Okay, I see now what is needed. As I peruse the prognostications of Barrons’ expert stock pickers for the winners of 2009 (almost all of whom performed miserably in 2008; www.barrons.com), I look back with greater satisfaction on the nonprofits I drew to your attention this time last year.

• The Healing Place (http://www.thprichmond.org) has a remarkable record of helping homeless men recover from drug and alcohol abuse.
• Safe Harbor (www.safeharborshelter.com) and the YWCA of Richmond (www.ywcarichmond.org) provide shelter for abused women and their children.
• ChildSavers (www.mcgcva.com) provides counseling for children who witness violence.
• The Greater Richmond ARC (www.richmondarc.org) aids disabled children and their families.
• FeedMore (formerly Central Virginia Food Bank and Meals on Wheels; www.feedmore.org) is ubiquitous in its fundraising prowess to fill food shelves that are emptying at an alarming rate due to the economic crisis.

These nonprofits continue to distinguish themselves, and they have all been challenged by the recession. So, since my nonprofit picks did better than the Barrons pros’ for-profit picks, let’s see if I can pull a repeat performance in 2009. For starters, all of the above remain a “strong buy.”

Value Pick: I am going to recommend Maymont (www.maymont.org) because it is free, which means everyone can afford to visit. This gives Maymont a competitive advantage even over recession-proof Wal-Mart (www.walmart.com). Maymont is educational and great fun. The activity menu includes farm animals, an aquarium, an historic home, wild animals (including bears, an eagle and buffalo), varied gardens, dramatic trees and luscious lawns. While enjoying outdoor and indoor activities on a spacious campus, a visiting family can make a serious dent in the childhood obesity crisis. I would say that Maymont’s value proposition of health, education and entertainment at no cost makes this pick the consummate no-brainer.

Contrarian Pick: Richmond CenterStage (www.richmondcenterstage.com) will open in the late 2009 in the former Carpenter Theater (plus neighboring property). The project has been maligned for cost overruns and hampered by political roadblocks. Yet, farsighted donors have invested significantly and have been matched by the City of Richmond and the Commonwealth of Virginia. The arts organizations that will play CenterStage have all managed to survive the recession – the Richmond Symphony (www.richmondsymphony.com), the Virginia Opera (www.virginiaopera.org) and the Richmond Ballet (www.richmondballet.com). The neighborhood surrounding CenterStage is much improved with the renovation of The National (www.thenationalva.com), the impending opening of Miller & Rhoads Hilton and the completion of the Spottswood W. Robinson III and Robert R. Merhige Jr. United States Courthouse. While CenterStage remains a risky bet, with the adequacy of nearby parking a nagging concern, my prediction is that it will emerge as a gem that will breathe new life into the arts scene, which by the time its opens may be surviving on life support.

Growth Pick: The Community Foundation (www.tcfrichmond.org) initiated the 2009 Safety Net Fund in November 2008 with a $1 million commitment of its reserves to augment grantmaking to “safety net” nonprofits for emergency grantmaking and other forms of assistance. The Foundation’s donors and friends responded to an email by giving an additional $800,000, and 100% of all funds will go to the nonprofits. In a recessionary environment, this response is remarkable; on the other hand, the region’s donors have a history of generosity that distinguishes Richmond from other similarly sized communities. My bet is that this region’s growth in giving will prove recession-proof in the aggregate, with increased support for human needs offsetting a smaller decline in support for arts and culture.

“Bobby, this last pick seems really self-serving,” you may say. Perhaps, but objectively I believe it; and subjectively the only way to keep this recession from turning into a depression is for me to keep my job.

What was my most memorable read of 2008? It was a column published by Ellen Goodman on November 6, titled “Celebrating Belief in Possibilities.” Ms. Goodman, writing about Barack Obama’s grandmother who raised him and died before he was elected, penned, “There was symbolism as well as sadness in her passing. When we’re young, we think change is a 100-yard dash. As we get older we think it’s a marathon. Eventually we see a relay race.”

I reflected on these words as I attended a session on family dynamics at the Southeastern Council of Foundation’s annual conference inAsheville, NC last month, Dr. Stephen R. Treat, Director and CEO of the Council for Relationships in Philadelphia, talked about autocratic family heads who hold onto money and power to control the family’s younger generations. This behavior leads to resentment, rebellion and family dysfunction.

