The Daily Tell

The Lodestar Foundation has announced the eight finalists for its 2011 Collaboration Prize. The nonprofit is a grant-making organization that leverages philanthropy and promotes capital investment, aiming to expand the impact and growth of philanthropic organizations and effort.

It increases resources for nonprofit organizations through its support of their programs and projects that aim to encourage philanthropy, public service and civic engagement. Additionally, it increases philanthropic impact by supporting collaborations within nonprofits. The prize will award each of the eight finalist organizations with $12,500 for their collaborations and, from this group, a grand prize winner will be chosen to receive an additional $150,000.

In order to be eligible for the award, finalists' collaborative efforts must incorporate at least two nonprofit organizations. The efforts were judged on a set of criteria determining how effective the campaign was in achieving social good, using human and financial resources and responding to a challenge or opportunity. Additionally, it had to demonstrate how the collaboration was a model within its field, sector or community.

The eight finalists include the Adoption Coalition of Texas, which teamed with the Austin Community Foundation, Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and five other child-placing organizations to increase the number of children relocated from foster families to permanent homes.

Another organization, Community Voice Mail Federation, worked with a variety of human services organizations to help connect people in the throes of crisis via telecommunications, thus enabling them to secure information regarding employment, housing and other important information.

Other nonprofits to receive Lodestar's funding include Feed More, Graduate! Philadelphia, Gulf Coast Consortium, Merger Network for Good, Groundspring, The WAICU Collaboration Project and Westside Infant-Family Network.

In an effort to help low-income people obtain and keep employment positions, build assets and stay healthy, the Urban Institute has launched a $6 million initiative to test human service providers over the next three years. The initiative was launched using a $3 million grant from the Open Society Foundation's Special Fund for Poverty Alleviation. Other sources have matched the funding.

The Housing Opportunities and Services Together project will help find ways to better establish public housing and human services in Portland, Oregon, and Chicago, aiming to improve the outcome for both parents and children. It will expand its intervention models, testing them in multiple settings including programs for high-need adults and youth and mixed-income neighborhoods. The project will place an emphasis on youth services as well, which is traditionally rare in public housing.

"This project will help get to the bottom of what it takes to strengthen and empower low-income residents and their communities," said Susan Popkin, director of the Urban Institute's Program on Neighborhoods and Youth Development.

"We hope the results will inform how the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and local housing agencies develop place-based, supportive environments," she added.

Based off of the institutes's Chicago Family Case Management Demonstration, the project will offer a variety of services over the course of three years to families in public housing that are struggling with unemployment, substance abuse and emotional and physical trauma. It will collaborate with the Housing Authority of Portland and the New Columbia and Humboldt Gardens developments, Chicago-based Community Builders and the mixed-income development of Oakwood Shores.

Patient and donor Richard Jacobson is extending $100 million to the Minnesota-based Mayo Clinic in order to establish a multi-site Mayo Clinic Proton Beam Therapy Program. Jacobson's donation represents the largest donation given by a living donor. It will support a $400 million facilities expansion at the Mayo Clinic's Rochester and Phoenix clinics.

The therapy is an advance in radiotherapy, and will target tumors while sparing tissue and other organs. Proton beam therapy allows the treatment to be done at a higher dose than radiation. It uses a technology known as pencil beam scanning, which helps patients experience fewer short and long term side effects.

"My dream has always been to establish a major new facility for Mayo Clinic," Jacobson said.

"I began going to Mayo for my care when I was a child and continue to get my care there. Mayo Clinic makes a profound impact on people," he added.

The Mayo Clinic estimates that annually 1,240 patients will receive the treatment at its Rochester campus, which it will name after Jacobson. The building will be located in downtown Rochester, Minnesota. The facility will be 110,000 square feet in order to allow for future growth. The number of patients is anticipated to increase to 2,480 by 2016, when both of the campuses are operating. Together, both facilities will cost of more than $400 million, and the Mayo Clinic will seek support from other donors to complete education and research projects regarding cancer.

Robert Foote, who chairs the Mayo Clinic's Department of Radiation Oncology Department, says the technology aims to reduce the burden of cancer for patients and their families and hopes to preserve normal organ function while optimizing patients' length and quality of life.

The Children's Hospital Boston has received a $7 million gift from the New Balance Foundation, a Boston-based footwear and apparel maker, in order to establish the New Balance Foundation Center for Childhood Obesity Prevention, Clinical Research and Care.

