Philanthropy Today - Philanthropy.com

These are items on other Web sites that are of interest to the nonprofit world. The Chronicle has no control over their content or availability. To reach the Philanthropy Today staff, send an e-mail message to daily.news@philanthropy.com

Compiled by Noelle Barton, Caroline Bermudez, Maria Di Mento, Candie Jones, Heather Joslyn, and Cassie Moore.

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November 21, 2008

Even in Economic Crisis, Americans Continue to Give to Charity

If history is a guide, the current economic crisis will not quell the generosity of Americans, who have increased their donations to charity in 39 of the past 40 years, reports the Associated Press.

That statistic, which comes from the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, is accompanied by another that finds that 69 to 72 percent of people give regularly, the news agency reports.

Some charities, such as World Vision and the American Heart Association, even expect an uptick in giving this year.

“At a time when people have things and they know that other people don’t, Americans’ generosity wins out,” Justin Greeves, senior vice president of Harris Interactive, which regularly polls Americans about their charitable giving, tells the news service.

For more about trends in giving during hard times, see The Chronicle’s special Web section.

(Free registration is required to view the AP article on the Washington Post site.)

Food Banks Continue to Grapple With Challenges

The economic instability in the country is just the latest challenge to hit food banks, after they have had to adapt to changes in Americans’ eating habits coupled with decreasing supply and increasing costs for their operations, reports The Wall Street Journal.

While several companies this week announced major efforts to step up their help to antihunger charities, that still may not be enough to rescue the food banks from the conditions they face, the newspaper reports. The chief executive at Feeding America, formerly known as Second Harvest, says she expects the situation “will get worse before it gets better.”

Feeding America, which represents many of the nation’s food banks, estimates that demand has risen about 25 percent over past year, including a wave of first-time clients.

Indian Philanthropy Flourishes in Boston

A large number of nonprofit groups with connections to India or Indian-related causes have sprung up in the Boston metropolitan area, as Indian professionals seek a way to do good with wealth they have earned, reports The Boston Globe.

Among the organizations are the American India Foundation, which recently held a dinner and silent auction to help rickshaw drivers in India; the Next Generation Foundation, which combats illiteracy and poverty among Indian children; and the Akshaya Patra Foundation, a charity that feeds lunch to schoolchildren in India and which recently opened a U.S. office near Boston.

Other such organizations have given to art museums to increase gallery space for Indian art, the Globe reports.

“Organizations like these are coming up because there is a whole new level of passion for philanthropy among South Asian people who are here,” Geetha Ramamurthy, a senior vice president at Venus Capital Management, tells the newspaper. “That awareness is rising. They’re responding to the call and the need.”

For more about giving trends among immigrants, see the article Giving Back to Their Homelands from The Chronicle’s archive.

(Free registration is required to view the Globe article, and a paid subscription or short-term pass is required to view the Chronicle article.)

Jewish Charities Face Fund-Raising Challenges

American Jewish philanthropic organizations meeting in Jerusalem this week say the downturn in the economy has affected small charities far more than large ones, reports the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

For example, Atlanta’s Jewish federation’s donations are lagging by $2-million, the federation in Washington is cutting salaries and planning layoffs, and the Las Vegas federation is facing a double hit because of the troubles in both the real-estate market and the gaming industry, the JTA reports.

Larger federations have not fared as badly, says Howard Rieger, chief executive of United Jewish Communities, the umbrella organization of Jewish federations in North America.

“We are cautiously optimistic that it won’t be what people think it might be, which is a total disaster,” Mr. Rieger says. “I don’t think that is what we are confronting.”

Struggling Los Angeles Museum May Get Help

Officials at the Museum of Contemporary Art, in Los Angeles, have been discussing potential mergers or partnerships with other institutions to help it out of the financial crisis it faces, reports The New York Times.

Among the potential partners are the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Broad Art Foundation, and the University of Southern California, the newspaper reports. The museum has dipped into its endowment several times to pay for operations, and the endowment has now fallen below $10-million. The museum is planning to cut its budget and temporarily close one of its exhibition spaces.

The philanthropist Eli Broad, a founding chairman of the museum, tells the Times: “Our view and that of our foundation is, it should remain an independent institution. Clearly, the budget’s going to have to be reduced. And they are going to have to raise money and beef up the endowment. We want to help them do that.”

An article in the Los Angeles Times quotes California arts leaders and public officials who want to see the museum saved.

And an artist’s Facebook page in support of the institution has attracted more than 220 members.

(Free registration is required to view the New York Times and Los Angeles Times articles.)

Cleveland Museum to Return Looted Treasures

The Cleveland Museum of Art has announced that within three months it will return to Italy 14 pieces of art that were discovered to have been looted, according to Reuters.

In recent years, Italy has successfully convinced American museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York, to return treasures that have been stolen from that nation.

Wal-Mart Makes Another Commitment to King Memorial

Wal-Mart has given a $12.5-million credit to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall in Washington so the project can get its construction permit and commence building, reports the Associated Press.

Wal-Mart previously gave $1-million to the project. The memorial has raised $100-million of the $120-million needed for the project but now faces the tough task of including security measures to protect the planned memorial from extremist groups, the news agency reports. The project’s executive architect says the memorial organizers are seeking help from the Bush administration and Congress to resolve the security issue.

(Free registration is required to view this article on the Washington Post Web site.)

From The Chronicle: Foundations Urged to Consider Environmental Issues in Making Investment Decisions

Al Gore, the former vice president, urged foundations to take into account environmental concerns when making investment decisions, in a speech to grant makers in New York on Thursday, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports. He said foundations could endanger the financial health of their portfolios by shunning such considerations.

Give and Take: Finding Causes That Can Benefit the Most from a Donor's Gifts

Community colleges, charities that promote youth involvement in politics, and organizations that aid female farmers in developing countries are among the top picks of a philanthropic advisory company that has listed key opportunities for donors, reports Give and Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

Prospecting: How Small-Business Owners Give

Most small businesses give to charity, according to a new post in Prospecting, The Chronicle’s online fund-raising column.