Nonprofit Newsmakers: The Response to the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico

A recent article from the Chronicle of Philanthropy discusses how nonprofit organizations are providing aid to people and habitats affected by the Gulf Coast oil spill.  While the amount of money donated in response to the oil spill has been relatively small, here’s a quick rundown on how money is being raised and distributed along the Gulf coast:

• BP America, the U.S. subsidiary of the company responsible for the oil spill, made a $1-million donation to Second Harvest Food Bank and Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans. Catholic Charities has opened five emergency relief centers where fishermen and their families can go for food and housing assistance, counseling, and case-management services. The centers have served more than 5,000 people so far.
• The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation has awarded emergency grants totaling $117,500 to nine local nonprofit groups that are providing assistance to communities affected by the spill.
• A benefit concert in New Orleans headlined by the singer Lenny Kravitz brought in $300,000 for the newly formed Gulf Relief Foundation.
• The Gulf Coast Fund for Community Renewal and Ecological Health, a project started by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors after Hurricane Katrina, has received $110,000. The fund has awarded $47,000 in emergency grants to nine grass-roots environmental groups in the region. The Gulf Coast Fund is also organizing tours that allow potential donors to see the work and meet the leaders of the groups the fund supports. A tour last week resulted in commitments of at least $60,000 to those organizations.
• The Gulf Oil Spill Fund, created by the Greater New Orleans Foundation on April 30, has received $20,000 so far, in addition to the foundation’s initial contribution of $60,000. The foundation’s development officer has been getting 10 to 15 phone calls and e-mail messages a day from people around the country—and some overseas—who want to help.
• Several fund-raising events are being planned, including a cajun and zydeco festival, in East Sussex, England. A couple getting married in September are asking guests to donate in lieu of wedding presents, and the senior economics class at the Shelton School in Dallas raised $1,882 through its breakfast bar.
• The Greater New Orleans Foundation has awarded a $50,000 grant to Seedco Financial for its Southeast Louisiana Fisheries Assistance Center. Seedco started the center in 2008 to provide financial and other assistance to fishing businesses that were still struggling to recover from the hurricanes in 2005. Since the oil spill, the center has worked to be a source of information for fishermen.
• GlobalGiving has created a fund on behalf of National Geographic to support the efforts of partner organizations to reduce the impacts of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Non-profit organizations including Waterkeeper Alliance, National Park Foundation, American Bird Conservancy, and America’s Wetland Foundation are mobilizing to reduce and repair damage to fragile coastal habitats caused by the spill.
• In order to help the wildlife at risk by the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf, the National Wildlife Federation has established a Gulf Oil Spill Restoration Fund. The money donated to this fund will go toward supporting NWF’s immediate response and longer term on-the-ground work to safeguard wildlife affected by this tragedy.

The disaster relief infrastructure established to respond to Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita have certainly been a great asset in providing immediate assistance to families most effected by the spill.   The recent “text to donate” phenomenon that was so successful in raising funds for Haiti are also being utilized to raise money for the gulf coast.  Yet the oil spill is not like your typical disaster.  It is ongoing – quite literally a slow ooze of economic, social, health, and environmental issues.  So how do you think the nonprofit sector can best address the disaster? A single coordinated campaign like what we saw with the Red Cross’ emergence in the Haitian earthquake relief? Or would a patchwork approach better address the multidimensional problems bubbling up?

The World is Their Classroom

On Monday, we had the special opportunity to hear two of our students share some of their incredible work with two international nonprofit organizations.  Due to technical difficulties, we weren’t able to link to the organizations’ websites during the discussion, leaving ripe the opportunity to share those links on the course blog!

Greg & Range of Motion Project (ROMP)

ROMP provides prosthetic limbs, orthotic bracing, and training throughout the developing world.  Greg Krupa shared his involvement with the organization as Volunteer Coordinator and Fundraiser.  Greg is currently coordinating Riding for ROMP 2010, an initiative to raise $50,000 as he rides his bicycle from Eugene, OR to ROMP’s flagship clinic in Guatemala.

