FAMILY GIVING NEWS, March 2004
Investing In Your Mission
Volume 4, Issue 3

   CONTENTS:

UP FRONT: INVESTING IN YOUR MISSION

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: INVESTING IN YOUR MISSION

NEW RESEARCH AND TRENDS IN FAMILY PHILANTHROPY

ALSO IN THE NEWS....

WHAT'S NEW AT NCFP

CALENDAR OF
UPCOMING EVENTS

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ALSO IN THE NEWS...

• Collaboration. Stories include: Pittsburgh foundations renew support for public schools; New Arthur M. Blank Foundation study on effective collaboration; Ohio foundations work together to revitalize local economy.
   

• Donor Motivation and Intent. Stories include: San Antonio donor makes unexpected gift of $7.8 million dollars to St. Mary’s University; How childhood memories inform donors' choices decades later; Ongoing legal battle affects W.W. Smith Charitable Trust's giving.
   

• Donor and Foundation Profiles. Stories include:  A look at the diverse philanthropic works of Teresa Heinz Kerry and the Heinz Family Philanthropies; Profiles of the philanthropy of couples Susan and Michael Dell and Max and Lois Rice; A memorial tribute to Torrence "Tod' Hunt, Sr., retired Alcoa vice president and trustee of the Roy A. Hunt Foundation in Pittsburgh.
   

• Giving By Specific Segments of the Population. Stories include: The current state of giving in New Haven, Connecticut’s African-American community; A profile of WomenConnected, a Waukesha County, Wisconsin charitable network, and the “different sensibility” that women bring to philanthropy.
   

• Training and Engaging the Next Generation. Stories include: A profile of the Rose Youth Foundation, a special Denver program designed to teach Jewish teens about philanthropy; How family foundation boards can prepare their members for stewardship.
   

• Research and Trends. Stories include: New study reports that less than 1% of all estates will be taxable in 2004; Charities prepare for history's largest transfer of wealth.
   

• Community Foundations. Stories include: Profile of the Community Foundation of Acadiana; Boston Foundation experiences 32% growth in new gifts over the last seven months, outpacing many smaller funds.
   

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COLLABORATION

SCHOOL FUNDING REINSTATED

February 12, 2004, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Key subject areas: collaboration

The Heinz Endowments, the Grable Foundation, and the Pittsburgh Foundation have announced their intention to renew financial support for Pittsburgh Public Schools after withdrawing backing in 2002. District officials estimate that this “wake-up call” issued to the school board by the foundations cost $8.7 million dollars in lost aid.  The net result, however, has been largely positive, as “[r]elations among school board members and the administration have become more collaborative and mutually respectful. . .”

GETTING BETTER TOGETHER: A FOUNDATION REPORT ON COLLABORATION GRANTS [PDF]

The Arthur M. Blank Foundation

Key subject areas: collaboration

Collaboration grants can help nonprofits exchange ideas and develop innovative and creative work, concludes Getting Better, Together from The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. In addition to providing recommendations for foundations, the report discusses lessons from the challenges and successes of the collaborative process. The grants created new programs, allowed exchanges of skills and methodologies and improved organizations and programs in many small ways.

FUND FOR DEVELOPMENT BANKROLLED

February 12, 2004, Cleveland Plain Dealer

Key subject areas: collaboration

Cleveland-area business leaders gathered for a two-day conference to discuss plans to spearhead a program for economic development in Northeast Ohio. Two of the proposed $30 million dollar fund’s organizers, the George Gund Foundation and The Cleveland Foundation, have rallied more than 25 other foundations wielding $20 million in commitments. Information gathered from recent resident surveys and interviews will inform the fund’s structure and the recipients of its gifts. 

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DONOR MOTIVATION AND INTENT

PHILANTHROPY AND THAT GOOD FEELING IT BRINGS
February 8, 2004, San Antonio Express-News

Key subject areas: donor motivations

An unexpected gift of $7.8 million dollars to St. Mary’s University from the estate of Pedro and Alicia Viyao leads Express-News reporter Robert Rivard to consider the impetus behind giving among San Antonio’s donors. Who gives? To where? And why?

 

WOMAN LEAVES $1 MILLION TO TREMPEALEAU, WIS., LIBRARY

February 7, 2004, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Key subject areas: donor motivations

Reflecting a recent trend in philanthropy, Shirley Minkewitz Wright leaves a one million dollar death-bed bequest to build a new library in her hometown, Trempealeau, Wisconsin. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports on how fond childhood memories are informing donors’ giving choices years and even decades after they’ve left their birthplaces behind. 

LEGAL FIGHT COULD HURT TRUST'S GIVING

January 25, 2004, Philadelphia Inquirer

Key subject areas: donor intent

A prolonged legal battle between trustees of the W.W. Smith Charitable Trust and executives at First Union/Wachovia over fees and back wages threatens the Trust’s giving to many Philadelphia charities. Mary Smith, a trustee, worries that a bank victory in court “would mean a complete cut, across the board, in medical research, scholarships, and food, clothing and shelter,” and would cause Smith Trust supported charities to suffer.

