Tag: Philanthropy

Decaying Pillsbury mill in Illinois that once churned flour into opportunity is now getting new life

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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — It was the dog, stuck atop skyscraping grain silos on Springfield’s northeast side in 2019, that forced Chris Richmond’s hand.

The stray had found its way to the top of the behemoth Pillsbury Mills, for decades a flour-churning engine of the central Illinois city’s economy but now vacant more than 20 years. Rescue was too risky amid such decay, officials said.

The brief but precarious appearance by the dog, found dead at ground level days later after ingesting rat poison, represented the hopelessness posed by the vacant campus, Richmond recalled.

“That’s when I said, ‘This is just unacceptable in our community,’” said the 54-year-old retired city fire marshal, whose father’s Pillsbury paycheck made him and his brother first-generation college graduates.

A year later, Richmond and allies emerged with a nonprofit called Moving Pillsbury Forward and a five-year, $10 million plan to raze the century-old plant and renew the 18-acre (7.3-hectare) site.

Richmond, the group’s president and treasurer, vice president Polly Poskin and secretary Tony DelGiorno have $6 million in commitments and targets for collecting the balance.

Having already razed two structures, the group expects the wrecking ball to swing even more feverishly next year. Next door to a railyard with nationwide connections, they envision a light industrial future.

Meanwhile, Moving Pillsbury Forward has managed to turn the decrepit site in Illinois’ capital city into a leisure destination verging on cultural phenomenon.

Tours have been highly popular and repeated. Oral histories have emerged. Spray-paint vandals, boosted instead of busted, have become artists in residence for nighttime graffiti exhibitions, which more than 1,000 people attended.

Retired University of Illinois archeologist Robert Mazrim has mined artifacts and assembled an “Echoes of Pillsbury” museum beneath a leaking loading dock roof. This month, the plant’s towering headhouse is ablaze with holiday lights.

Perhaps the exuberance with which Moving Pillsbury Forward approaches its task sets it apart. But in terms of activist groups pursuing such formidable reclamation aspirations, it’s not unusual, said David Holmes, a Wisconsin-based environmental scientist and brownfields redevelopment consultant.

Government funding has expanded to accommodate them.

“You find some high-caliber organizations that are really focused on the areas with the biggest problems, these most-in-need neighborhoods,” Holmes said. “A lot of times, cities (local governments) are focused on their downtowns or whatever gets the mayor the ribbon cutting.”

Minneapolis-based Pillsbury built the Springfield campus in 1929 and expanded it several times through the 1950s. A bakery mix division after World War II turned out the world’s first boxed cake mixes.

There is circumstantial evidence that the Pillsbury doughboy, the brand’s seminal mascot, was first drawn by a Springfield plant manager who eschewed credit, not, as the company maintains, in a Chicago ad agency.

Pillsbury sold the plant in 1991 to Cargill, which departed a decade later. A scrap dealer ran afoul of the law with improper asbestos disposal in 2015, prompting a $3 million U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cleanup. After the dog’s cameo, Moving Pillsbury Forward persuaded the EPA to drop a lien for its cleanup costs and purchased the property for $1.

Now, all that’s left is to sweep up a the remaining asbestos and lead paint chips before pulling down more than 500,000 square feet (46,450 square meters) of factory, including a 242-foot (73.8-meter) headhouse that’s the city’s third-tallest structure and 160 silos, four abreast and standing 100 feet (30.5 meters).

“It’s daunting. Everything about this place is daunting,” Richmond concedes. “But a journey of 1,000 miles starts with the first step, right?”

The timing is right. There is more money than ever available to mop up America’s left-behinds, according to Holmes.

The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act included $1.2 billion for brownfields cleanup, four times the typical annual allotment The Pillsbury group wants $2.6 million of the total added to what the group already has been promised by the federal, state and Springfield governments.

The application plays up the intangible benefits: economic and environmental justice availing the 12,000 people who live within 1 mile (1.61 kilometers) of the plant, only 25% of whom have a high school diploma and whose median household income is $25,000.

