Tag Archives: Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy

How climate change, millennials and tainted donors are impacting philanthropy

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By Nate Hoekstra
Grand Valley State University

Climate change, millennials becoming a majority of the workforce, and increasing critiques of tainted donors are changing the nonprofit sector in profound new ways, according to experts and thought leaders at the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University.

Those concepts are just a sampling of emerging trends in the philanthropic sector identified in the Johnson Center’s annual 11 Trends in Philanthropy report, which analyzes upcoming and developing issues in the nonprofit industry.

A significant change to the nonprofit sector in 2020 will be the people working in it. This year, millennials will make up more than half of the workforce in the United States, and the generation’s desire for greater flexibility, transparency and meaning in their work is reshaping how nonprofit workplaces function. Those wants, coupled with the lure of social enterprise companies, may be presenting new opportunities for professional impact.

Nonprofits will also be on the front lines of a global issue: climate change. As the impacts of climate change become more apparent, nonprofit organizations and those who fund them will play critical roles in disaster response, policy change, applying a sustainable and climate-focused lens to existing strategies and advancing new ideas for mitigating and reversing ecological damage.

Another major trend that continues to develop is the increasing number and frequency of so-called tainted money and tainted donors. Common examples of this trend include the philanthropy of the late Jeffrey Epstein, a wealthy financier and convicted sex offender, and the giving of the Sackler family, the owners of Purdue Pharma, which is linked to the opioid crisis. Some experts in the field even argue that the “cleanliness” of any money gained through capitalist practices should be considered suspect. But all of this concern puts the nonprofits who depend, to varying degrees, on private donations in an ethically complicated spot.

Other trends, which are also analyzed in-depth in the report, include:

— Increasing critiques of “Big Philanthropy”

— Data and mapping tools come together to empower community decision making

— Collaboration and consolidation in philanthropy’s infrastructure

— Data science for social impact

— Increased attention to sustainable development goals

— Alternatives to strategic philanthropy are emerging

— Corporate social responsibility employs many models to align business and philanthropy

— Inclusive growth requires urgent collaboration and deliberate patience



“The philanthropic sector is undeniably sharing in this time of marked upheaval and uncertainty,” said Teri Behrens, executive director of the Johnson Center. “Yet, we still see philanthropy as being best positioned to help unite us, domestically and internationally, to address some of the global challenges we face. We are a sector that focuses on solving problems.”

The full 2020 11 Trends in Philanthropy report is available online at johnsoncenter.org

How climate change, millennials and trained donors are impacting philanthropy

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(Photo: Alpha Stock Images / Nick Youngson )



By Nate Hoekstra
Grand Valley State University

Climate change, millennials becoming a majority of the workforce, and increasing critiques of tainted donors are changing the nonprofit sector in profound new ways, according to experts and thought leaders at the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University.

Those concepts are just a sampling of emerging trends in the philanthropic sector identified in the Johnson Center’s annual 11 Trends in Philanthropy report, which analyzes upcoming and developing issues in the nonprofit industry.

A significant change to the nonprofit sector in 2020 will be the people working in it. This year, millennials will make up more than half of the workforce in the United States, and the generation’s desire for greater flexibility, transparency and meaning in their work is reshaping how nonprofit workplaces function. Those wants, coupled with the lure of social enterprise companies, may be presenting new opportunities for professional impact.

Nonprofits will also be on the front lines of a global issue: climate change. As the impacts of climate change become more apparent, nonprofit organizations and those who fund them will play critical roles in disaster response, policy change, applying a sustainable and climate-focused lens to existing strategies and advancing new ideas for mitigating and reversing ecological damage.

Another major trend that continues to develop is the increasing number and frequency of so-called tainted money and tainted donors. Common examples of this trend include the philanthropy of the late Jeffrey Epstein, a wealthy financier and convicted sex offender, and the giving of the Sackler family, the owners of Purdue Pharma, which is linked to the opioid crisis. Some experts in the field even argue that the “cleanliness” of any money gained through capitalist practices should be considered suspect. But all of this concern puts the nonprofits who depend, to varying degrees, on private donations in an ethically complicated spot.

Other trends, which are also analyzed in-depth in the report, include:

— Increasing critiques of “Big Philanthropy”

— Data and mapping tools come together to empower community decision making

— Collaboration and consolidation in philanthropy’s infrastructure

— Data science for social impact

— Increased attention to sustainable development goals

— Alternatives to strategic philanthropy are emerging

— Corporate social responsibility employs many models to align business and philanthropy

— Inclusive growth requires urgent collaboration and deliberate patience



“The philanthropic sector is undeniably sharing in this time of marked upheaval and uncertainty,” said Teri Behrens, executive director of the Johnson Center. “Yet, we still see philanthropy as being best positioned to help unite us, domestically and internationally, to address some of the global challenges we face. We are a sector that focuses on solving problems.”

