Philanthropy Digest
December 2009
Corporate and Foundation Philanthropic Activity Relevant to the Academies’ Programs
A Monthly Office of Development Newsletter
________________________________________________________________________
In the Newsletter for December 2009:
General News and Trends:
Foundations Increase Support for Climate-Change Prevention
Plan Counts on Private Funding to Curb CO2
Study Says Few Foundations Use Data to Evaluate Themselves
2010: Preview of the Year Ahead
Specific Grantmaking News:
Carnegie Corporation Continues Commitment to Supporting Higher Education in SubSaharan Africa
Gates Foundation Commits $12.9 Million to College Technology
ClimateWorks Is Carrying Out New Global Strategy
The Packard Foundation, Looking at the Whole Ocean Picture
Global Health Centers at Boston University, University of Manitoba Share $16.9 Million From
Gates Foundation
Omidyar Network Awards $1.8 Million to Bridge International Academies
People in the News:
Susan G. Komen for the Cure announces new CEO and interim president
Lumina Foundation announces new board chair-elect
W.K. Kellogg Foundation announces new trustee
Carnegie Corporation announces appointment of new Board of Trustee member
News and Trends
Foundations Increase Support for Climate-Change Prevention
As world leaders and environmental ministers prepare for next week’s climate meeting in
Copenhagen, a new report says large foundations have significantly increased their giving to
curb climate change.
Foundation grant making to fight global warming and similar problems rose from $100-million in
2000 to $850-million in 2008, the most recent year for which data are available, the study says.
While the dollar amount is rising, the number of grant makers involved in the cause is relatively
small, says the report from the Foundation Center, a nonprofit research group in New York. The
William and Flora Hewlett, Rockefeller, and 23 other foundations provide 90 percent of the grant
dollars.
The philanthropies support a variety of projects. They include efforts to cut greenhouse-gas
emissions, research into how impoverished nations can adapt to environmental damage, and
advocacy campaigns to change public policy.
The Foundation Center said that the growth in climate-change prevention dollars has helped
increase environmental giving overall. In the last 10 years, such giving has doubled, to $1.9billion, it said.
The Copenhagen meeting, which is a United Nations conference with the goal of crafting a
comprehensive international agreement on climate change, is also triggering philanthropic
commitments. Today the Dell computer company announced that it is giving laptops to 160
young people participating in climate-change discussions in Denmark.
Read The Chronicle’s article about the $1-billion pledge three foundations made to prevent climate
change and how despite investment losses they plan to stick to their commitment.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy; http://philanthropy.com/news/updates/index.php?id=10326;
12/4/09
***
Plan Counts on Private Funding to Curb CO2
Much of the money to fund a $100-billion-a-year effort to help poor nations deal with climate
change tentatively endorsed Thursday by the U.S. would be put up by private companies and
investors, not taxpayers, according to a senior Obama administration official familiar with the
proposals.
Secretary of State Clinton tries to break the impasse at the Copenhagen climate summit by
offering $100 billion a year for a decade to developing nations. Jeffrey Ball reports on how the
offer was received in Copenhagen.
But whether the private investments materialize will depend on decisions both at the United
Nations climate summit and well beyond it.
A bevy of businesspeople are attending the Copenhagen talks, looking for changes in climate
policy that they believe will open avenues for private capital to profit from bankrolling carbonreducing projects in the developing world.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday spoke of the U.S. and other countries "mobilizing"
$100 billion a year by 2020 to help poor nations deal with climate change. A large chunk of this
money would likely come from companies in the developed world buying "carbon credits" to
offset greenhouse-gas emissions from their own factories, said the administration official.
The purchase of the credits would fund activities that avoid carbon emissions in the developing
world: preserving forest land in Brazil, say, or installing solar panels in villages in Africa.
There would be some government money, which would go largely to projects unlikely to attract
private capital. Among them, the administration official said: building dikes or storm-warning
systems in low-lying, poor countries particularly threatened by a potential rise in sea levels
triggered by climate change.
The prospect of buying and selling many billions of dollars in carbon credits is why hordes of
bankers and investors are braving crowds and sometimes-violent protests to stay on top of the
Copenhagen process.
