As Sacramento’s public funding continues to shrink, a new initiative from the city of Sacramento's Department of Parks and Recreation, is calling for the community to become more involved in the local parks.
An excerpt.
“Sacramento’s 200+ parks, state-of-the-art recreation facilities, and wide ranging programs help make Sacramento a more livable city for all. Now you can help support these important community programs and assets through sponsorships.
“The Department of Parks and Recreation has developed a new program called the Community Sponsorship Initiative (CSI). The goal of the program is to recruit individuals, groups, and local businesses to support the City’s parks and recreation system by sponsoring essential programs, services, and facilities, all of which serve the needs of children, youth, and older adults.
“Sponsors can be recognized in a wide variety of ways, including recognition through acknowledgement letters and certificates, on special event literature and materials, on CSI’s website, and also given the opportunity to place commercial advertising in the Department’s Recreation Magazine or at specific specialized facilities.”
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Some Local Nonprofits Hiring
As reported by the Sacramento Bee.
An excerpt.
“A recent spike in hiring among local arts nonprofit groups seems to suggest that jobs in that sector are not vanishing like jobs elsewhere.
“But arts groups aren't in the clear yet. Most of the hiring has been triggered by seasonal staffing, the expansion of the Crocker Art Museum and the replenishing or reconfiguring of administrative positions. Future hiring at most arts groups will remain flat or nonexistent, say local arts group leaders.
“At the Sacramento Philharmonic, which operates on a $1.5 million budget, four instrumental positions and two administrative positions have been added in the last year, said Marc Feldman, executive director of the Philharmonic. But no more such hiring is expected, he said.
“At present the orchestra is looking to replace a violinist and violist. "But, this is part of the normal churn," said Feldman.
“Some organizations, like the Sacramento Opera, are shrinking. The company recently furloughed music director Timm Rolek until September, and laid off its community engagement coordinator.
"We do not see adding staff for the next 12 months," said Rod Gideons, general director for the opera. "Certainly we're not in hiring mode and, if anything, we're running about 12 months behind the East Coast in terms of any recovery."
“Of all the local arts nonprofits, the Crocker Art Museum has done the most recent hiring. The museum hired 14 part-time art handlers, and is looking to staff two administrative positions.”
An excerpt.
“A recent spike in hiring among local arts nonprofit groups seems to suggest that jobs in that sector are not vanishing like jobs elsewhere.
“But arts groups aren't in the clear yet. Most of the hiring has been triggered by seasonal staffing, the expansion of the Crocker Art Museum and the replenishing or reconfiguring of administrative positions. Future hiring at most arts groups will remain flat or nonexistent, say local arts group leaders.
“At the Sacramento Philharmonic, which operates on a $1.5 million budget, four instrumental positions and two administrative positions have been added in the last year, said Marc Feldman, executive director of the Philharmonic. But no more such hiring is expected, he said.
“At present the orchestra is looking to replace a violinist and violist. "But, this is part of the normal churn," said Feldman.
“Some organizations, like the Sacramento Opera, are shrinking. The company recently furloughed music director Timm Rolek until September, and laid off its community engagement coordinator.
"We do not see adding staff for the next 12 months," said Rod Gideons, general director for the opera. "Certainly we're not in hiring mode and, if anything, we're running about 12 months behind the East Coast in terms of any recovery."
“Of all the local arts nonprofits, the Crocker Art Museum has done the most recent hiring. The museum hired 14 part-time art handlers, and is looking to staff two administrative positions.”
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Government Debt & Nonprofits
As governments struggle with debt they have legislated themselves into, the ability of nonprofits to count on government funding is being severely reduced, and that is a good thing.
The animating ethic of nonprofit work are the free gifts from philanthropists to perform valuable service for the public.
The coercive aspects of tax money funding such work has created a morass of nonprofits largely replicating the stifling atmosphere of bureaucracies where providing and accessing services to individuals is very burdensome.
As reported in Governing, this is a financial situation likely to get much worse, but it doesn’t have to.
An excerpt.
