Letter from the President

This past year has been an electrifying time for Threshold Foundation. There was a major reorganization of our grants committees last year and this year was the time to see if the fruits of our labors would be realized. Had we listened long and hard enough to what direction the community was trying to take us? Was all the hard work and due diligence of the previous year going to pay off? Al Gore met with us at a Threshold conference two years ago, before he won the Nobel Peace Prize. His message was clear at that time: a sustainable planet and the democracy to allow it to happen are where the world needs us to focus our time and energy. He confirmed what we already knew. This past year Bill McKibben, Harvey Wasserman and Mark Ritchie spoke to us at our June conference. Again we heard how important sustainability and democracy are to our future and the planets future. Our community was convinced. Last year we brought one of the largest grants pools in recent history to the table. Our two core grant committees, Sustainable Planet and Democracy were able to make some of the most significant and substantial grants in their areas of focus. Sustainable Planet targeted work that addresses Community-based Solutions, Ecological Hotspots and Averting Mass Extinction. They also accelerated two timely grants in 2007 to support work on Climate Change, which the committee has taken on as a new area of focus for 2008. The Democracy Committee funded efforts to: ensure integrity in election processes and voting equipment; empower marginalized communities to register, vote and challenge barriers to voting access; and limit the influence of big money special interests in governmental processes, especially elections and legislation. A spectacular one-two punch. This was all done in the midst of also generously funding our new Funding Circle initiatives; Restorative Justice, International Microcredit, and Gulf South Allied Funders. Funding Circles were our response to the varied and specific interests that we see in our donor community that fluctuate with time and the current state of affairs globally. We wanted to harness this energy and bring it back into the Threshold fold for everyones benefit. Restorative Justice sought to promote alternatives to the modus operandi of the American criminal justice system. International Microcredit provided funding for indigenous microfinance institutions

(MFIs) and critically needed capital for local entrepreneurs in developing regions throughout the world. Gulf South Allied Funders is a donor initiative formed in response to the devastation by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. It was also a way for us to build ties between donor communities with whom GSAF is in collaboration to strengthen our ability to work together and fund strategically. While still in its infancy, Funding Circles look like a homerun. Initially there was concern that this initiative might affect our core committees capacity to give. How could we fund both of these areas in a meaningful way? Would we be competing with ourselves? The answer was a resounding no. Not only did we increase our grants pool giving, we exponentially expanded our capacity to give as a community in all of our initiatives. There was a 15.7% increase in the number of people giving and a whopping 56% increase in dollar amount given to all initiatives from last year. A great lessonIn my own life I refer to it Act as if or faith with due diligence. We acted as if we had the capacity to hold all of these wonderful initiatives, did our homework and watched it manifest itself. Thank you. Looking into 2008 we are riding a wonderful wave of momentum. There is increased vigor in our two core grantmaking committees and an increase in the number of funding circles from three to five. The three funding circles returning for their second year are Restorative Justice, International Microcredit and Gulf South Allied Funders. The two new funding circles are Complementary Currency and Arts for Social Change. Will we be able to sustain our capacity to give? I think sowith faith and the perseverance to do our homework, I believe we are nowhere near our limit to manifest what we seek!

With love and gratitude, Michele Grennon

Threshold Foundation 007 Grants List

Following a two-year process of change and development, Threshold launched a newly re-designed Grants Program in 2007. We established two new Core Committees: Democracy and Sustainable Planet, and introduced a new philanthropic form for Threshold: Funding Circles. The Democracy and Sustainable Planet Committees are the more permanent, institutional fixtures in Thresholds philanthropic constellation. Funding Circles are authorized in a yearly charter process and remain in the foundations orbit for a more limited scope of work or length of time.

For more information about current Core Committee and Funding Circle guidelines and funding criteria, please visit the Threshold Foundation website at www.thresholdfoundation.org

Democracy Committee

2007 grants$342,000

To save t he democracy we thought we had, we must take aemocracy to where it s never been Frances Moore Lapp

To save our democracy we must put citizens at the center of the problem solving. We must ask, How corrupt has our system of government become? Why are Americans voting in such low numbers, especially low income people, the young, marginalized constituencies and the formerly incarcerated? In 2007, the committee supported efforts to: ensure integrity in election processes and voting equipment; empower marginalized communities to register, vote and challenge barriers to voting access; limit the influence of big money special interests in governmental processes so that they do not enjoy favored status or unfair access to decision makers.

