Newspapers / Philanthropy Journal of North … / May 1, 1995, edition 1 / Page 6
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Foundations Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina A family tradition Less than zero Foundation assets connected to the failed Barings Bank in England would have been worth $1.6 billion but are now likely worthless, says Corporate Philanthropy Report. May 1995 Blumenthal Foundation’s reach is deep and wide Since it was established in 1953, the Blumenthal Foundation in Chariotte has huilt up its resources and reputation. Nonprofit ieaders say the volunteer hours that members of the Blumenthai famiiy devote to charitahie chuses are as important as their dollars. By Barbara Solow Charlotte •riie major change Philip Blumenthal has / seen since he became involved in running / his family’s foundation is a rise in the number of grant requests. “A lot of people say you should give bigger grants to a smaller number of organizations,” says the director of The Blumenthal Foundation and the Wildacres Retreat center GRANTAAAKING for human relations that his family built in Little Switzerland. “We’ve talked a good bit about whether we should restrict our focus. But we decided not to. We enjoy being able to respond to so many different issues.” Others in Charlotte’s philanthropy commu nity agree that the breadth of grantmaking by the rou^y $20 million-asset family foundation remains one of its greatest strengths. “They are tied only to that which moves them, rather than some sort of trust that is so definitive as to restrict their imagination,” says Don Sanders, retired head of the United Way of the Central CaroUnas. “They look tor ways to be particularly helpful and deal with a wide variety of issues. 1 think they’ve been on the cutting edge for a long time.” Even in a county with North Carolina’s largest concentration of foundation assets and grants. The Blumenthal Foundation stands out as a source of support and innovation. It gave the gift that estabiished the Blum enthal Center tor the Performing Arts - a key stone of Charlotte’s cul tural scene and its down town - and more than $1 million to the recent campaign for the Arts & Science Council. Herman EarUer this year, the Blumenthal foundation iaunched a fellowship program to train young North Carolinians to be leaders in their communities. The foundation will spend $375,000 over three years on the Wildacres Leadership Program, which will select 20 William C. Friday feliows to participate in a series of weekend retreats and collaborative projects in the arts, education and puhhc service. The 1993 North Carolina Giving directory lists The Blumenthal Foundation as second on a roster of foundations that gave the 10 largest grants to reUgious organizations. The foundation’s grant of $290,000 to the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte placed it second only to the Duke Endowment in sup port for reUgious nonprofits in the state. Other recent grant recipients include the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, $30,000; the Neighborhood Grants Program and Look for BLUMENTHAL, page 7 In the family name Duke receives belated ^ from heiress By Susan Gray Durham Duke University has received $10.5 miUion from the estate of Doris Duke. The gift was made more than a year after the death of Duke, dau^- ter of Durham tobacco baron James B. Duke and sole heiress of his for tune. At a news conference at Duke University in late March, Bernard Lafferty - Doris Duke’s former butler and now co-executor of her $1.2 bil lion estate - presented the overdue gift to Duke President Nan Keohane. Duke did not receive the gift earU- er because the assets of Doris Duke’s estate have been tied up in a New York court, where several people are battling over the former socialite’s wiU. According to news reports and court tiles, a nurse claims that Doris Duke did not die of naturai causes but was drugged by Lafferty. And Chandi Heffner, a woman whom Duke adopted and then disowned, alleges that she was wrongfully left out of the heiress’ will. Lafferty and co-executor U.S. TYust persuaded a New York judge to release the $10.5 million gift to Duke, arguing that the court cases would not change the status of the gift. They also tacked on $500,000 to the original gift because of the delay. EDUCATION Duke University President Nan Keohane, right, accepts a check from Bernard Lafferty, co-executor of the Doris Duke Estate. Photo by Chuck Liddy for science research and teaching at the university,” Keohane told a crowd of about 100 people at the news conference. James B. Duke helped create Duke University in 1924 when he gave $40 million to a financially fal tering Trinity College. The Methodist college was renamed in his honor. In addition to her philanthropic bequest to Duke University, Doris Duke’s will calls for the creation of the Doris Duke Charitable The gift will support health and environmental research at Duke, including searches for cures to tMDS, Alzheimer’s disease and cancer. It also will be used to develop a com puter model to enhance scientific understanding of the environment. “It is especially fitting that Doris Duke, during her lifetime and in this wonderful bequest, has continued the extraordinary philanthropic tra dition of her father and the Duke family by providing generous support Look for DUKE, page? Giving back Merchants’ group funds Durham-area charities A foundation formed five years ago by Durham merchants is working to support local non profits and be a catalyst to help them raise additional dollars. By Todd Cohen Durham F rank Davis is a former runner who now heads a nonprofit that keeps Durham youngsters on track by running competitiveiy. Kevin McDonald is a former hero in addict who heads a nonprofit that provides a home and jobs for sub stance abusers. Durham Striders Track Club and TROSA - the nonprofits headed by Davis and McDonald - are among 62 Durham programs funded over the past five years by the Durham Merchants Association Charitable Foundation. The foundation was formed in 1990 with $2.2 million in proceeds from the sale of association-owned land, a downtown building and a credit service. Formed by downtown merchants at the turn of the century to market downtown stores, share credit infor mation and bill collection, the associ ation found it had outlived its useful- COMMUNITY ness with the rapid growth of subur bia and suburban shopping malls. To honor its commitment to the community, the association formed the foundation, which has handed out roughly $110,000 a year in grants to nonprofits in Durham County. 'The foundation’s strategy is to be a catalyst, using its grants to help nonprofits obtain other funding. Foundation grants support cul tural affairs and the arts, community services and education. Durham Striders, for example, received $10,000 from the foundation in 1993. 'The funds were used to pur chase equipment, which enabled the nonprofit to host track meets that in turn generated revenues through entry fees for participants. And TROSA - Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abuser? - received startup funds from the Merchants Association Foundation, which in turn helped the nonprofit raise additional money. Last year, the Merchants Association Foundation gave TROSA $6,000 more to buy equipment to train its residents in skills needed to start Look for MERCHANTS, page 7 BRIEFLY Correction Information about publica tions offered by Funders Concerned about AIDS pub lished in the March issue was partially incorrect. Funders does not publish a $60 guide to AIDS giving by foundations. That is avail able from the Foundation Center in New York, (212) 620-4230. Notional council hosts conference The national Council on Foundations will hold its annual conference May 1 -3 in San Francisco under the theme "Evolving Visions of Philanthropy and the Public Good." Speakers include Adam Clayton Powell III, of the Freedom Forum Media Center and Randall Robinson, executive director of TransAfrica Forum. Foundations support NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has received more than $700,000 in grants and pledges from founda tions since the board elected Mrylie Evers-Williams as chairman in February, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports. Among the donors are The Chevron Corp. ($50,000); the Freedom Forum ($327,500); the Gannett Foundation ($100,000); and The Rockwell International Corp. Trust ($45,000). Actor Denzel Washington has reportedly pledged $100,000. An audit of NAACP finances with its esti mated $4 million deficit is due to be completed this month. Survey shows minori ties lack insurance A survey commissioned by The Commonwealth Fund in New York shows non-white Americans are twice as likely to lack health insurance as whites, and almost a third report little or no choice of where they receive medical care. The survey was con ducted by Louis Harris and Associates. For information, call (212) 535-0400. Fund reaches the 500 mark The Fund for 5outhern Communities recently announced it awarded its 500th grant. Since 1981, the Atlanta and Durham- based foundation has made more than $2 million in grants to nonprofits working for social and economic jus tice. For information, call (919) 682-3702.
Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina (Raleigh, N.C.)
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May 1, 1995, edition 1
6
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