“It’s a tough sell but at some point, there are enough people who have a vision for what it could be that that’s a powerful incentive,” Poskin said. “It isn’t going to be anything until what’s there is gone. No developer is going to take on a $10 million cleanup job.”

The group also set out to preserve memories of the place they are working to tear down. Ex-workers and neighbors have clamored for spots in ongoing tours and posed for group photos.

In a historical seniority list on display, next to “Jackson, Ernest, 1937,” is the message, “Hi Grandpa. We are visiting your workplace of 42 yrs.” Richmond and Mazrim have collected more than a dozen oral histories from past employees. Photographers are documenting what remains for historical context.

And it’s become an unlikely canvas. Minneapolis-based graffiti artists who tag their work “Shock” and “Static” were surreptitiously decorating the place in September when Richmond and Mazrim confronted them. Instead of pressing a trespassing charge, Richmond invited them to stage an exhibition. The nighttime November showing proved so popular that Richmond added a second date.

Artist Eric Rieger, known to fans as HOTTEA, also took part, creating in a “cathedral-like” setting a huge, rectangular grid of black-light-lit neon strings of yarn suspended from the ceiling. His goal was “a sense of really positive energy” reminiscent of the fond memories employees experienced.

“They were so enthusiastic and that’s rare to find nowadays,” Rieger said the night of the first exhibit Nov. 9. “I really respect what they did for this community because they’re the backbone of America — they were feeding America.”

___

Associated Press researcher Randy Herschaft in New York contributed.

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December 24, 2023
Decaying Pillsbury mill in Illinois that once churned flour into opportunity is now getting new life

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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — It was the dog, stuck atop skyscraping grain silos on Springfield’s northeast side in 2019, that forced Chris Richmond’s hand.

The stray had found its way to the top of the behemoth Pillsbury Mills, for decades a flour-churning engine of the central Illinois city’s economy but now vacant more than 20 years. Rescue was too risky amid such decay, officials said.

The brief but precarious appearance by the dog, found dead at ground level days later after ingesting rat poison, represented the hopelessness posed by the vacant campus, Richmond recalled.

“That’s when I said, ‘This is just unacceptable in our community,’” said the 54-year-old retired city fire marshal, whose father’s Pillsbury paycheck made him and his brother first-generation college graduates.

A year later, Richmond and allies emerged with a nonprofit called Moving Pillsbury Forward and a five-year, $10 million plan to raze the century-old plant and renew the 18-acre (7.3-hectare) site.

Richmond, the group’s president and treasurer, vice president Polly Poskin and secretary Tony DelGiorno have $6 million in commitments and targets for collecting the balance.

Having already razed two structures, the group expects the wrecking ball to swing even more feverishly next year. Next door to a railyard with nationwide connections, they envision a light industrial future.

Meanwhile, Moving Pillsbury Forward has managed to turn the decrepit site in Illinois’ capital city into a leisure destination verging on cultural phenomenon.

Tours have been highly popular and repeated. Oral histories have emerged. Spray-paint vandals, boosted instead of busted, have become artists in residence for nighttime graffiti exhibitions, which more than 1,000 people attended.

Retired University of Illinois archeologist Robert Mazrim has mined artifacts and assembled an “Echoes of Pillsbury” museum beneath a leaking loading dock roof. This month, the plant’s towering headhouse is ablaze with holiday lights.

Perhaps the exuberance with which Moving Pillsbury Forward approaches its task sets it apart. But in terms of activist groups pursuing such formidable reclamation aspirations, it’s not unusual, said David Holmes, a Wisconsin-based environmental scientist and brownfields redevelopment consultant.

Government funding has expanded to accommodate them.

“You find some high-caliber organizations that are really focused on the areas with the biggest problems, these most-in-need neighborhoods,” Holmes said. “A lot of times, cities (local governments) are focused on their downtowns or whatever gets the mayor the ribbon cutting.”

Minneapolis-based Pillsbury built the Springfield campus in 1929 and expanded it several times through the 1950s. A bakery mix division after World War II turned out the world’s first boxed cake mixes.

There is circumstantial evidence that the Pillsbury doughboy, the brand’s seminal mascot, was first drawn by a Springfield plant manager who eschewed credit, not, as the company maintains, in a Chicago ad agency.

