Funder's Forum: Markle Foundation
The
Markle Foundation, based in New York City, works to realize the full potential of information and information technology to address critical public needs, particularly in the areas of health and national security.
Collaboration with other funders and other sectors has been vital to Markle's success. The Foundation Center asked Zoe Baird Budinger, the foundation's current president:
Last year, the Markle Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation co-sponsored the Blue Button Developer Challenge, the purpose of which was "to stimulate innovation and...let customers securely download their medical information at the click of a blue button." What opportunities currently exist for other funders advancing the effective use of information technology in the healthcare field to collaborate with you?
Find out the answer»
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Grantmaker Convenings Feature Foundation Center Offerings
April 4 (New York City): GrantCraft special event at Philanthropy New York
GrantCraft increases grantmakers' collective knowledge and improves the practice of philanthropy by capturing the "practical wisdom" of experienced grantmakers around the world. Please join Foundation Center President Bradford K. Smith and Lisa Philp, vice president for strategic philanthropy and director of GrantCraft, for a conversation around our newest guide, A Fresh Look at Scanning the Landscape.
Learn more and register»
April 29-May 1 (Los Angeles): Council on Foundations Annual Conference
Please visit the Foundation Center's booth #308 to learn about and see live demonstrations of our innovative tools designed especially for grantmakers.
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Kresge Foundation Shows Its Glass Pockets
The Kresge Foundation has joined the ranks of foundations that make public details about their operations by posting information about its grantmaking, finances, and governance to
Glasspockets, the Foundation Center's web portal dedicated to encouraging greater transparency and accountability in the world of philanthropy. Using the transparency criteria recommended on Glasspockets as the basis for gauging and implementing its transparency goals, Kresge found a roadmap for content to include in its new web site. "It provided direction that helped us easily move from good intention to good execution," said Rip Rapson, president of the foundation.
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Communications Network Interviews Brad Smith
Recognizing that the Foundation Center collects more data on organized philanthropy than any other group, PhilanthroMedia president and Communications Network contributor Susan Herr recently interviewed Foundation Center president Brad Smith about the importance of foundation messaging. The highlights of their conversation are captured in a five-minute video.
Watch the video»
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Foundation Support for Water-related Issues Growing
Released in conjunction with World Water Day (March 22) is our latest research brief, Foundation Funding for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene. It finds that between 2003 and 2010, the number of active WASH funders tripled, and the number of organizations receiving their grants — totaling $144 million in 2009-2010 — increased five-fold. While WASH funding as a proportion of international grantmaking overall has grown from 0.2 percent in 2003, it remains very small (1.7 percent in 2010). The report and the WASHfunders.org custom web portal have been made possible through support from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.
– Read the press release»
– Download the report» FREE
– Visit WASHfunders.org»
– Follow @WASHfunders on Twitter»
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New!
E-Updates Poll
Watch this space next month for a final summary of your responses and a new question.
Does your foundation have a web site?
Of those who responded to last month's poll, 71 percent said "yes." However, of the more than 11,600 foundations that responded to a recent Foundation Center research survey, only 26 percent reported having a web site.
A web site is a crucial to communicating basic information about your funding priorities, resulting in more appropriate and targeted applications and fewer that are uninvited.
There's no reason not to have a web site when the Foundation Center will build one for you for free.
Learn more about Foundation Folders»
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New at Glasspockets
Thanks to support from the James Irvine Foundation, the Foundation Center is piloting a regional approach to Glasspockets with a California Foundations Twitter widget.
Grab the widget
and place it on your own web site to give your audience a window into California philanthropy.
New in PND
5 Questions For...
Alandra Washington,
deputy director, W. K. Kellogg Foundation, on identity-based philanthropy and funds supported through Kellogg's Cultures of Giving program.
More»
Readers, please be advised that E-Updates will be on "spring break" in April but will resume in May.
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