May 7, 1998 | Read Time: 7 minutes
Foundation Reporter 1999: Comprehensive Profiles
Edited by Laura A. Wisner-Broyles
This guide for grant seekers profiles nearly 1,000 private foundations with estimated combined assets of more than $183.5-billion. To qualify for inclusion, foundations either must hold at least $10-million in assets or give away at least $500,000 annually.
A typical entry includes contact information, a summary of the foundation’s assets and how much it gave in the last year, its giving philosophy and geographic focus, a breakdown by percentage of what areas it supports, typical recipients, biographical information on officers and directors, application and review procedures, and a sampling of recent grants.
Indexes list foundations by state, location of grant recipient, grant type (such as general support, fellowships, or loans), recipient type (such as arts and humanities, education, health, and religion), donors, and application deadlines.
Lists of officers and directors are arranged in six different categories, including by name, place of birth, alma mater, and corporate affiliation. The editors also provide a glossary of terms related to grantsmanship, non-profit groups, and foundations.
Publisher: The Taft Group, 835 Penobscot Building, 645 Griswold Street, Detroit 48226-4094; (800) 877-8238; 1,919 pages; $415; I.S.B.N. 1-56995-250-7; I.S.S.N. 1055-4998.
The Grantseeker’s Guide to Project Evaluation, Second Edition
Edited by Jacqueline Ferguson
This guide is aimed at proposal writers who want to improve their chances of winning funds from grant makers who desire measurable results.
“A strong project idea is no longer enough,” writes Ms. Ferguson, a grants-development specialist at the University of Arizona. “Funders want to see a plan for evaluating the project.”
The book’s first section provides advice on planning an evaluation, choosing an evaluation method, and collecting data for the evaluation. It concludes with a refresher course on statistics that leads into a second section on how to incorporate data into an analysis of a program’s worthiness.
The second section covers such methods as parametric and non-parametric statistics, pattern analysis, and the chi square, a tool for analyzing information that falls into different categories. The goal of such statistical manipulation, writes Ms. Ferguson, is to paint a clearer picture of how a project will affect the people it is intended to serve.
The concluding section covers budgeting for and managing an evaluation program, and it lists a nine-step method for writing the evaluation.
The book is studded with many examples and case studies designed to show readers how statistical analyses can augment proposals.
Appendixes include a glossary of terms, four sample evaluation plans of groups that received grants for educational projects, a bibliography and list of resources for grant seekers, and a list of more than 40 foundations that have provided funds specifically for evaluation projects.
Publisher: Capitol Publications, 1101 King Street, Suite 444, Alexandria, Va. 22314; (800) 655-5597; fax (800) 392-7886; World-Wide Web http://www.grantscape.com; 356 pages; $75; I.S.B.N. 1-56925-097-9.
Not-for-Profit GAAP 1998: Interpretation and Application of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles for Not-for-Profit Organizations
By Richard F. Larkin
This book is intended as a comprehensive resource for financial officers of non-profit organizations who want to keep good books and stay in touch with the latest changes in accounting requirements.
It explains how to prepare financial statements, report cash flows, and comply with disclosure rules, and it lists the latest authoritative accounting pronouncements from the Financial Accounting Standards Board. The book also covers the advantages and disadvantages of cash- versus accrual-based accounting, and it provides myriad checklists, sample statements, and flow charts to illustrate key points.
Issues specific to non-profit organizations, such as fund raising, are explored along with conventional accounting practices, such as those involving investments and debt restructuring.
A final section examines typical accounting procedures for selected non-profit groups, including churches and private foundations. The book concludes with a guide to filing the Form 990, the informational tax return required from medium-sized and large non-profit groups by the Internal Revenue Service.
Mr. Larkin is technical director of the Not-for-Profit Industry Services Group in the national office of Price Waterhouse.
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, 605 Third Avenue, New York 10158-0012; (800) 879-4539; fax (212) 850-6135; World-Wide Web http://www.wiley.com; 453 pages; $59; I.S.B.N. 0-471-23963-1.
Start at Square One: Starting and Managing the Planned Gift Program
By Lynda S. Moerschbaecher
Much like starting a business, implementing a planned-giving program takes patience, prep- aration, and some risk, writes this book’s author — but charities needn’t be daunted by the complexities surrounding pooled-income funds, annuities, trust management, and other forms of planned giving.
Ms. Moerschbaecher, a consultant and lawyer based in San Francisco, offers this guide for the development officer or charity manager who wants to expand beyond raising funds through major gifts or special events.
“You cannot do it alone, that I guarantee,” she writes. “You need the support of the rest of the development office, the business office, the C.E.O.’s office, and the board.”
She begins by explaining how to assess current sources of revenue, determine the appropriate size of a planned-giving program for one’s organization, and make the pitch to the board of directors. Many charity boards are reluctant to start an enterprise that will only yield dividends after three to five years, she writes, but a comprehensive plan and a solid budget will usually win them over.
She goes on to delineate, step by step, what organizations must do during the first 12 months of the program, and she explains how to set a projection for what an organization can expect to bring in during the program’s second year.
Ms. Moerschbaecher covers how to tie planned giving into a capital campaign, use consultants, understand the tax laws that govern planned gifts, market the program to potential donors, and avoid conflicts of interest.
She augments her advice with personal anecdotes from her experiences as a planned-giving consultant.
Publisher: Precept Press, P.O. Box 11403, Chicago 60611; (312) 467-0424 or (800) 225-3775; fax (312) 467-9271; World-Wide Web http://www.bonus-books.com; $40; I.S.B.N. 1-56625-089-7.
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
Addressing Domestic Violence and Its Consequences is a report from the Commonwealth Fund Commission on Women’s Health that provides statistics on the scope of domestic abuse; examples of laws, charities, and companies that work to prevent abuse; and recommendations for curbing it. Among the latter: recognize domestic abuse as both a crime and a public-health matter, lobby insurance companies to provide coverage for treatment, and encourage businesses to set up programs that support victims of domestic abuse. Appendixes include two summary reports of meetings in 1995 that brought together health professionals, academics, and charity executives to discuss solutions to the problem and to plan a public-awareness campaign. Publisher: Commonwealth Fund, Commission on Women’s Health, Columbia University, College of Physicians & Surgeons, 630 West 168th Street, P&S 2-463, New York 10032; (212) 305-8118; fax (212) 305-4063; 64 pages; free.
Guide to Nonprofit Advocacy and Policy Groups is a booklet from the Washington-based Capital Research Center that is intended as a companion to its 1997 publication Patterns of Corporate Philanthropy: Funding Enemies, Forsaking Friends. As with that report, the goal is to shed light on the political motivations and biases of organizations that, in the opinion of the guide’s compilers, work to influence public policy. Approximately 200 non-profit groups are listed in the guide. Each entry provides a thumbnail sketch of the organization’s history, mission, finances, lobbying efforts, and position on relevant legislation; contact information and membership figures are also included. Among the groups represented: think tanks such as the Brookings Institution and the Cato Institute, advocacy groups such as Public Citizen, and groups whose activities reflect a vested interest in policy discussions, such as Consumers Union. Publisher: Capital Research Center, 1513 16th Street, N.W., Washington 20036; (202) 483-6900; 181 pages; $15.
