AFP Blog: Recent News of Note

This blog contains assorted news and commentary on the fundraising profession and philanthropy gathered by the AFP Fundraising Resource Center. Other Sites of Interest Section Disclaimer: AFP provides the following listing of hyperlinks to other Internet pages as a privilege to the user. AFP does not necessarily endorse, support or attest to the accuracy of information posted on those Internet pages. Some links may require registration to view and/or may only be available for a limited time.

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Columbia Missourian - Lay’s legacy up in the air

Columbia Missourian - Lay’s legacy up in the air:
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"In 1999, Lay donated $1.1 million to MU to establish the Kenneth Lay Chair in Economics, which remains vacant.

Twice Lay asked MU to return his gift, which is now worth about $1.8 million — first, in October to contribute to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts and again in February to help fund his legal expenses. MU denied both requests, stating in an October letter to Lay that “though the University recognizes the importance of hurricane relief, it also believes that the chair established in (Lay’s) name will promote the University’s mission of providing outstanding education, research and service.”

In a statement released Wednesday morning, UM System President Elson Floyd expressed his condolences to the Lay family and said, “Mr. Lay was a strong supporter of the University of Missouri and the University remains appreciative of that effort.”"

Spirit of Giving Is Alive and Welcome Here in the County

Spirit of Giving Is Alive and Welcome Here in the County: "Spirit of Giving Is Alive and Welcome Here in the County

By Sally Rudney
Thursday, July 6, 2006; Page GZ04

The Montgomery County Community Foundation started a decade ago as a vehicle for charitable giving, and through various funds set up by families and businesses it has donated more than $15 million.

At a time when philanthropy is front-page news, with Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, the world's two richest men, making big plans for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the county foundation also has far-reaching goals."

Buffett doesn't intend to let philanthropy go on forever | Chicago Tribune

Buffett doesn't intend to let philanthropy go on forever | Chicago Tribune: "Buffett doesn't intend to let philanthropy go on forever

By Charles Storch
Tribune staff reporter
Published July 6, 2006

'We're probably a little oversized for Decatur,' said Howard Buffett.

Buffett, 51, wasn't referring to his 840-acre farm in this central Illinois city but to his foundation there -- which is growing far faster than his corn and soybeans. Its cash crop: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. stock.

His $130 million Howard G. Buffett Foundation is receiving more than $1 billion in stock from his late mother, Susan. It also will receive over the next two decades stock currently valued at about $1.1 billion from his father, Warren, Berkshire's chairman and the world's second-richest man.
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Wednesday, July 05, 2006

newsarticle - Philanthropy Journal-Your online source for news about nonprofits, social issues, and policy change

newsarticle - Philanthropy Journal-Your online source for news about nonprofits, social issues, and policy change: "Plans to create think-tank at Foundation Center scrapped.

07.05.2006 -

By Ret Boney and Todd Cohen

Plans have been dropped to create a new institute at The Foundation Center in New York City that would have merged and expanded philanthropic and nonprofit research previously conducted there and at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Lester Salamon, who directs Hopkins' Center for Civil Society Studies and was to have headed the new Alexis Institute for Civil Society and Philanthropy at The Foundation Center, has decided to stay at the university.

'We reached the conclusion that our respective expectations and operating procedures were too disparate to come together,' he says.

Sara L. Engelhardt, president of The Foundation Center, says the merger failed because of differences over the process for 'setting of strategic priorities.'"

Posting Chronology

Just a quick note to say that we although we continue to post to the blogs for the First two weeks of July;Due to the holdiday and vacations our posting will be less frequent and less chronological.
Thanks.

SocietyGuardian.co.uk | Voluntary sector | Government turns charities into multimillion-pound businesses

SocietyGuardian.co.uk | Voluntary sector | Government turns charities into multimillion-pound businesses: "Government turns charities into multimillion-pound businesses

· Voluntary sector 'becomes arm of big business'
· Contracting out leaves training groups booming

David Hencke, Westminster correspondent
Monday July 3, 2006
The Guardian

The government is creating a new generation of multimillionaires and turning charities into multimillion-pound businesses by contracting out services provided by the state, a report commissioned by the Whitehall trade union the Public and Commercial Services union, reveals today.

The report, by Steve Davies, senior research fellow at Cardiff University school of social sciences, shows a swath of companies set up to provide training for disabled people, the unemployed on New Deal programmes, and young offenders are now multimillion-pound enterprises."

BCNG Portals Page

BCNG Portals Page: "Local elder lends handiwork to little foreign noggins

By Bill Mickelson
Jul 05 2006

POULSBO — At age 94, Ida Puzon spends a large amount of time in her rocking chair as her legs tend to disagree with the idea of walking. Her hands, however, are completely inline with her ambition of philanthropy.

Since April, Puzon’s knitting needles have been busy at work, stitching all different sizes of youth stocking caps for the kids at Dickey’s Orphanage in Lhasa, Tibet, in the People’s Republic of China.

“I didn’t know who would be getting them, I make them for whoever,” Puzon said. “To me someone can use them, so I will make them.”