The funding will help support Optimal Weight for Life, the hospital's existing pediatric obesity treatment program. OWL aims to help children reach and maintain a healthy weight level and is one of the largest programs of its kind, treating more than 1,000 children each year.

"We’re tremendously grateful for the New Balance Foundation’s generous and historic gift," said Dr. David Ludwig, who will direct the program and collaborate with the center to increase the number of children that the OWL Clinic sees through the Children's Hospital and its New Balance Foundation Owl on the Road program.

"The funds will help consolidate and expand our clinical research, patient care and community health programs through a new center to help turn the tide on the childhood obesity epidemic," he added.

The Owl on the Road program will visit local community health centers and offer fitness activities through sports, games and dance in addition to group counseling, fitness consultation and gym and fitness memberships that most medical insurance policies will not cover. Almost half of the patients in the OWL program are from low-income and urban backgrounds, and the program will work to target community healthcare centers specifically within these communities.

Additionally, the center will work to expand its clinical care and enhance its obesity research while developing its resources. It will also focus on spreading knowledge to a global audience, aiming to promote obesity prevention by teaching good nutrition and fitness habits to children.

In an effort to find a cure for Alzheimer's, philanthropist Douglas Rosenberg is extending $3.5 million from the Ellen and Douglas Rosenberg Foundation to fund research that Dr. Dale Bredesen will lead. Rosenberg and Bredesen have partnered up develop new treatments and aim to raise $10 million to get new drug candidates into early clinical trials.

Rosenberg took an interest in finding a cure for the disease after his father, stepmother and stepfather all died from it between 2008 and 2010. Because government initiatives have not extending the necessary funding to conduct research, Rosenberg has stepped up to the plate because Alzheimer's sufferers "can't afford to wait."

"The funding gap between basic discovery and drug development is commonly called 'the valley of death,' because that's where most discoveries end up," said Bredesen.

"This valley, along with a lack of understanding of the basic processes at work in the disease, represent the main reasons that no one has yet developed a significant treatment for the disease. Douglas [Rosenberg] is taking us through this valley, allowing a completely new approach to enter clinical trials," he added.

Bredesen believes, contrary to to the dominant medical theory currently, Alzheimer's is not a disease of toxicity that stems from damage as a result of amyloid plaques that collect in the brain, but rather the plaques are an effect of Alzheimer's and the true cause lies in a signal imbalance between neurons, affecting brain plasticity. This would explain why experimental drugs that aim to eliminate the plaques have failed previously. Rosenberg's initial funding would enable Bredesen to hire pharmaceutical chemist Dr. John Varghese, who would help in developing treatment options and move ahead with clinical trials, which are slated to begin in the next two to three years.

Underserved and at-risk communities in Pennsylvania have seen a direct benefit from nonprofit organizations. More than $3.1 billion was secured by nonprofits which went to aid those living in poverty, with disabilities and to serve other populations, according to the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy.

"This report shows the supreme value that these organizations bring to communities in Pennsylvania," said NCRP executive director Aaron Dorfman.

"The nonprofits often work with shoestring budgets to help and give voice to those people who are overlooked by the system," he added.

Policy engagement efforts of thirteen nonprofit organizations based in Pennsylvania were examined in the Strengthening Democracy, Increasing Opportunities: Impacts of Advocacy, Organizing and Community Engagement in Pennsylvania report. The report revealed benefits including $1 billion in additional wages for low-wage workers, $827 million in new state funding for public schools and more than $57 million to build and maintain affordable housing in Philadelphia.

This same demographic also saw the benefits of the protection of clean water, and increased educational opportunities for students with cognitive learning disabilities. The majority of the $26.1 million that Pennyslvania-based nonprofits spent was on foundations both in and outside of the region.

Local communities see a $122 return in benefits for each dollar that is invested in advocacy, organizing and civic engagement opportunities. However, the state's nonprofit infrastructure is facing trouble and groups have been having problems meeting community needs with fewer resources.

The report offers guidance and suggestions in order for nonprofits to meet their benchmarks and for grantmakers to enhance their impact during a economic downturn. Some suggestions include offering grants that extend across several years, additional operating support and increasing the percentage of grant dollars that go to advocacy, organizing and civic engagement opportunities for these communities.

Retired banker and philanthropist T. Denny Sanford made a $100 million gift to Sanford Health to help create a national institute to fight breast cancer. This brings the total amount of his gifts to the health system to more than $500 million, according to the Associate[d] Press. The details of the initiative are expected to be announced at Sanford Health's annual children's gala in August.

