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DVG Delegation Travels to Washington for Foundations on the Hill 2008

On Wednesday, March 5, 2008 a delegation of DVG members and staff joined representatives from around the country for Foundations on the Hill 2008.  This annual advocacy day is a chance for the national grantmaking community to meet with members of Congress and their staff to educate them on the important role philanthropy plays in improving communities across the country and around the world. 

Joining Nancy Lanham and Christina Edleman from the DVG staff were:  Frances Sheehan (Brandywine Health Foundation), Bruce Melgary (Lenfest Foundation), Kim Flaville (Connelly Foundation), Jan Shaeffer (St. Christopher’s Foundation for Children), Gisele Pinck (William Penn Foundation), Ellen Baker Ghelardi (Dexter F. & Dorothy H. Baker Foundation), and Bernardine Watson (The Stoneleigh Center). The DVG delegation, joined by Barbara Taylor, the Executive Director of the Pittsburgh-based Grantmakers of Western PA, had the opportunity to meet with the offices of Senator Arlen Specter and Senator Robert Casey to discuss the work of philanthropy throughout the Commonwealth.  Additionally, the group met with the offices of Congressional Representatives for southeastern Pennsylvania, including: Charlie Dent (PA-15th), Jim Gerlach (PA-6th), Allyson Schwartz (PA-13th), and Joe Sestak (PA-7th).  During the meetings, the group talked about issues of concern to those in the philanthropic sector, including extending the IRA charitable rollover, and flattening the excise tax on private foundations. The group also asked our Representatives to serve on the Philanthropy Caucus, which helps to keep Congress informed about the important role that foundations play in our communities and raises awareness of legislation that affects foundations. Also discussed were ways that DVG members could serve as a resource to our Congress members and potential ways we could partner in the future. 

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DVG Elects 2008 Officers, Welcomes Five New Directors

On January 15, 2008, the membership of Delaware Valley Grantmakers convened at the World Café Live in West Philadelphia to celebrate its 20th annual meeting.  At the gathering, which featured keynote remarks by former South African Ambassador James A. Joseph, the membership voted to approve the nomination of a new slate of officers for 2008 and the election of five new directors to join the association’s board.

Elected as President was Frances M. Sheehan, President and CEO of the Brandywine Health Foundation in Coatesville, PA (pictured at left).  Sheehan has served on DVG’s Board since 2005 and recently led the organization’s first strategic communications planning initiative.  In December, Sheehan was named by the Philadelphia Business Journal as one their 2007 Women of Distinction.

Also serving as officers for 2008 are: Vice President Victoria K. Flaville Vice President, Programs, Connelly Foundation; Secretary Robert C. Fernandez, Esq., Executive Director, Genuardi Family Foundation; and Treasurer Weston Somerville, Manager, Community Resources, Prudential.

New directors who join the board for a three-year term beginning immediately are:

• Kevin Dow, Mid Atlantic Community Affairs Manager,
  Wachovia Foundation

Dow joined Wachovia in 1989. He currently leads the investment review and distribution process of the corporate foundation in the mid-Atlantic region, which includes the management of a $9 million annual foundation budget, as well as the bank’s regional United Way campaigns, Reading First program, Wachovia Volunteers!, board placement, and internship programs. Among his many community leadership activities, Dow serves as Chairman and President of the Vine Memorial Federal Credit Union, and as President of the Philadelphia Cultural Fund.

• Heidi McPherson, President, Chester County Fund for
  Women and Girls

In the 1990s, McPherson served as one of the founding board members and then the first President of the Chester County Fund for Women and Girls. Her professional experience has included senior staff positions and consulting assignments with UCLA, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Jefferson Health System, AIDS Project LA, Chester County Community Foundation, and breastcancer.org, among others.

• Sara S. Moran, Trustee, Seybert Institution

Moran is currently Chief of Staff at the Free Library of Philadelphia, serving as top aide to the President of a $60 million city agency. Her prior professional experience includes Executive Director of Delaware Valley Habitat for Humanity; Deputy Director of the Delaware Valley Community Reinvestment Fund, Executive Director of the Community Education Center, and Corporate Contributions Officer for Provident National Bank, now PNC Bank.

• Susan A. Segal, Program Officer, Lincoln Financial Foundation

Susan has worked in the non-profit and government sectors for over a decade.  Susan ran the non-profit organization responsible for Philadelphia’s annual summer Independence festival from 1996-2000, and served in Former Mayor Rendell’s administration from 1993-1996. Susan has worked on numerous city-wide collaborative initiatives, including the opening of the Pennsylvania Convention Center in 1993, the Republican National Convention in 2000, and the opening of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in 2001. Susan’s knowledge of the city and work with many arts, education, and human service organizations were a strong base for her transition to corporate philanthropy when she joined Lincoln Financial in 2002. Headquartered in Philadelphia, Lincoln Financial provides approximately $14 million/year to six key cities through a variety of philanthropic programs.