“States, cities and many nations around the globe are facing an existential threat in the form of a massive fiscal imbalance between expected revenues and promised expenditures. They are bracing before previously unseen levels of debt and deficits, many in fact may be on the verge of bankruptcy.
“Some are already feeling the effects of the wave of debt. The most notable example is Greece, but Spain, Italy, Ireland and Portugal are all dealing with serious fiscal distress, while countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States are looking at sobering forecasts.
“States such as California, New Jersey and New York are currently staving off insolvency thanks to federal largesse in the form of the stimulus package -- and even with $30 billion in such "bailout" funds from Washington, D.C., California was issuing IOUs in lieu of payment during the summer of 2009 and faced a $20 billion gap at the start of 2010.
“Local governments from Vallejo, Calif., (which declared bankruptcy in 2008) to Detroit are looking at a death spiral of tax hikes and population flight.
“The underlying threat is something we call "the Gap." The Gap is a twofold problem, consisting of a fiscal gap between revenue and expenditures and a performance gap between the way government currently operates and the realities of the new economy.
“The fiscal gap has both a cyclical and a structural component. Its cyclical guise emerges when the economic cycle dips, causing public spending to outstrip revenues in the short to medium term. This is happening all over the world as it happened in previous recessions, and it will happen in future ones. The prevailing wisdom of 20th century economics was that these cyclical downturns were acceptable because the ups and downs of the economic cycle balance public finances.
“Given the fiscal outlook as we enter the 21st century, however, this is no longer valid. The structural nature of the current Gap, while exacerbated by the cyclical downturn, is more fundamental. That is, even if there is an economic upturn, a sizable Gap will persist. Democratic societies have over-committed their current and future resources. Steadily rising costs for social security, old-age pensions and health-care benefits, together with significant demographic shifts, mean that incremental changes will prove insufficient. Permanently dealing with The Gap requires fundamentally different thinking and actions.
“At first glance, closing the Gap appears to be an economic problem, a financial puzzle that can be solved by selecting the right set of policy choices. It is not. Rather, it is a challenge of the entire democratic governance model. Politicians, voters, political action groups, public employee unions and a whole slew of competing interests make the political reality of navigating the path to sustainability particularly daunting.”
The animating ethic of nonprofit work are the free gifts from philanthropists to perform valuable service for the public.
The coercive aspects of tax money funding such work has created a morass of nonprofits largely replicating the stifling atmosphere of bureaucracies where providing and accessing services to individuals is very burdensome.
As reported in Governing, this is a financial situation likely to get much worse, but it doesn’t have to.
An excerpt.
“States, cities and many nations around the globe are facing an existential threat in the form of a massive fiscal imbalance between expected revenues and promised expenditures. They are bracing before previously unseen levels of debt and deficits, many in fact may be on the verge of bankruptcy.
“Some are already feeling the effects of the wave of debt. The most notable example is Greece, but Spain, Italy, Ireland and Portugal are all dealing with serious fiscal distress, while countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States are looking at sobering forecasts.
“States such as California, New Jersey and New York are currently staving off insolvency thanks to federal largesse in the form of the stimulus package -- and even with $30 billion in such "bailout" funds from Washington, D.C., California was issuing IOUs in lieu of payment during the summer of 2009 and faced a $20 billion gap at the start of 2010.
“Local governments from Vallejo, Calif., (which declared bankruptcy in 2008) to Detroit are looking at a death spiral of tax hikes and population flight.
“The underlying threat is something we call "the Gap." The Gap is a twofold problem, consisting of a fiscal gap between revenue and expenditures and a performance gap between the way government currently operates and the realities of the new economy.
“The fiscal gap has both a cyclical and a structural component. Its cyclical guise emerges when the economic cycle dips, causing public spending to outstrip revenues in the short to medium term. This is happening all over the world as it happened in previous recessions, and it will happen in future ones. The prevailing wisdom of 20th century economics was that these cyclical downturns were acceptable because the ups and downs of the economic cycle balance public finances.
