The Daily Tell

Recently-announced grants from the William T. Grant Foundation will help a wide variety of agencies and media outlets examine what makes successful settings for youths.

This round of grants totals $2.64 million and will go to seven different recipients to further research and communication.

"The awards reflect several features of our grantmaking," Robert C. Granger, president of the foundation, said. "These include our interest in a range of youth settings, our interest in improving policy and practice, and a belief that researchers can address practical questions in a way that advances fundamental knowledge about critical family and organization practices."

One of the research grants will go to help further an ongoing study of how social settings in classrooms and non-instructional settings, such as lunchrooms and hallways, can be a factor in negative behavior. The study began by focusing on intervention between the third and fifth grade levels, and the new $500,000 of grant money will help continue studying the students into middle school.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, a 2007 survey showed that 36 percent of high school students said they had been in a fight in the 12 months prior to the survey.

Another study funded by grant money from the foundation will look at the effect of violence in the community and in the family and how it may affect the sleep behaviors of youths. The goal of the study is to see how violence affects the overall health of younger people.

Communication grants were also awarded for two projects. One grant will go to the American Youth Center, which will use the money to further young people’s research abilities in order to influence the way they make decisions. The program will use a number of research tools, including the internet and newspapers.

National Public Radio has also received grant money to help continue its coverage of youth-related topics, which includes reporting on health and trends in education.

In 2008, the foundation awarded over $11 million in grant money in its quest to further improve the lives of people between eight and 25 years old.

As the debate about climate change continues, some experts on military and environmental policy are getting together to determine how national security may be impacted by energy concerns and global warming.

The Pew Environmental Group and former Republican Sen. John Warner have recently announced the formation of the Pew Project on National Security, Energy and Climate. The goal of the project is to gather experts in science and military policy in order to create a public dialogue on how climate change may affect the nation.

"Leading military and security experts agree that if left unchecked, global warming could increase instability and lead to conflict in already fragile regions of the world," Warner said. "We ignore these facts at the peril of our national security and at great risk to those in uniform who serve this nation."

Warner will work with different levels of government, from local branches to the White House, and other climate and military experts in order to examine the relationship between climate change and its effect on the military. Furthermore, the project will feature public events dealing with affected issues.

In order to curb the threat of climate change on both the military and country, the group will look to how America can make itself more energy independent and preserve its natural resources.

The CNA Military Advisory Board (MAB) recently stated that projections in climate change pose a "serious threat" to national security by increasing the risk of instability in areas of the globe that are already facing problems. The MAB also reported that even stable areas of the world may become fell stress due to climate change.

Many Americans have found themselves short on spending money these days, but they are not short on time or compassion, a recent survey found.

To make up for what they perhaps could not write in a check, Americans donated an estimated $162 billion in volunteer activity in 2008, said a report by the Corporation for National Community Service.

The report found that 61.8 million Americans volunteered through an organization in 2008 – one million more than last year’s number – totaling more than 8 billion hours of community service.

The volunteering boom seems to be led by young adults, with volunteers aged 16 to 24 increasing from 7.8 million in 2007 to 8.2 million in 2008.

In line with recent research that found "voluntourism" to be increasingly popular among the younger generation of philanthropists, the report found that applications to AmeriCorps saw a 217 percent increase in the past eight months.

The trend was also led by "do-it-yourself" volunteers, as a large amount of the volunteer activity stemmed from people working with neighbors to solve a community problem.

"Driven by young adults and neighbors with a do-it yourself spirit, Americans are responding to tough times by reaching out to help others in need," said Nicola Goren, Acting CEO of the Corporation for National Community Service. "The need is great, the momentum is strong, and potential is unlimited for ushering in a new era of service in America."

Especially in the current economic climate, this high level of volunteering activity is needed more than ever.

The report found that 37 percent of nonprofit organizations needed to increase their volunteer base between September 2008 and March 2009, while 48 percent anticipate a continued need for more volunteers in the coming year.

Also challenging the common perception that charitable activity decreases in a recession is a recent report by Ledbury Research and Barclays Wealth, which found that 77 percent of wealthy philanthropists reported no plans to decrease their level of giving as a result of the recession.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation has awarded $2.1 million in funding to help discover the biological roots of Parkinson’s disease and help find a cure.

The foundation’s donation falls under Target Validation, one of its core programs with the initiative to test early-stage biological effects of Parkinson’s and "conclusively confirm that a biological target plays a role in disease and that by modifying the target, symptoms or disease course can be altered," as stated by the foundation’s website.

The $2.1 will be awarded to 10 research teams spread across six countries that are working to discover various "therapeutic targets" as well as treatments for the disease.

