In what might initially sound like a leisure water sport, dragon boat racing will undoubtedly leave paddlers breathless and drained of energy after three intense races across Creve Coeur Lake.  In what is symbolic of most team activities, whether it’s in the athletic arena or corporate and government workforce, synchronized team effort and coordinated action define success at the finish line.  Despite the physical exertion, the competitive nature and philanthropic spirit of the event sends teams rushing back each year to take part in the festival and benefit the Signature Health Foundation.  Aside from the races, the festival included live music, barbeque, and fun activities for the 25 teams, friends, and families.

All proceeds of this event benefit Operation Family Help, a new Signature Healthcare Foundation initiative to assist families of patients with financial challenges by providing services such as therapy, equipment or transportation.  Signature Healthcare Foundation was founded in 2002 with a vision to “be a recognized leader in the local and national health care dialogue and spearhead physician leadership in improvements and efficiencies in the healthcare delivery system.” Signature Medical Group, its founding organization, has been a longtime lobbying client of Pelopidas in the Missouri Legislature and our organizations have actively worked together outside of government affairs over the years to benefit a variety of philanthropic causes in the St. Louis community.

Our Pelopidas team would like to thank John Marshall and the rest of Signature Healthcare Foundation for putting on a great event to benefit the community.  After a few weeks of rest and muscle relaxers, the Pelopidas Pow-Oar-House will begin training for next year’s competition!

Travis Brown, Rachel Keller Brown, Rex Sinquefield and Jeanne Sinquefield

In its fourth year, the annual Christmas benefit for St. Vincent Home for Children continues to build momentum. This year’s benefit brought in $75,000 through sponsorships from community leaders and businesses, and a live auction. St. Vincent’s creates a safe place for some of St. Louis’ most vulnerable children to live and learn.

One of the reasons that ideas like St. Vincent’s have been so successful is our country’s rich legacy of philanthropy. It is not casual. It’s not an afterthought. With centuries of growth and innovation, philanthropy has truly become a national treasure – and a nimble vehicle for change.

Early philanthropists like Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller used their wealth to create public assets – hospitals, schools, libraries, research – that are still used today. They popularized the idea that one could donate wealth while they were still alive, and that it could be a dynamic part of life, instead of a perfunctory part of a will.

In the early 20th century, fundraising grew to include more group giving, foundations that report on social conditions, and corporate giving. Recently, venture philanthropy and online fundraising have again revamped the idea of giving.

Applying the idea of venture capital to philanthropy has changed the donor-foundation relationship from one of transaction to one of ongoing support. Beyond financial support, a company assists with management and structural support, helps measure and improve outcomes, and typically invests over a period of years. Riffing on that model, organizations like Venture Philanthropy Partners pair D.C.-area donors who want to see great, positive change in their community with a portfolio of projects that combat a litany of issues facing children in D.C. Of charities and not-for-profits, VPP Co-Founder and Chairman Mario Morina says, “We ask them to do the remarkable, but we don’t give them the support to even do the negligible.” Venture philanthropy models hope to help donors give more strategically, and provide more comprehensive, long-term support for organizations.

Online giving has been especially powerful in giving donors of any size access and information to donate at any time. It’s a way for people to seek out causes they care about, and helps charitable organizations educate the public about their cause. E-philanthropy has also tapped small donors who may not be the target of mail campaigns, but could spare “as little as a cup of coffee”, and helped engage large efforts to respond quickly to disasters like Hurricane Katrina or this year’s devastating earthquake in Haiti. More than $30 million of donations to Haiti came in the form of text message. The Future of Philanthropy estimates that 25% of personal giving will be done online this year. But that still leaves 75% of personal giving that happens through personal appeals or fundraisers, and remains the core of fundraising.

Think about this for a minute: of the $303.8 billion charitable dollars given in the US in 2009, individual donors gave 75% of those dollars. The majority of US giving came not from corporations or foundations, but from individuals. In 2004, donations to tsunami victims reached $2 billion – three times what the US Government spent on disaster relief. Donations after Hurricane Katrina were nearly $6.5 billion, and donations to Haiti reached a similar level – in the first three weeks.

That’s an incredible force of people who weren’t coerced to give anything, but who chose to take action and donate to advance the causes they felt strongly about.

Missouri’s charitable giving is also quite strong: Missouri Foundations provide the state with $675 million in giving, and Missouri individuals gave $2.8 billion in 2008 (that’s an average of $3290 in contributions from each person who filed itemized charitable deductions). While individual donations may go to causes around the world, Missouri Foundation giving is a good measure of how Missourians support in-state needs.

