November 1997
VOLUME 5, ISSUE 3
Philanthropy Journal
A nonprofit newspaper about the nonprofit community H A /
To just do it — or not
Tar Heels’
pact with Nike
spurs debate
The nation's oldest state university inks a multi-
million-dollar deal with the world's largest athletic
company, triggering debate about commercialism and
big-time athletics at academic institutions.
By Leslie Waugh
Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill signed
an exclusive five-year, $7.1 million contract in July with
Nike Inc. in what officials of both organizations are call
ing a win-win situation.
But in the months since the agreement was
announced, questions have been raised about the ethics
of the deal, the largest of its kind between UNC-CH and a
sporting goods company — and
perhaps the largest such deal in
college athletics.
The new contract was negotiat
ed behind closed doors last sum
mer by then-Athletic Director
John Swofford and approved by
Chancellor Michael Hooker and
the board of trustees. It expands
the school’s previous $4.5 million
deal with Nike, which began in
1993 and ended June 30,1997.
Dick Baddour Under the new agreement,
which expires June 30,2002, Nike
will provide all of the school’s 28 intercollegiate sports
teams with cash, shoes, uniforms and equipment in
exchange for tickets and high-profile corporate exposure.
Whether that exposure is appropriate at a state-sup
ported public institution has been the topic of much
debate.
Lines have been drawn between two student groups.
Support the Swoosh and Just Don’t Do It — referring,
respectively, to Nike’s logo and motto.
News accounts, editorials and other reports about crit
icism of the deal have focused on at least two issues;
Whether the university sold out to Nike and traded in its
purported mission — education — tor a more lucrative
one — athletics — and whether student-athletes are being
used as human billboards for the Oregon-based company.
Critics also have pointed to the flap over Nike’s report
ed unfair labor practices in Asia, which were investigated
earlier this year by former U.N. Ambassador Andrew
Young.
Richard Soloway, a UNC-CH history professor, told
Raleigh’s News & Observer, in an interview published
July 20, that he sees a “conflicted” relationship between
sports and academics in li^t of the deal.
“I think the danger is in the message it gives about
educational values and priorities and about the integrity
of an institution committed to free and open inquiry unin
fluenced by commercial considerations that trade on the
values and image of that institution,” Soloway said.
Shortly after the contract was signed. Athletic
Director Dick Baddour, who took over Wofford’s post
July 1, said the contract “allows our athletic teams an
Look for NIKE, page 7
OF NORTH CAROLINA
Case closed?
Ruling erodes feds’ health-care fraud case
An appeals court panel finds that the
government's case against Home Health
and Hospice Inc. was built on false and
misleading information.
By Leslie Waugh
Goldsboro
For the third time in nearly as many
years, the government’s allegations of
Medicare and Medicaid fraud at Home
Health and Hospice Care Inc. have been
struck down.
To date, no criminal charges have been
lodged against the Goldsboro-based private.
nonprofit home
health care agency,
one of the largest of
its kind in the state.
But the two-and-
a-half years of court
hearings have cost
the agency $5 mil
lion in lost business
and legal fees —
and nurses, employ
ees and volunteers
still are reeling from
the effects the inves-
Beverly Withrow
tigation has had on their morale and the
agency’s reputation.
Federal investigators won’t say if the
investigation of Home Health and Hospice
is over, and exactly why the agency has
been repeatedly challenged remains a mys
tery to Home Health officials.
“We’re one of the largest agencies in
North Carolina,” says Beverly Withrow,
president of Home Health and Hospice.
“We’ve been managed very well and grown
rapidly, which may have made investigators
suspicious.”
The agency, which provides medical and
hospice services to patients in their homes
Look for HOME HEALTH, page 2
New Era in Public School Reform and Financing
Reading, writing, raising money
Public school,
private dollars
The time when North Carolina public
schools could function solely on tax dol
lars is over. To cope with a shortage of
funds, many public schools are doing
their own fundraising, raising concerns
about the lessons for students.
By Rachel Mum
Fundraising at North Carolina’s public
schools has gone far beyond car washes and
bake sales. For the state’s 2,000 public
schools enrolling nearly 2 million students,
fundraising increasingly is becoming a way
of life.
In October, wealthy Chapel Hill-
Carrboro schools staged a “Walk tor
Education” that attracted about 2,500 peo
ple and raised almost $40,000 for area
schools. The walk-a-thon’s operational
costs were picked up by the Public School
Fbundation, a nonprofit that supports pubUc
education.
Becky Irwin, the foundation’s executive
director, says schools in Chapel Hill and
Carrboro have increased their fundraising
efforts. She attributes this to budget cuts
that have made previously standard activi
ties such as field trips possible only with
fundraising dollars.
Much of the fundraising activity at pub
lic schools enlists students w4io scramble to
sell magazines, wrapping paper or choco
late for rewards such as limousine rides and
pizza parties.
“Kids may be forced to ask for money
too many times,” Irwin says. Fundraising
Look for SCHOOLS, page 23
Students at Village Charter School in Chapel Hill get a grammar lesson. The
new charter school's organizers are learning some lessons of their own.
Photo by Kristin Prelipp
State’s charter schools
open on the run
For the first time in North Carolina,
nearly three dozen charter schools have
opened. They're finding the education
business to be a learning experience.
By Kelly Prelipp Look
Chapel Hill’s overcrowded real estate
market meant a frenzied four-month search
by the Village Charter School for appropri
ate facilities. The school finally signed a
lease for space at a shopping center only
three days before classes began.
Meanwhile, its sister school in the rural
Orange County district faced a different
challenge: finding a facility with an ade
quate septic system.
In fact, says Roger Gerber, founder of
both schools and executive director of
Financial Reform for Excellence in
Education, working together to stamp out
the small fires that arose while rushing to
form the schools has helped teachers, staff
and students to quickly build a strong sense
of community among them.
“I’d call it bonding in a crisis situation,”
Gerber quips.
Look tor CHARTER, page 23
INSIDE
Connections 3
Grants & Gifts 18
In November 17
New on the 'Net 17
Opinion 10
People 18
Professional Services..!9
NONPROFITS
f FOUNDATIONS
VOLUNTEERS
CORPORATE GIVING
Living legacy
The Jesse Helms Center at
Wingate University puts
democracy, capitalism and
conservative values into
action.
Spirit of 'tzedakah'
Jewish groups in Charlotte
establish a foundation and
plan campaigns to raise as
much as $20 million.
North Carolina's
conscience
One of the state's oldest vol
unteer organizations folds,
but its legacy of pioneering
social work lives on.
High-tech learning
IBM funds the Durham
schools through a national
$10 million effort to launch
local technology initiatives.
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FUNDRAISING
Ready for takeoff
Efforts to commemorate the
Wright brothers first flight head
into on ambitious fundraising
drive — with some help from
George Bush.
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