The Daily Tell

In trying times, it seems to make sense that people would increasingly turn to the arts for much-needed entertainment. A trip to a museum or theater can make people forget about the troubles of everyday life.

Unfortunately, in a moment when Americans might really need the arts, this sector is struggling. The first-ever national arts index revealed that funders’ commitment to the arts declined during the recession. Even some of the country’s premier art centers are in trouble.

The Metropolitan Opera, for one, projects a deficit of nearly $4 million for the current fiscal year. Luckily for opera lovers and the monumental institution, a recent donation from Ann Ziff will give the Met something to sing about.

Ziff’s $30 million donation is the largest single gift from an individual in the Metropolitan Opera’s history. "It came at a time when the Met is sorely in need of cash," Peter Gelb, the Met’s general manager, told the New York Times .

While donors typically designate that their gifts be used for building projects that will bear their names, Ziff’s gift is unrestricted. She has given Met officials full discretion to decide how to use the money to help cover the Met’s $300 million annual operating expenses.

"If the great arts organizations of the world – and I think perhaps the Met is the greatest – start cutting back, we’re cutting back on cultural heritage in this country. It’s a good time to keep up our standards, keep pushing for the best," Ziff told the news source. She serves as the secretary of the Met’s board and is is a longstanding patron of the institution.

Hopefully, her gift will enable others to patronize the Met for a long time to come.

While the national unemployment rate lingers at 9.7 percent, the economically fragile city of Detroit has an unemployment rate of nearly 25 percent. Worse, recent political scandals have left some to worry about the future of the city.

Detroit – known for its blues and automobiles – is considered an important city in American cultural history, and now, a number of foundations have stepped up to ensure that the struggling city has a place in America’s future.

According to a report from DetroitNews.com, a $30 billion initiative will build local organizations, fund entrepreneurship and reshape urban education programs in Detroit. A number of foundations are pooling their resources to finance various projects.

The Detroit-based Skillman Foundation is giving $200 million for Detroit school intervention. The Excellent Schools Initiative will assist both public and charter schools in the city to make a sound education available to a wide range of kids. Additionally, it aims to open 70 new schools by 2020.

The Skillman Foundation also looks at this as an opportunity to make a significant difference. "We can be a model of how to turn around a city and a region," President Carol Gloss told the news provider.

Detroit might be in need of immediate "turning," as Gloss suggests. Leaders at the Kresge Foundation – which is donating $3.1 billion to city planning initiatives – thinks Detroit would be in ruins in less than two years if not for these efforts.

The Kresge Foundation‘s funds will go toward a program called Downsizing Detroit – a relocation initiative that will move residents from empty neighborhoods to more populated, safer regions. The foundation will work closely with Harvard professor Toni Griffin on the urban planning project.

With these programs – and others – coming their way, hopefully Detroit residents won’t have to sing the blues. But maybe improved living conditions will give them cause to sing a new tune and make the city a player in the nation’s thriving arts scene once more.

Frank Bello jams with elementary school students and help national nonprofit Little Kids Rock restore and revitalize music education in public schools.

New York, NY, Mar. 24, 2010 — While funding for music and arts programs are being cut across the country, notably in New York City, Little Kids Rock, a leading nonprofit provider of free musical instruments and free lessons in the United States, is teaming with Fender Musical Instruments Corporation and rock stars to put music education back into public schools. On Friday, March 26, Anthrax bassist Frank Bello donated Fender electric basses and amps to 15 NYC public city schools to complement the Little Kids Rock guitar classes that are already thriving.

“We are so proud to have Mr. Bello as a champion of our cause,” said David Wish, Little Kids Rock founder and executive director. “With his help, and the continued support of our longtime partner Fender, we will be able to reach even more children in New York City.

In addition to delivering a free Fender® electric bass and amp to the students of P.S. 11 Highbridge School, Mr. Bello answered all of the kids’ questions and jammed with them on some of their favorite songs.

Little Kids Rock launched in New York City in 2002 and has delivered nearly a million dollars-worth of free instruments, curriculum and resources that currently reach thousands of New York City public school children.

