MBA’s Get Schooled In Philanthropy

July 30th, 2010

Business schools are balancing their curricula by not only teaching students to make tons of money – but also how to give it away

  • Business schools have begun to integrate courses on practicing philanthropy into their curricula.
  • Students are taught the historical and technical aspects of philanthropy. They visit non-profits, track the influence of donations and trace the relationship between philanthropy and public policy.
  • The training aims to expand knowledge of philanthropy beyond grant writers and those who wish to work for NGO’s to people entering all areas of business.

Facts & Figures

  • More than 100 college and business schools in the U.S. offer courses on philanthropy.

Best Quote

“At some point in their lives, most of these students will either be a corporate donor or an individual donor and my class teaches them how to do philanthropy effectively. Most general MBAs that I’ve taught marvel that there is this world out there that they never thought existed, and they are surprised by how hard it is to give away money.” – Kristen McCormack, Professor, Boston University School of Management

The SEC Boosts Investors’ Influence Over Management

July 30th, 2010

In the lopsided world of shareholder voting, investors have to posses incredible gumption to effect any kind of change within a company.

  • In most companies, the management owns the majority of the stock, meaning that shareholders have little influence in a company’s policies.
  • The Securities and Exchange Commission is trying to even the playing field for shareholders, making it easier for them to effect change within a company.
  • The SEC is imposing nonproxy measures – like electronic surveys – to gauge whether or not investors support management. And yet, despite these efforts, because of money and knowledge, the management still wields most of the power.

Best Quote

“Time and again, we have brought opportunities [for mergers or acquisitions] to the attention of the board. Each time, he says, the suggestion was rebuffed or ignored. It’s been a decade of complete nonaction.” – Shareholder, Cadus Corportation

What Does Health Mean? Interview with Health Leads CEO Rebecca Onie

July 30th, 2010

rebecca-onie.jpg Rebecca Onie is the founder and CEO of Project Health, which recently changed its name to Health Leads. Health Leads is a TILE partner charity that operates Family Help Desks in medical clinics. These resource desks support healthy lives by connecting patients with key community and government resources. In 1996, during her sophomore year at Harvard College, Rebecca Onie founded Project HEALTH with Dr. Barry Zuckerman, Chair of Pediatrics at Boston Medical Center. A Harvard Law School graduate and a MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellow, Rebecca leads the organization in realizing its vision of connecting low-income families to the resources they need to be healthy. Here she is:

TILE: How do the issues you work on affect young people?
Rebecca: There is a link between poverty and poor health. To break that link, Project HEALTH recruits motivated college students that work with families to make sure they get the help they need. It is a transforming life experience for our student volunteers. It changes their way of thinking, it makes them view healthcare differently, and may influence their political views or choice of careers.

TILE: What was the catalyst for you to start Project HEALTH?
Rebecca: When I was a sophomore in college I spent six months in Boston City Hospital talking with doctors about what they would give their patients in a perfect world. The doctors realized that the absence of essential services such as jobs, food, heat, and housing was having a larger effect on their patients than the medicines they were prescribing. A doctor can prescribe an antibiotic but if a family is living in a car, they’re not going to be healthy.

TILE: What is the biggest challenge you face in your work?
Rebecca: The organization’s time and resources are limited so we have to make strategic choices as to how to deploy those resources. We have to decide which opportunities to seize. There is a very fine balance between pursuing exciting big-picture opportunities and also making the work we do on the ground better and better each day.

TILE: What’s the best advice you would give to your teenage self?
Rebecca: I wish I knew how much change a single person can bring about. I didn’t realize how powerful one person with a vision can be. The world needs leaders! If you have an idea about how to make the world a more just place, you should pursue it vigorously. Listen to more experienced people around you, but don’t take no for an answer.

TILE: How do you think young people can play a role in the changing landscape of philanthropy?
Rebecca: Young people are the future of philanthropy. When you’re starting to think about your role in philanthropy, ask yourself two questions: 1) What am I truly passionate about?  And 2) How can I get involved? The best philanthropy isn’t just about giving money away. It’s about being really invested in the work that you’re supporting.

>> TILE brings you exclusive opinions, explanations, and interviews from experts in every industry. To read more, click on Ask the Experts in the TILE Library.

Have a burning question or an expert you’d like to see interviewed? Just Ask TILE!

Haiti: Six months later

July 28th, 2010

Sean Penn joins the continued humanitarian efforts.

Six months later, how are things in Haiti? The truth is, I hardly hear about it in the media anymore. I recently saw my friend Anthony Lappe, who just got back from working on a film in Haiti for PBS. He said nothing has gotten better there, and in fact the level of devastation is mind blowing. 1.5 million people are still homeless. And with hurricane season right around the corner, sustainable relief efforts are more important than ever. Sean Penn is one of the heroic public figures who is changing people’s lives through a relief organization he co-founded after he was first struck by the disaster’s scale.

