At a Glance: the Northwest Area Foundation
History: Established in 1934 by Louis W. Hill, son of James J. Hill, builder of the Great Northern Railway, to “promote the public welfare” in eight states where the railway operated: Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Iowa, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Purpose: To help improve poor…
Executor Accused of Diverting Money Left to 2 Charities
A Boston lawyer has been charged with swindling two charities by diverting to his own use the bulk of a $1.4-million bequest. John P. Conroy was indicted last month for allegedly stealing $880,000 that had been bequeathed to the American Cancer Society and to Children’s Hospital in Boston. Both…
By Stephen G. Greene
Contributor
Foundation Hopes to Make a Bigger Contribution by Narrowing Its Focus
The Northwest Area Foundation has scuttled its longstanding grant-making programs to devote most of its resources to comprehensive long-term efforts to improve a few poor communities. “We are getting out of the project-by-project, grant-request-by-grant-request business,” says Karl N. Stauber, the…
By Stephen G. Greene
Contributor
Bulk of Michener Estate Goes to Swarthmore
With the death of the novelist James Michener last month, Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania has lost a famous alumnus but gained a multimillion-dollar fortune. Mr. Michener, who was poor as a boy, never forgot that the small liberal-arts college awarded him a full scholarship. Even as he went on…
By Susan Gray
Contributor
Warren Buffett’s Philanthropy: a Year’s Worth of Foundation Grants
Warren Buffett’s philanthropy, the Buffett Foundation, awarded nearly $10-million in the fiscal year ending June 30, 1997, according to its informational tax return filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Following are the grants the foundation listed on that return: Arts and culture. $5,000 each…
The Securities and Exchange Commission, the federal agency that monitors corporate transactions, is now studying the feasibility, costs, and benefits of two bills introduced by Rep. Paul Gillmor, a Republican from Ohio. One measure, H.R. 944, would require companies to disclose their major…
Proposed measure would require corporations to disclose their charitable contributions to shareholders Public companies should be legally required to tell shareholders what charities the corporations support and how much is given to each, says Rep. Paul Gillmor, an Ohio Republican. “Shareholders…
By GRANT WILLIAMS
Contributor
As a foster mother, Lula Mae Phillips discovered that the children she cared for lacked some of the most basic skills. They did not know how to brush their teeth or tie their shoelaces, or when to wash their hands. They had no table manners and could not sit still for any length of time. The…
A.A.C.S.B. -- International Association for Management Education (St. Louis): Appointed Leslie Bradley, associate director of undergraduate admissions at Washington U. (St. Louis), to be director of corporate relations. American Farmland Trust (Washington): Appointed Helen Pelzman, media and…
Beyond Prince and Merchant: Citizen Participation and the Rise of Civil Society Edited by John Burbidge Small groups of thoughtful, committed citizens around the world are stepping up to solve society’s problems where government and businesses have failed, say the compilers of this book. Twenty…
By C. Quinn Hanchette
Contributor