Celeste & DanceAbility International

DanceAbility International’s mission is to encourage the evolution of mixed-abilities dance by cultivating a common ground for creative expression for all people. The mission is accomplished through performance, educational programs, teacher training and workshops.  Celeste Peterson shared her work with DanceAbility, including her recent experience in Uruguay as a participant in the organization’s world-renown teaching certification course. Last Thursday, Celeste was featured in the Oregon Daily Emerald article, “Reclaiming a Zest for Life.”

Emery Blackwell and Celeste Peterson

Does anybody else think it’s strange that O’Neill doesn’t include a chapter on environmental nonprofits?

We’re not crying conspiracy here, but if Nonprofit Nation by Michael O’Neill is truly the “invaluable compendium” it is billed to be, then one must wonder how he forgot to write a chapter on environmental nonprofits.  To compensate for O’Neill’s omission, students will be drawing from a variety sources to frame their understanding of this vital piece of the independent sector.

• The Broader Movement: Environmental & Conversation Organizations 1989-2005. From the Urban Institute and the Center for Charitable Statistics, this study takes a comprehensive look at IRS data on more than 26,000 environmental and conservation organizations, revealing a core of prominent national organizations and a rapidly growing universe of regional, local, and other specialized groups.
• Forcing the Spring: The Transformation of the Environmental Movement. This is one of those on-line book excerpts that you can’t print, but it’s definitely worth perusing. Because environmental organizations are inextricably tied to the environmental movement, these pages introduce the “Next Environmentalism,” where traditional causes such as resource conservation are joined by emerging issues in food security, transportation, urban sprawl, and globalization.
• The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns.  If the Forcing the Spring reading is a little too dense for you, we highly recommend checking out this short video.  Also, be sure to check out the website’s additional resources including the list of nonprofits working to address issues with extraction, production, distribution, consumption, and disposal.
• A Good Cause Gone Bad. A brief article raising questions about the tenuous relationships between some of the largest environmental organizations and corporations who tend to be some of the most egregious environmental offenders.
• Next Step Recycling. Link to a local recycling organization specializing in electronic waste.
• Paul Hawken’s Commencement Address to the Class of 2009. This one’s optional, but a very appropriate reading to include in this course.  Read, absorb, get inspired, and then charge forth unto this world determined to make a change.

Highlights from the Student Blogroll: Advocates, Artists, and… ALF?

It’s week seven, and we’re kicking it into high gear as the end of the term draws near.  The student blogroll has been on fire with discussions of health care and education, from pondering the pursuit of healthy living to thoughtful considerations of the charter school debate.  This “student highlight reel,” however, focuses on some of the big ideas students are sharing in regards to two of the smallest nonprofit subsectors, advocacy and the arts.

The Art of Advocacy

Several students are blogging about the role of nonprofits in advocacy, with standout posts coming Whitney Taylor, Andrew Galen, and Keegan Caughlin.  In a rousing close to her post on advocacy, Cassidy Ventura offers her readers a challenge: “I would encourage my readers to think about what they believe in…. and if change is needed in that area to better our society. Then think about what you currently do to fight for that change. Do you do anything? If yes great, you are a part of history! If no, then I challenge you to fight for what you believe in. Change is what this country was founded on, and is what will continue to shape the United Sates of America.”

Advocating for the Arts

In laying a foundation for the value of the arts, Sarah Norman offers up the idea of basic human need. “We need healthcare for emergencies; and we need to find a business niche to make a living; basically… we need the basics. But what about what we need to be happy? What works to both aid the forming of bonds and the forming of self? What can keep us connected to our heritage and able to track the growth or decline of a culture?”

Celeste Peterson shares her experience training to be a teaching artist with DanceAbility International to provide  “a powerful example of how art transcends many kinds of barriers, and improves all our lives no matter who we are, where we live or what we can do.”

