Grant-Making Overhaul at Ford Emphasizes Collaboration and Efficiency
The Ford Foundation has revamped its grant making to make it more relevant to what it calls “the next generation of social change.” Under the plan, Ford, the nation’s second-wealthiest foundation, is not making any big changes in the types of charities it supports, but it is planning a more…
By MARTY MICHAELS
Contributor
Charities Need Business Experts, but Few Ask for Free Help
Nonprofit organizations could use donations of time from people with expertise in marketing, strategic planning, finance, Web-site design, and many other business areas during this deep recession, but neither charities nor corporations are taking the right steps to encourage more people to donate…
By Ben Gose
Senior Editor
Obamas Donated 6.5% of Income to Charity
President Obama and his wife, Michelle, last year donated 6.5 percent of their income to charity, according to figures the White House released last week. Vice President Biden and his wife, Jill, donated less than 1 percent of their income to charitable causes. The figures come from the release of…
By GRANT WILLIAMS
Contributor
2 of Every 3 Big Foundations to Trim Grants This Year, Study Finds
Nearly two-thirds of large American grant makers anticipate reducing the number of grants they award this year, the size of their grants, or both, according to a report to be released this week by the Foundation Center, in New York. And as foundations cope with a sharp decline in assets caused by…
By MARTY MICHAELS
Contributor
Recent Grants to Support Emergency Needs
H.N. & FRANCES C. BERGER FOUNDATION
By Eugene McCormack
Contributor
Skoll Creates $100-Million Fund to Tackle Global Threats
The founder of the Skoll Foundation, which supports nonprofit leaders working on innovative social projects, is putting $100-million into a new fund to take on world problems that he believes have the potential to make social change moot. Jeff Skoll, the first president of eBay, says the Skoll…
By Ben Gose
Senior Editor
Recession Prompts Two Big Donors to Pay Charitable Pledges Early
Three of the country’s top philanthropists have paid off big pledges much earlier than expected. T. Denny Sanford completed payment six years early on a $400-million pledge he made in 2007. Sanford I. and Joan Weill have given $170-million in cash to Weill Cornell Medical College, in New York, and…
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Bill Gates Sr. Shares Insights on Education, Philanthropy — and His Son
Following are excerpts from an interview The Chronicle conducted with Bill Gates Sr. just before the release of his new book, Showing Up for Life: Thoughts on the Gifts of a Lifetime. Why did you decide to write this book? It started off as a project simply to create a personal memoir for my family…
By Ben Gose
Senior Editor
Bill Gates Sr. was a respected lawyer and community leader here long before his son became the richest man in the world, but he will be known to posterity as the man who helped the biggest foundation of our time get off the ground. In Showing Up for Life: Thoughts on the Gifts of a Lifetime,…
By Ben Gose
Senior Editor
Latin American Groups See Drop in Support as Many Corporations Cut Contributions
While the effects of the economic downturn vary greatly in Latin America, charities there say they are experiencing declines in support. In Mexico, where philanthropy is perhaps best established in the region, 55 percent of charities reported a drop in donations in 2008, according to a survey by…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
Nonprofit Leaders in Middle East Seek to Make Philanthropy More Strategic
As the global financial crisis continues, nonprofit leaders in the Middle East are worried it may hamstring burgeoning efforts to make Arab philanthropy more effective. While philanthropists and foundations here and in other parts of the Arab world are considered to be generous, few of them measure…
By Andrew Mills
Contributor
Ahmed Javed Naseh’s arrival in the United States could hardly have been better scripted. He was greeted at the airport by a friend from Afghanistan and by a staff member of the International Rescue Committee, a charity that resettles refugees like Mr. Naseh. After helping to secure the youngest of…
By Caroline Preston
Contributor
Global Charities Face the Recession
The recession has prompted many American charities that work overseas to scale back programs, lay off workers, and put expansion plans on hold. Giving to many groups has fallen by at least 10 percent, with individuals contributing smaller amounts and some foundations committing less money to new…
By Caroline Preston
Contributor
Giving Around the World Faces Recession Snags
Economic woes threaten fledgling philanthropic efforts in Africa, Asia, and Latin America — but the crisis may also contain opportunities As global wealth grew during the last two decades, so did philanthropy. New wealthy donors emerged in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and other…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
(Photograph by Ed Kashi/Corbis) Rick Koca was one year shy of retiring from a 30-year career in the U.S. Navy when he found his true calling: providing runaway youths with food, clothing, and, perhaps most important, an open mind and a sympathetic ear. In 1990, spurred by a television segment on…
By MARTY MICHAELS
Contributor
Economic Downturn May Bring African Donors and Charities Together
With Africa spared the full brunt of the global economic crisis so far, some nonprofit leaders say the tough financial times can provide a new impetus, and opportunities, for African donors and philanthropies to expand their work. While some major Western donors to Africa, like the Bill & Melinda…
By Megan Lindow
Contributor