"That's the only reason I'm still sitting here in the Bella Center," said Abyd Karmali, global head
of carbon markets for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, referring to the conference center where
the summit is being held. "The key for us is, in the actual text, is there anything that's actually
creating the flow of private capital, and is there anything blocking private capital?"
Mr. Karmali is based in London, which has emerged as a center of the European carbon market
that has operated since 2005.
One hopeful sign in Copenhagen for people in the carbon-trading business is a potential
agreement to allow the sale of carbon credits produced by saving forests.
Trees consume carbon dioxide as they grow, and thus offset some of the world's greenhouse-gas
emissions. But the degree to which any agreement in Copenhagen spurs the sale of tree-based
carbon credits depends on a raft of arcane details. Among them: whether developing countries
have to implement tree-saving policies on the national level, or just in parts of their countries, to
allow the forestry projects within their borders to spawn carbon credits.
U.S. companies that emit large amounts of greenhouse gases -- particularly electricity producers - have been pushing hard for rules that permit the purchase of carbon credits from trees, since
those credits would dramatically reduce their cost of complying with any U.S. emission
constraint.
Mr. Karmali estimates the sale of carbon credits from preserving trees could generate about $5
billion by 2015, most of it from U.S. firms. Curbing deforestation, in turn, could generate another
roughly $20 billion in annual investments in developing countries, for instance, in technologies to
monitor tree growth and materials necessary to make the projects work.
Poorer developing countries, however, have seen little money from the carbon market, and
distrust of promised aid is high. "We don't want conditions" on how money from donors is spent,
said Henri Djombo, minister in charge of the forest economy and environment in the Republic of
the Congo. Too often, he said, donors say, "We will give you the money, but you do this."
The Obama administration official said it is fitting to have rules ensuring money is spent wisely,
adding: "We have to also ultimately be accountable to our taxpayers."
Wall Street Journal; http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126109783537196391.html; 12/18/09.
***
Study Says Few Foundations Use Data to Evaluate Themselves
While many foundation officials say their grant-making efforts are achieving success, they rely
heavily on anecdotal evidence and often fail to gather data about themselves and their work,
according to a new report.
In the survey of 191 foundation executives and officers at 155 grant makers, 76 percent said their
organization is effective at “creating impact.” But only 8 percent said they could point to specific
data to support such claims.
The findings were part of a study on foundation strategy by the Center for Effective Philanthropy,
a Cambridge, Mass., research group. The center provides, for a fee, assessment tools to
foundations, such as anonymous surveys of their grant recipients.
The report emphasizes that while foundations may see themselves as having a strategy, they
often fail to properly evaluate whether they are meeting the goals they lay out.
“Without solid data, on what basis can foundation leaders determine what is working and what
is not so they can decide whether to continue with a strategy or change course,” it asks.
In all, the center’s survey found 26 percent of respondents said they use “metrics” or other
quantitative assessment tools to judge all of their work, while 39 percent said they use data to
evaluate some of their work.
Based on its assessments, the center qualified 50 percent of respondents as “more strategic” and
39 percent as “less strategic.” The rest it said could not be categorized.
“More strategic” people were more likely to have a strategic plan that they regularly referenced,
communicate that plan to the public, have measurements to evaluate whether they are meeting
their goals, and were “proactive” — by, for instance, seeking out potential grant recipients.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy; http://philanthropy.com/news/updates/index.php?id=10374;
12/9/09
***
2010: Preview of the Year Ahead
If the headlines in 2009 were dominated by a single story, the near-death and revival of the
economy, 2010 is likely to see a renewed focus on efforts to meet the challenges -- and leverage
the opportunities -- posed by globalization and accelerating technological change.
Not that the economy, and certainly not the nonprofit economy, is out of the woods. In October,
the Chronicle of Philanthropy's annual Philanthropy 400 survey found that large charities remain
gloomy about their fundraising prospects, while the results of a recent survey by the Foundation
Center suggest that foundation giving will fall further in 2010 after a 10 percent decline in 2009.
The same survey suggests that most funders believe that nonprofits were not sufficiently
prepared to weather a severe economic downturn and that the crisis is likely to take a toll on
smaller, weaker organizations, leading to more collaborations and an emphasis on greater
transparency and accountability within the sector. We shall see.