Arizona Advocacy Network

A statewide progressive coalition working for economic security, environmental protection and social justice by making political power accessible to all Arizonans, regardless of socio-economic conditions, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity or geography. Its mission is to build a broad-based, non-partisan coalition of grassroots and advocacy organizations and leaders throughout Arizona that develops and strengthens leadership, promotes social justice, and articulates and advocates a peoples agenda for Arizona. $30,000 Democracy and Elections Project Phoenix, AZ www.azadvocacy.org

and 3) to present an effective alternative in an open and accountable government that is responsive to the needs of all Californians. $30,000 General Support Los Angeles, CA www.caclean.org

Center for Civic Action

Seeks to engage voters in socially responsible policies and support organizations and emerging leaders. Through its Statewide Clean Elections Campaign, CCA hopes to assist in winning statewide clean elections for New Mexico. $40,000 Statewide Clean Election Campaign Albuquerque, NM www.civicpolicy.com

California Clean Money Campaign

Works to bring about progressive social change through education about campaign finance reform; specifically, full public financing of California state elections. Its mission is 1) to educate organizations and the general public about the alarming, non-stop escalation of political campaign costs; 2) to foster understanding of how money in politics distorts public policy, deters potential candidates from running, and compromises the entire democratic process;

Columbus Institute for Contemporary Journalism

Dedicated to promoting media independence through alternative and diverse voices. Its outlets are the internet, a bimonthly journal, book publishing, radio programs and video production. For its 2008 Election Protection project, CICJ will organize a grassroots coalition to investigate, report on, and monitor the electronic voting system in Ohio. $12,000 2008 Election Protection Columbus, OH www.freepress.org

Democracy Unlimited of Humbolt County / California Center for Community Democracy

Educating citizens regarding the corporate seizure of our government, DUHC has a demonstrated history of successfully designing and implementing innovative grassroots strategies that exercise democratic power over corporations. Building from its own sucesses, its Community Rights Project will produce tools to assist other communities interested in passing ordinances to forbid corporate political contributions. $30,000 Community Rights Project Eureka, CA www.duhc.org

build a progressive governing majority in our lifetime. The Leagues Unlock the Vote project in PA focuses on increasing voter turnout and awareness about voting generally among ex-offenders in the Pittsburgh area (Allegheny County). $30,000 Pennsylvania Leagues Unlock the Vote Project Brooklyn, NY www.indyvoter.org

MAPLight.org
A groundbreaking public database, MAPlight.org illuminates the connection between campaign donations and legislative votes in unprecedented ways. Elected officials collect large sums of money to run their campaigns, and have been suspected of paying back campaign contributors with special access and favorable laws. MAPLight.org makes money/vote connections transparent, to help citizens hold their legislators accountable. $30,000 Outreach Berkeley, CA www.maplight.org

Families United for Racial and Economic Equality

A multiracial, woman led membership organization made up of low-income and no-income workers, FUREE organizes to affect the welfare system so that all peoples work is valued and all people have the right to choose their own destinies and earn the economic means to live them out. The Electoral Engagement for Power Project uses political education, leadership development and grassroots mobilization to increase voter engagement and turnout of low-income families in New York City. $30,000 Electoral Engagement for Power Brooklyn, NY www.furee.org

Velvet Revolution
Dedicated to clean, transparent, and accountable government. Its Election Protection Strike force for 2008 will work with partners and whistleblowers to investigate and expose election fraud issues in order to educate the public and officials before the next election. $25,000 Election Protection Strike Force 2008 Washington, DC www.velvetrevolution.us

Latina Initiative
A non-partisan voter outreach and civic engagement organization whose mission is to cultivate, support and maintain the civic involvement of Latinas in Colorado. Latina Initiative is the premier nonprofit increasing civic engagement of the Latina community. $30,000 General Support Denver, CO www.latinainitiative.org

Voter Action / International Humanities Center

Provides financial, legal, research and logistical support for grassroots efforts with the goal of ensuring the integrity of elections in the United States. A lawsuit was filed in state court on January 14, 2005. The primary purpose of this action is to obtain a permanent injunction against use of the voting machines that have been linked to the problems in the 2004 general election. $55,000 General Support Seattle, WA www.voteraction.org

League of Independent Voters

Organizes 1735 year olds to build a progressive governing majority in their lifetime. It develops leaders and builds political power to fight for public policies which reflect their core values and seeks to

Sustainable Planet Committee 2007 grants$352,000

How do we meet the needs of people now without compromising the
needs of future generations? How do we bring all human activities into harmony with nature for the benefit of all beings?

