Grant maker: Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
How does one safely clean Mount Rushmore? That’s just one of the questions the German industrial-cleaning firm Kärcher has grappled with during almost 30 years of donating its services to clean monuments worldwide.
By Audrey Hill
Contributor
Gates Foundation’s CEO Looks Back – and Ahead
Twelve weeks into her job as a consultant to a Hollywood film company, Patty Stonesifer knew she’d made a mistake. Her mind kept wandering to a fledgling foundation started by her former boss at Microsoft, Bill Gates, and his wife, Melinda, to bring computers to public libraries. Nearly 12 years…
By Caroline Preston
Contributor
California’s Diversity Push Fuels Pressure on Foundations Elsewhere
Following efforts by California lawmakers to spur grant makers in that state to give millions of dollars to minority-led nonprofit groups, foundations in other parts of the country are facing new pressure to open the books on their grant-making practices. Rep. Jake Wheatley Jr., a state legislator…
By SUZANNE PERRY
Contributor
American Living Standards Examined in Foundation Study
By Caroline PrestonThe average American is living longer, earning more money, and receiving more education than in years past, but that progress hasn’t been shared equally among people of different races, geographic regions, and gender, according to a report released last week. The study, which was…
By Caroline Preston
Contributor
Two Donors Award Gifts of $100-Million Apiece
Two nonprofit groups have each received donations of $100-million: Gerhard R. Andlinger, an investment manager, has pledged $100-million to Princeton University, in large part to stimulate research and education on efforts to curb global warming. David H. Koch, a businessman, has pledged…
By Ben Gose and Maria Di Mento
Helmsley Charity Bequest Focuses on Aiding Dogs
By Maria Di MentoThe hotel mogul Leona M. Helmsley, who died last August, wanted most of her estate — worth $4-billion to $8-billion — to benefit a foundation whose main purpose would be to support the care and welfare of dogs, according to a statement she signed in 2003. The document is not…
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Fund’s Approach to Grant Making Focuses on Long-Term Commitment
The Jim Joseph Foundation, a San Francisco fund that received a nearly $1-billion infusion from its founder two years ago, doesn’t plan to award grants and then walk away. The foundation seeks to renew the field of Jewish education in part by identifying promising projects and programs, and then…
By Caroline Preston
Contributor
For nearly two decades, the Jim Joseph Foundation was a little-known grant maker, run by one employee who oversaw giving of roughly $1-million per year. Today, the San Francisco fund is one of the biggest names in Jewish philanthropy, awarding more than $45-million last year alone. That…
By Caroline Preston
Contributor
(Photograph by Patti Roper/Women’s Foundation of Minnesota) For many girls in high school, gossip is the fastest way to spread a juicy story. But at KFAI Fresh Air Radio, in Minneapolis, teenage girls are taught how to find and report the real juicy stories. This summer eight young women ages 13 to…
By M.J. Prest
Senior Editor, Solutions
$360-Million Bequest Will Benefit Foundation in Maine
By Maria Di MentoHarold Alfond, the founder of the Dexter Shoe Company who died in November, has bequeathed approximately $360-million — his entire life savings — to the Harold Alfond Foundation, in Portland, Me. He established the foundation in 1950. The foundation has not yet received the money…
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Critics Say a Big Philanthropist Indulges in a Double Standard
Peter G. Peterson’s decision to form a foundation that will eventually receive at least $1-billion comes ALSO SEE:ARTICLE: A $1-Billion Call for ChangeARTICLE: How a Foundation Tax Became the Minimum-Payout Rule in the wake of controversy about the way the businessman made his money. Mr. Peterson…
By Michael Anft
Contributor
How a Foundation Tax Became the Minimum-Payout Rule
When Peter G. Peterson, a businessman, started speaking out about his views on fiscal policy in the 1960s, ALSO SEE:ARTICLE: A $1-Billion Call for ChangeARTICLE: Critics Say a Big Philanthropist Indulges in a Double Standard he was invited to play a leading role on one of the most influential…
By Michael Anft
Contributor
You wouldn’t know it to look at him, but Peter G. Peterson is mad as hell. Festering underneath his measured, soft-spoken demeanor is strong dissatisfaction with how the United ALSO SEE: FACTS: Peter G. Peterson Foundation BIO: About Peter G. Peterson ARTICLE: How a Foundation Tax Became the…
By Michael Anft
Contributor
Charities Apply Scientific Approach to Evaluate Get-Out-the-Vote Tactics
If a charity works hard to get a particular group of people to the polls, and those voters turn out in record ALSO SEE:ARTICLE: Race to NovemberARTICLE: Memories of Long Lines and Machine Malfunctions Prompt Election Grants numbers, should the organization declare success? Not necessarily, say some…
By SUZANNE PERRY
Contributor
Memories of Long Lines and Machine Malfunctions Prompt Election Grants
Foundations and charities involved in get-out-the-vote activities are expecting a heavy turnout ALSO SEE:ARTICLE: Race to NovemberARTICLE: Charities Apply Scientific Approach to Evaluate Get-Out-the-Vote Tactics for November’s presidential election. But they are also worried about what will happen…
By SUZANNE PERRY
Contributor