New Publications on Mentor Programs, Foundation-Payout Debate

OTHER PUBLICATIONS

Contemporary Issues in Mentoring, edited by Jean Baldwin Grossman, is a report from Public/Private Ventures geared to grant makers who need to know how — and if — mentor programs work. The report includes evaluations of mentor programs run by Big Brothers Big Sisters and Sponsor-a-Scholar; a financial analysis of 52 mentor programs nationwide that includes categories such as cost-per-youth-served (the average program spends $1,114 per youth each year, the study found); and case studies of four mentor programs that have different goals, from career counseling to improving a youth’s self-esteem. The report was financed by the Commonwealth Fund. Publisher: PPV, One Commerce Square, 2005 Market Street, Suite 900, Philadelphia 19103; (215) 557-4400; fax (215) 557-4469; http://www.ppv.org; 100 pages; $15.

Spending Policies for Foundations: The Case for Increased Grants Payout, by Perry Mehrling, calls on foundations to increase their grant making above the federal minimum of 5 per cent of net investment assets.

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Playing the Percentages

Mr. Mehrling, chair of the economics department at Barnard College, in New York, was commissioned by the National Network of Grantmakers to examine trends in asset growth and foundation-payout rates since 1975. The network represents grant makers that finance social-change groups. Publisher: NNG, 1717 Kettner Boulevard, Suite 110, San Diego 92101; (619) 231-1348; http://www.nng.org; 13 pages; $8 plus postage and handling; an executive summary is available free on the group’s Web site.