We’re fortunate to work with the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation, which gives to such diverse causes as the Boy Scouts of America, music composition, education and chess – their giving directly impacts children in the area, our friends and neighbors, and it makes Missouri a magnet for organizations, talent and leaders who also want to see these causes thrive.

Philanthropy is more than a way to make us feel good. It might have that effect, but something more significant is driving this incredible scope of action. There’s a spark when we realize something is wrong – and that we have the tools or resources to do something about it. It’s a legacy our country has spontaneously nurtured, that we carry forward and improve upon, and it strengthens us as much as it strengthens the people we give to.

These children were about to be marginalized, forgotten. They were in limbo between adulthood and the haven of school because they were “incorrigible”: they’d broken laws, disrupted classrooms or violated public school safety codes. Some serious infraction had removed these children from their public school and funneled them into a labyrinthine system where education was unlikely and graduation seemed completely out of reach. These were the children Judge Edwards heard from daily, and it was only a matter of time before they ended up back in Edwards’ courtroom on more serious charges and with less hope.

The reaction from Edwards was superhuman. In April 2009, he saw opportunity in the closing of Blewett School on Cass Ave., and in a few short months he had a building, 45 community partners, and a Principal vetted by the toughest juvenile offenders to open ICA.

Innovative Concepts Academy, in just its first year, is getting local and national attention for the profound changes happening in the lives of the most “incorrigible” youth. A few ideas seem to be the pillars of this success, and are woven into every program:

ICA is a place to be safe. Sure, it’s replete with security tech and staff – but they also provide medical services and 3 square meals a day, counseling, and staff trained to deal with trauma victims. For Edwards, it’s not enough to treat symptoms like acting out in class: many of the kids at ICA may have witnessed violent crimes or may be in a situation that precludes success.

ICA is a place to learn – or for many students, the ONLY place to learn. A child expelled from school doesn’t lose access to classroom learning and accountability. A juvenile offender doesn’t while away time in a facility that further limits her opportunities. More than that, students get and learn respect. Some of the boys mention that adults take them more seriously when they’re wearing a tie. The entire staff and mechanism of the school reinforces the idea that effort is rewarded – even desirable – and that they are all capable.

Third, it’s a place to get inspired. While mandatory extra-curricular programs keep kids off the street and out of trouble, those 45 community partners have given ICA students a remarkable smorgasbord of activities that aren’t simply about marking time. Golf lessons, chess instruction, classical music, creative writing and ballroom dance are just a few of the ways students can spend their afternoons.

A St. Louis Magazine documentary of Innovative Concepts Academy ends with one young man at a piano knocking out beautiful riff after beautiful riff: for me, that made the ICA not just a good idea, but something we should cherish, support and replicate. Just think, a pianist, a chess master, an author, a thinker, a good parent, or a hard worker may be that child who was about to slip through the cracks.

The plight of students in St. Louis is often harsh. The dropout rate is untenable: some kids are homeless, others are hungry, and some are discouraged. In one year, a rejection of all the things that don’t work; a fresh start based solely on what at-risk kids need to choose a better path; and a resolute leader accomplished not just a good school, but also hope.

We now have hope that there are solutions to the problems that have baffled us – but only if we’re willing to be radical thinkers, and put our energy behind a good idea.

Today, the Let Voters Decide committee submitted more than 209,000 signatures to the Secretary of State to place the measure on the November 2010 ballot. More than double the required number of Missourians signed the petition to place this question on the ballot.

The committee collected signatures in seven congressional districts, rather than just the required six. More than 210,000 signatures filling 104 boxes and 20,646 petitions sends a clear message that voters from all across Missouri want the opportunity to vote on this issue.

When this measure goes before voters in November, a YES vote would give voters in Kansas City and St. Louis the opportunity to decide every five years whether they want to continue collecting the earnings tax. A vote to repeal would phase the tax out gradually, over 10 years.

For Missourians not in Kansas City and St. Louis, a YES vote in November would prohibit local politicians from imposing an earnings tax anywhere in the state.

Based on the large number of signatures gathered, it is clear that Missourians want a say on local earnings taxes, and they will have their voices heard again on November 2.

For more information on the initiative, go to www.LetVotersDecide.com.

Follow Let Voters Decide on Facebook and Twitter.