DONOR AND FOUNDATION PROFILES

AHEAD OF YOU IN HER IDEAS

February 22, 2004, Baltimore Sun

Key subject areas: donor profile

A look at the diverse philanthropic works of Teresa Heinz Kerry and the Heinz Family Philanthropies whose generosity reaches everything from the Pittsburgh Symphony and the city’s ‘green’ convention center to Massachusetts’ Prescription Advantage Program. The article also explores the interplay, real and imagined, between Heinz Kerry’s political life and her philanthropic endeavors. 

DELLS ARE NO. 2 AMONG BIGGEST US DONORS IN '03

February 16, 2004, Austin Business Journal
(Austin, TX)

Key subject areas: donor profile

Susan and Michael Dell rank second, after McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc’s widow, Joan, in the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s fourth annual survey of gifts by the 60 largest contributors. Last year the Dells contributed $673.7 million of the $5.9 billion given by the 60 largest contributors combined. The late Joan Kroc’s gift of $1.5 billion dollars to the Salvation Army, based in Alexandria, VA, is the largest single gift ever given to a charity. 

 

RICES ARE CITIZENS OF THE YEAR

February 14, 2004, Brampton Guardian
(Brampton, Ontario, Canada)

Key subject areas: donor profile

Max and Lois Rice, owners of family-run Rice Construction, are honored as Brampton, Ontario’s Citizens of the Year. Tireless campaigners for various causes in their community, from the Brampton Memorial Hospital and the Salvation Army to the Beaux Arts Brampton and the Canadian Fine Arts Invitational, the Rices plan to continue to give to the community. Notes the article, “After 35 years of volunteering and philanthropy, it is clear Lois and Max Rice care about their community almost as much as they care about each other.”

MICROSOFT CHIEF'S DAD TELLS OF PHILANTHROPY: SENIOR GATES DESCRIBES ROLE OF FOUNDATIONS
February 27, 2004, San Jose Mercury News

Key subject areas: foundation profile

RETIRING FOUNDATION HEAD WON’T REST ON HIS LAURELS

January 28, 2004, The Bernardsville News
(Bernardsville, NJ)

Key subject areas: foundation profile

After 15 years supporting women’s health initiatives as the president and CEO of the Fanny E. Rippel Foundation, Edward “Ted” Probert is ready for his next challenge: retirement. Sort of.  He plans to stay on at the Rippel Foundation as chairman of the board of trustees and to devote more time to causes close to his heart.  Although he’ll have more time to spend with family and on the golf course, Probert’s work is far from finished: “I am passionately dedicated to helping other people, he said. I hope one day to create our own family foundation.”

UCSD SCHOOL GETS $30 MILLION GIFT

Date, San Diego Union Tribune

Key subject areas: donor profile

Ernest Rady and the Rady Family Foundation gave $30 million dollars to the University of California San Diego’s management program, which will enroll its first full-time MBA students in 2005. Rady, who has historically been quiet on the subject of his donations, hopes to establish a family legacy of giving. Of the gift he said: “It’s a change-in-life situation. I'm gorging instead of accumulating, and that's not so easy. I hope that my children and grandchildren will identify with and enjoy this contribution."

HIS FAMILY TRADITION WAS PHILANTHROPY
February 17, 2004, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Key subject areas: donor profile

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review commemorates the life and charitable accomplishments of retired Alcoa vice president, Torrence “Tod” Hunt. Mr. Hunt, who died on February 8, 2004, will be fondly remembered for his myriad of interests and generosity towards related causes, including conservationism and historic preservation of the city of Pittsburgh. In addition to many other activities, Mr. Hunt served as a trustee of the The Roy A. Hunt Foundation, based in Pittsburgh.

GIVING BY SPECIFIC SEGMENTS OF THE POPULATION
 

BLACK HISTORY MONTH HIGHLIGHTS AN EFFORT TO BOOST PHILANTHROPY

February 1, 2004, New Haven Register

Key subject areas: African-American philanthropy

Inspired by the generosity of two 19^th-century domestic workers and the coming of Black History month, the New Haven Register explores the current state of giving in New Haven’s African-American community. This article discusses the traditional patterns of giving within the black community and how future giving may be encouraged through education and cooperative giving.

WOMEN FEEL CONNECTED BY POWER OF PURSE

January 31, 2004 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Key subject areas: women and philanthropy

This article highlights the accomplishments of WomenConnected, a Waukesha County, Wisconsin charitable network, and explores the “different sensibility” that women bring to philanthropy. Supporting local charities from hospitals and hospices to low-income food pantries, the forces behind WomenConnected have only begun to see the results of their work: “The sky’s the limit . . .Women together can do so much.”

