The Daily Tell

This year, the national economy will face enormous challenges. Even as the economy is reportedly on the rise, America has a growing federal debt that economists suggest could reach 95 percent of the country’s GDP by 2020, reports the MacArthur Foundation.

Earlier this week, national leaders met in D.C. to discuss the country’s current fiscal situation. Now, foundations are working with the nonprofit AmericaSpeaks to ensure the public has a voice in policy debates.

AmericaSpeaks is an organization committed to engaging citizens in governance. Through partnerships with the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the charity will host a national town meeting – Our Budget, Our Economy.

Thousands of citizens across the country will have the chance to participate in this discussion. Leaders in 20 U.S. cities will be equipped with video, webcast and interactive technologies to connect attendees around the nation. Thousands more will have the chance to watch live coverage from their homes and participate in the discussion via online forums.

The three sponsoring foundations are contributing $4.2 million to this national conversation aimed at informing the public about the country’s fiscal realities. The foundation leaders agree that it is Americans’ collective responsibility to find compromises to ensure families in need get resources now and opportunities for future national success are created.

"Bringing together thousands of diverse Americans from across the country simultaneously to discuss the nation’s fiscal challenges holds the promise of spurring an even broader national dialogue to help build the urgency and political will necessary to tackle our deficit and debt," MacArthur President Robert Gallucci said.

The National Town Meeting will take place on June 26.

Bank of America has donated $500,000 to YouthBuild USA to help support career development and green job training in low-income areas.

The YouthBuild program puts young people, ages 16-24, to work full time, helping them gain valuable career skills while also working toward their high school degree or GED® credential.

"Education and workforce development are essential components to revitalizing our communities and stimulating and sustaining local economies," said Robert E. Gallery, Massachusetts president for Bank of America.

Since 1994, almost 100,000 YouthBuild students have worked to build 19,000 affordable environmentally conscious homes for people in their communities.

The organization’s focus on energy efficiency ensures that the job training provided will continue to be relevant in the coming years.

The U.S. Department of Labor says that "green construction" is becoming increasingly popular, and job prospects are expected to remain strong.

Dorothy Stoneman, president and founder of YouthBuild USA, says, "There is no greater predictor of future professional and financial success than education and training."

Much of the funding will also go to many of YouthBuild’s 273 local affliliates, located across the country in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the Virgin Islands.

One in particular, YouthBuild Boston, is working to construct a green, outdoor classroom for a low-income area school in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.

This year’s grant continues a partnership between the two organizations that first started in 2005, and previously provided more than $600,000 in grants for the organization.

Last year, Bank of America laid out a 10-year goal to donate $2 billion dollars to nonprofit organizations focused on making tangible improvements to their neighborhoods.

Bank employees also volunteered more than 800,000 hours last year to help their communities, and aim to surpass one million hours in 2010.

The Lilly Endowment and several other organizations have awarded $2.4 million to help support 186 summer programs in the Indianapolis area as part of the Summer Youth Program Fund.

The endowment says the various summer camps will support more than 40,000 young people this summer.

Funding from the program is broken down into several areas, including overnight camps for children who suffer from autism or other diseases, daily programs run by churches or community organizations, arts and sports programs and youth-employment.

Along with usual summer camp activities like canoeing and hiking, children who attend the programs will be given expert teaching in areas like creative thinking, music, and rocket science, and also gain real-life skills like money management and career planning.

Other organizations, such as the Boys and Girls Clubs and the Indianapolis YMCA, will receive special capital grants to help renovate facilities and purchase new equipment, vans or mini-buses to transport participants.

The Lilly Endowment, which was started in 1937, has been an integral part of the program since 1995.

The program’s success has also gotten the attention of the National Summer Learning Association, which will feature the program during its annual conference this November.

"The staff and volunteers of the organizations that provide summer youth programming in our community impress us each year with their enthusiasm and creativity," said Willis K. Bright, endowment director of youth programming.

Among the organizations receiving funding is Project SEED, which helps teach advanced math skills to classes of underachieving students, and also provides teachers with advanced training skills they can take back to their classrooms.

The 10 other funders for the Summer Youth Program Fund are the Christel DeHaan Family Foundation, City of Indianapolis/Department of Metropolitan Development, Clowes Fund, Eli Lilly and Company Foundation, Hoover Family Foundation, Indianapolis Foundation, Indianapolis Foundation Library Fund, JP Morgan Chase Foundation, Lumina Foundation for Education and Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.

African history is deeply rooted in cultural traditions of communal life and mutual advancement. It seems that African-American family foundations share in this tradition of community support, according to a new study from the Aspen Institute Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation, written by a professor at the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania.

The study, entitled A Growing Tradition? Examining the African-American Family Foundation, reveals these organizations are generally started by professional athletes, followed by musicians and actors. Business people also create a number of philanthropic foundations. The common link, author Marybeth Gasman says, is "the desire to give back and ‘uplift’ those in their communities, to ‘reach back and pull up’ those around them."

