Dear
Friend,
On April 20th "Oprah's Big Give" will air its season finale. This
innovative program has been a success and it has been a boost to the world
of philanthropy.
"The Big Give" focuses not only on the material good that charity
does, but also on the spiritual good that comes to the giver. Its theme,
that your ability to better yourself is limited only by your willingness to
help
others, is one that has struck a positive chord in millions of Americans.
Since writing about this in my book "Give to Live" several years
ago, I have observed over and over how giving changes the lives of givers
for the better in terms of health, longevity and happiness. All of us
should be grateful to Oprah for this major successful effort to tell this
truth to millions.
Sincerely,
Douglas M. Lawson, Ph.D.
_____________________________________
Did you know?
HARVARD CHOOSES WOMAN FOR ENDOWMENT
Harvard University,
with the largest higher education endowment at $34.9 billion, has chosen
Jane Mendillo as its new Chief. Ms. Mendillo has run the Wellesley
Endowment since 2002. Prior to that she worked at Harvard for fifteen
years. She joins a growing number of women who are running some
of the nation's largest university endowments. We congratulate Harvard
and wish Ms. Mendillo the best.
New York Times, March 28, 2008,
p. C1
HUNGARIAN NATIVE FUNDS AMERICAN STUDIES PROGRAM
Surviving
near-death experiences, Paul Kellner (now 97 years old) fled Hungary
after World War II with his wife and 3 year old son. He founded
a successful tie making company, Better Cravats. For the last ten
years, through his Kellner Foundation, he has been funding an American
Studies Program at a Hungarian University. To date, 100 Kellner
scholars with all expenses paid have studied for one year in the United
States at either Trinity or Bard colleges. So far, he has given
$6 million already into this program to teach everything American; including: democracy,
free markets, free speech, literature and the arts. Mr. Kellner
is truly practicing what giving back is all about.
Forbes, April
7, 2008, p. 74
VOLUNTEERING ABROAD GROWS AT I.B.M.
I.B.M. is utilizing
volunteer work with non-profit groups throughout the world to bring its "high-potential
people" into contact with people in countries that I.B.M. does not
have a significant presence. The program called the Corporate Service
Corps has, to date, received 5,500 employee applicants in more than 50
countries. The final list will be comprised of 100 people from 33
countries who will be placed in 12 teams that will be involved in projects
in Romania, Turkey, Vietnam, the Philippines, Ghana and Tanzania. Over
the next three years this will grow to 600 participants who will experience
four week long trips followed by two months of intensive debriefing.
New York Times, March 26, 2008, p. C4
CRIME IS COSTING CHARITIES BILLIONS
A report by the Non-profit
and Voluntary Sector Quarterly in December, 2007, estimates that financial
fraud is costing America's charities $40 billion a year. This startling
figure is an estimate, but if it is close to accurate, it is a serious
problem that must be addressed by non-profit boards and administrations
immediately. This must be stopped now and not later. Charities
must crack down and stop the practice all too often not dismissing
employees caught stealing.
New York Times, March 29, 2008, p.
A9
ANGRY AMERICAN PHILANTHROPIST LEAVING ENGLAND
Over the
last 24 years, Carol Hogel has given more than $40 million to the arts
in Britain where she chose to live. As a protest to a new government
tax on foreign citizens she is leaving the U.K. In her words, "After
24 years of working and paying taxes in the U.K., I am heading back to
North America, where an individual with involvement in, and charitable
contributions to, visual arts and classical music is valued, not punished".
New York Times, April 2, 2008, p. B2
BLACKSTONE'S PETERSON GIVES TO SOLVE U.S. ECONOMIC PROBLEMS
A
son of a Greek immigrant father, Peter Peterson (co-founder of the Blackstone
Group) has made a decision to give the bulk of his billions to a foundation
dedicated to solving our economic problems and preserving the possibilities
of the American Dream. In his words, "These challenges have
hung over our economy for years. Others have tried to sound the
alarm. I know that the odds of success are daunting, yet given what
is at stake and what I owe this remarkable country, I and we have no
alternative but to try".
Newsweek, April 7, 2008, p. 56
COLLECTORS DONATING TO THEIR OWN MUSEUMS
In the past, collectors
have donated their art work to museums throughout America. Today,
more and more collectors are giving their collections to their own museums,
which they are funding. An example is Alice Walton's new museum,
Crystal Bridges (which she is funding with $150 million of her own money)
in Bentonville, Arkansas. Don Fisher, founder of Gap, plans to open
his own contemporary art museum in San Francisco in 2011. Giving
away art has less tax advantages than in the past and many collectors
fear that museums will sell their art for a quick profit. All this
is turning the museum world upside down.
Wall Street Journal,
April 4, 2008, p. W1
MOVING FROM CORPORATE TO THE NON-PROFIT WORLD
Is switching
from the corporate world to that of the non-profit a good idea? More
and more individuals are seeking the answer. Volunteering is often
used as a testing ground for leaving the world of corporations. A
pay cut is the first thing to face (from 5% to 50%). Secondly, the
reality that a volunteer board is not a corporate board. At a non-profit,
everyone has a different agenda, whereas in the corporate world, everyone
has to be on the same page. There is much more at stake here, but
for some this is the way to put value into their careers.
New
York Times, April 6, 2008, p. 17
THE GIANT NEWSEUM REOPENS IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
Re-opening
near the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the Newseum is dedicated
to a simple proposition, "News is necessary to a functioning democracy. News
is fun, news is cool, news matters". The reviews of the Newseum
have been mixed so far. Ralph Appelbaum Associates, which designed
the Holocaust Memorial Museum, designed the museum interior. If
the results are anything like those at the American Museum of Natural
History, which was also designed by Appelbaum, the future should be bright
for the Newseum.
USA Today, April 4, 2008, p. D1
NON-PROFIT HOSPITALS OUTPERFORM FOR-PROFITS
As profits
for non-profit hospitals climb higher than those at for-profits, some
are questioning the large tax breaks they receive. Originally founded
to serve the poor, increasingly non-profit hospitals are viewed as serving
the rich. Many non-profit hospitals serving in inner cities are
struggling to keep their doors open. But the gap between the wealth
of some non-profit hospitals and what they give back to the poor of their
communities is increasingly raising questions. Several years ago,
Lawson Associates recommended to a client, Harris Methodist Hospital
in Fort Worth, Texas, that they tithe (10%) of their profits to their
foundation, which assists the poor. This was done and we humbly
suggest this as an idea to other non-profit hospitals.
Wall
Street Journal, April 4, 2008, p. 1
"AMERICAN IDOL" GIVES BACK
This year marks the
second year that the popular T.V. show "American Idol" has
embarked on its "Idol Gives Back" charitable project. Last
year $76 million was raised for non-profit organizations in the United
States
and Africa. Only 7% of the money contributed went to administrative
and fundraising costs. The non-profits receiving contributions include: Save
the Children; Children's Health Fund; the Global Fund; and Malaria No
More. This is a great use of the influence of this show on those
who tune in week after week. Could some other shows follow their
example?
New York Times, April 7, 2008, p. B1
TECH INNOVATION MEETS PHILANTHROPY
A new kind of "hybrid" technology
organization is coming into existence that weds non-profit organizations
to for-profit businesses. These so-called "social enterprises" pursue
social missions rather than profits. An example is the Mozilla Corporation
that connects non-profits to technology experts. Mozilla now distributes
commercial software to non-profit groups in 14 countries. Other "social
enterprises" include Tech Soup, the Internet Archive and the Internet
Systems Consortium.
New York Times, April 13, 2008, p. 4
UNIVERSITY ENDOWMENTS OFTEN RECEIVE "QUIRKY GIFTS"
The
federal government is putting more and more pressure on universities
and colleges with large endowments to use at least 5% of the income of
their growing endowments for student aid and educational pursuits. Standing
in the way of this are restrictions that donors have put on their gifts. An
example is a $2 million gift to Princeton for Greek studies which has
grown to $33 million. Princeton cannot use all the income from this
endowed gift for Greek studies. What should Princeton do with the
surplus? That is the question the Feds want Princeton and other
universities to answer in regards to their "quirky gifts.
New
York Times, April 13, 2008, p. 14
CAN CELL PHONES HELP END GLOBAL POVERTY?
Jan Chipchase
says "Yes". A 38 year old native of Great Britain, Chipchase,
who works for Nokia, a finish cell phone company, spends his time traveling
to poor underdeveloped countries pushing cheaper and cheaper cell phones
which he hopes to get down to as little as $5 each. A growing number
of economists believe that cell phones can restructure developing countries. Chipchase
believes that and he is spending his time making it happen. This
is a wonderful example of how philanthropy and business can be brought
together to achieve a great goal.
New York Times Magazine, April
13, 2008, p. 35
AS WALL STREET SOURS NON-PROFITS SEEK NEW DONORS
As Wall
Street and the economy slumps, charities are looking for ways to make
up for the anticipated drop in corporate contributions. They are
doing two basic things: first - they are putting pressure on longtime
donors, and second - they are reaching out to new donors. In New
York City, where Bear Stearns was a regular major contributor to charities,
the net for new donors has been enlarged. In some ways this is good
for charities as they are being forced to do their fundraising in more
creative ways.
New York Times, April 12, 2008, Business p. 1
NEW MUSEUMS BECOME CREATIVE
Two new museums, the
$103 million Gettysburg National Military Park and the $450 million Newseum
in Washington, D.C., are using new creative methods to telling their
stories and making their points. The Gettysburg museum is using
a movie and a cyclorama. The Newseum is using its glass facade to
push its mission which is to create a new monument to press freedom. We
wish these museums the best and applaud their attempt to get beyond just
a room with some artifacts in it.
USA Today, April 11, 2008, p. 5D & New
York Times, April 11, 2008, p. E29
A "SOCIAL" STOCK MARKET IS STUDIED
The Rockefeller
Foundation is granting $500,000 to study the feasibility of creating
a stock market for corporations that want to have a social mission while
still making a profit. If the study is positive, the goal
is to start the exchange in 2009. This is a creative idea that we
will watch with much interest.
Chronicle of Philanthropy, April
3, 2008, p. 17
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