Stephan Schmidheiny, the Bill Gates Of Switzerland
on Nov 21, 2009 in Stephan Schmidheiny; Avina Foundation; Roberto Laureano da Rocha lives on the outskirts of São Paulo, Brazil in the impoverished Calmon Viana neighborhood, where most residents make a living as waste pickers, scrounging for aluminum cans and cardboard. But five years ago Da Rocha began...

Giving internationally via American intermediary charities
on Nov 14, 2009 in international; charitable; giving; non-profits; charity; intermediary; Grantmaking Americans have shown a growing interest in philanthropic causes overseas in recent years. But giving abroad can be complicated. Ensuring that such donations reach their intended target and are used effectively, are tax-deductible and don't violate an...

Charitable giving lowest in half a century
on Nov 8, 2009 in charitable; giving; non-profits; recession; charity; The recession has caused the biggest drop in charitable giving in the last 50 years, according to Charity Navigator. That’s particularly bad news for those charities that rely on year-end donations, notes the on-line charity rating organization.

Bill and Melinda Gates lobby U.S. for global health funding
on Nov 2, 2009 in Bill Gates; Melinda Gates; global health Bill and Melinda Gates made an unusual personal appeal to Washington officials, asking them to continue funding global health initiatives despite the recession and to commit to nearly halve the number of child deaths worldwide by 2025. "Government...

On Giving: Inherited wealth more often than not is horded
on Oct 26, 2009 in wealth; charity; philanthropy; giving; strategic Scholars of philanthropy have noticed some interesting patterns about super-philanthropists in the Bill Gates and Warren Buffet league. Inherited wealth more often stays horded. "People who make their own money, entrepreneurs, are the most generous...

16-year-old headmaster of the poor
on Oct 21, 2009 in Babar Ali; India; poverty; education; headmaster Around the world millions of children do not get an education because their families are too poor to afford to send them to school. In India, one schoolboy is trying to change that. At 16 years old, Babar Ali must be the youngest headmaster in the wo...

Pro Bono Volunteer Challenges
on Oct 19, 2009 in philanthropy; nonprofit; non-profit; volunteer; pro bono; capacity; ngo; There is nothing inherently new about volunteers donating professional expertise to “strengthen the management capacity” of nonprofits. It can be enormously helpful for a nonprofit to have access to the donated time of experts in everything from...

Rich Nations Cut Food Aid Funding
on Oct 12, 2009 in global food crisis; food security; global famine; food aid; humanitarian aid; rising food prices; WFP Tens of millions of the world's poor will have their food rations cut or cancelled in the next few weeks because rich countries have slashed aid funding. The result, says Josette Sheeran, head of the UN's World Food Program (WFP), could be the "loss...

A Heart for Refugees
on Oct 9, 2009 in refugee; displaced; Juliet Stevenson, Michael Palin and the Archbishop of Canterbury were among the first of thousands across Britain to put time aside for refugees as part of a campaign to acknowledge their contribution to the country. A group of charities – includ...

A Daring Dreamer in Malawi
on Oct 5, 2009 in William Kamkwamba; Malawi; wind power; windmill; William Kamkwamba dreamed of powering his village with the only resource that was freely available to him, wind. His native Malawi had gone through one of its worst droughts seven years ago, killing thousands. His family and others were surviving on...