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Philanthropy Southeast is partnering with the Donor Advised Fund Research Collaborative (DAFRC) to recruit organizations that host donor-advised funds (DAFs), including community foundations, to participate in a groundbreaking national study. The study will build on prior research by collecting data from a broader range of DAF sponsoring organizations across the United States in the hope of developing a more accurate and representative picture of how donor-advised funds are being used across the nonprofit sector.

Participating partner DAF sponsors will be asked to provide anonymized transactional data for their DAF accounts for a specified range of years. By participating in the study, your organization can help to improve the public understanding of DAFs and ensure proper representation from DAF sponsors in the Southeast. Findings will be shared in a national report to be released in 2023 as well as a specially-commissioned regional report for the Southeast region. As an added incentive, participating organizations will receive access to custom benchmarking reports by sponsor type.

To learn more about the study and how to participate, please visit the DAFRC website.

Last week, we found ourselves in a previously unthinkable position: needing to cancel the Annual Meeting due to a mandatory evacuation order at our host hotel in Amelia Island.

While weather is always a concern at this time of year in the Southeast, not once in our 53-year history had we faced this situation before. The closest we had ever come was 2005, when our meeting in Marco Island came two weeks after a hurricane that made our overflow hotel unavailable.

This time was different: Hurricane Nicole was set to make landfall while the meeting was taking place. Flights in and out of Jacksonville were being delayed and cancelled. Weather forecasts called for severe coastal flooding – a major concern at a hotel overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The double red flags snapping in the strong winds, signaling the closure of the beach, provided a clear warning that these conditions could not be ignored.

We are so sad that we were unable to come together – and we know that many of you feel the same way. We have literally been moved to tears reading the many messages we have received from members following the Annual Meeting's cancellation.

Planning for the 53rd Annual Meeting began a year ago and required the work of our entire staff plus dozens of member volunteers. We want to thank each of them for what they brought to this process – your work is deeply appreciated, and you should be proud of what you built!

We are beyond grateful that our entire team and all our attendees were moved out of harm's way before the worst effects of Hurricane Nicole hit northeast Florida. We appreciate the staff at the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island who stayed in constant communication with our staff and helped facilitate a quick, yet calm, evacuation and relocation.

We also want to thank everyone who chose to not make the trip to Amelia Island as it became clear weather could be an issue. Your decision made taking care of those already on-site a much easier task.

Each month, Philanthropy Southeast provides members with monthly updates on the latest public policy developments in Washington and state capitols around the region, analyzing their possible impact on the charitable sector. If you would like to see an issue featured in a future Public Policy Update, contact Jaci Bertrand, Philanthropy Southeast's vice president of member engagement, at jaci@philanthropysoutheast.org.

Public Policy at the 2022 Annual Meeting

Philanthropy Southeast’s 53rd Annual Meeting is less than two weeks away – and starts just one day after this year’s midterm elections. If you’re joining us in Amelia Island or online, you won’t have to wait long to learn what the results mean for philanthropy and the region.

On Friday, November 11, the Annual Meeting will host a special breakout session, “What Do This Year’s Election Results Mean for Philanthropy and It’s Work?” Starting at 9:45am, the session will feature policy experts, including Philanthropy Southeast members, discussing Tuesday’s results, how they will affect the sector’s policy priorities in the next two years, and how foundation leaders can best respond.

The session will be moderated by Sandra Swirski, founder of Integer, an advocacy firm based in Washington, D.C., that specializes in nonprofit policy. She will be joined by Sara Barba, vice president at Integer, and two Philanthropy Southeast members: Christine Calpin of Casey Family Programs and Susan DeVenny, president and CEO of the Arras Foundation.

If you haven’t signed up for the Annual Meeting, it’s not too late – visit the Annual Meeting website to learn more.

The latest issue of Philanthropy Southeast’s quarterly magazine, Inspiration, is out now in print and via a PDF digital edition on our website! Here’s what you can look forward to in the latest issue:

• A preview of the 2022 Annual Meeting, kicking off in less than two weeks!
• A look at women’s health funders and how they’re maintaining their focus amid changing laws and regulations.
• The story of Bloom Kentucky, an effort to address the adverse childhood experiences that cause lasting trauma in children and adults – and how the campaign has attracted support from dozens of foundations in the Commonwealth.

