Grants

More than 70 percent of grant makers say not enough is being done to assess the performance of foundations, according to a survey conducted by the LFA Group for the Center for Effective Philanthropy.

The biggest barriers to measuring performance are the difficulty of establishing a causal relationship between a foundation’s support and creating change, and a lack of time to conduct an evaluation, respondents said. LFA Group polled more than 500 foundation executives and program officers in February.

In fiscal year 2008, the federal government gave $38 billion in grants to nonprofit entities and spent $10 billion on non-competed contracts with nonprofits. Billions were also taken in tax expenditures benefiting nonprofits, representing foregone revenues of $50 billion in 2008.

Excluding contracts, that means that the average U.S. household spent $430 a year on programs to nonprofit entities such as universities, hospitals and charities in 2008.

The way nonprofit groups are reimbursed for work done under federal grants is erratic and needs to be clarified, says a new report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Much of the money flows through state and local governments, which offer different rates depending on their policies, it says.

That makes it difficult to get a clear picture of whether the contracts are covering the indirect costs (such as rent or utilities) of the charities doing the work, it says. When such costs are not fully paid for, it adds, the groups cut back on their services -- or on vital "back office" functions, which can over time compromise their ability to fulfill their missions.

The GSMA announced the details of a further seven grantees from the Mobile Money for the Unbanked (MMU) Fund, which is administered by the GSMA Foundation, Inc., with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. New grantees are Cellcard in Cambodia, Digicel in Fiji, Orange in West Africa, Safaricom in Kenya, Tata Indicom in India, Telenor in Pakistan, and Tigo in Africa.

“Just 15 months after we first announced the launch of the Mobile Money for the Unbanked Programme we are proud to announce that all funds have been committed in support of mobile money deployments across the globe,” said Gavin Krugel, Director GSMA. “Projects were chosen on their ability to deliver, speed of delivery, scale and sophistication. Between now and the end of 2011 millions of consumers are expected to directly benefit from mobile money services launched with the support of the Fund – that is 170 million customers at the base of the economic pyramid and who previously lacked access to financial services, from 19 operators in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.”

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New York, NY — June 2, 2010. The nation's foundation community has provided critical financial and technical support to states applying for the first round of the U.S. Department of Education's "Race to the Top" education reform competition. Yet according to Race to the Top: What Grantmakers Can Learn from the First Round, released today by the Foundation Center, the success of future collaborations will depend on government including grantmakers in the development of new policies and grantmakers being engaged, long-term partners in the process.

Under the auspices of the Foundations for Education Excellence initiative, the Foundation Center conducted interviews in March and April 2010 with foundation staff, education consultants, and government leaders who had guided the first-round application process in nine states. Key findings from these interviews include:

CHICAGO, Ill. – May 24, 2010 – The Walmart Foundation today announced a $1.2 million dollar donation to the National Energy Education Development Project (NEED) to install solar panels on 20 schools in five cities across the country. The five cities taking part in the program are Chicago, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Seattle.

“The Walmart Solar School program will help educate the next generation on the opportunities and benefits of using more renewable energy,” said Margaret McKenna, president of the Walmart Foundation. “This program aligns perfectly with Walmart’s sustainability commitment to involve our communities and customers in our environmental and social efforts.”

Michelle Obama on Thursday announced that five foundations — the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, the Omidyar Network, the Skoll Foundation, the Open Society Institute and the Benificus Foundation — would provide a total of $45 million to match the money the government plans to grant to nonprofit groups through its Social Innovation Fund, which will help expand social programs that have proven successful. More than 20 other foundations and organizations will provide an additional $5 million so that the fund will have $100 million, half in federal money, to award beginning in July.

Washington, D.C. — NeighborWorks America today announced that it received $1 million from The Rockefeller Foundation in support of infrastructure development and upgraded technical support for nonprofit housing counseling organizations. The grant will help to strengthen and supplement nonprofit housing counseling capacity and increase their efficiency and ability to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.

MENLO PARK, Calif. – From increasing childhood literacy in India to helping improve the air quality in California's Central Valley, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation has announced over $84 million in new grants to 199 organizations.

Organizations receiving grants ranged across the San Francisco Bay Area and throughout the world in the Foundation's six primary areas of grantmaking: global development, education, performing arts, philanthropy, the environment, and population. The Foundation also made select grants for special projects. Among the highlights of the grants awarded this spring are: