Dear
Friend,
The World Health Organization estimates that up to a billion people in the
21st Century will die because of their use of tobacco. That is 10 times
as many that tobacco killed in the 20th Century.
Two philanthropists, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Bill Gates, are contributing
millions to do something about this world-wide problem. Already having
committed $250 million over four years, Mayor Bloomberg is giving an additional
$125 million over two years. Bill Gates is now joining Bloomberg with
$125 million over five years. The $500 million will be spent on a program
nicknamed MPower, that Bloomberg outlined in February of this year. The
new program will far outspend all current world-wide anti-smoking campaigns.
Both of these men are dedicated to spending the remainder of their lives in
philanthropic pursuits. This problem is one of the most important facing
people on this planet today. I commend their efforts in pursuit of a
solution.
Sincerely,
Douglas M. Lawson, Ph.D.
New York Times, July 24, 2008, p. A20
Wall Street Journal, July 24, 2008, p. A9
_____________________________________
Did you know?
FINANCIAL SLUMP CAUSES LESS GLITZY GALAS
Where else but in the Hamptons on eastern Long Island, New
York, do you have more glitzy non-profit galas? However, with the
financial slump we are all experiencing the parties to produce revenue
are less "super" this year. The glitz is gone and so are
many of the guests. As one socialite put it, "It's hard enough
to get the Wall Street husband to come to these things. And that's
when Wall Street is doing well".
New York Times,
July 18, 2008, p. 1
CLINTON FOUNDATION LIMITS MALARIA DRUG PRICE
Working closely
with Novartis, a Swiss drug company that supplies the majority of malaria
drugs to the developing world, the Clinton Foundation has struck a deal
that will make malaria drugs available to millions of poor people around
the world. The agreement limits price fluctuations - which have
ranged at times from as little as $150 a kilogram to $1,100. Parallel
to this effort by the Clinton Foundation is the effort on behalf of the
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to spur innovation in the treatment
of malaria, particularly with the use of vaccines.
Wall
Street Journal, July 17, 2008, p. A9
RED CROSS STILL HAS PROBLEMS WITH BLOOD
For the past 15
years, the American Red Cross has been under court order to improve the
way it collects and processes blood. In spite of this, and with
$21 million in fines already imposed, the Red Cross continues to fall
short of the government standards. It has come to the point that some
critics have recommended the blood service operations be split off from
the rest of the organization as they were in Canada a decade ago. In
our opinion, the Red Cross needs to solve this quality control problem
or get out of the blood business.
New York Times, July
17, 2008, p. 1
FORTY YEARS LATER, A FOUNDER OF SPECIAL OLYMPICS STILL WORKS ON
Along with Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Supreme Court Justice Anne
Burke helped found Special Olympics forty years ago. A member of
the Illinois Supreme Court, Justice Burke, was present at Soldier Field
in Chicago (where the first Special Olympics games were held in 1968). Still
working for Special Olympics, Inc., she is excited about how the charity
has spread to people all over the world. In her words, "There
are people all over the world who have carried the torch. And it
took us a while - it took 40 years, but we are finally celebrating life
in all its forms".
USA Today, July 17, 2008, p. 6D
MUSEUMS HUNTING FOR NEW DIRECTORS
Not for 15 years have
there been so many openings for new Art Museum Directors in America. Among
others searching for new Directors are the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
the Guggenheim Foundation, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Candidates
ideally have a Ph.D. in art history and an M.B.A. combining art and business. As
Oscar Raymundo points out, "finding a director who can walk the
line between art and commerce is like finding a lost Leonardo. Everyone
wants one, and good luck with the search".
Newsweek,
July 21, 2008, p. 16
AMERICANS FIND PURPOSE-DRIVEN LIFE IN AFRICA
In 2005, Rick Warren,
the evangelist and author of The Purpose-Driven Life, called on his followers
from his Saddleback Church to go to Rwanda, Africa to help the millions
who were suffering from the worst genocide since the Holocaust. Since
then, over 1,100 volunteers have answered his call. Progress has
been slow, but as Pastor Warren puts it, "the way things are going,
within a few decades, Rwanda could be an oasis of prosperity - the next
Singapore". We hope he is right!
USA Today, July
22, 2008, p. 1A
GLEANING IS A NEW WAY TO SOLVE FOOD CRISIS
As food donations
decline, food banks across America are turning to local farms for produce
that otherwise might go to waste. The method used is "gleaning",
which involves collecting leftovers after crops have been harvested. Some
food banks have been using this technique for years, but now more and
more are turning to it for the first time. The latest gleaning networks
include the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance; the Hoosier Hills Food Bank
in Bloomington, Indiana; and the Fall Mountain Food Shelf in Langdon,
New Hampshire.
USA Today, July 22, 2008, p. 3A
DISABLED JOB SEEKERS GET HELP
Twenty-two million working age
Americans have disabilities. However, only 38% of the nation's working
age disabled have a job. Non-profit groups such as Lime Connect,
founded by Merrill Lynch and the National Business and Disability Council
(founded by Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc.) are stepping into the breach to
help the disabled get jobs. Other companies active in this endeavor
include KPMG, Eastman Kodak, IBM and Pepsi. This is an important
undertaking and we wish all parties involved the best in making this
happen for the disabled.