• Mailee Walker, Executive Director, Claneil Foundation

Walker leads the Foundation’s efforts to create healthy communities in the Philadelphia region.  Before joining Claneil in 2007, she served as Vice President, Communication/Program Officer of the Wachovia Regional Foundation, where she oversaw the Foundation's marketing and communications and helped with its grantmaking efforts.

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Two New Initiatives Offer Grantmakers Opportunities for Shared Action and Learning

Health Funders Join Forces to Strengthen Behavioral Health Care
Early last spring the DVG Health Conversion Foundation Affinity Group came together at Friends Hospital to begin thinking about a way that they could collaborate around health care issues while continuing to work individually in their home communities.  All the members saw the merit of “thinking regionally and acting locally” which could result in a much larger impact for their grantmaking dollars.  The group found a shared interest in improving access to good behavioral healthcare and finding and promoting effective models that integrate behavioral healthcare into a primary health setting.

While this project grew out of discussions among a small group of the southeastern Pennsylvania health conversion foundations, over the course of  its development it has grown to encompass funders from across the state who have formed a funding collaborative tentatively called the Pennsylvania Health Funders Collaborative (PHFC).  The initial goal set by the PHFC is to identify promising practices in the integration of behavioral health care and primary care, to share those learnings widely and to encourage implementation among providers with the required capacities.  The group plans to achieve these goals through:

1. Conducting a literature review of effective models of integration and measures of success and make this available to its members
2. Hiring an evaluator to inventory models in Pennsylvania where integration is now implemented, creating an instrument for assessing the readiness for service integration, developing an evaluation methodology for use by integrated programs to establish clinical and cost effectiveness, and analyzing evidence gathered locally and nationally regarding effectiveness.  The hope is to use such evidence to help frame the advocacy case for more effective funding and reimbursement mechanisms for behavioral health services within the primary care setting.
3. Holding a conference to build awareness, momentum and interest in the integrated approach to behavioral and primary health care and showcase best practices in this field. 

Although the current projects are slated to last for two to three years, the work of the collaborative is not limited to the current project.  The successful completion of the current initiative may lead to opportunities for public policy actions or other initiatives designed to improve access to or provision of high quality health care alternatives throughout the state.

If you are interested in learning more about the PA Health Funders Collaborative, please contact Joe Pyle at the Thomas Scattergood Behavioral Health Foundation (jpyle@scattergoodfoundation.org) or Frances Sheehan at the Brandywine Health Foundation (fsheehan@brandywinefoundation.org).

Funders Collaborate to Increase Arts Participation
In a ceremony at the Philadelphia Theatre Company on November 14, the New York City-based Wallace Foundation announced a new partnership with two local organizations to develop a new vehicle to develop and share effective ideas and practices for enhancing arts participation.  The Wallace Foundation is establishing a new collaboration with The Philadelphia Foundation and the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance to create a learning network for all Philadelphia arts organizations to foster greater arts engagement. The collaboration, funded by a $1.9 million grant to The Philadelphia Foundation from Wallace, will inform and support the participation-building work of many arts organizations throughout the city.

The purpose of the partnership with The Philadelphia Foundation and the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance is to help area arts organizations reach more people, capture knowledge about effective practices toward this goal, and make that knowledge known to a broad constituency of arts professionals. The Wallace Foundation’s grant in part will support the Cultural Alliance’s ongoing collaborative marketing initiatives, which are focused on increasing engagement in the arts and culture region wide.  By adding further support to local arts organizations and commissioning research, the collaboration will promote the effective exchange of knowledge -- extending the benefits of this work to many other organizations beyond those that receive individual awards.  The initiative will include a series of seminars/workshops and technical assistance on market research and evaluation of audience development efforts.  The research plans include mapping the region’s demographics, market demand analysis, probing motivators and barriers, and analyzing the impact of tourism on arts attendance.

The Wallace Foundation takes a city-based approach to its arts funding to help improve arts participation across a whole community. Wallace chose Philadelphia as one of four sites for this effort because of the city’s high concentration and variety of arts organizations. The city stood out among other sites because of the robust collaboration among local funders and arts organizations around informing and supporting cultural participation. San Francisco is the other city chosen for Wallace Excellence Awards grants in 2007.  Chicago and Boston were chosen in 2006.

Peggy Amsterdam, President of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance commented, “The Wallace Foundation’s passion and commitment to the arts has transformed arts participation across the country.  Having the Excellence Awards recognize Philadelphia arts institutions brings national acclaim to the excitement and vitality of the city’s arts organizations and their impact on this incredibly vibrant city.”

In addition to the learning network, the Wallace Foundation also named ten organizations as recipients of their Excellence Awards. The organizations, who received grants ranging from $320,000 to $750,000, for a total Foundation investment of $5.3 millio
DVG members interested in learning more about this initiative are encouraged to attend our Arts Funders Roundtable and Brown Bag Lunch on January 10, 2008 from 12:00 to 1:30 PM. To register, contact Matt Smith at matt@dvg.org or 215-790-9700 x13.

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