Volunteers
8
Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina
What's it worth?
Only 8 percent of U.S. nonprofits
have calculated dollar values to the
time they are given by volunteers,
according to the American
Association of Fund Raising Counsel.
March 1995
Leading the way
Hugh McColl gets the job done for nonprofits
No matter what charity or cam
paign drive he’s boosting, North
Carolinians say, if Nations
Bank’s chief executive is on
board, success is a sure thing.
By Susan Gray
Charlotte
/ f Charlotte is a fundraising city,
then Hugh L. McColl Jr. is the
fundraising czar.
NationsBank’s chief executive
officer is a tireless fundraiser for a
long list of charitable campaigns.
Currently, his priority list is topped
by the arts, university endowments,
athletic facilities, YMCA centers, and
United Way funds.
But whatever the cause, nonprofit
leaders say, if McColl is on board -
especially if he’s leading the way -
the campaign will reach its goal, and
usually surpass it.
“The man is extraordinary,” says
Michael Marsicano, executive direc
tor of the Arts & Science Council of
Charlotte and
CAPT TC Mecklenburg
County, whose $25
million endow
ment campaign
McColl is chairing.
“His commitment
to community
and to the arts
role in commu
nity life is
infectious.”
McColl also
is co-chair of
the Bicenten
nial Campaign
at the Univer
sity of North
Carolina at
Chapel Hill.
The campaign,
which ends in
June, has exceeded its $400 million
goal - which last year was increased
Hugh McColl
from $320 million.
In the fall, McColl also jump-start
ed fundraising for the Black Cultural
Center at UNC-CH by pledging $1
million from NationsBank. Up to that
point, controversy over whether the
university should establish a sepa
rate center for African-American stu
dents had hurt fundraising Nations
Bank’s gift was the first large dona
tion to the center.
During a speech to announce the
gift, McColl personally promised to
help raise funds from other banks to
cover the remaining $6 million need
ed to build the center, to be named
for former professor Sonja Haynes
Stone.
“Hugh always has played any
game he was in; whether it was tag
football or international banking, he
played it to win,” says C.D. Spangler,
president of the University of North
Carolina system, who first met
McColl 30 years ago. “He’s very effec
tive in his Involvement because he’s
been so successful in his banking
career, and that’s put him in a lot of
contact with a great number of peo
ple.”
McColl describes a simple philos
ophy behind his giving and volunteer-
Look for MCCOLL, page 15
Finding a place
Nonprofits gain from
senior volunteers
For North Carolina nonprofits, the
growth in the over-60 population
represents an expanding source
of volunteer services.
By Ealena Callender
Durham
I ✓eeping up with Betty Leach
is a no easy task. On the job
/ \ at Duke University Medical
Center in Durham, she doesn’t stay
in one place for very long But even
as she whisks around the familiar
corridors, she has a smile and a
greeting for anyone who comes in
her path.
For almost 40 years, Leach has
been a medical center volunteer. She
has done just about every one of the
many tasks performed by volunteers
at the hospital. She currently works
32 hours each week as a buyer and
chairperson of the hospital’s gift
shop.
“I love the auxiliary,” says Leach,
referring to the hospital’s volunteer
organization. “It’s really very fuKill-
ing, it’s nice to be needed and it’s
nice to be wanted.”
At age 71, she is a vital member
of the auxiliary. Director Jean
Carden says that Leach is one of her
most resourceful volunteers.
“1 feel like I can’t make a decision
without her.”
As the senior population in North
Carolina continues its rapid,; growth,
many nonprofits are realizing the
value of older people as volunteers.
Retired volunteer, George Freddy, tutors a student at Oak
Grove Elementary School in Durham. Freddy, a volunteer with
the Retired Volunteer Service Frogram, is a recent winner of the
J.C. Fenny Golden Rule Award in the senior category.
Photo Courtesy of RSVP
Since more people are living
longer, staying healthier and retiring
earlier, nonprofit leaders say retired
and senior volunteers are increasing
ly becoming an important resource.
