Mission · Events · Contact information · Activities · Membership · Officers · Committees · Finances · Staff

Mission

The GIPI is a group of grantmakers committed to enhancing democratic involvement in all dimensions of civic life -- including elections, governance, media, and civil society -- with a particular concern for disenfranchised and disempowered communities.

The mission of the Funders' Committee is to educate its membership and the larger philanthropic community about barriers to full participation, strategies for fostering democratic involvement, and the means by which effective strategies can be supported through grantmaking.

Events

Council on Foundations 49th Annual Conference
April 27-29, 1998
Washington, DC

Select Panels

Linking Community Values to Public Policy (April 27, 2-3:30pm)
More and more, funders and advocates are building on the strengths of low-income communities and working to ensure that the voices of community residents are heard. But it is a challenging task to fully draw out the voices that accurately reflect the community's cultural values, to balance diverse views and then help get advocates at the local, state and national levels working on a controversial issue - teenage pregnancy prevention - who are using a unique method to ensure community ownership and control of both the assessment and implementation processes.

Maybe You Didn't Vote in 1996, But Guess Who Did? (April 27, 4-5:30pm)
General voter turnout in 1996 was the lowest since 1924. However, in some immigrant and low-income communities, there was high turnout. Working at the community level, grassroots organizers are raising civic participation levels by turning voters' attention to issues that concern them, such as public housing, urban development and school reform. Hear why they have succeeded where other efforts to increase voting have failed.

Broadcasting and Democracy-The Power to Serve: Television's Contribution to the 21st Century (April 28, 3-4:30pm)
Television is poised to enter the digital age, with federal grants of new spectrum worth billions of dollars and technology to deliver scores of additional channels and services. What should we ask of broadcasters in the public interest? Can television be a vital medium of public debate, a source of quality news and public affairs programming that contributes to an informed citizenry, a platform for political candidates to engage their constituencies? Meet members of the President's Advisory Committee on the Public Interest Obligations of Digital Television Broadcasters (PIAC), the commission that is addressing the public interest obligations of broadcasters, and help them define what's at stake for democracy in the information age.

Dealing With Everyone's Number Two Issue: Taking on Money and Politics (April 28, 3-4:30pm)
Are you a funder who believes that the way campaigns are financed undercuts your impact on priority issues? Do the complexities and controversies of campaign finance reform overwhelm you and leave you, like many others, "frozen at the doorstep?" In fact, citizens and funders can play a part in securing true campaign finance reform. This interactive session, featuring videos, Internet resources, computerized consensus-building and group discussion, will give you strategies and tools to incorporate this issue into your grantmaking priorities.

Bytes and Rights: The New Challenges to Equity in an Information Society (April 29, 8-10:00am)
The new media systems of the digital age are changing how we get an education, get a job and get heard here and around the globe. Even more profoundly, these changes are rewriting the conditions for full and equal participation in political affairs and civil society. Come discuss the changes with scholars and activists working to protect the public interest in the digital age.

Advocacy Is Not A Four Letter Word (April 29, 10:30-12:00pm)
Join experienced grantmakers in an interactive dialogue on advocacy funding. Explore such issues as how advocacy is defined, how different types of foundations approach or promote it, how and when staff and trustees decide to engage in it, the impact it has had on grantees and grantmaking, special considerations or precautions funders take, and resources available to grantmakers who want to initiate or increase advocacy funding.

Contact Information

Committee Co-chairs

Ryan Alexander, Program Officer Rockefeller Family Fund 1290 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 3450 New York, NY 10104 Phone: (212) 373-4252 Fax: (212) 315-0996	Seth Borgos, Program Officer Veatch Program Unitarian Universalist Congregation At Shelter Rock 48 Shelter Rock Road Manhasset, NY 11030 Phone: (516) 627-6576 Fax: (516)627-6596
Communications Committee Larry Kirkman, Chair Benton Foundation 1634 Eye Street, NW 12th Floor Washington, DC 20006 Phone: (202) 638-5770 Fax: (202) 638-5771	Membership / Development Committee Geri Mannion, Chair Carnegie Corporation of New York 437 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10022 Phone: (212) 207-6257 Fax: (212) 754-4073
Newsletter Editor David Dyssegaard Kallick 115 East 9th Street, 12F New York, NY 10003

Activities

The core of Funders' Committee activities will be, as permitted by finances, the following:

• Four to six three-quarter-day membership meetings a year that will combine Committee business, general information-sharing, and a substantive program featuring one or more outside speakers.

• Publication of at least two editions per year of the newsletter, beginning in 1997.

• Maintenance of ongoing contact and work with the Council on Foundations.

• The formation of informal clusters -- groups of members who will meet occasionally and network among themselves out of shared interests in particular issues, such as campaign finance, voting rights, civil investing, civic journalism, etc. These clusters are to be governed, organized, and financed by their members rather than by the Funders' Committee for Citizen Participation.

