Evaluating Public Policy & Advocacy Work:
George Gund
Gund Foundation and Alliance for Justice Create New Tool
The George Gund Foundation, in partnership with the Alliance for Justice, has created a new tool to help foundations evaluate the impact of their public policy and advocacy grants and to help organizations assess their ability to engage in this work.
Marcia Egbert, a senior program officer at the Foundation, explains in an article in Foundation News why the Foundation decided a different kind of evaluation was needed for advocacy grants and the criteria that were used to developing this new resource.
The “Advocacy Capacity Assessment Tool” and the “Advocacy Evaluation Tool” are hands-on guides for funders on how to evaluate an applicant’s capacity for advocacy prior to awarding a grant as well as a guide to evaluating grantee’s progress in achieving advocacy goals. The guides also should be helpful to nonprofits involved in public policy and advocacy work. The tools are available through the Alliance for Justice.
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Festival Features Greg Gund Memorial Competition
George Gund
The 30th Annual Cleveland International Film Festival, which begins March 16, will include the first Greg Gund Memorial Standing Up Film Competition. Films shown during the 10-day festival in the Standing Up category focus on social justice and activism messages that seek to improve the world. The winner, to be determined by audience vote, will receive a $5,000 prize. Click here for more information about Standing Up films.
The new competition, which will become an annual event, is funded by an endowment grant from the George Gund Foundation in memory of Greg Gund who died in a plane crash in Costa Rica in 2005. Greg was the son of Foundation Trustee George Gund and a grandson of the Foundation’s founder. A film from Costa Rica, “Caribe,” also will be shown in Greg’s memory.
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What Do you Think of Us: Part II
George Gund
Foundation Commissions 2nd Grantee Perception Report
The George Gund Foundation’s 2005 grantees soon will receive a questionnaire from the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) asking for anonymous, confidential feedback on the work of the Foundation.
This is the second time the Foundation has participated in the CEP’s Grantee Perception Report, an evaluation tool that takes a look at everything from grantee interaction with Foundation staff to the Foundation’s impact in the community. More than 100 foundations have participated in this project since it began in 2003, providing an opportunity for foundations to compare their survey results with those of other foundations.
The Gund Foundation used feedback it received in the 2003 survey to make several changes that would increase its effectiveness and make it more responsive to grantee needs.
The deadline for completing the surveys is March 24, 2006.
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Foundation Awards $7.9M Million in December
George Gund
The George Gund Foundation made grants at its December meeting for innovative initiatives focused on revitalizing University Circle, re-imagining the Cuyahoga River Valley and helping nonprofit organizations use technology more creatively.
The Foundation made a $2.1 million grant to the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (MOCA) for a new facility that will be part of a planned arts and retail district at the intersection of Euclid Avenue and Mayfield Road in University Circle.
“The Foundation has been a longtime supporter of MOCA, and we are delighted that the museum will become the focal point of an exciting new development and will help bring new energy and vitality to the University Circle neighborhood,” said David Abbott, Foundation executive director. “The increased visibility also will benefit MOCA as is seeks to expand programming and exhibitions.”
A two-year $500,000 grant was made to the Cuyahoga Planning Commission for the Cuyahoga Valley Initiative, a broad-scale planning effort to develop a new framework for rejuvenating the valley and encouraging thoughtful development. The planning process will set goals for a new organization that will be formed in mid-2007 to oversee activities and developments in the Valley, a geographic area that stretches from Akron to Lake Erie.
“This project has the potential to set a new regional mission and standard for the rediscovery of the Cuyahoga Valley as an important community asset,” said Abbott.
OneCleveland, a project focused on using the fiber optic system that runs through the city to network education, government, health care, cultural, research and other nonprofit organizations, received a $300,000 grant.
OneCleveland, a project of the technology-based nonprofit NorTech, will use grant funds to assist organizations in developing new approaches to using technology to more effectively and efficiently to help those they serve.
These grants were among 92 totaling $7,863,750 made by Foundation Trustees at the last quarterly meeting of 2005. Grantmaking for the year was $18,056,679.
Other grants of interest included:
- $1 million over four years to the Musical Arts Association to support the Cleveland Orchestra’s transition to a new business plan;
- $125,000 to the Cleveland Festival of Art and Technology for the 2006 Ingenuity Festival;
- $250,000 over three years to the Center for Families and Children for renovation of its main offices in the Midtown Corridor and three of its community-based facilities;
- $300,000 to ShoreBank Enterprise Group Cleveland for efforts to create economic opportunities in East Side Cleveland neighborhoods;
- $35,000 to the Cleveland Municipal School District for the search for a new chief executive officer;
- $100,000 to Care Alliance, which provides health care to the homeless and uninsured, for its move to a larger facility; and
- $50,000 to KnowledgeWorks Foundation for the Achieving the Dream initiative at Cuyahoga Community College.
