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Every week Connections presents fresh links to the best the Web has to offer on issues related to the changing world of philanthropy. Subscribe to our biweekly Connections newsletter and receive two weeks' worth of links delivered to you by e-mail. If you have an item you'd like to share, drop us a line at connections@foundationcenter.org.
June 18, 2013
Public Affairs
What's at Stake for the State: Undocumented Californians, Immigration Reform, and Our Future Together
The legalization of illegal immigrants would benefit California, where they comprise 7 percent of the overall population, 8 percent of the adult population, and 9 percent of the workforce, both economically and socially, a report from the USC Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration argues. The report, What's at Stake for the State: Undocumented Californians, Immigration Reform, and Our Future Together (51 pages, PDF), examines the diversity of California's undocumented population and the implications for national immigration reform policy, including the extent to which high-tech industries will be able to recruit skilled workers, agricultural labor flows are stabilized, and family reunification is maintained. The report projects that legalization with a path to full citizenship will increase aggregate annual income by nearly $1.5 billion in Los Angeles County, by $803 million in the Bay Area, and by $474 million in the Central Valley. Funded by the California Community, Silicon Valley Community, Y&H Soda, and James Irvine foundations, the report recommends a number of actions to prepare for eventual legalization, including stepped-up efforts to boost the educational attainment, health insurance coverage, and English language proficiency of undocumented immigrants.
June 15, 2013
Health
The Affordable Care Act and LGBT Families: Everything You Need to Know
According to an issue brief from the Center for American Progress, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, when fully implemented, will benefit families headed by LGBT parents by ensuring access to affordable health insurance and prohibiting insurance marketplaces and the plans sold through them from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or preexisting conditions such as HIV. The Affordable Care Act and LGBT Families: Everything You Need to Know (7 pages, PDF) highlights how the law benefits all Americans, including LGBT families, and explains how LGBT individuals can obtain affordable coverage through states' health insurance marketplaces — many of which will offer single-family plans for LGBT parents — as well as Medicaid and tax credits. The issue brief also points readers to http://finder.healthcare.gov to learn more about their individual insurance options.
June 12, 2013
Human Services
Homelessness, Survival Sex, and Human Trafficking: As Experienced by the Youth of Covenant House New York
Nearly one in four homeless youth is likely to have been a victim of human trafficking or to have engaged in "survival sex," a report from Covenant House New York finds. Based on a survey of the organization's clients, Homelessness, Survival Sex and Human Trafficking: As Experienced by the Youth of Covenant House New York (28 pages, PDF) found that nearly 15 percent had experienced some form of sex (12 percent) or labor (2.9 percent) trafficking, often at the hands of immediate family members or boyfriends. In addition, 8.1 percent of those at least 18 years old had engaged in a sex act such as prostitution, stripping, or pornography to secure a basic need (most commonly, shelter). In addition to homelessness, risk factors for victimization include childhood sexual abuse; absence of a caring, supportive adult in a victim's life; and lack of education or the means to earn an income. The report also offers policy recommendations for helping victims of trafficking, including extending protections for potential victims beyond the age of 18, strengthening legal definitions of sex trafficking, and providing employment and educational training programs for homeless youth.
June 9, 2013
Disaster Relief
Brooklyn Recovery Fund: A Report to the Community
Established days after Superstorm Sandy battered the area in October 2012, the Brooklyn Recovery Fund, a partnership of philanthropic organizations, businesses, and local government, has been instrumental in supporting recovery efforts in the borough, a report from the Brooklyn Community Foundation finds. According to Brooklyn Recovery Fund: A Report to the Community (HTML), 64 percent of homeowners and 85 percent of businesses that applied for Small Business Administration loans in the aftermath of the storm were denied. In contrast, as of earlier this spring, the fund had disbursed more than $2 million to community-based nonprofit organizations, including $450,000 in emergency fast-track grants — many awarded just a few weeks after the storm — for cleanup and repair, food and supply distribution, and direct financial support for individuals, small businesses, and organizations whose properties were damaged. The fund also awarded $300,000 in community-wide collaboration grants to support cross-sector coalitions tasked with coordinating local relief efforts and developing a long-term neighborhood recovery plan; and $1.37 million in community rebuilding grants for the assessment, repair, and rehabilitation of homes and small businesses.
