Concerns about affordable housing in Alexandria

May 17, 2013 By Leave a Comment

HOUSING
- Last week the Alexandria City Council moved to end a funding guarantee for affordable housing in the city, causing concern among Northern Virginia housing advocates. The guarantee put a certain percentage of property tax revenue toward affordable housing by creating a set-aside that could be used for development: (WaPo, 5/17):

“It’s important as a developer to know there’s a commitment of funds in any form the city can make,” said John Welsh, vice president of multifamily housing for the nonprofit affordable-housing developer AHC. “The expectation the money is going to be there is important to us [because] the local investment of dollars leverage so much capital” from other sources.

- More D.C. Workers Choosing To Live Within City Limits (WAMU, 5/16)

- Related: What Funders Need to Know: Does Housing + Transportation Costs = Affordable Living? 

- Event: Don’t miss the Communications Action Network’s 2013 Parade of Homes tomorrow! This is a great opportunity to see the variety and quality of affordable housing options around the region, and to learn first hand how a robust affordable housing supply benefits the region. [More information]

EDUCATION
- Microsoft is donating $1 million to a CityBridge Foundation led-program called the Education Innovation Fellowship, which helps D.C. teachers incorporate blended learning techniques – that is, a mix of online and face-to-face teaching –  into their classrooms. (WaPo, 5/17)

- Language immersion high school nears approval (Examiner, 5/17)

ECONOMIC SECURITY | A new Pew report paints a pretty grim economic picture for future retirees, thanks to the recession, loss of home values, high levels of debt, and the greater prevalence of 401(k)-type retirement plans, rather than traditional, employer-paid pensions. (WaPo, 5/17)

COMMUNITY | Check out a series of profiles of this year’s winners of the Community Foundation for Prince George’s County Civic Leadership Awards. (CFNCR, 5/15)

BUDGETS | Gov. Martin O’Malley announces $1.2 billion in transportation projects (Examiner, 5/17)

NONPROFITS | Opinion: IRS Should Allow Social-Welfare Groups Unlimited Advocacy (Chronicle, 5/16)

Today would be a great day to be repairing the top of the Washington Monument (fair warning: don’t watch this if you’re scared of heights!). It’s also a great day to listen to some Vampire Weekend. Enjoy!

- Rebekah

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Broken child-care subsidy process makes getting off welfare much harder

May 16, 2013 By 3 Comments

If you can make it past the first few paragraphs without banging your head on your desk in frustration, read the Post’s detailed look at the District’s maddeningly inefficient and insufficient child-care subsidy program. Things are about to get worse for parents as welfare changes loom (WaPo, 5/16):

This fall, the District will begin limiting how long families can stay on welfare to five years. Liberals and conservatives agree that affordable child care is essential in moving people off welfare and into jobs and in helping them keep those jobs.

But that goal is greatly complicated by the realities of the city’s child-care subsidy program — with its counterproductive system for receiving and renewing benefits, its inadequate funding for the subsidies themselves and the lack of child-care centers willing to accept the vouchers.

It’s utterly absurd that, in the digital age, a person would have to get in a physical line at 3:45 am just to have a shot at meeting with a case worker.

YOUTH | The Academic Pediatric Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics say that the effects of poverty on the health and well being of children are the most important issues facing American children. This is alarming, considering that the United States has one of the very worst child poverty rates in the developed world. A new task force is striving to develop comprehensive solutions to the problem. (WaPo, 5/15)

Related: Poverty as a Childhood Disease (NYT, 5/15)

EDUCATION
- Greater Greater Education poses a very interesting question: is a focus on college preparation for all students actually a bad thing? This is a great read. (GGE, 5/16)

- DCPS has set a goal of reducing the number of special education students who are sent to out-of-system schools. Their reduction strategy seems to be focused on stricter policies around identifying which students have legitimate special needs. (Examiner, 5/16)

PHILANTHROPY | Do you know about mission driven investing? In the Daily, Tamara writes about the Kellogg Foundation and how it is using investments in for-profit companies to achieve its mission. (Daily, 5/16)

GIVING | Everywhere you go, buildings, schools, hospitals, and so much more have names attached to them – frequently those of big donors. But how can public recognition reconcile with religious traditions that encourage humility? The New York Times explores the question. (NYT, 5/11)

If I ever win the lottery, which I plan to do with Powerball this week, I want to donate enough money to name institutions after fictional characters – like the Steven Quincy Urkel School of Science or the Willy Gilligan Institute for Marine Biology.