The George Gund Foundation was established in 1952 by George Gund, former chairman of the Cleveland Trust Company. The Foundation funds programs that enhance our understanding of the physical and social environment in which we live and increase our ability to cope with its changing requirements. Grants are made quarterly in the areas of education, human services, economic and community development, environment and arts. Foundation commitments to date have totaled more than $427 million.
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WVIZ December Programming Highlights Local Issues
George Gund
Ideas, the new weekly news and information program, on Cleveland’s public television station WVIZ/Channel 25, will focus on two issues of concern to the George Gund Foundation in upcoming programs.
On December 9 at 9 p.m., Ideas will examine Cleveland’s recent designation as the “poorest city” in the country and explore solutions to the community’s poverty problems. The program will be rebroadcast on December 12 at 11 a.m.
The program on December 16 at 9 p.m. will focus on Cleveland’s proposed new Lakefront Plan. It will be repeated December 19 at 11 a.m.
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Speak Up and Be Heard:
George Gund
Regional Town Meeting Set for November 12
More than 1,000 citizens from 15 Northeast Ohio counties will gather at the largest town-hall-style meeting ever convened in this area as part of an effort to chart a new economic future for the region.
The Voices and Choices Regional Town Meeting will take place Saturday November 12, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the University of Akron’s Rhodes Arena. Those interested in attending the meeting can still sign up at www.voiceschoices.org.
In simultaneous roundtable discussions of 10 to 12 participants, citizens will paint their vision for the regionís future, share their views about the region’s best assets and come to agreement about its most pressing challenges.
Computer technology, allowing real-time participant feedback, will help identify similar views while building consensus among all 1,000 participants. The goal of the event is to set a course for Northeast Ohio’s future that will produce more jobs and create better economic opportunities for families and businesses.
Voices and Choices is a project of The Fund for Our Economic Future, a collaboration of more than 60 philanthropic organizations working to make Northeast Ohio more competitive in the global marketplace.
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Foundation Seeking Fellowship Candidates
George Gund
The George Gund Foundation Fellowship provides an opportunity for promising professionals to work inside the Foundation, a philanthropic organization that plays a vital role in supporting the civic life of Greater Cleveland and in various national policy deliberations that impact our community. The Fellowship is a two-year, full-time commitment beginning in Summer 2006, requiring residence in Northeast Ohio during the term of the engagement.
To be considered for the Fellowship, each candidate must submit a cover letter, a detailed resume, two letters of recommendation and a short essay discussing why the Fellowship opportunity is appealing. These materials are due no later than January 3, 2006.
A Fellow will be selected in mid-April.
For complete information on the Fellowship, click here.
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Three Foundations Launch Program to Improve Literacy in Greater Cleveland:
George Gund
Hundreds of Local Organizations Come Together to Centralize Efforts and Launch Awareness Campaign
(CLEVELAND) — Sept. 28, 2005 — Three of Cleveland’s largest foundations announced plans today to launch a collaborative effort to raise the level of literacy in Greater Cleveland. The Cleveland Foundation, The George Gund Foundation and The Martha Holden Jennings Foundation together have committed $700,000 to establish the Greater Cleveland Literacy Collaborative. This new entity will work to ensure that all children and adults in Greater Cleveland reach their highest potential for employment, self-sufficiency and lifelong-learning.
The three foundations convened more than 300 individuals from 250 local organizations over the past 14 months to study issues related to literacy in the community and steps that could be taken to improve the current situation.
“Literacy is more than just reading,” Ann Mullin, senior program officer at The George Gund Foundation said. “It’s the set of skills needed to function effectively in society and to achieve one’s goals. Our research indicates that nearly half of Cuyahoga County residents lack necessary literacy skills. For these community members, navigating a bus route, understanding prescription drug instructions, calculating the cost of menu items or understanding work benefits are anything but routine.”
The group created a comprehensive literacy action plan and charged The Literacy Collaborative with implementation. The plan outlines five strategic areas of focus:
- Provide an information clearinghouse for the community.
- Establish evaluation and quality assurance standards.
- Ensure that training, curriculum development, and technical assistance are available to providers.
- Identify and secure public and private funding for literacy.
- Launch a public awareness campaign on literacy.
“Up until this point, literacy has not been a major community priority,” Bill Hiller, executive director of The Martha Holden Jennings Foundation, said. “Our goal is to help businesses, non-profit organizations, public officials and the community understand the importance of literacy and to work in a coordinated way to improve these skills.”
