Highlights pdf: foundationcenter.org/gainknowledge/research/pdf/fgt10highlights.pdf