“Given the fiscal outlook as we enter the 21st century, however, this is no longer valid. The structural nature of the current Gap, while exacerbated by the cyclical downturn, is more fundamental. That is, even if there is an economic upturn, a sizable Gap will persist. Democratic societies have over-committed their current and future resources. Steadily rising costs for social security, old-age pensions and health-care benefits, together with significant demographic shifts, mean that incremental changes will prove insufficient. Permanently dealing with The Gap requires fundamentally different thinking and actions.
“At first glance, closing the Gap appears to be an economic problem, a financial puzzle that can be solved by selecting the right set of policy choices. It is not. Rather, it is a challenge of the entire democratic governance model. Politicians, voters, political action groups, public employee unions and a whole slew of competing interests make the political reality of navigating the path to sustainability particularly daunting.”
Monday, July 5, 2010
Independence Reflection
Now that the fireworks are over, the flag is put away, and the barbeque is cool—though in our house the clean-up from the feast still lingers—it is a good time to reflect on the great and noble ideas upon which our country is founded, ideas which still ring true in the hearts of Americans.
An excerpt from an article from the Heritage Foundation.
“The Fourth of July is a great opportunity to renew our dedication to the principles of liberty and equality enshrined in what Thomas Jefferson called "the declaratory charter of our rights."
“As a practical matter, the Declaration of Independence publicly announced to the world the unanimous decision of the American colonies to declare themselves free and independent states, absolved from any allegiance to Great Britain. But its greater meaning-then as well as now-is as a statement of the conditions of legitimate political authority and the proper ends of government, and its proclamation of a new ground of political rule in the sovereignty of the people. "If the American Revolution had produced nothing but the Declaration of Independence," wrote the great historian Samuel Eliot Morrison, "it would have been worthwhile."
“Although Congress had appointed a distinguished committee-including John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston-the Declaration of Independence is chiefly the work of Thomas Jefferson. By his own account, Jefferson was neither aiming at originality nor taking from any particular writings but was expressing the "harmonizing sentiments of the day," as expressed in conversation, letters, essays, or "the elementary books of public right, as Aristotle, Cicero, Locke, Sidney, etc." Jefferson intended the Declaration to be "an expression of the American mind," and wrote so as to "place before mankind the common sense of the subject, in terms so plain and firm as to command their assent."
“The structure of the Declaration of Independence is that of a common law legal document. The ringing phrases of the document's famous second paragraph are a powerful synthesis of American constitutional and republican government theories. All men have a right to liberty only in so far as they are by nature equal, which is to say none are naturally superior, and deserve to rule, or inferior, and deserve to be ruled. Because men are endowed with these rights, the rights are unalienable, which means that they cannot be given up or taken away. And because individuals equally possess these rights, governments derive their just powers from the consent of those governed. The purpose of government is to secure these fundamental rights and, although prudence tells us that governments should not be changed for trivial reasons, the people retain the right to alter or abolish government when it becomes destructive of these ends.
“The remainder of the document is a bill of indictment accusing King George III of some 30 offenses, some constitutional, some legal, and some matters of policy. The combined charges against the king were intended to demonstrate a history of repeated injuries, all having the object of establishing "an absolute tyranny" over America. Although the colonists were "disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable," the time had come to end the relationship: "But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government."
“One charge that Jefferson had included, but Congress removed, was that the king had "waged cruel war against human nature" by introducing slavery and allowing the slave trade into the American colonies. A few delegates were unwilling to acknowledge that slavery violated the "most sacred rights of life and liberty," and the passage was dropped for the sake of unanimity. Thus was foreshadowed the central debate of the American Civil War, which Abraham Lincoln saw as a test to determine whether a nation "conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal" could long endure.
“The Declaration of Independence and the liberties recognized in it are grounded in a higher law to which all human laws are answerable. This higher law can be understood to derive from reason-the truths of the Declaration are held to be "self-evident"-but also revelation. There are four references to God in the document: to "the laws of nature and nature's God"; to all men being "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights"; to "the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions"; and to "the protection of Divine Providence." The first term suggests a deity that is knowable by human reason, but the others-God as creator, as judge, and as providence-are more biblical, and add a theological context to the document. "And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are a gift of God?" Jefferson asked in his Notes on the State of Virginia.”