Workers in Kansas City are probably tackling RD-109, or RD-109NR for non-residents, while folks who live or work in St. Louis file Form E-1. Businesses also have to remit an earnings tax on profits. While many companies withhold the 1% tax for employees, any non-resident who worked part of the year outside the city may have overpaid, or may need to pay for work done inside city boundaries. In that case, filing becomes more difficult and it is up to the taxpayer to have documentation to support the dates he or she worked inside or outside the city.

These workers may soon have the opportunity to vote to sunset the city earnings tax. Here’s how that would happen:

The Let Voters Decide petition being circulated across Missouri will place language on the ballot that, if approved by voters, would trigger votes in Kansas City and St. Louis (the only cities in Missouri so far that levy a city earnings tax).

Current law doesn’t sunset the earnings tax, and for St. Louis and Kansas City residents it’s been 63 and 47 years respectively since they were engaged on this question of how best to raise city revenue. City economies, businesses, population, and industry have changed dramatically in the last half-century, so it is time to ask voters if the earnings tax is still the best way to raise revenue. Consider how often people get to vote on their local, state and federal elected officials, and that politicians are typically term-limited after 8 years. That opportunity to chart a different course, air new ideas, or simply reaffirm is what the Let Voters Decide petition aims to extend to Missouri voters.

The Let Voters Decide petition is gathering signatures across the state in order to qualify to place this language on the ballot. If Missouri voters approve that ballot initiative, it would prohibit new earnings taxes from being imposed on workers in communities that do not currently have one; and Kansas City and St. Louis voters would get a local vote every five years to decide if they would like to continue raising city revenue with the 1% earnings tax, or phase the tax out over a decade.

To learn more about Let Voters Decide, visit http://www.letvotersdecide.com, or connect on Facebook or Twitter.

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Associated Industries of Missouri, and the Missouri Growth Association serve a variety of Missouri businesses and industries.

Small businesses employ about half of U.S. workers, and are responsible for 64% of net new jobs in the past 15 years [source]. Some organizations, like the MO Chapter of National Federation of Independent Business, just focus on Missouri small businesses and issues that they face.

The Missouri Department of Revenue is a constant resource for businesses or individuals looking for information or answers to questions about taxation and licensure, and for their annual report.

The Missouri Department of Economic Development looks at indicators of state economic growth in their Economic Conditions Report, and connects Missouri businesses with state resources.

A drive across the state reminds us that farming is a very important part of the equation for Missouri growth. The Missouri Farm Bureau Association looks closely at how farmers and Missouri’s strong agricultural sector will be affected by policies.

Part of Missouri’s health is attracting and retaining population and businesses. Missouri Association of Realtors is watching these trends closely.

These organizations are great resources for learning more about the economic status of Missouri, and getting a picture of the variety of indicators we can look at to move Missouri in the right direction.

The group, named Let Voters Decide, will soon start gathering the roughly 100,000 voter signatures needed to place the initiative on the November 2010 statewide ballot.

Attorney Marc Ellinger, a spokesman for the new group, explained that various versions of an earnings tax measure had previously been submitted for review by the Secretary of State, but only one of them is to be circulated and ultimately headed to the ballot.

“The statutory initiative measure we will pursue does not automatically repeal the existing earnings taxes in St. Louis and Kansas City,” said Ellinger. “It’s designed to give voters in those cities the right to decide for themselves, in local elections, whether they want to continue the earnings tax in their city or phase it out gradually over a period of ten years. The initiative also prohibits any new local earnings taxes in communities that don’t currently have one, so it protects people in the rest of the state from having a local earnings tax imposed in their city or town.”

With regard to St. Louis and Kansas City, Ellinger explained that the initiative requires local “sunset” votes on the existing 1% earnings tax in each city every five years starting in 2011. The tax would continue as long as the majority of voters continue to approve it in those local votes. If, in a future local election, the majority of local voters in St. Louis or Kansas City vote against continuing the earnings tax, it would be phased out in their city gradually, over a period of ten years, at the rate of one-tenth of a percent per year.

Ellinger said the primary initial funding for the Let Voters Decide campaign has been provided by retired Missouri businessman and philanthropist Rex Sinquefield. Travis H. Brown, who heads up the Pelopidas L.L.C., a consulting firm that represents Sinquefield, will serve as Chairman of Let Voters Decide.