Pillsbury sold the plant in 1991 to Cargill, which departed a decade later. A scrap dealer ran afoul of the law with improper asbestos disposal in 2015, prompting a $3 million U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cleanup. After the dog’s cameo, Moving Pillsbury Forward persuaded the EPA to drop a lien for its cleanup costs and purchased the property for $1.

Now, all that’s left is to sweep up a the remaining asbestos and lead paint chips before pulling down more than 500,000 square feet (46,450 square meters) of factory, including a 242-foot (73.8-meter) headhouse that’s the city’s third-tallest structure and 160 silos, four abreast and standing 100 feet (30.5 meters).

“It’s daunting. Everything about this place is daunting,” Richmond concedes. “But a journey of 1,000 miles starts with the first step, right?”

The timing is right. There is more money than ever available to mop up America’s left-behinds, according to Holmes.

The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act included $1.2 billion for brownfields cleanup, four times the typical annual allotment The Pillsbury group wants $2.6 million of the total added to what the group already has been promised by the federal, state and Springfield governments.

The application plays up the intangible benefits: economic and environmental justice availing the 12,000 people who live within 1 mile (1.61 kilometers) of the plant, only 25% of whom have a high school diploma and whose median household income is $25,000.

“It’s a tough sell but at some point, there are enough people who have a vision for what it could be that that’s a powerful incentive,” Poskin said. “It isn’t going to be anything until what’s there is gone. No developer is going to take on a $10 million cleanup job.”

The group also set out to preserve memories of the place they are working to tear down. Ex-workers and neighbors have clamored for spots in ongoing tours and posed for group photos.

In a historical seniority list on display, next to “Jackson, Ernest, 1937,” is the message, “Hi Grandpa. We are visiting your workplace of 42 yrs.” Richmond and Mazrim have collected more than a dozen oral histories from past employees. Photographers are documenting what remains for historical context.

And it’s become an unlikely canvas. Minneapolis-based graffiti artists who tag their work “Shock” and “Static” were surreptitiously decorating the place in September when Richmond and Mazrim confronted them. Instead of pressing a trespassing charge, Richmond invited them to stage an exhibition. The nighttime November showing proved so popular that Richmond added a second date.

Artist Eric Rieger, known to fans as HOTTEA, also took part, creating in a “cathedral-like” setting a huge, rectangular grid of black-light-lit neon strings of yarn suspended from the ceiling. His goal was “a sense of really positive energy” reminiscent of the fond memories employees experienced.

“They were so enthusiastic and that’s rare to find nowadays,” Rieger said the night of the first exhibit Nov. 9. “I really respect what they did for this community because they’re the backbone of America — they were feeding America.”

___

Associated Press researcher Randy Herschaft in New York contributed.

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December 24, 2023
New migrants face fear and loneliness. A town on the Great Plains has a storied support network

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FORT MORGAN, Colo. — Magdalena Simon’s only consolation after immigration officers handcuffed and led her husband away was the contents of his wallet, a few bills.

The hopes that had pushed her to trudge thousands of miles from Guatemala in 2019, her son’s small frame clutched to her chest, ceded to despair and loneliness in Fort Morgan, a ranching outpost on Colorado’s eastern plains, where some locals stared at her too long and the wind howls so fiercely it once blew the doors half off a hotel.

The pregnant Simon tried to mask the despair every morning when her toddlers asked, “Where’s papa?”

To millions of migrants who have crossed the U.S. southern border in the past few years, stepping off greyhound buses in places across America, such feelings can be constant companions. What Simon would find in this unassuming city of a little more than 11,400, however, was a community that pulled her in, connecting her with legal council, charities, schools and soon friends, a unique support network built by generations of immigrants.

In this small town, migrants are building quiet lives, far from big cities like New York, Chicago and Denver that have struggled to house asylum-seekers and from the halls of Congress where their futures are bandied about in negotiations.

The Fort Morgan migrant community has become a boon for newcomers, nearly all of whom arrive from perilous journeys to new challenges: pursuing asylum cases; finding a paycheck big enough for food, an attorney and a roof; placing their kids in school; and navigating a language barrier, all while facing the threat of deportation.