To face these questions, we must transform both human culture and technology to live within the physical limits of the local and global ecosystems. Most urgently, this implies protecting threatened ecosystems to preserve biodiversity and prevent extinction. This in turn will require addressing global ecological issues such as climate change, empowering local and indigenous communities and deploying new clean technologies. In 2007, this committee funded in three areas of focus: Community-based Solutions, Ecological Hotspots, and Averting Mass Extinction.

Alliance for Sustainable Colorado

Works to achieve environmental, economic and social sustainability in Colorado through building broad support among individuals, nonprofit organizations, businesses and government. The Alliance facilitates relationships and common goals and agendas among individuals, nonprofit organizations, businesses and government to unify support behind jointly backed policy initiatives that consider long-term impacts. It provides the nucleus for a statewide sustainability movement for Colorado and a model for sustainability movements in other states. $25,000 General Support Denver, CO www.allianceforcolorado.org

systems. It is its mission to catalyze, strengthen, and connect these local networks. $20,000 General Support San Francisco, CA www.livingeconomies.org

California Academy of Sciences

Enables scientists to conduct vital research around the Bay Area, across the United States, and in the worlds hotspots of biodiversity. It plays an important role in empowering teachers across the state with resources and training, and providing education outreach programs directly to underserved youth. Steinhart Aquarium and world-class exhibits are one example. As a project of California Academy of Sciences, the mission of Center for Biodiversity Research and Information (CBRI) is to foster and disseminate integrative, multidisciplinary research based on the biodiversity data residing in CAS specimen collections. CBRI applies a wide range of geospatial tools and analysis to museum biodiversity data to understand and communicate changing patterns of species distributions. $35,000 Center for Biodiversity Research and Information San Francisco, CA www.calacademy.org

Business Alliance for Local Living Economies

A rapidly growing alliance of 35 local business networks comprising over 12,000 entrepreneurs and small company owners from across the U.S. and Canada who are collaborating to build diversified local economies that support community life and natural

Energy Action Coalition / Earth Island Institute

A coalition of more than 40 organizations from across the US and Canada, founded and led by youth to help support and strengthen the student and youth clean energy movement in North America. Funding supports the Lobby Day and Rally components of Power Shift 2007. $25,000 Power Shift 2007 Washington, DC www.powershift07.org

Global Cooling / Planetwork

An informal group of collaborating scientists from the US and UK examining an idea for creating a controlled global cooling to balance global warming resulting from burning fossil fuel. Its Cloud Seeding to Avert Catastrophic Global Warming project will assess and develop a scheme for mitigating global warming via low lying maritime clouds. $25,000 Cloud Seeding to Avert Catastrophic Global Warming Boulder, CO http://planetwork.net/climate/cooling

Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide

Gives public interest lawyers and scientists around the world the skills and resources they need to protect the environment through law. Its advocates serve low-income communities around the world, helping citizens strengthen and enforce laws to protect themselves and their communities from toxic pollution and environmental degradation. Its advocates are building a sustainable future by helping citizens participate in policy decisions about the environment. By giving grassroots advocates access to critical legal and scientific resources, E-LAW strengthens these advocates to challenge environmental abuses and pursue environmental justice. $25,000 General Support Eugene, OR www.elaw.org

Global Response
Empowers people of all ages, cultures, and nationalities to protect the environment by creating partnerships for effective citizen action. At the request of indigenous peoples and grassroots organizations, Global Response organizes urgent international letter campaigns to help communities prevent many kinds of environmental destruction. Global Response involves young people as well as adults in these campaigns to develop in them the values and skills for global citizen cooperation and earth stewardship. $30,000 General Support Boulder, CO www.globalresponse.org

Green Empowerment
Promotes community-based renewable energy, potable water delivery and related watershed restoration internationally to generate social and environmental progress. It emphasizes local leadership, community participation, and long-term economic and environmental sustainability. $20,000 General Support Portland, OR www.greenempowerment.org

Friends of Calakmul
Works to conserve 350,000 acres of prime jaguar habitat in the southwest Buffer Zone of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, by providing local owners with economic benefits derived from conservation of their land. To date, FOC has signed landmark agreements with more than 200 families that permanently protect more than 250,000 acres of rainforest. $25,000 General Support Tahoe City, CA www.calakmul.org