June 6, 2013
Civil and Human Rights
Connections - Resilience Amidst Adversity: Being Gay and African in the New Century
While a vibrant social justice movement in Africa is working to protect the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) individuals, the concept of universal human rights is still contested in many countries, a report commissioned by the Atlantic Philanthropies and the OTHER Foundation finds. The report, Resilience Amidst Adversity: Being Gay and African in the New Century (92 pages, PDF), examines efforts to secure equal rights for LGBTI individuals despite the persistence of homophobic attitudes, antiquated laws, and traditional religious attitudes, and argues for better integration of the human rights and development agendas. Indeed, in highlighting the work of grantmakers that fund LGBTI movements in Africa, the report's authors point out that in countries where donors have had difficulty providing direct support to LGBTI communities, they have been able to gain a foothold by, for example, supporting programs working to end the HIV/AIDS pandemic and that provide services to men who have sex with men.
June 3, 2013
Education
Connections - Educating English Language Learners: Grantmaking Strategies for Closing America's Other Achievement Gap
By 2020, half of all U.S. public school students will have non-English-speaking backgrounds, and the needs of these English language learners (ELL) will need to be met by English-as-a-second-language strategies across the full academic curriculum as well as out-of-school time programs and efforts to bridge cultural and linguistic worlds, a report from Grantmakers for Education argues. Based on an online survey and interviews with grantmakers, Educating English Language Learners: Grantmaking Strategies for Closing America's Other Achievement Gap (31 pages, PDF) highlights trends in the field, lessons from experienced ELL funders, and case studies of several foundations' investments in ELL students. Among other things, the report argues that the needs of these students cannot be met by focusing only on Latino communities or low-performing, economically disadvantaged, or immigrant and refugee students. The report also recommends that grantmakers balance a focus on ELL students with a holistic approach to school improvement, fund early childhood literacy and language development, support advocacy efforts in the ELL space, and plan for a long-term commitment.
May 31, 2013
Minorities
Connections - Less Than Equal: Racial Disparities in Wealth Accumulation
The racial wealth gap is three times as large as the racial income gap, which helps explains why many middle-income African Americans and Latinos have been unable to improve their relative economic status, a report from the Urban Institute finds. According to Less Than Equal: Racial Disparities in Wealth Accumulation (6 pages, PDF), disparities in wealth — which include assets and savings — have worsened over the last thirty years, even as the income gap has remained roughly the same. Moreover, the Great Recession exacerbated wealth disparities, with Latinos experiencing the largest drop in wealth, primarily due to lower home values, while African Americans were hit hardest by declines in retirement accounts. Funded by the Ford, Russell Sage, and Annie E. Casey foundations, the report recommends targeting safety-net policies to encourage asset building instead of ensuring consumption (as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families programs do), helping low-income families enroll in automatic savings vehicles, and reforming policies such as the mortgage interest tax deduction so it benefits families at all income levels.
May 28, 2013
Public Affairs
Connections - How to Help Military & Veteran Families Before, During & After Deployment: For Early Childhood Educators
Early childhood educators play a critical role in helping children build the skills needed to cope with the trauma and stress of having a military parent deployed, an issue brief from the Military Family Research Institute at Purdue University argues. According to How to Help Military & Veteran Families Before, During & After Deployment: For Early Childhood Educators (6 pages, PDF), children age 5 and younger may display behavioral problems such as anger, sadness, feelings of abandonment, anxiety, aggression, withdrawal, and confusion during a parent's deployment. Sadly, as of March 2013 more than 44,700 children in the United States had a parent in the military who had been wounded, fallen ill, or been killed — and of those children, one in four was age 5 or younger. Among other things, the issue brief recommends that educators work to establish a secure and trusting relationship with the children of military parents; that they be proactive in communicating with parents and guardians to anticipate the first signs of stress; that they emphasize the importance of maintaining routine, consistency, and structure; and that they help families include the deployed parent in a child's day through photographs, voice recordings, and other avenues.
