New Books

Education Funding in Europe, Volume Two: A Pilot Study on Innovating Education and Learning — The Role of Foundations and Corporate Funders
By Robert Picht

If a unified Europe is to prosper, it must have a better-educated citizenry, and private foundations and corporate grant makers must blaze the trail for education reform, says the author of this publication.

Foundations and corporations “cannot substitute for public-education systems, and do not intend to do so,” writes Mr. Picht, a professor of European sociology at the College of Europe, in Brugge, Belgium. “Rather, they serve as important catalysts for innovation.”

The 1998 edition of the European Foundation Centre’s Grants Index reported that 10 per cent of the money awarded by 78 grant makers to support programs in Europe went to education (The Chronicle, February 12); in the United States, by comparison, education garnered 25 per cent of all foundation grant dollars, according to the Foundation Center, in New York.

To encourage European foundations and corporations to increase their support for education, Mr. Picht offers examples of what he calls “best practices” — philanthropy that is both innovative and tailored to the specific needs of countries.

Mr. Picht begins with descriptions of the educational systems — and of the role that European foundations and corporate givers play — in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain.

He then gives case studies of programs that he considers to be noteworthy. His examples fall under the categories of general education, unemployment and poverty, youths, education fundamentals, universities, and international collaboration.

The European Foundation Centre also publishes Education Funding in Europe, Volume One, a directory of 205 grant makers from Europe and the United States that support educational programs in Europe. That volume served as the source for the “best-practices” case studies featured in Mr. Picht’s research.

Publisher: European Foundation Centre, 51 rue de la Concorde, B-1050 Brussels; (011) 32-2-512-8938, fax (011) 32-2512-3265; e-mail efc@efc.be; World-Wide Web http://www.efc.be; Volume One, 380 pages, I.S.B.N. 2-930107-04-9, $55; Volume Two, 183 pages, I.S.B.N. 2-930107-06-5, $55; both volumes, $96; all prices include postage and handling.

The Foundation 1000: In-Depth Profiles of the 1000 Largest U.S. Foundations, 1998/1999

This directory is designed to help grant seekers find suitable sources of funds from among America’s 1,000 wealthiest foundations. According to the Foundation Center, which produces the guide, those foundations command more than $168-billion in assets and awarded $8-billion last year.

Each profile includes the foundation’s stated purpose, grant-making priorities and limitations, program areas, contact information, financial data, key officials, board members, policies and application guidelines, and publications.

Also featured are lists of sample grants and analyses of recent giving organized by subject, type of recipient, and type of support provided.

The guide has four indexes, organized by names of donors, officers, and trustees; by grant subject; by types of support offered; and, for international grant making, by country and region.

The information contained in the profiles is culled from annual reports, lists of grants awarded, Internal Revenue Service Forms 990-PF, news releases, and other materials.

Publisher: The Foundation Center, 79 Fifth Avenue, New York 10003-3076; (212) 807-3690 or (800) 424-9836; fax (202) 807-3677; World-Wide Web http://fdncenter.org; 2,956 pages; $295 plus $4.50 postage and handling; I.S.B.N. 0-87954-811-8.

The Honor of Giving: Philanthropy in Native America
By Ronald Austin Wells

Though indigenous people are credited by some historians as being the first philanthropists in North America — they even gave gifts to Columbus — most scholarship portrays American Indians solely as the recipients of charity and ignores their importance in the philanthropic tradition, writes the author.

Mr. Wells, a consultant and former executive vice-president of the Phelps-Stokes Fund, in New York, writes of the “circle” that defines generosity in American Indian traditions.

“When we open to the spirit of giving, our gift travels, moves in a great arc, and is returned to us, increased a hundred-fold,” he says.

Mr. Wells draws on interviews he conducted with American Indians who are executives or board members at non-profit groups, or who have other experience at charitable organizations. The people chosen provide their perspectives on philanthropy both as givers and as receivers.

Wilma Mankiller, former chief of the Cherokee Nation and a member of the Ford Foundation’s Board of Directors, says that giving is natural among tribal people because there is a strong tradition of altruism that is necessary for survival. Don Coyis, president of the educational organization White Bison, in Colorado Springs, remarks that American Indian societies frown upon accumulating items, and so goods are distributed evenly among a tribe to “balance” the community. And Norbert Hill, a former executive director of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, in Boulder, Colo., stresses the need for foundations and corporations to let American Indians decide the best use for grant money, instead of having grant makers determine priorities for them.

Mr. Wells concludes by contrasting the American Indian outlook on giving with the European or American view. He writes that the latter places a market value on gifts and, in many respects, does not reflect a connection with other living beings.

Publisher: The Indiana University Center on Philanthropy, 550 West North Street, Suite 301, Indianapolis 46202; (317) 684-8922; fax (317) 684-8900; World-Wide Web http://www.philanthropy.iupui.edu; 99 pages; $12.50; I.S.B.N. 1-884354-15-7.

OTHER PUBLICATIONS

The Best Defense: 10 Steps to Surviving a Lawsuit provides advice to help managers of non-profit groups weather a lawsuit and to keep the organization’s programs and purposes afloat. The book takes the reader through the litigative process, from summons to jury trial, and offers practical steps that managers and other employees can take to control damage to the organization. Among the rules: Create a file of all information relevant to the case, get information to the non-profit group’s insurance broker as soon as possible, do not admit wrongdoing to the news media but never offer “no comment,” and swallow an out-of-court settlement if the suit drains excessive funds. Above all, the authors say, keep cool and don’t let the lawsuit overshadow the group’s mission. Publisher: Nonprofit Risk Management Center, 1001 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 410, Washington 20036; (202) 785-3891; fax (202) 296-0349; World-Wide Web http://www.nonprofitrisk.org; 52 pages; $12 plus $5 postage and handling; I.S.B.N. 0-96317120-7-1.

Foundations in Wisconsin: A Directory, edited by Doug McCullough, lists 1,002 private and community foundations in Wisconsin that hold $3.2-billion in assets and paid out grants last year totaling $214-million. The entries include information on contacts, key officers, grants paid, application procedures, grant-making priorities and interests, assets, and limitations. Sample grants and Internet addresses are given when available. The information is culled from resources at Marquette University’s Funding Information Center, in Milwaukee. Readers may purchase an electronic version of the directory that requires Windows 3.0 or higher. Publisher: Marquette University Memorial Library, 1415 Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee 53201-3141; (414) 288-1515; fax (414) 288-7813; 283 pages; price varies according to format and tax-exempt status of purchaser; I.S.S.N. 0360-8042.