The United Nations used the community, 80 miles (129 kilometers) west of Denver, as a case study for rural refugee integration after a thousand Somalis arrived to work in meatpacking plants in the late 2000s. In 2022, grassroots groups sent migrants living in mobile homes to Congress to tell their stories.

In the last year, hundreds more migrants have arrived in Morgan County. More than 30 languages are spoken in Fort Morgan’s only high school, which has translators for the most common languages and a phone service for others. On Sundays, Spanish is heard from the pulpits of six churches.

The demographic shift in recent decades has forced the community to adapt: Local organizations hold monthly support groups, train students and adults about their rights, teach others how to drive, ensure kids are in school and direct people to immigration attorneys.

Simon herself now tells her story to those stepping off buses. The community can’t wave away the burdens, but they can make them lighter.

“It’s not like home where you have your parents and all of your family around you,” Simon tells those she meets in grocery stores and school pickup lines. “If you run into a problem, you need to find your own family.”

The work has grown amid negotiations in Washington, D.C., on a deal that could toughen asylum protocols and bolster border enforcement.

On a recent Sunday, advocacy groups organized a posada, a Mexican celebration of the biblical Joseph and Mary seeking shelter for Mary to give birth and being turned away until they were given the stable.

Before marching down the street singing a song adaption in which migrants are seeking shelter instead of Joseph and Mary, participants signed letters urging Colorado’s two Democratic senators and Republican U.S. Rep. Ken Buck to reject stiffer asylum rules.

A century ago, it was sugar beet production that brought German and Russian migration to the area. Now, many migrants work inside dairy plants.

When area businesses were raided several times in the 2000s, friends disappeared overnight, seats sat empty in schools and gaps opened on factory lines.

“That really changed the the understanding of how deeply embedded migrants are in community,” said Jennifer Piper of American Friends Service Committee, which organized the posada celebration.

Guadalupe “Lupe” Lopez Chavez, who arrived in the U.S. alone in 1998 from Guatemala at age 16, spends long hours working with migrants, including helping connect Simon to a lawyer after her husband was detained.

One recent Saturday, Lopez Chavez sat in the low-ceilinged office of One Morgan County, a nearly 20-year-old migration nonprofit. In a folding chair, Maria Ramirez sifted through manila folders dated November 2023, when she’d arrived in the U.S.

Ramirez fled central Mexico, where cartel violence claimed her younger brother’s life, and asked Lopez Chavez how she could get health care. Ramirez’s 4-year-old daughter — who pranced behind her mother, blowing bubbles and popping the ones that landed in her brown curls — has a lung condition.

Ramirez said she would work anywhere to move from the living room they sleep in, with just a blanket on the floor as cushioning.

In the offices resembling a hostel’s well-loved communal space, Lopez Chavez cautioned Ramirez to consult a lawyer before applying for health care. Sitting aside Ramirez were two settled migrants offering support and advice.

“A lot of stuff that you heard in Mexico (about the U.S.) was you couldn’t walk on the streets, you had to live in the shadows, you’d be targeted,” said Ramirez. “It’s beautiful to come into a community that’s united.”

Lopez Chavez works with new migrants because she remembers shackles snapping around her ankles after she was stopped for a traffic violation in 2012 and turned over to the U.S. immigration authorities.

“I just wanted to leave there because I’d never been in a cage before,” Lopez Chavez said in an interview, her eyes filling with tears.

At her first court hearing, Lopez Chavez and her husband stood alone. At her second hearing, after Lopez Chavez was connected to the community, she was flanked by new friends. That wall of support allowed her to keep her chin up as she fought her immigration case before being granted residency last year.

Lopez Chavez now works to cultivate that strength across the community.

“I don’t want any more families to go through what we went through,” said Lopez Chavez, who also encourages others to tell their stories. “Those examples give people the idea: If they can manage their case and win, maybe I can too.”