The full 2020 11 Trends in Philanthropy report is available online at johnsoncenter.org

New position at GVSU to study diversity, equity issues in nonprofit sector

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former Aquinas College president Juan Olivarez

By Nate Hoekstra

Grand Valley State University

 

Leaders in the field of philanthropy from across the country have noticed a shortcoming in how the nonprofit sector applies principles of diversity, equity and inclusion throughout its critically important and economically substantial work.

 

The nonprofit sector is a $1.6 trillion industry in the United States, and 1 in 10 American workers are employed in the field. However, people of color and other minority populations tend to be underrepresented in leadership positions in the industry.

 

Monumental demographic shifts taking place in the U.S. necessitate that the nonprofit sector adapt to changing needs in communities to ensure equitable access to healthcare, education and the workforce.

 

With this need in mind, the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University is adding former Aquinas College president Juan Olivarez to its ranks to help study, understand and share knowledge about how to improve inclusive practices in the nonprofit sector.

 

Olivarez will serve as the Johnson Center’s Distinguished Scholar in Residence for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for a three-year term, and will advance the center’s work on building capacity in the nonprofit sector while incorporating principles of equity.

 

The Distinguished Scholar in Residence position is funded in part by recent grants from the Frey Foundation, the Wege Foundation, the Kate and Richard Wolters Foundation as well as support from the center’s founder, Dorothy A. Johnson. The gifts are part of Grand Valley’s Laker Effect campaign.

 

Part of the work Olivarez will take on is developing a prototype talent pipeline initiative in the West Michigan area that seeks to better understand the role of employment in inclusive community development. A portion of the initiative will include research and conversations with thought leaders on diversity, equity and inclusive practices, as well as focus on how to make those principles integral to nonprofit work. This research will be shared on a national and global scale to widely advance equitable practices across the sector.

 

“Philanthropy has the potential to touch all Americans, yet we still have the sense that we’re not truly reaching and assisting all communities enough,” Olivarez said. “So the need is to study, to look at best practices and determine how we can influence the advancement of diversity, inclusion and equity efforts.”

 

Olivarez brings nonprofit leadership and higher education experience to the position, having served as president of Aquinas College for six years and Grand Rapids Community College for almost 10 years. He also served several years as the president and CEO of the Kalamazoo Community Foundation where he championed innovative community initiatives that focused on improving education opportunities for all people.

 

“Juan Olivarez is highly respected and experienced in the fields of higher education and philanthropy and will be able to spark the kinds of meaningful, probing conversations this work needs,” said Mark Van Putten, president and CEO of the Wege Foundation. “With the research and convening power of the Johnson Center behind him, we expect to see great outcomes.”

 

The Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy is a well-regarded center of excellence at Grand Valley State University and a vital resource for the charitable sector both locally and globally, with engagements in Michigan, across the United States, and internationally in Canada, Australia, Europe, and Saudi Arabia.

 

For more information, visit johnsoncenter.org/residence

VoiceGR community survey becomes VoiceKent, will cover entire county in 2017

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By Nate Hoekstra

GVSU

 

VoiceGR, Grand Rapids’ community survey, is expanding to become countywide thanks to a new partnership between the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University and the Kent County Health Department (KCHD). As VoiceKent, the survey will gather critical public health information from all areas of Kent County’s more than 600,000 residents.

 

The larger data collection area means that more valuable information will be available to community partners and nonprofits seeking to learn about the needs of Kent County’s many diverse communities beyond the Grand Rapids area.

 

The survey is available online at www.VoiceKent.org

 

“This partnership with the Kent County Health Department allows us to expand the data-collection area of the survey and explore public health with greater depth, as well as increase the usefulness of the survey within our community,” said Jodi Petersen, director of the Johnson Center’s Community Research Institute (CRI) which conducts the survey each year. “This year’s survey results will build upon previous years’ data and provide access to more information for local stakeholders to inform their decision making.”

 

The survey, which collects responses from June-October, connects demographics with the opinions, attitudes and perceptions of Kent County residents on topics such as employment, education, racism and discrimination, ability to meet basic needs, access to health care and neighborhood safety. The data gathered from the survey will help create a baseline for conversations on these important community issues.

 

“This is a large, community-wide effort that will involve the participation of many Kent County agencies,” said Chelsey Saari, public health programs supervisor for the Kent County Health Department. “The KCHD and Healthy Kent are excited to partner with the Johnson Center on this project.”

 

By partnering with the Kent County Health Department and Healthy Kent, the Johnson Center hopes to increase the number of collected responses to more than 6,000.

 

Survey results will be released in spring 2018 and will help neighborhood associations, schools, nonprofits, funders, local government and businesses better plan their programming.

 

The survey is available online at www.VoiceKent.org and is open to all residents who live, work, or do business in Kent County.

 

The survey, originally called the Greater Grand Rapids Community Survey, began in 2001 as a phone survey to the owners of 500 randomly selected landline telephone numbers in the city of Grand Rapids. The methodology was revised in 2013, and the survey, renamed VoiceGR, grew to collect responses from more than 3,000 Grand Rapids area residents through a combination of paper and online surveys.

 

Healthy Kent is a collaborative effort to identify and address public health issues with the goal of improving community health through community action.

 

For more information, visit www.VoiceKent.org