If the economy does find its footing and the federal government is able to stop and begin to
reverse the alarming deterioration in its finances, nonprofits are certain to step up the pressure on
the White House for more assistance and leadership on a range of issues, from tax and regulatory
policy, to the environment, to encouraging public-private partnerships that truly support social
innovation. With meaningful (if flawed) healthcare reform a near-certainty, attention will shift to
the education arena, where hundreds of billions of dollars spent over decades as done little to
close the educational achievement gaps between low-income students and their more affluent
peers, between white students and students of color, and between the United States and other
high-performing nations.
Growing income disparities across regions and different socio- economic strata are also likely to
come to the fore -- especially if the economy slows or falls back into recession. As Boston
Foundation president and CEO Paul S. Grogan put it earlier this fall, "[G] rowing
inequality...threatens our optimistic assumptions about the future. The American Dream,
especially for urban families with children, is receding and the question...is: Can we rise to the
challenge to heal the growing divide?"
One should expect to see foundations and nonprofits answer Grogan's call -- and to employ every
tool at their disposal in doing so. The use of social media to drive engagement, awareness,
collaboration, and financial support for causes and organizations will accelerate, and it's quite
possible we will see the release of a "killer app" during the year that galvanizes new enthusiasm
for and investment in the work of the social sector. Of course, a higher profile for the sector
invariably will lead to calls for individual nonprofits to demonstrate their impact. There will be
pushback, as there always is, against the "quantification" of social change work, but that train has
left the station -- and 2010 will see more people hopping on board.
As revenue-constrained organizations continue to look for ways to cut costs and create
opportunities for their digitally savvy twenty- and thirty-somethings, an uptick in leadership
transitions within the sector will be another trend to keep an eye on in 2010. The boomers have
had a great ride and have done more than anyone could have imagined turning the nonprofit
sector into a positive force for change. As more of them retire over the coming months and years,
it would behoove us to reflect on the debt we owe them.
Philanthropy News Digest email; 12/31/09
Grantmaking News
Carnegie Corporation Continues Commitment to Supporting Higher Education in SubSaharan Africa
New Focus on Next Generation of Academic and University Leaders, ICTs and Libraries in Select
Countries
Following on a 10-year more than $100 million investment to strengthen higher education in
Africa, Carnegie Corporation of New York's President, Vartan Gregorian, announced today that
the foundation expects to make an initial investment of approximately $30 million over the next
three years in a new strategy that will strengthen sub-Saharan Africa's next generation of
educators and university leaders.
Grants will focus on three countries, South Africa, Ghana and Uganda, while a series of
complementary discipline-based regional networks will offer competitive training fellowships to
draw academics and researchers throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
Commenting on the new strategy, Gregorian said, "With the fastest-growing rates of university
enrollment in the world and research demonstrating higher education's positive impact on
economic growth, poverty reduction, national health and governance, Africa's universities are
making an increasingly critical contribution in helping to shape the discussion about the
continent's future. But if Africa's universities are to be truly effective in their role as leadership
institutions as well as in providing opportunities for students eager for knowledge and success,
they must maintain and even expand their cohort of highly trained and qualified professors and
academics."
Gregorian continued, "In that connection, the often inadequate preparation of those who enter
academia and the rising tide of retirements among Africa's aging ranks of educators present
problems that must be addressed. As the nations of Africa set their sights on being competitive in
global markets and hence, advancing national development and stability, they will rely more and
more on the power of excellent education to ensure that men and women across the continent are
ready to meet the challenges ahead."
Carnegie Corporation of New York is a founding member of the seven-foundation Partnership
for Higher Education in Africa, whose total investments surpass $350 million. The Partnership
was created to strengthen Africa's institutions of higher education so that they can better
contribute to poverty reduction, economic growth and social development in their respective
countries. Outcomes from partners' investments range from more and cheaper Internet
bandwidth for universities and the establishment of research and training networks in the
sciences and social sciences to the launch of a new Internet gateway for the collection and
dissemination of research.
