My badge at Foundations on the Hill last week sported a blue ribbon that read “First-time Attendee.” Ah, a newbie, fresh face, initiate. Welcome to Washington. My two-day Capitol adventure got underway Wednesday morning with a series of panels and briefings hosted by the Alliance for Charitable…

In the news business, some of the best advice I ever got from an editor was: “Show me. Don’t tell me.” In other words, the most compelling articles are usually packed with descriptions and real examples and people speaking for themselves. You have to go out and talk to people, connect with them,…

Ask anyone to name the greatest philanthropists of all time – Jewish or otherwise – and they will invariably identify people known for giving away huge sums of money. From Rockefeller to Rothschild, from Buffet to Blaustein, from Morgan to Montefiore, most of us have come to equate philanthropy…

Roughly 80 percent of the coastal mangroves around the coastal Colombian town of Tumaco have been lost through deforestation, urban development, and contamination from frequent oil spills. The area is a hub for industrial storage and transportation of petroleum, and during most of the last 15 years…

Over 200 foundations across the United States, next week will converge on D.C. to strengthen partnerships among the philanthropic and public sectors. In our fourth consecutive year, KDK-Harman Foundation, will participate in the annual Foundations on the Hill (FOTH) public awareness campaign aimed…

At the invitation of Grantmakers in Film + Electronic Media (GFEM) and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Games for Change is part of the curatorial team introducing a new theme around games that will run throughout the Annual Conference of the Council on Foundations. CoF is a national non…

“Los Angeles: America, Only Sooner” John Deasy, our dynamic new superintendent of Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), recently used that phrase to describe Los Angeles at a recent convening of funders. It is true that because of our size, diversity, and global leadership position that…

Let’s have a conversation about how to allocate a philanthropic dollar between the ounce of prevention and the pound of cure. Philanthropy must respond to existing needs. Hunger, homelessness, disease, and disasters cannot be ignored. When, however, should present needs yield to the future? Current…

From April 29-May 2, Los Angeles will play host to the 2012 Council on Foundations Annual Conference. As a member of the planning task force and the foundation community of L.A., I want to extend a special invitation to community foundations to participate. Jim Canales, president of the James…

As the new year sprints forward, I am struck by the amount of new thinking and new literature surrounding the topic of corporate social responsibility, particularly philanthropy. In meteorological terms, a new weather front has arrived and continues to generate unsettling conditions. As it is,…

As I am now days away from my one-year anniversary at the Council, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on the state of the Re: Philanthropy blog and where we go from here. First, I want to thank all of those who contributed over the course of the last year. You have made my job so much…

What does Jeremy Lin have to do with the future of philanthropy? When LINsanity comes to philanthropy from The Nathan Cummings Foundation on Vimeo. I got some insight into that question recently when I joined Ruth Cummings and Jaimie Mayer Phinney, both trustees of the Nathan Cummings…

As a librarian, one of the services I provide is digital content procurement and licensing. Part of that process is negotiating the most beneficial terms of use for the organization. Sometimes, however, there are terms that a vendor just won’t budge on, which means giving staff members news they…

    The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. We hear that phrase and understand that the most difficult tasks are accomplished one step at a time, with resolve and long-term dedication. And I would add, with the help of each other. At Dow, we see our 29-year partnership…

Every year, International Corporate Philanthropy Day is observed on the last Monday in February to “raise awareness of corporate-community partnerships and inspire businesses around the world to engage further.” But did you know that the three most important words in the previous sentence are…

I’m just back from an incredible visit to the Angkor Temple complex in Cambodia. It’s an area I’ve wanted to visit for some time, and I also have the added benefit of being able to see American Express philanthropic dollars at work there. Historic preservation is one of our company’s long-standing…