While The Literacy Collaborative will be responsible for all of the focus areas, it will function primarily as a convener and coordinator, contracting with community organizations and partners to perform the work.
“The Literacy Collaborative will seek to build upon strengths that already exist in the community and step in only where there is a recognized gap,” John Mitterholzer, program officer at The Cleveland Foundation, said. “The organization will be a true collaborative of groups working towards one goal — improving literacy.”
A central part of The Literacy Collaborative’s work involves launching a large public awareness campaign in spring of 2006 to raise the profile of literacy in the community and inform the public about the many services available to improve individual skills.
By centralizing functions and combining efforts, The Literacy Collaborative will allow service providers to concentrate on what they do best. It will also provide program support and financial resources to these organizations. This independent entity will act on behalf of the community and reach beyond traditional service providers and connect more meaningfully with public, private, and non-profit organizations to achieve literacy goals. The Literacy Collaborative will provide oversight and overall strategic coordination currently not being fulfilled by individual providers.
The Greater Cleveland Literacy Collaborative
The Greater Cleveland Literacy Collaborative is a joint initiative of The Cleveland, George Gund and Martha Holden Jennings Foundations to centralize efforts to improve literacy levels among children, youth and adults in Greater Cleveland. The organization provides information and referrals, funding assistance, evaluation and accountability, training and development, and public awareness efforts for literacy.
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Make Your Voice Heard:
George Gund
Participate in a Voices & Choices Citizen Interview
| The Fund for Our Economic Future has launched an initiative to involve tens of thousands of Northeast Ohio residents in creating a regional economic competitiveness agenda. The initiative — Voices & Choices — has begun with the first in a series of public engagement programs: one-on-one citizen interviews. |
This fall, citizens from diverse backgrounds throughout the region will participate in a cascading interview process that will eventually reach thousands throughout the 15 counties of Northeast Ohio. The interview process, in which citizens talk about the region with other citizens, is designed to identify the region’s strengths upon which an action agenda may be built and to foster a more positive public attitude about the future of Northeast Ohio.
The citizen interviews are the first in a series of Voices & Choices programs to be held over the next year throughout Northeast Ohio that together will constitute one of the largest public deliberations ever convened. It will create a sustained public dialogue to strengthen the region’s identity and create clear priorities for action. Each phase of the process will take on a different set of issues. Building upon the results of the one-on-one interviews, Voices & Choices will convene over one thousand people from throughout the region for a town hall meeting in Akron on November 12 to continue setting a regional agenda.
“The only way weíre going to improve the economic competitiveness of Northeast Ohio is for citizens to take action on the regional level,” said David Abbott, co-chair of Voices & Choices and executive director of the George Gund Foundation. “Voices & Choices will give the public a voice in setting a course for our future that will produce more jobs and create better economic opportunities for Northeast Ohio families and businesses.”
Voices & Choices is a project of the Fund for Our Economic Future, an unprecedented multi-year collaboration of 71 philanthropic organizations from across Northeast Ohio dedicated to transforming the economy of Northeast Ohio.
Those who would like to volunteer to conduct a citizen interview or participate in Voices & Choices, click here.
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Cleveland Hosts Two National Conferences
George Gund
Two national conferences will bring foundation representatives from across the country to downtown Cleveland this fall.
It’s So Easy Funding Green: The First National Conference for Funders on Green Building and Green Neighborhoods will take place October 24–26. The Communications Network, an organization for foundation professionals interested in communications strategy and practice, will hold its annual conference November 2–4.
The green building conference will feature tours of green redevelopment initiatives in Greater Cleveland as well as sessions on how grantmakers can support environmentally green building and green neighborhood design through their grantmaking and investment portfolios.
Keynote speakers are David W. Orr, head of the environmental studies program at Oberlin College and Jonathan Rose, president of Jonathan Rose and Companies.
The theme of the Communications Network conference is “In the Spotlight: New Strategies for Moving Attention to the Issues that Matter,” reflecting philanthropy’s growing role in bringing attention to critical problems and priorities in our society as well as the need for greater transparency in the charitable sector.
Scheduled speakers include Ruth Wooden, president of Public Agenda; John R. Healy, president and chief executive officer of The Atlantic Philanthropies; Ruby Takanishi, president of the Foundation for Child Development; and David T. Abbott, executive director of the George Gund Foundation.
The opening session will focus on the Fund for Our Economic Future, a collaborative effort of Northeast Ohio foundations to spur economic development by investing in a three-part strategy that integrates communications, measurement and grantmaking.