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Dear Reader
Spring is finally here! Welcome to the latest edition
of the E-newsletter of Native Americans in
Philanthropy. This edition includes a report on our
Annual Meeting, elections, awards and various new
and articles in the philanthropic world. We have
much news to share with you!
We are proud to announce our new Board Officers and
Directors for 2006: David Cournoyer, Chair; Howard
Valandra, Vice Chair; and Susan Anderson,
Secretary/Treasurer. Please welcome our new Board
of Directors and Officers.
Native Americans in Philanthropy would like to thank
those of you who have renewed, or are new, in
joining as a member. Pass this E-Newsletter along
to your colleagues and keep those membership renewals
coming!
Joy A Persall, Executive Director and Neely M.
Snyder, Administrative Associate.
Awards
Pilar Gonzales (left) and Rebecca Adamson (right)
are the recipients of this year's awards. Member
Barbara Poley of the Hopi Foundation found original
art pieces for our awards ceremony.
Pilar Gonzales, of Changemakers organization,
received the Flying Woman Eagle Award. The award honors
past Board member and community-based grantmaker, Ingrid Washinowatok El-Issa. "Pilar carries the same type of spirit as Ingrid". As a gift, Pilar accepted a beautiful pottery piece.
Rebecca Adamson, of First Nations Development
Institute, was awarded the Louis T. Delgado
Distinguished Grantmaker Award. She received a
basket in which the design demonstrates how Rebecca
spreads her wings, as she has done for Native
Americans in Philanthropy.
Annual meeting
This year's annual meeting was held prior to the Council
on Foundations Conference in San Diego, California,
April 9th. The morning began with an opening prayer, thanks to
Howard Valandra. Jo-Anne Stately led the meeting
and called for quorum with introductions of all
attendess. The meeting was well attended with both
non-profit and foundation representatives, and new
members. The Board of Director's election results
were shared; Susan Anderson and Ron Rowell were
re-elected. Please welcome our newest board member, Gabrielle "Gaby"
Strong, who replaces Valerie Larsen. The Annual
Report was introduced, which turned out quite
fashionable! Thanks to John Skelton for his help in
creating the report.
The organization and its committees need your input,
ideas, and volunteer work in helping build mutual
understanding between the foundations and Native
communities. "The Newsletter is the drumbeat
between us", stated David Cournoyer. If you, or
someone you know, have not received the
e-newsletter, please sign up for a membership.
Native Americans in Philanthropy's current
membership stands at 135, more than double that of
last year.
Pictured here are Native Americans in Philanthropy's
new Board Chair, David Cournoyer (right) of the
Lumina Foundation conversing with new member, Chad
Poitra (left) of Indian Land Tenure Foundation.
Marguerite Casey Foundation report, "Native
Gathering, A
Meeting with Native American Elders, Activists,
Select Funders, and Scholars"
The Marguerite Casey Foundation (MCF) brought
together a group of Native people from across the
country to participate in a consultative session
designed to help the Foundation develop a
comprehensive strategy to strengthen and support
indigenous families and communities. Key elements
were identified that reflect healthy, vibrant Native
communities and provide a framework for philanthropy
to consider in conducting its work. Specific steps
were also identified that foundations can take to
begin meeting the needs identified. Native
Americans in Philanthropy strongly recommends that
Foundation staff and boards, individual
philanthropists, entrepreneurs and nonprofits read
and discuss the process modeled and outcomes defined
in the report. View
Native Gathering Report.
Annie E. Casey Foundation report, "The Context and
Meaning of Family Strengthening in Indian America"
This report to the Annie E. Casey Foundation by the
Harvard Project on American Indian Economic
Development details what "family strengthening" mean
in Indian America. Further it puts forward
recommendations that can serve as tools for guidance
in grantmaking. View
The Context and Meaning of Family Strengthening
in Indian America
Native Americans in Philanthropy is strengthening
its work with the Harvard Project on American Indian
Economic Development through the development of
joint presentations, convenings and disbursement of
research. A draft of the latest research, Large
Foundation's Grantmaking to Native America, is
available on our website. The paper examines
grantmaking by the approximately 900 largest
foundations in the United States. While the dataset
does not capture all philanthropy to Native America,
it provides a good picture of trends within the
non-Native, formal philanthropic sector. View
Large Foundations' Grantmaking to Native America
Examples of key findings are:
- The real dollar value of giving to Native American
causes and concerns is increasing. The number of
grants rose from 301 in 1989 to 504 in 2002, and
combined annual grantmaking rose from $32.9 million
to $91.9 million (2002 dollars).