“In our case, we came down with the idea of spending two weeks and trying to help out,” Penn said in an interview on CBS’s The Early Show. “There’s something that takes over and it’s really an obligation because you see the strength of the people who have never experienced comfort, and the gifts that that can give to people like myself and to our country and culture. You see the enormous gaps.”

You can watch a great video about Sean’s involvement here:  http://bit.ly/bBxDg3

Activist movie stars aside, what can YOU do to help?

Several of TILE’s nonprofit partners are still out there on the front lines of this epic humanitarian crisis… here are some details:
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Global Fund for Children
In the aftermath of the massive earthquake that shook Haiti, GFC responded by immediately assessing the needs of their partners on the ground and sending emergency grants to these grassroots organizations for rebuilding. We are now in the process of assessing long-term recovery and renewal needs.
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charity: water
Charity: water has been on the ground in Haiti since the earthquake hit – they are currently working to to ensure 14 villages have clean water. Their work in Haiti is with Partners in Health in Haiti. PIH just published a 6 month report that you can view here:  standwithhaiti.org/six-months

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ACCION
With the help of ACCION, the micro-finance arm of Haiti’s largest bank (“SOGESOL”) was able to raise $700,000 for grants for 2,000 of their poorest clients. With these funds, Haitians have been better able to repair damages to their businesses and homes.

Tax Break And Debate

July 28th, 2010

Republicans and Democrats squabble over the extension of tax breaks for middle income families.

  • Debates over taxes and spending in Washington are prevalent as both parties attempt to address The Unites States’ ballooning budget deficit.
  • Democrats advocate extending tax cuts for the middle class while eliminating tax cuts for higher income Americans.
  • Republicans say that it is unwise to allow upper income tax breaks to expire, insisting that it will weaken an already unstable economy.

    Best Quote

    “Washington Democrats are poised to allow the largest tax increase in American history to take effect next year.” – Mike Pence, Republican, Indiana

    Baltimore Hires For Healthy Food

    July 28th, 2010

    Providing healthy food to Baltimore’s poor residents has been given a face, and a salary

      • Baltimore recently became one of the first U.S. cities to hire a “food czar” – someone who works to make healthy food more accessible to the city’s poor residents.
      • But Holly Freishat, Baltimore’s food czar, lacks a budget for major food programs and so spends most of her time raising grant money.
      • Despite these challenges, Ms. Freishtat’s paid position signifies a hefty improvement in the effort to provide healthy food to a city’s residents. Though many cities have food-policy councils, few of them have managed to implement lasting changes.

      Facts & Figures

      • Ms. Freishat is paid for 30 hours of work per week
      • New York, Boston, and Kansas City have also hired food policy directors

      Jonah Edelman Stands Up for Education

      July 28th, 2010

      jonah-edelman.jpg Jonah Edelman is the Chief Executive Officer of Stand for Children. His job is to work with the experts to identify the best opportunities to create better lives for children, and then guide organizations and volunteers in taking advantage of those opportunities. Stand for Children was chosen as a TILE charity because we believe in the quality of their work and their commitment to a better future. Jonah was kind enough to give us an insider perspective from within a major organization working to fight inequality and improve the education system across the country.

      TILE: What’s the most pressing issue facing our education system today?
      Jonah: The toughest issue facing us is the incredibly low percentage of kids graduating from high school who are ready to go on to college. This is a critical piece to the cycle of education, careers, and earning potential. Today, all the kids who aren’t ready for college and who don’t even graduate from high school face a steep uphill battle to succeed in life.

      TILE: How did this happen?
      Jonah: There are a combination of factors that have led us to this point: teachers who aren’t effective in the classroom, lack of funding for schools, no common standards for student achievement and teacher evaluations, and more. Every state in the country faces a different set of challenges. Unfortunately, when we stay satisfied with the status quo, we let down our children who deserve much more.

      TILE: What is Stand’s primary strategy for addressing this issue?
      Jonah: At Stand, we teach parents, teachers, and other concerned people how to support their kids and their local schools. We provide them with tools and show them how to lead their communities to a better place. We also work from the top down by helping pass new laws at the state level that will support the efforts of schools and districts to do more for all kids. The solution will come fastest when everyone is on the same page, working to help kids succeed.

      TILE: How do you think young people (in public or private schools) can be most effective in being a part of the solution?
      Jonah:             Part of what Stand does is show adults how to give voice to children, who can’t vote to effect change to the educational system until they’re 18. Children can be a part of the solution by talking with their parents, grandparents, teachers, and school administrators, telling them about what is working, what doesn’t work, and what they need to succeed. Kids can write letters to the editor or their state representative to share their opinions!