In Fort Morgan, train tracks divide a mobile home park, where many migrants live, and the city’s older homes. Some older migrants see new arrivals as getting better treatment by the U.S. and feel that is unfair. The community can’t solve every challenge, and hasn’t laid the last brick on cultural bridges between the diverse communities.

But at the posada event, crowded in the One Morgan County offices, the assurances of community itself showed through the eyes of partygoers as children in cultural regalia danced traditional Mexican dances.

Among those bouncing around the long room was 7-year-old Francisco Mateo Simon. He doesn’t remember the journey to the U.S., but his mother, Magdalena, does.

She remembers how ill he became as she carried him the last miles to the border. Now he spits out armadillo facts between the nubs of incoming front teeth in their mobile home, then points to his favorite ornament on their white, plastic Christmas tree.

“That’s our brand new tree,” said his mother, as her eldest daughter practiced English with a kids’ book.

“It’s new,” she repeated, “It’s our first new tree because in the past we’ve only had trees from the thrift store.”

___

Bedayn is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

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December 23, 2023
Custom made by Tulane students, mobility chairs help special needs toddlers get moving

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NEW ORLEANS — At 19 months old, Elijah Jack, born with no femur bone in one leg and a short femur in the other, is unable to walk on his own like most toddlers his age. Another 19-month-old, Freya Baudoin, born prematurely at 28 weeks and delayed in her mobility, has finally taken her first step.

Special needs children like these often take longer than most to become independently mobile, which can be a hardship for parents and others who care for them. Elijah is often carried because of his limb difference and clubfeet, meaning that instead of being straight, his feet are twisted inward and his toes point downward.

As a result, getting around on his own is a challenge.

That was until this past Spring. Elijah was one of the first recipients of a specially designed rolling chair built by a team of biomedical engineering students at Tulane University. Today, Elijah has mastered getting around on wheels – turning, stopping and steering all on his own.

“He loves his chair,” said Crystal Jack, Elijah’s mom. “So, I get a lot of things done because I know in his chair, he’s safe. He know how to go around the house with it and everything, so I get a lot of things done now.”

Before the chair, Jack said her son was able to scoot on the floor to get where he needed to go but the chair offers a whole new level of independence.

“Like I said we come a long way, but I’m blessed to have him,” Jack said, smiling warmly as he moved back and forth around the living room of her mother’s home in Ventress, Louisiana.

The Tulane students partnered with the nonprofit MakeGood in 2022 to design and produce the chairs to help toddlers (roughly ages 1-4) build independence and strength, and for some, prepare for a real wheelchair. While it remains difficult to access precise numbers for total wheelchair use among children, there were about 2.8 million wheelchair users in the U.S. in 2002, of whom 121,000 were under 15 years of age, according to the US Census.

MakeGood is the New Orleans area coordinator for TOM Global, an Israeli nonprofit that combines modern design and digital manufacturing to fulfill neglected needs of people with disabilities and limitations. TOM stands for Tikkun Olam, which is Hebrew for “repairing the world.”

The students partnered with the nonprofits as part of a service-learning project — a graduation requirement at Tulane. But many say they had no idea when the project started the depth of impact their chairs would make in the lives of children in the community.

Dylan Lucia, a graduate student at Tulane from the San Diego, California area, said he chose the field of biomedical engineering to help people and this project has manifested that.

“Seeing that direct kind of patient feedback and seeing how much these (chairs) were improving their lives and helping them become a more independent person, even as a small toddler … like, it was really, really endearing to see something like that and to see the positive change,” Lucia said.

The chairs are particularly helpful for families whose children will eventually need wheelchairs. Noam Platt, director of MakeGood, said insurance companies typically don’t cover the cost of a wheelchair for a child unless there is sufficient evidence that the child can use it effectively.

“These devices are used to create that evidence that their quality of life will be improved so they can get maybe a more durable assistive technology,” Platt said.

Freya’s chair was one of five made throughout several weekends early this fall at Tulane’s Scot Ackerman MakerSpace, an enormous workshop with laser cutters, 3D printers and drilling and sewing equipment.

