Dear
Friend,
Tim Russert's death touched us all. For me, a member of my Sunday morning
family passed away on that fateful Friday afternoon at his Meet the Press
desk in our nation's capital. He will be missed, and his example as a
husband, father and devout Christian will be remembered by all of us who considered
ourselves as friends that he had never met.
But beyond all this, what we must not forget about Tim was that he was a philanthropist
in every sense of the word. He gave funds and himself as a volunteer
to non-profits. Of particular note is his philanthropic service to the
Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington. That charity, in particular,
will never be the same because of Tim.
Tim loved life, his God, and his fellow man, particularly those in need. I
will never forget Tim as a role model for us all. And, I will never forget
him as a philanthropist.
Sincerely,
Douglas M. Lawson, Ph.D.
_____________________________________
Did you know?
THE MICROFINANCE PROGRAM IN POOR COUNTRIES
Microfinance
loans to small entrepreneurs in the poorest of countries are on the rise. From
a cottage industry supported by antipoverty activists and development
experts, microfinance loans have grown to a billion dollar enterprise
with big banks, like Mibanco in Peru, SKS Microfinance in India, and
Deutsche Bank in Morocco, joining in the program. Alex Counts, CEO
of the non-profit Grameen Foundation which helped develop microfinance
institutions, says that this new trend may mean that we need "to
invent the microfinance industry all over again". Today, the
microfinance banks are still having a social impact, but in many cases
the profit motive has become the most important. We hope that profitability
will not take the place of social responsibility.
Time,
June 16, 2008, Global Business p. 1
DEBTORS ANONYMOUS IS GROWING
Particularly in California
and Arizona, Debtors Anonymous, a group similar to Alcoholics Anonymous,
is growing. In addition, groups such as Meetup.com report that
their virtual meetings of persons who want to talk about debt management
have grown in one year from 24 to 138. Debtors Anonymous, which
has been around for decades, brings borrowers together to fight what
they call "compulsive debting". In a time of financial
crisis, for many Americans, it is good to know that non-profit groups
like Debtors Anonymous exist.
Wall Street Journal, June
10, 2008, p. 1
A FOOD PANTRY GIVES CHOICE TO CLIENTS
Bread and Life, the
largest soup kitchen in Brooklyn, New York is starting for the
first time in any food pantry in America, a way for clients to choose
the food they need. Up until now, the common practice is for volunteers
to fill bags with groceries and hand the bag to the clients with no choice
of what is in the bag. Using touch-screen computer terminals, supplied
by Plexis Point of Sales Software, clients will be able to choose the
food items they need. This new innovation is now available in the
non-profit's new $4.6 million renovated warehouse on Lexington Avenue
in New York. Anthony Butler, Executive Director of Bread and
Life, describes the old "bag" method as being "not dignified. People
don't shop like that". We agree!
New York Times,
June 11, 2008, p. C19
RED CROSS BEGINS CORPORATE-STYLE MARKETING
In an effort
to overcome the negative publicity created last year by the resignation
of its top executive in disgrace, a large deficit and millions of dollars
in fines by the Food and Drug Administration for errors in blood collection
and distribution, the American Red Cross is launching a corporate-style
marketing campaign targeted to the 75 million fans of the NASCAR racing
circuit encouraging them to become blood donors. The national effort
called 'Red Cross Racing' is one of many other efforts by local Red Cross
chapters to secure more blood donors. We wish them the best in these
badly needed endeavors.
New York Times, June 13, 2008,
p. C3
STEWART R. MOTT EXCENTRIC PHILANTHROPIST DIES
After decades
of supporting liberal causes, such as civil liberties, abortion rights
and research into ESP, Stewart R. Mott (at age 70) recently passed away
at his Mt. Kisco home in New York. It has been my privilege to know
Stewart since 1976, when we met through his financial support of a client
of Lawson Associates. In the sixties, he started his own foundation
after his father refused to put him on the family's foundation. Stewart,
an eccentric philanthropist, will be missed.
New York Times,
June 14, 2008, p. B9
TED TURNER - EVANGELIST FOR PHILANTHROPY
Since he
created the Turner Foundation in 1990, Ted Turner (the founder of CNN
and other ventures) has given millions of his billions away. From
an initial gift of $2.5 million to his foundation, he has since increased
that to $135 million. In 1997 he committed $1 billion to benefit
the United Nations and in 2001 he pledged up to $250 million to a charity
whose goal is to seek ways to prevent nuclear warfare. While doing
all this, he has encouraged other billionaires to follow his lead, and
many have. His observation about all this is worth noting: "I've
never looked at this as giving money away. I see it has investing
in the future of humanity".
Chronicle of Philanthropy,
June 12, 2008, p. 18
DANIELLE STEEL: SECRET PHILANTRHOPIST TO THE HOMELESS
For the past ten years, Danielle Steel, the best selling novelist
with millions of books sold around the world, has been secretly helping
homeless people in the San Francisco area. After her 19 year-old
son, Nick, died and her husband left her, she has been handing out clothes
and food to the homeless on the streets. She has put together an
eleven member team that has served over 30,000 people. Knowing now
how complicated and difficult the problem of homelessness really is,
she offers homeless people something more than warm clothes and food: "We
also give them hope: the realization that someone cares about them
and good things can happen even at the worst of times". Funding
the operation herself for 10 years, Ms. Steel is now seeking financial
partners as costs of supplies have become prohibitive.