National Council of Churches

For 25 years the NCC has worked through its 100,000 local churches and 45 million members to mobilize the faith community around such issues as global warming, energy, water conservation, toxics, and sustainability. Its Faithful Stewardship campaign will mobilize Americas faith community around the global extinction crisis. $25,000 Faithful Stewardships Project to Mobilize Americas Faith Community on the Global Extinction Crisis New York, NY www.nccecojustice.org

Species Alliance
Works to raise public awareness of the impending mass extinction and the threat to Earths life support systems due to this loss of biodiversity. Through films and other media, its website, and outreach, it seeks to ignite a new sense of community empowerment and purpose, in order to stimulate creative and effective changes in public policies and human behavior that will assure a healthy future for all life on Earth. $37,500 General Support Emeryville, CA www.speciesalliance.org

Red de Permacultura en el Peru

An NGO of permaculture experts skilled in Amazon sustainability projects. The Rainforest ProtectionAchual Sustainable Harvests Project supports the Achuales, a native people of the Peruvian Amazon, who wish to protect their 4,000 acres of native rainforest land through stabilization of their native community, permanent agriculture and reforestation. $14,500 Rainforest Protection-Achual Sustainable Harvests Project Pucallpa, Peru website not available

Sustainable Connections
Works with local, independently owned businesses that have the autonomy to make any transformational change in their business that they can imagine to reexamine where we buy goods and services, how we consume energy, grow and distribute our food, build homes, and even, how we define success in business. $20,000 General Support Bellingham, WA www.sconnect.org

The Regeneration Project

Seeks to deepen the connection between faith and ecology. TRP educates and encourages faith leaders and their communities, across all religions and denominations, about their responsibility to be good stewards of Creation. $25,000 Interfaith Power and Light Campaign San Francisco, CA www.theregenerationproject.org

2007 Funding Circle

Gulf South Allied Funders

2007 grants$177,000

Mission

Gulf South Allied Funders (GSAF) is a donor initiative formed in response to the devastation by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Its objectives include: Generating at least three years of steady financial support from individual donors, donor communities and foundations, for equitable rebuilding of the Gulf South. Discussing the ongoing human rights violations in the region, and the ways in which the very personal tragedies of the people in the area have national implications. Building the ties between donor communities in order to strengthen our ability to work together strategically. Raising the capacity and visibility of the Twenty-First Century Foundation (21CF) - one of the few national and publicly endowed Black foundations in the United States. Facilitating positive changes in public policy.

Twenty-First Century Foundation

The destruction caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita changed the lives of thousands of individuals and families along the Gulf Coast. 21CF responded within days of the disaster, by establishing the Hurricane Katrina Recovery Fund, with a mission to provide targeted support to rebuild the lives of black and low-income people and communities directly impacted by the hurricanes. This special initiative involves collaborating with partner organizations in the affected regions and mobilizing individuals and organizational allies from different parts of the country to ensure that resources get to the people who need them most. Its priority is to make strategic grants for relief, recovery, and advocacy efforts that provide a voice for all people in the rebuilding plans for the region, and that promote long-term equitable solutions. $177,000 Hurricane Katrina Recovery Fund New York, NY www.21cf.org

2007 Funding Circle

Restorative Justice
2007 grants$146,000

10

Mission

The mission of the Restorative Justice Funding Circle is to promote humane alternatives to the current modus operandi of American criminal justice. It supports efforts to (1) prevent imprisonment, particularly lengthy, Draconian sentences; (2) transform imprisonment from a period of suffering and debilitation into a period of healing, growth and empowerment, including victim-offender dialogue and reconciliation, spiritual and emotional healing, and vocational endowment; (3) diagnose and treat prisoners with mental health and/or substance abuse problems; (4) support prisoners families during and after incarceration; and (5) steward and mentor prisoners when they return home. In 2007, the Funding Circle focused on endeavors to transform, heal, motivate, and empower prisoners, all with the principal goal of reducing recidivism and uplifting the communities to which ex-prisoners return.

