Comments on: What the Financial Sector Meltdown Really Means for Nonprofits and Philanthropy

By: Comment 2: MJLeach87’s Blog on Newman’s Own « Sfmindtrap’s Weblog

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 23:55:38 +0000

[...] meltdown and its negative impact on foundations’ assets and donations (articles here, here, here, and [...]

By: » The Cohen Report: What the Financial Sector Meltdown Really Means … » Chronicle of Philanthropy

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 18:04:18 +0000

[...] by unknown « Arts in Canada under attack Economy expected to curb healthcare philanthropy « The [...]

By: Because Things in the Game Done Changed: Nonprofits Need Generation Y Leadership in an Uncertain Economy « Nonprofit Congress Blog

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:28:36 +0000

[...] brought low in the current unstable economy. Everyone in nonprofits and philanthropy is wondering what the financial sector meltdown means for us. Not only are the for-profit folks worried about their profits and their jobs, us nonprofit workers [...]

By: Nonprofit Community Discusses Bailout at Nonprofit Connect

Nonprofit Community Discusses Bailout at Nonprofit Connect — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 18:16:43 +0000

[...] at NPQ, we’ve written about the “financial sector meltdown ” for its impacts on philanthropic grantmaking and nonprofit budgets. But the real import is much [...]

By: “In the News” - Monday Round-up [9/29] « Washington Grantmakers Daily

“In the News” - Monday Round-up [9/29] « Washington Grantmakers Daily — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 14:07:05 +0000

[...] the News” – Monday Round-up [9/29] ECONOMY - What the Financial Sector Meltdown Really Means for Nonprofits and Philanthropy (Rick Cohen, 9/23) – This is one week (and a few bank failures) old, but an informative piece [...]

By: Rick Cohen

Rick Cohen — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 19:30:27 +0000

The CRA does not require philanthropic giving from regulated banks. It requires reinvestment, the primary vehicles for which are lending and investment. But banks’ philanthropic giving does qualify as bank activity that contributes to their CRA performance, that is true. But the legislation and the movement that led to it were aimed at reversing the banking sector’s decades of redlining neighborhoods–and redlining racial and ethnic minorities in most cases–preventing them from the access to capital that they needed. Rather than assume that banks’ philanthropy is required by CRA, assume that it is part of their corporate strategies, a bottom-line-oriented calculation of what the philanthropic gifts will do for their business activities. And do remember that the investment banks such as Bear Stearns, Lehman, and others and the GSEs did not face CRA reinvestment mandates (though the GSEs did have affordable housing targets pursuant to GSE-specific legislation).

By: Steven Reames

Steven Reames — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 20:31:25 +0000

The only thing you haven’t mentioned as a factor here is the banks’ requirement under the community reinvestment act to give. As long as there are banks holding people’s money, they have to give a portion of their profits back, so there’s always somebody somewhere with a pot of money to give. And these banks aren’t being philanthropic just because it feels good. They’re doing it because they’re required to by law.