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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.
July 18, 2008
Children and Youth
The Power of Pow! Wham!: Children, Digital Media, and Our Nation's Future
A new report from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop examines the ways in which digital media are used to support and accelerate the learning and development of children, both in and out of school. Funded by Electronic Arts, McGraw-Hill Education, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the
PBS KIDS Raising Readers initiative, the report, The Power of Pow! Wham!: Children, Digital Media, and Our Nation's Future (64 pages, PDF), finds that while many adults welcome the benefits of computer-based learning, new strategies are needed to engage and inspire children to learn vital literacy skills
July 16, 2008
Civil Society
Statutory Routes to Workplace Flexibility in Cross-National Perspective
In the United States and many other high-income nations, employers are facing a dramatic increase in the number of older workers and a slowdown in labor force growth. And while demand for more flexible work arrangements has increased, developments in the workplace are not keeping up changing workforce demographics. A new report from the Institute for Women's Policy Research and the University of California's Center for WorkLife Law argues that creating opportunities for workers to change their work arrangements in order to better balance the demands of work and family and facilitate lifelong learning can improve work/life quality, helps foster economic growth and prosperity, and contributes to gender equality. The report, Statutory Routes to Workplace Flexibility in Cross-National Perspective (44 pages, PDF), looks at what governments in twenty-one high-income countries, including the United States, are doing to speed up the pace of workplace change.
July 14, 2008
Public Affairs
Assessing Consistency and Fairness in Sentencing: A Comparative Study in Three States
States that use sentencing guidelines demonstrate more predictability, less discrimination, and increased transparency in their sentencing, a new report from the National Center for State Courts finds. Sponsored by the Pew Center on the States' Public Safety Performance project, the report, Assessing Consistency and Fairness in Sentencing: A Comparative Study in Three States (20 pages, PDF), examined the use of guidelines in Minnesota, Michigan, and Virginia and found that active participation by a sentencing commission was essential to creating effective guidelines.
July 12, 2008
Children and Youth
Preparing Our Kids for Education, Work, and Life
According to a new report from the Boston Foundation, young people who "age out" of the Massachusetts Department of Social Services face an increased risk of homelessness, incarceration, sexual abuse, unemployment, and depression. Co-sponsored by the Massachusetts Task Force on Youth Aging Out of DSS Care, the report, Preparing Our Kids for Education, Work, and Life (41 pages, PDF), offers recommendations — many of which require changes in the state's budget, administrative policies, and statutes — to improve the lives of such youth. The report also identifies five core resources for the healthy development of youth on which any transition system should be based.
July 10, 2008
Philanthropy and Voluntarism
Index of Global Philanthropy 2008
Private giving continues to outpace official foreign aid to developing nations, a new report from the Hudson Institute's Center for Global Prosperity finds. The report, The Index of Global Philanthropy 2008 (80 pages, PDF), provides a comprehensive guide to the sources and scope of U.S. and international philanthropy to the developing world. Among other things, the report found that private giving by American foundations, corporations, volunteer organizations, colleges and universities, and religious organizations — combined with remittances — amounts to four-and-a-half times the U.S. government's overseas development budget. The report also found that, globally, private giving and investment now account for 75 percent of donor countries' total economic engagement with recipient nations.
July 8, 2008
Community Improvement/Development
Michigan's Transition to a Knowledge-Based Economy: First Annual Progress Report
Published by Michigan Future, Inc., Michigan's Transition to a Knowledge-Based Economy: First Annual Progress Report (31 pages, PDF) examines state and regional data to determine future drivers of economic prosperity for the state. Funded by the W.K. Kellogg, Charles Stewart Mott, Hudson-Webber, and Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow foundations, the report predicts that Michigan will continue its downward trend in per capita income rankings unless the proportion of college-educated adults in the state increases significantly.
