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"KONY 2012" REACHES MILLIONS THROUGH FACEBOOK AND TWITTER - - Invisible Children, Inc., a San Diego nonprofit, uploaded to You Tube a 30-minute video on Monday, March 5th entitled "Kony 2012." The video focuses on Joseph Kony, head of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity and war crimes including murder, sexual slavery and using children as combatants, sometimes forcing them to kill their own parents. By Thursday, March 8th, it had generated more than 44.7 million views and over 170 related video clips. On March 13th, NBC News gave a report from Uganda on the accuracy of "Kony 2012." In any case, this should show all nonprofits the sheer power of social media today. As an aside, many charities working in Africa are receiving new financial support thanks to "Kony 2012." - - The Wall Street Journal, March 9, 2012, p. A9. The Wall Street Journal, March 10-11, 2012, p. B3. The New York Times, March 9, 2012, p. 1. USA Today, March 9, 2012, p. 3A. The Dallas Morning News, March 9, 2012, p. 1.
VOLUNTEER VACATIONS IN 2012 - - Want to take an exciting vacation and do good at the same time? You can in various parts of the world by volunteering to help on a vacation you pay for. Three examples include being a ranger in the rain forest in Ecuador (11 days, $2,795 per person, earthwatch.org), getting your hands dirty in Hawaii (4 days, $1,775 per person, sierraclub.org) and teaching English in Tanzania (two weeks, $2,988 per person, crossculturalsolutions.org). - - The Wall Street Journal, March 10-11, p. D3.
VOLUNTEERING FILLS VOID IN JAPANESE DISASTER - - Japan is not a country known for volunteering. In fact, there is no word for giving in Japanese. But after the March 2011 disasters that killed over 19,000 and displaced hundreds of thousands more, Japanese nonprofits have sprung up and volunteering is now in vogue. A nonprofit group called Aichikara has been helping displaced persons to find homes and schools for their children. The government has been slow to move, but throughout the country, local leaders and groups like Aichikara have stepped up to fill the void left by a confused and slow-moving national government. We hope this foray into the world of philanthropy will not stop after all disaster relief ends. - - The Wall Street Journal, March 10-11, 2012, p. A10.
HAMON $10 MILLION GIFT TO UT SOUTHWESTERN- - The Hamon Charitable Foundation in Dallas has donated $10 million to UT Southwestern to assist in the establishment of the new Hamon Laboratory for Stem Cell and Cancer Biology. The Dean Foods Foundation has also donated $1.25 million to the Lab. The Hamon Laboratory is a joint research institute run by Children's Medical Center and UT Southwestern Medical Center. In addition, the Children's Medical Center has committed at least $150 million over the next 15 years to fund the Hamon Laboratory. This $10 million for each of the next 15 years is an expression of the Center's desire to become one of the top pediatric centers in the nation. - - The Dallas Morning News, March 6, 2012, p. 1.
OFF BROADWAY COMPANIES THRIVING - - Unlike most pundits predicted, Off Broadway companies are now thriving. This has been in part due to good fundraising, but also to some good business sense as to location. Companies like the Manhattan Theater Club has, for instance, acquired its own Broadway location. The Second Stage Theater is now housed in a former bank sleekly redesigned. The Theater for the New Audience has broken ground for a new $47.5 million theater complex. Other nonprofit theaters are also moving into more plush surroundings and this has in most cases helped their bottom lines. This is a good idea, we only hope it does not hurt the quality of Off Broadway shows. - - The New York Times, March 10, 2012, p. C1.
"BUNNY HOP" RAISES $320,000 - - On March 6th, the Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, raised $320,000 at a "Bunny Hop" held at FAO Schwartz, a mid-town toy store. The party at the store has been an annual one for eight years. At the party, kids made bracelets, danced to songs like Pitbull's "Give Me Everything" and ate much food. Part of the "Hop" is about teaching children to give back like their parents. For the adults who gave the $320,000, a bar was strategically located a few feet from where the children played and learned. What a great idea that should be duplicated in other locations across America. - - The Wall Street Journal, March 8, 2012, p. A23.
GIRL SCOUTS CELEBRATE 100 YEARS - - One hundred years ago in Savannah, GA, Juliette Gordon Low founded the Girl Scouts in her home. Today, there are 3.2 million active members and 50 million alumnae. Low, known as "Crazy Daisy" founded the Girl Scouts at age 51. She had suffered an unhappy marriage and had no children. Her first Girl Scout troop of 18 girls became her family that grew rapidly throughout America and the world. By the time of her death in 1927, the Girl Scouts had grown to 168,000. The Low house in Savannah is visited by 65,000 people each year. I have had the privilege of visiting it, and Lawson Associates is proud to have had the Girl Scouts as one of its clients. - - USA Today, March 8, 2012, p. 10.
MOVIES FOR KIDS IN MRI'S - - A 45 minute scan in an MRI can be a frightening experience for a child. The volunteer organization, Friends of Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital agrees and they have raised $45,000 to purchase video goggles that allow a child to watch a movie or other program while undergoing an MRI at Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital. Every year in addition to this generous fundraising, the Friends group makes some $135,000 in grants to the hospital. Congratulations to these dedicated volunteers. - - The Wall Street Journal, March 7, 2012, p. A23.
SAVERS, AS BUSINESS AND CHARITY - - Savers, a thrift chain that is growing fast to 225 stores, has deep ties to charitable organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters. The charities collect clothing, toys, electronics and house wares as donations, and, in turn, sell them to Savers that sell the donated goods in their stores. Recently, Savers publicly criticized Goodwill Industries that competes with charities collecting and selling to Savers. Is this a good program? Vincent Rodriguez of Big Brothers Big Sisters in Southwestern Connecticut thinks it is as the money paid by Savers to the charity allows them to mentor more children by having the funds to hire more case managers. - - New York Post, March 8, 2012, p. 31.
NEW ORLEANS VOLUNTEER EFFORT FOR HURRICANE AWARENESS- - In New Orleans, Robert X. Fogarty, a Nebraska native, heads up a volunteer nonprofit, Evacuteer.org. The purpose of Evacuteer.org is to recruit, train and manage about 350 volunteers every year to evacuate the city in case of a hurricane. Evacuteer is financed with private donations and small fundraisers. It is growing and they are trying to raise enough to hire their first full-time staff member. This is philanthropy at the grassroots that has a mission which can be so important for a city that must be prepared for the next big hurricane. - - The New York Times, March 7, 2012, p. A12.
FUNDING EDUCATION FOR ILLEGAL STUDENTS - - In Silicon Valley, a group of tech titans are giving to a fund to help undocumented youths attend college. Educators for Fair Consideration (E4FC), a nonprofit, gives scholarships, career advice and legal services to students who were brought to the US as children illegally. Among the Silicon Valley philanthropists are Andrew Grove, co-founder of Intel Corp., Mark Leslie, founder of Veritas Software Corp., and Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Apple, Inc. co-founder, Steve Jobs. The E4FC annual budget is small, just $600,000, but donors such as Grove have given more through his foundation last year - $1 million. All of us should note that about 65,000 undocumented students graduate from US high schools every year. - - The Wall Street Journal, March 6, 2012, p. A2. |