LOCAL | The Post created a nifty map that identifies date ideas near Metro stations. I’m not sure about the wisdom of relying on Metro to successfully deliver you to a date – especially on the weekends when the system basically stops functioning – but it’s still a cool map! (WaPo, 5/16)

British singer Laura Mvula is going to be huge. Check out her single That’s Alright – both the song and the video are fantastic.

Rebekah has the Daily tomorrow, so I wish you all a nice weekend. I will be attending six hundred different graduations – a consequence of having a big family, apparently!

- Christian

Filed Under: WRAG's "In the News"

The Kellogg Foundation and Mission-Driven Investing

May 16, 2013 By 1 Comment

By Tamara Copeland
President, Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers

A few years ago, W.K. Kellogg Foundation program officer Tom Reis came to CEO Sterling Speirn with a double bottom line idea.

Rather than just pursuing the foundation’s mission through traditional grantmaking, Reis proposed using foundation assets to invest in for-profit businesses that related directly to Kellogg’s mission. He wanted to make what Kellogg came to call mission-driven investments. His plea was impassioned and it was research-based. The Board agreed and committed $100 million.

The outcomes have been impressive. They’ve generated an unexpected triple bottom line. The Kellogg Foundation has received a financial return on its investment, a social return through positive change on the problems it cares about, as well as what Speirn calls a learning return.

In eight months, Kellogg received a 26% return on their investment in Wireless Generation, a technology company that creates tools for personalized learning and teaching. Through the foundation’s investment in Revolution Foods, 200,000 healthy meals are being delivered to school children in nine states and the foundation has learned that school kitchens are often designed to re-heat frozen food, not to cook fresh food. And, through their investment in Acelero Learning, a for-profit company focused on efficiency and greater impact for Head Start, Kellogg is supporting higher salaries for teachers – an intervention that works to ensure retention of teachers while also obtaining better educational outcomes for children and economic security for families.

Last month, Speirn explored this model with WRAG CEOs. He acknowledged that every foundation doesn’t have what Kellogg did when it agreed to this work – an asset base in the billions, a broad mission statement that allows for an expansive determination of which businesses might help them further that mission, and a board and staff leadership team that was open to out-of-the-box thinking.

But he continued on to advise that the approach is flexible and can work at many levels, based on the given circumstances for each foundation. As he urged the WRAG CEOS to explore mission-driven investing, he poignantly noted, “We don’t always know the cost of success. We only know the cost of failure.”

For more information on mission related investing, visit:

- W.K. Kellogg Foundation – Mission Driven Investing
- Mission Investing Glossary
- Tools to get you started
- Confluence Philanthropy
- Mission Investors Exchange

Filed Under: WRAG Voices, WRAG's "In the News" Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

School closures mostly impact primarily-minority neighborhoods

May 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment

EDUCATION | City Paper’s Aaron Weiner writes about the planned DCPS school closures,  all but two of which are in majority black/Hispanic neighborhoods. The other two schools have student populations that are majority black/Hispanic. However, there is a reasonable explanation (CP, 5/15):

Parents in the poorer, eastern neighborhoods of the city—which tend to be overwhelmingly black—are more likely to want to send their kids to charter or out-of-boundary schools, to get them away from rougher schools or rougher streets on the way to school or both. This doesn’t happen as much at schools in richer parts of town…So schools in poorer (and, yes, blacker and more Hispanic) neighborhoods get depopulated and close down.

While the explanation makes sense, it also implies a self-perpetuating cycle of disadvantage. Students have to commute further. Parents face the added stress of seeking out less convenient education options for their kids. And neighborhoods become less attractive to prospective residents. Not good.