Builds Upon Female Scholarship Investments and University-Strengthening
Over the past 10 years the foundation has invested more than $20 million to fund a variety of
scholarships and fellowships intended to increase enrollment and retention of women,
particularly in science and technology programs. Of the more than 5,000 students in South Africa,
Tanzania, Uganda and Nigeria supported through this work, many are from disadvantaged
backgrounds and from regions of their countries that are traditionally under-represented in
universities. In addition to financial support, Carnegie Corporation's initiative has included
efforts aimed at encouraging the retention of female students and leadership opportunities.
Carnegie Corporation's new human capital strategy builds upon the female scholarship work as
well as the foundation's ten-year commitment to strengthen African universities--a strategy the
Corporation pursued in collaboration with the Partnership for Higher Education in Africa.
New Directions
The Corporation's new phase of grantmaking to strengthen human capital will fall into three
critical areas: Investing in Africa's Next Generation, Supporting ICTs for Research and Education,
and Enhancing Libraries and Access to Information (see fact sheet for additional detail on
programmatic goals).
The foundation's new grantmaking strategy will be focused on three countries--South Africa,
Ghana and Uganda--and will also create and support networks through all of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Discipline-based scientific networks like the Regional Initiative in Science and Education (RISE),
administered by the Institute for Advanced Study, combines researchers and academics working
on specific scientific issues via five regional networks. The Consortium for Advanced Research
Training in Africa (CARTA), another foundation-supported network, is housed at the African
Population and Health Research Center in Nairobi and focuses on building and retaining world-
class multidisciplinary researchers in public health.
The aim of networks like RISE and CARTA is to create a new generation of African scholars who
know each other and will work together across national and disciplinary boundaries. By training
people in African-based institutions, and bringing them together for intense collaboration, the
foundation hopes to create a practical mechanism for researchers across the continent to work
and learn together.
Tade Aina, Carnegie Corporation's Program Director, Higher Education in Africa, said, "For
Africans to address their continent's complex challenges including deepening democracy,
nurturing tolerance, consolidating the protection of human rights, and fostering accountability of
public authorities, we and others must continue to nurture a rising generation of women and
men who will contribute to the continued growth of democracy and development on the African
continent."
Aina continued, "The grantmaking going forward is essentially a deepening and realignment of
our support for African universities based on the priority areas identified by university leaders
and stakeholders on the continent. It builds on the institutional strengths and reach of a handful
of universities working alongside disciplinary networks and using competitive fellowships to
produce more post-graduates in disciplines and areas identified by the universities."
FACT SHEET: Carnegie Corporation of New York's Africa Grantmaking
Priority One: Investing in Africa's Next Generation
To recruit, develop and retain the next generation of African academics demands that the
Corporation address "push" factors, which usually occur within an individual's country of origin
and inhibit recruitment, development and retention by pushing academics--or those considering
a career in academia--out of the profession and often out of the country. In this connection, the
foundation will also focus on the deliberate and/or unintended outside actions that "pull"
academics--or potential academics--to other countries or other professions.
Within this subprogram, the foundation's grantmaking priorities will be:
Strengthen postgraduate and research programs in the social sciences, humanities and natural sciences.
Attractive opportunities for postgraduate training and research, with integrated retention
programs, will help increase the supply of qualified academics and university leaders.
Create new and strengthen existing discipline-based regional research and training networks. The
Corporation has funded far-reaching regional networks like the Regional Initiative in Science and
Education (RISE), administered by the Institute for Advanced Study, which combines researchers
and academics working on specific scientific issues via five regional networks. Another recent
grant to support is the award to the African Population and Health Research Center in Nairobi,
Kenya to develop a Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) which will
build institutional and individual capacity by fostering multi-disciplinary research hubs at
African universities.
Create new fellowship opportunities for training and retaining academics and researchers. This builds on
earlier support for undergraduate scholarships to advance women and minorities. Grantmaking
in this area began with the Humanities Fellowship Program for Africa humanities scholars,
administered by the American Council of Learned Societies. Also, last year, a grant was made to
Kings College, London, in cooperation with several African universities, for establishing a
training program on international peace and security. Both the Corporation-funded networks
and competitive fellowships reach scholars beyond the three countries--South Africa, Ghana and
Uganda--in which the Corporation will focus its efforts to strengthen post-graduate education.
