Philanthropy This Week

Courtesy of CymaSpace

Good morning.

We often end this newsletter urging you to relax and recharge as the weekend opens. This time we’re going to start with that recommendation — because that’s the big topic we covered in the Chronicle this week.

Emily Haynes was prompted by her conversations with fundraisers to look at issues of mental health and stress, but she also examined how some leaders are taking organizationwide approaches to dealing with burnout and more.

At New Profit, for example, CEO Tulaine Montgomery decided she needed to push for policies that would change the organization’s culture and challenge a commonly held view in philanthropy that equates leadership with 24/7 workweeks.

Montgomery turned to neuroscience research to make the case to the board that to meet its mission, it needed creative, intellectual, and high functioning staff members — and that was impossible to achieve without giving them more breaks from work.

The board asked Montgomery to explore what it would take to help stave off exhaustion. She included everyone in an effort to decide what would make sense and be fair to all. New Profit adopted two organizationwide shutdowns, one in summer and the other at year-end.

Besides giving people a chance to rest, the effort to think collectively about workloads — and what saps too much energy — had a ripple effect throughout the organization.

Now employees are asking themselves, “What would it look like for all of us to take responsibility for this organization — for the culture of the organization and for the results of the organization?” Montgomery told Emily. “What does it look like for me to understand what I need in order to do my best?”

While the inclusive approach New Profit took is laudable, if you are a leader, you’ll also want to heed this advice from the experts Emily assembled: You are in a unique position to stanch burnout.

“I don’t think you can have employees and not understand the important role you play in their well-being,” Ian Adair, director of leadership development and credentialing at the Association of Fundraising Professionals, told Emily. “Leadership today is about taking care of the people doing the work — not just the work itself.”

Get more help on keeping fundraisers motivated — and healthy: Join our fundraising editor Rasheeda Childress for a free online briefing on Tuesday, March 7, at 2 p.m. Eastern to learn more about the findings of our exclusive poll on what keeps fundraisers happy in their jobs — and what is driving them to seek other roles.

Rasheeda will interview three experts who can help you learn more and take your questions. Participating in the session are Maegan Dyson, chief development officer at Conway Regional Health Foundation, Patrick Salazar, founder and board chair of Latinos LEAD, and Tracye Weeks, managing director at Nonprofit HR.

Sign up now.

Here’s what else you need to know:

Win McNamee, Getty Images

State budget surpluses have tripled over the past two years, and nonprofits across the country are hoping they can reap some of the bounty.

All eyes are on Maryland, which has $2.5 billion in a rainy-day fund, $1 billion in a general fund, and Wes Moore, the new governor who is former CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation and thus understands and appreciates the nonprofits world, writes Alex Daniels.

A membership group called Maryland Nonprofits is seeking a $100 million grant fund to support charities with budgets of less than $10 million, which includes many BIPOC-led groups, that are usually passed over by government and philanthropic money.

Time is of the essence, David Thompson of the National Council of Nonprofits told Alex. Nonprofits have generated a lot of good will in their response to the pandemic, but state coffers can dry up.

Said Thompson: “At the moment, there’s a respect and appreciation for nonprofits. They know nonprofits are going to step up.”

Getty Images

In this uncertain economy, foundations are likely to tighten the reins on endowments and grants while charities are feeling the pinch of inflation and fearing more bad economic news.

But foundations shouldn’t cling to their assets when nonprofits are especially needy, writes Annie Chang, vice president of the Nonprofit Finance Fund. It’s far cheaper to keep people housed, fed, and healthy than to deal with homelessness, hunger, and medical emergencies.

“Foundations must resist the urge to ‘hunker down’ amid economic uncertainty,” she writes, and instead increase payouts, provide general operating support, and simplify applications, reporting requirements, and grant renewals. Ask grantees what they need and seek out small groups led by people of color, which tend to be hurt more in tough times.

Writes Chang: “Now is the moment to ramp up support that will mitigate the harm of an economic downturn.”

Plus: Even though inflation has slowed and consumer confidence is reviving, charities are still under a cloud, dealing with heightened demand for their services just as Covid-relief funds are running out, reports Sara Herschander in our monthly review of key economic indicators for nonprofits.

The Ford Foundation is launching a first-of-its kind grant-making effort to reduce biases in technology against people with disabilities.

Ford hopes the $1 million it is putting toward the Disability x Tech Fund, which it launched with Borealis Philanthropy, will bring attention and additional funding to a critical area in which few people or organizations have expertise, reports Drew Lindsay. Built-in discrimination in algorithms, artificial intelligence, and other tech tools — which have been blamed for biases in medical care, hiring, and determining pay, among other things — are largely overlooked by lawmakers and regulators, who focus on accessibility.

People with disabilities identified and chose the grantees who are receiving a share of the $1 million, which is a rarity in grant making, Lydia X.Z. Brown, a disability-justice advocate, told Drew.

“The organizations doing the most cutting-edge and revolutionary work at the grassroots level aren’t getting funding,” she said. “Our presence in the process enabled us as advocates to address [that] head on.”

Now it’s time for us to once again remind you to rest, read, and recharge for the week ahead.

— Marilyn Dickey and Stacy Palmer

WHAT WE’RE READING ELSEWHERE

Twenty-one governors have formed an alliance to protect access to abortion, funded primarily by two California foundations. (Center Square)

Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan are launching a new “biohub” in Chicago as part of their $6.4 billion commitment to disease research. (Forbes)

A Christian health nonprofit in Ohio faces a class-action lawsuit from members who say it was simply a scheme to enrich a few people while leaving their medical bills unpaid. (ProPublica)

Food banks already squeezed by high demand, inflation, and a shrinking supply of emergency food are bracing for the end of a pandemic-era bump in food stamp benefits that many of their clients rely on. (Business Insider)

A Maryland billionaire has given $1.9 billion to his own foundation, effectively endowing a museum and sculpture garden on his property on a par with the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (Bloomberg)

A group of philanthropists in Las Vegas is helping police solve cold cases by funding expensive lab work that was not available when most of the crimes were committed. (Las Vegas Weekly)

An heiress to the Koch family fortune is funding a nascent movement to change the way people think about themselves. (New York Times)

Some museums are nervously watching a case before the Supreme Court over the use of artists’ works that are derived from images created by others. (New York Times)

For decades, running has been one of the most lucrative philanthropic sports in the world. (Women’s Running)

NEW GRANT OPPORTUNITIES

Your Chronicle subscription includes free access to GrantStation’s database of grant opportunities.

Domestic violence. The Mary Kay Ash Foundation awards grants to shelters providing critical, life-saving services to women and children seeking safety from an abusive situation. Grants of $20,000 are awarded to at least one domestic violence shelter in every state. The application deadline is April 30.

Libraries. The Gladys Brooks Foundation supports nonprofit libraries, educational institutions, and hospitals and clinics in Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. Grants of $50,000 to $150,000, may be used for endowments, capital projects, or capital equipment. The deadline for grant-proposal letters is May 31.