Early in the year, IS undertook a strategic review of our work, which examined both IS's operations and the needs of the sector in general. The consistent message was that the nonprofit community needs a stronger voice on the pressing issues of the day, and that IS should assume that responsibility. In addition, respondents encouraged us to ensure that our membership criteria allow for the inclusion of a wider range of leaders so that the organization reflects the growing diversity of the sector and society.
Seffrin, CEO of the American Cancer Society, who in 2004 completed three years as chairman of the Board of Directors. Seffrin led IS during its search for a new president, development of its current strategic business plan, and in his role as convener of the Nonprofit Sector Panel. INDEPENDENT SECTOR Finberg remembers Barbara D. Finberg, IS board chair from 1996 to 1998, who died March 5 after a battle with breast cancer.
With influence growing at the regional, state and community levels, and sometimes the primary locus of influence for certain communities, the board concluded that local and regional groups should be allowed to become part of the IS network. Every bad news story about self-dealing or excessive compensation damages the ability of the industry's other organizations to achieve their missions and serve their constituents. The Senate Finance Committee, which spent much of 2004 considering — and will continue to consider in 2005 — potentially broad regulatory reforms for the nonprofit and philanthropic community.
In October 2004, at the encouragement of Senate Finance Committee leadership, IS announced that it would convene the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector to make specific recommendations to Congress on how to improve the oversight and governance of charitable organizations will be improved.
Encouraging Civic Engagement in Important Issues of the Day IS consistently encourages its members of all sizes and perspectives to take
Encouraging civic engagement in important issues of the day IS consistently encourages its members of all sizes and perspectives to take. INDEPENDENT SECTOR's annual conference is the largest gathering of senior-level nonprofit professionals in the country. It's a time of year when the nation's nonprofit leaders have an opportunity to come together to share their thoughts and experiences and discuss the important issues facing the sector.
The 2004 Annual Conference, held in Chicago in November, focused on the theme of Participation Counts and was a great success based on feedback received from conference attendees. Analysis of the 2004 election with author Arianna Huffington, commentator Juan Williams and pollsters Ed Goeas and Mark Mellman;. A Conversation with Susan Berresford, President of the Ford Foundation, an Interview with Lew Feldstein, President of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation;.
A discussion on the role of the independent sector in social change with Stephen Heintz, president of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund; Wade Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights; and the Honorable Timothy Wirth, President of the United Nations Foundation. A speech by SEC Chairman William Donaldson on “The New Imperative for Good Governance” at the 2004 CEO Summit.
2004 Annual Conference, Chicago
Making Participation Count
Gardner Leadership Award to Raul Yzaguirre, retired president and CEO of the National Council of La Raza, for his lifelong efforts to reduce poverty and discrimination and improve the life chances of Hispanic Americans. Yzaguirre began his civil rights career at the age of 15 when he joined the American G.I. Forum Juniors, an auxiliary organization of the American G.I. As head of the largest constituency-based national Hispanic organization and a leading “think tank” in Washington, D.C., he has carried out a lifelong mission to improve opportunities for Hispanic Americans.
The Western Law Center for Disability Rights, located at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, promotes the rights of people with disabilities and public interest and awareness of those rights through the provision of legal and related services. The Orange County Human Relations Council in Santa Ana, California, works to improve intergroup relations, organizes community building initiatives through collaboration with various organizations and residents, and provides a broad spectrum of dispute resolution and prevention services. . The Leadership IS Award, established in 1999 and funded by Chevron Corporation, recognizes nonprofit organizations that have demonstrated a commitment to leadership development and the value of investing in their people by fostering an inclusive and diverse environment within their workforce, board , volunteers and programs.
The Hodgkinson Research Prize was awarded to Dr. Marc Morje Howard, assistant professor of government at Georgetown University, for his book, The Weakness of Civil Society in Post-Communist Europe. His study provides a compelling analysis of the fragility of civil society in Central and Eastern Europe. Marion Fremont-Smith, a senior research fellow at the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard University, received second place for Governing Nonprofit Organizations: Federal and State Law and Regulation.
The Hodgkinson Prize recognizes outstanding published research that advances understanding of philanthropy, nonprofit organizations, volunteerism, and civil society.
Celebrating Our 25th Anniversary
In 1980, Senators Moynihan, Byrd, and Packwood hear testimony in favor of the nonitemizer deduction for charitable contributions. INDEPENDENT SECTOR established at a charter meeting on March 5 in Washington, D.C. John Gardner was named the first president; Brian O'Connell, first president. The name of the new organization was chosen to celebrate what the organizers saw as the most important quality of the sector.
The Supreme Court's decision in Village of Schaumburg v. Citizens for a Better Environment et al. issued that protects the rights of nonprofit organizations to free speech and solicitation; CONVO had led this effort. IS produces the film To Care: America's Voluntary Spirit, which documents the work and contributions of the large, diverse philanthropic, voluntary sector. Brian O'Connell's book, America's Voluntary Spirit, published - the first of many books written during his IS presidency.
These meetings help build a strong research effort in the nonprofit sector and help influence the creation of some of today's academic centers for the study of philanthropy and nonprofit organizations. IS launches Lend a Hand, a nationwide advertising campaign, through the Advertising Council and in collaboration with the White House Office of Private Sector Initiatives, celebrating the strong and widespread tradition of giving and volunteerism. Senator Elizabeth Dole, then president and CEO of the American Red Cross, speaks in 1992.
Now the evidence is clear that by working together, the sector's organizations can have a huge impact on the health of the sector and ours. IS is launching Give Five with the Advertising Council, which calls for personal goals: giving five percent of income and volunteering five hours a week. IS releases its first major national survey on donations and volunteerism, conducted by the Gallup Organization.
IS holds a convening meeting for the National Council of Nonprofit Associations, a national umbrella group for governmental associations. IS holds its first seminar on the nonprofit sector for journalists at Louisiana State University. The program, The Fourth Estate and the Third Sector, continues today at the University of Mississippi.
In its first quarter century, I NDEPENDENT S ECTOR has been lead by nine outstanding volunteer board chairs
S. Senate Finance Committee leadership
Gardner former Minister of Health, Education and Welfare in the Johnson administration; president of Carnegie Corporation of New York; and founder of Common Cause.
Financial Summary 2004
Each year, independent accountants conduct an examination of IS's books, records and fiscal policies and procedures and present audited financial statements to the IS Board of Directors.
The following organizations and individuals generously supported the 2004 IS Annual Conference in Chicago
2004 Special Funders
AARP
- L. Mailman Family Foundation, Inc
- Booth and Associates **
- John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the
- B. Heron Foundation New York, NY
- Council Chevy Chase, MD
- S. Committee for United Nations Population
Washington, DC American Symphony Orchestra League New York, NY Americans for Indian Opportunity Albuquerque, NM Americans for the Arts*. Washington, DC Global Fund for Women San Francisco, CA Global Impact Alexandria, VA Global Rights Washington, DC Goldman Sachs Foundation New York, NY Goodwill Industries International, Inc.
I NDEPENDENT S ECTOR Staff
Ruth Madrigal Caplin & Drysdale, Chartered
Caplin & Drysdale, Chartered Technical Advisors on Reviews to Form 990 Chevo Consulting, LLC Accreditation Study Harvey Dale.
