Taking the Pulse of the Planet
Along the southern tip of the Florida peninsula, where the pinelands have gone relative ly undisturbed by civilization, Earthwatch volunteers like Lisu Derungs, trek through subtropical forests to take stock of the trees. Some 4,000 volunteers participate annually in Earthwatch projects around the…
A New Focus on Infants and Toddlers
Scientific findings on the need to stimulate babies’ brains spur charities to step up efforts Over the next three months, 25 million boxes of Kellogg’s Rice Krispies will appear on grocery-store shelves bearing messages devised by Zero to Three, a Washington charity that hopes that the publicity…
By DOMENICA MARCHETTI
Contributor
Clinton Backs Bigger Credit for Housing
The Clinton Administration has announced that its 1999 federal budget will include a proposed $1.6-billion increase in tax credits designed to spur construction of low-cost housing. The Administration estimates that the expansion will encourage the development of 150,000 to 180,000 new housing…
By Paul Demko
Contributor
Cable-TV Tycoon Pledges Multibillion-Dollar Fund
The cable-television executive John Malone plans to endow a family foundation that could eventually be worth well over $1.5-billion. The chief executive officer of Tele-Communications Inc. in Englewood, Colo., said he has directed in his will that 42 million shares of stock he owns in his company…
By Susan Gray
Contributor
Large Bequest to University Is Tied to Paternity Suit
The University of California at San Francisco could receive as much as $240-million from a trust to be created from the estate of the late Larry L. Hillblom, founder of the delivery service DHL Worldwide Express. Mr. Hillblom, who died in a seaplane crash in 1995, stated in his will that he wanted…
By DOMENICA MARCHETTI
Contributor
10 Volunteers and Groups Recognized by Clinton for Community Service
Following are the people and organizations that have most recently been named to receive President Clinton’s daily “Points of Light” award. The awards, which are given to those who have done exemplary volunteer work, take their name from President Bush’s description of people who do community…
Computer Tycoons Give $11-Million to Operation Smile; Other Donations
Operation Smile, a charity in Norfolk, Va., that provides free corrective surgery to poor children with facial deformities, has received $10-million from the software developer Charles B. Wang for a project to help kids in his native country. The gift will support the “Smile Train,” which is…
Packard Fund’s Guiding Principles Reflect Founders’ Values
After David Packard died in March 1996, the first formal action to be taken by the board of the foundation he created was to develop a set of values and principles to guide its future. The board -- which includes four Packard children and five other members -- adopted five principles that it felt…
At a Glance: The David and Lucile Packard Foundation
History: Created in 1964 by David Packard, co-founder of the Hewlett-Packard Company, and his wife, Lucile Salter Packard. The couple expanded the foundation gradually, but when David Packard died in 1996, he left the bulk of his estate to it. (His wife had died nine years earlier.) Areas of…
With billions in new assets, foundation branches out while staying true to its roots In the 1960s, when David and Lucile Packard held the first board meetings of their charitable foundation, they weren’t sitting in the spacious, redwood-paneled offices that house their Silicon Valley philanthropy…
By Holly Hall
Contributor
Many schoolchildren in Vermont and New Hampshire are learning all about animal behavior -- and not by taking the occasional field trip to a farm or the zoo. Thanks to a five-year, $225,000 grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to the Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich, Vt., students in…
Lilly Now No. 1 Among Foundations
Soaring assets bump Ford to second; Packard to be third The Lilly Endowment in Indianapolis, which saw its assets soar to $12.7-billion last year, has surpassed the Ford Foundation to become the nation’s largest private foundation. Ford, which had held the No. 1 ranking for more than 30 years, is…
By Holly Hall
Contributor
The Biggest Gifts Announced by Individuals in 1997
Who AmountPurpose Ted Turner, founder of Cable News Network $1-Billion To create a foundation to support United Nations programs dealing with humanitarian causes, the environment, and international-relief efforts Kathryn Albertson, widow of the supermarket-chain founder Joe Albertson $660-million…
By C. Quinn Hanchette
Contributor
A Congressman’s Plan to Overhaul Corporate Giving Draws Criticism
Following are excerpts from letters submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission in response to its request for comments on two bills proposed in the House of Representatives. The commission has been asked to prepare a report on the feasibility of two measures proposed by Rep. Paul Gillmor,…