Wall Street Journal, July 22,
2008, p. D4
ART DONATIONS FACE TAX DEDUCTION SCRUTINY
The I.R.S. is cracking
down on tax deductions for so-called fractional gifts of art. Up
until now, a donor could donate small stakes in their art to a museum
and reap increasingly larger deductions as their art appreciated. This
is no longer allowed. The deductions are now capped at the time
of the first donation. Also, museums must now display the art or
a deduction will be denied. This is the so-called "related
use" rule. The rule states that the donor can take a fair market
value deduction only if the receiving charity uses it for the group's
tax-exempt purpose. What all of this has meant for museums throughout
America is fewer donations of art.
Wall Street Journal,
July 22, 2008, p. D8
"YURP'S" ARE REBUILDING NEW ORLEANS
Nathan Rothstein
at 24 moved to New Orleans in 2006 to work with a non-profit group that
was
dedicated to raising community awareness on city planning decisions. He
observed that there were many other young professionals his age moving
to New Orleans to help out in the recovery. He then launched, Young
Urban Rebuilding Professionals "YURP", an online and networking
non-profit group that links people interested in New Orleans recovery. Membership
has grown from 500 in 2007 to 2,400 in 2008. Other non-profits such
as Idea Village, that supports young entrepreneurs in New Orleans have
also been formed. This gives us all hope as these young professionals
create the "new" New Orleans.
USA Today, July
23, 2008, p. 3a
A HOSPITAL BENEFITS FROM BOOKS
Best-selling authors, Sandra Kitt
and Gwynne Forster, have each written books with a backdrop of St. Jude
Children's Research Hospital. Kitt's concentrates on pediatric HIV
and Forster's on sickle-cell disease. Arabesque, an imprint of Kimani
Press, will donate funds from the books sales to St. Jude when the books
are published this fall.
USA Today, July 24, 2008, p. 3D
CAN DIRECT MAIL GO GREEN?
The Green Marketing Coalition, which
includes Microsoft; Washington Mutual; and Optima-Health says "yes". Guidelines
published by the Coalition suggest: higher waste disposal standards
and use of chlorine-free recycled paper may or may not have an impact. One
skeptic, Todd J. Paglia of Forect Ethics, puts it rather bluntly on the
negative side: "It's hard to agree against any well-intentioned
effort to use more recycled paper, but the idea of greening junk mail
is still a bit like putting lipstick on a pig".
New
York Times, July 23, 2008, p. C7
EQUITY IN ARTS FINANCING
In New York City, an arts organization
called the Cultural Equity Group, is lobbying the city for $15 million
to go to so-called culturally specific groups serving Blacks, Hispanics,
Asian-Americans and American Indians. The funds will go primarily
for administrative support, but the Group is also seeking increased funding
for a study of financing awarded by the city to culturally specific programs. This
effort has reignited a lively debate in New York and throughout the nation
on just what "cultural equity" means. We will follow this
debate with much interest.
New York Times, July 24, 2008,
p. B1
NON-PROFIT GROUPS HELP REVITALIZE CITIES
Old rust belt manufacturing
cities have for years offered tax incentives to attract new companies. Many
are now turning to a new idea, supporting non-profit groups that nurture
new businesses from the ground up. In Cleveland, one of these non-profits,
Jumpstart, Inc., provides seed money to entrepreneurs with promising
businesses. They also advise them on their next steps. Jumpstart
relies on its financing from a mix of foundations, corporations and governmental
entities. In Chicago, a similar group is Chicagoland Entrepreneurial
Center.
New York Times, July 24, 2008, p. C5
VOLUNTEERS ARE GIVING MORE AID TO TRAVELERS
In 2007, non-profit
Travelers Aid International had about 1,600 volunteers give aid to 6.5
million people at 25 airports. That's up from around 4 million people
a year before 9/11. Travel has become more difficult since 9/11,
points out Travelers Aid CEO (Ray Flynt). "Airlines have reduced
customer service personnel and you are more likely to encounter a kiosk
than a person at the airport. People still like the personal touch".
USA Today, July 25, 2008, p. 60
ECO-OCEAN AWARDS TO GROUPS SOLVING SEAFOOD CRISIS
Food and Wine
Magazine has just given the Eco-Ocean Awards to several groups around
the world that are helping to make seafood sustainable as wild fish stocks
become depleted and aqua-farms are showing their limitations. The
winners include: the North Atlantic Salmon Fund in Iceland; Ocean
Conservancy in Washington, D.C.; Cleanfish in San Francisco; and Oceana
in Washington, D.C. The later group, established by several foundations
in 2001, counts Ted Danson (who co-founded the American Oceans Campaign)
as one of its most active board members.
Food and Wine,
August, 2008, p. 42
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