Recent Representative Grants to Increase Philanthropic Impact (International/National/Local [Arizona])

Merger of Two National Cancer Organizations
The Wellness Community and Gilda’s Club Worldwide, both leaders in the field of psychological, emotional, and social support for cancer patients and their extended families and caregivers, decided to merge to become the largest independent network of cancer support providers in the US. The new organization, called the Cancer Support Community, oversees the blended network of more than 50 affiliate sites in major North American cities and many more off-site locations where services are provided. The S-L Fund provided a grant to facilitate the merger. ($100,000)
http://www.thewellnesscommunity.org

Merger of UN Support Organization
The history of the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA) began in the early 1940s by a predecessor organization, which was formed to garner support among Americans for the establishment of the UN. One of its early leaders was Eleanor Roosevelt and through the years, its leadership has included some of our most prominent and well-known citizens. Today, the UNA-USA is a leading center of policy research related to UN-related global issues. It boasts a membership of 20,000 individuals in 125 chapters throughout the US. Other operations of the UNA-USA include the Business Council of the UN and the Council of Organizations. The UN Foundation was created in 1998 by Ted Turner. The mission of the UN Foundation is to coordinate the work of the UN with others around the world to mobilize the energy and expertise of businesses and NGOs to help the UN resolve the major concerns the world faces. The S-L Fund was instrumental in facilitating a merger whereby the UNA-USA has become integrated as a division of the UNF. ($75,000)

Collaboration of NGOs Supporting Third-World Independent News Media Agencies
Although there are approximately 400 NGOs working to support independent print, broadcast and internet media in the developing world, there had never been a substantive opportunity to share information and resources, either informally or through a cooperative association. Lodestar provided an initial seed grant of $50,000 for an international planning session to convene a global forum of these NGOs to collaborate on projects, coordinate policies, share best practices and strengthen the sector overall. That planning session sparked the desire to cause systemic change in the sector, from endeavoring to eliminate wasteful competition and duplication, to developing meaningful collaboration. Following the success of the planning session, Lodestar provided the initial seed implementation grant of $100,000 (which led to approximately $1,500,000 more in grants from other foundations) for the first collaborative conference of independent media support NGOs from around the world, the first Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD). The conference, which was held in Amman, Jordan, brought together approximately 500 participants representing 180 media support organizations from 104 countries. Since then, GFMD has become a permanent ongoing collaborative organization, with a secretariat office in Brussels and five regional operations around the world and Lodestar has provided additional conference support. ($250,000)
http://gfmd.info

Coalition Among International Women-Serving Organizations
The Women, Faith, and Development Alliance is a unique partnership of internationally focused faith, development, and women’s organizations dedicated to increasing investments for women’s and girls’ empowerment around the world and for reducing global poverty. Co-convened by the InterAction Commission on the Advancement of Women, Religions for Peace, Women Thrive Worldwide, and the Center for Interfaith Action on Global Poverty, the WFDA seeks to formalize a structure and staff that would enable its constituent organizations to most effectively work together. Lodestar funded a consultant to help the WFDA develop and create a Memorandum of Understanding to guide how the four co-conveners would work together; to create a model for a formal structure, and to create a job description for a permanent WFDA staff Coordinator. ($8,050)
http://www.wfd-alliance.org/

Coordination of Disaster Relief Information
When disaster strikes, relief efforts have been hampered by the lack of accurate communications with those affected by the disaster. Thus, Communicating with Disaster Affected Communities (CDAC) - a collaboration including such organizations as the British and Irish Red Cross agencies, Care International, Save the Children, Internews and other organizational relief and media development organizations - was formed (coincidentally just before the Haiti earthquake) with the mission of improving emergency response after natural disasters by mobilizing, coordinating and connecting local media with international relief efforts in times of crisis. CDAC has played an instrumental role in the disasters in Haiti, Pakistan, and Chile. Lodestar provided seed money for the project. ($50,000)
www.crisescomm.ning.com

Coalition of Middle-Eastern Grassroots NGOs
Though news reports on the Middle East often highlight conflict and violence, the thousands of people and organizations working together for peace go largely unreported. The Alliance for Middle East Peace is a coalition of 75 "grassroots" NGOs, each comprised of Jews, Arabs and others working on joint reconciliation and civil society projects that benefit everyone in the region. ALLMEP's mission is to raise awareness and resources for its members' projects and the overall "grassroots" peace movement. Lodestar has provided technical assistance grants to develop a business plan and to support initial professional development. ($71,400 +)
http://www.allmep.org/