- Nonetheless, Native causes and concerns receive a
very small share of the pie - it is unlikely that
grantmaking to American Indian issues totals any
more that 0.5 percent of the U.S. foundation
sector's overall resources.
An updated Survey of Grant Giving by American Indian
Foundations and Organizations is being compiled and
was report on by Louis T. Delgado. The original
research was released in 1994. This report soon
to be released will cast an overview of the
significant growth in Native foundations, funds and
tribal giving programs. It will also cite several
priority needs: technical assistance in strategic
planning and evaluation; knowledge about best
practices in strategic grant making; and increased
access to resources, mentoring and connections to
each other.
These reports and others are available
through links
or pdfs through the Native Americans in Philanthropy
website.
Native Philanthropy and Native Americans
in Philanthropy is growing. Send us your news and
join Native Americans in Philanthropy.
Other events surrounding the Annual Meeting included
sponsorship of "In Light of Reverence" screening
our presentation with Ron McKinley of National
Network of Grantmakers where over 100 people
attended to discuss leadership challenges and
opportunities in philanthropy; IFIP (International
Funders for Indigenous Peoples) honored Ford
Foundation president, Susan Berresford; Barbara
Poley of the Hopi Foundation participated in the
W.K. Kellogg Foundation awards presentation; Native
Americans in Philanthropy and Indian Land Tenure
Foundation presentation on the impact of
philanthropy on our communities at NIGA (National
Indian Gaming Association) Conference.
Thank you to those of you who attended this year's
Annual Meeting and events! We appreciate your
thoughts and
suggestions.
3 Indian bands set up charity
A charitable endowment that could reach $50 million
to $100 million was announced Monday by the state's
three wealthiest Indian communities and the
Minnesota Community Foundation.
Giving by the fund would be in addition to the more
than $11.5 million that the three groups donated to
various causes last year. Those groups are the
Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, the Prairie
Island Indian Community in Red Wing and the Mille
Lacs Band of Ojibwe in north-central Minnesota. They
are the closest to the Twin Cities and run the
state's most successful casinos--Mystic Lake,
Treasure Island and the Grand Casinos. They have
been fighting legislation to expand gambling,
including a proposal by Gov. Tim Pawlenty to
establish a metro-area casino that would benefit the
state and poorer bands financially.
The endowment plan is not connected to that, and
has been in talking stages for two years, Indian and
foundation officials said. The endowment could
produce $2.5 million to $5 million a year. It could
be used for Minnesota economic and civic causes and people in need, Indian
and non-Indian, urban and rural. The idea was
floated publicly in January in a State of the Band
address by Melanie Benjamin, Mille Lacs Band chief
executive. "As a band, we have an obligation to
share with people who do not have enough," she said then.
"It's something we want do. We're proud of it," said
Ron Johnson, vice president of the Prairie Island
Tribal Council. He said doubters should not make "a
political issue and try to overwhelm my heart." Judi
Dutcher, the foundation president, said business
groups increasingly have been establishing funds
within community foundations, but the multi-band
fund is "really historic." "There's nothing like it anywhere in the United
States," she said. "It's a fund for the benefit of
the state of Minnesota in the broadest terms."
The foundation, which manages more than 30 community
funds and nearly 400 donor funds, will manage the
money and help screen possible beneficiaries. A
board of band representatives will recommend
beneficiaries. Who will serve on the board and how
much each tribal group will contribute is yet to be
decided, Dutcher said. The groups are open to other
bands, vendors and businesses joining the fund, she
said.
Representatives of all three bands said the fund is
a continuation of their historic giving. "We see
this as an extension of what our community does,"
said Stanley Crooks, band chairman at Shakopee,
which gave away $10.3 million last year.
The groups have given to their neighbors, too.
Prairie Island, which gives an average of $1 million
a year, built a hockey arena for Red Wing, gave
$125,000 to Kenyon for a clinic and assisted living
facility, and helped the Miesville Fire Department.