May 25, 2013
Women
The Simple Truth About the Gender Gap 2013 Edition
Although the gender wage gap in the United States has narrowed slightly since the 1970s, the median annual earnings for women working full-time in 2011 was just 77 percent of that earned by men, a report from the Association of American University Women finds. According to The Simple Truth About the Gender Gap 2013 Edition (28 pages, PDF), the pay gap ranges from 10 percent in Washington, D.C., to 33 percent in Wyoming. Indeed, even after taking into consideration age, marital status, geographic region, college major, GPA, type of undergraduate institution, institution selectivity, occupation, and hours worked, the report found a 7 percent differential in the earnings of men and women just one year after graduation. The report also found that the gender gap in median weekly earnings was wider among Asian Americans than other races/ethnicities, and among men and women between the ages of 35 and 64 than among younger or older cohorts. Moreover, given that the incomes of married women account for 36 percent of family income in a typical household — up from 29 percent in 1983 — and that 34 percent of working mothers are their families' sole breadwinners, the pay gap is not simply a women's issue, the report argues, it's a family issue.
May 22, 2013
Human Services
Solutions for the Poorest: Insights on Savings Behavior of Clients
The willingness and ability of the poorest women in developing countries to save regularly by joining a voluntary savings group depends on the level of trust among members of the group and the confidence they have in the implementing organization, a report from Grameen Foundation and Grameen Foundation India finds. Solutions for the Poorest: Insights on Savings Behavior of Clients (16 pages, PDF) looks at a pilot project in Bihar, India, that offered a voluntary and flexible savings product through "adapted self-help groups." Funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, the report debunks certain misperceptions about the savings behavior of the very poor, including the notions that they will only make a deposit in a savings account when they attend a group meeting, that they cannot manage their own accounts, and that they will not save for the future.
May 19, 2013
Arts and Culture
The Promise of Arts-Based Community Development
The arts have had a significant impact in low-income and minority communities in the Twin Cities region in part thanks to their ability to strengthen community bonds, inspire young people, bolster economic development, and spark a sense of possibility, a report from the Twin Cities Local Initiatives Support Corp. finds. The Promise of Arts-Based Community Development (3 pages, PDF) highlights LISC-supported projects involving galleries, art and design classes, public performances, and neighborhood beautification efforts in Twin City neighborhoods facing economic and social challenges — and the impact of those projects on area businesses, youth, and sense of community. According to the report, youth who participate in arts programs often feel as if they have been given a voice and are more likely than non-participants to learn discipline and critical thinking skills, achieve academic success, and become contributing members of their communities. Indeed, arts and culture have the greatest impact on a community, the report argues, when everyone feels welcome and empowered to participate in a collective activity and that sense of empowerment, in turn, helps create a greater sense of opportunity and possibility.
May 16, 2013
Health
Connections - Health Care for Undocumented Migrants: European Approaches
While many countries in the European Union — including those with universal health insurance systems — limit healthcare access for undocumented migrants to emergency services, some provide additional access to those who meet certain requirements, a report from the Commonwealth Fund finds. According to Health Care for Undocumented Migrants: European Approaches (14 pages, PDF), undocumented migrants in France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland can apply for public coverage or purchase health insurance on their own and receive the full range of benefits provided by the public system in those countries. In Belgium, Italy, Norway, and the United Kingdom, undocumented migrants receive some benefits in addition to preventive, maternity, and pediatric care and treatment of infectious diseases that involve a public health hazard. The report notes, however, that even in countries with liberal policies, cost-sharing requirements, discriminatory attitudes among providers, the fear of deportation, and language and cultural barriers limit undocumented migrants' access to care.