Strengthen leadership and management of senior academics and promote policy initiatives to sustain gains
of higher education reforms. Recognizing that senior university leaders are often appointed based
on their academic qualifications and are seldom trained to manage complex organizations, grants
will support efforts to improve the caliber and effectiveness of leadership and management in
areas ranging from strategic planning and budgeting to human resources management and
faculty development.
Priority Two: ICTs for Research and Education
To meet Africa's critical shortage of qualified faculty and academic leaders, and to support those
women and men who have committed to careers in higher education, will require expanding the
reach and enhancing the effectiveness of information and communication technologies (ICTs) as
a teaching tool in support of subject-based regional research and training networks.
Within this subprogram, the foundation's grantmaking priorities will be:
Increase and expand the connectivity of universities and disciplinary networks and deepen the use of ICTs
in teaching research and management. Even with the five-year investments of the Bandwidth
Consortium, an initiative of the multi-foundation Partnership for Higher Education in Africa, the
quality, availability and affordability of bandwidth prevents research institutions from taking full
advantage of the Internet. The foundation continues to support iLabs, a project of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology that allows African university students to remotely
conduct complex experiments in the same Web-based labs used by students at MIT.
Priority Three: Libraries and Access to Information
Libraries, like universities, are levers of change within societies. They serve a critical role in
improving literacy levels, and act as information hubs--often providing a community's only
access to electronic communication. African libraries are generally given a low priority by
governments and international funders and most have severely deteriorated infrastructure, stock
and services. The Corporation has been making major investments in sub-Saharan African
libraries and has leveraged additional funding from governments to rebuild public libraries in
South Africa and to revitalize the libraries of several universities on the continent.
Within this subprogram, the foundation's grantmaking priorities will be:
Create model university libraries to deepen academic research. University administrators have
identified modern libraries as a top priority, and the Corporation considers libraries
indispensable for nurturing the next generation of African academics and educational leaders.
Earlier grants have strengthened several university libraries, including new buildings,
automation and Internet connectivity as well as development of a research commons and portal
linking the libraries of six South African universities. This project included training programs for
staff to assist with high-end research and publications and to enable shared access to the
collections of the participating universities. A unique one-time grant to the Library of Congress
enabled it to work with digitization projects in sub-Saharan Africa and in Russia/Eurasia. New
work will support university libraries and research commons in Ghana; initiate a training
program for technologically sophisticated university librarians; provide technical assistance for
postgraduate training and research and expand access to free electronic resources.
Carnegie Press Release; http://www.carnegie.org/sub/news/2009_saharan.html; 12/21/09
***
Gates Foundation Commits $12.9 Million to College Technology
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation wants to help community colleges use technology to
improve and go beyond basic online classes.
The $12.9 million in grants the foundation announced Thursday will support a variety of
programs — from supporting teachers to using social media and creating virtually learning labs.
The foundation's leader of its college program says they are targeting the best new ideas for
improving learning opportunities for low-income young adults. The grants will focus on science
and math and affect colleges across the nation.
In addition to making online and digital classes better, the foundation wants to help create new
networking tools and education games to make learning interactive, enjoyable and relevant.
USA Today; http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-12-03-gates-college_N.htm; 12/3/09
***
ClimateWorks Is Carrying Out New Global Strategy
Hal Harvey had just graduated from Stanford University when he started a small company with
his brother to build solar houses in Colorado. The company did not last long, but the experience
gave Mr. Harvey ideas that come in handy now that he has become a leading strategist in the
nonprofit sector’s fight against climate change.
For one, it helped him realize how much can be done to cut carbon-dioxide emissions by
designing houses to save energy — a simple lesson, but often ignored.
Now, 27 years later, Mr. Harvey is the chief executive of the ClimateWorks Foundation, a billiondollar foundation that seeks to slow climate change, and he has gone global with that message.
Best practices — whether in construction, manufacturing, transportation, forestry or producing
energy — offer the best chance to halt global warming.
“Early decisions have long consequences,” he said. “The choices that an architect makes, a
developer makes — simple things like site planning or home construction technique — set your
energy patterns and your living patterns for decades.”