AMONG AMERICA’S MEGA-DONORS, MANY JEWS, BUT FEW GIFTS TO JEWS
February 23, 2004, JTA: Global News Service of the Jewish People

Key subject areas: Jewish philanthropy

Joint survey findings by Slate and the Chronicle of Philanthropy confirm a trend among Jewish “mega-gift” donors in which only 6% of funds go to Jewish causes. This trend, also reported in a study by Gary Tobin of the Institute for Jewish and Community Research last spring, is causing many Jewish foundations to rethink their fund-raising strategies. Said Mark Charendoff, president of the Jewish Funders Network, of the findings: “There has to be a lesson here for the Jewish community."

A CENTURY OF SERVICE, CHARITY

February 1, 2004, The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH)

Key subject areas: Jewish philanthropy

The Jewish Community Federation celebrates one hundred years of advocacy, and local and global outreach to fight anti-Semitism and to preserve the Jewish way of life. With its Century Fund Campaign, which aims to raise $137 million dollars, the Federation hopes not only to acquire money for its cause, but also to encourage the traditional giving spirit in the Jewish community. 

WOMEN REPLACE TIME WITH MONEY, GIVING 'CIRCLES' NEW SPIN

Dec. 18, 2003, The Frederick Gazette

The Baltimore Giving Project

Key subject areas: women and philanthropy; giving circles

Maryland is part of a growing philanthropic trend fueled by committed females willing to pool funds for favorite causes. The groups are called giving circles, and they've taken the concept of women's sewing circles in a whole new direction. "Women don't know enough about philanthropy and how to go about it," said Betty Baer, a retired nurse and member of an Easton-based giving circle. "That's a really big hole in today's world."

PARK MONEY A STATEMENT FROM TURNER

February 5, 2004, Atlanta Journal Constitution

Key subject areas: corporate philanthropy

Turner Broadcasting’s Chief Executive, Phil Kent, sets an example for Atlanta’s business leaders with a $1.2 million dollar gift to Piedmont Park. Kent’s influence sees TBS taking an increasingly active role in the community, giving recent multi-year gifts to varying organizations, including Atlanta’s United Way, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and the Boys and Girls Clubs.

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TRAINING AND ENGAGING THE NEXT GENERATION

JEWISH TEENS LEARN PHILANTHROPY LESSONS

January 22, 2004, Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)

Key subject areas: engaging the next generation

Denver’s Rose Community Foundation has launched the Rose Youth Foundation, a special program designed to teach Jewish teens about philanthropy. The Youth Foundation’s 23-member board garners plenty of hands-on experience in giving: deciding what sorts of grants to focus on, planning visits and carrying out interviews with potential grantees.  The most difficult part of the process for the young board: having to say no.

BOARDS AS STEWARDS [PDF]

Winter 2004, Family Matters

Key subject areas: trustee orientation; trustee responsibilities

In its Winter 2004 issue, Family Matters considers how family foundation boards can prepare their members for stewardship. This installment addresses a host of issues, including: how to orient and train novice board members; how to keep trustees—new and seasoned—informed of the latest news in philanthropy; and gives tips on how to plan a retreat and evaluate a board’s performance.

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RESEARCH AND TRENDS

FEWER TAXABLE ESTATES WILL CREATE PROFOUND PLANNING CHANGES

January 5, 2004, HNW: Wealth News

Key subject areas: research and trends

The number of taxpayers subject to a federal estate or gift tax is rapidly diminishing. One study reports that less than 1% of all estates will be taxable in 2004. This reduction in potential federal estate taxes will create significant changes in how clients approach their estate planning. (National Underwriter, Life & Health/Financial, January 14, 2004)

CHARITIES PREPARE FOR HISTORY'S LARGEST TRANSFER OF WEALTH

January 5, 2004, HNW: Wealth News

Key subject areas: research and trends

A landmark gift of $1.5 billion dollars to the Salvation Army by Joan Kroc is indicative of a trend towards large-scale philanthropic giving as the baby-boomer generation ages and considers its legacy. According to HNW Wealth News, this trend could see more than 6 trillion dollars over the next 50 years. In an attempt to tap into this giving spirit, organizations like CARE, the Salvation Army, and the Boy Scouts of America have begun to offer estate-planning services to potential donors, regardless of the size of their proposed gift.  

COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS

COMMUNITY FOUNDATION PROMOTES PHILANTHROPY

January 26, 2004, The Advertiser (Lafayette, LA)

Key subject areas: community foundations

“The Community Foundation of Acadiana is more of a conduit for giving than a charity, and its goal is to increase philanthropy while meeting the needs of this area. . .” According to Executive Director Raymond Hebert, this flexible new program facilitates family giving by allowing donors to “set up their own family trust within the foundation for a specific purpose, get better tax breaks through the IRS and avoid the paperwork hassles.”

BOSTON FOUNDATION OUTPACES SMALLER FUNDS

February 6, 2004, Boston Business Journal

Key subject areas: community foundations

A resurgent economy finds the Boston Foundation experiencing a 32% growth in new gifts over the last seven months; reporting $29 million dollars in new gifts since the beginning of its fiscal year in July. Experts question whether a recent stock market rally or a new fund-raising strategy should be credited with the Foundation’s success at a time when smaller community foundations are experiencing decreased funding.

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