Philip Morris Fights Hunger Via Dance
Philip Morris Companies is trying to encourage dance fans to do more to help the hungry. Throughout 1998, people will receive $5 off the price of admission to performances by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington when they deposit two…
American Express Aids Arts Groups
American Express has awarded a $1.5-million grant to the Arts & Business Council, a national group that supports the arts, to help small and mid-sized theaters, dance troupes, and other arts organizations improve their marketing. “Many in the arts are suspicious of marketing, viewing it as a…
TV Ad Asks Olympics Viewers to Support Children’s Games in Sarajevo
An international-relief group used the recent Winter Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan, to remind television viewers of the continuing plight of children in the former Olympic city of Sarajevo. The charity says it hopes to continue to keep the war-torn Bosnian city in people’s minds long after the…
By Susan Gray
Contributor
Art Collection Valued at $20-Million Is Donated to Israel Museum; Other Gifts
Several non-profit institutions have received big gifts. * The Israel Museum in Jerusalem has received a collection of more than 700 Dada and Surrealist art works from Arturo Schwarz, a collector, scholar, and poet in Milan, Italy. Experts have estimated the worth of the collection to be more than…
2 California Universities Divide Entrepreneur’s $200-Million Gift
Most fund raisers know it pays to be aggressive. But rarely is the payoff as big as the $100-million the University of Southern California has been promised by Alfred E. Mann, a biomedical entrepreneur. A graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles, Mr. Mann said he originally planned…
By Jennifer Moore
Contributor
How the Foundation Survey Was Conducted
The Chronicle’s annual survey of foundation giving is based on financial information provided by 126 of the largest private foundations in the country. A total of 162 foundations were asked to participate. Most of the foundations were selected based on lists of the largest grant makers compiled by…
Foundations’ Asset Growth Brings Staff Expansion
The rapid growth of the nation’s wealthiest philanthropies has sent many institutions scurrying to find new staff members to help deal with an increase in grant-making activities, including the handling of a larger volume of grants and proposals. Nearly one in four of the 126 big foundations…
Despite Gains in Assets, Many Funds Stick to the Legal Minimum for Giving
The value of foundation endowments has soared in recent years, but that has prompted few grant makers to increase the share of their assets that go to charity. In a Chronicle survey of the nation’s wealthiest funds, 57 out of 88 foundations said that they aimed to spend no more than the amount…
By Debra E. Blum
Contributor
Birthday parties are probably the last thing on parents’ minds when they can’t afford to feed their children or keep a roof over their heads. But Dan McGinn, president of the Arlington, Va., public-relations firm Ryan-McGinn, thinks birthday celebrations should be a part of everyone’s childhood, no…
Foundations’ Endowment Explosion
Assets of large funds rise 22%, which means more for grants The endowments of America’s wealthiest private foundations grew by a total of more than 22 per cent last year, thanks to a record-breaking stock market. A new Chronicle survey has found that the endowments of 121 big private foundations…
By Debra E. Blum and MARINA DUNDJERSKI