Merger between Dance Presenting Organization and Artist-Led Dance Company
Dance Theater Workshop is a New -York based center for the development and presentation of contemporary dance and performance. The Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Dance Company, also based in New York, is an artist-led dance company that long has sought a permanent home. A grant from the S-L Fund provided support for the merger of the two organizations, forming a combination producing and presenting entity to be called New York Live Arts upon completion of the merger. This New York Times article summarizes the benefits of the merger. ($93,000)

Merger between Two Museums
The sport of wrestling had two museums with national scope -- the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum and the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum. In early 2010, the boards of these two museums agreed to merge to better preserve the history and traditions of the sport for future generations. The Lodestar Foundation joined with members of the museums’ boards, an individual donor, and a local foundation to provide the final funding needed to facilitate the integration of operations. ($13,000)

Merger of Two Jewish Middle-East Peace Organizations
Lodestar provided the lead grant to facilitate a merger between Brit Tzedek v’Shalom (the Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace), a national grass-roots network of 60,000 U.S. supporters of Middle East peace, and J Street Education Fund, a nonprofit devoted to promoting a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The integration of Brit Tzedek into J Street provides J Street with a national network of locally-based chapters supporting a peaceful resolution of the Middle East conflict, increasing the opportunity for J Street to be more strategic and effective in helping to facilitate support for peace. ($70,000)
http://www.jstreet.org

Worldwide Sister-School Programs
One World Youth Project is a sister-school program for middle and high school students, linking groups in the US/Canada with groups from around the world together in learning partnerships for the purpose of community service towards achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goals. So far, it has connected 67 schools in 26 countries and 12 US states. The School 2 School Program, launched by Millennium Promise, in collaboration with the Earth Institute at Columbia University, has a similar mission, linking US school kids with those in African villages. One World Youth entered into a close collaboration with School 2 School and Georgetown University to develop a model for scaling its program through university hubs and expanding the program to elementary schools. Lodestar's grant supported the collaboration. ($23,200)
http://www.oneworldyouthproject.org
http://www.millenniumpromise.org/ow/ow_school2.php

Collaboration Among Organizations Offering Care and Services for Michigan Seniors
By integrating many distinctive services into a single centralized location, senior centers such as Tanglewood Park in Muskegon, MI, make it easier for seniors to access the specific services and programs they need. This unique multi-agency senior services and activity center houses four separate health and human services agencies. By exploring potential models for collaboration, Tanglewood Park sought to develop an organizational framework for long-term ownership and management that would enable the four agencies to share space and staff efficiently in order to implement a shared vision and ensure long-term sustainability of the center. Lodestar provided a grant that enabled Tanglewood Park to organize a formal exploration of models that would enable the multiple agencies to collaborate effectively in order to provide seniors continued access to “one-stop shopping” for care and services. ($15,300)
http://www.tanglewoodpark.info/

Merger of Two Parent Support Organizations in Vermont
Parent to Parent of Vermont (P2P) was a family support and advocacy organization with the mission to nurture and support families whose children have a chronic illness or disability, focusing on health information, medical education, and insurance support. Vermont Parent Information Center’s (VPIC) mission was to help ensure that parents of a child with a disability had a place to turn to when they needed information and support to advocate on behalf of their child’s education and quality of life. The two organizations merged to form the Vermont Family Network –- a one-stop shop for parents, families, children, and adults who have special needs to be effective advocates for their health, education, and well-being. The Lodestar Foundation provided a challenge grant to help fund the final integration expenses of the merger. ($7,000)
http://www.vermontfamilynetwork.org

Maine Museum Collaboration
Portland Harbor Museum and the larger Maine Maritime Museum decided to merge to allow Portland Harbor Museum’s significant collections and membership to be sustained and served by Maine Maritime Museum; it also enabled Maine Maritime Museum to expand its programming, membership base, and fundraising efforts to Portland, Maine’s largest city, and a city Maine Maritime Museum had never before been able to target and serve. The S-L Fund funded the one-time costs of planning and integration of the merger. By sharing collections, programming, and staff, the newly merged museum could reach larger audiences, diversify exhibitions, and strategically position the museum to be financially sustainable. ($30,000)

