The NonProfit Times - October 1, 2008 - (Page 16)

ON CAPITOL HILL MARK HRYWNA Philanthropy Caucus Groups educate legislators and develop advocates ith staff turnover expected in the House, Senate and administration after the fall elections, a new Senate caucus will help to educate those on The Hill about the nonprofit sector. The philanthropic sector has “not done a good job in the past of showing members of Congress, and giving them the W tools to show, what philanthropy is doing in their district,” said Steve Gunderson, CEO of the Council on Foundations (CoF) in Arlington, Va. “We hope to do a better job of that and communicate that message,” he said. “The council had always seen its job in the past as telling the field what Congress is doing. We want to change that to be more proactive rather than reportive,” Gunderson said, adding that last year, the council introduced a legislative agenda of its own for the first time in many years. U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) sent a “Dear Colleague” letter just before the August recess encouraging senators to join a new Senate Philanthropy Caucus. Last year, the CoF helped to form the House Philanthropy Caucus, which now totals about 42 members. In their letter, Schumer and Burr told colleagues: “The work done by private foundations, nonprofit groups, and individual philanthropists plays essential roles in each of our states and it is increasingly important for members of Congress to be informed about developments in the philanthropic sector.” The House Philanthropy Caucus, formed in March 2007, recently lost its cofounder and co-chair, Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Ohio).Tubbs Jones, 58, died Aug. 20 of a brain hemorrhage, a day after suffering an aneurysm while driving.The fiveterm Democrat was the first black woman elected to Congress from Ohio. She established the bipartisan House caucus with Rep. Robin Hayes (R-N.C.) The CoF chose to help establish a caucus in the House since that’s where tax bills usually start, and CoF has established rela- tionships in the House, where Gunderson served as a congressman from Wisconsin. The House Caucus has only met once since it was created in the spring of 2007, but Gunderson sees it as more about outreach and education of staff and legislators. The caucus, he said, is an “affinity group which automatically creates a common interest,” helping to build bridges by establishing relationships with chief policy assistants. Forming a parallel caucus in the Senate is a necessary step, said Nikie Jagpal, research director for the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP) in Washington, D.C.While it’s encouraging that Congress seems to have a continued interest in learning more about philanthropy, she said it should be more than just educating legislators about what it is foundations do. Jagpal said there seems to be a lack of an explicit link between policy, government and foundations and nonprofits. She’s hopeful that more senators will “actually engage in the caucus in a meaningful and substantive way, and acknowledge not just foundations and charities in terms of help, but find ways they can genuinely On Capitol Hill, page 24 16 OCTOBER 1, 2008 THE NONPROFIT TIMES www.nptimes.com http://www.achieveguidance.com http://www.nptimes.com

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The NonProfit Times - October 1, 2008 Near Miss & Direct Hit Donor Intent The Focus Of Suit North Dakota AG Investigating The Grant Institute Contents Who...When...Where...How...What? Calendar Kumbaya Tying The Knot Filing Changes Philanthropy Caucus Big Bucks For Capital Campaigns 5 Things NOT To Do In A Capital Campaign Acquisition: Staying The Course ServiceNation Summit Fundraising Guide NPT Jobs Resource Directory

The NonProfit Times - October 1, 2008

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