November 24, 2005 | Read Time: 4 minutes
Children, young people, and their families in southern Africa could soon benefit from millions of charitable dollars to be spent to improve their health care, education, and standard of living. Their benefactor is ELMA Philanthropies, a new organization with an office in New York City that is set to become one of the world’s large grant makers.
Much about ELMA is unknown to the public — although it has attracted two prominent American foundation officials to run it. The biggest mystery of all is who is behind the bold venture.
The group’s officials will not reveal the identity of the donor (or donors) and very few people may even know. But based on information from sources who wish to remain anonymous and from business records, the leading candidate in the guessing game is Clive Calder, a reclusive music executive who grew up in South Africa.
According to The New York Times and other sources, Mr. Calder made a fortune in the $2.8-billion sale in 2002 of his Zomba record company. Mr. Calder’s recording artists have included Britney Spears and ‘N Sync. He and his wife, Patricia, have been donors to the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund.
Mr. Calder, who has a home in New York City, did not respond to The Chronicle‘s written response for comment.
Another person who might be involved with ELMA Philanthropies is Robert J. (Mutt) Lange, a music producer with South African roots who avoids the public eye in the same way Mr. Calder does. Mr. Lange, a longtime associate of Mr. Calder, has made millions working with bands such as Def Leppard and AC/DC as well as with his wife, the country singer Shania Twain.
ELMA Philanthropies may have a tie to both men. The door of the Madison Avenue office of ELMA Philanthropies bears two other names: Reach Sound and Caris Entertainment Corporation.
Business records show that Mr. Calder and Mr. Lange have been officials of Reach Sound in recent years. And Evan Gould, ELMA’s vice president for finance and administration in New York, has been listed as a contact for Reach Sound.
Records also connect Caris Entertainment Corporation with Mr. Calder’s Zomba businesses.
Another Case of Anonymity
The hush surrounding the creation of ELMA Philanthropies and the secret identity of its founder has led to speculation that the effort may resemble that of Charles F. Feeney, the publicity-shy Irish-American businessman whose donations came to light in 1997.
Mr. Feeney gave away hundreds of millions of dollars over 15 years with only a handful of advisers knowing his identity. Today, his philanthropy gives away $300-million to $350-million each year.
Harvey P. Dale, a professor at the New York University School of Law who set up the Atlantic Philanthropies for Mr. Feeney, said he could not comment on whether he was also advising ELMA Philanthropies or Mr. Calder. “I cannot either confirm or deny” any aspect of the developments about ELMA or speculation about Mr. Calder, he said.
ELMA Philanthropies could eventually rank among the 25 wealthiest U.S. foundations, according to a nonprofit leader who asked not to be identified. Nearly two dozen of the nation’s foundations have assets that exceed $2-billion.
The New York office of the ELMA organization is called ELMA Philanthropies Services, which is “dedicated to advising the privately funded ELMA Group of Foundations about the use of grant resources to inspire, nurture, and protect Africa’s children and youth,” according to the organization’s Web site, which first appeared last week.
The president of ELMA Philanthropies Services is Natalia Kanem, who formerly worked at the Ford Foundation in its Peace and Social Justice Program. ELMA’s vice president for programs, Elan D. Garonzik, previously was a program officer for the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and deputy director of the European Foundation Centre.
Ms. Kanem said in an e-mail message last week that she and Mr. Garonzik were traveling in Africa and that she would not be available for an interview until after Thanksgiving.
‘Start-Up Phase’
Rumors about the identity of the secret donor were kicked off by an article published by the Knight-Ridder newspaper chain disclosing that an anonymous billionaire was creating a new organization with a New York office that would incorporate offshore and donate through other entities, including offshore ones.
The ELMA organization’s Web site said that the group is now in its “start-up phase” but by the end of 2006 “will take its place as a philanthropic group active in the fields of basic education, child and adolescent health, and economic opportunities for young people.”
Initial grants “will focus on marginalized and otherwise disadvantaged rural and urban communities,” the organization said. “The initial geographic priority will be southern Africa. At this time, unsolicited proposals are not being accepted.”
The ELMA Web site says that the organization will prefer to support “African or Africa-based organizations and individuals whenever feasible as a way of contributing to the establishment of lasting institutions that strengthen Africa’s ability to find local solutions to resolve problems.”
The organization’s Web site may be found at http://www.elmaphilanthropies.org.
