Announcements

Attorney General Jim Petro backed off most of his earlier proposed rule changes for Ohio’s nonprofits, filing a third draft with the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review last week. He will hold a public hearing on the rules on Tuesday, October 10 in Columbus.

In addition to proposing an 11-member Charitable Advisory Council (CAC) in the rules, Petro has created it ad hoc, so that it can begin work later this month. The council members are representatives from the following organizations: Ohio Grantmakers Forum, Ohio Association of Nonprofit Organizations, Center for Nonprofit Excellence, Better Business Bureau, Ohio Society of CPAs, United Way, Association of Ohio Philanthropic Homes, Ohio Hospital Association, AARP Ohio and two attorneys with expertise in nonprofit law. 

Go online to vote for the best options for solving regional problems

Over the past year, many thousands of Northeast Ohio residents have identified the top challenges facing the region through an unprecedented public engagement process called Voices & Choices. Now it’s time for you to choose how to we should tackle those problems.

Learn about the tough choices that we must make and cast your vote on actions we should take by filling out a Voices & Choices Choicebook.

The Choicebook is an interactive online booklet that will describe the difficult choices facing Northeast Ohio and give you a chance to express your preferences about how we should invest our resources to turn Northeast Ohio’s economy around. Issues of concern include inadequate public school funding, developing a 21st century workforce, increasing racial inclusion and income equity, building a competitive business environment and addressing regional sprawl and government fragmentation.

Make your voice heard. Access the Voices & Choices Choicebook here.

Ohio AG Revises Proposed Rules

Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro has significantly revised proposed rule changes that would have dramatically impacted Ohio nonprofit organizations.

After receiving comments from the nonprofit sector, Petro released a new draft on July 28 that drops proposed restrictive regulations dealing with conflict of interest and executive compensation. The proposed regulations still include an expanded annual report requirement. The new rules also propose creation of a charitable advisory council composed of nine members appointed by the attorney general.

Ohio Grantmakers Forum (www.ohiograntmakers.org) is preparing a response to the new draft of proposed rules and welcomes input from foundations and nonprofit organizations before the August 21 deadline.

The George Gund Foundation wishes to thank all who have commented on the proposed rules. We also strongly encourage you to read and comment on the revised proposals, as issues surrounding reporting requirements could still have a large impact. For a link to the new draft, click here.

Comments should be sent to the Attorney General:

Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro
State Office Tower
30 E. Broad Street, 17th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215–3428

Nonprofits Encouraged to Comment on Proposed AG Rules

To all those who work for, serve on the board of, or care about an Ohio nonprofit:

The Ohio Attorney General’s proposed rules for the regulation of charitable organizations, if enacted, will significantly affect your organization and your work.

The George Gund Foundation strongly encourages you to read and comment on these proposals. Click here for a short legal analysis identifying a few concerns regarding the draft rules.

A copy of the proposed rules can be found here.

Comments on the proposed rules are being accepted until August 21st and should be sent to:

Attorney General Jim Petro
State Office Tower
30 E. Broad Street, 17th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215–3428
(614) 466–4320

OhioVOTES, a statewide effort to encourage civic debate and voter participation, will share its plans at a meeting August 1 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Cleveland Playhouse Club.

OhioVOTES, a project of COHHIO (Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio), plans to work with nonprofit organizations throughout the state to help them in ongoing efforts to mobilize Ohio voters.

Speakers at the event include George Pillsbury, co-founder of MassVOTE and director of the new voter engagement network; Bill Faith, executive director of COHHIO; and Shelley Metzenbaum, government performance management expert.

Additional information is available at www.ohvotes.org or www.cohhio.org.

Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro has released a 46 page document of proposed rule changes that could have a significant impact on Ohio nonprofit organizations.

The proposed changes address issues such as executive compensation, conflict of interest policies, expense reimbursements and audit procedures.

A public comment period ends July 28. The full test of the proposed rules is available at www.ag.state.oh.us/spotlight/cgrules.asp.

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. 

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.

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.

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.