Martin Lehfeldt, former President of the Southeastern Council of Foundations, posted a new message on the Philoptima website (http://www.philoptima.org) addressed to donors and foundations suggesting that we should be giving careful consideration to where our future leaders in philanthropy are coming from. He suggests the new skillset is more than just knowing how to make and evaluate grants but how to relate to community, board and the more subtle dynamics of vision.   Read what Martin has to say under "Martin's Column" from our home page and catch what Dr. Harrell has to add to the discussion among the responses.

Curious about registration and how to use this site but concerned its too complicated or that you might end up committed?  Don't be!  Visit our newest site addition of a full site tutorial by clicking on the tour in the upper right-hand corner.

Foundations and donors, open the tutorial and browse through the "Prizemaker" section risk free.  You can see everything that is up ahead in the site and you will learn exactly what to expect around each corner. 

Researchers, consultants, and experts, visit the tour under the tab "Researchers" and you can quickly learn how to register and how to respond to open prizes or to post your availability to consult directly with foundations and donors.

Nonprofits, get a glimpse of the next page before you click by opening the tour and the "Nonprofits" tab. 

The site tour is a great way to navigate the site without joining or making any promises.  Try it out!

Sign up for your free copy of the quarterly "Strategic Philanthropist" by joining our site as a general member.  The next issue contains Cliff Note #3 "How" to create a philanthropic strategy from our newest book "Supercharged Giving".  You can purchase your copy from our catalog on the home page or go to:

http://www.superchargedgiving.com

In the January issue of "Strategic Philanthropist", you will also find interesting interviews with thought leaders in the field of philanthropy and one of our latest tips in organizing for advocacy in your community and state.

A Philoptima Prizemaker has posted a new $5,000 design prize seeking guidance in establishing various categories of environmental challenges faced in urban populations in the United States..

Concept Mapping deserves a "good housekeeping seal of approval!"

The "Key Points to Remember" are solid reference points and formatted in a way that makes future scanning easy.

The "Nominal Group Technique" module is a jewel and will help boards "do it right"!

Bravo!

Philoptima Resources, Inc. has been granted tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service.  If you represent a nonprofit organization in the fields of education, health, public safety, governmental oversight, or the environment, you can now join the Philoptima Implementation Team and post a problem description for an issue you want researched FREE.  Click on Nonprofits to join and go to "Create Unfunded Prize" to get our form.

Your problem description is reviewed and (if accepted) posted on the site as an "unfunded prize" for philanthropists to review.  Your challenge may also qualify for financial support directlly from Philoptima Resources, Inc.  Any funder can choose to donate a prize to Philoptima Resources, Inc. and get the research started that you need.  You get the latest research at no cost to you and it will help you design the best, most effective modern program or intervention.

Donors can also choose to donate directly to Philoptima Resources, Inc. from the home page to help defray the costs we incur for the charitable uses of the site.  Click on Donation.

Leave it to Google, the internet hot shot, to come up with a striking new way to conduct its philanthropic work.  The founders of Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, have started a new hybrid philanthropy and they gave it about $1 billion as seed money to help it carry out a wide-ranging mandate to tackle poverty, disease, and global warming.

However, this is like no other philanthropic venture that we have seen and we like it so much we think we will copy it here at Philoptima.  The mandate itself is not particularly revolutionary even though it is attempting to confront some gargantuan problems.  The real innovation is the way it is structured. Google.org is referred to as a "double-breasted" hybrid organization because it is like a coin with two sides. It will operate two separate but coordinated entities.  One entity is a for-profit, tax paying organization, and the second is a nonprofit grantmaking charity funded at least partly by the earnings of the first entity.

Not only is it uniquely designed to perform effectively and efficiently, it was seeded with a really big startup endowment.  $1 billion pales in comparison to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, but it is big enough money to keep it in the top handful of foundations in the United States.

By organizing as a hybrid, Google is required to pay taxes on earnings by the for-profit component.  Gifts to the nonprofit component, however, are tax exempt and deductible.  Functionally, the for-profit status will greatly increase the range and flexibility of the two entities working together. The for-profit side can create and sell products, sell stock, borrow funds, etc. just like any company.  It can hire lobbyists to pressure Congress while the normal private foundation cannot.  But the nonprofit component can retain and grow assets tax free and accumulate wealth subject to the requirement that it donate 5% each year to charities or as internal expenditures that qualify as tax exempt spending.

Great idea, Larry and Sergey!  Something new under the sun, again.

Philoptima™ has been granted trademark protection by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.  As such, the name is protected from infringement by other parties and may not be used as to the words or the logo image without the written approval of the company.

Philoptima advises foundations and other Prize Makers on the design of innovative programs with real impact. If you operate a foundation or philanthropy and need experienced consultation on systems design, evaluation, strategies, law & regulation, or best methods, Philoptima can help through its stable of experienced philanthropists headed by Dr. Byron Harrell.