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Andy Markowitz
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Homepage: http://philanthropy.com/news/
Posts by Andy Markowitz
Research Trust to Finance School, Library, and Museum Technology Efforts
Jan 25th
A national trust to funnel federal funds into programs to help schools, libraries, and museums tap into emerging digital technologies will be introduced Monday after nearly a decade in the making, The New York Times reports.
The National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies grew out of a 2001 recommendation by Lawrence K. Grossman, a former network-news executive, and Newton N. Minow, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. It could begin distributing grants by fall.
The center received initial Education Department support of $500,000 and will also solicit private donations.
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Top Film-Industry Lobbyist to Lead Refugee Advocacy Group
Jan 25th
Dan Glickman, chief executive of the Motion Picture Association of America, will leave his post several months ahead of schedule to take over leadership of the advocacy group Refugees International, a Washington organization that works on behalf of people displaced by war, writes The New York Times.
Mr. Glickman, a former Democratic congressman and agriculture secretary, announced his resignation from the Hollywood trade group in October 2009. He had been scheduled to leave this September but now will do so April 1.
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Feed the Children Founder Blames Board for Investment Losses
Jan 25th
Larry Jones, who was ousted as head of Feed the Children, an antipoverty group, says the hunger-relief charity has lost as much as $15-million on its investments during the recession as a result of ineptitude by its board of directors, The Oklahoman reports.
Mr. Jones, the Oklahoma City-based group’s founder and former president, alleged in court papers last week that board members were lax in their oversight of mutual funds, corporate bonds, and other investments.
The Feed the Children board fired Mr. Jones last fall following revelations that he placed listening devices in charity executives’ offices. He filed suit claiming wrongful termination and seeking reinstatement as president.
Read The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s coverage of the battle over Feed the Children.
(A paid subscription or temporary pass is required to view the Chronicle article.)
New Online University Making Mark in Distance Learning
Jan 25th
A nonprofit, tuition-free online university started by an Israeli entrepreneur last year has attracted 300 students and is seeking to carve out a niche in the largely commercial online-education field, BusinessWeek reports.
The University of the People began classes in September with students from nearly 50 countries, mostly in the developing world. Shai Reshef, a veteran of Internet-based educational ventures, has won the backing of the United Nations for the project, which recently announced a research partnership with Yale University.
Struggling D.C. Hospital Seeks Nonprofit Status
Jan 25th
Washington’s United Medical Center is seeking charitable status to stave off a worsening financial crisis and continue serving the city’s poorest neighborhoods, reports The Washington Post.
Frank G. DeLisi, the hospital’s chief executive, said the conversion would save the center hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax bills, lift fund raising, and qualify it for higher Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements.
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Haiti Roundup: Logistics Challenge Small Aid Groups, Quake Tests Red Cross
Jan 22nd
The breakdown of transport, banking, and other infrastructure in Haiti is frustrating the hundreds of small organizations that operate schools, clinics, and orphanages in the country, according to The Washington Post.
Lacking the resources of major aid organizations, such groups are struggling from their American offices to get money and other support to their workers in Haiti and continue providing services to clients who often depended on them for food and health care even before last week’s devastating earthquake.
The quake poses a crucial test for the American Red Cross, which has received by far the biggest share of the outpouring of Haiti donations but which was widely criticized for its responses to the September 11, 2001 attacks and Hurricane Katrina, reports the Associated Press.
Also:
- The well-intentioned volunteers making their way to the island independently to offer their services often do more to hinder than to help relief effort, MSNBC reports.
- Habitat for Humanity announced Thursday that it plans to erect thousands of expandable one-room shelters in Haiti for some of the more than one million people left homeless by the temblor, reports Reuters.
(Free registration is required to view the articles on the Washington Post’s Web site.)
N.Y. Eyes Arts Budget Cut
Jan 22nd
New York State’s spending on cultural organizations would be reduced by $9.6-million under a budget for the next fiscal year proposed this week by Gov. David A. Paterson, reports The New York Times.
Most of the cut would be borne by the New York State Council on the Arts, which would lose $6.5-million in grant-making funds and $600,000 for administration. The 2010-11 budget is due to be enacted by April 1.
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Advocacy Group to Advertise During Super Bowl
Jan 22nd
Reversing past Super Bowl practice, CBS has sold commercial time during the football championship to the Christian conservative organization Focus on the Family, the public-radio program Marketplace reports.
Broadcasters have traditionally shied away from selling time to controversial advocacy groups during big-ticket telecasts, and in previous years rejected ads from groups such as the animal-rights organization PETA and the liberal MoveOn.org. But Adam Hanft, a brand strategist, said CBS is scrambling to sell ads for the game amid the down economy.
Nonprofit News Efforts Gain Momentum
Jan 22nd
The nonprofit Bay Area News Project named its chief executive and top editor Thursday and announced a deal to provide content to The New York Times, the Times reports.
The new journalism outfit supported by the financier Warren Hellman appointed Lisa Frazier, a partner at the consulting firm McKinsey and Company, as CEO and Jonathan Weber, a Los Angeles Times veteran, as editor in chief. The project will take over writing, editing, and photography for a Bay Area edition the Times began publishing last fall.
One of Florida’s biggest foundations has announced plans to start a nonprofit journalism organization to improve coverage of state government, reports the Sarasota Herald Tribune. The Gulf Coast Community Foundation, in Venice, secured $352,000 from the Knight Foundation to create the online news service, to be called the Florida Independent.
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Gifts Up to U.K. Community Foundations
Jan 22nd
British community foundations more than doubled their donations take last year, reports Third Sector Online.
The country’s 57 community funds reaped about $90.9-million in 2008-9, an increase of more than $55-million.
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