      TILE: What’s the best advice you would give to your teenage self?
      Jonah: I’d tell my teenage self to focus more on learning for learning’s sake and not just to do well in school – to learn what I’m interested in and passionate about and not just what’s assigned!

      >> TILE brings you exclusive opinions, explanations, and interviews from experts in every industry. To read more, click on Ask the Experts in the TILE Library.

      Have a burning question or an expert you’d like to see interviewed? Just Ask TILE!

      Former 1Sky Director Gillian Caldwell On Changing Climate Change

      July 26th, 2010

      gillian-caldwell.jpg Gillian Caldwell is the former head of 1Sky, a TILE Environment charity. She’s a film maker and an attorney who’s been advocating for worldwide social justice for 30 years. Since she began as the first Campaign Director in September 2007, 1Sky has grown to become the largest collaborative campaign in the United States, building a society-wide movement in support of bold federal action to tackle global warming. The 1Sky campaign now combines the force of more than 600 allied organizations, a full time team of 23 staff and 15 Regional Coordinators, more than 200,000 climate advocates and more than 4,960 volunteer “Climate Precinct Captains” covering every state in the country. Gillian was also the Executive Director of WITNESS, another TILE partner charity, so she’s a leader close to our heart!

      TILE: How do issues relating to climate change affect young people?
      Gillian: Young people will be the most affected by climate change. We are just starting to see the effects of climate change, and if we are unable to pass bold climate policy soon, every young person on the planet will be severely impacted by climate change.

      TILE: What’s the most important thing we can do to combat climate change?
      Gillian: The most important thing we can do to combat climate change is to get political and take action now. We need to secure strong federal policy (complimented by state policy and local climate initiatives) if we hope to prevent the worst effects of climate change and kickstart the green economy, but the clock is ticking.

      TILE: What’s the biggest you challenge you face in your work?
      Gillian: We are living in a world where coal and oil interests are deeply entrenched in everything. Convincing our federal policymakers that climate change needs to be our nation’s foremost priority in the face of billion dollar lobbying budgets of fossil fuel industries is not easy work, but it is vital to ensuring a safe climate and a blossoming renewable energy economy. I know we can do it.

      TILE: What’s the best advice you would give to your teenage self?
      Gillian: The best advice I would give to my teenage self is to dream big and pursue those dreams with all of my energy. Climate change is a big problem, but with enough people dreaming about the clean energy future that is possible and (here’s the important part) putting those dreams into action, we can solve it!

      TILE: How do you think young people can play an important role in the changing landscape of philanthropy?
      Gillian: Young people continue to find new and creative ways to fund the causes that are most important to them, and at the same time inspire others to get involved in the issues they care about. Young people have a big part to play in changing the landscape of philanthropy to fit the ways that they connect with people: especially online.


      >> TILE brings you exclusive opinions, explanations, and interviews from experts in every industry. To read more, click on Ask the Experts in the TILE Library.

      Have a burning question or an expert you’d like to see interviewed? Just Ask TILE!

      New Job-Training Programs Are Looking Good

      July 26th, 2010

      A new report shows job-training programs prove to be a great way to bolster employment numbers.

      • Job-training programs typically collaborate with specific industries (like construction and health care, for example).
      • Participation in a job-training program can significantly increase an unemployed or low-skilled worker’s likelihood of getting hired.
      • Certain elements from the programs contribute to their success, such as linking to employers and screening the participants.
      • These programs must identify employers’ needs, screen for suitable program participants, be able to fund the training and hire the staff needed to train.

      Facts and Figures

      • Program participants earned an average of 29% more than those who didn’t attend.
      • Job-training programs are active in 40 states.

      Best Quote

      “It’s very easy for someone to say, ‘We have a sectoral-employment strategy,’ particularly when more money may be coming from Washington. We really wanted to make sure we were doing this with our eyes wide open, to help scale the positive findings in the study.” – Nadva K. Shmavonian, President of Public/Private Ventures, which authored the report

      On Amazon, E-Book Sales Surpass Hardcovers

      July 26th, 2010

      The convenience of the skinny Kindle sways more customers.

      • Sales of the Kindle, Amazon.com’s digital book reader, have skyrocketed and Amazon reports that it is now selling more electronic books than hardcover editions.
      • In order to compete with other e-readers made by Apple and Sony, Amazon slashed the price of the Kindle almost in half - a move that increased sales even further.
      • The growing popularity of the e-book boosted Amazon stock, reversing a steady decline since the recession.

      Facts & Figures

      • Amazon has sold 143 Kindle books for every 100 hardcover books
      • Amazon will probably sell 3.7 million Kindles this year

      Best Quote

      “We’ve reached a tipping point with the new price of Kindle. Amazon.com customers now purchase more Kindle books than hardcover books — astonishing when you consider that we’ve been selling hardcover books for 15 years, and Kindle books for 33 months.” – Jeff Bezos, Chief Executive of Amazon.com

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