Every issue of Inspiration also includes an opening message from Janine Lee and updates on our newest members and new hires and promotions from across the region.  

A copy of Inspiration is sent to each Philanthropy Southeast member office – members can also read the entire issue now by logging into our website and visiting our Inspiration archive!
 

Each year, Philanthropy Southeast partners with the Council on Foundations (COF) to produce salary benchmarking reports for foundation staff and CEOs in the Southeast. These reports include the average, median, minimum and maximum salaries for a range of 36 staff positions at all levels in foundations based in the 11 Southeast states and U.S. Caribbean territories. Salary tables are organized by both grantmaker type and asset size to provide quick access to benchmarking data for foundations of all shapes and sizes.

Salary information for 2022 is drawn from data on more than 10,000 full-time paid staff at over 1,000 grantmaking organizations. The South region accounted for approximately 27 percent of all respondents.

Thank you to all the Philanthropy Southeast member organizations that responded to the 2022 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Survey earlier this year, providing the valuable benchmarking data that informs these reports.

The 2022 salary tables for Southeast foundations are available exclusively to Philanthropy Southeast members under the For Members section of our web site – you can click this link to access them directly (login required). 

Each month, Philanthropy Southeast provides members with monthly updates on the latest public policy developments in Washington and state capitols around the region, analyzing their possible impact on the charitable sector. If you would like to see an issue featured in a future Public Policy Update, contact Jaci Bertrand, Philanthropy Southeast's vice president of member engagement, at jaci@philanthropysoutheast.org.

Universal Charitable Deduction Could Return in Year-End Package

Following their August recess, lawmakers have returned to Washington to take care of must-pass legislation to keep the government running. No other major legislation is expected before the midterm elections, but the post-election lame duck period could see major movement on items important to the charitable sector.

The sector is hoping to see a year-end tax bill include a revival of the universal charitable deduction that expired at the start of this year. Last month, the National Council of Nonprofits led a sign-on letter to Congress and the administration asking lawmakers to renew the universal charitable deduction, boost its cap, and expand the amount donors can deduct from their itemized tax returns, as well as retroactively restore the Employee Retention Tax Credit, extend it through 2022, and modify nonprofit eligibility to include childcare and education subsidies. 

Philanthropy Southeast members will be a valuable voice in any conversation around the universal charitable deduction – keep an eye out for details on how you can take action!   

This year’s Annual Meeting will feature the presentation of the Truist Promise Award recognizing innovative philanthropy in the region. First presented in 2020, this honor has recognized groundbreaking work that has exemplified courageous leadership while transforming communities and improving lives.

Nominations for this year’s Truist Promise Award are now open. The award recognizes a particular initiative and/or innovative grantmaking strategy or approach, done by an individual organization or through a collective partnership – as such, it may be presented to more than one foundation if the initiative is a product of partnership and collaboration. More than one initiative may be recognized in a single year.

The Truist Promise Award recognizes work that focuses on significant and systemic issues facing the region and the country today. In addition, nominees must meet the following criteria:

• Work focused on issues of racial equity, racial justice or anti-racism.
• The innovative use of multiple forms of philanthropic capital, particularly beyond financial capital.
• Use of data and research in determining strategies and tactics.
• Cooperation with community partners, particularly in other sectors, or direct engagement with community members.
• Impact/outcomes that are evidence-based.

You may nominate any Philanthropy Southeast member organization, including your own, for the Promise Award. The recipient will be selected by a group of Philanthropy Southeast staff and Board members and will be recognized at the Chair’s Dinner of the 2022 Annual Meeting.

Nominations are due Friday, September 30. Click below to submit your nominee!

Get ready for Philanthropy Southeast’s 53^rd Annual Meeting with these titles by our keynote and plenary speakers, now available through our online Lending Library. Philanthropy Southeast members have exclusive access to our virtual collection offering e-books and audiobooks on best practices in philanthropy, advancing equity, and social sector leadership. Visit our website to get started today!