Merger of Two Oregon Freshwater Protection Nonprofits
Two respected Oregon nonprofits had long histories of implementing innovative stream conservation projects and policies throughout the state. Oregon Trout was a 25-year old organization working to restore stream habitat; Oregon Water Trust was a 15-year old nonprofit working to enhance stream flow. They jointly decided that strategic consolidation of their efforts could better advance both missions and unite the two groups in a common, large-scale effort. Lodestar provided a challenge grant to help implementation of the merger. ($10,000)
http://www.thefreshwatertrust.org

Merger of Two Youth-Serving Organizations in Chicago Area
In metropolitan areas, the efforts of different nonprofit organizations, or even different chapters of the same organization, may overlap. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago wished to merge and integrate with another regional chapter, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lake County. By merging, the two organizations could reduce redundant efforts, serve children and families more effectively, increase the size of the board, increase the number of communities served, and leverage the increased resources to expand the number of programs offered. The S-L Fund provided a grant to facilitate the merger; as a result, the merged organization has been able to match 200 more youth to adults, add five staff members and five board members, and increase revenue by an additional $450,000. ($30,000)
http://www.bbbs.org/site/c.jrLQK0PDLoF/b.3353039/k.F008/Home_Page.htm

Merger between Two Youth Activism Organizations
YouthNoise offers online and offline tools that equip youth to take action for a wide range of social issues. YouthNoise is comprised of 158,000 users from all 50 states and 176 countries, creating a virtual meeting place for the next generation of activists. Link Media operates the Link TV network, the nation's largest independent broadcaster. Link Media's mission is to engage, inform and motivate Americans to get involved in critical domestic and global issues through the presentation of in-depth information and perspectives not available elsewhere. The two organizations determined that Link Media's technology and news content could complement YouthNoise's emphasis on activism, and that they could accomplish more together by encouraging youth civic engagement and community service through the integration of television, web and mobile technologies. Lodestar provided financial support for the merger of YouthNoise into Link Media. ($50,000)
http://www.youthnoise.com

Collaboration of Nonprofits Serving the Homeless
Homeless individuals in the Phoenix metro area were required to travel in different directions using public transportation to receive the various services necessary to help them re-enter mainstream society. As a result, many either never sought the services or only received partial and insufficient care. Lodestar provided the lead private sector grant for the new Human Services Campus, which led to a $26,000,000 public/private collaboration to co-locate Maricopa County’s major homeless-serving agencies onto one campus. The heart of the campus is a jointly-administered assessment facility, the Lodestar Day Resource Center, where clients can coordinate access to a dozen agencies providing critical services such as health and dental care, employment, substance abuse treatment, food, shelter, clothes, and even court proceedings. The campus has exceeded all expectations, in terms of usage by the homeless, effectiveness in the delivery of services and cost-savings. The Campus has become a national model for other communities throughout the nation. ($3,500,000)
http://www.humanservicescampusaz.org/

Collaboration of Adoption and Foster Care Agencies
Although at least a dozen adoption and foster care agencies in the metropolitan Phoenix area handle abused, neglected, or abandoned children (often with special needs), there was no central place where adoptive and foster parents could find post-adoption support, information and services. This need was met by the creation of an agency-independent resource center and public/private collaboration dedicated to connecting adoptive, foster care, kinship and guardianship families to resources, support, education and each other. The Lodestar Family Connections Center is governed by a board comprised of representatives from many adoption and post-adoption agencies. The Center houses numerous private, government and educational resources for adoptive parents, saving them countless hours and providing critical information for their families. The Center, which is located in central Phoenix, has proven to be so successful that two satellite centers are planned for the east and west portions of the metropolitan area. ($1,000,000)
http://www.familyconnectionscenter.org

Collaboration Activities of Women’s Job Training Agency
Women Living Free, a newly-formed agency providing women leaving the Arizona prison system with tools and support to break the recidivism cycle, was having difficulty developing the infrastructure to survive as an independent agency. Arizona Women's Education and Employment, Inc. (AWEE), a well-established women's job-training organization that had been providing program support to Women Living Free, absorbed the Women Living Free program, with Lodestar underwriting the acquisition costs and the subsequent dissolution of Women Living Free. By integrating the successful Women Living Free program into the strong AWEE infrastructure, AWEE was able to secure more than $3,000,000 in grants for the program in less than four years. More recently, Lodestar made a grant to AWEE and another local women's support nonprofit to explore a merger between the two organizations, for which discussions are ongoing. ($17,000)
http://www.awee.org

