4.20.15 US Nonprofit News

Apr 20, 2015 | News, Philanthropy Journal

Boys and Girls Clubs of America partner with Nestle, EcoTools encourages green makeup efforts, Blue Man Group partners with Autism Speaks, FMA Live! Forces in Motion goes on tour, Sippin' in Seersucker celebrates its 11th year benefiting Ogden Museum of Southern Art, and more.

News about grants, gifts

Cure Breast Cancer Foundation (CBCF) recently announced its 2014 charitable efforts ended with $725,000 raised to support the breast cancer research efforts under the direction of Dr. Larry Norton, CBCF’s scientific advisor, who is the Deputy Physician-in-Chief for Breast Cancer Programs and the Medical Director of the Evelyn H. Lauder Breast Center at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

In honor of Autism Awareness Month (April), the world-renowned Blue Man Group unveils a year-long partnership with Autism Speaks; the company pledges to give a $25,000 donation to the cause and will host at least one sensory-friendly show, suitable for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), in each of its markets. Read more.

A $5 million multi-year commitment from Raytheon to Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) will provide enhanced technology centers and support for after-school science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programming to children of military families. Click the link for more.

The Rady School of Management at the University of California, San Diego, has announced a $100 million commitment from Evelyn and Ernest Rady and the Rady Family Foundation. Read more.

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. announced the release of its 2014 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report, providing an expanded and enhanced review of Lowe’s sustainability objectives and the company’s progress during the past year. Lowe’s and the Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation gave $28 million to community organizations, and more than 41,000 Lowe’s Heroes employee volunteers donated their time and expertise to improve communities.

Eric Traut of the Traut Firm will give a $1,000 scholarship honoring one special student at the OC Bar Foundation’s Higher Education Mentoring graduation celebration on May 20, 2015. The student will also receive ongoing support and mentorship services from the OC Bar Foundation. Read more

News about people, groups

Blackbaud, Inc., a global provider of software and services for the nonprofit, charitable giving and education communities, has recently appointed Brian Boelsterli as vice president of Technology Operations specific to infrastructure engineering, within the research, delivery and operations organization.

Jason Franklin

Jason Franklin

Grand Valley State University President Thomas J. Haas announced the appointment of Jason Franklin as the first W.K. Kellogg Community  Philanthropy Chair at the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy.  Franklin will assume the nation’s first endowed chair focused on  community philanthropy June 1. Read more.

April is National Volunteer Month, and every year School on Wheels nominates volunteers to receive the President’s Volunteer Service Award. In 2015, 124 of their volunteer tutors will receive the prestigious award for volunteering more than 100 hours in a year. Follow the link for more.

A Better Chance, a national nonprofit organization that recruits academically talented and motivated students of color and guides them toward a variety of educational and leadership opportunities announced that Frank Clyburn, Richard Dantas and Hervé Tessler will join its National Board of Directors. To learn more, follow the link.

National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP) announced Blue Shield of California Foundation, Brooklyn Community Foundation, Needmor Fund, New York Foundation and Open Society Foundations as recipients of the 2015 NCRP Impact Awards, which honors foundations that have made a visible commitment to exemplary grantmaking, diversity and inclusion, and empowering and strengthening communities throughout the United States.

The YMCA of Greater New York has announced that Sharon Greenberger will serve as the new President and Chief Executive Officer, effective July 2015. She will succeed Jack Lund, who has served as president and CEO for ten years and will retire at the end of June, as previously announced. Click here for more.

For the second year in a row, ZERO – The End of Prostate Cancer has been named one of the best nonprofits to work for by The NonProfit Times’ annual survey. In the ranking of top-tier nonprofits nationwide, ZERO ranked 38 in 2015. In the ranking of small nonprofits, ZERO ranked 19. Click the link to read more.

For the 12th consecutive year, the Pulmonary Hypertension Association has received a four-star rating from Charity Navigator, the premier evaluator of charities in the United States. This highest designation indicates that PHA adheres to good governance, sound fiscal management, commitment to accountability and transparency, and other best practices, consistently executing its mission in a fiscally responsible way.

On Thursday, April 23, 2015, the We Are Family Foundation (WAFF), a not-for-profit organization founded by legendary Nile Rodgers, will honor U.S. Fund for UNICEF’s President & CEO, Caryl M. Stern, SAP’s CEO, Bill McDermott and musician Chaka Khan, at Manhattan Center’s Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. Read more.