Mr. Harvey’s foundation, a little-known San Francisco organization, aims for big results in
faraway places.
Nonprofit groups in the Bay Area have, collectively, poured tens of millions of dollars into the
climate-change fight, some since the early 1990s. These include the William and Flora Hewlett
Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and the Schmidt Family Foundation, all
based near Stanford.
Also in the mix are the Energy Foundation, Mr. Harvey’s former perch, or the three-year-old Sea
Change Foundation, both based in San Francisco.
But ClimateWorks, founded 18 months ago, has provided a new focal point for the climatechange effort. It receives most of its financing from the Hewlett and Packard foundations and the
McKnight Foundation of Minnesota. It plans to give away $1.1 billion in coming years to help
create a global network of experts to promote improved planning and technology in selected
countries.
“ClimateWorks has emerged as a very major international phenomenon,” said Denis Hayes, an
environmentalist who is president of the Bullitt Foundation in Seattle. “What they are doing is
bringing a single-minded focus to carbon.”
Mr. Hayes said that largely because of ClimateWorks and the Energy Foundation, the Bay Area
had beome “a major center and perhaps the major center in the area of climate change.”
And that puts Mr. Harvey at the center of an issue that has provoked alarm around the world.
But his view is optimistic. “Climate change, unlike a lot of large-scale problems, is actually one
that is solvable,” he said. “It is also one where we know what we need to do.”
As world leaders gather this week in Denmark in the quest for a global pact to reduce emissions
of heat-trapping gases, primarily carbon dioxide, ClimateWorks focuses on step-by-step carrying
out of what it calls “best practices” in the key economic sectors and nations that can produce the
most carbon reductions.
For example, the foundation is backing efforts to upgrade cement factories in China, which
generate vast amounts of carbon dioxide. Cement production contributes nearly 5 percent of
global carbon emissions, Mr. Harvey said.
ClimateWorks finances the China Sustainable Energy Program, which helps hundreds of Chinese
cement factory managers adopt new methods. Among the experts involved are scientists from
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, who have long worked with Mr. Harvey on energy
issues.
“A lot of our work is on the technical assistance side,” said Lynn Price, a scientist at the
laboratory who had just returned from meeting with cement factory managers in China. “We
show how much energy and CO2 they could save if they implemented these measures.”
At a meeting with the China energy team at the Berkeley laboratory, Mr. Harvey said: “This is
very far from cosmic politics. This is also what makes the difference. There is no political
agreement in the world that is going to change greenhouse gas emissions if it doesn’t ultimately
translate into these kinds of programs.”
Mr. Harvey, 49, has short dark hair and a trimmed beard, a keen intellect and a native
pragmatism. He is quick to pull out a pencil and paper and draw a graph to illustrate a point, like
how costs can be cut sharply by reducing peak power consumption.
“Sometimes I get accused of being too much of an engineer,” he said. “But sometimes with social
problems, it’s good to subject them to math.”
After building a handful of houses and farm buildings in Colorado, Mr. Harvey returned to
Stanford in 1984 to get a master’s degree in engineering. Since then, the issue that has engaged
him most is energy. As he said, “If you don’t solve energy, you don’t solve anything.”
In 1990, he started the Energy Foundation, which backed conservation policies that have given
California one of the nation’s lowest per-capita rates of energy consumption. From 2001 until
2008, he ran the Hewlett Foundation’s environment program.
ClimateWorks grew from a 2007 report, “Design to Win,” financed by Hewlett and five other
foundations to analyze how philanthropists could combat global warming.
The study showed which sectors of the global economy produce the most carbon and outlined
steps to help reach the ambitious “30 by 30” goal — reducing annual heat-trapping emissions by
30 gigatons by the year 2030. Mr. Harvey expanded on that analysis to create ClimateWorks.
“We have the best data in the world on how to prevent climate change,” he said. “Everything
was ranked by magnitude, location and sector. It’s a systematic approach to problem solving.”
ClimateWorks gives grants to regional foundations. These, in turn, work with networks of
experts to promote the best practices in fields like vehicle emission standards, building codes and
energy efficiency.