Students applied padding and safety straps to the chairs, and some required modifications to accommodate the needs of the children receiving them. For instance, Freya’s chair needed a wider strap to help secure her torso, and another patient needed a space behind the chair big enough to hold his breathing vent. Freya’s chair also had a bar added to the back, so that she could push it like a stroller. She took her first steps in early December after working with her physical therapist and her chair.

There’s no word on how long Freya will have to use the chair but her mother said it has been more than a blessing.

“At first, we thought the muscle tone in her ankles wasn’t strong enough for her to walk at all, but the neurologists recently told us everything is looking good and she should be walking on her own or with limited assistance soon,” said her mom, Heather Hampton, of Metairie, Louisiana.

Hampton said Freya’s able to push the chair like a stroller on her own. She wishes they could’ve gotten it sooner but understands the adjustments that needed to be made.

“We’re just happy that she’ll ultimately be able to get around and walk independently,” Hampton said.

Platt said the mobility chairs’ original design and plans came from TOM Global but the parts were purchased in the U.S. or made and then assembled by hand at Tulane. The wood panels used for the chair’s frame were laser cut and then sanded by students to buff out any splinters and rough edges. Padded seats were stuffed into fabric cushions sewn by students. Wheels were purchased online and then screwed into place.

Elijah has had his chair since the end of March. It was made in the first batch of about 10 chairs delivered to pediatric patients for use in occupational and physical therapy sessions.

“His chair shows him that, like, ‘I could be up like other children.’ You know, he don’t let his (being) disabled get in the way,” said Jack who added Elijah will likely need some type of mobility assistance for the rest of his life.

Bumpers were added to the bottom front of the most recent batch of chairs after parents from the first round said their furniture – and feet – were taking hits as their children became better and faster at using their chairs.

Platt said there have been two rounds, so far, of chair building and 15 chairs have been given away. But, he said they’re aiming for at least 10 to 15 more by Spring 2024.

“We coordinate with our clinical partners to find kids that would be a good fit for these devices,” he said. “We work with the clinical team to make sure each chair fits the individuals and make customizations if necessary.”

Platt said the chairs cost less than $200 each to make, and even though these chairs were donated to patients at no cost, the price is still much lower than most pediatric wheelchairs on the market and electric-powered wheelchairs can run into the thousands.

The student-made chairs also look and feel more like toys than hospital equipment, Platt said. They’re made to be light and easy to maneuver.

Platt said he’d ultimately like to see the chairs be made in high schools and colleges across the country.

“For the students that I work with, I tell them this is just the beginning,” Platt said. “I’m trying to open their eyes to kind of a lifelong passion that they’ll have to solving these problems because once you see the problems, you see the scope of the problems and you can’t really ignore them.”

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December 20, 2023
How some foundations get philanthropic dollars inside L.A. County bureaucracy

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Wendy Garen, the recently retired president and chief executive of the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, likes to say problems that seem to defy solutions — homelessness, injustice, child welfare issues — are too big for philanthropy to solve.

“We’re pocket dust,” she says, referring not just to the roughly $20 million the Parsons Foundation gives away each year to groups like the Coalition for Responsible Community Development, but to philanthropy dollars across Los Angeles.

While Garen believes that progressive philanthropies such as the Weingart Foundation and the California Endowment are right about the need to support marginalized communities by fixing broken public systems, directing unrestricted funds to community activists was a nonstarter at Parsons.

Instead, the foundation shifted to the public side of the equation, getting philanthropic dollars inside government bureaucracy to seed innovation.

The result was a union of the public and the private: Los Angeles County’s Center for Strategic Partnerships, within the county’s Chief Executive Office.

Garen — along with Fred Ali, former president of the Weingart Foundation, and Christine Essel, president and CEO of Southern California Grantmakers, which represents hundreds of regional foundations and corporate funders — was instrumental in the creation of the center, which opened in 2016. The Annenberg Foundation provided early support and continues to do so.

In the seven years that philanthropies have been working directly with county staff, $41.5 million in private funds have supported a wide range of public-private initiatives, according to Kate Anderson, executive director of the partnership center.

Before the center’s creation, private philanthropies thought the county considered them a cash machine, says Joe Nicchitta, L.A. County’s chief operating officer — and the county believed philanthropies only funded what they wanted, regardless of what the county needed.