About Little Kids Rock

Little Kids Rock is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization that transforms children’s lives by restoring and revitalizing music education in underfunded public schools. Little Kids Rock was founded in San Francisco in 2002 by David Wish, an elementary school teacher who had grown frustrated with the lack of music education funding at his school. Today, Little Kids Rock is one of the leading nonprofit providers of free lessons and instruments to underserved children in US public schools, and has served more than 88,000 students at over 1,200 schools in 23 cities nationwide. Little Kids Rock Honorary Board Members include Bonnie Raitt, Slash, Paul Simon, B.B. King, Ziggy Marley and other famous friends in the music industry. More information can be found at: www.littlekidsrock.org.

About Fender Musical Instruments Corporation

Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) is the world’s leading guitar manufacturer, and its name has become synonymous with all things rock ‘n’ roll. Iconic Fender instruments such as the Telecaster, Stratocaster, Precision Bass and Jazz Bass® guitars are known worldwide as the instruments that started the rock revolution, and they continue to be highly prized by today’s musicians and collectors. FMIC brands include Fender, Squier®, Guild®, Tacoma®, Gretsch®, Jackson®, Charvel®, EVH®, SWR® and Groove Tubes®, among others. For more information, visit www.Fender.com.

About Frank Bello

Frank Bello is the powerhouse bassist for the groundbreaking NYC-based speed-thrash metal institution, Anthrax. Born and raised in the Bronx, Bello started playing when he was 12, learning bass parts on guitar; idolizing bass heroes such as Geddy Lee, Steve Harris and Geezer Butler; and frequently jamming with his uncle, Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante. Bello joined Anthrax in time for 1985’s Spreading the Disease, and fans loved his high-energy stage presence and deftly inventive bass style. Since that time, Anthrax quickly reached the upper echelons of metal stardom with a series of classic punk/speed metal albums fueled by Bello’s ferociously riffing bass work. On stage and off, Frank Bello is a veritable bass ambassador who doesn’t pull any musical punches. Bello continues to play with a ferocity and finesse that has won him acclaim far and wide.

Thanks to movies like Animal House, college sororities and fraternities are often considered four-year parties. Now, spring rush week is fast approaching on many campuses. In case National Lampoon’s Van Wilder is the only point of reference you have on college Greek life, it might be worthwhile to take a look at the philanthropic side of some fraternities and sororities across the nation.

To start, it’s worth mentioning that Greek organizations are usually required to raise a certain number of funds for charity each school year in order to get status as a fraternity or sorority. Even while hazing hooligans might give these groups a bad reputation, there are a number of organizations from coast to coast that are shining examples of charitable college life.

For instance, the University of Iowa’s Alpha Xi Delta recently hosted hosted a jigsaw puzzle event to help raise funds for Autism Speaks. The puzzle-assembling competition brought college kids some grammar school fun as more than 100 students gathered in a residence hall for tournament-style puzzle competitions.

Attendant Billy Davies – the philanthropy chairman at his fraternity, Phi Delta Theta – told the Press-Citizen.com he was happy to play, and happy to help raise money for autism. "These events go to support really noble causes, and this helps give Greek houses a good name," he told the source.

This same month on a campus across the country, a number of North Carolina State University’s fraternities and sororities pooled their resources together to raise money for various charities through grants to be awarded by Service for Sight – Delta Gamma Foundation’s organization that provides free eyeglasses, Braille books and specialized computer technology to children across the country.

TechnicianOnline.com reports this year’s "Splash" event was a swimming competition with different team-building relays and other fun activities – but all participants said they aimed to make the charities the real winners of the day.

Delta Gamma’s Christie Love, a sophomore, told the source, "I think it is a good event that brings the Greek system together and raises money for a good cause. Blindness is a huge issue that often gets overlooked when people look for charities to give money to, and I’m glad it’s one of [Delta Gamma's] priorities."

So before parents tell their kids to stick to the books and stay away from sorority parties, consider these charitable efforts. Philanthropic frat life may be more common than outsiders think.

Steven Cohen knows that childhood is a formative period in a person’s life. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, he explained that he liked to play poker as a kid. The hedge fund billionaire claims this childhood activity taught him to take risks that ultimately helped him accumulate his fortune.

Now, Cohen is putting that fortune to good use with a recent donation that will help keep kids healthy so they can grow into successful individuals. The Steven A. and Alexandra M. Cohen Foundation recently donated $50 million to pediatric care development at the campuses of the Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Hyde Park, New York and the North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York.