Freedom Project
Supports the transformation of prisoners into peacemakers. It offers trainings in concrete skills of Nonviolent Communication and mindfulness leading to reconciliation with ourselves, our loved ones and the community. Its work addresses the healing of relationships ruptured by violence and the forging of community founded on genuine safety through connection. $23,500 General Support Seattle, WA www.freedom-project.org

Manalive Violence Prevention Programs

Conducts direct services, training, and community action activities designed to impact the cycle of violence that devastates the San Francisco community. Its mission is to end violence, especially mens violence against women and its programs support this. $20,500 General Support San Francisco, CA www.manaliveinternational.org

Insight Prison Project

A community organization that believes community members need to play an active role in the prisons surrounding a community. IPP is dedicated to creating and conducting effective programs for inmate rehabilitation and to support the reinstatement of rehabilitation as a core operating principle within the penal system. $28,500 General Support San Rafael, CA www.insightprisonproject.org

Mediation Works
Empowers individuals and organizations to resolve their differences peacefully. It teaches conflict resolution skills and provides mediation services, thereby building understanding and respect in its diverse community. $13,000 Empowering Incarcerated Youth Medford, OR www.mediation-works.org

Stop Prisoner Rape

A national human rights organization seeking to end sexual violence against women, men and youth in all forms of detention. It works to advocate for policies that ensure institutional accountability, to change societys attitudes toward prisoner rape, and to promote access to resources for survivors of sexual assault behind bars. $25,500 Survivor Connections Project Los Angeles, CA www.spr.org

11

The Treatment Advocacy Center

Dedicated to eliminating legal and clinical barriers to timely and humane treatment for Americans with severe brain disorders who are not receiving appropriate medical care. Focusing on schizophrenia and manic-depressive illness (bipolar disorder), it works to prevent the devastating consequences of nontreatment: homelessness, suicide, victimization, worsening of symptoms, violence, and incarceration. $15,500 Manual for Implementing Assisted Outpatient Treatment Arlington, VA www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org

Urban Justice Center

Engages in legal services and grassroots and systemic advocacy for members of marginalized populations. Its Rights for Imprisoned People with Psychiatric Disorders is the only grassroots, self-governing, direct-action organizing group in the country that is fighting to reverse current trends and end the criminalization of mental illness. $19,500 Rights for Imprisoned People with Psychiatric Disabilities New York, NY www.urbanjustice.org

2007 Funding Circle

International Microcredit

2007 grants$148,000

1

Mission
Friendship Bridge

The International Microcredit Funding Circle funds microlending institutions in regions of the world where people are living in poverty. It directs funds through existing microfinance institutions that primarily lend to women, and that provide training in business practices, and if necessary, technical assistance. The funding circle seeks opportunities in which the money gets recycled into a lending pool and becomes a permanent endowment for change. Microlending empowers people with an arm and a leg up to sustainable self-sufficiency; it preserves their dignity and promotes self-esteem in the process, rather than providing a handout, which can be disempowering.

Provides small business loans to women in Guatemala and Vietnam who have the energy and foresight to emerge from the shadows of war and long-standing poverty. In addition, Friendship Bridge helps organize and support village-based health projects while it also provides educational scholarships to over 700 rural school age children. $34,000 Credit and Education program in Guatemala Evergreen, CO www.friendshipbridge.org

NamasteDirect / Namaste Foundation

Dedicated to providing loan funds for rural first-time women borrowers in Central America who have no other source of credit. NamasteDirect links donors with borrowers through providing donors with information on the loan cycle and the community where their funds were distributed as microcredit loans. $34,000 Las Mujeres Rurales 100+ Group San Francisco, CA www.namaste-direct.org

Kiva.org
The first online platform for retail microfinance lending, Kiva.org allows individuals to lend as little as $25 to specific micro-businesses in the developing world. It works with a network of microfinance institutions (MFIs) who use its website as a marketplace to attract debt for their clients. Its mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty. $25,000 Web and Cell based Microfinance San Francisco, CA www.kiva.org

Permacultura America Latina

Works to teach and preserve permaculture and create models of sustainable agriculture, appropriate housing and alternative technology in Central and South America. The organizations mission is directed towards indigenous communities, ethnic minorities, womens groups and farmers. $25,000 Permabanco project Santa Fe, NM www.permacultura.org

1

Small Enterprise Foundation

A developmental microfinance institution with the goal of working towards the elimination of poverty and unemployment in a sustainable manner by providing credit for self employment, combined with savings mobilization and a methodology that substantially increases the poors chances of successful self-employment. $30,000 Microloans program Limpopo Province, South Africa www.sef.co.za

Informal Funding

2007 grants$248,126

1

Informal Funding occurs at Threshold meetings and raises funds for organizations presented by members to members. These are closed funding cycles and as such do not accept unsolicited letters of inquiry.

