The Daily Tell

The Golden LEAF Foundation has given $24 million to a North Carolina nonprofit to implement a state-sponsored plan to bring internet access to North Carolina, the philanthropy announced recently.

The nonprofit MCNC will use the grant in part of its Broadband Technology Opportunities program, which, if federal grants come through, will be a $111 million implementation project. The foundation says this will help 69 counties across North Carolina that are currently underserved for broadband connections.

The implementation will call for 1,448 miles of fiber for a broadband internet infrastructure.

Dan Gerlach, president of Golden LEAF, says that the broadband fiber project will have an uplifting affect on the communities it will reach.

"These areas of the state are struggling to transition their economies," says Dan Gerlach. "The foundation board of directors views this initiative as an opportunity to provide essential infrastructure, take advantage of federal matching dollars and invest directly in efforts to grow stronger communities. Access to fiber in these areas will help level the playing field by providing global connectivity for business and educational opportunities. Rural North Carolina cannot be left behind."

The grant is part of a larger initiative by the Golden LEAF Foundation to increase broadband internet capabilities and stabilize costs in 179 public school districts, community colleges, libraries and other public institutions.

The Golden LEAF Foundation has done extensive work with communities in the state that have tobacco-dependent economies. The Golden LEAF board had previously awarded a $40 million grant to MCNC to assemble the federal grant proposal, enlist partners for the planning, and develop a sustainability model for the plan.

Among other grants recently given by the Golden LEAF Foundation, the organization gave $136,000 to match a federal grant for the state to provide additional broadband access, laptops and workers to 35 libraries in North Carolina. The William and Melinda Gates Foundation also matched the grants for the state proposal.

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.

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.

Clean Out Your Office, a Massachusetts company that specializes in the disposal of electronic waste, is donating dozens of discarded computers to an after-school program based in Boston.

Through a partnership with Victory Generation, a faith-based nonprofit organization with a mission to build and sustain after-school services in low-income communities, the company delivered nearly 100 PCs to 11 schools and church centers. COYO plans to supply more computers to the after-school sites and has also made the goal of the partnership to give each of the 543 after-school students in the program a computer for their home by June 30, the Daily News Tribune of Waltham reported.

Janine Spinola Taylor, director of education for Victory Generation, called the charity donations from Clean Out Your Office a "win-win" situation that will surely be a benefit to society by giving less fortunate students a more equal playing field.

"It shows an after-school program meeting another business and collectively they serve the needs of children who do not have a computer," Janine Spinola Taylor, director of education for the partnership, told the news provider. "Without a computer, they are not able to compete in school and do the after-school work. The computer divide would have only increased."

If it were not for the company’s charity, the after-school program would have to pay from $200 to $300 for a refurbished computer, according to COYO’s cofounder.

COYO picks up its computers from small corporate customers – universities, law firms, and IT companies – that pay for the removal and recycling of monitors, copiers, printers and servers. COYO now waves $17.50 in recycling fees to customers who will donate their computers to Victory Generation.

For businesses and organizations in other areas who would like to donate, computerswithcauses.org offers to pick up computers and donate them to a school, veterans center, homeless shelter, or another cause affiliated with its global computer education program.

According to figures from the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, about 1 million people across the U.S. struggle with the disease with another 60,000 diagnosed each year. But funding from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research recently donated $3.5 million to research projects which hope to better understand the disease.

The foundation, started by actor Michael J. Fox in 2000, announced this month that it was awarding $3.5 million to nine research organizations who we are studying the LRRK2 gene – which is thought to be "the most common genetic contributor to the disease," according to the MJFF.

In addition to receiving funding, the nine research groups will share results of their testing and create a consortium to get a better understanding of LRRK2 with the hope of creating therapy for those suffering from the disease.

The MJFF has targeting LRRK2 as a high priority and has allocated almost $17 million to studies and initiatives focused on LRRK2.

Earlier this month the foundation awarded $1 million to seven other research projects developing research tools and technologies to help fight the disorder.

Michael J. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991 and made a public announcement of his ailment in 1998. To date, his organization has donated close to $175 million to organizations researching the disease.

It would appear that the fundraising done by the MJFF pales in comparison to the costs associated with Parkinson’s each year. According to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, the disorder costs nearly $25 billion each year in the U.S. alone – which includes direct and indirect costs associated with the disease.

