MARCH 1995
aroiina
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 7 / $5.00
PhiktithropyJournal
Mainstream approach
ATOS
fundraising
grows in
size, scope
While fundraising efforts for AIDS
service organizations have
become more complex, fundrais
ers and foundation officials say
donor appeals must be broad
ened even further.
By Barbara Solow
r“ rank Hielema can remember
^ when the summertime Crape
/ Myrtle Festival was an infor
mal one-day gathering for a small
group of friends.
Last year, the Triangle-area festi
val - now the state’s largest AIDS
fundraiser - brought in $70,000 dur
ing 10 days of events ranging from
bowling tournaments to choral con
certs.
HEALTH
The evolution of the 14-year-old
festival is one sign of the growing
sophistication of AIDS fundraising in
North Carolina. But even as more
money is coming in, activists say it is
not enough to meet the needs of peo
ple affected by the epidemic.
The federal Centers for Disease
Control reports that AIDS is now the
leading cause of death for Americans
ages 25 to 44. In North Carolina, of
the 5,276 cases of AIDS reported
since 1984, 59 percent have been
fatal.
Those numbers are one reason
Hielema and other AIDS activists
would like to see more money being
raised for prevention programs.
“There is now much more empha
sis on tertiary care and providing ser
vices for those who are infected” with
the HIV virus, he says. “But any dol
lar spent on preventing a case of HIV
will save on the back end, a tremen
dous amount more for curing some
one who becomes infected.”
National AIDS funders are also
emphasizing prevention.
“As we continue to get more
sobering news that research break
throughs we might hope for in terms
of a cure are further down the road
than anyone would have liked, there
is a renewed interest among grant-
makers in how we can help communi
ty-based organizations design and
Look for AIDS, page 27
Shaping change
Nonprofits brace for government funding cuts
North Carolina nonprofits from
tbe Center for Public Television
to tbe Urban Ministries are
worried about future reductions
in federal, state and local gov
ernment support for tbeir pro
grams.
By Barbara Solow
I n strategy sessions, special
I issues forums and meetings
I with lawmakers, North
Carolina nonprofits are gearing up
tor a new legislative era.
With recently-elected Repub
licans in Raleigh and Washington
calling for tax and spending cuts,
nonprofits - especially those in
human services - are bracing for an
expected reduction in government
funding.
“We have a number of agencies
that rely heavily on state and federal
funding for their programs,” says
Ann Von Brock, director of planning
and resource development for the
United Way of Asheville/Buncombe.
“So there is anxiety about how that
will be translated as new legislation
goes through. We have talked to
SOURCES OF
NONPROFIT INCOME
Siving
Fees, charges
51%
Total $343 billion
Source: Independent Sector, 1992
some of the folks about political
trends and how they think that will
impact nonprofit programs in
Buncombe County. The sense I have
is, it’s too early to tell but everything
is up for scrutiny.”
National estimates of nonprofit
reliance on government support
range from about 8 percent of total
revenue to 31 percent.
Experts say the amount varies by
type of organization, with human
service groups rated as most rehant
Look for CUTS, page 25
Last year, Charlotte successfully v/on a bid to host the NFL
Panthers team. Above, downtown skyscrapers light up a vic
tory announcement, including NationsBank's 60-story head
quarters on the left. The NFL team is considered one of
Charlotte's many draws for businesses. The rich corporate
community, in turn, has given generously to the nonprofit
sector in Charlotte.
File photo
Corporate giant
Business a boon to
Charlotte nonprofits
Nonprofit leaders say Charlotte is a
great place to raise money and
do cbaritable work - as long as
tbe cause mesbes with tbe mis
sion of tbe city’s powerful corpo
rate community. Tbis is tbe sec
ond in a series of Pbilantbropy
Journal reports on tbe “culture
of fundraising” in North Carolina
communities.
By Susan Gray
Charlotte
1 /eteran fundraiser Gordon
I / Berg, president emeritus of
v Charlotte’s Foundation for
the Carolinas, compared the city to a
teenager.
“When I want to tease a little bit, I
say that Charlotte is a little like an
adolescent that wants to grow up,”
says Berg, who Is also former presi
dent of Charlotte’s United Way affili
ate. “It hasn’t arrived yet. But we’re
getting there.”
The comparison seems to St. Like
a typical teenager, Charlotte - nick
named the Queen City - has a healthy
dose of attitude.
Its chrome and glass skyscrapers,
bursting from the heart of its down
town financial district, seem to shout:
“Look here! We
^ can do anything!
,X TPATOJP Go anywhere!”
KJlLIvioJli Much about
irt Charlotte backs
(yjr that attitude.
• According to its
A Chamber of
JL JuJx\jJlu Commerce,
Charlotte is the
biggest Snancial center and has the
largest urban population between
Washington, D.C., and Miami, even
bigger than Atlanta.
The number of businesses in
Charlotte stands at about 18,000, with
a disposable income of $10.6 bilhon, or
$18,692 per capita.
In 1994, the U.S. Department of
Labor named Charlotte the fastest-
growing city in the U.S. for the export
of manufactured goods. Over a period
of six years, the federal study says,
Charlotte’s exports jumped a notable
254 percent. The national average
was 90 percent.
“Charlotte is, I believe, unique,”
says C.D. Bpangler, president of the
University of North CaroUna system,
who spent his first 54 years in the
Queen City. “It’s united toward what a
variety of people think is progress.”
The progress and expansion have
translated into a vibrant philanthropic
sector for Charlotte. That’s partly due
to the usual transfer of wealth from
corporate profits to nonprofit coffers
in the form of tax-deductible dona
tions.
But in Charlotte, success is also
attributable to an unusual embrace of
the nonprofit sector by the corporate
community.
Giving and fundraising in
Charlotte is called “socially correct” in
the business community. Many
describe philanthropy as inseparable
from successful corporate life. If an
executive is not helping a nonprofit or
capital campaign get ahead, chances
are that he or she is not getting ahead
in business, the philosophy goes.
“Everyone is expected to support
Look for CHARLOTTE, page 30
NSID
Connections
3
Corporate Giving...,
,...12
Fundraising
...14
Grants and Gifts
...18
In March
...19
Job Opportunities...
...20
Opinion
...10
People
...18
Professional Services...28
Capital campaigns abound
Seventy-Kvo North Carolina nonprofits ranging from arts
groups to churches are engaged in or planning capitol
campaigns wirtt collective goals of
$1.1 billion, according to an infor
mal survey by the Philanthropy
Journal
Pages 16,17
Breaking down
barriers
Building Bridges, a pro
gram of the Piedmont
Peace Project, aims to
give community organiz
ers the tools they need to
work across race, class
and gender lines.
• Page 4
Trust sharpens
giving
The Kate B. Reynolds
Charitable Trust is focus
ing its grantmaking to
better meet community
health needs.
• Page 6
Leading the way
No matter what charily or
campaign drive Hugh
McColl is boosting. North
Carolinions say, if
NationsBank's chief exec
utive is on board, success
is a sure thing.
• Page 8