In addition, in order to respond more effectively and flexibly to the diverse needs and interests of members, Funders' Committee's programs and activities may include:

• An annual membership retreat of two days duration in an informal setting that would, with the help of outside experts, either focus in-depth on one or more topics, or examine participation problems in a more integrative and cross-cutting manner.

• A biennial citizen participation conference that would bring together 200-300 foundation representatives, grantees and non-grantees, and experts from various fields for a structured assessment of participation problems, breakthroughs, and opportunities.

• Creation of a World Wide Web site to facilitate information-sharing among members and communications with the larger philanthropic community.
• Publication and dissemination of an annual survey of participation grants approved by member institutions.

• Publication of occasional papers on topics of interest to Funders' Committee members and the larger donor community.

• Aiding foundations with technical advice on participation issues and concerns.

Membership

• Membership in the Funders' Committee will be limited to grantmakers (a) whose institutions contribute financially on an annual or biennial basis to the Committee or (b) who are willing, when circumstances require, to make modest personal contributions in support of the Committee's work.

• Membership will entitle members to participate in the selection of the Funders' Committee's officers, to serve in those positions, to vote on program and budget matters, and to take part in all Committee events and functions.

• Grantmaking institutions may have an unlimited number of participants in Funders' Committee activities, but may have no more than two voting members of the Funders' Committee.

• Participation in the meetings and activities of the Funders' Committee will be open to all grantmakers whose interests and purposes are compatible with those of the Committee, including program executives, board members, trustees, or individual donors.

Officers

• The Funders' Committee will elect two co-chairs for two-year terms. The co-chairs will be elected in September of odd-numbered years and assume their responsibilities the following January.

• All members of the Funders' Committee will be eligible to be candidates for co-chairs. The custom of having one chair from a large foundation and the other from a small or mid-sized foundation should be preserved.

• The co-chairs will canvass the entire membership to determine who is interested in standing for election, prepare and distribute ballots, and tabulate the results. Officers will be elected by simple majority.

• The chair of each committee (as described below) will be considered an officer of FCCP. The chair of the Membership/Development committee will serve as FCCP's Treasurer.

• An outline of officers' responsibilities are to be developed by approval by the full membership.

Committees

The Funders' Committee will establish three standing committees: a Program Committee, Communications Committee, and Membership/Development Committee.

Other committees and officers may be added as the membership finds desirable. The co-chairs will canvass the membership to determine who is willing to serve on these committees and will name their chairs. The committees should be reconstituted every two years after the election of new co-chairs.

• The Program Committee will take the lead in planning special events of the committee: retreats, meetings at the Council on Foundations, conferences, and whatever special events FCCP may decide to undertake.

• The Communications Committee will oversee the staff in developing, producing, disseminating, and publicizing the newsletter. It will also oversee all publication projects FCCP undertakes, including any work on a World Wide Web site, pamphlets, informational brochures, etc.

• The Membership/Development Committee will coordinate the solicitation of new members, and will take responsibility for setting a suggested dues structure. The chair of this committee will serve as a Treasurer of FCCP, overseeing the finances of FCCP and sending out letters of request for contributions.

Finances

The Funders' Committee will adopt an adjustable recommended dues structure (a sliding scale) that takes into account whether an FCCP member is an individual or is on the staff of a grantmaking institution.In the latter case, dues will vary depending on the institution's total assets and/or the amount of institutional funding devoted to citizen participation work.  This dues structure will be developed and periodically revised by the Membership/Development Committee. Initial guidelines will be roughly as follows:

• For grantmaking institutions, recommended dues will range between $500 a year for institutions that are smaller and/or are less involved in citizen participation work and $5,000 for the largest and/or are most committed to this area.

• For individual members (for representatives of foundations that are unable, for whatever reason, to contribute to the Funders' Committee), recommended annual dues will be in the neighborhood of $100.

• A formal written request for dues should be issued once a year, with follow-up as may be necessary.

• On occasion, above and beyond the dues paid by members, FCCP also may solicit and receive grants for projects requiring extra funding.

• The Center for Community Change will continue to act as the Funders' Committee fiscal agent.  Expenditures of Funders' Committee's funds requires the signature of one co-chair for expenditures of $1,000 or less, and both co-chairs for expenditures in excess of $1,000.

• Co-chairs will present a budget for the Funders' Committee for annual review.  The budget will operate on a fiscal year that begins January 1.

• An independent audit of FCCP finances will be conducted on a biennial basis.

Staff

The Funders' Committee may retain part-time staff on a consultant basis to assist with administrative tasks, the provision of general information, and the distribution of FCCP publications. Responsibility for retaining consultants and approving payments to consultants will rest with the co-chairs.