1+1+1=ONE
$8,600 We Got Issues! Art and Civic Participation Project Brooklyn, NY www.somosarte.com/Web/WGI

George Washington Carver Community Center / Carver Foundation of Norwalk

$7,720 Youth Development Program Norwalk, CT http://carvercenterct.org

The 0% League / Zing Foundation

$4,850 General Support Arlington, MA www.50percentleague.org

Advancement Project
$12,550 General Support Los Angeles, CA http://www.advanceproj.org

Code Pink / Environmentalism Through Inspiration and Non Violent Action

$53,900 Code Pinks Occupation Project Venice, CA www.codepinkalert.org

Art in Action Youth Leadership Program / Youth for Environmental Sanity

$11,400 Scholarships Oakland, CA http://www.artinactioncamp.org

Comunicacion Indigena S. C.
$33,050 Indigenous Media Projects Oaxaca, Mexico www.clacpi.org

Deep Streams Institute

$13,400 Coming Home Project San Francisco, CA www.cominghomeproject.net

Bill Oliver Productions / Classical Music Consortium of Austin

$6,550 Mother Earth Festival at the Springs: Interactive Arts and Nature Austin, TX www.mrhabitat.net

Fund for Reconciliation & Development

$25,750 Peter Yarrow Performance and Advocacy Tour of Vietnam Dobbs Ferry, NY www.ffrd.org

One Water Project / Hygeia Foundation

$13,600 One Water Project in Bolivia New York, NY www.hygeia.org

Soldiers Heart / International Humanities Center

$18,350 General Support Albany, NY www.mentorthesoul.com/soldiersheart

Non-GMO Project / Ecology Center

$8,000 Outreach and Education Berkeley, CA www.nongmoproject.org

The New World Foundation

$16,250 Arts for Justice Program New York, NY www.newwf.org

Nonviolent Peaceforce
$26,300 Emergency Rapid Response Team to Guatemala Minneapolis, MN www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org

TransparentDemocracy.org
$21,650 Develop its technology platform for use in the 2008 electoral cycle Los Altos Hills, CA www.TransparentDemocracy.org

1

Peter M. Goodrich Memorial Foundation

$10,000 Greenhouse Project in the Wardak region of Afghanistan Bennington, VT www.goodrichfoundation.org

PeaceKeeper Fund / Triskeles Foundation

$10,300 Ja and the Pattaya Home for Street Children Glenmoore, PA www.triskeles.org

Planetwork
$16,500 Conserving Life: Averting Mass Extinction of Species Nicasio, CA www.planetwork.net

True Story Theater

$11,700 Theatre for Dialogue and Reconciliation Project Arlington, MA www.truestorytheater.org

Reuniting America / Mediators Foundation

$16,100 General Support St. Louis Park, MN www.reunitingamerica.org

Urban Word NYC / Bowery Arts & Science

$22,800 General Support New York, NY www.urbanwordnyc.org

Sharon House Garden Project / Waterbury Baptist Ministries

$10,220 General Support Waterbury, CT

urbanPEACE / Wind Beneath My Wings

$12,300 PeaceWELL GREEN Renovation Project Emeryville, CA www.urbanpeace.org

Discretionary Grants

2007 grants$114,188

1

Alliance for Sustainable Colorado

$10,000 General Support Denver, CO www.allianceforcolorado.org

Climate Trust
$2,180 General Support Portland, OR www.climatetrust.org

CODEPINK Action Fund

$100,000 Dont Buy Bushs War and Occupation Project Venice, CA www.codepinkaction.org

Sustainable Energy and Economic Development Coalition / Texas Fund for Energy and Environmental Education
$2,008 TXU Action Camp Austin, TX www.seedcoalition.org

Information for Grantseekers

Threshold Foundations annual grants program includes two Core Grantmaking Committees the Democracy Committee and the Sustainable Planet Committee and a number of funding circles, which change on an annual basis. For current information about Core Committee and Funding Circle guidelines and funding criteria, please visit the Threshold Foundation website at www.thresholdfoundation.org.

17

Grants Process
The annual grant cycle begins in September with the submission of Letters of Inquiry (LOI) by organizations interested in seeking grants from Threshold Foundation. Threshold members may sponsor organizations with a letter of recommendation or organizations may submit an unsolicited LOI. Threshold Foundation does not match organizations with Threshold members for sponsorship into the grantmaking process, but all LOIs are given an initial review. From the LOIs the grant committees select a limited number of organizations to which are sent a Request for Proposal (RFP). After reviewing the proposals, the grant committees select a subset of organizations for a site-visit and evaluation. Once the site-visit and evaluations are complete evaluations are reviewed and grant committees finalize their grant recommendations to the Circle (Board of Directors) in June. Grant agreement and funds are disbursed at the end of July. emergency or discretionary grants outside of the annual grant cycle. Grant amounts typically range from $5,000 to $25,000. Organizations seeking grants must have 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status or 501(c)(4) lobbying status from the IRS or must be exclusively organized for charitable or educational purposes, inside or outside the United States.