An excerpt from an article from the Heritage Foundation.
“The Fourth of July is a great opportunity to renew our dedication to the principles of liberty and equality enshrined in what Thomas Jefferson called "the declaratory charter of our rights."
“As a practical matter, the Declaration of Independence publicly announced to the world the unanimous decision of the American colonies to declare themselves free and independent states, absolved from any allegiance to Great Britain. But its greater meaning-then as well as now-is as a statement of the conditions of legitimate political authority and the proper ends of government, and its proclamation of a new ground of political rule in the sovereignty of the people. "If the American Revolution had produced nothing but the Declaration of Independence," wrote the great historian Samuel Eliot Morrison, "it would have been worthwhile."
“Although Congress had appointed a distinguished committee-including John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston-the Declaration of Independence is chiefly the work of Thomas Jefferson. By his own account, Jefferson was neither aiming at originality nor taking from any particular writings but was expressing the "harmonizing sentiments of the day," as expressed in conversation, letters, essays, or "the elementary books of public right, as Aristotle, Cicero, Locke, Sidney, etc." Jefferson intended the Declaration to be "an expression of the American mind," and wrote so as to "place before mankind the common sense of the subject, in terms so plain and firm as to command their assent."
“The structure of the Declaration of Independence is that of a common law legal document. The ringing phrases of the document's famous second paragraph are a powerful synthesis of American constitutional and republican government theories. All men have a right to liberty only in so far as they are by nature equal, which is to say none are naturally superior, and deserve to rule, or inferior, and deserve to be ruled. Because men are endowed with these rights, the rights are unalienable, which means that they cannot be given up or taken away. And because individuals equally possess these rights, governments derive their just powers from the consent of those governed. The purpose of government is to secure these fundamental rights and, although prudence tells us that governments should not be changed for trivial reasons, the people retain the right to alter or abolish government when it becomes destructive of these ends.
“The remainder of the document is a bill of indictment accusing King George III of some 30 offenses, some constitutional, some legal, and some matters of policy. The combined charges against the king were intended to demonstrate a history of repeated injuries, all having the object of establishing "an absolute tyranny" over America. Although the colonists were "disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable," the time had come to end the relationship: "But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government."
“One charge that Jefferson had included, but Congress removed, was that the king had "waged cruel war against human nature" by introducing slavery and allowing the slave trade into the American colonies. A few delegates were unwilling to acknowledge that slavery violated the "most sacred rights of life and liberty," and the passage was dropped for the sake of unanimity. Thus was foreshadowed the central debate of the American Civil War, which Abraham Lincoln saw as a test to determine whether a nation "conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal" could long endure.
“The Declaration of Independence and the liberties recognized in it are grounded in a higher law to which all human laws are answerable. This higher law can be understood to derive from reason-the truths of the Declaration are held to be "self-evident"-but also revelation. There are four references to God in the document: to "the laws of nature and nature's God"; to all men being "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights"; to "the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions"; and to "the protection of Divine Providence." The first term suggests a deity that is knowable by human reason, but the others-God as creator, as judge, and as providence-are more biblical, and add a theological context to the document. "And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are a gift of God?" Jefferson asked in his Notes on the State of Virginia.”
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Friday, July 2, 2010
Growing to Scale
A good blog post on the issue—which has had an impact on many nonprofits in the past several years—from Stanford Social Innovation Review.
An excerpt.
“I was recently invited to attend the Social Impact Exchange Conference on Scaling held in New York City and thought the conference was a great experience. I actually was most in awe of the collection of people attending. I regard them so highly that I think on several occasions someone helped me remove my jaw from the floor and assisted me in grabbing my composure.
“In any sense, I noticed that the conference targeted several themes, including innovation, rethinking investment, and of course, scaling. Many times I heard different uses or versions of the word “new”. Often it was cast as a need for new directions in both philanthropy and the nonprofit sector. Sometimes it was cast as a plea to get rid of “the old and replace it with the new”. What I did not hear much of, but think it is important to consider, is the possibility of reconfiguring or even “re-propelling” organizations that have much longer histories. As you may know from reading my previous posts, I often draw comparisons between the nonprofit sector and popular culture. As I reflected on the SIE Scaling Conference, the movie Cocoon came to my mind. I promise I won’t reference Steve Guttenberg.
