Newspapers / Philanthropy Journal of North … / Dec. 1, 1994, edition 1 / Page 6
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Foundations Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina Grants and assets grow The assets of U.S. community founda tions nearly doubled between 1987 and 1982 to $8.7 million, says a new report by the Council on Foundations. Grants also doubled, reaching $638 million. December 1994 Southeastern philanthropy Report maps giving in the region A new study by The Foundation Center finds rapid growth - but wide disparities-among Southeastern founda tions. By Todd Cohen Philanthropy in the Southeast has become big business. Fueled by econom ic growth, foundations in the region have grown rapidly, outpacing foundation growth for the U.S. as a whole. Still, according to a new study commissioned for the Southeastern Council on Foundations, philanthropy in the region “can best be described as a story of ‘haves and have nots.’” Southeastern philan thropy may be growing, but it began from a base that had been lagging that of the rest of the U.S. Large-scale giving in the region also is limited to a handful of states, says the study, which was conducted by The Foundation Center in New York and released last month in Charlotte at the annual conference of the Southeastern Council. What’s more, “vast differ ences” in the endowment size and funding capacity between a handful of large foundations in any one com munity or state and other foundations, “often create inequities in the distribution of philanthropic resources within that community.” “This new data makes us far more aware that even throu^ there are some com munities in the Southeast that clearly have wonderful GIVING resources and have grown tremendously in the last 15 to 17 years, there still are parts of the Southeast totally devoid of organized philan thropy,” says Bob Huh, pres ident of the Southeastern Council. He says the new study simply underscores the importance of the council’s new Initiative to foster the creation and growth of com munity foundations in the region. “It’s going to make us work harder, 1 hope, to develop those permanent charitable giving resources” and in the process ensure that “every donor and every nonprofit organization in the Southeast will at least have access to a viable community foundation.” The 88-page study gives a detaOed description of giving patterns throughout the Southeast and in each of the region’s 12 states, including North Cai'olina. Highlights, based on 1992 data, include: • The Southeast has 5,518 foundations, or more than one in seven of the 35,765 U.S. foundations. • Southeastern founda tions handed out nearly $1.2 billion in grants, almost one in eight of the $10.2 biUion in grants by U.S. foundations. • Foundations in the region received $716 milhon in gifts, or nearly one in nine of the nearly $6.2 billion received by U.S. foundations. • Two of every three fun ders in the Southeast were based in four states - Florida (1,483), Virginia (788), Georgia (636) and North Carolina (636). Look for DEAD, page Those four states accounted tor three of every four foundation dollars handed out in the region, with Florida, Georgia and North Carolina accounting for two of every three of the region’s grant dollars. • The median grant by Southeastern foundations was $21,500, meaning half gave more and half gave less. The median for U.S. foundations was $15,300. • An “overwhelming pro portion” of foundations in the region are small and unstaffed, and most are fam ily foundations. Nearly three-fourths have assets of less than $1 million, and nearly four-fifths make Look for REPORT, page 21 10 LARGEST N.C. FOUNDATIONS BY ASSETS* 1. Duke Endowment - $1,441.3 2. Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust - $327.5 3. William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust-$275 4. Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation - $250.5 5. Cannon Foundation - $120.7 6. John Motley Morehead Foundation - $72.8 7. Winston-Salem Foundation -$68.6 8. Foundation lor the Carolinas - $65.9 9. Carlos and Marguerite Mason Fund - $55.9 10. C.D. Spangler Foundation - $.52.7 * in millions; based on data avail able as of May 1994 Source: Southeastern Foundations; The Foundation Center Tie-dyed charity Grateful Dead funds writing program Through their Rex Foundation, Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead gave a grant to a Raleigh-based program that teaches creative writing to underprivileged people and inmates. The founders of VOICES, a Raleigh-based program that teaches creative writing to peo ple in homeless shelters, hous ing projects and prisons, say they will use a $7,500 grant from the Rex Foundation in California to help secure future funding. By Barbara Solow Raleigh Richard Krawiec knows all about “Lone Ranger phOanthropy.” That’s how members of the Grateful Dead rock band refer to the no-strings grantmaking program of a foundation they established in California a decade ago. Krawiec, who directs a nonprofit writing network based in Raleigh, saw an article about the band’s Rex Foundation in The New York Times this past summer and decided to “apply” for funding. The process involved a phone call and follow-up letters to one of the foundation’s “Circle of Deciders,” who make nominations for the 60 to 100 grants Rex awards each year. Last month, Krawiec got official word that VOICES will receive $7,500 from the Rex Foundation, which is POP MUSIC named for a former Grateful Dead roadie and gets its money from bene fit concerts the band performs throughout the U.S. each year. “It was kind of a kick,” he says. “This is just the type of grants orga nization we need.” Rex is unusual in that is has no endowment, no formal fundraising campaigns and no paid staff. A taped message on the founda tion’s answering machine informs grantseekers that “virtually all our grants are made through the person al decisions of our grantmakers...Consideration of your request could take as long as a year. Please be patient, and good luck.” Bernie Bildman, the Rex “decider” whom Krawiec contacted over the summer, says the founda tion’s $4.5 million grantmaking umbrella has covered a wide variety of issues and organizations over the past 10 years. “We’ve supported everything from a local church feeding homeless people to ACLU groups in California,” says Bildman, an oral surgeon from Birmingham, Ala., who describes himself as an “acquain tance” of the band. “Sometimes I’ll call people when 1 hear about interesting programs. For me personally, it’s got to be a fairly low-budget thing. If it’s being funded elsewhere. I’m hot that interested.” Bildman says he was impressed by the work that VOICES is doing, sponsoring creative writing work shops for people in homeless shel ters, churches, schools and prisons across North Carolina. “I liked what I read about the pro gram,” he says. “Their budget was $25,000 to $30,000 at the most, so the $7,500 we gave would have a fairly big impact.” Krawiec says VOICES will likely use the Rex money for fundraising appeals and hiring a part-time grantwriter to help generate future support for teaching and pubUshing activities. Since it was founded in 1992, the nonprofit has set up writing pro grams in Orange, Forsyth and Guilford counties and is in the process of estabhshing networks in Brunswick and Macon counties. The unconditional nature of the Rex grant is Just the right fit for the loosely-organized VOICES program, Krawiec says. “We’re not an organization. We’re structured like a community Look for DEAD, page 21 BRIEFLY National Science grant helps schools go on-line A $284,000 grant from the National Science Foundation will help 10 North Carolina colleges link up to the Internet com puter network. MCNC - a microelectronics computing and telecommunications center at Research Triangle Park - is the grant recipient. Colleges to be connected ore: Peace College, Raleigh; N.C. Wesleyan College, Rocky Mount; Methodist College, Fayetteville; Wingate College, Wingate; Barber- Scotia College, Concord; Haywood Community College, Clyde; Livingston College, Salisbury-Anderson College, Montreal; St. Andrews Presbyterian College, Laurinburg; Wilkes Community College, Wilkesboro. Pew funds survey of primary health care The Pew Charitable Trusts is funding a notional survey of primary core physicians by the Harvard University School of Public Health. The project is designed to assess the impact of "managed core" on medical practices and implications for future training programs for med ical students. Government grants for Native Americans The U.S. Health and Human Services Department invites applications tor grants to support projects that will advance self-sufficiency tor Native Americans. March and May deadlines. Contact Lucille Dawson, (202) 690- 6306, Hank Aguirre (202) 690-6439 or Sharon McCully (202) 690-5780. Funder targets medically underserved A new Robert Wood Johnson Foundation encour ages private physicians to expand their role in caring for people in "medically underserved" areas. It will make up to $14 million available to physician orga nizations working to increase the supply of doctors. Contact (401)453-5120. N.C. foundations fund film on labor history The Mary Reynolds Babcock and Z. Smith Reynolds foun dations are among the fun ders of a four-year research and film documentary pro ject on the 1934 General Textile Strike, directed by North Carolina native George Stoney. Contact Jackie Van Ando, (919) 985-0429.
Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina (Raleigh, N.C.)
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