ALF and the Art of Making an Argument

ALF

Finally, in a stroke of pop-informed genius, Michael Duncan uses the 80s TV icon of ALF to introduce his discussion of the impact of Reagan-era politics on the development of the nonprofit sector.

Michael’s blog, The Rusty Spoke, continues to provide a unique and  thoughtful perspective on all things nonprofit (all with a splash of humor).  And if you think it’s impossible reference to Murder She Wrote in two blog posts in a row, think again. But Michael doesn’t have sole proprietorship on the art of making an interesting argument.  The entire student blogroll continues to provide provocative insights on the nonprofit sector.

“Obamacare” & Nonprofit Hospitals

As many students address the issue of health care in their blogs, two general sets of questions are emerging: 1) What is the difference between nonprofit and for-profit hospitals?; and 2) What impact will recent “Obamacare” legislation have on health care in the United States?  While the jury is still out as to the long term impact of health care reform, this historic legislation does provide us with some policy-driven clarity on what makes a hospital worthy of 501(c)(3) status.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590), enacted on March 23, 2010, includes the following requirements for nonprofit hospitals:

1)  Financial Assistance Policy. The hospital organization and each hospital facility must have a written financial assistance policy, which includes:

• Eligibility criteria for financial assistance, and whether such assistance includes free or discounted care.
• The basis for calculating amounts charged to patients.
• The method for applying for financial assistance.
• In the case of a hospital that does not have a separate billing and collections policy, the actions the hospital may take in the event of nonpayment, including collections action and reporting to credit agencies.
• Measures to widely publicize the policy throughout the community to be served by the hospital.

2)  Emergency Medical Care Policy. The hospital organization and each hospital facility must have a written emergency medical care policy, which includes:

• The provision of, without discrimination, care for emergency medical conditions (within the meaning of the EMTALA statute) to individuals regardless of their eligibility under the hospital’s financial assistance policy.

3)  Limitation on Charges. The hospital organization and each hospital facility must adopt the following charge limitations:

• Amounts charged for emergency or other medically necessary care provided to individuals eligible for assistance under the hospital’s financial assistance policy is limited to not more than the amount generally billed to individuals who have insurance covering such care.
• Gross charges are prohibited in such cases.

4)  Billing and Collections. The hospital organization and each hospital facility must adhere to the following limitations:

• It may not engage in “extraordinary collection actions” before making “reasonable efforts” to determine whether the individual is eligible for assistance under the hospital’s financial assistance policy.
• The IRS will be providing further guidance as to what constitutes “reasonable efforts” by a hospital to determine eligibility for financial assistance.

5)  Community Health Needs Assessment.

• For each tax year, the hospital organization and each hospital facility must have conducted a community health needs assessment in the same tax year or in either of the two tax years immediately preceding the tax year.
• The community health needs assessment must take into account input from individuals who represent the broad interests of the community served by the hospital facility, including those with special knowledge of or expertise in public health.
• The community health needs assessment must be made widely available to the public.
• The hospital must adopt an implementation strategy to meet the community health needs identified through the assessment.

6)  Additional Reporting Requirements. The hospital organization must include with its Form 990:

• The audited financial statements of such hospital organization or the consolidated financial statements if the hospital is included on a consolidated basis.
• A description of how the hospital is addressing the needs identified in each community health needs assessment conducted and a description of any such needs that are not being addressed, together with the reasons why such needs are not being addressed

For those students interested in health, nonprofits, and public policy, pay close attention to this new requirement of a “community health needs assessment.” This is a relatively new field of applied research. With roughly 2500 nonprofit hospitals in existence in the US, there’s a lot of work to be done (and jobs to be had)!

