Fund Raising
14
Phi]anthr(q)y Jouroal of North Carolina
Florida on-line
Florida’s Secretary of State has put a
database of the state’s political cam
paigns on the World Wide Web. Go to :
http;//election.dos.state.ft.us/campfin/cfin
db.htm
NOVEMBER1996
Offsetting federal cuts
Native Americans face funding challenges
In the wake of federal cutbacks,
Native American tribes and
organizations are looking to pri
vate grantmakers to help with
funding needs.
By Ashley Peay
Of the 11,000 Cherokee Indians
living on the Qualla boundary reser
vation in the mountains of western
North Carolina, 68 percent live in
poverty.
And the poverty rate among the
Cherokee is three times the rate
among North Carolina’s white popu
lation, according to a study by Tteresa
Sweeney of Duke University’s Great
Smokey Mountains Study Mental
Health Project.
FUND RAISING
And recent cutbacks in federal
funding simply make it tourer to
ease the poverty of Native Americans
living in the state.
Last year, federal money to the
national Indian Education Program
was cut by S30 million, and the cut
backs have created a major challenge
for tribes and organizations working
with the government, says Greg
Richardson of the state Commission
of Indian Affairs in Raleigh.
In the past. Native American
groups have received most of their
financial assistance from the govern
ment, but now they are looking to pri
vate foundations for resources, he
says.
Improving education for children is a focus of programs for which
Native Americans are seeking funding.
Photo by Eloine Westarp
Susie Jones, community develop
ment planner for the Eastern band of
Cherokee Indians, says Native
American organizations have a lot of
work to do to be successful fundrais
ers.
“When asking foundations to help
fund projects, the major challenge is
assessing the organization and over
coming a lack of knowledge about
what these groups fund,” says Jones
who has written grant proposals for
the Cherokee tribe for more than four
years.
Native American groups face the
twin challenges of identi^ong possi
ble funding sources and educating
funders about Native American
needs. And while less than 1 percent
Look for FUNDING, page 23
Signing off
WUNC
campaign
nears end
By Stephanie Greer
Chapel Hill
A capital campaign that began in
1987 for pubUc radio station WUNC-
FM is about to cross the finish line -
far short of its initial goal.
An anonymous gift of $300,000 to
$400,000 will cap the 10-year effort
and allow WUNC to build a new facil
ity to house the station, says Bill
Davis, the station’s manager.
Construction is expected to begin
in 1997 on a 7,500-square-foot facihty
that will cost an estimated $1.2 mil
lion. The new building will replace the
station’s cramped quarters in the
basement of Swain Hall on the cam
pus of the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill.
After a successful grassroots cam
paign that generated small contribu
tions, the station found it tough to
raise large leadership gifts, says
Davis. As a result, the campaign in
the past four to five years adopted a
“low-key, low-visibihty approach” that
has taken it out of the limeU^t, he
says.
In fact, says Ron Strom, the cam
paign manager, the campaign has in
the past five years consisted only of
efforts by him, Davis and the develop
ment office at UNC-CH to solicit a
Look for WUNC, page 23
Internal matters
Firm faces staff unrest
John Bennett, president and
founder of Raleigh fundraising
consultant Capit^ Consortium,
is dealing with empioyee morale
prohlems. Clients say they are
satisfied with the firm’s ser
vices.
By Todd Cohen
Raleigh
Capital Consortium in Ralei^,
one of North
Carolina’s
largest
fundraising
firms, was the
scene of a
workplace
melodrama
last month
that resulted
in the loss of
three employ-
lohn Bennett
ees and raised questions about the
firm’s internal operations.
Clients, employees and former
employees say the firm does a good
job of fundraising. But some say pri
vately that the management style of
John Bennett, Capital Consortium’s
founder and president, has created
concerns about working conditions
and their impact on chents.
The flurry of activity last month
began with an overseas phone call to
Bennett from Mary Moss, the director
of development at Ravenscroft School
in Ralei^. Moss had begun working
half-time at Capital Consortium only
a few days earUer and planned to sign
a contract to head the firm’s consult
ing division in the new position of
director of campaigns.
But after less than a week on the
job. Moss phoned Bennett in the
Netherlands, where he was vacation
ing, to tell him she had decided to
return full time to her job at
Ravenscroft.
Moss says she told Bennett she
had concluded the Capital
Consortium job would require too
much time away from her family She
declines to comment further.