LOCAL | DCist mapped out public sector employment in the Greater Washington region by neighborhood. The results are interesting and give us a really great sense of the employment diversity in our region. (DCist, 5/15)

HOUSING | The Nonprofit Roundtable retweeted an interesting report that asks a great question – are student loans causing home and auto sales to decline? (Federal Reserve, 4/17) Yes, they are. Believe you me.

Related: Young Americans are driving less and buying fewer cars. (NYT, 5/14)

Event: This Saturday, the Communications Action Network (CAN), is sponsoring its Parade of Homes. The event features open houses at 20 affordable housing communities across the region. It’s a great opportunity to see the many types of local affordable housing options and how they are impacting the region. [Learn more.]

WORKFORCE | A proposal in front of the D.C. Council would require “big box” stores to set a higher minimum wage ($11.25 hr) than other local businesses. (WAMU, 5/14)

Here are couple of thoughts on this. The minimum wage should be higher across the board. Singling out one type of business over another seems unfair and arbitrary. And “higher” and “hire” are homophones.

PHILANTHROPY | Charities Want More Insight Into Grant-Making Decisions, Says Study (Chronicle, 5/15)

DEMOCRACY | In hopes of building the levels of civic engagement, Takoma Park will now allow most 16 and 17 year-olds to vote in local elections. (WAMU, 5/15) One might argue that a 16 year-old isn’t informed enough to vote. I would respond by laughing heartily and pointing out that many adults aren’t either.

Imagine looking up on a sunny day and seeing this! That’s pretty darn funny.

Also, here’s a fun comparison – biopic actors and the real people they play. Part one and part two.

Filed Under: WRAG's "In the News" Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Focusing on literacy to meet the demands of the workforce

May 14, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Funding for adult literacy in the District has been declining steadily, but the need remains incredibly high. More than 80 percent of D.C. jobs are projected to require at least a high school degree within the next five years, but more than 64,000 residents don’t have a high school credential.

Terri Lee Freeman, president of the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region and chair of the WRAG board, co-authored an op-ed for the Post that outlines the importance of increased literacy funding (WaPo, 5/11):

With limited basic math, reading and digital literacy skills, these residents have difficulty following written instructions, completing paperwork, communicating effectively with colleagues or helping their children with homework. This undermines the job security of workers, the economic viability of local businesses and the well-being of families.

Related: Business startup program aims to reduce unemployment in DC (Elevation, 5/14)

AGING | With the number of elderly immigrants having doubled over the last two decades, there is a growing trend of senior facilities catering to specific nationalities and cultures. As Berkeley professor Andrew Scharlach puts it (WaPo, 5/14):

In our fast-paced society, people with old languages and old customs often find they don’t have a place…Having a place where their knowledge, wisdom and skills are recognized is important.”

ARTS
- Rebekah reflects on creative strategies for advocating for increased philanthropic support of the local arts sector. (Daily, 5/14)

- Painting a path of hope for homeless youth through art education (WTOP, 5/14)

EDUCATION | The D.C. Council is pushing for parents to be given at least one year’s notice before school boundaries are changed. That would delay Chancellor Henderson’s plan for boundary changes by an entire year. (WaPo, 5/14)

GIVING | Rockefeller Pledges $100-Million to Help 100 Cities Cope With Crises (Chronicle, 5/14) Do political crises count? Speaking of which…

NONPROFITS | With the news that the nonpartisan IRS is actually quite partisan, there is concern that the impending fallout will impact the agency’s ability to regulate nonprofit organizations. (Chronicle, 5/14) And the IRS was doing such a great job before this whole thing broke!

Well, it’s been about five months since the last time we experienced what it means to be Washington sports fans. I guess the Caps thought we were overdue for a reminder.

Anyway, the recipe for Coca-Cola is a highly-guarded secret. However, a “treasure hunter” in Georgia thinks he found the secret recipe in a box of old letters. I wonder what other mysteries are hidden in forgotten places?

Filed Under: WRAG's "In the News" Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Getting creative to support the arts

May 14, 2013 By 1 Comment

By Rebekah Seder, Program Manager

Without a doubt, one of the greatest aspects of our region is the rich and diverse nonprofit arts sector. A recent discussion among WRAG members who fund in the arts and humanities sphere really drove this home. But, as vibrant as this sector is, and as much as it contributes to our quality of life, the recession has had a significant impact on the philanthropic dollars flowing to these organizations.

