Gates Grant Seeks Vaccine for Pneumonia
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation plans to spend $75-million over five years to develop a vaccine to prevent the spread of pneumonia. The money will support efforts by Path, a nonprofit group in Seattle, to work with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to develop a vaccine that targets…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
More and More Americans Say Giving Money Is Easier Than Volunteering Time
Americans’ perception of their ability to help charitable causes has shifted in the past year, with half of the respondents in a recent national poll saying they find it easier to open their wallets than to volunteer their time. In the survey, conducted in December and released last month by…
By Noelle Barton
Contributor
Grant Making in 2006 Not Expected to Rise Much, New Report Says
Total giving by grant makers in the United States hit a record $33.6-billion in 2005 — an increase of 5.5 percent — but sluggish investment returns on foundations’ assets signal a dull forecast for giving in 2006, said a new report released by the Foundation Center, in New York. The annual report,…
By Sun Jung Kim
Contributor
Michigan Asks Ford Foundation to Show It Is Following Donor’s Intentions
In a move that has generated concern in the nonprofit world, Michigan’s attorney general has started an investigation into the Ford Foundation, saying the fund has ignored the Ford family’s philanthropic wishes by reducing support for charities in the state. The attorney general, Mike Cox, has also…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
Ford Plans to Expand Global Fellows Program
Idemudia Lawrence is a busy man. Last week he helped hearing-impaired athletes compete in Nigeria’s National Sports Festival while spending his free time revising his plan to curtail begging by deaf people in the streets of Abuja, the African nation’s capital. Mr. Lawrence, chairman of the Abuja…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
Gates Foundation to Support New Causes
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in Seattle, announced last week that it is changing how it operates and expanding the number of causes it supports with its $29-billion endowment. The foundation plans to provide more money to agricultural projects and to efforts that expand financial services…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
How One Grass-Roots Literacy Charity Keeps Hope Alive
Washington On a Tuesday afternoon, four students sat before a dry-erase board and tried to match a few words with their categories: person, ALSO SEE:ARTICLE: Building a Nation of Readers place, thing, or idea. “Is ‘Olympic’ considered a place?” asked one student. The teacher, Marja Hilfiker, shook…
By nicole lewis
Contributor
Nonprofit groups struggle to meet demand for literacy trainingIn Brownsville, Tex., an aging recreational vehicle trolls the streets, parking outside businesses and churches for several hours ALSO SEE: TEXT: Adult Literacy: a Sampling of Recent Grants ARTICLE: How One Grass-Roots Literacy Charity…
By nicole lewis
Contributor
Interest Rates for Planned Gifts
Following are the interest rates, provided by the Internal Revenue Service, for computing charitable deductions for charitable remainder trusts, gift annuities, charitable lead trusts, and some other deferred gifts. April 2006 5.6% March 5.4% February 5.2% January 5.4% December 2005 5.4% November…