It seems that bettering the lives of children is a top priority for many of these foundations. Organization leaders said they were motivated by broad ideals, such as "giving back" and "having an impact," but many also attested to the fact that they had specific intentions to help disadvantaged young people.

African-Americans give almost a quarter of their charitable donations to organizations that serve public need, like after-school programs. An additional 15 percent of funds go to scholarships and education programs, including historically black colleges and universities.

The study also reveals that African-Americans are more inclined to start their own foundations rather than set up donor-advised funds at community foundations.

Gasman speculates this financial self-reliance comes from a sense of mistrust rooted in foundation leaders’ personal experiences with banks and other financial institutions. She hopes the study may help change unfortunate experiences many African-Americans face by shifting public perceptions that are biased against this community.

Gasman told Philanthropy News Digest, "through their family foundations, African Americans will become more visible agents of change and will no longer be viewed, by some, as merely passive recipients of the generosity of others."

President Barack Obama has declared the nation in a state of education crisis. With business officials concerned that America’s young minds won’t be ready for the global market, it may come as good news that the Morehead-Cain scholarship program is doing its part to ensure that promising students get the education needed to be successful leaders of tomorrow.

Morehead-Cain is the most prestigious merit scholarship program in the United States. Scholars are chosen based on academic achievement, leadership, moral force of character and physical vigor.

The scholarship program not only covers expenses for four years of undergraduate study at the University of North Carolina, but it also offers summer enrichment experiences to recipients. The scholars are afforded opportunities to complete outdoor leadership courses, conduct public service in the U.S. or abroad and gain experience in private enterprises that could shape their careers.

This year, scholarships were awarded to 30 students from North Carolina, 24 American scholars from beyond the state, three British students, three Canadian scholars, two scholars from Uganda and two students from Turkey. These diverse individuals are anticipated to bring ingenuity and leadership to their campus.

They also hold promise to become part of the continued legacy of Morehead-Cain scholars who have advanced the scholastic movement in the United States. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Taylor Branch, Robbie Bach (head of Microsoft’s Entertainment & Devices Division) and U.S. Congressmen Jim Cooper, Mike McIntyre and David Price are all former Morehead-Cain scholars. Plus, 24 Morehead-Cain scholars have won Fulbright Fellowships.

As the Morehead-Cain organization explains, they hope scholarship students will serve as "young leaders striving to achieve excellence and inspire it in the endeavors of others." Hopefully, the Morehead-Cain scholars, class of 2014, will play a part in the education revolution the U.S. seeks.

The Chicago-based Joyce Foundation has awarded nearly $10 million to 49 Great Lakes organizations.

"Our goal is to support organizations and oppotunities that can make a real difference in the lives of Great Lakes residents," says Ellen S. Alberding, the foundation’s president.

The foundation’s investments this spring will be invested in six different program areas: education, employment, the environment, culture, gun violence, and money and politics.

With the national unemployment rate still hovering around 10 percent, and the U.S. Labor Bureau reporting even worse numbers in Illinois, a large portion of the money will be invested into employment.

The Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human rights will get $300,000 to help give a start to people who have the most difficulty succeeding at work.

More than $4 million of this spring’s grants will go also toward programs in education, such as the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, which helps support advocacy organizations working to improve their local schools.

The foundation’s other education programs are aimed at improving teacher quality, expanding access to early childhood education, and supporting innovations.

The Ohio Environmental Council, which is working to create energy efficiency programs, is one of nine organizations receiving funding to help protect the environment.

Various area cultural centers, such as Chicago’s National Museum of Mexican Art, will receive a total of more than $500,000 during this round of grants.

The Center of Media, Crime and Justice at John Jay College has also been awarded a grant of $80,000 to support its work on preventing gun crimes.

The foundation was started in 1948 with the estate of the Joyce family, whose wealth originally came from the lumber industry.

Since then, the foundation has given $600 million in grants to worthy organizations throughout the region.

This year’s grants by the Pew Center’s Philadelphia Heritage Program focus on organizations that will put a modern touch on historical events.

"These projects demonstrate bold and creative attempts to engage the public with historical buildings and stories," says Bill Adair, director of the Heritage Philadelphia Program.

In total, the Pew Center will give over $700,000 to nine cultural and heritage organizations this year.

Of the nine, five of them have never received a Pew Center grant before, and three had never even applied before.

Among those first-time grantees is the Legacy Center at the Drexel University College of Medicine, which will receive a $75,000 award to create a program called "Seeking Women’s History: Serious Play for Young Adults."

The program aims to use online gaming technology to connect teenagers in grades six through 12 to documents in its archives describing many strong female role models.

Among those women in the archives is Dr. Eliza Ann Grier, a former slave who graduated from the school in the late 1800′s.

She later became the first ever African-american woman to practice medicine in Georgia according to The National Library of Medicine.

Another first-time recipient is the National Constitution Center, which is currently in the process of creating a multimedia-and theater-based program about equality, discrimination and civil liberties.

