The Daily Tell

Recently, a second round of grants was announced in connection with programs put forward by the National Park Foundation.

Consumer-product company Unilever will commit $500,000 to the foundation’s America’s Best Idea grant program. The creation of the program was inspired by Emmy-Award-winning director Ken Burns’ documentary about the history of the national parks entitled The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.

The goal of the grant program is to help connect the parks with underserved populations, including minority communities.

"Each of us as citizens is a part owner of the national parks," Neil Mulholland, president and chief executive officer of the National Park Foundation said. "America’s Best Idea – both the film and the grant program – is about reaching out to people who don’t feel connected to the parks and bringing them into their own lands."

An initial phase of grants was put finished earlier this year and saw $500,000 distributed to 35 national parks. The first grants represented a partnership between the National Park Foundation and the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund.

Through the first phase of grants, Yosemite National Park was able to hold field seminars that focused on its multicultural history, which ranged from African-American soldiers that patrolled the park to Chinese-American workers who helped build roads in it.

Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado used the funds to help the area’s young people of indigenous descent create a film about the park, which will be used to educated youths from all backgrounds.

Young people who live near the shore of Lake Michigan got to use the benefit of grant money to learn about the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Through new recording equipment, youths got to document the park.

For those who may be interested in doing their own learning about the parks, Ken Burn’s documentary – which debuted on September 27 – is currently being featured on PBS.

A Seattle nonprofit dedicated to global affairs awareness announced this week that it has received a three-year, $300,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to extend its educational program promoting global awareness.

The World Affairs Council‘s community educational program will focus on global health and development issues through a series of small and large presentations featuring international speakers. The events will serve to raise awareness not only of the issues themselves, but of the local programs and initiatives working to meet that demand.

"This grant significantly supports the World Affairs Council’s efforts to increase our community’s understanding of the impact of global health and development issues in today’s world," said World Affairs Council President and CEO Ian Moncaster. "Too many of us don’t know about the critical role that organizations right here in the Pacific Northwest play in tackling health and poverty issues throughout the world."

The event series’ inaugural speaker will be two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Nicholas Kristoff, a New York Times editorial columnist. He will speak on October 15 at Seattle’s Town Hall about improving global conditions by empowering women, a presentation titled "Saving the World’s Women."

Founded in 1951, the World Affairs Council focuses on public events, educational opportunities and an international visitor program to promote greater understanding of global affairs within the Puget Sound community.

The council’s programs include the Fellows Program, which offers a series of monthly seminars on international issues to a small group of "future international leaders"; the Global Classroom initiative that connects local teachers and students with international resources, ideas and speakers; and the Young Professionals International Network, which holds internationally-focused networking events, lectures and discussions, language groups, discussions with international visitors and dinners with visiting global leaders for young professionals in the Seattle area.

The Seattle-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation made $2.8 billion in grants to organizations and nonprofits in the 2008 fiscal year.

Two foundations have announced they will merge in order to help those who face paralysis.

The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation and the Life Rolls On Foundation announced the merger on September 25, which would have been Chrisopher Reeve’s 57th birthday. Christopher Reeve, who suffered paralysis due to an accident in an equestrian competition in 1995, died of heart failure on October 10, 2004.

As a result of the merger, the Los Angeles-based Life Rolls On Foundation will act as the West Coast headquarters for the Reeve Foundation. Peter T. Wilderotter, president and CEO of the Reeve Foundation, said that the merger represents an important moment in the cause of dealing with paralysis.

"The Reeve Foundation and Life Rolls On believe that charting a new course and unifying the [spinal cord injury] community is necessary to create a better future and realize the greatest potential for discoveries, interventions and advancements, and for the best overall outcomes for the paralysis community as a whole," Wilderotter said.

Both organizations have focused on trying to improve the lives of those who have suffered spinal cord injuries. The Life Rolls On Foundation was founded by Jesse and Josh Billauer and works to help young people deal with paralysis through sports activities.

Jesse Billauer, who suffered a spinal cord injury because of a surfing accident in 1996, will continue to serve as a spokesman for the foundation. Josh Billauer will head a committee to help guide the West Coast office and will also join the Reeve Foundation board of directors.

According to a study started by the Reeve Foundation, about one in 50, or approximately 6 million people, live with paralysis in the United States. Some of the major causes of paralysis include spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis and having a stroke.

The Nature Conservancy has announced that will be committing $25 million towards programs designed to prevent negative effects from global warming to hurt both humans and natural habitats around the world.

The funding, which will be spread over the next three years, will work to develop "ecosystem-based adaptation" and research ways in which green environmentally friendly infrastructure can be more effective and cost-efficient than traditional "gray" infrastructure.

The conservancy’s attempt to protect natural habitats will involve identifying two dozen field sites and testing various forms of ecosystem-based adaptation to determine their effectiveness, both in terms of cost and environmental friendliness.

Regions singled out by the conservancy as potential field sites were the Northern Reefs of Palau, the Great Lakes, and Coastal Louisiana.