May 13, 2013
Public Affairs
Connections - Report of the Constitution Project's Task Force on Detainee Treatment
According to a report from the Constitution Project, the United States engaged in the torture of detainees following the 9/11 attacks, and the nation's highest officials bear some responsibility for sanctioning its use. Funded in part by Atlantic Philanthropies, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, Park Foundation, the Open Society Foundations, the Open Society Policy Center, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Proteus Fund, and the Security & Rights Collaborative,
The Report of the Constitution Project's Task Force on Detainee Treatment (602 pages, PDF) details the findings of former members of Congress, diplomats, judges, military officers, and government officials, as well as experts in law, medicine, and ethics, about allegations of torture as the U.S. mobilized to address the global terrorist threat. As evidence of widespread responsibility among civilian and military leaders, the report cites memoranda defining torture narrowly and declaring that the Geneva Conventions did not apply to al Qaeda and Taliban detainees, as well as then-President George W. Bush's authorization of brutal CIA interrogation techniques for certain detainees. While much of the torture that occurred at Guantánamo and in-country in Afghanistan and Iraq was never explicitly authorized, the study notes, the authorization of CIA interrogation techniques at so-called "dark sites" essentially turned the exception into the rule. Among other things, the task force calls on the Obama administration and Congress to take steps to end the indefinite detention of many prisoners still held at Guantánamo.
May 10, 2013
International Affairs/Development
Social Progress Index 2013
While economic development is important, it is not the only driver of social progress, a new study from the Social Progress Imperative finds. Based on an analysis of non-economic outcome-based indicators of social progress in fifty countries — including clean air, water, and sanitation; access to basic knowledge; health and wellness; access to higher education; and individual rights — the report, Social Progress Index 2013 (153 pages, PDF), found that a country's overall level of economic development can mask social and environmental challenges as well as areas of underperformance. Funded by the Skoll and AVINA foundations, Compartamos Banco, Deloitte, Fundación Latinoamérica Posible, Cisco Systems, Inc., and IGNIA Partners, LLC, the report ranked the United States sixth out of fifty in overall social progress, seventh in meeting basic needs, sixteenth in establishing the foundations of well-being, and first in creating opportunity.
May 7, 2013
Public Affairs
Taking Aim at Gun Violence
Because gun violence disproportionately affects African-American men and boys, particularly those who live in high-poverty communities, efforts to end it must also address issues of race, place, and poverty, a report from CLASP finds. According to Taking Aim at Gun Violence (11 pages, PDF), 53,850 African-American males were killed by firearms between 2000 and 2010, while rates of gun violence among young African-American men were highest where dropout, unemployment, and poverty rates are also high. The report calls for rebuilding and strengthening distressed communities by providing the infrastructure and resources needed to improve education and expand job opportunities, including out-of-school activities, cultural institutions, and vocational programs. Such efforts, the report argues, must take into consideration five key strategies: targeting federal, state, local, and private financial resources to communities of concentrated poverty; building community capacity to deliver services to struggling youth; re-engaging students who have dropped out or are at risk of doing so; offering subsidized employment, internships, on-the-job training, summer jobs, and transitional jobs; and promoting healing from trauma and adversity.
May 4, 2013
Education
KIPP Middle Schools: Impacts on Achievement and Other Outcomes
The Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP), a network of public charter schools, has a positive, statistically significant, and educationally substantial impact on middle school student achievement, a report from Mathematica Policy Research finds. Commissioned by the KIPP Foundation, the report, KIPP Middle Schools: Impacts on Achievement and Other Outcomes (180 pages, PDF), examined state test scores in math, reading, science, and social studies; norm-referenced skills assessment tests; student attitudes and behavior; and other data from forty-three KIPP middle schools and found consistently positive impact results across all four subject areas and the norm-referenced tests. While estimated impacts on student attitudes and behavior were not as consistently positive, KIPP students spent more time on homework, and students and parents expressed higher levels of satisfaction with the school experience.