Funders in our community are committed to supporting, and advocating for the sector, and there were several ideas that came out of this conversation that we thought were worth sharing.

Find creative ways to leverage funding: In our region there is great wealth, and a great number of small, locally focused nonprofit arts organizations. Being home to some of the country’s premier cultural institutions,   however, can make it hard for local groups to compete for philanthropic dollars. Locally- focused funders can find ways to leverage their own grantmaking by helping their grantees build relationships in the donor community, or by getting creative in their grantmaking with strategies like matching grants that encourage organizations to seek individual donations.

Make the economic case: It’s a given in the urban planning field that a vibrant arts scene can help spur economic growth and neighborhood revitalization. Advocates and funders of the arts need to hammer this idea home, especially to policymakers controlling government purse strings. With the rapid growth and expansion of the Cultural Data Project – the D.C. version of which a number of WRAG members helped launch in 2011 – researchers have access to a vast trove of data to help advocates make the case for greater arts funding.

Work at the intersections: While funding art “for arts sake” is always important, taking a cross-sector approach can help break down silos between different kinds of funders.  Recent research has highlighted the benefits of incorporating the arts into health programs and services for older adults. Likewise, arts education is essential for all young people, and there are any number of innovative programs that engage at-risk youth through the arts. Highlighting the impact of the arts and humanities on the full spectrum of life can help bring different, and perhaps unexpected, funders to the table.

A small group of WRAG members plan to meet to strategize ways to more deeply engage the funding community around the arts and humanities in our region. WRAG members: if you’re interested in getting involved in this effort, contact Rebekah Seder.

Filed Under: arts, philanthropy Tagged With: , , ,

Uneven pay among the region’s teachers threatens the stability of some school systems

May 13, 2013 By Leave a Comment

EDUCATION | There are an incredible number of factors that influence the success of the public education systems in our regions. One of the leading ones is teacher effectiveness. Unfortunately, some local jurisdictions are struggling to retain their best educators as other jurisdictions offer higher wages (WaPo, 5/12):

Discrepancies in teacher pay across the region are large, and the recession has sharpened the divide, sending some teachers looking for better deals. Beginning teachers in the Washington area make between $42,800 and $51,500 — a difference of 20 percent — and average salaries range from $58,500 to $77,500, a 32 percent difference. Parents and school officials worry that if such disparities in teacher pay deepen, districts that are already struggling to stay competitive will fall further behind as their best teaching talent moves elsewhere.

- Every year, a huge number of school-aged teens drop out and take the GED rather than finishing high school. In Prince George’s County, for example, a third of GED test takers are under 18. This loophole is generating calls for stricter access to the test, which was designed to give adults a pathway to higher education. (WaPo, 5/13)

- Here’s an interview with Fight for Children’s Skip McKoy, who is the newly elected chairman of the DC Public School Charter Board. (Examiner, 5/13)

WRAG | We live in hectic times in a very busy region, so it’s easy to rush past important things that are right in front of us. In her latest column, Tamara reflects on something she’s rushed past for the last six years – a quilt in WRAG’s office commemorating the life of Reggie Blaxton. Who was he? Find out! (Daily, 5/13)

YOUTH | Ed Davies, president of the Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation, outlines the 2013 DC One City Summer Initiative. The initiative will build on successes from the past two years, which have included a major reduction in violence (WashTimes, 5/10):

One of the most tangible successes of the summer initiative so far is that we have seen a reduction in crime in some of the neighborhoods targeted during the summer for intensive programming. We believe if we increase programming, and not just police presence, youth will opt to engage in constructive activities, and not crime. Violent crimes declined in the target areas with homicide down 70%, robbery down 15% and armed burglary down 25%. Juvenile arrests for select violent crimes decreased by an average of 40% in the target areas. That is a true summer success story.

AGING | Here’s a look at how house call programs can help seniors age in place. (WAMU, 5/13)

EQUITY | Income Inequality: It’s Not Just for Older People Anymore (Time, 5/13) This knight perfectly articulates how I feel about the findings in this article.

