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In The News …

DC area unemployment rate is unchanged at 5.3 percent (Washington Post: Local): “The Washington area jobless rate hovered at 5.3% in November, according to a Labor Department report released Tuesday that revealed little change in the local employment picture [...] the Washington economy has been steadily adding jobs, but not at a fast enough clip for the recovery to shift into higher gear.” Education and health services posted the largest job gains, with the latter alone adding 11,300 between November 2011 and 2012. Local leisure and hospitality continued to add jobs as well, while manufacturing and construction both subtracted. Overall, the area remains well below the national rate of 7.8%.

The Fiscal Cliff Legislation: A Primer for Nonprofits on Its Provisions (Nonprofit Quarterly): “The short message that should be taken away from the so-called “fiscal cliff” legislation passed last night is that it is no time to relax [...] Here is our scorecard on the fiscal cliff mini-bargain.” At the NPQ website, you can read an overview of the final legislation on charitable deductions, marginal tax rates, and other taxes (such as the payroll tax); that said, “good news for nonprofits and the communities they serve is that a variety of programs that benefit working class and lower income people have been saved — for the time being.”

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In The News …

Little known about DC’s young homeless, except that numbers are growing (Washington Post): “Though relatively little else is known about them, the number of homeless youths in the District has jumped, according to numbers released Tuesday by the National Center of Family Homelessness [...] In 2010, 4,309 children were found to be without stable housing in a city where 27% of households pay more than 50% of their income for rent.” According to the State Report Card on Child Homelessness, “Virginia and Maryland ranked 18th and 22nd for risk for homelessness;” and the DC Alliance of Youth Advocates finds that a growing number of homeless individuals are also parents under the age of 24.

Foundation Funding for Hispanics/Latinos (Philanthropy News Digest: PhilanTopic): “Our colleagues here in the Research Department have just released a new report that examines foundation giving to Hispanics in the U.S. and for Latin America over the last decade [...] Foundation Funding for Hispanics/Latinos in the United States and for Latin America found that over the past decade, U.S. foundation giving intended to benefit Latinos remained steady at about 1% of total foundation giving, even as the Latino population in the US grew significantly.” The report, which gave particular focus to the 2007-2009 period, also found that the greater Los Angeles area received the largest share of both grant dollars (17%) and grants (13%) of any US metropolitan area in that time.

Theaters’ Fiscal Outlook Improves Slightly (Chronicle of Philanthropy): “The latest round of an annual survey of nonprofit theaters’ finances offers some optimism [...] Theater Facts 2010, compiled by grant-making and advocacy outfit the Theater Communications Group, found total assets, including box office, gifts, and endowment earnings, exceeded expenses last year for the 113 organizations that have participated in the study for each of the last five years.” TCG head Teresa Eyring points out that rising attendance, at readings and workshops as well as full productions, also “bodes well for the health of theater overall.”