Blog Entries

Get ready for the Facebook Millionaires... but don't hold your breath!

fraser@utahcf.org — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 18:34:27 +0100

Some 3,000 employees have stock options and they will need to avoid some tax by setting up foundations. The good news? Entrepreneurs are about twice as generous as people who inherit their wealth, and those who are millionaires tend to give a higher share of their income and assets than those who are not.

The bad news ... they will not be giving it away for a while. "Robert Frank, of the WSJ writes "Many [Facebook stockholders] are still very young, so they are still in an accumulation phase [...]

A fiscal sponsor gone bad

fraser@utahcf.org — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:19:50 +0100

We have offered to serve as a fiscal sponsor for a handful of agencies over the year, and we have been pleased to do so. Its a tricky business since we are in essence giving use of our coveted nonprofit status to another group. But it we understand that not everyone needs a 501 c 3 and for those that do, the approval may be long in coming.

Some organizations are too small, or do not have the financial capacity to ever gain their own entity, and there are organizations who specialize [...]

Sad news - Hull House founded by Jane Addams in 1889 closes

fraser@utahcf.org — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 23:17:00 +0100

Hull House, the Chicago social services organization that Nobel Peace Prize winner Jane Addams founded in 1889 to help thousands of immigrants adjust to life in America, will close this spring because of financial reasons. Many of us were first introduced to social work and community organizing by reading about this extraordinary woman and the hundreds that followed in her footsteps.

Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Chicago-s-Jane-Addams-Hull-House-to-c [...]

You don't have to be a hero

fraser@utahcf.org — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:23:42 +0100

Good news from Harvard! It turns out most social entrepreneurs are not focused on changing the world, but on changing things in their own communities and organizations, and are funding their social ventures through commercially generated revenue rather than charitable donations.

Most attention (academic and otherwise) has been on 'heroic' social entrepreneurs, bent on tacking huge, global issues. Think Grameen Bank. We at the Community Foundation know that there are many of you worki [...]

5 big pressures on the nonprofits sector

fraser@utahcf.org — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:08:16 +0100

I thought this list from Suzanne Perry, Caroline Preston, and Nicole Wallace rang true. Our new economic dashboard is showing that giving is flat or down ... again... and that most agencies in Utah continue to struggle. Here is a national perspective on what looms

Philanthropy and the 99 percent:

We are under attack [...]

Lady GaGa and Justin Beiber

fraser@utahcf.org — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 17:11:07 +0100

In a list my 14 year would appreciate, these two and are the top charitable celebrities of 2011. Read it here in Hollywood Reporter, which you may not get to as frequently as the Chronicle of Philanthropy. And for the rest of us, George Clooney came in third.

Lady GaGa and Justin Beiber

fraser@utahcf.org — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 17:11:06 +0100

Lady GaGa and Justin Beiber

fraser@utahcf.org — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 17:10:54 +0100

What is a social enterprise? We explain on KCPW!

fraser@utahcf.org — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:11:48 +0100

http://kcpw.org/blog/cityviews/2011-11-08/city-views-110911-election-round-up/

Help from Harvard

fraser@utahcf.org — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 21:48:09 +0100

Bring your toughest problem.

The Utah Harvard Alumni Association knows that changing the world takes guts and smarts, and they want to help. Twenty nonprofits will have the chance to meet one-on-one with local alumni to share strategies and networks the evening of Tuesday, November 29.

Registration now open

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ZWNJGWL

What is a Chautauqua?

fraser@utahcf.org — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 23:08:56 +0100

"The most American thing in America", according to Teddy Roosevelt. Chautauqua's are part of our country's traditional ways of sharing information and developing civic dialogue. One of the most important roles a community foundation plays is as a neutral convener, and one of the most contentious topics in Utah is our most natural common heritage - our land, water and air.

We hope you'll join us to build an enlightening, open and civil, civic dialogue on November 30th.

Another gala? How did I get here?

fraser@utahcf.org — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 19:14:36 +0100

I hear a lot from people who are just tired of attending the same old 'gala' event - dinner, silent auction for stuff they do not need or want, maybe dancing to loud, bad music. Expensive. Same crowd. People feel obligated, and may have a bit of a good time - but they just as often ask: how much does this things cost? Or, to quote the Talking Heads "How did I get here?" Here is a nice piece from a leading marketing expert and blogger asking the same thing.