Though I frequently refer to my office as a cave, it has nothing on these super cool houses that are built into real caves. Then again…my office does have two action figures from Tron and an electric stapler. So my cave wins after all!

On another note, LET’S GO CAPS! The Washington Capitals, not capital letters. Sorry, I can see how that might have been confusing.

Filed Under: WRAG's "In the News"

A Voice from Philanthropy: The Invisible

May 13, 2013 By Leave a Comment

By Tamara Copeland
President
Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers

We charge into every day ready to tackle the next challenge. We are virtually on auto-pilot as our cars almost drive us to work or as we automatically walk down the same streets. We never stop for a conversation with the homeless man who is always beside the escalator at the Metro nor do we really notice the message handsomely engraved on the plaque at the corner as we turn toward our offices.

Earlier this week, I suddenly noticed something that I have walked by literally thousands of times. On the wall in the WRAG office is a quilt commemorating the life of Reggie Blaxton, who lived from 1953 until 2001. It is probably about 7’ X 5’. It is colorful, decorated with poignant quotes, a photograph of a stylish man, and assorted memorabilia recognizing his African roots. It is majestic and not easy to overlook, but somehow I had. After more than six years at WRAG, I finally asked, “Who was Reggie Blaxton?”

I assumed that he had died from AIDS because of the vehicle of a quilt to commemorate his life and because of our work with the Washington AIDS Partnership, but I hadn’t taken the time to learn anything about the man. This week I did.

Reggie Blaxton was a founding member of the Washington AIDS Partnership. He was a native Washingtonian who had graduated from DC public schools before going on to college in Maine, then to Oxford, and then to divinity school to become an Episcopal priest. He was the religious affairs advisor to then-Mayor Marion Barry and author of HIV: Dis-ease of the Church, an essay published in the anthology Dangerous Liaisons: Blacks, Gays, & the Struggle for Equality. Reggie Blaxton was one of the people who pushed us to address the problem that took his life.

Every day we walk a little too quickly by important testaments – living and symbolic – to the issues that we are rushing to address. Behind the issue of homelessness is that homeless man at the top of the escalator. I haven’t taken the time to learn his name, share mine, or begin to know his story. I should. I know that the issues surrounding HIV and AIDS became even more moving to me once they were within the context of Reggie Blaxton’s life. Let’s remember to take a moment to read the plaque, to talk with the homeless man, and to ground ourselves in the real people who populate the challenges that we work to address.

Just a thought.

Filed Under: A Voice from Philanthropy Tagged With: , , , ,

Matching board diversity with real world demographics

May 10, 2013 By Leave a Comment

EQUITY | Yanique Redwood, CEO of the Consumer Health Foundation, has a powerful op-ed in the current issue of the Chronicle of Philanthropy about the importance of diversity on foundation boards, and the need to overcome our unconscious biases in order to create “equitable social institutions and structures.” She writes about her own experience interviewing before the very diverse CHF board (Chronicle, 5/5):

Unlike token diversity measures that seek to fill quotas, I was experiencing game-changing diversity. This was diversity aimed at ensuring that there were people on the board who come from the communities served by the nonprofits we support. This was diversity that would necessarily change our priorities and enhance our work because diverse perspectives create better ideas.

HOMELESSNESS | Earlier this week, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments released the results from its 2013 point-in-time survey that measures homelessness across the region. The report shows a 2.4 percent decrease from 2012, but some jurisdictions, including Arlington, Montgomery, and Prince George’s counties, saw increases. (COG, 5/8)

Related: The blog ARLNow digs into the data about Arlington County. (ARLNow, 5/9)

FOOD | Yesterday, D.C. launched a project to build a 100,000 square foot hydroponic greenhouse in Ward 8. The greenhouse, located in an area with limited fresh food options, will have the capacity to grow up to a million pounds of produce a year – enough to feed 5,000 people. When it opens in early 2014, it is expected to create 25 full-time jobs. (DC.gov, 8/9)

AGING | WAMU looks at how a home visiting program run by a D.C. hospital enables older adults, often with complicated medical issues, to live in their own homes. The program reduces medical costs while also addressing and preventing elder abuse. (WAMU, 5/10)

