Philanthropy

When Gerry and Marguerite Lenfest sit still long enough to accept the Philadelphia Award this week, it will be entirely appropriate to fill the air with honorifics and superlatives: The big cash behind the expansion of the Curtis Institute of Music. On track to become the most generous donors in the history of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. But the unseen hands of the Lenfests as civic catalysts have been every bit as deft as the ones signing checks. "He does not give just for the sake of giving.

The following is an excerpt from an essay by La Salle University student Olivia Armater, who with 900 other freshmen this year were required to write on the topic of "Economic Justice. " Armater wrote her entry about "philanthropy" in response to an opinion piece about the contributions of Bill Gates. PHILANTHROPY, to me, comes from the heart and mind. It is thoughtful and informed. The real philanthropists, whether a college student like me giving $50 to something I care about or Bill Gates giving $31 billion to alleviate world hunger, considers the worthiness of the cause and the impact their gifts can make.

Foundations, corporate-giving programs and charities in the region distributed at least $384.5 million in grants during 1997. Almost 80 percent of the money came from private foundations. The largest share of the grant money went for human services, for projects such as youth centers, programs that aid families and children, and employment training. Those are among the findings of a regional survey of charitable giving released recently by the Delaware Valley Grantmakers, a nonprofit organization that promotes philanthropy.

From a video camera in the helicopter, the refugee camp looks like a place of desperation - row upon row of tents in the snow, meager shelter against an unrelenting winter in Kosovo. One the ground, inside a cook tent, the camera pans past labeled cases of food, donated by Kraft Foods, a subsidiary of Philip Morris Cos. Inc. Refugees, including a winsome little boy, dig into bowls of steaming macaroni and cheese. The television advertisement, now playing during such primetime shows as ER as part of a $150 million goodwill campaign by the tobacco company, is evocative, and not just because of the emotional content in images of the little boy, a mother with a baby, and men, defeated and sad. Philip Morris began its philanthropy advertising in 1999, after several years of disastrous publicity for the tobacco industry.

  THE 11TH-HOUR avoidance of a government shutdown is another glaring reminder that the federal government is both broke and broken. But as the nation's leading grant makers gather in Philadelphia this week for the Council on Foundations' annual conference, they will see visible evidence of philanthropy's ability to produce results, despite budget cuts at the federal, state, and local levels. Philanthropy represents the independent, innovative investment of resources to build our communities and does much to help create opportunities and a better quality of life, here and around the world.

Everywhere around us are signs it is the season of giving. Every day brings reminders that it is truly better to give than to receive. Each of us has causes that matter to us. Each of us supports humanitarian, cultural or educational concerns, showing us wealth is gained through giving. Each of us exemplifies the parable of the widow's mite: The amount is not as important as the spirit in which it is given. But charitable giving is stuck in a rut. Even though donations increased 9 percent last year, Americans are giving only 2 percent of household income to help those we deem less fortunate - the same rate as 30 years ago. Despite a booming economy, we live in a time still marked by harsh patterns of economic injustice.

Thanks to the Microsoft example of paying in stock options, there are now thousands of people in the Seattle area with more money than they know what to do with. There are an estimated 40,000 recent millionaires in this region. Most of them are not old enough for an AARP card. They are part of a laid-back techie culture in which the dress code usually means fleece vest and Gore-Tex. Everyone is so environmentally conscious that the joke is that when fans throw garbage at the baseball team, the team calls a timeout to separate it into piles for recycling.

Janet F. Haas, a specialist in rehabilitative medicine and brain trauma who is the daughter-in-law of philanthropist F. Otto Haas, has been named president of the William Penn Foundation, the region's second-largest philanthropy. Her cousin, David Haas, son of John C. Haas, will become chair of the foundation. In a prepared statement, David Haas said the appointment of his cousin to William Penn's top administrative post represented "a natural evolution. " "The William Penn Foundation is well positioned to build for the future," he said.

Advanta Corp. and its chief executive officer, Dennis Alter, have long been major Philadelphia philanthropists, recently sponsoring "Cezanne and Beyond" at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and donating $15 million for the new Alter Hall at Temple University. But that deep well appears to be threatened by financial woes at the Montgomery County credit card firm, which last week took the unprecedented step of closing all customers' accounts to new charges as of June 10. The reason: Too many have not been paying their bills during the recession.

Feather Houstoun has climbed mountains in the Alps, discussed cattle breeding with Lyndon B. Johnson on his ranch, copiloted (with her elderly mother) a small airplane across Alaska, and raised a family. She also has managed state budgets, engineered social policy, pumped life into moribund city streets, and tended public transportation. For 30 years, she's been the rare public official who genuinely dislikes the spotlight. Which is one of several qualities that made her a natural for her new job as president of the William Penn Foundation, a local philanthropy with $1 billion in assets.

