Recent Grants to Cover Emergency Needs
BANK OF AMERICA CHARITABLE FOUNDATION
By Eugene McCormack
Contributor
Obama Pledges to Help Muslim Americans Fulfill Their Religious Giving Obligations
President Obama this month made a public pledge to help American Muslims give to charity, a move that was applauded by several Islamic charities and civil-rights groups. During a speech he gave in Cairo to improve relations with the Islamic world, the president said Muslim countries and America…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
Kellogg Fund Decides to Close 2 More Offices
Due to a sharp drop in assets, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation said this month it is closing two overseas offices, and has already shuttered a domestic one. Kellogg, which has its headquarters in Battle Creek, Mich., said offices in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Pretoria, South Africa, will shut down this…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
A man in his 20s, who has just joined the board of his family’s foundation, is bright, enthusiastic, and bubbling over with new ideas. But he soon begins butting heads with older board members and their established thinking. Just as the situation reaches a boiling point, the individuals stop…
By Darlene M. Siska
Contributor
Hollywood and Philanthropy: Charity Gets Attention on TV
The Philanthropist, a television show that will have its debut next week on NBC’s prime-time schedule, is not the first show to bring the concept of giving to the small screen. Series like the reality show The Benefactor, Oprah Winfrey’s Big Give, and Celebrity Apprentice have popped up over the…
By Caroline Preston
Contributor
Charities That Serve Grandparents Fall ‘Under the Radar’ of Many Grant Makers
Grandparents who raise children complain they are often overlooked by charities and government agencies. But many organizations that serve custodial grandparents say they suffer from their own brand of isolation. Typically small and local, such groups struggle to link up or make ends meet. They…
By Michael Anft
Contributor
In the Bronx, an Apartment House Designed for Grandparent Families
Not long after watching elderly women attempt to corral young children on the New York subway, David Taylor decided it was time for his charity to get into the subsidized-housing business. As executive director of Presbyterian Senior Services, in New York, Mr. Taylor was already well aware that…
By Michael Anft
Contributor
Nonprofit Advocacy Groups Take On the Cause of Custodial Grandparents
Grandparents who are raising their grandchildren have several nonprofit organizations pleading their case with the nation’s lawmakers. For example, advocacy groups including the AARP Foundation and the Children’s Defense Fund — both in Washington — and GrandFamilies of America, in Thurmont, Md.,…
By Michael Anft
Contributor
Around the time Sue Stutz turned 60, she took on the rigors of parenthood — again. Ms. Stutz and her husband had already raised their two children, but when their adult daughter’s problems with alcohol and drugs intensified, the couple took their then 4-year-old grandson, Chris, into their home in…
By Michael Anft
Contributor
Donors in ‘Giving Circles’ Contribute More and Act More Strategically, Study Finds
Donors who participate in giving circles — in which individuals pool their money and decide collectively how to distribute it — give more than other donors, give more strategically, and give to a greater number of organizations, according to the results of a new study. The study was based on…
By Paula Wasley
Contributor
Real-Estate Mogul Pledges $100-Million to Habitat for Humanity International
Habitat for Humanity International has announced a $100-million pledge from J. Ronald Terwilliger, chairman of Trammell Crow Residential, a Dallas real-estate company. Mr. Terwilliger serves as chairman of Habitat’s Board of Directors. Mr. Terwilliger’s pledge is significant in part because it is…
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Women Take the Lead in Making Philanthropic Decisions, Study Finds
Women are taking an increasingly prominent role in determining their household’s charitable giving, with high-income women in particular more likely to seek financial advice and use sophisticated methods when making donations, according to a new study sponsored by Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund. An…
By Paula Wasley
Contributor
For One Village, Recovery From Cyclone Is Slow and Brings New Debt
Editor’s note: Because the Myanmar government does not allow its citizens to speak to foreign reporters without permission, neither the village nor the people in this article are identified. When Cyclone Nargis made landfall on the night of May 2, 2008, the tropical storm hit this village head-on.…
One year after devastating cyclone, aid has failed to reach most of Myanmar’s needy people When Cyclone Nargis tore through Myanmar a year ago, 150-mile-per-hour winds and powerful storm surges flattened entire villages, carved out a new coastline, and altered the landscape of the Irrawaddy Delta.…
Corporate Grant Makers Decreased Gifts in 2008 and Plan to Do So This Year
Corporate foundations gave an estimated $4.4-billion to charity last year, a 3-percent decline from 2007 after adjusting for inflation, according to a report released last week. And giving this year is expected to decrease again, with slightly more than half of the corporate foundations surveyed…
By Debra E. Blum
Contributor