Report to Members
By Mary Jo Mullan and Garland Yates, Co-Chairs

We are witnessing major changes in the world, in our country, in the communities we care about, and in our work. The economic downturn that began earlier in 2001, exacerbated by September 11th, is having a devastating impact on the working poor, immigrants, and families relying on public assistance - those at the bottom of the income and wealth ladder. We have also seen the assets of many of our philanthropic institutions decrease significantly, which is likely to lead to decreases in some grantmaking budgets, just as community needs are growing and public budgets are contracting. While the length and depth of the downturn remains uncertain, it is clear that strategies to increase wealth among low-income people and communities are ever more important.

How we as funders - and the groups that we support - respond to these changes is critical. We must work together to build the public will for policies that are just and equitable. We pledge that NFG will continue to provide you and your institutions with the quality information and resources required for effective grantmaking.

At our annual conference in March we will have an opportunity to learn more about proven means of building public will for strategies to strengthen the nation's commitment to low-income communities. As is our practice at NFG, the voices of experienced community leaders will be strongly represented, in addition to grantmakers and policymakers. The March 2002 conference, chaired by Sara Gould of the Ms. Foundation for Women, will be followed by a second gathering November 2-4, 2002 in Washington, DC, where we will have an opportunity to build on the March conference, with a focus on advancing policy solutions.

We are excited to announce that, with support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, NFG will produce and distribute a series of papers that will explore key housing policy areas such as multifamily housing, home ownership, homelessness, and housing for special needs populations. The first is due out in January 2002. We are eager for your feedback on the recently distributed NFG issue brief, A Seat at the Table: Keeping the "Public" in Public Policy. In 2002, we plan to publish a second issue brief exploring funders' approaches to evaluation. (Note: If you haven't yet reviewed the special Shelterforce issue on evaluation, highlighting practitioner-led approaches to assessing community impact, we urge you to do so.)

In 2002, we will hold a follow-up to the successful July 2001 forum on comprehensive community initiatives - highlighting resident engagement - that was held in Kansas City and organized by Garland Yates (Annie E. Casey Foundation) and Jim Koeneman (Kauffman Foundation). In addition, we will continue to sponsor regional funders' briefings along the lines of several held in 2001. Regina McGraw (Wieboldt Foundation) and Henry Allen (Hyams Foundation) organized discussions in Chicago and Boston that centered on the Community Organizing Toolbox; Katherine McFate (Rockefeller Foundation), Lance Lindbloom (Nathan Cummings Foundation), and Mary Jo Mullan (F.B. Heron Foundation) sponsored a briefing in New York City that featured William Greider and others discussing how ordinary Americans can influence decision-making bodies that help to create wealth; and Luther M. Ragin (F.B. Heron Foundation), Shari Behrenbach (Calvert Foundation) and Teri Yeager (Hearst Foundation) convened members of the Sustained Excellence Alliance Corporation (SEA Corp.), a newly created entity of ten community development corporations - and recipients of Fannie Mae's Sustained Excellence Awards - who are seeking to substantially increase affordable housing.

As we reflect on our 2001 activities, we want to express special thanks to Susan Chinn (Discount Foundation) and Janet Shenk (Arca Foundation) of the Working Group on Labor and Community for all of the effort that went into the "learning tour" focused on low-wage workers in Las Vegas.

We also want to recognize the tireless efforts of several members of the Rural Funders Working Group who put together a very productive Fall Funders Forum: Teri Yeager (William Randolph Hearst Foundation), Susan Jenkins (Hitachi Foundation), Linetta Gilbert (Ford Foundation) and Gloria Guerrero (Rural Development Finance Corporation). The Rural Funders Working Group also successfully launched the National Rural Funders Collaborative, led by Jim Richardson and managed by the Calvert Foundation, to leverage available national and regional resources - human, technical and financial - to sustain positive, measurable change in rural areas affected by persistent poverty.

Jane Downing (Pittsburgh Foundation) has done a wonderful job chairing the Education Committee, which developed the very well received programs at the Council on Foundation conferences in Philadelphia and Vancouver. We particularly want to express appreciation to Regina McGraw (Wieboldt Foundation) for her leadership of the Board and Membership Development Committee, and for her work on NFG Reports, and to Roland Anglin (Seedco) for his work as chair of the Administration and Finance Committee.

Sara Gould, Regina McGraw, Garland Yates, Antonio Manning and Roland Anglin are completing their terms of service on the NFG Board of Directors in January 2002. Their skills, spirit and experience will be missed. We thank them deeply for their years of service to NFG, and look forward to their continued involvement in other NFG roles.

We also extend a hearty welcome to six new directors to the NFG board, and thank all of the members who endorsed their candidacies. The new board members are:

Elected to a three-year term

• Victor Quintana, Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock
• Chantel Walker, Marin Community Foundation
• Sherece West, The Annie E. Casey Foundation
• Teri Yeager, William Randolph Hearst Foundation

Elected to a two-year term (to fill a vacancy):

• Marion Standish, The California Endowment

Elected to a one-year term (to fill a vacancy):

• Fabio Naranjo, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

In 2002 Mary Jo Mullan (F.B. Heron Foundation) and Frank Sanchez (Needmor Fund) will serve as NFG co-chairs, and Bob Jaquay (George Gund Foundation) will serve as Treasurer.

As you can see from this brief summary of 2001 accomplishments and activities, this has been a highly successful year for NFG. We have increased the depth and reach of our program work. We have added 34 new members. This would not have been possible without the active support of our members who serve on the various committees and working groups. Thank you! We invite others who would like to participate on a committee or a working group to contact staff at the NFG office and/or a board member for more information.

On behalf of the board and members of NFG, we extend deep gratitude to the terrific NFG staff: Spence Limbocker, Margaux O'Malley and Liz Lombard. We can't say enough about the hard work and unceasing good cheer demonstrated by this team. We also bid a fond farewell and best wishes to staff member Pat Taylor who provided first-rate staff support to the Membership Services Committee and Rural Funders Working Group, and invaluable help in organizing so many NFG events. We also want to welcome Bettye Brentley to the NFG staff. She will begin February 1, 2002 in the position of assistant director of membership services.

We especially want to thank all of you who have made a sponsorship, general support or special project grant to NFG (see list). Our work would not be possible without your generous support. We express appreciation to all of our members for your continued support and involvement in NFG.

Our biggest debt of gratitude goes to those doing the "real work" - those are, of course, the leaders and residents working tirelessly to improve the quality of life in communities.

Much remains to be done. We look forward to working together with you to meet the tremendous challenges we face in advancing issues of economic and social justice.

We wish all of you and your families a happy and healthy new year!

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