Friday Rewind

The Friday Rewind offers a snapshot of PhilanthroNews —  that means news stories, articles, events of note, or information updates — from around our network and throughout the broad world of philanthropy. Whether you take a quick skim of the material or a deep dive through each item we hope to help inform your work and inspire your thinking.

1. With the beginning of the 116th Congress and new congressional leadership coming to Washington in January, philanthropy has a powerful opportunity to improve our relationships with federal legislators and policymakers. It will be a critical time for us to advocate for issues that will strengthen the nonprofit sector and raise awareness of the critical role that philanthropy plays in our country. David Biemesderfer, President and CEO of the United Philanthropy Forum, lists issues that the philanthropy sector should remain aware of working with this new formation of Congress in this blog
2. Each year, approximately 1 in 5 hospital patients in the United States, including some 300,000 New Yorkers, require continued care following hospital stays for major surgery or serious illness. Too often, patients and their families do not have the critical information and support they need to carefully assess their options and make the best possible decisions. A new report by the United Hospital Fund (UHF), supported by NY Funders Alliance member NYSHealth, spotlights the many factors that can hinder informed decision-making and limit care choices.
3. Does change come from the bottom up or top down?
   The simple answer is both — it often happens when there is collective leadership creating pressure on the outside of an institution, and allies inside the institution or with the power to influence the institution leveraging that pressure to create change. This blog from the Johnson Center helps break down the difference between top down and bottom up leadership, and how the practices of new power, when combined with explicit efforts to share power, demand equity, and practice humility can make it possible for diverse coalitions to build collective power and leadership to achieve social impact and social change together.
4. Philanthropy-serving organizations (PSOs) like the NY Funders Alliance, often referred to as affinity organizations (AO) or membership organizations (MO), hold a unique position in the nonprofit-sector. These types of organizations gather insights and aggregate information on both the nonprofit field and the funder-response to those needs. Grantmakers in the Arts (GIA) provides information, resources, and leadership to funders of artists and arts organizations. A 2017 United Philanthropy Forum study revealed that national and regional PSOs reported a median 93 percent membership renewal rate, but why? Join this webinar on December 4^th to hear from David Biemesderfer, president and CEO of the United Philanthropy Forum, the NY Funders Alliance national network, about the value of membership organizations and their impact.
5. Disasters and humanitarian crises affected millions of people globally in 2016. Donors responded generously to these disasters: How were their dollars allocated? The Center for Disaster Philanthropy is proud to partner with Foundation Center, the leading source of information about philanthropy worldwide, to present this interactive dashboard, which provides an analysis of disaster-related funding by foundations, governments, corporations, and individuals. The data presented here illuminate funding trends, expose imbalances in where and when contributions are made, and can help donors make more strategic decisions about their investments in the full life cycle of disasters, including preparedness and recovery efforts.

Friday Rewind is published each Friday by NY Funders Alliance staff. To submit a story for the Friday Rewind, please email programs@nyfunders.org.