While my mind has been swirling around Wall Street these past few days, a few philanthropy bits have caught my attention.
Going to the Dogs- If you recall that a few of Leona Helmsley’s millions were left to the care and welfare of dogs, you might appreciate the Hudson Institute’s panel discussion (September 5) discussing the implications of her trust, its perpetuity, and the dilemma of estate taxes. The conversation moves quickly away from the dogs and on to more pressing topics of philanthropy and foundations. If you are keen on the sector, the panelist names may perk your interest – or quickly dissolve it.Tell me More- It always excites me to find new resources emerging in the area of transparency including: the forth-coming Foundation Review, the first peer-reviewed journal in philanthropy; the UK-based Intelligent Giving, a clever site and charity offering insight on how charities operate; and Acumen Fund’s announcement of the Portfolio Data Management System, hoping to set the standard for financial and social reporting data in development.
Events-The Clinton Global Initiative wrapped up last week with 250 commitments equalling $8 billion. The Chronicle of Philanthropy offers daily commentary on the week’s biggest events. Two exciting events are on their way in October including the SSIR’s Online Giving Marketplace on how sites such as DonorsChoose, Kiva, and Global Giving are changing philanthropy and Social Capital Markets 08 gathering entrepreneurs, funder, and social-business model enthusiasts on what works and what doesn’t.
International Philanthropy-Its a bit of a narrow world, so I’m always keen to find and share stories of what is happening. Global Fund for Community Foundations passes its one year mark and notes some of its progress in this Alliance article – but of greatest interest are the brief mentions of how other countries conceptualize “community foundations” and what in a countries’ culture and current climate might make these foundations more susceptible to success and sustainability.
Now I’m back to the rescue of the rescue.