Over the years, Puzon has offered the products of her pastime for premature babies at Harrison Hospital in addition to the heads of her 23 great-grandchildren. But the idea of sending a box full of warmth to the Dickey Orphanage came from a group of her friends who visited Tibet in March.

“It was very poor,” Nita Johnson, one of the idea purveyors, said of the orphanage’s condition. “The rooms were probably no more than 10 feet by 10 feet, if that big. There were really no toys, no windows and no heat.”"

The Seattle Times: Editorials & Opinion: Redefining philanthropy for Seattle schools

The Seattle Times: Editorials & Opinion: Redefining philanthropy for Seattle schools: "Editorial
Redefining philanthropy for Seattle schools

THE approaching retirement of Robin Pasquarella, founding president and CEO of the nonprofit Alliance for Education, should force a rethinking of the role of philanthropy in the Seattle Public Schools.

The role of nongovernmental money in the public system is more vital than ever. Our city school system regularly tilts between solvency and financial ruin. A key understanding of the role the Alliance plays in the complexity of the district's $490 million budget is key to taking philanthropy in a new direction."

Philanthropy Heads In New Direction, Gates Foundation Marks The Dawn Of A New Era Of Philanthropy - CBS News

Philanthropy Heads In New Direction, Gates Foundation Marks The Dawn Of A New Era Of Philanthropy - CBS News: "Philanthropy Heads In New Direction
Gates Foundation Marks The Dawn Of A New Era Of Philanthropy

(Christian Science Monitor) This article was written by Mark Trumbull.

In 2001, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched an ambitious program to remake high school education, and help more kids go to college, in their home state of Washington.

After pouring $134 million into the effort, the foundation has achieved results but also learned hard lessons. Twelve test-bed high schools have redesigned themselves into 'small learning communities.' About 2,500 low-income students are in college on foundatio"

Sunday, July 02, 2006

Church-goers lead way when it comes to charity - National - theage.com.au

Church-goers lead way when it comes to charity - National - theage.com.au: "Church-goers lead way when it comes to charity

Barney Zwartz
July 3, 2006

CHURCH-GOERS give about twice as much to charity as non-believers, with people aged 25 to 44 the most generous, according to research on donations in Australia.

But they are more likely to support specific programs such as aid projects than simply to put money in a collection, which is why many individual churches are struggling financially, according to researcher Philip Hughes of the Christian Research Association. The association has just published its findings about giving money, based on a government report into philanthropy published in October, the National Church Life Survey, and other research. Donations by individual Australians nearly doubled between 1997 and 2004."

The Tide Online-Sourcing funds for cultural activities

If you find this story interesting you may want to take a look at the AFP International News Blog.

The Tide Online: "Sourcing funds for cultural activities
• Sunday, Jul 2, 2006

Not even the best informed and most enlightened cultural policy can be implemented unless there are sufficient funds to do so. But the lack thereof is a challenge everywhere as national cultural budgets stagnate and even decline. The situation is especially serious in the former socialist countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and in developing countries coping with the rigours of structural and economic adjustment. Scarce resources for culture have led everywhere to greater rigour in evaluating the benefits of cultural expenditures and greater emphasis on setting stricter priorities. The situation has bolstered arguments for the tighter management of cultural institutions,"

Philanthropy Made Easy

Philanthropy Made Easy: "MY POINT OF VIEW
Philanthropy Made Easy
You don't have to have billions, like Warren Buffett or Bill Gates, to improve the world through philanthropy. Millions of Americans do it on a smaller scale each year, and a lot of them are creating their own mini foundations with no legal hassle.
By Knight Kiplinger
July 2006

=Like most Americans, I get great joy from charitable giving -- sharing my material blessings with organizations that make this a better world. But a few years ago, as my list of charities grew longer

St. Paul Pioneer Press | 07/02/2006 | Even Buffett gift shows investment savvy

St. Paul Pioneer Press | 07/02/2006 | Even Buffett gift shows investment savvy: "Even Buffett gift shows investment savvy

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett's pledge to give most of his money to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has experts predicting it could energize the nonprofit sector and possibly spawn a new wave of philanthropy.

'It might draw in new philanthropists, new people who are wealthy who haven't given their money yet,' said Diana Aviv, president and CEO of Independent Sector, a nonprofit coalition of about 550 charities, foundations and corporate giving programs. The Gates Foundation is a member of the group, which is based in Washington, D.C."

STLtoday - News - NewsWatch-Buffett donation puts spotlight on philanthropy

STLtoday - News - NewsWatch: "Buffett donation puts spotlight on philanthropy
By Bill Smith
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
07/02/2006

Fred Saigh was no Warren Buffett. When the former owner of the baseball Cardinals died seven years ago at the age of 94, the natty little St. Louisan with the heart of gold left $70 million to charity, mere pocket change compared to the estimated $31 billion that Buffett said last week he will donate to Bill and Melinda Gates' already flush Seattle foundation.

While Buffett hopes his fortune may one day change the world - eradicating hunger or discovering a vaccine for AIDS - Saigh's dreams were simpler, says JoAnn Hejna, his longtime assistant and friend who now manages the Clayton-based foundation that bears his name.

'He wanted to help the children of St. Louis,' she said.

'And that is exactly what he's doing.' "