Private Philanthropy & Public Education

Bill Gates

It’s almost as if Bill Gates and Arne Duncan have a direct line to our classroom.  Just as we wrapped up our discussion of the role of the nonprofit sector in the Obama education agenda, big news hit that 12 major foundations have committed $500 million to expand the U.S. Department of Education’s Investing in Innovation Fund (I3).  So if you’re still a little doubtful about how significant this private-public partnership is in the history of public education, a quote from the the press release should drive the point home…

“For too long, private investors have been the only ones to seek out and invest in big ideas still operating on a small scale,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “The Department of Education is now taking its cue from these foundations and investing $650 million in innovation, which the foundations will leverage through their $500 million commitment. This historic coordinated effort between the Department of Education and philanthropy will provide more than $1 billion for innovation in education in 2010.”

How do you feel about the role private philanthropists are playing in public education policy?  We ended class on Wednesday with a brief discussion on the pros and cons, and it seemed like most of the class was cautiously optimistic.  There are some people out there, however, who feel these nonprofit foundations are exercising undue influence over education policy.

Guest Speaker Spotlight: Jessica Matthiesen from Volunteers in Medicine

Volunteers in Medicine

This Wednesday, our class will have the pleasure of meeting with Jessica Matthiesen from Volunteers in Medicine (VIM).  VIM is a medical “home-base” for those people without health care coverage and the economic means to pay fee-for-service. The clinic manages several volunteer physicians and nurse practitioners who volunteer time to treat patients and provide the highest quality medical care to the ill, and to prevent illness among the well. Among their services is primary care, mental health, dispensary, diabetes management, speciality referrals, and women’s health.

As VIM’s grant writer, Jessica has a unique perspective on the organization’s programming and finances.  We invite you to explore the Volunteers in Medicine website, and come to class on Wednesday with some questions for Jessica.

Data, data, and more data…

Because nothing says “Happy Monday!” like a new 84-page publication from the IRS, we invite you to take a peak at the 2009 Data Book. Our focus is immediately directed to Tables 24-25, which verify the evolution of tax-exempt organizations and the enormous diversity of the growing sector.  There are more than 1.2 million charities, and 162 organizations are chartered by the government. The IRS received over 70,000 applications for tax-exemptions in 2009, and over 44,000 charities were approved.

Nonprofit Newsmakers

New Research: Religious individuals are more likely than non-religious individuals to respond to an appeal for charity only on days that they visit their place of worship; on other days of the week, religiosity has no effect.

Curious about the conditions of the local nonprofit sector? Two articles on that very subject just happen to appear in Sunday’s Register-Guard…

• Centro LatinoAmericano, a long-time local nonprofit that serves the Hispanic community, is downsizing in response to demographic and economic changes, led by its board president, Juan Carlos Valle, a recent PPPM grad.
• Priscilla Gould, ED of United Way, talks about the nonprofit sector’s support from the local banking and financial industry.

Hot off the heels of Sarai’s presentation on NEDCO, a nonprofit that is certainly entrepreneurial in its work, the nonprofit news world is abuzz with the issue of social enterprise…

• The Chronicle of Philanthropy discusses the possibility of Congress creating a new tax designation for social enterprise firms.  The new category of organization would reside somewhere between a nonprofit charity and a for-profit business.
• Furthermore, the Maryland State Legislature has just created a new legal structure — called a benefit corporation — for companies that blend business with social and environmental good.
• How would this play out across different sectors? There’s been a long standing discussion in the arts arena about the benefits and drawbacks to this hybrid model.

Playful, Provocative, Personal, Critical: Highlights from Students’ Inaugural Posts

Students were given a lot of flexibility in how to approach this whole blogging project, leaving space for both creativity and authenticity.  This is evident down to the details, down to the titles of some of our class blogs, from Lauren Karell’s Nonprofit Love Affair to McKenzie Lay’s Optimists Only.  One blog is particularly “playful” in its nomenclature:  Hannah Bloombaum’s Nonprofit Playground.  But Hannah offers a thoughtful explanation to her blog’s title…

• “Here’s the impression I’m getting so far in class: nonprofits are generally started by people who are inspired by things they love.  This automatically makes me think of children, and how easily they are inspired by the things around them.  A playground contains structures that can turn into ships and hot lava if you have the imagination for it.  Similarly, our nonprofit sector is set up within a structure, but allows for people to use that structure for their own inspired ideas.”