"As a whole, these programs address issues of personal freedom, and religious and cultural tolerance-the very principles upon which Philadelphia was founded," says Greg Rowe, director of culture initiatives at The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Another grantee focusing on this message is the Scribe Video Center, which will use the money to support "Muslim Voices in America," an exhibit which challenges Muslim stereotypes and traces their history in Philadelphia.

Over the last 12 years, the Philadelphia Heritage Program has invested more than $8 million in area history projects.

According to the Washington AIDS Partnership, HIV/AIDS is one of the most urgent health problems facing the United States – but it is particularly a problem in the D.C. area. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention confirms this, citing more than 18,000 AIDS cases reported in the District of Columbia and more than 32,000 AIDS cases in the Washington, D.C. area.

Now, a recently released study commissioned by the Washington AIDS Partnership reveals that suburban governments are lagging in their efforts to promote AIDS awareness. This is an oversight among suburban leaders as the Washington Post reports that 46 percent of those afflicted with AIDS in the D.C. area live in the suburbs.

While the partnership offers about $1 million in funds a year to AIDS outreach initiatives, few nonprofit groups in Virginia or Maryland have applied for this money in the past. Hopefully, the findings of this study will change that.

The study’s authors ask local governments to improve HIV testing rates – even making testing mandatory during routine medical checkups. Additionally, they suggest that doctors offer a mouth swab test for the disease to all emergency room patients.

Channing Wickham, executive director of the Washington AIDS Partnership, told the Post the survey was not meant to be a report card to embarrass local leaders. Rather, it will be used to create a blueprint for action.

He told NBC that it’s critical to get out information on testing. Additionally, Wickham says it is necessary to develop regional prevention programs. He thinks this can start with school systems offering sex education in local classrooms.

Spreading the word is the first step community leaders can take. "Our biggest single recommendation is communication and collaboration," Wickham told NBC. The partnership plans to work with nonprofits in the D.C. area to increase grants for HIV/AIDS efforts in the suburbs.

Many Americans today remember their parents or grandparents bearing the marks of polio – the crippling disease that reached epidemic levels in the United States in the 1950s. For many U.S. citizens, polio is an increasingly distant memory, but a recent outbreak in Tajikistan may be reason to reignite concerns over the disease.

The World Health Organization reports that Tajikistan – a Central Asian nation that shares a border with Afghanistan and has a European region – has reported 120 cases of acute flaccid paralysis, many of which occurred in the past two weeks. NPR says the polio virus has been confirmed in some of these cases.

The outbreak in Tajikistan means that Europe, which has been polio-free since 2002, could be at risk of outbreak. Moreover, the disease has been spreading in Africa even with more than $700 million in donations from the Gates Foundation funneled into the continent to help wipe out the disease.

Polio has evaded a two-decade-long, $8.2 billion effort to kill it off. In light of these outbreaks, Bill Gates and global donors affiliated with the World Health Organization have decided to take a new approach to polio eradication. Now, funds will be split in a two-pronged approach, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Money will be used to wage war against this individual disease and it will simultaneously be put toward broader health goals – including expanding immunizations and providing clean drinking water – that will promote overall wellness in developing countries.

However, the Wall Street Journal says that Bill Gates is not just concerned about funding. The centerpiece of the Gates Foundation is vaccination technology for a healthier tomorrow. These outbreaks indicate that even with multi-million dollar funds to share vaccines, political, religious and societal obstacles can hamper technological tools for good.

Hopefully, approaches for all-around health will help limit the bounds of this disease.

The American Heart Association says cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in America. Everyday Health explains there are simple steps people can take to lower their risks of having strokes and other cardiovascular problems. Still, many don’t deem proactive health measures necessary. Maybe they should.

AstraZeneca has recently shown it is dedicated to getting Americans in better cardiovascular health. The biopharmaceutical company made a $25 million donation to the AsrtaZeneca HealthCare Foundation for the new Connections for Cardiovascular Health program.

The program aspires to improve U.S. cardiovascular health through initiatives to raise awareness about heart disease, strokes and other related illnesses. Under the Connections for Cardiovascular Health program, grants of $150,000 and more will be awarded to various nonprofits in the country as they tackle cardiovascular health issues at local levels.

James W. Blasetto, chairman of the AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation, says, "at AstraZeneca, we believe that to make a difference and help patients live healthier lives, we need to form connections with those who are working to address cardiovascular healthcare needs in the community and improve quality of life for patients and caregivers."

The nonprofits who will benefit from partnerships with the AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation will be those engaged in various efforts to support the foundation’s mission. Some may directly address patient cardiovascular health issues, others could tackle conditions that contribute to cardiovascular disease prevalence in their communities.

Eligible organizations must apply by July 31, 2010, and they will receive the funds as early as next fall. Foundation leaders hope to distribute the funds quickly to meet increasing needs.

The AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation works to raise awareness on a number of public health issues. In addition to cardiovascular health, the foundation focuses heavily on breast health. Previously, it has worked with the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month organization.