Applying for a Grant

The first step in applying to the annual grant cycle is to submit an online Letter of Inquiry through our website at www.thresholdfoundation.org. Note that guidelines for applying to the annual grant cycle often change, as we are continually trying to improve our process based on feedback from grantees and committee members. Therefore, we recommend that grantseekers visit the Threshold Foundations website in August for the most up-to-date information regarding the deadline and application process for the following years cycle.

Grant Types and Sizes

Threshold Foundation provides grants for general operating expenses as well as special projects. Grants are primarily single year though occasionally grants may be for two to three years. We do not give

Endowment Investment Report

1

The endowment investment principles of Threshold Foundation complement its philanthropic goals. The entire portfolio has a social investment focus with positive and negative screens: seventy percent is in socially screened stock, bonds, and cash with Boston Common Asset Management, Calvert, Miller/Howard Investments, and Trillium Asset Management; twenty percent is in Program Related Investments, primarily Community Development Loan Funds that are listed here; the remaining ten percent has been designated for high growth, venturetype investments.

Program Related Investment

Accion International
Boston, MA www.accion.org

Loan Amount
$55,000

Chicago Community Loan Fund

Chicago, IL www.cclfchicago.org

$25,000

Community Bank of the Bay

Oakland, CA www.communitybankbay.com

$25,000

Cooperative Fund of New England

Amherst, MA www.cooperativefund.org

$20,000

E&Co

Bloomfield, NJ www.eandco.net

$50,000

Enterprise Corporation of the Delta

Jackson, MS www.ecd.org

$35,000

Human/Economic Appalachian Development Community Loan Fund

Berea, KY www.headcorp.org

$20,000

Institute for Community Economics

Springfield, MA www.iceclt.org

$50,000

Endowment Gifts
National Federation of Community Development CU
New York, NY www.natfed.org

1

$50,000

New Mexico Community Development Loan Fund

PO Box 705 Albuquerque, NM 87103-0705

$30,000

Opportunity Finance Network

Philadelphia, PA www.opportunityfinance.net

$100,000

You can make an endowment gift to Threshold Foundation through a charitable trust, real estate gift, or by means of a bequest in your will. Because grantee organizations, grantee needs and other conditions change over the years, it will often avoid legal complications if simple unrestricted language like the following is used in wills: I hereby give and bequest _____ ______ to Threshold Foundation, a not-for-profit tax-exempt public charity founded under the laws of the State of New York, having as its principal address PO Box 29903, San Francisco, California 94129-0903, for the general purposes of Threshold Foundation. If you want to discuss the language of your bequest, or if you want more information on planned giving possibilities (including real estate gifts), the staff or Circle (Board of Directors) would be happy to meet with you. To schedule a meeting contact the Foundation Manager at 415-561-6400.

Root Capital

Cambridge, MA www.rootcapital.org

$20,000

Self-Help Credit Union

Durham, NC www.self-help.org

$25,000

Self-Help Enterprises

Visalia, CA www.selfhelpenterprises.com

$45,000

Shared Interest

New York, NY www.sharedinterest.org

$35,000

ShoreBank Enterprise Pacific

Ilwaco, WA www.eco-bank.com

$50,000

Independent Auditors Report

0

Board of Directors Threshold Foundation

We have audited the accompanying statement of financial position of Threshold Foundation (the Foundation) as of December 31, 2006, and the related statements of activities and cash flows for the year then ended. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Foundations management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit. The prior year summarized comparative information has been derived from the Foundations 2005 financial statements and, in our report dated July 28, 2006, we expressed an unqualified opinion on those statements. We conducted our audit in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion. In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Threshold Foundation as of December 31, 2006, and the changes in net assets and its cash flows for the year then ended, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Signed Fontanello, Duffield & Otake, LLP Certified Public Accountants 44 Montgomery Street, Suite 2019 San Francisco, CA 94104

Balance Sheet

Statements of Financial Position

YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2006 AND 2005

2006

2005

Assets
Cash and cash equivalents Pledges receivable Deposits Other current assets Total current assets Program related investments Investments Total investments Total assets $ 349,900 11,349 121,900 13,059 496,208 535,000 2,553,970 3,088,970 3,585,178 $ 319,851 13,845 84,552 8,225 426,473 535,000 2,482,300 3,017,300 3,443,773