For thousands of jobseekers in the nonprofit and volunteer sector, Idealist.org is the number one destination to find opportunities to make a world a better place. A project of the nonprofit group Action Without Borders, Idealist.org is a comprehensive website featuring job and volunteering listings, event announcements, and networking opportunities. Idealist.org gives nonprofits an opportunity to showcase their work and connect with similar-minded organizations and individuals. Idealist.org also hosts job fairs and networking conferences for the nonprofit sector.

A large percentage of Idealist.org’s budget comes from small fees the website charges organizations for job postings. Not surprisingly, the economic meltdown of 2008 has had a devastating effect on this portion of Idealist.org’s budget. Nonprofit groups went through extensive hiring freezes, and cut back on posting job listings. As a result, Idealist found its budget nearly cut in half, leaving them in the red for $100,000 a month. For sixteen long months, Idealist.org has managed to survive on a leaner budget, but they are now at a fiscal breaking point.

Idealist.org is now reaching out to the community that they have assisted for more than fifteen years. The organization is calling on anyone whom Idealist has helped find a job or volunteer opportunity, or has simply been inspired to make a difference in this troubled world. Idealist has set a fiscal goal of $500,000 to stabilize the website. The team at Idealist is seeking to diversify its revenue stream so it will never face this fiscal crisis again. But Idealist cannot achieve this goal without your help. To date, more than 6,100 Idealist supporters have stepped forward, raising an impressive $200,000.

$500,000 may seem to be a lofty goal. But Idealist.org is a complex, multi-purpose site that connects 70,000 people with 90,000 organizations around the world, with information in English, Spanish, and French. Idealist also holds dozens of events across North America, including nonprofit career fairs, graduate school fairs, and global volunteer fairs. To hold all these projects together, teams in New York, Portland, Oregon, and Buenos Aires work hard to maintain Idealist.org, Idealistas.org, and Idealiste.org, ensure the integrity of the organizations featured on the websites, reply to tens of thousands of emails, and write and publish resources for the benefit of nonprofit workers and volunteers.

By donating to Idealist.org, you can play a small but crucial part in the gradual recovery of our battered world economy, as Idealist.org continues to help thousands of people locate jobs and volunteer opportunities. By helping to put people to work in areas where the need is greatest, Idealist.org is a proven source of hope and economic opportunity. When you donate to Idealist.org, you’re not just donating to a single organization. You’re helping to sustain the entire network of nonprofit organizations.

Sergeant Erich Pfiefer of the Green Police has a very important message to share with sports fans this Super Bowl Sunday. In a commercial to be aired during the game (now available on YouTube), he reminds people they should use one napkin per sandwich. "One equals one," he deadpans in his short shorts as Switchfoot sings a cover of Cheap Trick’s “Dream Police” – with the simple switch of a lyric to “Green Police.”

The Green Police’s humorous delivery has a serious underlying message. "If everyone followed this rule, more than one billion pounds of napkins could be saved from landfills each year," Pfiefer says. Audi’s Green Police campaign is geared to remind Americans that even simple eco-friendly practices can make a big difference in the nation’s conservation efforts.

The campaign is also part of a plan for Audi to show that tree huggers and the auto industry don’t have to be at odds. The Audi A3 TDI was recently named the 2010 Green Car of the Year. The vehicle receives this honor because it boasts fuel efficiency and energy-saving LED running lights while still maintaining the luxuries of a sports car.

"We consider the Green Car of the Year title one of the most important industry accolades," said Johan de Nysschen president of Audi of America. In an effort to promote their green car and general green practices, Audi is sponsoring the Green Police ads to be run at this year’s Super Bowl.

But the Green Police are not merely Audi’s imagined environment patrols – the auto industry leaders may have drawn inspiration from some real-life squads. In New York, a green police squad operates under the State Department of Environmental Conservation. This green police is an eco-task team that surprises city-dwellers with impromptu environmentalist lectures and issues fines in favor of pro-sustainability.

Moreover, the real-life Green Police have a global reach. The Ministry of Environmental Protection in Israel considers the national Green Police to be the main arm of green enforcement and waste deterrence.

Similarly, the UK’s environmental agency set up a Green Police force – complete with bright green jackets – that has the right to demand access to company property, view power meters, and demand bills from business owners who may not know they’re being watched.

No matter where in the world football fans are, they can enjoy the Super Bowl and the hilarious Green Police Audi ads soon to debut. But be careful about grabbing an extra napkin for those Buffalo wings.