July 6, 2008
Health
Helping Patients Plug In: Lessons in the Adoption of Online Consumer Tools
According to a new report from the California HealthCare Foundation, three out of four patients would like to have some sort of electronic connection with their medical provider, whether it's the ability to make an appointment via the Web, to view lab test results, and/or to e-mail their doctor. The report, Helping Patients Plug In: Lessons in the Adoption of Online Consumer Tools (19 pages, PDF), found that a growing number of healthcare providers are adopting patient-centered health information technology (PCHIT) to address such patient requests despite technical, strategic, and financial hurdles.
July 4, 2008
Education
The High Cost of High School Dropouts: What the Nation Pays for Inadequate High Schools
According to U.S. Census Bureau data cited in an issue brief from the Alliance for Excellent Education, the average annual income for a high school dropout in 2005 was almost $10,000 less than for a high school graduate. Funded by the MetLife Foundation, the brief, The High Cost of High School Dropouts: What the Nation Pays for Inadequate High Schools (6 pages, PDF), found that because of their lower income, dropouts drain the nation's economy by lowering tax revenues and increasing the cost of social programs. The brief also calculates that if high school dropouts who should have graduated with the class of 2008 had earned diplomas, the nation's economy would have benefited from an additional $320 billion in wages, taxes, and productivity over the lifetimes of those students.
July 2, 2008
Philanthropy and Voluntarism
Investing in Change
Foundations can help effect significant social change by funding advocacy efforts designed to raise awareness of specific issues and change government policy and business practices through litigation and legislation, a report from the Atlantic Philanthropies argues. According to Investing in Change: Why Supporting Advocacy Makes Sense for Foundations (20 pages, PDF), foundations increasingly are embracing advocacy as a means to assist those in need and achieve social justice, supporting campaigns ranging from tobacco regulation to death penalty reform to HIV/AIDS prevention. The report profiles foundation-funded advocacy efforts in the United States, Ireland, and South Africa, and also provides tips for effectively supporting research, community organizing, grassroots mobilization, capacity building, policy development, and voter engagement activities.
June 30, 2008
Public Affairs
Gen Dems: The Party's Advantage Among Young Voters Widens
A new report from the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press finds that the Democratic Party's lead in party identification among young voters has more than doubled since the 2004 campaign. Based on surveys conducted between October 2007 and March 2008, the report, Gen Dems: The Party's Advantage Among Young Voters Widens, found that 58 percent of voters under the age of 30 identify or lean Democratic, compared with 33 percent who identify or lean Republican. Indeed, the Democrats' advantage among the young includes both men and women, making their cohort the only one in the electorate in which men are significantly more inclined to self-identify as Democrats than as Republicans.
June 28, 2008
Education
The Principal's Perspective: School Safety, Bullying, and Harassment
To mark Gay and Lesbian Pride Month, the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) has published a new report in collaboration with the National Association of Secondary School Principals which finds that many school principals underestimate the extent to which LGBT students experience harassment. Funded by TimeWarner, the report, The Principal's Perspective: School Safety, Bullying, and Harassment (116 pages, PDF), found that while half the principals surveyed reported that bullying is a serious problem at their schools and nearly all reported that their schools have anti-bullying policies, less than half of those policies specifically mention sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.
June 26, 2008
Health
A Matter of Degree Initiative
Universities and their surrounding communities can reduce alcohol-related problems by taking a collaborative, environmental approach to preventing high-risk drinking among students, a new report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation argues. The report, A Matter of Degree Initiative to Reduce Binge Drinking at Colleges and Universities: Lessons Learned (13 pages, PDF), draws on the experiences of ten university-community coalitions working with the foundation's Matter of Degree (AMOD) initiative to provide a practical guide for university-community collaborations working to moderate students' alcohol consumption. Policies and programs found to be effective include mandatory training for responsible beverage service, expanding substance-free residence halls, requiring registration for purchasers of kegs, and promoting alcohol-free activities.