"This new initiative will create a world-class center for the research, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer in keeping with the standard of excellence in Sanford's cancer and other programs," president Brian Mortenson of the Sanford Health Foundation told the Argus Leader.

Sanford earned his wealth in Sioux Falls as head of First Premier Bank and Premier Bankcard. Last year, he fulfilled a $400 million commitment to Sanford Health in support of four major initiatives, one of which is a project to find a cure for Type 1 diabetes. Sanford Health merged with Fargo, North Dakota-based Meritcare in 2009 to form the nation's largest not-for-profit rural healthcare provider.

According to Mortenson, approximately 10 million women are living with breast cancer and one in eight women in the United States will develop breast cancer.

"Certainly having this gift is going to be tremendous not only for the women in South Dakota but for everyone who's afflicted with the disease," said Jill Ireland, an American Cancer Society official to the Argus Leader.

Finalists for the Knights Arts Challenge Philadelphia, a three-year, $9 million initiative, have been announced by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The initiative supports arts in Philadelphia, which have experienced increasing attention within the city.

The challenge first origininated in Miami in 2008 and this year's applications saw a record number of 1,752, of which 63 finalists were chosen. The winners will be announced this spring and will have one calendar year to match their grants. Applicants had to describe in detail their best idea for arts within Philadelphia. The initiative was created under the idea that arts inspire and enrich communities.

"We opened this … to the entire community, and we were wowed by the response we received," said Dennis Scholl, vice president of the Knight Foundation's arts program.

"We're looking forward to deepening this conversation about the arts with Philadelphia residents as we continue the challenge over the next three years," he added.

Finalists include the African American Museum in Philadelphia, which aims to showcase commissioned dance and gospel performances through free weekly concerts; the Barnes Foundation, which will enhance arts by working to expand the reach of its arts collection by launching an application and printed guide and the Pennsylvania Ballet, which will bring ballet to area residents through outdoor summer performances. The Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia plans to expand participation in the area's theater community by launching an audience engagement initiative that will help actors interact with residents regularly. 

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is donating grants ranging from $350,000 to $1 million to 11 organizations under its MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions.

Six countries are represented in the organizations, all of which have annual budgets under $5 million. They will use the grants for a variety of purposes, including office space acquisition, the construction of a library and conference room and technology upgrades.

The recipients include the Washington, D.C.-based Arms Control Association;, Chicago-based National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities;, Thimphu, Bhutan-based Royal Society for Protection of Nature;, Lagos, Nigeria-based Social and Economic Rights Action Center;, Mexico City-based Sociedad Mexicana Pro Derechos de la Mujer and San Francisco-based W. Haywood Burns Institute.

"These exceptional organizations effectively address pressing national and international challenges and they have had an impact that is disproportionate to their small size," said Robert Gallucci, MacArthur Foundation president.

"The [foundation] is proud to recognize them. It is our hope that these awards will help position them for long term growth and even greater impact in the years ahead," he added.

While all organizations have diverse missions, each has made a major impact on its field. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation aims to encourage creativity and build institutions that help address challenging issues worldwide.

It does not seek or accept nominations for the awards and qualifying organizations must demonstrate creativity, have reached a strategic point in development, show strong financial management and have received MacArthur support previously. Additionally, their budgets must be under $5 million.

Documentaries focusing on social issues will benefit from a $50 million donation from the Ford Foundation that will be dispersed over five years. The funding will cover a broad sect of documentaries, including online-only efforts, the New York Times reported.

"With the growth of the web and social networks, the potential global audience for filmed content with a social conscience has exploded," said Luis A. Ubiñas, president of the Ford Foundation, the source noted.

"We want JustFilms to support visionary filmmakers from around the world to create works on urgent social issues, and help them reach and engage audiences," he added.

The JustFilms initiative aims to promote the newest generation of filmmakers by funneling $10 million per year into expanding the filmmaker community worldwide, focusing on those working to create socially-conscious films but who lack the necessary resources.

Funding will be awarded in three ways. One way involves a partnership with organizations including the Sundance Institute, which hosts the Sundance Film Festival. JustFilms will contribute $1 million annually in support of Sundance's documentary film workshops, the source reported. It will also support editing, producing and film scoring workshops.

Another way that funding will be awarded is via an open application process and the third is through partnerships with other Ford Foundation grantmaking programs.

JustFilms work with Ford's network of 10 offices to find talent within the documentary film community, focusing on film, video and digital works that depict courageous people handling difficult issues to pursue a more just world.