Part of the strategy is to spread successful methods. The group’s approach is embodied in a chart
called “ClimateWorks Sudoku.” It grew from a sketch Mr. Harvey made illustrating his approach
to his staff.
The grid shows five economic sectors (power, industry, buildings, transport and forests) across
the top and six regions (the United States, China, India, Europe, Latin America and “Rest of
World”) down the side.
In each square, the Sudoku shows how many gigatons of carbon could be saved. For instance,
China could save 3.5 gigatons by improving power generation; the United States could save 0.9
gigatons with more energy-efficient buildings.
ClimateWorks is working in countries like India and China, which previously balked at reducing
emissions.
In India, much of the emphasis is on improving energy efficiency, said Jayant Sathaye, a
Lawrence Berkeley scientist working on an efficiency plan that could eliminate India’s blackouts.
In a telephone interview from Pune, India, Mr. Sathaye said, “If the shortage was eliminated, the
Indian economy would benefit by $500 billion over an eight-year period.”
William K. Reilly, former head of the Environmental Protection Agency and chairman of the
ClimateWorks board, said the foundation’s technical assistance could be as effective as
government agreements.
“Best practices make sense,” Mr. Reilly said. “We are asking people to do things that are in their
own economic self-interest and also benefit energy efficiency and the planet.”
The New York Times; http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/us/06sfclimate.html?_r=2; 12/5/09
***
The Packard Foundation, Looking at the Whole Ocean Picture
Preserving and managing the world’s coasts and marine systems have traditionally involved a
piecemeal process that approached each resource in isolation. Despite human activities changing
coastal and marine ecosystems, threatening their ability to provide seafood, clean beaches and
storm protection, there has been little coordination in coastal management among the many
interests involved. Meanwhile, ecosystems have declined, fisheries collapsed, and shorelines
grown ever more polluted.
In 2003, in response to widespread calls for better coastal management, the Packard Foundation
and its grantees set out to build upon a new, comprehensive approach for ocean and coastal
management. Rather than attend to coastal resources separately, ecosystem-based management
looked at entire regions at a time and took into account influences across species and sectors so
that the ecosystem as a whole could be more effectively managed.
As the sixth and final year of this initiative ends, the Foundation’s total investment of more than
$30 million in awards has supported 85 grantees working on this novel approach. Their efforts
have resulted in new interdisciplinary science to lay a foundation for ecosystem based
management adoption, innovative software and technical tools to help managers understand the
complexities of their ecosystems, and innovative research and management pilot programs in
seven places in the Western Pacific, the Gulf of California, and the Central California Coast. As a
result, a much broader acceptance of the need to manage coastal system with an ecosystem
approach now exists, though major efforts through institutional and policy changes are still
needed to make the practice common.
Although the Packard Foundation’s Ecosystem-Based Management Initiative is concluding,
ecosystem approaches are now integral in the way the Foundation’s conservation programs
work. To learn more about our Conservation and Science Programs, click here.
The Packard Foundation e-newsletter;
http://www.packard.org/categoryDetails.aspx?RootCatID=2&CategoryID=316#Looking;
12/11/09
***
Global Health Centers at Boston University, University of Manitoba Share $16.9 Million From
Gates Foundation
Boston University's Center for Global Health and Development and the University of Manitoba
Centre for Global Public Health have announced grants totaling $16.9 million from the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation for efforts to improve the health of mothers and their children in
developing nations.
CGHD will receive $8.5 million over four years for a large-scale study in Zambia to determine
whether a simple, inexpensive change in the way newborns are handled can dramatically
improve baby survival rates. As part of the study, half of the more than 28,000 participating
Zambian mothers will care for their newborns in the usual ways, while the rest will use an
antiseptic wash to clean their babies' umbilicus stumps — the small piece of umbilical cord that
remains attached for about a week after the cord is cut. CGHD director Jonathon Simon said he
hopes that comparing outcomes will create a powerful argument for healthcare providers around
the world to change the way newborns are handled. Cell phone technology, which has recently
arrived in Zambia, will be used to keep in touch with families during this crucial first week of life.