A simple shot – administered in a moment – can offer a lifetime of immunity to deadly diseases. The miracle of vaccines is something that most Americans take for granted. Most American children are offered protection against hepatitis, diphtheria, and other ailments by the time they turn two. Children in other countries are not so lucky.

World Vision International reports nearly 10 million children and mothers die each year from avoidable causes such as pneumonia, diarrhea and malaria because of a lack of global access to vaccines.

Bill and Melinda Gates hope to help change that statistic in 2010. Calling for a "new decade of vaccines," the Gates Foundation announced that it will spend $10 billion over the next 10 years for the development and delivery of vaccines to impoverished people worldwide.

"We’ve made vaccines our number one priority at the Gates foundation because we’ve seen firsthand their incredible impact on children’s lives," said Mrs. Gates.

Vaccines have long been one of the focuses of the Gates Foundation’s global initiatives. In the past decade, the Gates gave more than $4.5 billion to vaccination work. The Gates’ past vaccine grants have successfully assisted in the vaccination of more than 250 million children worldwide, preventing an estimated 5 million deaths.

Still, their current investment is the largest pledge ever made toward vaccination efforts, not to mention the largest pledge.

The money will be used to support a variety of projects including research on how to effectively get life-saving vaccines to people in remote parts of the world.

Mr. Gates said scientific innovations are needed to achieve the desired drop in child mortality rates.
"Vaccines already save and improve millions of lives in developing countries," he said. "Innovation will make it possible to save more children than ever before."

A simple shot – administered in a moment – can offer a lifetime of immunity to deadly diseases. The miracle of vaccines is something that most Americans take for granted. Most American children are offered protection against hepatitis, diphtheria, and other ailments by the time they turn two. Children in other countries are not so lucky.

World Vision International reports nearly 10 million children and mothers die each year from avoidable causes such as pneumonia, diarrhea and malaria because of a lack of global access to vaccines.

Bill and Melinda Gates hope to help change that statistic in 2010. Calling for a "new decade of vaccines," the Gates Foundation announced that it will spend $10 billion over the next 10 years for the development and delivery of vaccines to impoverished people worldwide.

"We’ve made vaccines our number one priority at the Gates foundation because we’ve seen firsthand their incredible impact on children’s lives," said Mrs. Gates.

Vaccines have long been one of the focuses of the Gates Foundation’s global initiatives. In the past decade, the Gates gave more than $4.5 billion to vaccination work. The Gates’ past vaccine grants have successfully assisted in the vaccination of more than 250 million children worldwide, preventing an estimated 5 million deaths.

Still, their current investment is the largest pledge ever made toward vaccination efforts, not to mention the largest pledge.

The money will be used to support a variety of projects including research on how to effectively get life-saving vaccines to people in remote parts of the world.

Mr. Gates said scientific innovations are needed to achieve the desired drop in child mortality rates.
"Vaccines already save and improve millions of lives in developing countries," he said. "Innovation will make it possible to save more children than ever before."

While water may not be what it typically delivers in cans, a delivery from Anheuser-Busch to the storm-ravaged residents of South Dakota is exactly what they would have ordered.

To help thousands of residents that have been without water and electricity – some for as long as a week – following freezing rain and snow storms, Anheuser-Busch is donating 1,764 cases – or more than 42,000 cans of drinking water – to the people of South Dakota, the company said.

A truck carrying the water will follow a 1,500-mile, three-day route from the company’s brewery in Fairfield, California to the local Anheuser-Busch wholesaler, Northwest Beverage, in Mobridge, South Dakota.

Northwest Beverage will then distribute the water to shelters in areas hardest hit by the storms such as, Eagle Butte, Faith, Cherry Creek and Lantry, according to the company.

"It’s important for communities to pull together and lend a helping hand, and Anheuser-Busch is proud to provide drinking water to these people in need," said Peter Kraemer, vice-president of supply for Anheuser-Busch. "Anheuser-Busch is in a unique position to provide water to those in need. Few corporations have the infrastructure to package beverages and distribute them quickly."

Lending a helping hand is nothing new to the company it said. In fact, company founder, Adolphus Busch, reportedly made a donation to victims of the San Francisco earthquake.

The company said that in addition to providing monetary support, it packages fresh drinking water and donates it to emergency relief organizations for distribution to those in need.

Since 1988, Anheuser-Busch said it has donated more than 68.5 million cans of drinking water following natural and other disasters, including 210,042 cases totaling more than 5 million cans, of packaged drinking water to victims of natural disasters in 2008 and 2009 alone.