But for others, professional sports reek of elitism and greed. Tickets to games are often prohibitively expensive for all but the wealthiest fans, and billionaire owners often plead for public assistance to build new stadiums, despite their ample means. In many cases, distaste for professional sports comes down to the individual players, who reap huge financial rewards for their performance, but may not give back to the communities that support them.

Last year an online debate was held on the issue of athletes giving back. Sports stars such as Mario Lemieux and Warrick Dunn argued both sides of the question: do professional athletes have an obligation to give back to the community? Unsurprisingly, no athletes publicly made the case that giving was not necessary, but some did say that they should not feel obligated to the communities in which they play.

Locally, the Minnesota Vikings have been involved in an ongoing debate over public financing for a new stadium. Several financing options have been explored, but at this time no consensus has been reached. Governor Pawlenty recently proposed using lottery proceeds to help finance a facility.

I have been a sports fan my whole life. As an avid supporter of the Green Bay Packers, I have always felt that my team keeps me connected to my home state. My annual trips to Lambeau Field are one of the highlights of my year. I can relate to Vikings fans who would do anything to keep their team in Minneapolis. However, as a taxpayer, I can also relate to those who do not wish to see any of our state’s already stretched resources go to a sports franchise.

Working in philanthropy, I have also been exposed to some of the great things Vikings players have done to support our community. The E. J. Henderson Youth Foundation provides holistic opportunities to urban youth, and earned Henderson the Vikings 2009 Community Man of the Year Award. Former Vikings star Alan Page is a founder of the Page Education Foundation.

In light of the many issues surrounding professional sports teams and the Vikings, we have invited Lester Bagley, Vice President of Public Affairs and Stadium Development for the Minnesota Vikings, to join At the Table for a discussion of the Vikings role in the community. This event is co‑hosted by the Citizen’s League and will be held at The Minneapolis Foundation on April 13, 2010. Please click here for more information about the event and to register online.

While the Nonprofit Economy Report utilizes macro data from 2008 to assess trends, the Current Conditions report analyzes results from a survey conducted in the first week of December that was completed by 639 organizations representing 32,589 staff and a combined budget of $2.5 billion. The purpose of the survey is to compliment the Nonprofit Economy Report with quick, real-time analysis of the challenges nonprofits experienced in the last year.

Fortunately the nonprofit sector has not experienced the same magnitude of unemployment as the for-profit sector. The nonprofit sector employs 11% of employees across the state. In 2008 this represented one out of every nine workers in the state. The healthcare industry continues to represent the largest portion of employees. In 2009, nonprofits chose several measures to weather the recession. 32% reduced their number of employees, 52% implemented hiring and/or salary freezes, and 25% have reduced employee benefits. The larger the organization the more likely it was to have cut employee benefits.

Demand for services has increased in recent years particularly in the areas of mental health and crisis intervention, food and/or housing, and employment and jobs. Meanwhile organizations saw a decline in revenue. Organizations most frequently reporting declining revenue were environment related, education and employment and jobs. A few bright lights for the sector appeared in individual giving. 21% of organizations reported an increase in donations from individual donors compared to 2008. A significant factor was GiveMN.org’s “Give to the Max Day” which raised $14 million in charitable donations in one day.

Minnesota’s nonprofits also benefitted from Federal stimulus dollars. Of the respondents to the Current Conditions Report, 30% applied for stimulus funding and 53% were successful in receiving funds. Employment and job related organizations and food or housing organizations were most likely to receive funding. 64% have used the funds to retain existing staff and 50% have hired new employees.

There have been some closings of long-time organizations and mergers, but not at the rate locally that was predicted by national leaders. As John and Ruth spoke it was clear that the Minnesota nonprofits are a hearty bunch. Cutting where needed, relying on volunteers and a strong commitment to their mission, organizations are pulling through and are optimistic about 2010.

Yesterday’s Star Tribune cover story examined the increase in food stamp usage in Minnesota, specifically among the middle class and not just in urban areas. Carver County’s food stamp participation increased by 85 percent in between June of 2007 and June 2009, while in the same time span Scott County saw a 70 percent rise, and numbers were up 49 percent in Dakota County and 40 percent in Washington County.

The Strib article provides a state lens to last week’s Sunday New York Times’ article, “Food Stamp Use Soars, and Stigma Fades” which looks at hunger and how food stamp use, already at a record high, is growing in our country.

