JULY 1996
VOLUME 3, ISSUE 11/$5.00
PhiMthropv Journal
A nonprofit newspaper for the nonprofit community
OF NORTH CAROLINA
Antidote to federal cuts
Arts funding looks strong in state
State and local funding for the
arts is up in North Carolina, says
a draft study hy the N.C. Center
for Public Policy Research.
By Sean Bailey
Support for the arts by state and
local government, and by foundations
and Individuals, has jumped signifi
cantly in the last five years, more
than offsetting federal cutbacks, says
a draft study of arts funding in North
Carolina.
' The study, by the North Carolina
Center for Public PoHcy Research,
says the arts have thrived in the state
even thou^ federal funding from the
National Endowment for the Arts fell
by more than 50 percent from 1990 to
1995.
“North Carolina’s arts community
has prospered due to steady and
growing support from state and local
governments, private foundations,
corporations, and individuals,” the
study says. “This variety in the
sources of financial support has
helped North Carolina earn, with
some justification, a national reputa
tion as one of the leading states for
supporting the arts.”
Past federal support of the arts in
North Carolina played a crucial role
in launching many arts organizations
that now receive funding from state
and local governments, the study
says. It also says the cutbacks in fed
eral funding for the arts could have a
ripple effect, with state and local gov
ernments possibly beginning to
reduce their support for the arts.
The study is being prepared in the
face of a growing debate about the
importance of public funding of the
arts. Arts groups contend that cuts in
public funding could threaten the
growth and vitality of the arts - and in
Look for FUNDING, page 22
The politics of inclusion
Rocky Mount mayor boosts nonprofits
Supporters say that Roclgr Mount
Mayor Fred Tumage has creat
ed an atmosphere in which non
profits are respected and part
nerships are encouraged. That
may be one of the reasons
Turnage has stayed in office for
23 years.
By Barbara Solow
Rocky Mount
The walls of Mayor Fred
Turnage’s wood-paneled law office
are lined with awards and framed let
ters from a host of local and regional
organizations.
There are citations from the North
Carolina League of MunicipaUties,
the National League of Cities, the
Rocky Mount Human Relations
Commission and a home-made
plaque honoring Turnage as “Boss of
the Year.”
Such accolades are not unusual
tor a public figure who has been in
office for 23 years. What is unusual
about Tumage, supporters say, is the
breadth and depth of his influence.
PROFILE
Nonprofit leaders in particular,
praise Turnage’s understanding of
the role their organizations play in
improving the quality of life in Rocky
Mount and his abUity to bring people
together across sector lines.
“Fred just knows everybody,” says
Henrietta Zalkind, executive director
of the Down East Partnership for
Children, Rocky Mount’s Smart Start
organization. “He is as comfortable
talking to the big CEOs of corpora
tions as he is the folks in some of the
neighborhoods that need help.
“More than anybody, he has
aggressively tried to bridge the gaps
between races, classes and counties
that exist here. And a lot of that has
been done by example.”
In a city government system in
which the mayor holds httle power,
Turnage, 60, has been a force in most
of the major public-private initiatives
of the last two decades in Rocky
Mount.
Look for MAYOR, page 11
Rocky Mount Mayor Fred Turnage wins high praise from the city's
community leaders for his skill in bringing nonprofits, for-profits and
government agencies together.
Photo by Roger Winstead
Environmentalists gaining political power
As the number of environmental
groups in North Carolina
increases, so too does the pres
sure they bring to bear on gov
ernment officMs.
By Veoa Foubister
Tar Heel environmentalists have
established themselves in capital pol
itics and are beginning to wield some
power.
However, they remain limited by
their resources. They don’t have the
money to achieve all they would like
to. They also face formidable oppo
nents who have long held sway with
politicians in the state - representa
tives of agriculture, business and
industry
Electoral politics are still a chal
lenge. The environment has never
been a issue that sways the ballot
choices of North Carolina voters.