“If you don’t know or remember the movie, Cocoon is a movie about a swimming pool that houses the cocoons of aliens. Three older men start swimming in the pool and begin to obtain renewed energy, causing the older gentleman to feel much stronger. In thinking about this plot and some of the phraseology I heard at the conference, I wondered if it is possible to rethink our language and talk about how we can renew older organizations that some have labeled as dead or have forgotten about in the rush to recognize and highlight newer efforts.”
An excerpt.
“I was recently invited to attend the Social Impact Exchange Conference on Scaling held in New York City and thought the conference was a great experience. I actually was most in awe of the collection of people attending. I regard them so highly that I think on several occasions someone helped me remove my jaw from the floor and assisted me in grabbing my composure.
“In any sense, I noticed that the conference targeted several themes, including innovation, rethinking investment, and of course, scaling. Many times I heard different uses or versions of the word “new”. Often it was cast as a need for new directions in both philanthropy and the nonprofit sector. Sometimes it was cast as a plea to get rid of “the old and replace it with the new”. What I did not hear much of, but think it is important to consider, is the possibility of reconfiguring or even “re-propelling” organizations that have much longer histories. As you may know from reading my previous posts, I often draw comparisons between the nonprofit sector and popular culture. As I reflected on the SIE Scaling Conference, the movie Cocoon came to my mind. I promise I won’t reference Steve Guttenberg.
“If you don’t know or remember the movie, Cocoon is a movie about a swimming pool that houses the cocoons of aliens. Three older men start swimming in the pool and begin to obtain renewed energy, causing the older gentleman to feel much stronger. In thinking about this plot and some of the phraseology I heard at the conference, I wondered if it is possible to rethink our language and talk about how we can renew older organizations that some have labeled as dead or have forgotten about in the rush to recognize and highlight newer efforts.”
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Wealthy Give Less
In a rational response to tough economic times, the charitable activity of the wealthy has decreased somewhat, as this article from Bloomberg reports.
What hasn’t changed is the necessity for an organization to be philanthropically ready—being financially accountable and transparent—a cornerstone of the five steps my consulting practice works to ensure each client organization embraces.
An excerpt.
“Giving Less
“Philanthropy was another area where the wealthy have become more focused and cautious in the aftermath of the financial crisis, Van der Linde said. In the U.S., total charitable contributions fell 3.6 percent in 2009 to $303.75 billion from $315.08 billion in 2008, according to Giving USA Foundation.
“With less to give, donors are being more selective in their philanthropic activity.
“It’s not just blanketing several charities and hoping for the best,” said Van der Linde. “They are now looking to wealth management firms for advice on how to make philanthropy part of their investment planning.”
“The U.S. had 2.87 million millionaires, topping Japan and more than triple third-ranked Germany with 861,500, the report said. The number of millionaires in China soared 31 percent to 477,400, keeping the country ahead of the U.K. with 448,100.”
What hasn’t changed is the necessity for an organization to be philanthropically ready—being financially accountable and transparent—a cornerstone of the five steps my consulting practice works to ensure each client organization embraces.
An excerpt.
“Giving Less
“Philanthropy was another area where the wealthy have become more focused and cautious in the aftermath of the financial crisis, Van der Linde said. In the U.S., total charitable contributions fell 3.6 percent in 2009 to $303.75 billion from $315.08 billion in 2008, according to Giving USA Foundation.
“With less to give, donors are being more selective in their philanthropic activity.
“It’s not just blanketing several charities and hoping for the best,” said Van der Linde. “They are now looking to wealth management firms for advice on how to make philanthropy part of their investment planning.”
“The U.S. had 2.87 million millionaires, topping Japan and more than triple third-ranked Germany with 861,500, the report said. The number of millionaires in China soared 31 percent to 477,400, keeping the country ahead of the U.K. with 448,100.”
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