As part of its work to raise awareness of the value of philanthropy and the nonprofit sector, Donors Forum works with media outlets in Illinois.

Find here an open letter to the next mayor of Chicago (who was not yet elected at the time of submission) published in the Southtown Star on Feb. 20, 2011. It is about the importance of partnership between the public and private sectors, including nonprofits and philanthropy.  An excerpt:

            "One key but often overlooked element in the economy of our communities is nonprofit organizations and the foundations whose support sustains their work. Nonprofit organizations are surprisingly robust economic engines, generating nearly 10 percent of Illinois’ gross state product and making up nearly 9 percent of the state’s work force….We encourage the next mayor to tap the expertise and resources of the nonprofit and philanthropic communities to produce win-win efficiencies and reforms in the way government does business in Chicago’s communities."

Donors Forum also recently participated in a “Community Conversation” on reinventing philanthropy hosted by the Chicago Tribune. You can read more about it and add to the conversation here, at the paper’s newsroom blog, Trib Nation. Photos of the lunch are on Facebook.

The conversation was a precursor to a larger public event the Tribune is holding at 6pm on Tuesday, March 15: Chicago Forward: The Face of Chicago Philanthropy, Panelists will include Ellen Alberding, President of The Joyce Foundation, a Donors Forum Member; and Ric Estrada, CEO of Metropolitan Family Services, a Donors Forum Partner; as well as Susan Crown of SCE; James Kales, CEO of Aspire; and Patty Huber, community manager, Groupon/The Point. Valerie S. Lies, Donors Forum's President and CEO, will narrate an introductory video.

~ Celeste Wroblewski, VP, External Relations