Andrus Family Fund

AFF funds community reconciliation projects within the United States that put their Collaborative Change Approach to the test in addressing one of AFF's three priority issues: identity-based conflict, police-community conflict and conservation conflict. Presently, AFF does not fund international projects, although it will consider supporting international research that will inform our domestic work. AFF also funds programs that help people leaving the foster care system transition to independence.

Resource Link: http://www.affund.org

C.S. Mott Foundation

The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, a private philanthropy based in Flint, Michigan, makes grants in the U.S. and selected regions internationally through four programs: Civil Society, Environment, Pathways Out of Poverty, and Flint Area. Through its four programs, and their more specific program areas, the Foundation seeks to fulfill its mission of supporting efforts that promote a just, equitable and sustainable society.

Resource Link: http://www.mott.org

Carter Center

The Carter Center, in partnership with Emory University, is committed to advancing human rights and alleviating unnecessary human suffering. Founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, the Atlanta-based Center has helped to improve the quality of life for people in more than 65 countries.

Resource Link: http://www.cartercenter.org

Community Change Makers: The Leadership Roles of Community Foundations

Ralph Hamilton, Julia Parzen, and Prue Brown. Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago, 2004.

A new analysis of ways in which community foundations throughout the country are developing and expanding their leadership roles in their communities suggests that community foundations' unique access, agility, credibility, and local knowledge place them in a pivotal position at the center of community life.

Resource Link: http://www.chapinhall.org/article_abstract.aspx?ar=1366&L2=63&L3=109

Cottonwood Foundation

Cottonwood Foundation provides small grants to grassroots nonprofit organizations in the U.S. and worldwide that are working for a sustainable future by combining all of the following: protecting the environment, promoting cultural diversity, empowering people to meet their basic needs, and relying on volunteer efforts.

Resource Link: http://www.cottonwoodfdn.org

Discussion Guide - The Energy Problem: Which Way Forward

The National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI) and the Kettering Foundation, 2006.

America's way of life seems threatened by unstable sources of energy, while many see growing evidence of environmental damage. As demands for energy escalate, both in this country and in rapidly developing nations, we may soon reach a point of no return. It is time to face the difficult choices that must be made to ensure a sustainable future.

Resource Link: http://www.nifi.org/discussion_guides/detail.aspx?catID=6&itemID=7743

Ford Foundation

The Ford Foundation is a resource for innovative people and institutions worldwide. Our goals are to: strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation and advance human achievement. Created with gifts and bequests by Edsel and Henry Ford, the Foundation is an independent organization, with its own board, and is entirely separate from the Ford Motor Company.

From the Four Directions Circle Starter Kit

A leader is anyone who wants to help, anyone who is willing to step forward to help create change in their world. Change begins with conversation. From the Four Directions, an initiative of the Berkana Institute, offers a simple, yet powerful way for people to be in meaningful conversations.

Resource Link: http://www.fromthefourdirections.org

Grassroots Fundraising Journal and the Online Consultant Directory

Do you need help creating a fundraising plan? Organizing an individual donor campaign? Improving the fundraising skills of your staff and board? Producing an event that will reach a new audience of potential donors? The Grassroots Fundraising Journal's Online Consultant Directory provides names and contact information of consultants who can help you do just that. You can also download Kim Klein's article "Hiring a Fundraising Consultant" for free.

Resource Link: http://www.grassrootsfundraising.org/howto/consultants_directory.html

How To Make Money as a Mediator (And Create Value for Everyone): 30 Top Mediators Share Secrets to Building a Successful Practice

Jeffrey Krivis and Naomi Lucks. Jossey-Bass, 2006.

This is an invaluable and inspirational resource filled with practical, proven, and down-to-earth information on how you can develop a satisfying and lucrative career as a mediator, no matter what your area of interest - labor and employment mediation, intellectual property, environment, personal injury, family and divorce, contract, securities, or international peacekeeping. Until someone writes "How to Make a Living in Dialogue & Deliberation," this is the book to turn to for tips and ideas.