In 2008 the Target Validation program was named as one of the foundation’s three Edmond J. Safra Core Programs for Parkinson’s Disease Research along with Rapid Response Innovation Awards and Clinical Intervention Awards. The programs were named after Safra, the late founder of the philanthropic Edmond J. Safra Foundation and a longtime supporter of the foundation, in 2008.

"Caring for the sick took priority over everything else in my husband’s life," said Safra’s wife Lily Safra at time of the program’s naming. "During his lifetime he helped countless people receive medical treatment and was a generous supporter of scientific research around the world. It is therefore our privilege to be a partner in the Michael J. Fox Foundation’s innovative, creative, and strategic efforts to find a cure for Parkinson’s disease."

The Michael J. Fox Foundation, was founded by 48-year-old actor best known for his roles in Family Ties and the Back To The Future trilogy, has donated $149 million in research, either directly or through partnerships, towards finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease.

Marie and Edward "Poor Ed" Keller were known in East Aurora, NY as a generous couple always looking to help their community and give back to the town’s schools.

However, the town’s school district recently discovered that the Keller’s weren’t so "poor" after all as it formally accepted a gift of more than $3 million from the couple’s estate nearly three years after Edward Keller’s death, according to the Buffalo News.

According to the News, Marie began teaching in East Aurora in September 1929 after graduating from Elmira University. After marrying Edward in 1937 and serving on the school board for years after her retirement from teaching in 1971, she passed away in 1998.

When Edward, who referred to himself as "Poor Ed" and ran a successful local business, passed away in 2006, the town’s school district was informed that they had been named in his will but did not receive information on what they would be receiving until they were given a check for $3.37 million this month.

"We knew it was a substantial amount, but we didn’t know how substantial," board President Daniel P. Brunson told the News. "It was an amazing act of generosity by Ed. Certainly, the East Aurora community will remember the Kellers forever."

"In these economic times, and with the cost of higher education, it’s a great gift," added Anthony DiFilippo, the school district’s attorney. "It’s a lasting tribute to Marie Keller. She was a wonderful teacher and person."

While details of how the district will spend the money have not yet been decided upon, the News reported that The East Aurora High School Class of 2010 will be the first class to receive scholarships and that a committee would be formed to discuss how to establish scholarships and invest the money properly.

The James Graham Brown Foundation has awarded an additional $2 million to the Louisville Zoo towards the completion of its upcoming Glacier Run addition.

The foundation has now donated more than $5 million towards the completion of Glacier Run, or nearly one-quarter of the $20.2 million raised by the zoo for the project.

"James Graham Brown was the first, original contributor to help fund a Zoo in Louisville, and the foundation that bears his name has been a longtime supporter. We are excited that the Foundation continues to invest in the Zoo’s programming and exhibits,’ said John Walczak, the director of the Louisville Zoo. "The James Graham Brown Foundation has once again acknowledged the Zoo’s value to the community and Commonwealth and the important role the Zoo plays in educating our youth."

The 39-year-old zoo, which exhibits more than 1,300 animals in their "naturalistic and mixed animal settings," according to its website, broke ground on Glacier Run in 2008. The new exhibit’s unique feature will recreate the natural habitats of polar bears, seals, sea lions, sea otters and sea eagles. It will also include a schoolhouse, general store and amphitheater in its "town."

While the pinniped and polar bear portions of the exhibit are scheduled to open in 2010 and 2011 respectively, the exhibit’s first three phases – the Australian Walkabout, Calistoga Splash Park at Glacier Run and Alice S. Etscorn Tiger Tundra exhibit – are already open.

Even with the donation, an additional $8.9 is still needed by the zoo to complete the project and secure an endowment. However, the zoo estimated that the completed project would increase the economic impact of the zoo to $33.6 million while adding over 400 new jobs to the region as well.

There seems to be no end when it comes to the kinds of things people can do with a cell phone these days.

Now count donating money to nonprofits as one of the many ways cell phones have expanded their scope. A report from the Seattle Times has highlighted the efforts of Jim Manis, the CEO and co-founder of the Mobile Giving Foundation.

The nonprofit foundation – which is based in Bellevue, Washington – was established to give other nonprofits a way to use cell phones in order to raise awareness and money for their causes.

The foundation and Manis have helped developed a way for cell phone users to use text messages in order to donate to nonprofits in need. By texting a single word, a person can initiate a donation to one of their favorite charities.

"Giving should be easy, it should be fun and it should be rewarding," Manis told the Seattle Times.

According to the Times, Manis helped develop the type of parameters needed in order to do mobile donating in response to Hurricane Katrina and a tsunami that affected Asia. He eventually took that knowledge further by working with co-founder Jenifer Snyder to create the foundation.

According to the foundation, one of the benefits of mobile giving is that it appeals to a younger demographic, which can give nonprofits the chance to expand their donation base.