Seth Godin on Gala economi [...]

Can we risk a loss of $2.9 billion in giving?

fraser@utahcf.org — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 19:57:58 +0100

We know people give not solely for the tax deduction, but because they want to support the causes they care about. But today a new study estimates that President Obama’s plan to limit the value of charitable deductions for wealthy people would cost nonprofits at least $2.9-billion and perhaps as much as $5.6-billion.

The change would mean that the wealthiest Americans, those that can write off 35% of their deductions, including those they make to charities, would be limited to w [...]

Potential impact of change in deductions... ouch

fraser@utahcf.org — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 17:54:41 +0100

President Obama’s fiscal 2012 budget calls for taxing families on money that they gave to charity instead of spending on themselves. Specifically, the proposal would limit the value of itemized charitable deductions at 28 percent for individuals with incomes above $200,000 and joint filers with incomes above $250,000, even though they pay taxes at a rate as high as 35 percent. The president recently included the same proposal in his “American Jobs Act” and his deficit reduction proposal [...]

Non Profit Mash Up! October 20th

fraser@utahcf.org — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 17:48:12 +0100

Whether you work with the policy issues or with clients, run the office or run a program, raise money or track the cash flow, answer the phones or answer to the Board, we hope you’ll spend this morning learning, sharing, meeting new colleagues, rejuvenating and (of course) snacking.

Our sponsor Morgan Stanley Bank, N.A., like the Community Foundation, knows that the strength of our sector lies in its people, and that the last few years have only made us stronger. It is [...]

Time to nominate this year's E-5-O!

fraser@utahcf.org — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 16:40:51 +0100

It is time, once again, for The Community Foundation of Utah to celebrate individuals who are engaging their giving minds, and we need your help.

The Enlightened Fifty, or E-5-O, is a group of community-nominated and peer-selected individuals who are a driving force in improving Utah’s future. They:

pioneer innovative and sustainable approaches, making a long-term impact on critical issues facing our state;
demonstrate a commitment to community engagemen [...]

Bad news on the giving side of life

fraser@utahcf.org — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 15:46:36 +0100

There are some very ominous studies being released this week, all pointing to yet another decline in giving. Campbell Rinker found that 2/3 of the donors they surveyed (folks who give at least $20 or more) will cut back on their giving in 2011, and 10% say they are going to stop giving all together!

View the complete study findings (PDF download).

Corporations are also reducing their giving especially the big Wall Street firms. And the Times recently wrote about a lack [...]

BoomStart up - lets do this for social innnovation!

fraser@utahcf.org — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 17:37:41 +0100

BoomStartUp - a partner with the foundation is a great example of a 'business accelerator'. Last week 10 BoomStartup companies were featured in a 'demo day', where the businesses met investors. Robb Kunz, BoomStartup co-founder, explains the model ""Investors love it. We do all the heavy lifting at BoomStartup, save the investors some risk," Kunz said. "But selecting investors is almost as important as selecting the companies. We do a lot of due diligence. We almost do a little bit of match [...]

Seth Godin on Selling the benefits of charity

fraser@utahcf.org — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 18:25:00 +0100

Passing on this terrific blog

Everything we do, we do because somehow it benefits us.

We go to work for the satisfaction (I hope) and because we get paid. We smile at a stranger because it feels good to be nice (and perhaps we'll get a smile in return). We pick up litter when no one is looking because telling ourselves a story about being a good person is worth the effort.

Some people have figured out that charity is an incredible bargain. For the time and money it costs, t [...]

Foundation receives grant from John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

fraser@utahcf.org — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 21:01:35 +0100

Hurrah! our first national grant! We recently learned we were awarded a challenge grant to support Spy Hop Productions development of a Youth-On-Air broadcasting program. We are now officially members of the Knight Community Information Challenge, which encourages community and place-based foundations to support news and information projects that inform and engage residents.

Together, Spy Hop and the Community Foundation of Utah will use this diverse platform to engage Utah’s youth [...]