Citation URL: http://www.urban.org/RachelMosherWilliams

This is the first of two reports documenting the implementation of the Community Capacity Fund (CCF), a project of Washington Grantmakers. The CCF was created after September 11, 2001 to strengthen the Washington, DC region's capacity to not only advocate for and reemploy dislocated workers, but also to strengthen cross-jurisdictional efforts to prepare for and respond to any future disasters. Based on an analysis of interviews of key steering committee members and staff of the CCF, as well as a review of various CCF documents, including meeting notes, staff reports, and grant proposals, this report examines the design of and lessons learned from the grantmaking process.

In January 2000, the Foundation Media Relations Project was launched to bridge the gulf between journalists and foundations. This localized, experimental effort was based on recommendations in a report by Burness Communications for the Urban Institute's Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy. The report, Overcoming the Jitters, singled out regional associations of grantmakers as a logical starting point to help diverse foundations work with the news media. The Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy assessed the Foundation Media Relations Project and extracted the lessons learned. Highlights from these lessons are presented in this document—a primer for foundations and philanthropy leaders nationwide. The Center's recommendations for overcoming the media jitters: a receptive attitude, sufficient resources and support, patience, and commitment.

Because nonprofit and voluntary organizations are primary vehicles of citizen action and participation, they serve as important mechanisms to understand how the needs of children can be heard in the policymaking process and how the quality of children’s lives can be improved. In Who Speaks for America’s Children, leading experts in children’s health policy, education policy, community organizing, and sociology focus on the ways nonprofit organizations and community groups influence policymaking on children’s issues. Seven chapters frame the issues, raise critical questions, and explore opportunities for further study.

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