But Bennett says Moss also told
him “there are some staff issues that
need to be addressed, some morale
problems and people feeling over
worked.”
Several days later, after interrupt
ing his vacation and returning to
Ralei^, Bennett met with Capital
Consortium’s staff to talk about their
concerns. He says he also offered a
month’s severance pay and a refer
ence letter to anyone who wanted to
leave. Only two employees took the
offer, both members of the support
staff.
Bennett says employee concerns
included long hours and lack of full
health benefits. He says employees
are expected to work long hours
because “we’re there to service our
clients.”
And he says the firm’s employee
benefits package is generous.
“The company is stronger today
than it ever has been,” he says, refer
ring to revenues, cUent base and
cUent satisfaction.
Bennett’s staff agrees. Several
days after the staff meeting, a letter
signed by 13 staff was hand-deUvered
to the Philanthropy Journal. The
letter, which a senior staff member
says was written without Bennett’s
involvement, says the staff is “a satis
fied staff and enjoy our work.”
“It is understood at Capital
Consortium that the cUent always
comes first,” the letter says. “Because
we place the clients first it sometimes
puts additional pressures on staff,
often resulting in long work hours to
complete the job. We recognized this
Look for UNREST, page 15
A new face
Smart Start hires development director
Gerry Cobb began work Oct. 7 as
chief fundraiser for the North
Carolina Partnership for Children -
the organization that coordinates
Smart Start programs throughout the
state.
Cobb, a native of Fayetteville, had
been working as executive director of
the American Council of Young
PoUtical Leaders, an internationd
exchange group that conducts study
programs, conferences and seminars
for rising poUtical leaders froip the
U.S. and other countries.
A 1983 graduate of the University
of North CaroUna at Chapel Hill, she
also has prior experience as a pro
gram coordinator for The Asia
Foundation in San Francisco; an
account representative for Raleigh-
hased Capital Consortium Inc.; and a
program consultant with Early
Childhood Initiative in Ralei^.
State lawmakers last year
imposed stricter fundraising require
ments on Smart Start.
David Walker, executive director
of the state Smart Start organization,
says Cobb will be working with coun
sel from Capital Consortium to raise
$3.4 milUon in private money needed
to secure future state funds for the
program.
Cobb says she’s excited about the
chance to work with the program.
“I’ve been hearing and reading
about Smart Start ever since it start
ed,” she says. “The North Carolina
Partnership has a lot of support.
People see the need for the program
and are willing to support it with pri
vate dollars - particularly on the co^
porate level.”
BRIEFLY
State United Ways rank high in fundraising
North Carolina United Ways
were among the national
affiliates reporting the largest
gains in fundraising last year.
The United Way of Greater
Greensboro - with an
increase of 6.6 percent in
fundraising - ranked 8th on a
list of 10 United Ways report
ing the largest percentage
gains in the Metro 1 catego
ry. That category includes
affiliates raising at least $9
million. In the Metro 2 cate
gory of affiliates raising $3 to
$8 million, the United Way of
Asheville/Buncombe ranked
8th in the nation, with a per
centage increase of 7.4 per
cent over 1994-95. The
Chronicle of Philanthropy
surveyed 376 United Ways to
come up with the rankings.
Food Lion founders
give to seminary
Wilson and Evelyeen Smith of
Salisbury - two founders of
the Food Lion chain - have
donated $ 1 million to The
Lutheran Theological
Southern Seminary in
Columbia, S.C. The gift will
help build and equip the
Wilson L. Smith Family
Village - a $2.5 million town-
house.
Elon College receives
$3 million
Dalton McMichael, chairman
of Mayo Yarns Inc. has given
$3 million to Elon College.
The funds will be used to
help build a new library and
science center at the college,
which McMichael's grand
children attend.
Duke honors family
for giving
A memorial honoring the
Duke family for major contri
butions to Duke University
was unveiled in October. The
memorial, located in the
Memorial Chapel, lists Doris
Duke - daughter of university
founder James B. Duke - as
its first honoree. The carving
was funded by the Mary
Duke Biddle Foundation.
Exploris museum goal
reaches $6.6 million
A $100,000 gift from the
Duke Power Company
Foundation has pushed the
total for Exploris, a statewide
global learning center in
Raleigh, to $6.6 million. The
center, which is slated to
open in 1988, must raise
$7.5 million by Dec. 31 in
order to receive $ 12 million
in county funding.