Please know that this was a very hard but carefully considered decision by the Funding Exchange Board of Directors. We have so much respect and admiration for FEX’s many capable leaders—including board members, staff, grants panel members, donors and grantees—and the meaningful impact we’ve made together for over three decades. We look forward to engaging all of FEX’s stakeholders in celebrating and learning from this remarkable legacy.

The Board of Directors will now prepare a plan for dissolution, which must be approved by the Office of the Attorney General of the State of New York. The legal process of dissolving a nonprofit in New York is complicated and we are told to expect that the process may last as long as nine months. We will keep you and all Funding Exchange stakeholders informed as we reach various benchmarks along this path.

Next steps at the Funding Exchange will include:

• FEX administrative efforts will continue to wind down. A professional interim staff has been hired to ensure an orderly closure.
• All outstanding obligations will be met, both grant commitments and the disposition of Donor Advised Funds. If you are a Donor Advised Fund holder at FEX and have not yet made arrangements for the disposition of your funds in June, we encourage you to contact Interim Executive Director Richard Burns at richard.burns@fex.org or (212) 529-5300.
• The Board has retained the services of Rudder Properties Group, a commercial brokerage that specializes in the sale of office condominiums in Manhattan, to market and sell the FEX office. Interested parties may contact Michael Rudder at mrudder@rudderpg.com or 646-415-6168.
• Any remaining assets will be distributed based on the original charter and founding intent of FEX’s founders, and consistent with FEX’s mission and purpose.
• The important history of the organization will be chronicled, both to preserve the FEX legacy and to inform the work of others committed to social justice philanthropy moving forward.

At the FEX Board meeting retreat during the first weekend of March, there was deep reflection throughout, and many moments of sadness and poignant silence. The process was respectful, collaborative, inclusive and thoughtful. The group benefited from the wisdom, commitment and participation of long-time supporters, founding members, as well as representatives and executive directors from FEX member funds.

Most importantly, the vibrant network of member funds around the country, now numbering 16 from the original six who founded the Funding Exchange, ended on a note of renewed commitment to and enthusiasm for grassroots-led social justice philanthropy. Ultimately, the Board made the decision to dissolve the organization based on careful scrutiny of the organization’s finances and the assessment that the sustainability of the national office was no longer viable.

After a months-long process of strategic deliberation, there was “vehement agreement” on the decision to dissolve FEX, and also on the desire to advance the work of the 16 member funds, each one of which offers forward-looking philanthropists an extraordinary opportunity to support work towards justice and social change.

You will hear from us again, but for now let us state once more how proud we are of the work accomplished by so many through the Funding Exchange. Across its 30 years as a philanthropic network, countless productive relationships have been born, and movements for social justice have been strengthened at the local, regional and national level. This work will continue, of course, both through the efforts of the regional foundations that have comprised the FEX network and through the broader field of social justice philanthropy which FEX stakeholders have profoundly shaped.

In the interest of our shared history and commitment to social justice, the FEX Board is exploring ideas to preserve FEX’s legacy and learnings, and most importantly, ways to continue to preserve and build the work for the future. We are considering several formats to do this – convenings, archiving, and historical documentation and analysis – and are reviewing the viability of each with regard to remaining resources and capacity. Please let us know your interest in participating in any of the projects if they should move forward by completing a brief online survey here.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact our Interim Executive Director, Richard Burns, at (12) 529-5300.

Sincerely, for the Funding Exchange Board of Directors,

Casey Cook
FEX Board Chair

Public Foundations

Public foundations exist to promote causes which they deem to be in the public interest. Public foundations receive funds from the general public to support these causes, which may be religious, charitable, educational, etc. They may receive private donations from an individual or from a firm, but those donations cannot exceed fifty percent of their capital. Public foundations use their resources to perform the services they support directly. Legally, an organization can only be classified as a public foundation if it meets the criteria specified under IRS section 509(a) and annually files form 990.

Donor Advised Funds

Donor advised funds, on the other hand, are accounts managed by a charity for the purpose of taking donations. They are an alternative to direct giving with a number of unique benefits. For instance, a donor advised fund can be created quickly and individuals can start donating to it immediately. These accounts can accept gifts of both cash (of which 50 percent of the adjusted gross income is tax deductible) and stock (of which 30 percent of the adjusted gross income is tax deductible). In short, these accounts allow an individual or group greater control over the money they give to an organization, while still providing a relatively flexible, fluid means of donating to a charitable cause.