The announcement of the commitment was made on September 24 at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) by the conservancy’s president and CEO Mark Tercek.

"We, along with many governments and communities, believe these adaptation strategies have significant potential. Now we are setting out to demonstrate how to scale it up to its full potential," said Tercek. "Through this commitment, we intend to show how preserving and enhancing nature and its natural systems is a cost-effective way to address the problems that vulnerable people and communities are dealing with right now because of climate change."

While at the CGI, the conservancy also reported on the "tremendous progress" being made on a $2 million pledge in 2006 to create a cost-effective framework to “reduce carbon emissions from deforestation and degradation." Since its implementation, the conservancy has become a founding participant in the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility, which has committed $165 million to help reduce emissions from deforestation.

Since its founding in 1951, the Nature Conservancy has established itself as a leading conservation organization, actively protecting more than 119 million acres of land and 5,000 miles of river all over the world, according to its website.

In an attempt to assist in the creation of more affordable housing in the area, the Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties has announced it has donated a low-interest loan worth $4 million to the Florida Community Loan Fund to help fund the creation of new housing.

The loan – which the foundation says is one of the largest of its kind ever made from a community foundation to a "community development finance institution" – will be funded by a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, which specializes in prioritizing affordable housing.

"This partnership with the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties represents an extraordinary step forward in meeting the mission of the Loan Fund and strengthening the Florida affordable housing field," said Ignacio Esteban, executive director of the Florida Community Loan Fund. "Strategic investments like this preserve and create affordable housing in places community foundations care about by tapping the capacity of community development financial institutions in ways that make both good business and social impact sense. The times and tremendous need for affordable housing in Florida call for more new partnerships like this."

William M. Mathew, the chairman of the Community Fund, said the loans were part of the fund’s commitment to "provide community leadership and solutions through the power of informed and disciplined philanthropy." He also added his gratitude for the MacArthur Foundation, which has now donated more than $27 million to the fund.

The Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties was founded in 1972 and has provided over $78 million in grants and scholarships in the community. It is one of more than 27 community foundations spread throughout the state working to improve the general quality of life in their counties, including initiatives to develop more affordable housing.

As the fifth annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) came to a close last Friday, former President Bill Clinton and wife/Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that discussions during the meeting had resulted in 284 new charitable commitments valued at over $9.4 billion that could influence and improve up to 200 million lives around the world.

Among the many philanthropic ventures that were initiated during the four-day conference – which was attended by numerous heads of foundations, philanthropists, nongovernmental organization directors, and prominent media members – was the World Food Programme’s commitment to unite global, regional, and private sector units for a five-year campaign to reduce malnutrition in Asia.

Another program, launched by One HEART, will seek to provide supplies and training courses for maternal and neonatal health in poor communities in Nepal and Mexico.

In all, the pledges announced during the meeting – if followed through on – would result in improvement to a number of causes, including $5.4 billion that would be invested in small- and medium-sized enterprises, increasing health service access to 83 million people, the cutting of 30 million metric tons of CO2 emissions, and improved access to educational services for 30 million children.

"I think we can say with some certainty that this model actually does work," President Clinton said of the CGI meeting and the philanthropic results it produced. "People don’t have to have the same politics, the same religion, or speak the same language to work together and to have an impact. We all have things to learn from each other. What we need is a shared mechanism to achieve common goals."

The CGI was established in 2005 by President Clinton as a means to bring together global leaders to "devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges." Since its inception, CGI members have made more than 1,400 philanthropic and charitable commitments valued at more than $46 billion.

Charitable foundations in Georgia grew at an expedited rate between 2002 and 2007 and topped $1 billion in gifts for the first time in state history, according to new data released by the Foundation Center on Tuesday.

According to the foundation in its report, titled Key Facts on Georgia Foundations, assets held by charitable foundations base within the state increased by 58 percent in the five-year-period from 2002 to 2007, growing from $8.4 billion to ?13.3 billion. The number of foundations within the state increased as well, increasing 16 percent from 1,262 in 2002 to 1,470 in 2007.

The report also found that the amount of funding given by the charities increased as well, growing 23 percent from 675.3 million in 2002 to $830.1 million in 2007.

However, perhaps most notable was the substantial increase in the amount of gifts received by the Georgia foundations. While they received $271.7 million in gifts in 2002, that figure increased by 299 percent by 2007, which saw the amount of gifts received hit $1.08 billion.

"The increases in foundation assets, giving to nonprofits, and gifts to foundations in 2007 were significant and reflect the economy of that five-year timeframe," said the report’s author, Pattie Johnson, director of the Foundation Center’s regional center in Atlanta. "This report will provide a crucial baseline when we analyze giving and assets for 2008, the year the recession began, and subsequent years."

Another finding in the report found that the Robert W Woodruff Foundation was easily the largest and most active charity within the state in 2007. The Woodruff Foundation, which establishes
"charitable, scientific, and educational services" through grant donations to public charities within the state, led all state charities in both total giving in assets. In 2007, the Woodruff Foundation gave $95.2 million while utilizing $2.7 billion in total assets.

