U.S. Senators Charles Schumer, a Democrat from New York, and Richard Burr, a Republican from North Carolina, have created a Senate Philanthropy Caucus to find ways to aid foundations and charities.
Late in July, these two men sent a letter to Congress members asking them to join the caucus to “support the long tradition of good works by the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors.” The letter goes on to applaud philanthropy for bettering American society through education, clean water, public health, public libraries, and by allowing towns to research and experiment with new ideas. The letter said, “The work done by private foundations, nonprofit groups, and individual philanthropists plays essential roles in each of our states and it is increasingly important for Members of Congress to be informed about developments in the philanthropic sector.”
The Council on Foundations has encouraged the House and the Senate to set up caucuses to discuss matters that affect nonprofit organizations.
Over a year ago, the House organized the Congressional Philanthropy Caucus with Robin Hayes, a Republican from North Carolina, and Stephanie Tubbs Jones, a Democrat from Ohio, as the chairpeople.
This caucus, which currently has 44 members, held one official meeting the in the spring when an official from the Council on Foundations held a session explaining how foundations work.
Hayes and Tubb Jones also sent letters asking House members to be involved in “District Days,” a project that encourages foundations to meet with members of Congress while they are in their home states during August break. More than 100 meetings have been scheduled thus far.
The Council hopes to arrange another briefing on foundations for both philanthropy caucuses sometime this fall.
Information taken from: Suzanne Perry. “U.S. Senate Creates Philanthropy Caucus.” The Chronicle of Philanthropy. http://philanthropy.com.
-- Ashley High is a Research Assistant at Christian Foundation Grants (www.christianfoundationgrants.com) which is a subscription database of foundations that provide grants to faith based organizations. iDonate.com is a website (www.iDonate.com) that allows ministries to receive non cash gifts online.