Grant Makers Asked to Assist in Improving America’s Health Care at National Meeting
In health care, economic development, and other national issues, President Obama is seeking the assistance of grant makers and other nonprofit groups, several high-ranking government officials said during the Council on Foundations’ annual conference here this month. Among the Obama administration…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
Pay and Leadership Make-Up at Foundations
Related Article: Foundation Leaders Made a Median of $134,680 in 2008, Says Survey Chief Executives’ Median Salaries, by Region Northeast $150,000% West $150,000% South $145,000% Midwest $104,891% All $134,680% Chief Executives of Foundations, by Race and Gender White females 50.00% White males…
Relative of Donor Sues Brandeis U. After It Announces Plans to Destroy a Building
A family member of a donor to Brandeis University is suing the institution to prevent it from tearing down a building, saying that would violate the terms of an estate gift made in the 1950s. Sumner Kalman, a lawyer from Plaistow, N.H., wants a Massachusetts court to stop the university from…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
Foundation Embroiled in Madoff Scandal Is Target of $5.1-Billion Lawsuit
The Picower Foundation, one of the nation’s largest foundations until it collapsed in December as part of the Bernard Madoff investment scandal, and its founders have been sued by the trustee who is overseeing the liquidation of the Madoff investment firm. The trustee, Irving Picard, is seeking the…
By Ben Gose
Senior Editor
Giving Away Everything in a Decade: Lessons Learned
The Beldon Fund, a $100-million foundation that was designed to give all its money away in 10 years and close, has offered the following suggestions to other grant makers: Learn quickly, make tough decisions, and cut losses as soon as possible. The set closure date means it is important to change…
When the office-equipment manufacturer Steelcase Furniture went public just over a decade ago, the deal supplied its major stockholder, John Hunting, with the financial muscle to endow his small foundation with $100-million. But instead of creating an endowment that would last forever, he ordered…
By Eric Frazier
Contributor
Ford Foundation to Close Offices in Russia and Vietnam as Part of Cost-Cutting Effort
After losing almost one-third of its assets during the last year, the Ford Foundation announced last week that it would close its offices in Russia and Vietnam. “Given our obligation to our grantees worldwide, and the people they serve, we have been forced to make some very hard choices to bring…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
First Round of Grants From Helmsley Fund Signals Focus on People, Not Animals
The trustees of the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust have announced the recipients of $136-million in the foundation’s first round of grants. The foundation, created by the will of the billionaire hotel mogul, is widely expected to become one of the wealthiest in the United States…
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Global Donor Meeting Offers Glimpse of ‘Social Innovation’ Office
While the Obama administration has been quiet about its plans for the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation, participants at last month’s Global Philanthropy Forum, in Washington, were given a glimpse into the new government effort. Sonal Shah, the head of the office, told…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
Most Family Foundations Plan to Operate Forever
Few family foundations have plans to shut down after a certain period of time, preferring instead to exist in perpetuity, according to a survey released last week by the Foundation Center. But the recession could prompt more donors to limit the life span of their institutions. Just 12 percent of…
By Caroline Preston
Contributor
Mystery Donor Puts a Spotlight on Gifts That Are Often Ignored
In college fund raising, $5-million or $10-million donations don’t typically attract much attention. That has changed in the past few weeks, after a series of unsolicited $6-million and $7-million checks started arriving at colleges around the country, with instructions not to investigate who had…
By Kathryn Masterson
Contributor
Economic Pressures Prompt a Rise in Anonymous Philanthropy
At a time when many charities are desperately looking for new donors, an increasing number of philanthropists seem to be trying just as hard not to be found. Data compiled by The Chronicle, and anecdotal reports from fund raisers and advisers to donors, suggest that a rising number of people are…
By Ben Gose
Senior Editor
Charities Work to Lure More Start-Up Businesses to Cleveland
Ceramics that can withstand 3,300-degree heat, a nutritional additive that boosts the flavor of low-fat foods, online purchasing of health insurance for dogs and cats — those are just some of the diverse products and services that fledgling companies in Ohio sell. What the start-up businesses…
By NICOLE WALLACE and BRENNEN JENSEN
Project Seeks to Aid Baltimore’s Black Middle Class
Ten years ago, Thomas Young, was languishing in a dead-end job manufacturing glass bottles at a factory here. “It was almost like I was a slave,” says Mr. Young, now 36, of his position as a machine operator. “I had no skills, so I was stuck.” He had dropped out of college and accepted the $36,000…
By Lionel Foster
Contributor
While the nation endures its second year of recession, residents in much of Ohio might be asking themselves one question: When was the last economic upturn? Ohio lost more than 350,000 jobs from 2000 to 2008. Only Michigan shed more jobs over that period. And Ohio is the only state to have two…
By BRENNEN JENSEN
Contributor