As I left that session, I connected these ideas with Ellen Goodman’s gem. Each family generation forms a bridge between two others. Wouldn’t our families communicate better if we treated all of the generations as teammates in a relay race? In so many families, the older generation sees themselves as the team owners and the younger generations have to fall in line. How much more satisfying would it be for all to join in the race together as the younger generations strengthen their legs, gradually becoming more sure-footed in their leadership capacity and ultimately carry the baton on their own?

My family had a meeting last Thursday night, where my brother, Billy, and I led a conversation among our children, our nephew and all of their spouses. Unlike Thanksgiving, where we celebrated and gave thanks, we were more sanguine on this night and shared our feelings and observations about the stress the economy is placing on each of us, our friends and colleagues and our community. The conversation was remarkably frank and insightful, and we learned as much from the younger generation as they did from us. We sensed an inflection point where the children are growing more confident in their judgment, and we can now foresee the day when we can run the short leg of this race and let our children carry the baton.

At The Community Foundation we have the pleasure of working with many multi-generation families. My colleagues and I look forward to helping them navigate their own paths in 2009 and beyond.

What was your most memorable read in 2008? I hope the following compilation of Bobby’s Blogs from this past year may at least contain an honorable mention or two. Best wishes to you and your family for a happy and healthy year in 2009. As always, I welcome your comments and perhaps even a guest blog or two.

Thoughts from the Southeastern Council of Foundation’s Annual Meeting in Asheville, NC

There is value in gathering annually with colleagues, stepping away from our daily routines and seeing our roles in a freshly filtered light. We gather some new knowledge, and we identify ways to change ourselves and our charitable foundations for the better. We gain context for previously disconnected ideas, we find confirmation in the experiences of our colleagues, and we leave with the conviction to take concrete action in the coming year.

This year’s experience was particularly timely because of the economic crisis and the change in political leadership of the U.S. The economic consensus among conference attendees was predictably negative. In my last blog posting, I shared The Community Foundation’s response to this crisis. Today I want to focus on a particular insight about a shift in our country’s leadership power.

Juan Williams, journalist and author, spoke brilliantly about the transfer of political power in the U.S. from an older generation that wishes to keep things the way they are to a younger generation – particularly young women – who seek change. He posited that 25% of Americans are under the age of 18, that the population growth among minorities and immigrants is enormous and that women are increasingly occupying the positions of power in business and government. He credited Barack Obama’s success largely to legions of young female activists who gave generously and who canvassed and voted for him.

Williams’ comment about the increasing power of young women hit home to me. In the 1980’s, I was an adjunct professor of economics and investments at the University of Richmond. It struck me that all of the elected student representatives of the E. Claiborne Robins School of Business were women. I also couldn’t help but notice that many women would remain after class to query my guest speakers, while all of the men were out the door before the bell finished reverberating. I covered the names on papers I graded to be sure I wasn’t discriminating because the women were getting better grades.

I remember remarking to my dad, who had formerly been President & CEO of Thalhimer’s Department Stores and was about 70 at that time, my impression that women are going to take the leadership in corporate America. He replied, “Not any company that I know of!” You can picture his expression as he stared me down with this dictum. To his credit, Dad was right about most things, but not this one. The world was changing even then, and now we see it in a clearer light.

So, what will I do with Mr. Williams’ confirmation of my prior suspicions that the scales of power are tipping toward young women? As a 56-year-old male, I have more questions than answers. What do young women think about philanthropy? What motivates them? How do they perceive endowment building foundations? Do they wish to engage differently as donors? Do young women see our grantmaking priorities as relevant and effective? How is it that young women want to make an impact on the community?

One change is for certain. My focus needs to be less about my generation’s leadership and more about the transition of power to a younger generation. The overarching challenge in managing this change will be to conserve the core values that ought to transcend both generations.

The current economic emergency is placing a great strain on the residents of the Richmond Region, most particularly on those less fortunate in our community. Nonprofits that meet the needs of these citizens are faced with rising demand and declining revenues from gifts. In today’s Richmond Times-Dispatch, there is a front page article on this problem (http://www.inrich.com/content/cva/ric/news.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-11-17-0156.html).