For its efforts, the recently launched CGPH will receive $8.4 million for a project to promote
maternal, neonatal, and child health interventions for underserved populations in rural India,
where high mortality and morbidity rates prevail. The project, which will run through 2014, will
provide support to the National Rural Health Mission in Karnataka state in South India, in
partnership with the Karnataka Health Promotion Trust.
"This new project should have great impact in helping to reduce mortality among vulnerable
mothers and newborns in India," said CGPH director Dr. Jamie Blanchard. "It will extend our
work on HIV/AIDS in India into the broader health arena."
Philanthropy News Digest; http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/news/story.jhtml?id=276800006; 12/10/09
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Omidyar Network Awards $1.8 Million to Bridge International Academies
The Omidyar Network has announced a $1.8 million grant to Bridge International Academies to
expand its network of primary schools and educate more than a million impoverished children in
Africa.
In January, Bridge International will launch five schools in Nairobi, Kenya, which together will
educate more than a thousand new students over the coming year. The organization's for-profit
model offers a sustainable, scalable approach to education by providing local school managers
with a complete "school in a box" costing only $4 per student, per month, to operate. With the
profits they make, the schools are able to help fund the development of additional schools in the
network. Over the coming years, Bridge International plans to expand into additional countries
in sub-Saharan Africa, establishing as many as 1,800 schools employing 15,000 education workers
by 2015.
On average, children in Africa perform in the third percentile academically compared to children
from developed countries.
"Bridge International has created a groundbreaking model that addresses one of the most urgent
challenges of the developing world," said Omidyar Network managing partner Matt Bannick,
who was recently elected to the Bridge International board. "A compelling example of highimpact entrepreneurship, Bridge International is not only extending access to education, but also
serving as a model of how others can ignite social change through for-profit innovation."
Philanthropy News Digest; http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/news/story.jhtml?id=277200002;
12/11/09
***
People in the News
Susan G. Komen for the Cure announces new CEO and interim president
The board of directors of Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, the world’s largest breast cancer
organization, today announced the appointment of Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker as chief
executive officer. Brinker, a breast cancer survivor, founded the organization nearly 30 years ago
in memory of her sister, Susan G. Komen, who died from the disease at 36.
The board also appointed Mike Williams as interim president. Williams served as the
organization’s interim CFO before the position was filled in early 2009. With these appointments,
the board separated the roles of CEO and President, which had previously been one position.
Lumina Foundation announces new board chair-elect
Lumina Foundation for Education today announced Dr. Marie V. McDemmond as the
Foundation's board chair-elect. She will assume the role of Chair of the Board at the annual
meeting of the directors in March 2010.
McDemmond currently serves as Interim Dean of Florida International University's College of
Education and is also President Emeritus of Norfolk State University (NSU).
W.K. Kellogg Foundation announces new trustee
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation today announced the election of a new trustee to its board of
directors, a new board chair and a new officer, as well as re-election of its trustees and officers
during its annual meeting.
Richard M. Tsoumas of Battle Creek, Mich., will join the board in January, bringing the number
of trustees to 11. Fred P. Keller of Grand Rapids, Mich., was elected as the new chair for a twoyear term, replacing Joseph M. Stewart, whose term as chair expired. Stewart was re-elected to a
three-year term, as were Roderick D. Gillum of Detroit and Cynthia H. Milligan of Lincoln, Neb.
Tsoumas is president and chief executive officer of The Planning Group, a Battle Creek-based
financial planning and investment management business. Previously, he spent 13 years in the tax
department at Price Waterhouse, where he managed the West Michigan Tax and Financial
Planning practice, and five years at the Kellogg Company, where he was director of international
tax planning.
Carnegie Corporation announces appointment of new Board of Trustee member
Governor Thomas H. Kean, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Carnegie Corporation of New
York and Vartan Gregorian, President of Carnegie Corporation, today announced the
appointment of former World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn to its Board of Trustees.
James Wolfensohn served as President of the World Bank from 1995 to 2005. During his tenure,
he made sustainable poverty reduction the World Bank's overarching mission. Under his
leadership the Bank became the largest external financier of primary education, basic health,
HIV/AIDS programs, the environment and biodiversity. Mr. Wolfensohn was only the third
president in Bank history to be reappointed for a second five-year term by the Board of Executive
Directors.