Green for Green Workshop Resources
See below for resources from the recent Green for Green workshop. Thanks to ComEd, this event was free.
- resource provided by the Forum Network Knowledgebase.
See below for resources from the recent Green for Green workshop. Thanks to ComEd, this event was free.
Resources from LaPiana Consultants
If you didn't get a chance to visit our sponsors at Bridging the Divide: Building Community in Illinois, check out our virtual exhibition room!
We were pleased that the Chicago Tribune published our letter to the editor this week about the need for fiscal reform to solve the State's budget crisis.
"What kind of state do you want for yourself, and more importantly, for those that follow you? We need leaders in government whose vision extends beyond the next election. We also need leaders in education and the nonprofit sector whose vision extends beyond their own niche – leaders who understand the importance of others in the choppy waters as they struggle to stay afloat."
Last April, Donors Forum and the Listening Post Project, an initiative from the Center for Civil Society Studies at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies, convened a group of 20 thought leaders from the region's nonprofit community. Together, we explored the realities of nonprofit involvement in the policy process, the importance of advocacy, and increasing political engagement in order to support the sector.
The Chicago Community Trust has announced $1.5 million in funding in a second round of Unity Challenge grants for organizations whose programs have been targeted for funding cuts by the State and the City while simultaneously experiencing increased demand for services. Applications are due August 13, 2010.
Ra Joy of Arts Alliance Illinois has invited Members, Forum Partners, Associate Members, and friends of Donors Forum to join in a free conference call, New Federal Funding Streams for Sustainable Communities: Guide for Arts and Cultural Organizations.
It’s no surprise to anyone in the nonprofit and philanthropic sector that Illinois’ economy is in a sorry state. Everyday, we are confronted with disturbing stories on the front page of the newspaper or from friends and colleagues about vital services being cut, sharply increasing need, lay-offs, and delayed State payments to contracted providers.
$490 million: That’s how much the State of Illinois currently owes to nonprofits that provide services to Illinoisans on behalf of the State. And if you include what is owed to private business as well as nonprofits, the total amount owed is $1.3 billion!
Donors Forum Members Bank of America, Deloitte Services LP, IBM, and Microsoft Corporation were mentioned while Abbott Laboratories and Kraft Foods, Inc. were listed as companies who gave 50% or more in products rather than money in 2009 in a new USA Today article, "Companies donate employees' time, service instead of cash."
It is no secret that discussion about the nonprofit sector has been increasing since this economic recession began.
Innovation and scale are key themes in several high-profile federal initiatives, including the Social Innovation Fund and the Promise Neighborhoods program, and even in Mark Zuckerberg’s $100 million donation to Newark public schools. These efforts respond to a growing feeling that current approaches to improve health, education, and economic opportunities are not having the desired impact.
How do we move from a system weighed down by mistrust and inefficiency to a new agreement in which all stakeholders work together to provide effective, high-quality services that truly reflect the needs of Illinoisans?
Our CEO's letter to the editor about charitable giving was published by the Chicago Tribune this weekend. Valerie reminds us that our year-end gifts are more important than ever, as nonprofits that provide essential services to the men, women, and children of Illinois are being clobbered by the economy and the State budget crisis.
The December 13, 2010 edition of The Chicago Tribune featured Donors Forum Member, Eleanor Foundation, noting results of educational initiatives that help lower-income working women.
Several Associate Members of Donors Forum were quoted in an article on Forbes.com on the role that professional advisors can play in helping individuals and families make their philanthropy the most effective.