Newspapers / Philanthropy Journal of North … / May 1, 1995, edition 1 / Page 7
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May 1995 Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina • 7 Kevin McDonald heads TROSA, a Durham nonprofit that aids substance abusers and has been funded by the Durham Merchants Association Charitable Foundation. Merchants Continued from page 6 businesses and in turn, help make the nonprofit self-supporting. “These people had faith in us,” says McDonald, TROSA’s executive director. “They had faith in an idea when they gave ns the first grant. And when the idea came to fruition, they supported us. That’s what phil anthropy is all about, giving philan thropy a chance.” Other grants last year by the Merchants Association Foundation range from $425 for computer soft ware for the Retired Senior File photo Volunteer Program to $10,000 to the West End Community Center tor a revitalization program. Larry D. Brock, senior vice president of BB&T, is president of the founda tion’s hoard of directors. New board mem bers are Wayne Campbell, president of Credit Bureau Larry D. Brock Systems - a company spun off from the old Merchants Association; Kathy Land, a community volunteer; and Susan Cranford Ross, associate dean and director of arts and sci ences development for Duke University. Board members whose terms ended were Jeff Stewart, president and chief executive of Guaranty State Bank; Frank Ward, president of Frank Ward Realty, and Carl Woods, chief executive of C.C. Woods Construction. For information on the founda tion, call Executive Director Leesa Camphell, (919) 489-5405. Blumenthal Continued from page 6 AIDS Consortium at The Foundation for the Carolinas, $15,620; and the national Sierra Club Foundation, $100,000 over five years. “Different family members are involved in all different kinds of orga nizations,” says Philip Blumenthal. “So between the sociM services and human services, education, the envi ronment - we give to aU those differ ent fields.” Five family members are Involved in the foundation: Herman Blumenthal; his wife, Anita; and their sons, Alan, Philip and Samuel. Herman and his brother, l.D. Blumenthal - who founded the family business. Radiator Specialty Co. in Charlotte - were the original founda tion donors in 1953. “It was a very small foundation at that time,” Herman Blumenthal says. “My brot to left a lot of money to the foundation when he passed away [in the late 1970s] and that really made it.” Creating a foundation was a way for the family to channel its giving impulses. “We had been giving money to charities and schools and so forth,” says Herman Blumenthal, who grew up in Savannah, Ga. “We just thought it would he a good idea to have a foundation that we could huild up. And we kept building it gradually as the business improved.” While the foundation has given significant dollars to nonprofits over the years, grantmaking is not the only measure of the family’s philan thropy. “It’s as much the Blumenthal family and their caring as their dol lars,” says Daniel Lepow, director of the Jewish Federation. “I wouldn’t minimize the dollars, but what’s important is the Blumenthal family’s involvement” in nonprofit causes. Those causes are as varied as the foundation’s grant recipients. Herman Blumenthal, for example, has served on the boards of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Johnson C. Smith THE BLUMENTHAL FOUNDATION Location: Charlotte History: Founded in 1953 by members of the Blumenthal family, who also founded Radiator Specialty Co. Assets: $20.9 million for year ending 4/30/91 Grants: $969,237 for year ending 4/30/91 Interests: Emphasis on religion, education, arts and environment. Also funds health care, media and civil liberties. Provides grants for seed money, operating budgets, capital campaigns, conferences, seminars, special projects and endowments. Deadlines: The board of trustees meets quarterly to consider grant applica tions. Contact: Philip Blumenthal, P.O. Box 34689, Charlotte, N.C. 28234, (704) 377-6555 University, Mercy Hospital, and the Foundation for the Carolinas. Philip Blumenthal is a trustee and vice president of the national Sierra Club Foundation, and Samuel Blumenthal - who is a clinical psy chologist - is active in Charlotte-area social service organizations. Sanders, who became familiar with the foundation throng its sup port of the United Way, cites the fam ily’s involvement in organizations such as the National Conference of Christians and Jews as a sign of its commitment to building community. “And their action with the Performing Arts Center is not only a major gift, but an innovation for a private foundation like that which normally doesn’t get so heavily involved in bricks and mortar,” he says. Bob Hull, president of the Atlanta-based Southeastern Council of Foundations, cites the Wildacres Center in eastern North Carolina as another unique contribution by the Blumenthal family. “It’s a nice combination of regu lar grantmaking and doing this kind of facility provision, which is a little unusual,” he says. Like other famiiy foundations in North Carolina and throughout the U.S., the Blumenthal Foundation is grappling with the issue of how best to prepare tor the future. Philip Blumenthal says family members are studying investment strategies and grantmaking policies, and have discussed the possibility of publishing an annual report. One thing that won’t change is the careful attention family members devote to running the foundation. “Some families use it to fight, hut that hasn’t happened with us,” he says. On a broader level, he worries that the “ethic” of giving is not as strong as it should be in Charlotte. “Not that long go, Charlotte was not that wealthy a community,” he says. “Now, there is a lot of money around hut a lot of those people don’t give to the level that they should. “In my family, it was just expect ed that that’s what you should do. It wasn’t a matter of being pressured into things. But if you want to see your community prosper and grow, those are the thMgs you need to do.” Apparently, there is no genera tion gap in the giving philosophy of the Blumenthals. When asked for his advice to would-be philanthropists, Herman Blumenthal has this to say: “If you have the money in a busi ness, your own family-held business like this one, save as much as you can because there is aiways some good cause that you’ll want to assist with.” Duke Continued from page 6 Foundation with $1 billion in assets. The foundation - whose future grant making remains uncertain until the lawsuits are resolved - will provide funds for environmental and ecologi cal causes, education, medical research, the prevention of cruelty to children and animals and the per forming arts. When funded, it will join the ranks of the nation’s wealthiest foundations. In North Carolina, only the Duke Endowment in Charlotte, with $1.3 billion in assets, would have a larger endowment. James B. Duke created that foundation. At the Duke news conference, Lafferty, wearing a diamond earring and his characteristic long hair tied in a pony tail, said he looks forward to continuing the Duke famiiy’s long relationship vrith Duke University. Keohane is a member of the new foundation’s hoard. j> public((kOOl foundation Chapel Hill • Carrboro Celebrating ten years of support for instructional excellence, educational innovation, and community involvement in the Chapel Hill - Carrboro City Schools. For more information on how you can be a part of our continuing efforts please call (919) 968-8819. ,’HERRON 6^ Company, Inc. Investment Counsel 3301 Woman's Club Drive, Suite 148 Raleigh, NC 27612 Phone (919) FAX (919) 571-7889 XiaveYou Marked Your Calendar? 9 TTie ORTH CAROLINA PLANNED GIVING COUNCIL presents “The Big Ten Charitable Plans** by Lynda S. Moerschbaecher Attorney and planned giving e]q)ert Lynda Moershbaecher brings ber insight and knowl edge to North Carolina hi a seminar not to be missed! Friday, May 12 10:00 am - 4:00 pm Greensboro/Piedmont -Triad Airport Marriott Hotel MO. Exit 210 Cost: $20 NC Planned Giving Council members $50 non-members Seminar cost includes lunch and extensive hand-out materials Mail check to: Sandra Shell, Wachovia Bank of NC, PO Box 3099, Winston-Salem, NC 27150 or call Sandra at 910-770-5289 for more information about reservations. Seating is limited!
Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina (Raleigh, N.C.)
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May 1, 1995, edition 1
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