FSG IMPACT:
CLIENT CASES

The mission? A lifelong, loving home for every pet. And, a strategic plan from FSG.   
Read about FSG & PetSmart Charities

RWANDA COMMUNITY WORKS
Nearly 15 years have passed since genocide in Rwanda. FSG helps one organization create a strategic plan for economic development.  Read about FSG & RCW



FSG IMPACT: IN THE NEWS

CORPORATE VOLUNTEERING
The Latest Office Perk: Getting Paid to Volunteer  The Wall Street Journal, April 2008

Sabbaticals Nurture Stars
Financial Times, May 2008


MISSION INVESTING
Mission Investing  Tactical Philanthropy, Podcast featuring
Mark Kramer,
May 2008

Mission-Based Investing Comes of Age           Philanthropy Journal
June 2008


CORPORATE SOCIAL INVESTING
Yoghurt Maker's Recipe for Funding Social Businesses Financial Times, June 2008


ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
The Role of the Food and Beverage Sector in Expanding Economic Opportunity  World Business Council for Sustainable Development, June 2008


FSG IMPACT:
IDEAS AND ACTION


GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT 2.0
This new book just released from the Brookings Institution features leaders in the field, including contributing author Mark Kramer, discussing the transformative trends in funding and activism to fight global poverty.  Read more about Global Development 2.0



THE EVOLVING ROLE OF EVALUATION IN PHILANTHROPY
In partnership with Stanford Social Innovation Review and sponsored by the James Irvine Foundation, FSG recently hosted a national conferenceabout emerging practices and opportunities in evaluation.
Read more about the role of evaluation in philanthropy

MISSION-RELATED INVESTING: EMERGING PRACTICES
"Foundations in the United States have $600 billion in their endowments and can unleash more of their resources to positively change societies today. As a result, mission-related investing is an idea whose time has come."  -- Doug Bauer, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. FSG recently participated in a day long conference on thought leadership related to mission-related investing (MRI).  Read more about emerging practices in mission related investing


COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INSIGHTS HOSTS WEBINARS FOR COST-REVENUE AND ONLINE BENCHMARKING
Community Foundation Insights (CF Insights, a division of FSG) recently hosted free webinars on the topic of online benchmarking and will offer a free webinar on the Cost-Revenue Study on October 8.  Read more about CFI and its recent webinars

WHEN IS ENOUGH NOT ENOUGH?

What more evidence do we need that our current approach to solving social problems is inadequate? Americans contribute more per capita to charity than any other country in the world, yet a recent report by Measure of America offers some astonishing statistics:

• More than 14% of the U.S. population (30 million Americans) lack basic literacy and math skills
• Of the 30 richest nations, the U.S. ranks second in the number of children (15%) living in poverty
• The U.S. has 5% of the world’s people - but 24% of the world’s prisoners
• The U.S. ranks 24th in global life expectancy - yet spends more on health care than any nation

This paradox is what motivates our strategy at FSG Social Impact Advisors: how to channel the best intentions of foundations, nonprofits and corporations to create effective, strategic solutions that will help resolve the world’s most urgent needs. The client stories and projects we highlight in this issue of Perspectives represent our conviction that philanthropy and corporate responsibility, knowledgeably and strategically performed, will enable us to help in solving these urgent problems.

We hope you share our vision, and we welcome your help. Please send us your ideas, comments or suggestions; and we may upon occasion share your views with our community. Thank you for reading on, and for joining in our collaborative efforts to achieve social impact.

Warm regards,
Mark Kramer
Founder, Managing Director

FSG IMPACT: CLIENT CASES

BANQUE DE LUXEMBOURG
In April 2008, the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Juncker addressed a packed auditorium at the country’s first national convention on philanthropy.  In a keynote speech, he declared, “It is time for Luxembourg to develop a real philanthropic policy!” He went on to announce a package of reforms, including a sweeping legal and fiscal review and support for the launch of a new foundation, that together represent one of the most important developments to affect philanthropy in the Grand Duchy in 80 years.

The convention was the highest-profile event so far in a major national effort, initiated and driven by the bank with support from FSG. FSG had recently worked with Banque de Luxembourg to undertake a review of the philanthropic environment in Luxembourg. In response to great interest from its clients, the bank had already taken the initiative to establish a philanthropic advisory service. However, it was becoming increasingly aware that the context for charitable giving in Luxembourg was holding back its own ambition and that of its clients. FSG engaged with national stakeholders from all sectors and leading European experts to review and compare the local situation with that of neighboring countries. The study confirmed that although Luxembourg had a track record of generosity, the environment for philanthropy had not kept up with developments in other countries. As a result, FSG made specific recommendations including revisions to the tax and legal landscape, setting up a ‘benchmark’ institution, and launching a campaign to raise awareness of the potential of philanthropy to play a role in social progress.