“There is now a true partnership between L.A. County and philanthropy,” he says.

Kate Anderson of the county Center for Strategic Partnerships says $41.5 million in private funding has gone to a variety of public-private initiatives since philanthropies began working with county staff seven years ago.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Once mutual trust was established, Anderson says, private funds could move quickly to wherever the county needed them most — becoming particularly helpful in times of crisis. During the pandemic, the center fast-tracked private funds to pay for county services including child care for emergency workers and Wi-Fi hotspots for students struggling to connect remotely with their teachers.

It’s a model, Anderson says, that other local governments are considering.

One of the big-ticket projects is the county Department of Youth Development, created in June 2022 with a $50.6-million budget for programs to keep at-risk youth out of juvenile jails — especially out from under the authority of the county Probation Department.

The Probation Department has struggled for decades to safely care for young offenders. Juvenile halls have been plagued by staffing issues, drug overdoses, fights and beatings. Some facilities were stripped of their certifications to operate. Earlier this year, the county reopened one juvenile hall, and a few days later, a gun was found inside.

The strong correlation between the population of youths caught up in the juvenile justice system and those involved in L.A. County’s foster-care system has made improving foster care a top priority for Garen.

“About 1,200 kids a year emancipate from foster care,” she says. “We know from research that, within two years, half of those kids are homeless. … Two years after that, half of those children are permanently off track, broken.”

Earlier this year, The Times reported that attorneys from four law firms had filed a complaint saying the state and the county were “shirking their responsibility to ensure foster youths between the ages of 16 and 21 have a safe and stable place to live.”

When youths age out of foster care, “we throw them in the river only to fish them out half-drowned downstream,” says Garen. “Can’t we just not throw them in the river?”

Research from the Annie E. Casey Foundation shows that foster youths do better when they are placed with family rather than strangers, Garen says. With support from the partnership center, the county now prioritizes family placements, hiring a dedicated team to track down relatives of children in the system who might foster them.

In the meantime, local philanthropists have been working on an ambitious project to help support youths who age out of the foster system.

Last year, Garen brought Anderson together with her counterparts at Weingart, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Ballmer Group and other philanthropies for a brainstorming session.

The result: a $750-million proposal to create housing with wrap-around services, jointly funded by L.A. County and philanthropic foundations.

“The foundations listened to the voices of foster youth,” says David Ambroz, an advocate for those in foster care, who supports the project.

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December 14, 2023
At least $2.1 billion in new funds pledged at COP28, as foundations focus on health and agriculture

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With the United Nations climate talks wrapping up in Dubai, foundations and other funders pledged at least $2.1 billion in new financing to reduce climate impacts, especially from agriculture, and increasing help for vulnerable communities.

The Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC, or COP28 summit, featured numerous firsts, including forums on health, food production and philanthropy. The estimated pledges, which do not represent a complete account of philanthropic commitments at COP28, came from a mix of foundations and private companies with some made in partnership with governments. They will be delivered over a range of timelines.

For the first time, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria sent a delegation to the conference, pledging to spend 70% of its budget, about $9 billion, in the 50 most climate vulnerable countries over the next three years.

“The honest answer is that the global health community, including us, was so focused on COVID-19, that we probably didn’t pay enough attention to all the signs of what climate change was doing to global health,” said Peter Sands, CEO of the Global Fund.

His organization also launched a set of principles for financing projects at the intersection of climate and health along with the World Health Organization, the Green Climate Fund, The Rockefeller Foundation and COP presidency.

The first Business & Philanthropy forum offered foundations, donors and corporations a larger formal role at a time when COP28 leaders are looking to secure more financing from the private sector.

According to a report from ClimateWorks Foundation released earlier this month, philanthropic funding for climate change mitigation was essentially unchanged in 2022, after showing consistent growth for the past three years. The lack of growth is attributed to global economic conditions, including increased inflation.

“Every sector of society must do more to contribute, including philanthropy,” said Helene Desanlis, ClimateWorks’ director of climate philanthropy for global intelligence, which she said includes both increasing funding amounts and collaborating more closely with other funders and actors.