“The great majority of people in
this state want to protect the environ
ment,” says Steve Levitas, deputy
state secretary of environment,
health and natural resources. “When
it comes to achieving goals, it’s much
more complicated.”
In addition, most environmental
groups lack the resources to be large
campaign contributors and, as a
result, their battles have to wait until
after the election. They must try to
influence the political leaders chosen
by the majority
The current leadership of the
state Department of Environment,
Health and Natural Resources
(DEHNR) is viewed by key environ
mentalists as sympathetic to environ
mental concerns. But whether that
gives environmentalists more clout in
the department’s day-to-day opera
tions is another matter.
“1 think we’re given a say by state
officials,” says Kristen Rowles, exec
utive director of the Pamlico-Tar
River Foundation in Washington, N.C.
“They subscribe to the importance of
citizen participation. Whether we
have an impact is another matter.”
But Dou^as Boykin, a Pender
County developer who also sits on the
commission, says environmental
groups “are very well funded and
very clearly focused, and they have
driven regulatory policy if not legisla
tive policy, for the last 10 years.
“The business community had
been used to, in the past, calling in
Look tor ENVIRONMENT, page 11
Passing on a legacy
Frank
Kenan’s
impact
lives on
The Durham businessman and
philanthropist is believed to
have left a significant portion of
his estate to charity. His death
could mean fewer new large gifts
fortlNC-ChapelHiU.
By Todd Cohen
Durham
Frank Hawkins Kenan, an
entrepreneur and philanthropist who
helped channel tens of millions of dol
lars to the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hid and other
charities, died June 4 at his home in
Durham. He was 83.
Kenan’s legacy will continue. His
estate is worth an estimated $250 mil
lion - and may be worth considerably
more - and much of that wealth is
expected to go to charity. In the past
15 years, Kenan gave away millions of
dollars to charity much of it anony
mously.
The direction in which Kenan
helped take the $312 milhon-asset
William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable 'Trust
- particularly its focus on education -
is expected to continue, although
some changes are likely
In the past decade, Kenan was the
dominant figure on the trust’s board,
and his death could mean a shift in its
grantmaking, despite its continuing
focus on education.
Under Kenan’s leadership, tor
example, the trust made huge gifts,
particularly to UNC-CH and Its
Kenan-Flagier Business School. With
a new board member, the flow of new
large gifts to UNC-CH from the Kenan
Trust could slow considerably.
Kenan’s will was filed June 17 in
Durham. It makes two charitable gifts
of $1 milhon each - one to the $3 mil-
lion-asset Kenan Family Fbundation,
the other to the UNC-CH Foundation
to establish the Elizabeth Price Kenan
Fund. 'That fund will be an unrestrict
ed gift unless Kenan’s widow, tor
whom it is named, designates in writ
ing within a year of Kenan’s death
how the fund is to be used.
The will also makes provisions for
members of Kenan’s family but does
not include details on the size of his
estate or on how the remainder of it
Look for KENAN, page 22
INSIDE
Connections 3
Grants & Gifts 16
In July 16
Job Opportunities 20
Opinion 10
People 17
Professional Services...!8
I NONPROFITS
FOUNDATIONS
VOLUNTEERS
, CORPORATE GIVING
Raleigh agency eyes
funding gap
After Congress cut off its
funding, Project SEE in
Raleigh is struggling to main
tain its surnmer job program
for mentally disabled
teenagers.
Tax law questions
delay foundation
Political gridlock over federal
tax changes is delaying the
start of a new $2 million
North Carolina foundation.
Science program
goes into orbit
The Science STARS program,
a volunteer-run organization
for students who love science
and math, is growing across
the state.
Sprint establishes
volunteer corps
in response to a more com
petitive phone service market.
Sprint has created a volunteer
corps to help change the way
it works with nonprofits.
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; FUND RAISING
li ■mi— Sili
Museums reach for
new support
Funding cutbacks and
increasing public scrutiny
have led many art museums
to look beyond their tradition
al markets for new funding
and audiences.
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