Newsweek,
June 23, 2008, p. G4
BIG PAYCHECKS OR PHILANTHROPY SERVICE
Harvard graduates
and others have been asking new Harvard graduate, Adam M. Gurens, the
question: "We came to Harvard as freshmen to charge the world, and
we're leaving to become investment bankers - why is this?" The
Wall Street answer is not good enough for many graduates. Dhaval
Chadha, who will be spending next year on a fellowship in Brazil puts
it this way: "I don't think a lot of people at Harvard know
what a hedge fund or a consulting firm is when they start". Tufts,
Penn, Amherst and Harvard are encouraging graduates to go into public
service. This is an encourage trend that we hope other higher education
institutions will follow.
New York Times, June 23, 2008,
p. A15
2007 CHARITABLE GIVING HITS RECORD
Despite numerous
economic worries, Americans topped the $300 billion mark in charitable
giving for the first time at $306.39 billion in 2007 according to the
Giving USA Foundation. This was, however, only an increase of 1%
over the $295 billion given in 2006. This relative slowdown in giving
was caused by economic uncertainty which began in the summer of 2007
with higher gasoline prices, the bursting of the housing bubble and a
new credit crunch. These economic concerns which have continued
into 2008 are causing many to suggest that giving in 2008 will crease. We
hope this will not happen as true givers in 2008 decide to give more
because times are tough.
Wall Street Journal, June 23,
2008, p. A3
New York Times, June 23, 2008, p. A14
PHILANTHROPIST GIVES MILLION TO JOURNALISM SCHOOLS
Leonard
Tow is giving $5 million to the Columbia University's Graduate School
of Journalism and $3 million to the City University of New York's Graduate
School of Journalism. The purpose of the gifts is to fund studies
that will examine how newspapers can succeed on line and train journalism
students in new media. Mr. Tow is the former CEO of Citizens Communications
and Century Communications.
New York Times, June 23, 2008,
p. C4
PLANNED PARENTHOOD GOES UPSCALE SUBURBIAN
After years of typical
small sized facilities (2,500 square feet), Planned Parenthood is branching
out to suburbia with large (21,000 square feet) facilities in Portland,
Denver, Austin, Houston, Aurora, Sarasota and Worcester. These new
facilities are targeted to more affluent patients with their new larger
upscale image. This is a new move by Planned Parenthood that should
secure more patients. We only hope they won't forget the poor they
have served so well in the past.
Wall Street Journal, June
23, 2008, p. 1
FOOD PANTRIES RECEIVING FEWER DONATIONS
As the demand by people in
distress increases, donations to Food Pantries are decreasing. Some
have experienced a 68% decrease in donor contributions. This has
caused charities in Dallas (such as Central Dallas Ministries) to shorten
food pantry hours, because supplies of food were low. This is the
bad news. The good news is that cash contributions to many food
pantries are up slightly, while the food donations are down. In
this crunch time, when more and more people need help, we hope that all
of us will try to give more.
Dallas Morning News, June
21, 2008, p. 12B
WOODSTOCK REMEMBERED IN NEW MUSEUM
Alan Gerry, who made a fortune
with Cablevision Industries, formed the Gerry Foundation in 1996, and
with funds from that foundation, he purchased the Yasgur's farm where
Woodstock took place in the late sixties. He purchased 2,000 more
acres and began work on The Museum of Bethel Woods, which opened on June
2nd. The museum is a "multimedia salute and examination of
Woodstock, the sixties, and what they might mean for people today". For
all of us who go back to that era, this should be a place to take our
whole family, young and old.
Wall Street Journal, June
24, 2008, p. D7
FEMALE PHILANTHROPISTS IN INDIA
Two women, Makti Datta and Dena Kaye,
began in 1997 the Panchachuli Women Weavers with eight women. Today,
the company is owned by 750 women who work at the company. The company
has literally transformed the local Indian economy. The products
are sold around the world and in such stores in America as Whole Foods. The
project has been funded by the Danny Kaye and Sylvia Fine Kaye Foundation. Dena
Kaye is Danny's daughter. Dena's comment on philanthropy is worth
noting: "while philanthropy is serous, make it fun". Her
father would have been proud of her as he spent so much of his life on
humanitarian work with UNICEF.
Town and Country, Special
Philanthropy Issue, 2008, p. 186
___________________
New Client
Abilene Christian University is a nationally recognized
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Christian service and leadership throughout the world. They integrate
faith and learning throughout the curriculum, reflecting the theological
perspective of the broad mainstream of Church of Christ.
Lawson Associates has been retained by Abilene Christian University to
conduct a Campaign Feasibility Study for a Comprehensive Campaign.
___________________
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