The Rosenberg Foundation announced the election of Clara J. Shin, a Partner at Covington & Burling LLP, as the new Chair of its Board of Directors. Sarah Stein will serve as Vice Chair and Secretary, while Marco Hellman will serve as Second Vice Chair.  In addition, Robert Friedman, Chair and General Counsel of CFED, will remain as Treasurer. Learn more.

Jill Ashton has been named Director of Development for the College of Liberal Arts and Human Science at Virginia Tech. In her new position, Ashton will be responsible for overall fundraising efforts and the college’s strategic development plan.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles (BBBSLA) has named  Los Angeles business owner and philanthropist Laura Lizer as Chair of the Board of Directors. A member of the Guild of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles since 2008, Lizer joined their Board of Directors in 2010. Read more.

Representatives from the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) and Azzad Asset Management announced that Azzad will join ICCR as its newest member—the first Islamic firm to be affiliated with the group. Click here for more.

Non-profit SoldierSocks announced that Commander Rorke Denver will join its Advisory Board. The SoldierSocks Advisory Board provides counsel on ways to better serve and assist members of the U.S. Armed Forces.

The Nish Jamgotch Jr. Humanitarian Award has been awarded to Ric Elias, CEO and co-founder of Red Ventures, a marketing and sales powerhouse for some of the largest brands across North America. Click the link for more.

Tom Coughlin Jay Fund, a New York/New Jersey-based nonprofit organization dedicated to providing financial assistance to families battling childhood cancer, has named Lynn Chwatsky as Managing Director of New York/New Jersey.

News about opportunities, initiatives

The Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, in partnership with Born This Way Foundation, launched the Emotion Revolution initiative to build awareness of the critical role emotions play in young people’s learning, decision-making, and overall wellness. The initiative will begin with an unprecedented online survey of high-school age youth nation-wide, exploring how young people feel, how they want to feel, and how to bridge the gap between the two. Results from the survey will be presented at the Emotion Revolution Summit in October.

Nestlé in the United States reaffirms its commitment to creating a healthier generation by announcing today a three-year partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA).  Nestlé is sponsoring a bi-annual National Fitness Competition through BGCA over the course of three years to inspire kids to achieve tangible short-term fitness goals. Read more.

Actress and advocate, Sophia Bush, together with EcoTools, are encouraging individuals to make a small change in their routine each day, that combined can amount to a big difference in the world around them.  Throughout the month, the eco-conscious beauty brand and Bush will be sharing green living tips on social media as part of the Live Beautifully, Give Beautifully campaign. As part of the campaign, for each makeup brush sold $1 will be donated to Global Green USA, up to $100,000.

Global Impact is partnering with Counterpart International to offer a new service to corporate clients that will improve their selection of non-U.S. based partners. Counterpart International’s proprietary service is designed to support the success of corporate charitable investments by screening non-U.S. based organizations to ensure they do not pose a risk to corporate interests.

The Society of Professional Journalists is seeking nominations for the Eugene C. Pulliam Fellowship for Editorial Writing and the Eugene S. Pulliam First Amendment Award. Applications are due Friday, June 22.

On Saturday, April 25., SubCulture, New York City’s intimate new downtown performing arts venue, will be transformed into a radio recording studio, when the Young People’s Chorus of New York City conducted by Artistic Director/Founder Francisco J. Núñez sings the world premieres of five compositions commissioned for its Radio Radiance broadcast/digital new music series.

The SRI Conference is an annual forum for investors and investment professionals engaged in sustainable, responsible, impact (SRI) investing.  The focus of the 2015 conference will also appeal to philanthropic institutions and foundations eager to learn more about impact investing. For more, click here.

Bourbon Street Bar & Grill, the first full-service restaurant to open its doors to the work training program for people in special education, will be collaborating with Fullerton Cares Autism Foundation and Fullerton Joint Union High School District to provide opportunities for students to learn everything they need to know in order to work in a full service restaurant. Read more.

The Chester County Fund for Women and Girls in partnership with Minding Your Mind hosted Girl Talk, a workshop open to girls ages 11 to 16, and their parents on Sunday, April 19, 2015. Click here for more. 

FMA Live! Forces in Motion, is making its way to Northeastern U.S. middle schools this spring. Aiming to inspire students to learn and enjoy math and science in a compelling, fun and memorable way, the popular show is in high demand, having been performed before 400,000 students in all 48 contiguous U.S. states, as well as in Mexico and Canada, since its creation in 2004. Learn more here.

The Specialty Food Foundation is staging its second nationwide volunteer event, Embrace Hunger Relief Week. From April 27 to May 3, specialty food professionals across the U.S. will volunteer at local anti-hunger organizations to support the Foundation’s mission to help reduce hunger and increase food recovery. Learn more at specialityfoodfoundation.org.