HEALTHCARE | Virginia is getting $2.5 million in federal funds to help community health centers enroll uninsured clients in health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. (WTOP, 5/10)

EDUCATION | D.C. Officials And Community Group Go To Court Over D.C. School Closings (WAMU, 5/9)

HOUSING | Median home price hits record highs in Arlington, the District (WaPo, 5/10)

NONPROFITS | ProPublica Launches Online Tool to Search Nonprofit Tax Forms (Chronicle, 5/9)

Here’s a nice distraction for the afternoon: Yesterday TIME and Google released a tool that lets you look at time-lapse videos of satellite images of any point on Earth since 1984. Some of the changes that have happened over time are stunning – and disturbing.

- Rebekah

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Using technology to combat senior isolation

May 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment

People often lament the fact that technology is deteriorating human relationships. But for seniors, the opposite might be true. A new pilot program funded by the AARP Foundation is building technological connections for seniors as a way of combating isolation. The program provides iPads to seniors, as well as classes on how to use the Internet, social media, Skype, and more (WaPo, 5/9):

In the District, the program selected low-income seniors at high risk of being disconnected from friends and family, said Najeeb Uddin, the AARP Foundation’s vice president of technology.

“We’re targeting people on the verge of being isolated and depressed. Their spouse might have passed away,” he said. “It’s about connecting to the community. It just happens to be that we’re using technology to do it.”

YOUTH | The Children’s Law Center has released its 2013 Children’s Mental Health Report Card. This year’s marks for the District are mixed, but hopeful (WAMU, 5/9):

Judith Sandalow is the executive director of Children’s Law Center, a nonprofit in D.C. She says there are “promising beginnings” when it comes to how the District serves children with mental health needs.
…
But Sandalow says there is still a long way to go. She says there are too many agencies involved leading to what she calls “bureaucratic fragmentation.” And Sandalow says how soon a child gets treatment is also a problem.

Read the report here.

Related: Pushing for More Progress in the District’s Children’s Mental Health System (HuffPo, 5/9)

HEALTH | Jacqueline Bowens has been named to succeed Sharon Baskerville as the CEO of the D.C. Primary Care Coalition. (WBJ, 5/9)

Related: The D.C. Primary Care Coalition is one of the key players in our Beyond Dollars story on expanding the health care safety net. You can check out the report here.

EDUCATION
- The District is set to open a “hybrid traditional-charter” school in Southeast. Chancellor Kaya Henderson says, “It’s an animal that we’ve never seen before.” (WaPo, 5/9) Is it a unicorn? I bet it’s a unicorn. I knew they existed!

- Putting Inner City Students on a Path to High-Paying Jobs, For Real (Atlantic, 5/9)

HOUSING
- In case the economic collapse didn’t do it already, Richard Florida has deflated the American dream of homeownership. He digs into a report about the relationship between unemployment and homeownership and says, “Higher rates of homeownership lead to higher rates of unemployment.” (Atlantic, 5/9)

Related: Florida discusses the relationship between housing and commuting. We looked at the same issue in our recent report on housing affordability.

- Greater Greater Washington’s Dave Aplert explains how the increased production of high-end rental units in our region could trigger drops in rent through a process called “filtering.” (GGW, 5/9) Contrary to my initial expectation, this does not mean refraining from swearing at leasing agents to get better rates.

LOCAL
- Arlington’s population is expected to continue booming, thanks especially to the Columbia Pike Neighborhoods Plan. (WTOP, 5/9)

- Robert McCartney writes about how impressed he is about regional collaboration to clean sewage. (WaPo, 5/9)

- Lots of great stuff from The Atlantic today. Here’s a look at how highway construction ruined Southwest D.C. – and how new development could resurrect it. (Atlantic, 5/9)

I forgot to post this yesterday, but Jimmy Fallon and John Krasinski (from The Office) had a hilarious lip syncing competition. It’s pretty funny. (Note: I downgraded my sentiment and didn’t even notice when I published.)

And, here’s an amusing connection between autocomplete and the platypus.

Filed Under: WRAG's "In the News" Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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