The Foundation Center was established in 1956 to connect nonprofit organization and grantmakers in order to promote philanthropic actions across the country. They are currently supported by nearly 550 foundations across the country.

Further addressing the needs of the city of Cleveland, the board of directors for the Cleveland Foundation have announced $14.8 million in grants that will be awarded to a number of organizations across the city to " address many of Greater Cleveland’s most vital issues" such as economic development, education reform, and a progression of the arts.

Among the organizations that will be receiving portions of the funding will be the Cleveland Center for Arts and Technology, who will receive $3 million in funding to develop a year-round after-school program for children that will teach them a variety of types of art while also motivating them to stay in school and one day go to college. It will also offer adult job training courses focused on careers in health sciences as well as adult literacy and G.E.D. classes.

The Cleveland Orchestra will receive a $1.2 million chunk of the funding as well so it can implement a 10-year fundraising effort called the "Centennial Campaign" to strengthen its relationship with the community.

“We’re very pleased with this round of grants to be able to meet many of the community’s immediate needs while also continuing to invest in the region’s future,” said Robert Eckardt, senior vice president for programs and evaluation for the foundation.

Among the other organizations that will be receiving portions of the funding will Kent State University’s Ohio Employee Ownership Center, the University of Akron Foundation, the Civic Innovation Lab, Parkworks, the Ohio Business Alliance for Higher Education and the Economy, First Ring Superintendents’ Collaborative, the Cleveland Foodbank, and the Cuyahoga County Public Library.

Founded in 1914 by banker and lawyer Frederick H. Goff, the Cleveland Foundation was the world’s first community foundation of its kind and is now the third-largest in the country. With $1.6 billion in assets, the foundation handed out $84 million in grants for the betterment of Cleveland in 2008.

Actresses Jessica Biel and Isabel Lucas along with musicians Lupe Fiasco and Kenna have decided that to make a difference, simply attending a chic fundraising gala is not enough – the celebrities will climb Mount Kilimanjaro in January to raise global awareness for the clean water crisis.

Kenna, whose father suffered from waterborne diseases as a child in Ethiopia, has organized the expedition called Summit on the Summit.

"We are ‘actionists’ who are going to assimilate and enlighten the world on a human rights issue that is long overdue for attention," he told TreeHugger.com. "We are living in a world where over a billion people are without clean and safe drinking water; it is unacceptable. My friends and I are taking a risk climbing Kili to stand at one of the highest points in the world and make the statement that we can stop the Global Clean Water Crisis if we take action now."

The campaign is highly web 2.0-optimized, using Facebook and Twitter to spread awareness. The interactive website links visitors to the United Nations Foundation to make donations – which will send clean, safe drinking water to countries in need – and will eventually feature videos about the clean water crisis as well as updates from the climbers.

The expedition – which includes 4 days of ascent, 2 days of descent, 19,340 feet, and subzero temperatures – will be outfitted by HP, which will provide Thin and Light notebooks to climbers so they can share blog posts, photos and videos. Other partners include PUR – which developed a water packet that converts dirty drinking water into clean water in 30 minutes – expedition outfitting from First Ascent by Eddie Bauer and charitable advising from the UN Foundation.

The safe drinking water cause is an important one – Summit on the Summit estimates that every 15 seconds a child dies from a waterborne disease.

For the third year in a row a wireless company will join with a national law enforcement agency in order to help victims of domestic violence.

The partnership brings together Verizon Wireless’ HopeLine program and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE). Both organizations are sponsoring a phone-donation drive, which will run through October and November.

Ernest Green, NOBLE national president, said he is looking forward to his organization partnering with the HopeLine program in trying to combat domestic violence.

"As law enforcement officers, we encounter the unfortunate effects of abuse in our communities every day," Green said. "We understand the importance of having a link to emergency services and being able to contact family in times of crisis."

Through the HopeLine program, cell phones that are no longer in use are being collected at NOBLE chapter locations across the country. Along with the phones themselves, accessories are also being collected.

Phones that can still be used will be refurbished and sold. Proceeds from the sales will go to purchasing cell phones for victims of domestic violence, which they can use for emergency situations.

Along with purchasing cell phones, money raised through the sales will be given as grants to organizations that specialize in dealing with domestic violence. Those organizations can use the funds to support both prevention and awareness of the problem.

Cell phones that cannot be reused will be recycled in an environmentally-friendly way. Along with donating the cell phones at NOBLE chapter locations, the program will accept devices at Verizon Wireless locations and by mail.

Recently the HopeLine program recognized NOBLE’s efforts by giving the organization’s Georgia chapter a Law Enforcement Partnership Award. Because of the award, Verizon Wireless donated $2,500 to the Savannah Area Family Emergency Shelter. NOBLE’s South Florida chapter has been similarly recognized by the program.