Tobacco Funds to Pay for Disease Research
Four major tobacco companies have agreed to spend $300-million to create a non-profit group to study early detection and cure of diseases associated with smoking. The agreement was part of a $349-million settlement announced this month that ended a landmark class-action lawsuit over secondhand…
Soros on Why the Market Is Not Enough: ‘Every Society Needs Some Shared Values’
In announcing his gift of up to $500-million to finance social programs in Russia, the philanthropist and financier George Soros said last week that he was motivated by his desire to promote a global capitalist society -- but not one controlled merely by market forces. In a speech last month to a…
Virginia School Gets $15-Million; Other Gifts
A private school and two universities have received big gifts. * The Steward School, a pre-kindergarten-through-12th-grade day school in Richmond, Va., has received $15-million from anonymous donors. The number of benefactors remains a mystery to school officials, as the gift was made through a…
George Soros plans to donate up to $500-million to support a range of programs intended to promote a more open society Last week’s announcement by George Soros that he plans to spend $300-million to $500-million on philanthropic ventures in Russia during the next three years shows he has not lost…
By Stephen G. Greene
Contributor
Because Aaron Nesmith knows firsthand how difficult it is to grow up without a father, he decided to become a father figure himself -- to a young man who also needed someone to look up to. The Rochester, N.Y., resident joined Compeer, an international charity that matches adult volunteers with…
Chief of British University Is Appointed Top Executive of Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation has selected a British university leader and well-known agricultural ecologist to be its new president. Gordon Conway, who runs the University of Sussex in Brighton, England, will be the first non-American to head the 84-year-old foundation. The fund has assets of…
By MARINA DUNDJERSKI
Contributor
Community Funds See Assets Grow by 28%; More Than $2-Billion Raised in 1996
Gifts to community foundations jumped 14 per cent last year, to more than $2-billion, according to an annual survey by the Columbus Foundation in Ohio. The amount of money the foundations distributed to charities also went up, rising 13 per cent, to almost $1-billion. Meanwhile, assets of community…
By Paul Demko
Contributor
Businesses Rethink Their Philanthropy, Report Says
As more and more companies seek ways to cut spending, they are redesigning their grant programs to make them more worthwhile financially, according to a new report by the Conference Board. More than 80 per cent of the 130 companies surveyed had slashed budgets, laid off employees, or undergone some…
16 Funds Pool Money for Child Care
Sixteen foundations have announced that they are pooling their grant money to strengthen the quality of child-care centers and other early-childhood programs across the country. They have recently made $2.4-million in grants and plan to give out more money in the future. The organizations from the…
$60-Million Fund Produced by Telephone Merger
The Bell Atlantic Foundation and the NYNEX Foundation have merged into a new philanthropy with $60-million in assets. Officials said that beginning in 1998, the fund plans to award $33-million to $35-million in grants to charities in New York and New England. The annual amount previously awarded by…
International conference outlines struggle between concern for common good and the ever-expanding global market As countries around the world move pell-mell toward a single global market and social culture, private citizens must join together to insure that the poorest and weakest do not get left…
By Stephen G. Greene
Contributor
Couple Gives $34-Million to 2 Minnesota Foundations; Other Recent Donations
Minnesotans Eugene and Mary Frey have given a combined $34-million to two community foundations in St. Paul. The Saint Paul Foundation has received $25-million, and the Catholic Community Foundation of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis has received $9-million. Both gifts established…
Sources of Information on Mentor Programs
Following are organizations that provide information and assistance, or conduct research, on mentor programs: America’s Promise, 909 North Washington Street, Suite 400, Alexandria, Va. 22314; (703) 684-4500; http://www.americaspromise.org A national non-profit group led by Gen. Colin Powell,…
Big Brothers/Big Sisters Makes Big Changes as It Expands Its Services
John Cori, a volunteer at Big Brothers/Big Sisters of New York, didn’t know how to respond when his “little brother” started asking him questions about sex. “I wasn’t sure if I was handling it right,” says Mr. Cori. So he called the charity for advice. “My case worker gave me some great tips, but…
By DOMENICA MARCHETTI
Contributor
The roster of residents at the Actors’ Fund Nursing and Retirement Homes reads like the stage bill for a Broadway show. Sitting on six rolling acres in Englewood, N.J., the complex houses more than 100 retired actors, dancers, musicians, producers, set designers, sound technicians, and stagehands…