JUNE 1996
VOLUME 3, ISSUE 10/$5.00
Philanthn^yJournal
Linking up
Hospitals
boost
community
outreach
In response to rapid changes in
the health-care field and more
competition for donors, many
nonprofit hospitals are forming
foundations to heip support their
work and link them more close
ly to their communities.
By Barbara Solow
When party-goers got off the bus
at Wake Medical Center in Raleigh,
they were greeted by signs that read,
“You’ve Arrived at Ocean Drive.”
In the lobby, staff members
dfessed as lifeguards and swimmers
tossed beach balls in the air or
lounged in comfortable beach chairs.
The staging was part of a special
fundraiser for the hospital’s newly-
established foundation, which had
chosen as its inaugural project the
opening of a pediatric emergency
department.
Hospital foundations in Asheville
worked together to secure a
grant for a health clinic run by
the Asheville/Buncombe
Christian Ministries.
Photo courtesy of St. Joseph's Hospital Foundation
In 1995, during its first year of
operation, the Wake Medical Center
Foundation raised $250,000 toward
the $1.9 million emergency depart
ment and launched a community edu
cation campaign that brought 1,000
area residents through the hospital
Look for HOSPITALS, page 9
Expanding the base
Competition grows for individual dollars
I
With government funding and
corporate giving declining,
North Carolina nonprofits are
turning more to individuals for
money to meet growing commu
nity needs.
By Barbara Solow
Individual giving is this year’s
buzzword among nonprofit fundrais
ers in North Carolina.
Although contributions from indi
viduals have always made up the
largest piece of the charitable
fundraising pie, proposed cutbacks in
state and federal dollars and a slack
ening in corporate giving have led to
a greater emphasis on private
donors.
Some nonprofits have been suc
cessful in increasing funds from indi-
FUNDRAISING
viduals.
“Individuai giving is going like
gangbusters,” says Robert Bush,
director of United Arts of Ralei^ and
Wake County - which has seen indi
vidual giving rise by 33 percent since
1990, mostly throu^ workplace cam
paigns.
“I think people have gotten the
message that government money is
being slashed and there is some
responsibiiity for them to pick up that
slack.”
Others - particularly nonprofits
that are involved in community orga
nizing or training - are strug^g to
keep up.
“The whole notion of social
change is being replaced by social
services,” says Stan Holt, develop
ment director for the
Kannapolis-based
Piedmont Peace
Project.
“Organizations like
ours that focus on
social change are
really begmning to
compete with social
services [groups]
whose funds are
being cut.”
Many foundation
leaders are reporting
a rise in the number
of grant applications
from nonprofits in
response to expected
reductions in funds
from other sources.
‘We’ve received the heaviest num
bers of proposals we’ve ever had,”
says Dan Gray, executive director of
think all of us
know that private
sources can't pick up all
that the federal govern
ment has done. It's just
going to make it even
more competitive for
those seeking funds.
Dan Gray,
Executive Director,
Cannon Foundation
the Concord-based
Cannon Foundation. “I
think all of us know
that private sources
can’t pick up all that
the federal govern
ment has done. It’s just
going to make it even
more competitive for
those seekhig funds.”
'The increasing flow of
grant requests also
reflects a growing
need for nonprofit ser
vices, funders say
“I feel that in Asheville
especially, recurring
problems in the areas *
of education and at-
risk students - and at-risk elements
in the society at large - are particu-
Look for DOLLARS, page 13
Preserving the legacy
Volunteers monitor Neuse
Throughout the Neuse River
basin citizens are voiunteering
their time on the water, in the air
and on land to rescue one of
North America’s most threat
ened waterways from excessive
pollution.
By Vida Foubister
New Bern
It’s 11 a.m. on a Satnrday and 15
people have gathered at a small
house in downtown New Bern - the
office of the Neuse River Foundation.
They’ve given up a beautiful,
sunny morning to learn about volun
teer opportunities with the
Foundation’s Research Committee.
'The stereotypical image of grass
roots environmentalists does little to
reflect the diversity of this group.
'They represent a broad cross-section
of North Carolinians from Oriental to
Raleigh who have come together for
one reason only 'They feel a tie to the
Neuse River and want to be a part of
the effort to save its waters from pol
lution.
“When it doesn’t have the algae,
the dead fish, it is a beautiful, excit
ing river,” says Grace Evans, a long
time volunteer with the foundation
who has lived near either the origin
or mouth of the Neuse over the past
47 years.
The foundation was formed in
1980 and has depended on donated
energy ever since. More than 150 vol
unteers work to educate the public,
research water-quality problems and
Volunteers with the Neuse River Foundation have been serving as
pollution watchdogs for the Neuse River, now on a list of endangered
U.S. waterways.
Photo courtesy of Neuse River Foundation
serve as watchdogs for the Neuse.
“That’s what makes us great and
gives use the ability to achieve what
we do,” says Maiy Ann Harrison, who
has served as the group’s president
since the fall of 1994. “We do function
on a level that most professional
organizations do with a paid staff.”
Harrison herself puts in about 60
hours a week as the foundation’s vol
unteer leader. She says the river,
which beckoned her to the area eight
years ago, keeps her inspired.
Out on the Neuse with Harrison
and Rick Dove, the Neuse River
Keeper, their love for the river is
much clearer than its waters.
“The river, she’s beautiful out
here, but she sure is needy,” Dove
says.
The Neuse River originates north
west of Durham, at the point where
the Eno and Flat rivers come togeth
er. From there it feeds into Falls Lake
ENVIRONMENT
reservoir, Raleigh’s drinking water
supply 'The reservoir was created
after the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers finished construction of
the Falls Lake dam in 1983.
Below Ralei^, the river regains
its natural features and begins wind
ing its way towards the coast, rarely
Look for NEUSE, page 15
Citizens' process
United Way
to manage
Bryan
funds
In an unusual move, a local United
Way affiliate will manage grants
for a private foundation.
By Merrill Wolf
Greensboro
The United Way of Greater
Greensboro has reached an agree
ment with the Joseph M. Bryan
Foundation for Greater Greensboro to
manage the allocation of grants in
health and human services tor the
foundation.
'The funding agency is also close to
completing a similar arrangement
with another grantmaking organiza
tion, says Neil Belenky, the United
Way’s president. The two agreements
wili involve a total of about $400,000 a
year, he says.
The United Way of Greater
Greensboro allocated more than $11
million to 37 member agencies and
other organizations in 1996.
The Joseph M. Bryan Inundation
for Greater Greensboro was created
several years before the death of
Look for BRYAN, page 27
1 INSIDE
Corporate Giving
.12
Foundations
...6
Fund Raising
.14
Grants & Gifts
.20
In June
.20
Job Opportunities
.24
Nonprofits
....4
Opinion
.10
People
.21
Professional Services..
.22
Volunteers
...8
North
Carolina
special report
North Carolina is rich in fundraising resources and awash in fundraising
campaigns. The state is home to 14,000 charitable nonprofits, including 850
foundotions with $4.8 billion in assets, as well as a wealth of community-minded
corporations, individuals and development professionals.
Stories in this special issue on fundraising include:
•Giving on rise. Page 7 •Fundraising resources. Page 14
•Women in philanthropy. Page 8 •Auto dealer charity. Page 12
•Corporate charity. Page 12 ‘CoflRtal campaign survey. Pages 16,17