In order to help meet the extraordinary demands on nonprofits that serve the basic human needs in our community, The Community Foundation has established the 2009 Safety Net Fund and is seeding it with a commitment of $1 million. The following memorandum describes the need and our response, and it describes how you can also help.

Our approach is the same as we have used to meet the needs of those affected on 9/11 and of those affected by Hurricane Katrina. That is, 100% of donations to the 2009 Safety Net Fund will be used to help nonprofits meet community needs. There will be no charge for overhead. Already, we have had Board members, staff and advisors to funds at The Community Foundations make commitments. We welcome your participation, should you find this an effective way to meet a very pressing need in our community.

The following memorandum from Tom Byer, Chairman of the Distribution Committee, and Darcy Oman, President & CEO, describes the 2009 Safety Net Fund and the rationale for it in greater detail. You will also find additional information on our website at www.tcfrichmond.org.

How to Help Meet Basic Human Needs in Our Community during This Economic Crisis

By Thomas D. Byer, Chairman of The Community Foundation’s Distribution Committee

and Darcy S. Oman, President and CEO of The Community Foundation

The economy resembles a line of dominoes, each toppling the next. Falling home prices have led to rising personal bankruptcies. Miserable retail sales are prompting a wave of corporate failures and forced mergers, which is leading to rising unemployment.

The nonprofit domino is now teetering. While we won’t know how badly overall giving has declined until after December 31, the early indicators are troublesome. The Community Foundation received $7.9 million in requests for funding on November 5, compared with $5.85 million last year. The Commonwealth of Virginia is slashing funding for nonprofits. The demise or buyout of local businesses is crimping corporate giving.

Demand for nonprofit services, meanwhile, is rising sharply. The Salvation Army reports a 97% increase in the number of individuals served in September compared with the same month last year. The number of people they had to turn away was 763, a 140% increase. Bare shelves at FeedMore (the consolidated Central Virginia FoodBank and Meals on Wheels) have been well chronicled. Homeward reports a 10% increase in the number of homeless children to 155, compared with this time last year. HOME (Housing Opportunities Made Equal) reports the number of foreclosures up by 195% in this year’s third quarter compared with 2007.

How will we loosen the vise of declining revenues and rising expenditures?

The Community Foundation (TCF) represents an important counterbalance to these negative forces. As an endowment based organization we budget conservatively. We consciously grow the endowment, while meeting community needs during good years. So, when we experience tough times such as these we can increase spending to meet even more pressing needs. TCF’s Board held a special meeting on November 10^th, where it approved an additional $1 million to the grant budget, which comes from unrestricted funds that we have “saved for a rainy day.”

2009 Safety Net Fund

TCF invites other foundations and individuals who have similarly been conservative in their financial planning to help us lean against the rising tide of basic human need in our community so it does not grow into a civic tsunami. We will use the $1 million in emergency funding to seed a temporary fund called the 2009 Safety Net Fund. Anyone may give to this fund, from which 100% of the dollars will be used strategically to help our region’s nonprofits meet basic human needs in our community such as emergency financial assistance, housing, food, employment and health care.

Part of this cash infusion will be deployed as TCF collaborates with the Partnership for Nonprofit Excellence (created by TCF two years ago) to help nonprofits identify innovative solutions to meet payroll, reduce overhead, improve budgeting practices and maintain core services. Nonprofit managers and their boards should evaluate whether their long-term survival may require consolidation or other fundamental changes.

Why Endowments Are Important

We are often asked why endowment building as a strategy makes sense. During trying times like today, we find the answer. Diversification in grantmaking is every bit as important as diversification in investments. When giving by governments, corporations and individuals is curtailed, nonprofits need help from endowed foundations to stay afloat.

TCF’s endowment has been built by charitable bequests and lifetime contributions from people who wish to permanently benefit our community. Each donor’s endowment supports the charitable purposes he or she feels are most important. Donors who have made gifts on an unrestricted basis have provided TCF has the financial flexibility to respond to the community’s changing and emerging needs through time.

We invite you to support the 2009 Safety Net Fund. Visit our website at www.tcfrichmond.org to learn more or to give online. You may also want to consider this fund for direct distributions from your IRA.

In closing, we further invite you to talk with our staff team about creating a permanent endowment either during your lifetime or by bequest to meet the changing needs of our community through generations.