Blog

Global Update - September 2016

Tuesday, September 13, 2016 - 10:00 am

Natalie Ross

As we start September, I’m sure many of you are busy with year-end activities, whether it’s a final round of grantmaking, planning next year’s budget and program, or your annual engagement at side events for the U.N. General Assembly and other international events. It’s pretty lively here at the Council too, and I want to share resources and opportunities that are on our radar. I also encourage you to visit our global program page and global grantmaking resources on our website.

Sustainable Development Goals

We released a report in July about how philanthropy can help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the United States. It’s based on lessons we learned working with members and other national and local partners over the last year. Leading into this year’s U.N. General Assembly, we have launched a campaign called 17 Days, 17 Goals to highlight the SDG work U.S. foundations are doing at home and around the world. We hope you’ll join our campaign on social media using the hashtag #PhilSDGs and follow @COF_ on Twitter to hear more about our work on the SDGs.

The Council is also co-sponsoring two events in New York City this month focused on the SDGs and philanthropy:

September 14 — Leveraging the SDGs to Empower U.S. Communities of Color with partners including CHANGE Philanthropy, Hispanics in Philanthropy, and the Ford Foundation
September 21 — Convergence: Philanthropy and the SDGs with partners including SDG Philanthropy Platform, Foundation Center, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, and UNDP

We are also excited to partner with a number of local foundations in Arkansas to host a second meeting on how the SDGs (specifically the goals around health, education, and jobs) might help their philanthropic community. If you fund in Arkansas, please save the date for October 12 and complete this survey about your availability.

Over the next month, we will also finalize and announce the next round of cities where we plan to co-host conversations about the SDGs. If you’re interested in partnering with the Council to bring a conversation to your community, please reach out to me. Examples of previous meetings can be found in our SDG report.

Laws and Regulations Affecting Your Global Grantmaking

To help ensure that cross-border grantmaking is possible around the world, we monitor and assess policies and legislation that have the potential to affect international philanthropy. Where possible, we represent our sector and advocate for a better grantmaking environment. Throughout this work, we collaborate with a wide array of global partners and networks. Two of our key partners have webinars this month on issues we are watching closely:

FATF Says Nonprofits No Longer Particularly Vulnerable – What’s Next? — Monday, September 12 at 10:30 pm ET, hosted by the Global NPO Coalition on FATF
The New Chinese Regulatory Framework for NGOs and Foundations: Implications for Overseas Organizations — Wednesday, September 14 at 12:00 pm ET, hosted by the International Center for Not-For-Profit Law

The Council is also exploring the changing regulation of grantmaking into Cuba. Our President and CEO Vikki Spruill will be joining a Hispanics in Philanthropy delegation to Cuba in December. As the Obama administration has developed new regulations for U.S. - Cuba engagement, we have seen some new opportunities to work with Cuban civil society organizations. As regulations evolve further, we look forward to bringing funders together who are interested in working in Cuba. Please email me if you are currently working or planning to work in Cuba and want to stay aware of our work in this area.

New Corporate Director at the Council

The Council has hired a new Director of Corporate Philanthropy, Jeff West. Jeff comes to the Council from the Peace Corps and has a strong international background. He and I will be working together on a number of issues within the Council’s global program. If you are a corporate member of the Council and have not yet reached out to Jeff, please feel free to email him directly at jeff.west@cof.org.

Upcoming Events

Learn, share, and connect with the Council and other philanthropic groups at four upcoming convenings we are helping to coordinate. Please let me know if you are able to attend and if you would like to schedule a meeting.