A report by Independent Sector in
Washington, D.C., confirms the higi
volunteer activity of this age group.
According to an Independent
Sector study, “Senior Citizens as
Volunteers,” 45 percent of Americans
ages 60 to 75 volunteer an average of
4.4 hours per week. And 27 percent
of those over 75 participate in some
volunteer activities.
Residents age 65 and older now
make up about 12.5 percent of North
Carolina’s population. And according
to a report by Charles Longino, a
professor at Wake Forest University
and the Bowman Gray School of
Medicine in Winston-Salem, the state
is gaining popularity as a retirement
Look for VOLUNTEERS, page 9
Professional resources
Legal help provided
for nonprofits
By Ealena Callender
F or legal quandaries
in areas from estate
planning to labor
laws, nonprofits can now get
free assistance.
In a collaborative effort
between the North Carolina
Center for Nonprofits and
the North Carolina Bar
Association, a group, of
about 65 attorneys will pro
vide free assistaiice to non
profits with specific legal
questions through the Pro
Bono Referral Project.
The Center for
Nonprofits will screen calls
to its Board and Staff
Helpline. If a nonprofit has a
budget of less than $500,000
and a legal concern that the
attorneys are able to
address, a referral will be
made to an appropriate
attorney. The attorney and
the nonprofit then make
contact and arrange for a
one hour consultation.
Attorneys in the project
are in the administrative
law, labor and employment
law, and law sections of
the Bar Association. The
Young Lawyers Division and
the Bar Foundation also are
participating.
Martin Brinkley, director
of the Young Lawyers
Division, says the group got
Involved with the project
because “it seemed to be a
very important project that
had the potential to benefit
a large number of nonprofit
organizations.”
Also, he says, the project
gives attorneys the chance
to provide pro bono services
outside of court.
“There has been a per
ceived lack of pro bono
opportunities for non-litiga
tion lawyers in the state,”
says Brinkley. “It is an
opportunity to give those
attorneys additional pro
bono exposure.”
The Center and the Bar
Association will continue to
recruit attorneys to make
sure they can assist in
numerous areas.
For information, call
(919) 571-0811.
BRIEFLY
CORRECTION
The February Philanthropy :
Journal reported that Chris
Rust, 65, is the oldest
AmeriCorps member in
North Carolina. In fact,
according to the state
AmeriCorps office, there are
nine North Carolina
AmeriCorps members older
than Rust.
Nominations sought for
Award
Nominations for the North
Carolina Award are due April
28. The state's annual award
goes to residents for outstand
ing contributions in four cate
gories: science, fine arts, liter
ature and public.service. Send
nominations to Betty Ray Mc
Cain, Secretary of Cultural
Resources, 109 E. Jones St.,
Raleigh, 27601-2807 or call
(919) 733-5722.
Partnership program
seeks school volunteers
Volunteers are needed to talk
to young people about their
work and to participate in
trail-related nature study tor
the SCOUT program in
Chapel Hill. SCOUT -
Students Constructing Their
Own Understanding with
Technology - is a partnership
of schools and businesses.
Training offered
for crisis volunteers
Rape Crisis of Durham is
offering training for volun
teers working with victims of
sexual violence. The three-
week sessions are held on
Tuesday and Thursday
evenings. For information,
call Sandy Dixon (919) 688-
4457.
Program aims to
boost volunteers
Youth Service America in
Washington has launched a
new fund to support commu
nity service volunteers. The
organization will make three-
year $144,000 grants to
individuals or groups that
have found new ways to
encourage voluntarism. Call
Barbara Reynolds, (202)
296-2992 for details.
Place for teens
to voice concerns
Troubled teens in Wake
County have a tree, confi
dential phone line they can
call to talk to peers about
their problems. Teen
TalkLine, an off-shoot of the
25-year-old HopeLine Inc. of
Raleigh, has trained teenage
volunteers ready to take calls.
The number is (919) 828-
5011.