The Mille Lacs Band, which gave away $262,000 last
year, helped build a Brainerd Lakes Welcome Center
and has given to groups as far away as White Bear
Lake and Sartell. Willie Hardacker, tribal attorney for the Shakopee
Mdewakanton, said Monday that "Shakopee's charitable giving has
absolutely nothing to do with legislative efforts."
But it is not unprecedented for organizations to
point to their charity in seeking help from the
Legislature. In 1987, for instance, what was then
Dayton Hudson Corp. used its charitable record --
donating 5 percent of pretax profits every year --
to help pass a law that prevented a hostile takeover.
Robert Franklin, Star Tribune
March 22, 2005 TRIBES0322
Copyright 2005 Star Tribune. Republished with
permission of Star Tribune, Minneapolis-St. Paul. No
further republication or redistribution is permitted
without the written consent of Star Tribune.
Events Significant for Native peoples in Philanthropy
"Diverse Voices, Values and Traditions: Philanthropy
in the 21st Century" - Neighborhood Funders Group
Conference and 25th Anniversary Celebration
September 11-13, 2005.
2005 Fall Conference for Community Foundations by
the Council on Foundations September 19-21, 2005 in
Seattle at the Washington State Trade and Convention
Center.
"The Power of Generations: Pursuing Social Justice
through Sacred Relationships" National Network of
Grantmakers Annual Conference, October 8-11, 2005 at
the Semiahmoo Resort (Native-owned resort North of
Seattle).
"Celebrating 25 Years of Indian Giving" - First
Nations Development Institute is Turning 25!
Reception and Gala Banquet on October 22, 2005 at
the National Museum of the American Indian on the
National Mall in Washington, DC.
National Congress of American Indians Annual
Convention, October 30 - November 4, 2005 in Tulsa.
Click here and then click on "Conferences & Events"
for more information.
The Do's & Don'ts of Working with Local Funders
In early 2005, the Harvard Project on American
A new report by the Association of Baltimore Area
Grantmakers (ABAG) offers "rules for engagement" for
national funders interested in investing in
local communities and partnering with local funders.
For over twenty years, ABAG has embraced and
encouraged funder
collaboration, and has sought to strengthen the
relationships between member foundations and
national funders interested in investing in the
region. The report advises national funders on how
to maximize their chances of success.
The Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers is the
Greater Baltimore region's premier resource on
philanthropy, dedicated to informing grantmakers and
improving our community. Our members include
representatives of more than 130 private foundations
and corporations with strategic, ongoing grantmaking
programs.
For more information, please visit the ABAG website.
ARNOVA's Emerging Areas of Volunteering Debuts
The second volume in ARNOVA's (Association for
Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary
Action) Occasional Paper Series-Emerging Areas of
Volunteering-is now available through ARNOVA. As
society has changed, so, too, has the nature of
volunteering. Over the past several years, new forms
of civic engagement have become prevalent. The
articles included in this volume focus on these new
forms of volunteering-episodic volunteering, virtual
volunteering, cross-national volunteering, and
employee volunteer programs. Until now, these areas
have received little research scrutiny in the
existing nonprofit literature. This volume also
revisits two longstanding forms of volunteer
involvement - volunteering to government and
volunteering to nonprofit organization boards of
directors - to propose theoretical or empirical
advances in how we address these topics. Publication
of this book was made possible through a grant from
The UPS Foundation.
ARNOVA member Jeffrey L. Brudney, Professor of
Public Administration and Policy and co-founder and
co-director of the Institute for Nonprofit
Organizations at the University of Georgia, edited
this volume of papers by leading scholars in the
field. "The authors bring to this volume significant
background, expertise, and distinction in their
subject areas, and I believe that their
contributions collect in one place the best
scholarly information we have on these topics," said
Brudney.
ARNOVA's Occasional Paper Series is devoted to the
exploration of pertinent issues in the field of
philanthropy, nonprofit management and volunteerism.
The first Occasional Paper Series volume, published
in 2001 and available through ARNOVA, is entitled
Philanthropy in Communities of Color, and focuses on
giving and volunteering traditions in communities of
color. Its editor is ARNOVA member Pier Rogers,
Associate Executive Director of the National
Association of Social Workers-New York City.
2005 ARNOVA members will receive a free copy of
Emerging Areas of Volunteering. Please visit the ARNOVA membership page for more information. Copies are also available
through ARNOVA for $25 For more information, call
ARNOVA headquarters at 317-684-2120.
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