Quixote Foundation, Inc.

Resources

• Sightline Report on Ambre Energy

  Sightline looked into the company that’s planning two controversial coal export terminal projects on the Columbia River. The resulting report found that “Ambre Energy barely qualifies as a coal company. The company’s annual reports reveal that the Australian-based venture has never made a profit, and has virtually no successful track record in coal mining or coal exports, either in the US or abroad. Worse, an in-depth look at the company’s financial statements, as well as public records of other companies that have done business with Ambre, reveals a firm with deeply troubled finances.”  Read the executive summary and the full report.

• Using Technology to Promote Civil Liberties

  If you missed the live chat in May 2011 between Helen Brunner of Media Democracy Fund and Brett Solomon of Access, don’t miss the archived version at the Chronicle of Philanthropy.  Brunner, Solomon and audience participants discussed the uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia, and elsewhere; how these movements gain momentum from Twitter and other social networks; and new questions about how nonprofits conduct their work overseas—especially when they need to deal with censorship and security concerns. What lessons do the uprisings hold, and how can nonprofits and foundations best promote freedom of expression in a time of political change?

• Atlantic Philanthropies & Quixote Foundation discuss "Giving While Living"

  In November, 2010, Gara LaMarche, President and CEO of Atlantic Philanthropies, and Quixote Foundation’s own Lenore Hanisch had a vibrant conversation about why their foundations have decided to spend all their assets, how that strategy affects their work, and what their vision is for creating impacts that continue growing in perpetuity–without maintaining a perpetual institution. Download a transcript or an audio recording of this event, which was sponsored by the National Center on Family Philanthropy and the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

• One Region: Promoting Prosperity Across Race

  How do we make sure that we rebuild the economy? By helping those who need it the most. This new report by the Center for Social Inclusion makes the case for targeting stimulus and other programs based on need—as a fair, effective way to support economic recovery.

• Top 10 of 2010

  Read the most popular blog posts from Sightline Institute in 2010, including electric bikes, granny carts, and the greenest city in Cascadia.

• Northern California Grantmakers' Social Media & Grantmaking Series: QuixoteTilts talks about Twitter

  The sixth installment of Northern California Grantmakers‘ terrific Social Media & Grantmaking series offers insights for foundations considering how they might use Twitter to move their mission.  (We may be a little biased, since the article features our own “QuixoteTilts.”)

• Learn about communication for social change & alliance building

  The Center for Media Justice recently gathered two expert panels to brief funders on using communication as a tool for change. Hear what they had to say about “The State of Grassroots Communications: Shifting the Landscape Toward Justice.”

• Wise words from the Ford Foundation

  Grab some coffee and take a couple of minutes to read this clear and eloquent Ford Foundation opinion:  Why Foundations of All Kinds Should Promote Internet Access.  A teaser:   “Our actions today will decide whether that future belongs to a few or to all Americans. We must move beyond the notion of the Internet as a luxury and instead understand it as a necessary tool for anyone who aspires to be a full member of our society and economy—just as telephone service was defined in the last century.”  Thanks, Ford Foundation!

• Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds

  In early 2010 the Kaiser Family Foundation released Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds, one of the largest and most comprehensive publicly available information sources on the amount and nature of media use by American youth.  The survey is the third wave of the Foundation’s studies of children’s media use, providing a detailed look at current media use patterns among young people and documenting changes in children’s media habits from five (2004) and ten (1999) years ago.

• Save the internet

  Net Neutrality is critical to keeping our society free, fair & healthy! Find out about the issues and comment directly to the FCC.

• Get more for your grantmaking money through nonpartisan civic engagement

  Protect your investments in projects and organizations you care about by promoting good policy through nonpartisan civic engagement.  The Funders Committee for Civic Participation has put together a fantastic set of resources for foundations wanting to learn more about how they can fund civic engagement while staying firmly within tax and legal boundaries.  Check out the legal guidelines and other resources, get to know FCCP and get involved!

• Media Justice is a Green Issue

  Let Malkia Cyril of the Center for Media Justice tell you why. Download a PDF of her speech–it’s fabulous reading!

• Give while you live

  The Beldon Fund recently launched www.beldon.org to share information gained during an intentional spend-down of foundation assets. As planned, after ten years of grantmaking, the Beldon Fund closed its doors on May 31, 2009.

  The website includes a PDF called “Giving While Living: The Beldon Fund Spend Out Story,” filled with practical advice and tips, and other information on the foundation’s program strategies, grantees, lessons from the work, and external assessments of Beldon’s impact. Take a look—the information may lead you to consider spending down and, if not, it can be applied broadly to your ongoing work. Send any feedback to beldoninfo@yahoo.com.