DECEMBER 1994
VOLUME 2, ISSUE 4 / $5.00
PhilantbroDvJoumal
Changing roles
Leadership
programs
increasing
In the face of increasing
demands on the nonprofit sec
tor, voiunteers and profession
als are turning to a growing
number of programs to bolster
their leadership skills.
By Kate Foster
What is leadership and what
makes a good leader?
As nonprofits face growing pres
sure to strengthen and even expand
their operations, nonprofit leaders
are being asked to balance a host of
responsibilities - from running an
organization and raising money to
mediating relations among the
board and staff, and communicating
with the public.
To help sort out their roles and
acquire new leadei-ship skills, non
profit leaders in North Carolina can
turn to ntleast 66 local programs in
the state, as well as nine regional
and statewide programs, designed
to develop leadership skills.
As a result of the growth in lead
ership development programs -
which experts say also has been
4tt^d by the demands for better
lealtershig In the commercial sector
- nonprofit leaders are bringing new
skills and fresh ideas into communi
ties and workplaces throughout
North Carolina.
Leadership programs in North
Carolina vary according to size, cost
and mission. Some programs are
offered free, while others can cost
thousands of dollars.
The smaller programs - usually
operated by local chambers of com
merce - most often are community-
based, while the larger programs
are open to anyone in the state or
the region.
Leadership Carteret is a small
leadership program run by the
Carteret Chamber of Commerce in
Morehead City. The nine-week
course costs $275 tor members,
$325 for non-members, and com
bines leadership development train
ing with sessions about issues fac
ing the county, such as protecting
the environment and stimulating
economic development.
On the other end of the spec
trum, the Center for Creative
Leadership in Greensboro is the
parent organization for what has
become an international training
center with branches in California,
Look for PROGRAMS, page 5
Thread through time
Brenda Kuczynski, left, is treated by Dr. Peter Johnson, a volunteer with a clinic run by the Asheville-
Buncombe Christian Ministry, as her children and a registered nurse look on. Church ministries across North
Carolina are playing a key role in providing community services, such as health care.
Photo by Rob Amberg
Expanding the mission
Religious philanthropy moving
into social services
Congregations throughout North
Carolina are finding new ways
to meet the needs of their com
munities. Religious philan
thropy has become increasing
ly local, church leaders say,
with growing links between
religious groups, nonprofits
and funders.
By Ealena Callender and
Barbara Solow
RELIGION
The Consort Inn in Charlotte, an
abandoned motel that was once a
center for drugs and violence, has
taken on a new life. The building,
which had been defaced by vandals
and overrun by criminals, now is
home to a spiritual center that min
isters to the needs of people whose
lives have been touched by AIDS.
“We’re trying to take something
that has been thrown away and
restore that the same way that we
are trying to take people that
nobody wants and embrace those
people and restore them to dignity
and self-esteem and productivity,”
says Jerry Reese, executive director
of Cathedral at Charlotte, a nonprof
it that holds religious services at the
former motel.
In communities throughout
North Carolina, religious congrega
tions are launching similar efforts to
address pressing social needs. From
child care and job counseling pro
grams to ministries for new immi
grants, religious institutions are
stepping in to fill gaps not covered
by government or the commercial
sector.
In Durham, the Eastern
Community Church Fellowship - a
group of five predominantly black
churches - organized citizens’
forums following the recent acciden
tal shooting of a two-year-old girl at
a public housing project.
In Greensboro, the United
Methodist Church has been spon
soring “Fifth Sunday” services at
which representatives of human ser
vices agencies are invited to speak
to congregations to help them
decide which organizations most
need their support.
While religious institutions
always have served their communi
ties, congregational leaders say the
focus of church-sponsored pro
grams in the 1990s is changing.
Interviews with denominational
leaders, clergy and religious volun
teers throughout North Carolina
reveal these trends;
• A stronger focus on giving to
Look for RELIGION, page 22
Connections 3
Corporate Giving 12
Grants and Gifts 17
In December 16
Job Opportunities 20
Opinion 10
People 17
R.S.VR 16
Professional Services... 18
Putting youth
in spotlight
In contrast to past gather
ings, young people were
given prominent play at the
annual conference of the
nonprofit coalition.
Independent Sector, in
Chicago.
• Page 4
Southern foundations
out in front
The pace of foundation
growth in the South has out
stripped the rest of the coun
try, according to a new
report commissioned by the
Southeast Council on
Foundations.
• Page 6
y VOLUNTE^
roots deep
inN.C.
charities
Early settlers to North Carolina
brought with them a variety of reli
gions and beliefs. Their early philan
thropic acts, from freeing slaves to
founding hospitals, continue to have
an impact on philanthropy today.
By Susan Gray
Religion has and continues to play a
significant role in American philan
thropy. Historically, clergymen and mis
sionaries set the tone for giving and vol
unteering. Today, the Impact of their
faith and work continues to resonate in
the nonprofit sector - though it’s often
uirrecognized.
In North Carolina, the spirit of the
Quakers, Moravians, Protestants,
Baptists and Jews - groups that settled
much of the state’s vast tracts of lush,
arable land - has influenced hospitals,
schools, foundations and individual phil
anthropists.
“Religion has played a profound role
in the sense that the religious under
standing of responsibility for fellow
human beings probably forms the ethi
cal substance of a great deal of philan
thropic impulse,” says Bill Rogers, pres
ident of Guilford College in Greensboro
and a professor of religious studies
there , as well as president of the board
of directors for the Mary Reynolds
Bahcock Foundation in Winston-Salem.
In 1993, more than 45 percent of U.S.
charitable dollars from individuals went
to religious organizations. Educational
institutions were a distant second, with
12 percent of such donations.
In North Carolina, religious groups
receive a notable amount of private and
community foundation grants. In 1993,
for example, the Blumerithal
Foundation in Charlotte gave 43 percent
of its grants to Jewish organizations.
The B.B. Cameron Foundation in
Wilmington ^ve 73 percent of its grants
to Presbyterian churches and cemeter
ies. And the Cape Fear Community
Foundation gave 49 percent of its grants
to churches and synagogues.
Beyond the numbers, religion’s cur
rent influence on philanthropy is less
tangible. Even thou^ it’s there, people
often don’t recognize or credit it.
Instead, it dwells beneath the surface,
entwined in the impulses and institu
tions that are handed down from past
generations.
Look for ROOTS, page?
A volunteer effort
North Carolina United
Ways are relying even more
heavily on volunteers to
help educate donors and
help meet this year's cam
paign goals.
• Page 8
Frank Dunn Jr., campaign
chair, United Way of Central
Carolinas
New plan for
development
Faced with fewer dollars
from the United Way and an
increasingly competitive
fundraising climate, the
American Red Cross is beef
ing up its marketing.
• Page 14