FEX has operated donor advised funds since its creation in 1979. Since then, over 10,000 different grassroots organizations have benefited from these funds – a perfect example of the good they are designed to accomplish.

Progressive philanthropists attempt to eliminate economic inequalities by assisting people who lack wealth and power in improving their lives. For example, funding the development of small, local businesses provides widespread, long-term benefits to their communities through increased employment and related opportunities.

Progressive philanthropy as such has existed for half a century, although unofficially of course it has existed for much longer. The turbulent decades in the mid-1900s stimulated philanthropic foundations to consider funding new social and political groups advocating equality and justice.

Today, progressive philanthropy is practiced by both individuals and organizations who wish to create change at the source of a problem rather than merely to inject money to alleviate its symptoms. For example, FEX’s Fund for Santa Barbara works to support improved education and community organization opportunities in Santa Barbara County. This progressive philanthropic enterprise will help improve the situation of thousands of people in the area, helping them in the long run lead more successful and rewarding lives.

As you can see, progressive philanthropy can make a tremendous difference in many day-to-day lives. It strives not only to help people, but to give people the means to help themselves.

The development and wild popularity of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter is primarily responsible for the power of today’s grassroots social justice movements. Of course, these sites greatly facilitate communication among an organization of individuals passionate about a particular cause. In addition, news about a particular issue or need can spread via social media far more quickly than it ever could through traditional media outlets. Social media also allows people to decide for themselves what they consider important, rather than relying on the staff at major news channels and publications to decide for them.

The impact of this capability can potentially be tremendous. For example, if a disastrous political decision impacts a small marginalized group, their voice may not be heard by traditional means. Once the story is brought to the global community via social media, however, humanity then has the opportunity to do something about the recent change by speaking up for the people that are being affected. This leads to activism on behalf of those who would have otherwise been left to deal with the problem on their own.

Not only does today’s emphasis on grassroots social justice give a voice to the voiceless, it also provides a call to action to those who are capable of creating necessary change. Grassroots social justice is about much more than simply creating widespread awareness of injustice, although that is an important step; its true goal is the elimination of that injustice. Fortunately, as the citizens of this planet become ever more closely connected, this trend will only continue. Instead of facilitating only marketing and casual conversation, the internet has paved the way for a new sense of social responsibility that propels grassroots social justice endeavors like never before.

When FEX began in 1979, the technology was not available. Our early activists relied on community organizing and a shared passion for creating change. As we think about the positive influence of technology in the social justice movement, we are comforted in knowing that financial demographic or social economic status will no longer determine where and how change happens.

Quite a few of you have been sending us questions about what the future holds as we take steps to wind down program operations at FEX. For that reason, we wanted to share a few updates about the activities underway.

We have created a FAQ page to provide answers to the most common questions we’ve received in the last few weeks. Simply click the link below to learn more practical details about the everyday goings-on here at FEX, both now and in the near future. Click here to visit the FAQ page.

In addition, we are actively working with donors to help maximize the Donor Advised Fund grants we currently manage. If you are a Donor Advised Fund holder at FEX and wish to move your account, you will be able to do so after June 30, 2013. We will work with you to make the transition as smooth as possible. If you need any help with your Donor Advised Fund, we encourage you to contact Richard Burns, FEX’s Interim Executive Director at richard.burns@fex.org or (212) 529-5300.

In 1986, the Funding Exchange purchased its office at 666 Broadway in New York. In addition to serving as a wonderful home base for FEX it has been a home for as many as nine social justice organizations as tenants. When the board of directors of FEX made the hard decision to wind down our operations, we also decided to sell our office condominium.

After much research we are pleased to have retained Rudder Properties Group to market the office. RPG is a commercial brokerage that specializes in the sale of office condominiums in Manhattan. We’re lucky to be working with them and we hope you’ll help us spread the word! Interested parties can contact Michael Rudder at mrudder@rudderpg.com or 646-415-6168.

The Board of Directors continues to work through the many tasks that will need to be completed over the course of 2013. We plan to continue to keep you in the loop every step of the way, so please look for additional updates from us. Again, if you have any questions or concerns in the meantime, feel free to contact Richard Burns at richard.burns@fex.org or (212) 529-5300.

Thank you again for your continued support. We really do appreciate you!

Yours,

Casey Cook

Chair of the Funding Exchange Board of Directors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FUNDING EXCHANGE TO CEASE PROGRAMMATIC OPERATIONS

Member Organizations of 30‐Year National Network to Continue Supporting Social Justice

The Board of Directors of The Funding Exchange, a national philanthropic network based in New York, announced earlier today that the organization would cease all programming and operations, effective immediately.