Donations are generally given in $5 amounts, though a number of carriers allow for $10 donations. In order to donate more, a texter can make multiple donations, all of which will appear as a charge on their cell phone bill.

The money then goes to the foundation, which then hands all of it over to the benefiting charity. According to the Times, the foundation has helped give around $1 million in donations.

Although many charities are focusing their outreach efforts on engaging a younger generation of philanthropists, the wealthy demographic represents a powerful resource for sustaining charities through the economic downturn, a recent survey found.

Titled “Tomorrow’s Philanthropist,” the report was conducted by Ledbury Research in partnership with Barclays Wealth, and surveyed exclusively high net worth individuals – responses were culled from 500 people with investable assets of more than $1 million and 150 people with assets of more than $5 million.

The report found that wealthy individuals have largely retained their focus on philanthropy despite the recession. Many wealthy individuals reported that they consider philanthropy a "key expense" and would sooner cut back on comforts than reduce donations – 77 percent said they would not decrease their level of giving as a result of the recession.

Although wealthy individuals have reduced their donations by an average 2.2 percent, younger wealthy donors are picking up the slack by donating an increased 3 to 4 percent.

While historically the most active donors have been those with inherited fortunes, the survey saw greater philanthropic activity from self-made individuals, suggesting that they are using their business skills and ambition to solve humanitarian problems.

Charities should keep in mind that this demographic of philanthropists is highly impact-focused, with 45 percent of people who donate $10,000 or more preferring to donate in their lifetime so they can see the impact.

In fact, many are using professional advisors to increase the impact of their donations.

Furthermore, challenging the stereotype that women traditionally hold administrative and social roles in charities instead of giving large donations, the report found that wealthy women give an average of 3.5 percent of their net worth to charities – almost double the 1.8 percent given by men.

This type of philanthropic commitment even during a recession bodes well for the future of charitable activity and social responsibility.

"The fact that we’re seeing levels of giving maintained in such a challenging economic environment is a real statement of intent and underscores the importance of philanthropy," said Matt Brady, head of wealth advisory at Barclays Wealth.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has committed an additional $80 million in funding to Avahan, its initiative to help combat the spread of HIV in India.

Founded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2003 and based in Delhi, Avahan works with the Indian government as well as 134 nongovernmental organizations to increase access to HIV prevention services in over 600 towns across six states in India, the foundation’s website said.

The funding will be added to the $258 million commitment that has already been given to Avahan, bringing its total funding from the Gates Foundation to $338 million.

"Prevention is absolutely essential for fighting HIV, and will ultimately save millions of lives," said Bill Gates, the Foundation’s co-chair. "I congratulate the Indian government for its leadership on HIV prevention, which can be a model for the rest of the world. Our foundation is committed to working with India over the long haul on a variety of critical health issues."

Since its inception, Avahan has already reported encouraging data that suggests lower rates of sexually transmitted infections in some of their targeted areas.

Last week, Gates traveled to Delhi to represent the Gates Foundation as it received the Indira Ghandi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for its "pioneering and exemplary philanthropic work around the world and in India in health." Gates also met with Ghulam Nabi Azad, the Union Secretary for Health and Family Welfare, to discuss India’s plans to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, according to the foundation’s website.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was founded in 1994 to address global health and community needs in the Pacific Northwest. Including their donations towards Avahan, the foundation has committed almost $1 billion toward health projects in India and almost $12 billion in grants toward global health initiatives.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has committed an additional $80 million in funding to Avahan, its initiative to help combat the spread of HIV in India.

Founded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2003 and based in Delhi, Avahan works with the Indian Government as well as 134 nongovernmental organizations to increase access to HIV prevention services in over 600 towns across six states in India, the foundation’s website said.

The funding will be added on to the $258 million commitment that has already been given to Avahan, bringing its total funding from the Gates Foundation to $338 million.

"Prevention is absolutely essential for fighting HIV, and will ultimately save millions of lives," said Bill Gates, the Foundation’s co-chair. "I congratulate the Indian government for its leadership on HIV prevention, which can be a model for the rest of the world. Our foundation is committed to working with India over the long haul on a variety of critical health issues."

Since its inception, Avahan has already reported encouraging data that suggests lower rates of sexually transmitted infections in some of their targeted areas.

Last week, Gates traveled to Delhi to represent the Gates Foundation as it received the Indira Ghandi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for its "pioneering and exemplary philanthropic work around the world and in India in health." Gates also met with Ghulam Nabi Azad, the Union Secretary for Health and Family Welfare, to discuss India’s plans to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, according to the foundation’s website.

The Bill and Linda Gates Foundation was founded in 1994 to address global health and community needs in the Pacific Northwest. Including their donations towards Avahan, the Foundation has committed almost $1 billion toward health projects in India and almost $12 billion in grants toward global health initiatives.