The drive toward dynamic economic growth for the Show-ME State economy is an important one to institute. That’s why we were fortunate to have Dr. Art Laffer of Laffer & Associates present his views on how Missouri’s economy can grow by replacing our state income tax with a broad-based sales tax system.

New York was the subject of a study by Stanford professor Caroline Hoxby. By comparing the progress of students who were accepted to a Charter school by random lottery and those who were not accepted and remained in public schools, Hoxby was able to create a reliable comparison between similar students.

The results showed children who attended Charter schools performed better in math and English. The key component of Hoxby’s study is that the school is the only difference between the two groups she studied. Parents were equally motivated, the children were equally qualified, and the lottery was random.

For Charter founders, teachers and board members, these findings reinforce their day-to-day experience working with individual students. The research dispels the myth that Charter successes have only been because they “cream” the best students. But research is not only valuable to prove a theory true, but also to direct next steps.

Missouri is one of the states that Dr. Hoxby’s study identifies as hosting Charter schools whose students showed significantly higher gains than their public school counterparts. This kind of definitive research is vitally useful in crafting a good education policy – one that produces measurable results.

But how will this information filter into policies, especially considering Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s (@arneduncan) recent tour promoting swift, serious education reforms on the state level? A study conducted by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory specifically examined how policymakers access and apply research evidence. Through focus groups and surveys, they found that research played a minor role in policy-shaping discourse.

“Study participants asserted that political perspectives, public sentiment, potential legal pitfalls, economic considerations, pressure from the media, and the welfare of individuals all take precedence over research evidence in influencing decisions. In focus groups and interviews, participants did not mention any ‘breakthrough research’ nor did they cite any findings that they felt had a dramatic effect on practice or policy.” ( p. 0iv)

Part of their research examined how researchers might present their findings to policymakers in a more useful format. Participants identified a lack of sophistication in finding, analyzing and applying data, as well as an apprehension about the accuracy of research. That is certainly understandable in a culture rich with data and research: sifting through a great wealth of often dense, technical research to find applicable, trusted, complete research requires rigor and time.

“Both policymakers and practitioners expressed a preference for brief reports (no more than one to two pages), in a larger font, and written in nontechnical language. They also identified a need for research that is locally relevant and credible, includes case studies, and offers analysis across multiple studies.” (p. Oiv)

The authors stressed that research has many auxiliary or indirect paths to influencing public policy. For instance, there is a heavier reliance on research by school administrators as they form local policies. Research may be highlighted by the media, or used by the reform-minded to frame a policy conversation. But in any of these scenarios, policymakers stressed that in order for it to be useful in sculpting reform policies, they had to receive that information from a trusted intermediary.

The Hoxby study in particular is a seminal piece of research that has already found a life in the reporting of major national newspapers, such as the New York Post, the Washington Post and the New York Times. The challenge in Missouri will be to help explain how this study applies to Missouri students: what the current Charter school environment looks like in Missouri, and how we can use policy as a bridge to increased achievement.

“Clearly, the formulation of policy is a balancing act among what is right, what is known, what is desired, and what is possible,” (p. 1) note the study’s authors, and good research can fortify that framework to result in truly effective reforms.

Additional Resources:

Caroline Hoxby was in St. Louis earlier this year to talk about her research on Charter School performance.

Charter School Research and Economics Part 1


Charter School Research and Economics Part 2


STUDIES MENTIONED ABOVE:

Caroline Hoxby’s Multiple Choice: Charter School Performance in 16 States

NREL: Toward a Research Agenda for Understanding and Improving the Use of Research Evidence

This weekend’s opening events included a “Queens of Jazz” concert at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis with Grammy nominee Ann Hampton Callaway and St. Louis’ own jazz queen, Denise Thimes, and the Opening Ceremony on Saturday. The Opening events had players draw colored scarves to determine their pieces for the opening round. They also hula hooped while playing chess, made moves with life-sized chess pieces, and participated in ‘bounty blitz’ matches! Two-time U.S. Women’s Champion Anna Zatonskih impressed crowds by defeating 5 challengers simultaneously – while blindfolded.

Rounds began Sunday, and continue through October 13th. Rounds begin daily at 2 p.m. at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, 4657 Maryland Ave., St. Louis, Missouri.

This morning, the club’s founder and chess advocate Rex Sinquefield joined his coach, Woman Grandmaster Jennifer Shahade on the Charlie Brennan show on KMOX. Listen to hear the interview on the Women’s Championship, Chess events around the city and the benefits of playing chess:

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