The sixteen member funds of the network will continue their philanthropic and programmatic work in regions spanning the continental United States and Hawaii.

At the time of its founding in 1979, the Funding Exchange brought together six local foundations to work at the forefront of a generational shift advancing progressive values within the tradition‐bound field of philanthropy. Since that time, FEX has provided more than $66M in grants to approximately 10,500 grassroots organizations across the country. Across three decades, FEX and its expanding network of member funds provided lead funding for organizations in virtually every contemporary movement for progressive social change.

In recent years the national office, based in New York, has faced continuing shortfalls in support for its core operations.

“While it has continued to manage millions of dollars in philanthropic assets, the Funding Exchange is, at the end of the day, a small non‐profit organization,” said Casey Cook, President of the organization’s Board of Directors. “And the recession has affected the Funding Exchange in the same way it has affected so many non‐profits. After careful and extensive deliberation, the Board of Directors acted unanimously to cease all programming and operations at the national office in New York.”

This past week Cook sent a letter on behalf of the Board of Directors to all Funding Exchange donors and stakeholders, assuring them of the Board’s commitment to managing the organization’s assets “in full compliance with the laws of the State of New York governing non‐profit organizations.”

In the letter, Cook also wrote: “While FEX will cease operations at the national level, our philanthropic work will live on through the ongoing efforts of the 16 local funds which have comprised the Funding Exchange network.”

For information about the FEX legacy and member funds, please visit www.fex.org.

About Funding Exchange
The Funding Exchange is a network of 16 public foundations and a national office that together grant nearly $15 million annually to grassroots organizations working for social, racial, economic and environmental justice around the country.

It is interesting to me that September 11 of this year falls in the week prior to the holiday of my ancestors, Rosh Hashanah.  For many, Rosh Hashanah begins a period of reflection and atonement for actions of the past year, continuing through the Ten Days of Awe, which conclude with Yom Kippur. Even in the joy and excitement of the beginning of a year, Rosh Hashanah stops us in our tracks and asks us to consider, as we start afresh, our shortcomings and misdeeds. Standing before our maker, community, and ourselves on the cusp of this new year, we ask: When did we miss the mark? When did we do less than we could have?

With the anniversary of that tragic day eleven years ago falling so close to Rosh Hashanah, I’ve noticed that that many of my friends on Facebook – of all different faiths and beliefs – are today asking those same questions.  What have we done to make the world a better place than it was those years ago?  How have I made a difference? Am I a better friend? Neighbor? Partner?  Have I done something to honor the legacy and sacrifice of those who have come and gone before me?

Being reflective and introspective is important.  Indeed, as the writer Yvonne Woon  said, “Sometimes, you have to look back in order to understand the things that lie ahead.”  But then, if we are to be able to answer the questions we pose differently next year, we must move to action.  We must, with intention, decide how we will leave the world a different place and how we’ll honor those who gave – so that when we ask, did we do less than we could have, we might say –  you know, this year, I did better.

Eleven years ago, our world – our lives – were broken in a way many of us hadn’t experienced before.  And since then, we have experienced a good deal of chaos and discord, selfish and outrageous actions, hostile political discourse and threats to our rights. Breaks perhaps as big as the one we suffered on 9/11. So, perhaps our job – everyone’s job – is to try to put the pieces back together. To make things whole again and heal the world. To practice tikkun olam. Fixing the world doesn’t necessarily mean finding the pieces and putting them back together. Maybe we’re the pieces. Maybe, what we’re supposed to do is come together and create change.  That will be my intention this year.

So to you, my friends, I say, may we seek well and be blessed to know a world changed, reaching toward perfection. And to those who observe this holy day, Shana Tova Umetukah — may we all have a good and sweet year.

Peace,

Barbara Heisler, Executive Director

I’m not always sure that we’ve come a long way, but I hope that we’ve come far enough that the long-term strategy of race-baiting to win elections won’t work as easily as it used to. As the Republican National Convention opens this week in Florida, we’re coming off a week where the soon-to-be nominated candidate “joked” to a crowd that “no one’s ever asked to see my birth certificate” — a statement met with cheers from the (white) crowd. And even as I write this, ads are running that decry a false change to welfare aimed at convincing white voters that the Federal government is taking “their” money to pay off welfare recipients.