Resource Link: http://www.josseybass.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0787982040.html

International Grant Making Update

The Foundation Center, in cooperation with the Council on Foundations, 2006.

According to this report, estimated giving by U.S. foundations for international purposes reached a record $3.8 billion in 2005. This increase represented a nearly 12 percent inflation-adjusted gain over 2002, far surpassing the 2 percent rise in overall giving in the same period. Although the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation contributed significantly to this increase, community foundations reported the fastest gain in grant dollars.

Resource Link: http://www.usig.org/whatsnew/NewTrendsReport.asp

Jams Foundation

The JAMS Foundation, a non-profit corporation, provides financial assistance for conflict resolution initiatives with national impact, and shares its dispute resolution experience and judicial expertise for the benefit of the public interest. The Foundation encourages the use of alternative dispute resolution, supports education at all levels about collaborative processes for resolving differences, promotes innovation in conflict resolution, and advances the settlement of conflict worldwide.

Resource Link: http://jamsfoundation.org

Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust

We are an independent, progressive organisation committed to funding radical change towards a better world. The JRCT makes grants to individuals and to projects seeking the creation of a peaceful world, poitical equality and social justice. We chiefly support work undertaken in the UK, Ireland and South Africa.

Resource Link: http://www.jrct.org.uk

Nathan Cummings Foundation

The Nathan Cummings Foundation is rooted in the Jewish tradition and committed to democratic values and social justice, including fairness, diversity, and community. We seek to build a socially and economically just society that values and protects the ecological balance for future generations; promotes humane health care; and fosters arts and culture that enriches communities.

Resource Link: http://www.nathancummings.org

Open Society Institute

The Open Society Institute (OSI), a private operating and grantmaking foundation, aims to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, human rights, and economic, legal, and social reform. On a local level, OSI implements a range of initiatives to support the rule of law, education, public health, and independent media. At the same time, OSI works to build alliances across borders and continents on issues such as combating corruption and rights abuses.

Ottinger Foundation

The Ottinger Foundation is a private family foundation that funds non-profit organizations that promote innovative policies and citizen activism to build a movement for change. We support organizations that address structural or root causes of social problems and focus on systemic social change rather than direct services. We also favor organizations that are involved in coalition building as well as building leadership and organizational infrastructure. The Foundation does not accept unsolicited letters of intent or proposals, and reviews proposals by invitation only in the areas of economic security and development, democratic participation and the environment.

Resource Link: http://ottingerfoundation.org

Peace Development Fund

The Peace Development Fund makes grants to organizations and projects working to achieve peaceful, just and interdependent relationships among people and nations. We believe that the change in values needed to establish a more just and peaceful world will come about only if it is strongly rooted in local communities.

Resource Link: http://peacefund.org

Pew Charitable Trusts

The Pew Charitable Trusts will invest $248 million in fiscal year 2007 to provide organizations and citizens with fact-based research and practical solutions for challenging issues. The Trusts focus on three program areas: Advancing Policy Solutions, Informing the Public and Supporting Civic Life.

Rockefeller Brothers Fund

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund promotes social change that contributes to a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world. Through its grantmaking, the Fund supports efforts to expand knowledge, clarify values and critical choices, nurture creative expression, and shape public policy. The Fund's programs are intended to develop leaders, strengthen institutions, engage citizens, build community, and foster partnerships that include government, business, and civil society. Respect for cultural diversity and ecological integrity pervades the Fund's activities.

Resource Link: http://www.rbf.org

Rockefeller Foundation

The Rockefeller Foundation is committed to fostering knowledge and innovation to enrich and sustain the lives and livelihoods of poor and excluded people throughout the world. In their Global Inclusion program, the foundation supports the representation of poor people in global dialogues around intellectual property, economic integration, and appropriate uses of technology. Most of their program areas (Education, Health, Arts & Culture, Globalization, etc.) focus in part on public engagement.

Resource Link: http://www.rockfound.org