Given the growth of China's robust economy, the Chinese clearly know how to make money. They aren't quite as good at giving it away. In 2010, America's 308.7 million people contributed $290.98 billion to charity. In China, where the population topped 1.3 billion, donations reached a mere $16.4 billion, according to an official Chinese website, China.org.cn. "China still needs to cultivate the nation's awareness of philanthropy and set up a more complete system to develop the cause," Minister of Civil Affairs Li Liguo said in announcing new charity regulations in March.

Most people don't have the bulging bank accounts of Bill Gates or Oprah Winfrey, even if they share a powerful desire to change the world by donating money. That is where a philanthropic geometry known as giving circles, groups of people who band together to get the most out of their charitable donations, is filling a niche. "It allows me the satisfaction of knowing that my contribution is being pooled together with a lot of similar-minded individuals and helping to make a real positive impact on the Asian American community," says Michelle Gollapalli, chair of the Asian Mosaic Fund, whose members live in the Philadelphia region.

Measured in dollars, Melvin Sheppard's gratitude toward the hospital that saved his life stands at more than $1,500. Which doesn't include $487 his classmates at William Allen Middle School in Moorestown recently collected for the Pennies From Melvin campaign. The contributions benefit the neonatal intensive care unit at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, where Sheppard, 14, was born nine weeks premature and weighing 2.9 pounds. The inspiration for Pennies From Melvin "came from my dad," Sheppard says.

Nine companies were slated to receive Main Line Gives Back awards Wednesday from the Main Line Chamber of Commerce, honoring them for philanthropy and service in the region. The awards, sponsored by Independence Blue Cross, of Philadelphia, and Vertex Inc., of Berwyn, are based on cash donations, employee-volunteer time, and free services provided by the recipients. The following firms were to be honored: Wells Fargo, whose Wells Fargo Foundation gave $3.65 million to nonprofits last year; Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young L.L.P., a Philadelphia law firm with operations in Malvern; VWR International L.L.C., a laboratory-supply company in Radnor; the Addis Group, of King of Prussia, a risk-management consultant and insurance broker; USI Affinity, a Philadelphia insurance broker; Penn Liberty Bank in Wayne; Nolan Painting Inc. in Havertown; Comfort Keepers, Tri-County, which donates food to low-income seniors; and Wolfson Architect in Ardmore.

THIS WEEK'S birthday celebrant needs no introduction to native Philadelphians over 40. Newsman Larry Kane, an original anchor on "Action News," now a host of a Sunday evening show on CN8, turns 69 on Friday. Recent among his prolific career achievements is the paperback version of his first self-published novel, a story of murder and intrigue in - wait for it - the newsroom, Death by Deadline. As he ventures into his final year of his 60s (remember the 1960s, when he toured with the Beatles?

THE LOW POINT of Joey Vento's career probably was facing trumped-up charges that dragged him before the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations. He was accused of discrimination, but no matter how high the kangaroos in the court jumped, they couldn't produce anyone who was discriminated against at his neon-loaded, nurse-clean sandwich shop. At the time of the hearing, Joey told me CHR "violated numerous civil rights of me . " The high point of Joey Vento's career was showing up at Geno's before daybreak to prepare his iconic sandwich shop for the day's business.

  THE 11TH-HOUR avoidance of a government shutdown is another glaring reminder that the federal government is both broke and broken. But as the nation's leading grant makers gather in Philadelphia this week for the Council on Foundations' annual conference, they will see visible evidence of philanthropy's ability to produce results, despite budget cuts at the federal, state, and local levels. Philanthropy represents the independent, innovative investment of resources to build our communities and does much to help create opportunities and a better quality of life, here and around the world.

Camden is in the spotlight again, and this time money's on the line. About 50 philanthropy representatives will tour the broken city Monday, looking at how several foundations have invested millions of dollars in redevelopment and how they could do the same there or in other urban areas. The tour is part of the annual convention of the Council on Foundations, which is meeting in Philadelphia. It will examine how anchor institutions such as Campbell Soup, Cooper University Hospital, and Rutgers University-Camden can contribute to community revitalization, and how foundations can help through funding.

Ban spitting from all sports The latest major sports news concerns Tigers Woods spitting on the golf course in Dubai ("Tiger swept up in spit storm," Tuesday). He was fined and issued an apology. Now that spitting has been exposed in the sports world as a health hazard, let's ban it in baseball. I cringe every time I observe a player spitting, which they all do. I stopped watching games because I found myself cringing all the time. A pro at spitting is Jimmy Rollins, who seems to project saliva every three seconds during a game.