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Monthly Archives: June 2012
June 7, 2012, 9:00 am
George Soros Fund Appoints New Leader to Oversee U.S. Grants
Kenneth H. Zimmerman (Photo by Ed Kashi)
George Soros’s philanthropy network today named Kenneth H. Zimmerman, a civil-rights lawyer and former Obama administration official, to oversee its U.S. operations.
Mr. Zimmerman, who starts in July, is part of a second generation of leadership at the Open Society Foundations. Also next month, a new president, Christopher Stone, will replace Aryeh Neier, its president of 19 years. (See this profile of Mr. Soros and learn how he is thinking about leadership transitions now that he is in his 80s.)
Mr. Zimmerman’s legal work has focused on preventing discriminatory housing practices. He served as senior adviser to Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, chief counsel to former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, and executive director …
June 6, 2012, 9:28 am
Bloomberg’s Philanthropy Mission: Becoming Mayor of the World
Michael Bloomberg’s third term as mayor of New York may have been the product of his indecision over what to do with his time after leaving office—and a reluctance to devote himself full-time to his philanthropy, according to a profile in New York magazine.
As he contemplated a run for the presidency in 2008, says the article, Mr. Bloomberg came to the conclusion that his chances of victory were slim. With that dream deferred, the mayor found himself at loose ends.
“Up to that point, [philanthropy] had been an occasional hobby for him—something like flying a helicopter,” writes Gabriel Sherman in New York. “He needed more time to think, more time to plan. And it was at that moment that he came up with the idea of a third term.”
With that third term now scheduled to wrap up in January, the magazine says, the billionaire media mogul is looking to focus his foundation…
June 5, 2012, 9:00 am
Big Companies Slowly Increase Their Charitable Giving
America’s big companies are slowly increasing the amount they give to charity since making big cuts in their philanthropy during the recession, but they are still donating far less than they did before the hard times began in 2007, according to preliminary results of a new study that were released today.
The downturn has also reinforced a trend that has swept corporate philanthropy in the past decade, as more and more companies have decided to focus their giving to one or two causes rather than supporting a broad range of groups. Just 4 percent of the 144 companies in the study said they support a wide array of causes.
The study, by the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy and the Conference Board, found that the median amount donated by companies rose slightly less than 1 percent last year, to $24.4-million. While that was just a modest rise, it is still a 7.4-percent gain…
June 5, 2012, 12:01 am
$35-Million Effort Aims to Keep Children Out of Foster Care
Four foundations and two government agencies are committing $35-million to expand a program that has shown promise in keeping New York City children out of foster care.
The program, Keeping Families Together, provides housing and social services to vulnerable families. An evaluation found that after three years the vast majority of families in the program still had housing and all children who were in foster care at the program’s start were reunited with their families, according to a press release announcing the new effort.
The expansion is receiving support from the Annie E. Casey, Edna McConnell Clark, and Robert Wood Johnson foundations, along with Casey Family Programs, the Administration for Children and Families, and the Department of Health and Human Services. The new money will introduce the program to five other cities, which will be announced in September.
In other…
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