1

Liabilities
Grants payable Accounts payable Refundable deposits Total liabilities $ 6,525 13,771 7,845 28,141 $ 10,000 28,399 7,000 45,399

Net Assets
Unrestricted net assets
General operations Designated for grantmaking pool Designated for endowment purposes Total unrestricted net assets Temporarily restricted net assets Total net assets Total liabilities and net assets 325,998 207,295 2,797,629 3,330,922 226,116 3,557,037 $ 3,585,178 303,312 299,302 2,698,680 3,301,294 97,080 3,398,374 $ 3,443,773

Income and Expense

Statements of Activities
Support and Revenue
Grants and contributions Conference revenues Investment income Net assets released from restriction Total support and revenue $ 1,146,507 144,100 251,135 1,541,742 226,116 (97,080) 129,036 97,080 1,638,822 $ 226,116 $ 1,372,623 144,100 251,135 1,767,858 1,767,858 $ 1,008,770 94,412 102,601 1,205,783 1,205,783
YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2006 AND 2005

Unrestricted

Temporarily Restricted

2006 Total

2005 Total



Expenses
Program services Grants Conference expenses Network communications Total program services Supporting services Grantmaking support Board/corporate support Total supporting services Total expenses 91,903 127,014 218,917 1,609,195 29,627 3,301,294 3,330,921 129,036 97,080 226,116 91,903 127,014 218,917 1,609,195 158,663 3,398,374 3,557,037 85,450 122,362 207,812 1,222,710 (16,927) 3,415,301 3,398,374 1,137,425 67,659 185,194 1,390,278 1,137,425 67,659 185,194 1,390,278 866,735 46,870 101,293 1,014,898

Change in Net Assets

Net assets at beginning of year Net assets at end of year

2006 REvENUE Investment income 16% Conference revenues 9%

2006 ExPENSE Board/corporate support 8% Grants and contributions 75 % Grantmaking support 6% Network communications 11% Conference expenses 4% Grants 71%

Cash Flows

Statements of Cash Flows

YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2006 AND 2005

2006

2005

Cash flows from operating activities

Increase (decrease) in net assets Adjustments to reconcile change in net assets to cash used in operating activities: Net investment return Contibuted stock Decrease (increase) in Pledges receivable Deposits Other current assets Increase (decrease) in Grants payable Accounts payable Refundable deposits Net cash used in operating activities (3,475) (14,628) 845 (295,487) (5,000) (297) (28,475) (303,807) 2,496 (37,348) (4,835) (3,955) (26,552) (646) (251,135) (146,070) (102,601) (119,354) $158,663 $ (16,927)



Cash flows from investing activities

Purchase of investments Proceeds from sale of investments Return of program related investments Distributions from partnerships Net cash provided by investing activities (505,857) 817,324 14,069 325,536 30,049 319,851 $349,900 (470,291) 601,168 75,000 122,901 328,778 24,971 294,880 $319,851

Net change in cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year Cash and cash equivalents at end of year

In Memory of

Jane Van D usen

Jane Van Dusen, a long time member of Threshold, died December 10, 2006 at age 82. She suffered a massive stroke after feeling unwell for a couple of months and being diagnosed with an aortic embolism. In 2001 Jane attended the first session of the Threshold Leadership Institute (created by Grant Abert and Marian Moore) with Lillie Allen. Jane expressed great concern for three of her grandchildren who lived in an unhealthy environment. She felt helpless and worried about their future. She was encouraged by the group to take action, which resulted in her taking the three (then aged 154) into her New Jersey summer home and becoming their guardian. She made many sacrifices as a result, including having to live where the state of New Jersey allowed her to live. She missed Threshold meetings and friends a great deal, but had only rare times she could leave the children. She gave up her freedom including to travel and have much of a social life to provide a healthy, loving, stable home for her grandchildren. Jane suffered many losses in her life, most painfully the death of her daughter, Janie, but kept on living her best. Jane loved her shore home in Ocean County, NJ, and was beloved in her home community of Simsbury, CT. She was a practitioner of bioenergetic analysis. Jane was the epitome of maternal love and sacrifice, giving up her freedom in her last years to nurture her grandchildren while encouraging what relationship they might have with their mother. She was a wise woman, always seeking to learn, a loyal friend with a charming sense of humor, and a loving mother and grandmother.
Written by Molly Stranahan, January 2007