The funds will enable the campuses to move forward with a $120 million construction project. A pavilion will be built to house a Pediatric Emergency Center, a 24-bed pediatric intensive care unit, a 25-bed medical-surgical unit and a state-of-the-art surgery center with six operating rooms dedicated to children.

Steven and Alexandra Cohen are happy to help with the project. "The hospital is one of America’s top children’s hospitals and impacts the lives of countless children and families. We hope that our gift will enable the hospital to continue its important work," they said.

In turn, North Shore and Long Island Jewish Medical Center’s hospital, formerly known as Schneider Children’s Hospital, will be renamed Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York. The name will be changed to honor the greatest single gift ever given to the hospital.

This donation might make a difference in many lives. The hospital treats nearly 12,000 inpatients, 170,000 outpatients, 70,000 emergency patients and 2,500 neonates each year.

The Cleveland Foundation recently gave $15.8 million in grants to support several nonprofits in Ohio.

The grants are focused on public school improvement, neighborhood revitalization, youth development, healthcare, art and overall economic transformation.

The grants are part of a long history of business philanthropy for the Cleveland Foundation. The organization was founded in the early 20th century by banker Frederick Goff and continues to be supported by wealthy area philanthropists.

One of the largest grants, for $4.5 million, went to Neighborhood Progress, which will work with smaller neighborhood organizations to prevent home foreclosure and to improve the appearance of public space.

The Cleveland Foundation gave $2 million to the Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s mission to implement a transformation plan. The donation comes after the board gave $750,000 to the school district in 2009.

"The foundation will also consider additional funding to support implementation of the plan in the future," the foundation says. "The current grant will continue to support critical aspects of implementation, including design of a district-wide accountability system, development of new innovative schools, restructuring of the CMSD central office, improved administration, and talent recruitment and development within the district."

Another one of the grants went to MyCom, which is short for my commitment and my community. The youth development organization will use the $750,000 grant to provide eight neighborhoods in the Cleveland area with employment programs for teenagers and after-school programs.

Also aimed at the youth is a $150,000 grant to Partnership for a Safer Cleveland, a nonprofit that tries to reduce violent crime through intervention sessions for at-risk youth and re-entry programs for re-entry programs for delinquents.

In 2009, the organization gave out $82 million in grants.

Another community foundation was also recently giving back to the community. The Hawaii Community Foundation recently gave $75,000 to support an employee mentoring service for students exiting high school or college.

Many wealthy philanthropists tend to keep a low profile, but a new online video forum will give a face – or faces – to the British culture of major giving.

AmbassadorForPhilanthropy.com was launched this week by the Bristish government’s ambassador for philanthropy, Dame Stephanie Shirley. The site is comprised of brief YouTube interviews with major donors, aiming to "give philanthropists a voice."

Shirley told Civil Society she thinks this website is essential to fulfilling her newly-created role as the nation’s first philanthropic ambassador. She thinks it will help banks increase donor-advised funds and build a philanthropic summit to advise the government.

AmbassadorForPhilanthropy.com features some of the UK’s top givers talking about what motivates them to donate. In one sense, the site has the potential to speak to the consciences of others with the means to give about why they should contribute.

David Erasmus, who donates to American organization Acumen Fund – which fights global poverty – says, "Who is my neighbor? In the old days maybe it was the guys down the street; but actually now it is these guys in Africa. I feel responsible to connect in and be a part of the solution."

The site also has the potential to showcase the missions of nonprofits around the globe. Currently, the participating philanthropists’ favorite organizations become the topics of conversation for the duration of their interviews. Soon, the site will allow international charities to join and promote their missions by participating in discussions about their work, reports Civil Society.

Roberta d’Eustachio, chief of staff for the ambassador of philanthropy, told the source that the site expects a charity and social enterprise membership to reach "at least 10,000 organizations worldwide, with the largest slot going to the USA."

Here’s hoping this PhilanthroTube site becomes as visited as YouTube and global organizations see donations as a result.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation recently gave $400,000 to the New England Center for Investigative Reporting to further the crucial work of journalism nonprofits, the philanthropy announced.

The Knight Foundation, named after brothers who founded and published the Knight Ridder chain of newspapers, says that the nonprofit journalism program’s goal is to create a model for the next generation of nonprofit news providers.