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PETSMART CHARITIES
To date, PetSmart Charities, Inc. (PCI), along with its partners, has helped save the lives of 3.4 million animals through its adoption program. FSG is helping PCI develop a comprehensive five-year strategic plan. As the leading funder of animal welfare agencies across North America, PCI champions the cause of saving the lives of homeless pets through both grant making and programs. Along with its partners, PCI has provided more than $70 million in funding to animal-welfare agencies throughout the U.S. since it’s founding in 1994.

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RWANDA COMMUNITY WORKS
Agriculture. Handicrafts. Tourism. These areas are the focus for a new plan for economic development in Rwanda. FSG’s project with Rwanda Community Works (RCW) highlights the creation of an innovative “Rural Enterprise Zone” as part of an enterprising economic development plan tightly geo-focused in the district of Bugesera,  an epicenter of the genocide.   FSG is helping Rwanda Community Works (RCW) create its first five-year strategic plan; the first strategic development plan to stimulate rural economic growth following the Rwandan genocide in 1994. RCW is a nonprofit, Rwanda-based development organization investing in businesses and funding health programs in rural Rwanda. The goal of the organization is to create jobs and increase income in the district, while ensuring a long term foundation for basic healthcare.

The organization focuses on investments in handicrafts, agriculture and tourism to align with Rwanda’s development plan and to broadly impact the people of the district. The strategic plan and guidance FSG is providing offers recommendations for stimulating economic growth in Rwanda, focusing first on the Bugesera district, with other districts to follow. FSG and RCW are leveraging the tools of both philanthropic funding and social investment to catalyze the creation of a more viable and sustainable economy.

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FSG IMPACT: IDEAS AND ACTION

GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT 2.0
In a new book published by the Brookings Institution, Global Development 2.0, Can Philanthropists, the Public and the Poor Make Poverty History, Mark Kramer has contributed a chapter exploring the lack of collaboration among private philanthropy, international aid and foreign direct investment in Sub-Saharan Africa, despite the considerable overlap in their development objectives. Mark suggests that if a common set of evaluation metrics were adopted across all three sectors, it might forge a common language to further increase the capacity for social progress. 

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THE EVOLVING ROLE OF EVALUATION IN PHILANTHROPY
FSG and the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR) recently partnered to host the Good Measures: New Approaches to Evaluation conference at Stanford University, sponsored by the James Irvine Foundation. With over 150 foundation and nonprofit leaders attending, the event featured an eclectic mix of nonprofit, evaluation, academic and business perspectives. Discussions included the latest breakthroughs in choosing the best evaluation techniques, building strong funder-grantee relationships, and using evidence to improve operations. The conference aligned with a recent report FSG published, "From Insight to Action: New Directions in Foundation Evaluation" which identified a fundamental transition in the way foundations use evaluation; moving toward more performance-centered approaches that provide foundations and their grantees with timely information and actionable insights. If you are interested in more information about evaluation trends or future FSG events related to evaluation, please contact Dana Yonchak.

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MISSION-RELATED INVESTING AND EMERGING PRACTICES
FSG, in collaboration with Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, the Surdna Foundation, Generation Foundation, Generation Investment Management, and Godeke Consulting, recently participated in a day long event to discuss the new directions of mission-related investing (MRI). While various facets of MRI have existed for almost 40 years, it is within the last 24 months that MRI has really begun to garner the attention of those in the field of philanthropy. This lively discussion explored how financial assets and other resources can be used to maximize financial returns while promoting social change; the type of tax, financial and legal frameworks that are necessary to support MRI efforts; and practical examples of mission investing practices that have been identified and used by foundations today.  If you are interested in learning more about mission-related investing, please download FSG’s reports: "Compounding Impact: Mission Investing by U.S. Foundations" and "Aggregating Impact: A Funder's Guide to Mission Investment Intermediaries". If you are interested in more information about mission-related investing or future FSG events related to mission investing, please contact Dana Yonchak.

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CF Insights hosts webinars for online benchmarking

CF Insights recently held several webinars featuring live demos of its online database, and its applications for collecting, analyzing and benchmarking financial and operational data for large and small community foundations. The webinars featured leaders from the community foundation field who use the CF Insights online database for streamlined benchmarking and peer analysis.  A free recording of the webinar is available for download here.

On October 8, CF Insights will host a free webinar on Cost-Revenue for community foundations; visit this page for more information and to sign up.  For more information about CF Insights or to subscribe to the CF Insights newsletter, please contact Melissa Scott.

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We hope you found this issue of Perspectives informative. Please feel free to contact us with your comments or suggestions.

FSG strives to achieve social responsibility in its own internal operations. We maintain a policy of carbon-neutral travel through the purchase of carbon credits from Native Energy.


© FSG Social Impact Advisors 2008