April 2008 eNewsletter
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Piper Staff Note |
Executive Vice
President and CFO
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There are two sides to money at a foundation like Piper Trust. On the one hand, we work very diligently to make grants that will be successful investments in our community. On the other, we work equally hard to ensure that the Trust’s endowment continues to allow us to maintain our level of grantmaking in Maricopa County. I often get questions about how the Trust manages its endowment. In this issue of Piper Bulletin, you will find answers to the most frequently asked questions about investments and endowment. As always, let us know if you have other questions about the work of the Trust.
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Piper Trust Investments and Endowment |
Q&A with Mary Jane Rynd
Piper Bulletin: What is Piper Trust’s approach overall to managing the legacy left by Virginia Piper?
Rynd: Our goal from the beginning has been to create sufficient return on our investment to maintain our level of grantmaking in real terms year to year. That means achieving growth to keep up with inflation. The Trust received its endowment in 2000 after Virginia Piper’s estate was settled. To date we have been able to accomplish that goal, awarding grants totaling $229 million.
Read more…
 Pie chart of Piper Trust Asset Allocation Investment Model…
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Nonprofit Endowments
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An endowment's
investment eggs shouldn't
be in one basket. |
Five Best Practices
for Nonprofits and Investing
Think Endowment
Endowments help nonprofits sustain their missions over time by providing financial support from investment income and asset appreciation.
Investment Policy
Properly managing an endowment requires good governance and a board-appointed investment committee.
Diversification
A core principle of successful investing is establishing a diversified portfolio across different asset classes so that all the endowment’s investment eggs are not in one basket.
Benchmarking
Measuring performance to determine if the investment strategy is working is a critical factor.
Rebalancing
Over time, most successful investors periodically rebalance their portfolios back to the endowment’s original policy targets.
Read more…
Download Cambridge & Associates 24-page Endowment Management booklet…
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Arizona endowment building initiative
In April 2006, six local nonprofits attended the pilot class of the Arizona Endowment Building Initiative to learn and adopt new methods of building endowments. Since then a second class has participated in this program of the Arizona Planned Giving Institute. A third class will be launched this year.
Read more…
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Resources
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Nonprofit Essentials:
Endowment Building
Blueprints to building a successful endowment, this book includes everything from the basics of understanding endowments to measuring success. Available in paperback, hardback and e-book. Read more… |
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Guía Para Escribir Propuestas
The Spanish-Language translation of Foundation Center's best-selling guide. In the fifth edition of The Foundation Center's Guide to Proposal Writing, author Jane C. Geever provides detailed instructions on preparing successful grant proposals. Read more… |
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Is the next generation ready to lead?
A recently released study asked nearly 6,000 “next-generation leaders” for their input on challenges faced by the next generation of potential leaders of the nonprofit sector.
Read more… |
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News from Piper Trust |
Piper Notebook is a magazine published four times each year by the Piper Trust.
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Piper Notebook returns
Piper's own quarterly magazine returned to publication this month. "As our own grantmaking has evolved from strong individual grants to incorporate long-term initiatives that often include clusters of grants, the Notebook deserved a rebirth… Each Notebook will focus on a major area of the Trust's grantmaking. The articles will probe the thinking that undergirds the initiatives and identify strategies the Trust is drawing from the philanthropic toolbox to achieve progress," writes Judy Mohraz, Piper Trust President and CEO, in her column. The current issue focuses on the Trust's grantmaking for older adults and what is evolving into a "new Maricopa model for living the last third of life."
Read Piper Notebook online… |
Piper Fellows information session
The application process for the eighth class of Piper Fellows will begin next month. Those interested in applying can learn more at a coming information session:
When: Friday, June 6, 2008, 9-11am
Where: Pulliam Auditorium at the Burton Barr Library, Phoenix (map)
About the Piper Fellows program
The Piper Fellows program, designed to strengthen the nonprofit sector, awards up to five fellowships annually to nonprofit leaders in Maricopa County. The fellowships enable executives to design sabbaticals for professional growth and renewal, and each award underwrites up to $30,000 in expenses related to the sabbatical.
Register for the Piper Fellows information session…
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Grantee Highlights |
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2 new therapies show promise for cancer patients
The Translational Genomics Research Institute, April 15, 2008
Clinical researchers at Scottsdale Healthcare and TGen today announced the results of two clinical trials that show promise for patients battling cancer.
Read more…
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BAZ dancer creates for NYC program
Ballet Arizona, April 09, 2008
Robert Dekkers is a favorite with Valley ballet fans as a dancer with BALLET ARIZONA. But Dekkers can also claim the title of choreographer with the selection of one of his dances for Ballet Builders…Read more…
The Leona Group collects more than 6,600 pounds of clothing for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona
Big Brothers Big Sisters, March 27, 2008
The Leona Group, one of the largest public charter school systems in Arizona, held a week long clothing drive at their 16 Valley-wide schools and Phoenix-based corporate office… Read more…
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In the Media |
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A Year of Slower Growth
Chronicle of Philanthropy, April 17, 2008
Assets and giving at the nation's wealthiest foundations increased in 2007, a new Chronicle survey finds, but the outlook for 2008 and beyond is considerably gloomier…
Read more…
Opinion Joel Fleishman: Foundations: a few good reasons…
Alliance, April 2008
Almost everyone who thinks and writes about the role of foundations in America highlights foundation support for innovative solutions to society’s problems as the most important way foundations serve society…
Read more…
Ethical Standards erode at nonprofit groups, study finds
The Chronicle of Philanthropy, March 27, 2008
Nonprofit organizations have long held a reputation for having significantly higher ethical standards than businesses and government.
But a report released today shows that gap is closing quickly…
Read more…
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The Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust
6720 North Scottsdale Road, Suite 350
Scottsdale, AZ 85253
480.948.5853 P
480.348.1316 F
www.pipertrust.org |