The New England Center for Investigative Reporting, a nonprofit based at Boston University, says the two-year grant gives it the ability to develop a business plan for its program to have long-form investigative content produced by high school and university students published or aired by its media partners.

The center for investigative reporting was created in early 2009 at BU’s College of Communication and has helped students with investigative reporting that has been seen in the region’s most popular newspaper, the Boston Globe, as well as the Christian Science Monitor, New England Cable News, and many other publications. Articles have explored issues like federal stimulus spending, workplace safety records and colleges failing to discipline perpetrators of sexual assault.

Students work as reporters in training, guided by veteran investigative journalists from the Globe, ABC News, local television outlets and other major newspapers around the country.

NECIR director Joe Bergantino says that journalism nonprofits are needed for the survival of independent journalism, which ensures good government.

"Investigative reporting is one of democracy’s most important tools for providing citizens with the information they need to hold the powerful accountable and make informed decisions,’ says Bergantino. "Our goal is to create a national model for ensuring the long-term survival of this important type of journalism."

The foundation is also giving back to the community in Florida. It pledged $2.5 million to a north Florida organization that will redistribute the funds to financially strapped nonprofits.

The philanthropic arm of one of the largest technology and services conglomerates keeps giving back to the community.

The GE Foundation is giving $10.5 million to the Jefferson County Public Schools system in Kentucky to improve math and science achievement,the philanthropy announced.

The $10.5 million is the second phase of collaboration between the foundation and JCPS. It is a three-year extension of an initial grant for $25 million in 2005 to help the school system develop a solid curriculum for its K-12 math and sciences courses.

The JCPS has reported that the grants have improved math proficiency by 18 percent and science proficiency by 8 percent.

JCPS says that the new grant will help train 25 middle school- and high school-based staff that will offer training to fellow teachers on improving their professional development through coaching and co-teaching. Teachers will also receive help from national experts and university partners for mapping out their curriculum.

JCPS superintendent Sheldon H. Berman says that GE is building on its first successful investment in the education of students in the district.

"The GE Foundation’s initial support enabled us to expose every student to inquiry-based instruction that engages their hands and challenges their minds to truly understand the underlying principles of math and science," says Berman. "But as we have raised the bar for students in expecting higher achievement of them, so too have we raised the bar for teachers. The Foundation’s latest support will allow us to strengthen teachers’ preparation in these two key subject areas so they can offer ever-deeper levels of classroom instruction."

GE representatives say that with the grants they are investing in their own future, as competent students are groomed for competitive jobs in math and science.

The conglomerate is not only investing in education, though. The GE Foundation recently gave $1 million to for Milwaukee healthcare centers.

Facebook has more than 400 million users worldwide. The social network is open to anyone who has access to the internet, providing them with a forum to voice their opinions and share their concerns about their communities. Countless nonprofits have used the site as a way to spread word about their mission and raise needed funds, and Facebook is the tip of the proverbial internet iceberg.

Imagine if the potential power of the web was harnessed to empower the billions of underprivileged people in the world – giving them opportunities for teaching, learning, enterprise and a better life.

The World Wide Web Foundation aspires to break down the barriers to creating and consuming web content to empower people to bring about social and economic change. The international nonprofit organization develops programs to transform the web to a medium that can have a positive global impact.

One of the foundation’s current projects is working to train entrepreneurs in Africa to use the web as a platform for delivering content and services that will be beneficial to their communities. The project is funded by mobile company Vodafone Group.

Vodafone Group donated $1 million toward the African outreach projects and toward research on what needs to be done to make the web more accessible to people in developing countries.

The telecommunications firm believes a mobile partnership is essential to the success of World Wide Web’s mission because more than 70 percent of the world’s population has access to mobile or fixed devices capable of displaying web content, while just 25 percent of people around the globe actually use the web.

"It is clear that the creation of the world wide web combined with the growing ubiquity of mobile technology presents us with a unique opportunity to drive positive change," said Vittorio Colao, CEO of Vodafone Group.

Members of the foundation are also enthusiastic about the participation of a mobile company in their mission. "In developing countries, mobile phones can be used to get online, but few people have access to the web," said Berners-Lee, founder of Web Foundation. Hopefully, breaking barriers to mobile web access could make internet empowerment a handheld solution to social issues.