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City
by Matthew Desmond

In Evicted, Princeton sociologist and MacArthur “Genius” Matthew Desmond follows eight families in Milwaukee as they each struggle to keep a roof over their heads. Hailed as “wrenching and revelatory” (The Nation), “vivid and unsettling” (New York Review of Books), Evicted transforms our understanding of poverty and economic exploitation while providing fresh ideas for solving one of twenty-first-century America’s most devastating problems. Its unforgettable scenes of hope and loss remind us of the centrality of home, without which nothing else is possible.

The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story
by Nikole Hannah-Jones

In late August 1619, a ship arrived in the British colony of Virginia bearing a cargo of twenty to thirty enslaved people from Africa. Their arrival led to the barbaric and unprecedented system of American chattel slavery that would last for the next 250 years. This is sometimes referred to as the country’s original sin, but it is more than that: It is the source of so much that still defines the United States. The New York Times Magazine’s award-winning “1619 Project” issue reframed our understanding of American history by placing slavery and its continuing legacy at the center of our national narrative. This new book substantially expands on that work, weaving together eighteen essays that explore the legacy of slavery in present-day America with thirty-six poems and works of fiction that illuminate key moments of oppression, struggle, and resistance. The essays show how the inheritance of 1619 reaches into every part of contemporary American society, from politics, music, diet, traffic, and citizenship to capitalism, religion, and our democracy itself.

Each month, Philanthropy Southeast provides members with monthly updates on the latest public policy developments in Washington and state capitols around the region, analyzing their possible impact on the charitable sector. If you would like to see an issue featured in a future Public Policy Update, contact Jaci Bertrand, Philanthropy Southeast's vice president of member engagement, at jaci@philanthropysoutheast.org.

Inflation Reduction Act Makes Big Investments in Health Care and Climate Change

Today, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, a $750 billion package that includes several items of interest to philanthropy, nonprofits and the communities they support.

Health Care: Under the legislation, senior citizens on Medicare will see their out-of-pocket drug costs capped at $2,000 per year by 2025. The bill also opens the door to Medicare negotiating drug prices, a change that is expected to lower costs. The bill also extends for three years existing Affordable Care Act subsidies. Households making up to 600 percent of the federal poverty level – $159,000 per year – are eligible for the subsidies.

Climate Change: The bill contains many provisions designed to speed up adoption of renewable energy and reduce usage of fossil fuels. Also included in the bill is $60 billion dedicated to environmental justice and disadvantaged communities that stand to be disproportionately affected by climate change. Nonprofits will be eligible to apply for a variety of grant programs created by the bill.

These provisions and others are paid for largely via increased taxes on corporations and stronger enforcement of existing tax laws. None of the tax changes in the bill will affect the charitable sector.

The Inflation Reduction Act as passed largely reflects the outcome of prolonged negotiations between Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV). It passed on party-line votes in both the House and Senate earlier this month.

The latest issue of Philanthropy Southeast’s quarterly magazine, Inspiration, is out now in print and via a PDF digital edition on our website! Here’s what you can look forward to in the latest issue:

• Gilead Sciences may be based in California, but the corporation’s philanthropic work has long invested in the South, including its COMPASS Initiative focused on HIV/AIDS and, more recently, its Racial Equity Community Impact Fund.
• For more than two years, Philanthropy Southeast’s Chair’s Book Club has provided a welcoming platform for members interested in exploring equity and inclusion via novels, memoirs, and other books. Members are reading the Book Club’s fifth selection, Valeria Luiselli’s Lost Children Archive, right now.
• From The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, a look at how the various businesses of the foundation’s founder, Arthur M. Blank, give their employees a significant role to play in directing community outreach and philanthropic support.
• An interview with Alejandro Avilés, a member of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation Board of Directors.

Every issue of Inspiration also includes an opening message from Janine Lee and updates on our newest members and new hires and promotions from across the region.  

A copy of Inspiration is sent to each Philanthropy Southeast member office – members can also read the entire issue now by logging into our website and visiting our Inspiration archive!