Enter your email address below to receive current MMT news and weblog posts delivered to your inbox.
We're nearing that time of year specially designed for reflecting on what just happened and making resolutions for the year to come.
We'd like to hear your thoughts. More specifically, what is the best thing that happened in your organization in 2006? And what resolution would you like to share that your organization has for 2007?
Let's get a lively conversation going and see what happens...
Permalink | Comments (5)A few days ago we announced that we had engaged FSG (Foundation Strategies Group) Social Impact Advisors to support MMT in a strategic planning process designed to significantly enhance our ability to achieve greater social impact for Oregon and southwest Washington.
We are thrilled that a number of you indicated you are interested in contributing to that discussion. So we have created a way for you to do just that.
Please join the conversation below to help us identify how MMT can best create value igoing forward. Here are some questions to stimulate your thinking:
--In what ways have foundations in Oregon contributed to meaningful and lasting social change? What could they do better?
--What does Meyer Memorial Trust do uniquely well? What are the most important roles the Trust currently plays in the region?
--What does Meyer Memorial Trust need to do to better support its mission of investing in people, ideas, and efforts that deliver significant social benefit to the region?
--What do you want MMT to know and consider about its role as it develops strategies for achieving greater social impact?
Please submit your thinking here so this is a conversation among all of us. (Remember that you don't need to include your full name to participate in our blog, you can be anonymous, we don't want you to tell us only what you think we might want to hear!)
We look forward to hearing your contributions!
Permalink | Comments (27)Something has been weighing heavily on our minds for some time now, and we'd like to know what you think. It's about the expectations of foundations regarding sustaining program funding after foundation grants have been spent.
In the old days (not so long ago, no so far away), we often saw our role as helping fund projects or programs during an early stage of development while their effectiveness was being demonstrated, with the expectation that if successful, governments would step forward to provide ongoing operating funds. That actually happened with a number of projects MMT funded: e.g., proctor homes, elder care, etc.
Now we are witnessing a significant disinvestment by government. So much so that we have been observing former government support of proven programs eroding, and little or no adoption of new programs by governments. (Here's one recent publication.)
We have heard so much over the years about the damage that is done to individuals and families when programs that supported them are cut or abolished, it has led us to fear that a taste of honey may be worse than none at all. Sometimes it appears to us that counting on ongoing government support is now less reliable than foundation funding, and we know how unreliable that is over the long term.
Is there anything to be done about this disinvestment? Is it truly what the public wants and intends? If not, how will we know? If so, we're feeling like we need a new paradigm. What should the role of foundations be now? Our resources can't even begin to make up for the unfunding we are witnessing. What are programs that formerly counted on government funding, especially social programs, to do now? How can we still require them to show us how they can sustain a program after our funds are gone? Is there a new way of thinking we should be exploring? Are hybrid nonprofit/for profit organizations the way of the future?
We don't have the answers to these questions, and we know we can't find them alone. We need your help and guidance. How do you view these trends? What ways do you see for foundations to be helpful in this era? What can nonprofits do? What do you want us – and one another – to know about this issue?
Permalink | Comments (25)We wanted to bring you up to date about the discussion that has been taking place on our blog about the effect of rising fuel prices on nonprofit organizations, and let you know where things stand. (We posed a question last month on our blog.)
We've had many very interesting posts from an array of organizations, and we have learned a lot. The specific examples included in the discussion continue to be enlightening and inspiring. The dedication of those working on behalf of the good of our communities never ceases to amaze and awe us. We are humbled by how hard you work and how much you accomplish. We thank you for your good deeds.
Your thoughtful responses have made us realize we want this discussion to lead to action. We don't view your participation in our discussion as idle intellectual chatter. When we ask you for input and you give it so generously and judiciously, it moves us to respond.
First, we thought it was our duty to use our voice to raise awareness about this issue among the public, so we sent a letter to the editor to every newspaper in our coverage area. We know it was printed in the Oregonian on Sunday, May 7th. But we'd like to know if it appeared in other papers. Can you let us know by responding below if you've seen it in any newspaper(s) in your area? And if so, we'd like to know if there's been any local follow-up discussion or actions.
We are having discussions in the office about other actions we can take, and we will keep you posted. In the meantime, we invite you to continue the dialogue here...
We're wondering how rising fuel prices are affecting the nonprofits we serve? There is a lot of media coverage about the effect on consumers and businesses, but little public discussion about how the recent rapidly rising prices are affecting nonprofit organizations. We're hoping you will take a moment to share with us specific examples of effects on your organization and its work. Has your organization made any changes as a result? We're especially interested in knowing the effect in rural areas where public transportation may not even be available, but we want to hear from those of you in cities as well.
Thanks so much for taking the time to inform us. We're so glad we have a way to interact directly and quickly with you when issues like this come up.
Marie
MMT's website and online grant application programs are designed for Mozilla's Firefox browser. We make every effort to make it all work with other browsers, but our choice of Firefox is deliberate.
Firefox is an Open Source browser and it is the most standards compliant browser there is, its code is free and open for all to see and use, which is something we value at MMT. It's cross-platform and supports Linux, Mac OS X, Windows, and other platforms. A more complete discussion of Mozilla's philosophy and approach is available here.
While you are free to use any browser to access our website and online applications, you will get the maximum results using Firefox. If you don't already have Firefox, you can download it here.
Knowledge in the Public Interest has a fuller explanation of what distinguishes Firefox.
Permalink | Comments (0)When we designed our new website, a very high priority was to make it accessible to blind and visually impaired visitors. Most visitors don't realize it, but the first code that flashes on the screen is a "text only" option, so someone who is using alternative technology to "read" the screen can immediately select that feature and access all our information in text format.
Unfortunately, we did not think to test our website for colorblind visitors before we launched it. We recently heard from users who had problems identifying links on our site because we had inadvertently used just the colors that are most commonly difficult to distinguish among for colorblind visitors. Our bad.
As a result, we added the underline feature to make it easier to see hyperlinks. We apologize for overlooking this issue, but we're most grateful visitors let us know so we could take corrective action. So please consider this an open invitation to let us know if and when you encounter problems using our website.
Color us accessible!
Permalink | Comments (3)Meyer Memorial Trust's new Initial Inquiry application for its Responsive Grants and Program Related Investment (PRI) programs is now open! We are excited to begin this new process.
The application includes a number of steps, with all information collected in an online application.
1. Applicants determine if they meet MMT's eligibility criteria.
2. Applicants supply their email address and EIN (Employer Identification Number) and select a password. This information is confirmed by MMT via email, and the organization is assigned a username. (Save this username and password!)
3. Applicants use the username to register their organization, which involves providing (or confirming/editing) information about the organization, its tax exempt status, finances, etc. An important difference from our prior application process is that now we store the data applicants supply in our database, and applicants won't have to re-enter it when applying again.
4. After the organization is fully registered, an Initial Inquiry can filled out and submitted.
The Initial Inquiry application is accessed through a link at the bottom of the Responsive Grants Application Guidelines.
Steps 1-3 above will also be used by MMT's Grassroots Grants program, which will open for proposals on February 15, 2006.
Several individuals from a number of organizations have helped us test this application process, but we welcome your feedback as it goes live. If you have difficulty with any portion of it, or find that it works well, we welcome your posted comments below.
Permalink | Comments (0)