Domestic Violence Organizations Merger
Brewster Center Domestic Violence Services and Tucson Centers for Women and Children were two of the largest organizations in Tucson serving abused women and children. The organizations had similar missions and provided some of the same services, but neither organization had the full program of services their clients needed, so clients of one organization often had to utilize the other organization's services as well. In 2008, the organizations merged and became Emerge! Center Against Domestic Violence. Now victims of domestic violence in Tucson will only have to travel to one location and fill out one set of paperwork, thus eliminating duplication of services and wasteful spending, and increasing direct services to program participants. Lodestar provided funds to support the integration of the newly formed organization. ($10,000)
http://www.tucsoncenters.com

Acquisitions by Child-Serving Agency
Arizona's Children Association (ACA) is the largest and oldest statewide child welfare and behavioral health organization, operating in all 15 counties in Arizona. Realizing that child wellbeing is integrally related to family issues, ACA has made a number of strategic acquisitions of agencies offering services that advance the mission of ACA. Lodestar supported ACA's acquisitions of: Golden Gate, a long-standing community center in west Phoenix with a full complement of services to families; New Directions Institute, an agency providing parents and caregivers with training and tools to help every infant, toddler and pre-schooler in Arizona develop a healthy brain and enter school ready to learn; the Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault, which offers a number of intervention, advocacy, information & referral services; and In My Shoes, with the mission of ensuring that young people experiencing out-of-home care will be supported through their transitional years to develop the competencies to realize their potential as adults. ($117.000)
www.arizonaschildren.org

Grants to Build Philanthropic Impact Tools:

Alliance in Developing World for Sustainable Trade
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the developing world producing agricultural, textile and handicraft goods in an environmentally and economically sustainable manner have had difficulty attaining the financing necessary to bring their products to market despite a growing global demand. The Finance Alliance for Sustainable Trade (FAST) was formed by a group of sustainable trade lenders to improve the delivery of finance and financial management tools to these SMEs. Through the development of joint projects, advocacy, interorganizational cooperation, and increased transparency, FAST works around the world to broaden producer access to credit and related financial risk management tools. FAST members include financial institutions committed to sustainable production as well as producers. Because the input from producer members is so important to the success of the alliance, FAST decided to waive membership fees for the smallest SMEs in the first year. Lodestar provided general operating funds to support membership development of the alliance in its first year. ($75,000)
http://www.fastinternational.org

Multi-Tenant Nonprofit Center Impact Assessment Study
The NonprofitCenters Network (NCN), a multi-tenant shared space and shared services education and consulting program housed at the Tides Network, has been receiving more requests from groups seeking cost-effective shared space and support services as a means to leverage their capital. To enhance the effectiveness of their work, NCN sought a way to obtain more reliable assessment, evaluation and impact data. Lodestar joined with the Kresge Foundation to underwrite the first Impact Assessment Study of multi-tenant nonprofit centers in North America. The study is scheduled to be completed in mid-2011. ($70,000)

Collaboration Database Project
Nonprofit organizations can increase their reach and strategic impact through collaboration, but it can be difficult for nonprofits to research and explore collaborative projects. By creating an online portal with resources about nonprofit collaboration and a database of successful collaborative projects, the Foundation Center has simplified this exploratory phase. Lodestar funded the development and implementation of an online portal that gathers case studies, podcasts, videos, and resources on collaborations, mergers, and joint programming, as well as a fully-searchable database that provides information on more than 250 collaborations. Noting the difficulties that under-funded nonprofits face in today’s economic climate, the Foundation Center has marshaled diverse resources to make information more accessible and house it in a central location, on a website that logs more than 50,000 hits per day. ($77,000)
http://collaboration.foundationcenter.org/search/searchGenerator.php housed within http://foundationcenter.org/gainknowledge/collaboration/

Click here to view additional representative philanthropic impact grants.

(A number of our grants help nonprofits explore the possibility of collaboration without a predetermined decision that a collaboration will result. Even when grantees decided not to pursue collaboration, we consider most of these grants successful because the participating nonprofits usually gained insight into their strengths and weaknesses, revisited their mission and strategy, and emerged from the collaboration exploration experience with greater confidence in their future direction. In addition to the grants listed here, we provide ongoing support for collaboration promotion and education and for other capacity-building activities related to collaboration. For example, we regularly sponsor workshops and convenings on the topic of collaboration and speak at conferences and other programs upon request.)