May 1, 2013
Health
Equity in the Digital Age: How Health Information Technology Can Reduce Disparities
Health information technology (HIT) that's designed to improve the quality and efficiency of care can exacerbate existing disparities if it is not implemented equitably in underserved areas, a report from the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, Consumers Union, and National Council of La Raza suggests. The report, Equity in the Digital Age: How Health Information Technology Can Reduce Disparities (24 pages, PDF), argues that while HIT offers opportunities to create targeted strategies that promote health equity — for example, through the use of mobile phone apps — language barriers and digital divides can limit access to such technology. The report offers recommendations for maximizing the benefit of HIT, including ensuring that insurance enrollment portals and materials are available in multiple languages and on mobile platforms; streamlining the enrollment process by reducing documentation requirements; and requiring demographic health data while ensuring the security and confidentiality of such data.
April 28, 2013
Arts and Culture
O, Miami: How a Festival Infused a City With Poetry
In the decade since Art Basel Miami Beach debuted, Miami has evolved from an art world backwater into an up-and-coming art city known for unorthodox, offbeat events that engender grassroots support, a report from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation argues. The report, O, Miami: How a Festival Infused a City With Poetry (18 pages, PDF), describes how a poet supported by a Knight Foundation grant of $250,000 envisioned a "world-class" project that would be transformational for the city — making poetry interdisciplinary and relevant to the mainstream. During the inaugural O, Miami Poetry Festival in 2011, poetry was injected into modern dance performances and art installations, sewn inside thrift-store items, plastered across buses, and literally pulled across the sky, while collaborations with local arts institutions proved effective in cross-pollinating audiences. Lessons learned from the effort include go big, partner up, book a celebrity, and set the bar high.
April 25, 2013
Civil Society
Building Bridges, Building Power: Developments in Institution-Based Community Organizing
Over the past decade, the field of institution-based community organizing — which brings together public schools, labor unions, neighborhood associations, faith-based organizations and congregations, and others — has expanded its geographic reach and embraced strategic coordination to help shape policies at the state and national levels, a report from Interfaith Funders finds. According to Building Bridges, Building Power: Developments in Institution-Based Community Organizing (44 pages, PDF), IBCOs historically have bridged divides of race/ethnicity, class, religion, and citizenship status; actively surfaced issues of racial inequity; and boasted diverse memberships and boards. In order to maximize their political leverage, however, IBCOs need to more effectively coordinate their activities, which will require new funding, organizing talent, and responses to emerging challenges. The report was funded by the Charles Stewart Mott, New York, W.K. Kellogg, and Hearst foundations; the Needmor Fund; Duke University; the Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock; the Presbyterian Church-USA; the Catholic Campaign for Human Development; the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; the Religious Research Association, and the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion.
April 22, 2013
Environment
Connections - Delivering on the Clean Energy Economy: The Role of Policy in Developing Successful Domestic Solar and Wind Industries
Electricity production from non-hydro renewable sources is projected to grow more than eight-fold by 2035 and attract nearly $3 trillion in investments — if existing national commitments are implemented, a report from the World Resources Institute and its Open Climate Network project finds. The study,
Delivering on the Clean Energy Economy: The Role of Policy in Developing Successful Domestic Solar and Wind Industries (56 pages, PDF), examined policy strategies for developing solar-photovoltaic and wind industries in China, India, Germany, Japan, and the United States and found that, while deployment rates for solar PV systems were price-sensitive, the Chinese and Japanese solar industries were able to grow in the absence of significant domestic demand by pursuing export-driven strategies. In contrast, domestic demand and stable policy was essential to the development of domestic wind industries, the report found. Moreover, export opportunities for the wind energy industry tended to emerge from an established domestic manufacturing industry supported by significant domestic demand.
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