This issue was already on my mind because we’ve just announced Streaming for Change, the first-ever Funding Exchange virtual film festival. We’ve got a great lineup of films, including the masterful Boogie Man: the Lee Atwater story. You may not have heard the name Lee Atwater in a while, but you’ve heard of his work: he’s the mastermind behind the racist “Willie Horton” ad campaign of 1988, a mentor to Karl Rove and a man willing to manipulate racism for gain who rose to become the head of the Republic National Committee.

In an election season where one strategy will be to play the race card – a play directly out of the Lee Atwater playbook — I’m glad that we’re able to bring the film Boogie Man: the Lee Atwater Story to our supporters, along with five other insightful and provocative documentaries. This film is one of three in the festival produced with the support of the Paul Robeson Fund for Independent Media, and all the films cover complex topics with thoughtfulness and professionalism.

We have a long history of helping folks shine a light on tough issues. I hope that when you want to learn the real story about Lee Atwater and what a modern “negative” campaign looks like, you grab the chance to see this film in early October.

In the meantime, don’t spend so much time watching the convention that you miss out on the waning summer sun!

October 4-7, 2012

Watching award-winning documentaries has never been this easy!

Make a donation to Funding Exchange and watch as many of these films as you want, as many times as you’d like during the festival! The films are:

A Weigh With Words

Straight No Chaser Productions, 60 minutes

Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story*

Stefan Forbes and Noland Walker, 86 minutes

The Invisible War*

Kirby Dick, 93 minutes

On Coal River*

Francine Cavanaugh and Adams Wood, 81 minutes

Under Arpaio**

Pan Left Productions, 72 minutes

United in Anger: A History of ACT UP

Jim Hubbard and Sarah Shulman, 93 minutes 

* This film produced with the support of the Paul Robeson Fund for Independent Media.

** This production team has been supported by the Paul Robeson Fund for a different film project

If you don’t have access to the Internet at home, then go to a friend’s house and have a viewing party! Or you can give us a call at the Funding Exchange office and we’ll help you get access to the films.

A film festival you can participate in from your own couch in just a few steps:

1. Make a donation to Funding Exchange at a level that is meaningful to you. Thanks!
2. The day before the festival begins, you’ll receive your password email to access the film.
3. Stream documentaries to your heart’s content for up to five days.

Films will be available from Thursday, October 4th to Sunday October 7th. Visit Streaming for Change to see how to have your own home-grown film festival!

If you need to view the films with captions, please contact Becky at brafter@fex.org.

You’ve expressed interest in forming specific donor collectives, and so we’re organizing! This summer we’ve launched four circles where you can connect with other donors who share your passion for a specific funding area. Donors who make gifts of all sizes are welcome to be part of this.

Donors of Color circle: for donors of color who wish to support organizations with explicit racial justice goals, and other needs as defined by the group

Housing Justice: for donors who want to support work focused on the root cause of the housing crisis and to seek nontraditional, community-based solutions for understanding and addressing the problem

New Jersey: for New Jersey donors who want to provide a stable source of funding for social justice work across issues across the Garden State

Citizens United Giving Circle: for donors interested in getting big money out of politics

Everyone can be involved, no matter how much you can give, because all the contributions get pooled together. Some groups may choose to raise money from their peers outside of the “membership.” Together, members of the groups learn, share, strategize, and makes funding decisions.

Why is Funding Exchange organizing these circles?

Funding Exchange has been organizing donors around critical issues since the early 1980’s, (for example, we organized donors to galvanize support and activate donors to address the atrocities in Central America). A key element of Funding Exchange’s work has always been inclusivity as a way to democratize philanthropy. Building grantmaking communities across lines of class and race, as well as generations, is a hallmark of our work, demonstrating that anyone can be an “activist” and anyone can be a “donor”. Wealthy people and poor people, folk inside the struggle and folk new to the work, came together to share knowledge, learn from each other, and make grants to critical, strategic, impactful, yet underfunded efforts.

In the recent past, we helped organize and provided support for the Criminal Justice Initiative, a very successful donor circle that brought together community organizers and activist donors to fund grassroots activism aimed at transforming the criminal justice system. Today, Funding Exchange is organizing donors around specific issues/ideas, geographic areas, identities/experiences, and more in response to our stakeholders and to the movements we are helping to build. Group exploration can range from mapping the issues, to identifying class and race dynamics within the group, to providing space for personal healing and sharing.

These donor circles have emerged organically based on need, interest, and energy. And already many stakeholders have expressed interested in these groups – so we anticipate launching the groups with their first meetings in September and October. Again, if you are interested in joining any of these initiatives, please call Becky Rafter at (212) 529 – 5300 x315 or email brafter@fex.org.

We look forward to connecting you to other engaged stakeholders!