June 24, 2008
Environment
Ahead of the Curve: States Lead on Climate Change
A new fourteen-minute documentary film from Rockefeller Brothers Fund grantee Sea Studios Foundation explores how states are developing and implementing plans to address the problem of climate change. The film, Ahead of the Curve: States Lead on Climate Change, features stories of citizens and state officials crossing political divides to discover reasons to be hopeful about the future of the planet and can be viewed in its entirety on the Sea Studios Web site.
June 22, 2008
Philanthropy and Voluntarism
Mobilizing Change
The Nonprofit Sector and Philanthropy Program at the Aspen Institute has released a new report containing proposals from leading practitioners in the field working to improve government policies that shape and influence the nonprofit sector's ability to address social problems. Proposals in the report, Mobilizing Change: 10 Nonprofit Policy Proposals to Strengthen U.S. Communities (13 pages, PDF), include extending the deadline for charitable contributions to April 15, creating a Small Business Administration for nonprofits, and improving disaster relief coordination between FEMA and local nonprofits.
June 20, 2008
Public Affairs
Growthology
Two officers at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Tim Kane and Bob Litan, have launched a new blog, Growthology, on the topic of entrepreneurship and "all that it implies for faster economic growth, greater individual opportunity, smart government policy, and, of course, changing the world." The blog will feature observations on articles, papers, books and speeches the two come across as they write, speak, and conduct research on the linkage between entrepreneurship and economic growth. The blog is about a month old, and the range of topics covered to date is broad and compelling. Check it out.
June 18, 2008
Environment
Ten Things Community Foundations Can Do to Address Climate Change
Taking the concept of "Think Globally, Act Locally" to heart, the Funders' Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities has published a list of ten things (2 pages, PDF) community foundations can do to address climate change. The list includes educating the public by improving media understanding of the issue; using investment assets to leverage funds for local action; supporting nonprofits working to address the issue; and supporting and engaging in policy discussions focused on the issue.
June 16, 2008
Civil Society
California's Immigrants and Their Children
Immigrants and their children could soon comprise a major segment of voters in California, with implications for policy on a range of issues, including health, education, and workforce development, a new report from Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees finds. The report, Integration Potential of California's Immigrants and Their Children: New Estimates of Potential New Voters at the State, County, and Legislative District Levels (26 pages, PDF), suggests that by 2012 naturalized immigrants, immigrants eligible for citizenship, and their children could represent up to 29 percent of California's eligible voters. To maximize the integration and civic participation of this growing population, the authors call for naturalization and voter education efforts at the local, county, and state levels.
June 14, 2008
Public Affairs
America's Rental Housing — The Key to a Balanced National Policy
A new report from Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies finds that the current housing crisis not only adds to the number of households competing for low-cost rentals but also threatens renters living in foreclosed properties with sudden eviction. Funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the report, America's Rental Housing — The Key to a Balanced National Policy (36 pages, PDF), recommends that instead of allowing foreclosed properties to be sold off to the highest bidder, mission-driven entities such as community preservation funds be established to help expand the supply of affordable rental housing.
June 12, 2008
Environment
Green Beyond Grants Guide, Volume II: The Carbon Story
Green Beyond Grants, Volume II: Cutting Carbon (18 pages, PDF), a new report from the Environmental Grantmakers Association, provides steps to help organizations calculate, reduce, and offset the carbon footprint of their daily operations, including office activities, travel, and events. The second edition in the series offers a list of resources that includes links to carbon calculators, videoconferencing/Webconferencing technology (to reduce travel), and organizations working in the areas of green power and energy conservation.
June 10, 2008
Science/Technology
Social Citizens
Having grown up during a digital era, the Millennial generation — made up of individuals born since 1980 — is equipped with innovative tools and ideas for bringing about change, a new report funded by the Case Foundation finds. Written by Allison Fine, a senior fellow at Demos: A Network for Ideas and Action, the report, Social Citizens BETA (70 pages, PDF) and its related blog address the unique characteristics of Millennials and examine how new technologies and strategies are affecting their engagement and activism on issues, both online and off.
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