“Sippin’ in Seersucker,” an evening of Southern art, cocktails, live music, food, fashion and shopping to benefit the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, will take place on Friday, May 8, 2015 in New Orleans. Sippin’ is in its eleventh year of collaboration between the Museum and The Shops at Canal Place. For more, click here.

The National Hispanic Media Coalition has opened submissions to the NHMC Television Writers Program. For more, click here.

Throughout 2015, Varidesk will gift over one thousand standing desks to numerous non-profits and educational institutions across the country. “Stand for a Difference” kicks off this month with a donation of 100 desks to the Coppell Independent School District in Coppell, TX. Read more.

The Boys and Girls Club of America brought together about 1,500 teens at the Annual Keystone Youth Conference, in Orlando from April 16-19. The teens came together from around the world to voice their opinions about the issues facing today’s youth and shared their inspiring visions for change. Follow the link for more.

The Ford Foundation has selected 13 fellows for the yearlong exploration, The Art of Change, which builds on the foundation’s decades-long commitment to advancing freedom of expression. To learn more, click here.

The Digital Design & Web Innovation Summit will be held in Los Angeles, CA. September, 10 & 11. There will be keynote presentations from VISA, The Boston Globe, Spotify, American Express, The Walt Disney Company & more.

 The Tom Coughlin Jay Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping families tackle childhood cancer, is celebrating Financial Literacy Month by announcing the success of its financial literacy program, the Financial Game Plan. The program is designed to provide financial education and resources to help New York/New Jersey families overcome the financial burden of childhood cancer.

Presented by the University of Colorado Department of Emergency Medicine’s Section of Wilderness and Environmental Medicine at the Anschutz Medical Campus, the free Coursera Foundations for Global Health Responders MOOC teaches responsible engagement during health care crises near and far.

Starlight Children’s Foundation launched their Play in May campaign to raise funds and awareness for the healing power of play that is provided to sick children by Starlight. This May, they’re running their biggest fundraiser of the year called Play in May running from May 1st to the 15th. Read more.

Denver’s Patxi’s Pizza’s “52 Weeks of Giving” fundraiser benefiting MHAC’s Check Your Head student arts program took place on Monday, April 13th. For more, click here.

Laundry Project has partnered with the Coin Laundry Association’s LaundryCares Foundation to bring complimentary laundry services to three of Atlanta’s neighborhoods simultaneously as well as Current of Ohio for Cincinnati, OH residents. On Saturday, April 11 and Wednesday, April 15, local laundromats transformed into ‘Community Centers for Hope’ by providing free laundry services to lower-income residents and families. Click here for more.

On Thursday, April 16th, Crystal & Company held a nonprofit breakfast seminar in New York City. The seminar included topics  surrounding  trends in risk management for nonprofits. Read more.

President Fizgibbon invited the public to meet Moore’s College of Art and Design Emerging Artists, Designers, and Scholars. The 2015 SENIOR SHOW: EMERGING ARTISTS AND DESIGNERS presents the best work of Moore College of Art & Design‘s Class of 2015.

For the sixth year, Brighton has launched a drive to help Soles4Souls. In one of their largest charitable campaigns, more than 187 Brighton locations across America are collecting new and gently-worn shoes between until May 17th.

212 Staffing, a global provider of Direct Hire Staffing and Human Capital Management consulting services, has announced that they will be making available their Intelligent Filtering recruitment solution to recognized 501(c)(3) Nonprofits, for free. Learn more.

Wyeast Laboratories Founder and President Jeannette Kreft-Logsdon has announced that the Oregon-based yeast producer will provide a matching fund donation of $100,000 to The Next Door, Inc., an organization that is dedicated to opening doors to new possibilities by strengthening children and families and improving communities in Oregon’s Columbia Gorge.

Adults served by Development Disabilities Institute are partnering up with students of Vic D’Amore’s American Studio of Performing Arts for the fourth year to produce “Dancing for Autism” on Friday, May 15th at the Kings Park High School Auditorium. Read more.

The American Cancer Society recently announced that Camp Bow Wow, a Doggy Day and Overnight Camp franchise and an Inc. 5000 company, is supporting the Society’s fight against cancer by becoming the first national sponsor for the Society’s Bark For Life events. Click here for more.

The Chicago Public Education Fund (The Fund) celebrated its 15th Anniversary alongside key civic and business leaders and dozens of Chicago Public School principals in a public forum on the future of public education.


If you are interested in having your organization’s news announced in the next News Bits, please send announcements or press releases to news@philanthropyjournal.com.

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