Provocative Questions

These inaugural posts are going beyond simple introductions; students are raising some interesting issues in regards to what they’re looking to learn this term. From local collaboration to international impact, here’s a couple examples of  big questions being asked…

• Christopher Whittaker: “Are there ways for these organizations to better themselves through increased collaboration…increase their buying power?  Better utilize volunteer efforts through a shared database of volunteers?  Increase fundraising initiatives through partnerships?  From the outside it appears many nonprofit organizations are “fighting” for a similar cause and competing for the same resources (donations, volunteers) as stand alone organizations and may be able to better maximize their efforts through increased collaboration.  Is my observation fact or a myth?  I hope to uncover answers to these questions in the following weeks and provide insight to you!”
• Greg Krupa: “How can international non-profits successfully carry out their missions in places that often put up road blocks to their success? How can we better incorporate the often more successful business models of for-profits into failing or bloated non-profits? If the worst poverty and social injustices occur outside of our borders, how can we better use the non-profit sector to address some of these issues?”

Personal Reflections

The key characteristics of the blogging medium is its dual dimensions of  the personal and the public.  Throughout the student blogroll, readers will find thoughtful integration of course concepts and personal experience.  Marisa Valenciano offers this reflection on a concept from the course text stating that  “nonprofits add to the self-definition of the individual”…

• “When a person is a part of a non-profit group, a person can develop his or her identity by surrounding him or herself with people who share a similar interest or cause that will give them the opportunity to identify with others and share information.   In my own community, my family and I are active members of the Kauai Filipino nonprofit organizations. Being a part of the Filipino organization has helped me to develop my own identity as a young Filipino woman in a way that could not have been possible through any other organization.   Since I understand that people will identify themselves differently in terms of race, gender, class, and religion, I think it is important to have a broad range of groups in the community that individuals can get plugged in to.  In getting involved in a group that a person can identify with, a person will be able to better define who they are as individuals.”

Open Minds, Critical Eyes

This blogging project, first and foremost, is meant to provide students a forum to synthesize and react. We’re not looking for 61 “yes men” whose blogs are in unanimous agreement with every word O’Neill has written and every word uttered in lecture.  We’re looking for open minds and critical eyes, and here’s a great example of that kind of critical synthesis and reaction…

• Ted Sweeney: “Some of the lecture so far, and chapter 2 of our textbook (O’Neill 2002) has dealt with the question of why nonprofit associations exist.  There is an assumption implicit in this question, that associations only make sense if they exist for means of profit or centralized government.  In fact, I think these two things, business for profit and formalized/centralized government, are the recent phenomena.  Karl Polanyi, in his 1944 work The Great Transformation,  pointed out that the drive for profit in a market economy is quite new as a motivator of human activity; prior to the Italian renaissance, human economic exchange existed within systems of social hierarchy.  I.e, people in different caste positions would receive pre-ordained shares of the resources of the group, or, as in some hunter gatherer bands, all resources were shared among the community. Here’s my point: working together for a common goal organized around ethical belief and a conviction about the way the world ought to be, rather than for profit, has considerable precedent in human history.  The what’s-going-on-here attitude of O’Neill’s chapter 2 and Prof. Choquette’s lecture is misplaced.  It is the current role of profit-driven, free market exchange in deciding human affairs that is unusual, and would seem bizarre to our ancestors, who were mostly involved in informal, non-business, non-government associations.

So what do you think? Is Ted onto something here? If his post struck a chord with you, go on over and write a comment on his blog.  Check out more of the playful, provocative, personal, and critical posts from the class blogroll, and share your thoughts with one another.  This first round of blogging is only the beginning of the conversation; it’s only the beginning of our collective exploration of the nonprofit sector.