Today 1 in 8 Americans and 1 in 4 children utilize food stamps for daily nutrition. Growth in usage is taking place in urban, suburban and rural communities as families deal with repercussions of unemployment, the housing bust, and increasing medical costs.

A recent study by a professor at Washington University found that half of Americans receive food stamps at least briefly by the time they turn 20. Among black children the figure was a staggering 90%.

Both articles address the stigma of food stamp usage. Nationally, only two-thirds of those eligible actually access food stamps, often because they feel relying on food stamps is embarrassing or a sign of laziness. However, many are forced to overlook those stigmas as time passes and people face the realities of needing to feed their children. You do what it takes to make it happen.

One response to the increase in hunger was announced right before Thanksgiving as a collaborative campaign by the White House, United States Agriculture Department, and the Corporation for National and Community Service called United We Serve: Feed a Neighbor. The campaign asks people to do things like prepare or deliver meals to the elderly, donate or volunteer at a food shelf, plant a shared garden or develop anti-hunger programs. The campaign refers people to Serve.gov to find specific local opportunities and to access its anti-hunger volunteer toolkit.

What programs do you know about locally that are addressing hunger effectively?

It is becoming more and more obvious that no one sector is going to solve the problems like educational achievement gaps, homelessness, or violence.  The President seems to be calling for a genuine effort to work across sectors to focus on the best organizations out there that can really lead to results.  At the press conference the President said:

If anyone out there is waiting for government to solve all their problems, they are going to be disappointed.  Because ultimately, the best solutions don’t come from the top-down, not from Washington; they come from the bottom-up in each and every one of our communities.

The bottom line is clear: Solutions to America’s challenges are being developed every day at the grass roots – and government shouldn’t be supplanting those efforts, it should be supporting those efforts. Instead of wasting taxpayer money on programs that are obsolete or ineffective, government should be seeking out creative, results-oriented programs like the ones hear today and helping them replicate their efforts across America

Powerful words, but what does it mean in practice? This is what I have learned.

The White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation was created through the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act which was passed in March.  Part of the President’s Domestic Policy agenda, the office is responsible for:

• Catalyzing partnerships between the government and nonprofits, businesses and philanthropists in order to make progress on the President’s policy agenda
• Identifying and supporting the rigorous evaluation and scaling of innovative, promising ideas that are transforming communities (through the Social Innovation Fund)
• Supporting greater civic participation through new media tools
• Promoting national service

The Social Innovation Fund has been seeded with $50 million and is being managed by the Corporation for National and Community Service.  The fund will provide grants to existing grant making institutions that will invest in growing innovative, results driven organizations.  They have been careful to state that innovation does not equate new.  Regardless of age of institution, the emphasis is on adding capacity to bring the best ideas to the forefront.

To be eligible to receive a grant, grantmaking organizations must propose to focus on improving measurable outcomes relating to: education for economically disadvantaged students, child and youth development, reductions in poverty, health, resource conservation and local environmental quality, energy efficiency, civic engagement, or reductions in crime.

The grantmakers must match grants from the Fund with their own internal resources and then must use the funds in order to make subgrants to community organizations that will use the funds to replicate or expand proven initiatives, or support new initiatives, in low-income communities.

So, in a nutshell, the Fund will make grants to other grantmakers who will need to match those dollars and re-grant to local organizations based on rigorous outcomes based data.  While sounding relatively simple there is a mix of great enthusiasm and hesitation in the philanthropic blogosphere for how it will play out – as they say, the devil is in the details.

One organization, Public Innovators who works with government leaders on addressing social problems, is advocating that the Fund give priority to cross-sector collaborations that work directly with state governments to achieve impact on a much broader, systemic scale.  Locally, steps have been taken towards this effort.  State Representative Paul Thissen (DFL- 63A) introduced legislation this session for a Minnesota Social Innovation Fund and an Innovations Commission.  The legislation passed (with some amended language) and included grant money to begin studying how such a fund would be structured.

Representative Thissen states about his legislation,

“Minnesota is a state known for innovation — in the private sector and in public policy.  We know what works.  But it is frustrating to see ideas that work in small, targeted settings fail to grow to help more people, while some programs that have outlived their usefulness continue to be funded.  That needs to change and this legislation is designed to push us toward smarter, more effective ways of helping Minnesotans and building our communities.”

How would you like to see the Fund for Social Innovation used locally?

Interested in learning more – here are some links to additional resources on the topic:

What Exactly is the Social Innovation Fund?

Obama Pushes for Social Innovation

White House Officials Discuss Plans for Social Innovation Office