The forum announced new blended finance vehicles, which can fund initiatives through a mix of corporate investments and donations, as well as a call to direct funding for Indigenous peoples already working to protect the environment in their communities.

Ozawa Bineshi Albert, co-executive director of the Climate Justice Alliance, which advocates for people and organizations in frontline communities affected by climate change, said it’s a welcome idea to increase funding for Indigenous peoples, who she says always face an uphill battle to be heard in these meetings.

“It would be generous for me to say I’m cautiously optimistic,” said Albert. “There’s a difference between folks advocating to be benevolent caretakers of Indigenous people versus Indigenous people being at the table because they’re players and they have a stake in what’s going to happen.”

Albert said the Business & Philanthropy forum can be helpful, but government policy and regulation, especially in reducing carbon production, would be far more helpful.

“Should they and could they do more? Absolutely,” she said.“ Do I think their investment in this is going to rescue us from the crisis we’re in? No. The government still has to act. If we’re not reducing and eliminating the production of carbon with our energy sources, no matter how much philanthropy invests, we will never be able to dig out of the hole.”

Christie Ulman, president of the Sequoia Climate Foundation, which focuses on driving down emissions in part through transitioning to clean energy, said she is supporting their grantee organizations and partners at COP in advocating for ambitious targets for renewable energy and decreasing other pollutants like methane.

“We also are there encouraging the fossil fuel phase out agenda and mainstreaming that,” she said of her organization’s role at the summit. Along with multiple other philanthropic funders, Sequoia announced a $450 million commitment to target the reduction of methane and other pollutants over three years.

Last year, Sequoia along with some of the same funders, pledged $500 million over three years to accelerate the transition to clean energy sources in low- and middle-income countries. So far, Ullman said that coalition has granted out 40% of the commitment, or around $200 million.

Ulman said that the investments are targeted to support the plans and projects that countries have already made around energy transitions and she hopes that additional funding will follow.

The Bezos Earth Fund pledged $100 million to support a plan by Pacific Island nations to protect and sustainably manage marine ecosystems. Bloomberg Philanthropies also made commitments around protecting oceans, transitioning to clean energy and supporting cities adapting to climate change.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has long focused on food insecurity through developing tools and technology to help farmers adapt to climate change, announced a new commitment of $100 million along with the United Arab Emirates, who committed another $100 million. Some of those funds will go to CGIAR, an agricultural research group, which the Gates Foundation has supported with more than $100 million in grants over time.

“No other effort to adapt to climate change will have more impact,” Gates said in prepared remarks, of CGIAR.

The Gates Foundation and other funders also pledged a collective $770 million to expand the work of a fund founded by the UAE to eliminate neglected tropical diseases, called Reaching the Last Mile Fund.

Sands, of the Global Fund, advocated for using the existing global health architecture as much as possible to diminish the burden on health systems in individual countries and called for swift action in the short term as climate change exacerbates health inequities around the world.

“Fundamentally what it’s doing is making those who are most vulnerable and least able to access health services even more vulnerable and even less able to access how health services,” he said.

___

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

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December 12, 2023
Polish truck drivers are blocking the border with Ukraine. It's hurting on the battlefield

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KORCZOWA, Poland — Pickup trucks and tourniquets bound for Ukraine’s battlefield are among items stuck in a mileslong line at the border with Poland. Components to build drones to fight off Russian forces are facing weeks of delays.

Ukrainian charities and companies supplying the war-torn country’s military warn that problems are growing as Polish truck drivers show no sign of ending a border blockade that has stretched past a month. The Polish protesters argue that their livelihoods are at stake after the European Union relaxed some transport rules and Ukrainian truckers undercut their business.

While drones will make it to the front line, they’re delayed by two to three weeks, said Oleksandr Zadorozhnyi, operational director of the KOLO foundation, which helps the Ukrainian army with battlefield tech, including drones and communications equipment.

“This means that the Russian army will have the ability to kill Ukrainian soldiers and terrorize civilians for several weeks longer,” he said.

Truck drivers in Poland have blocked access roads to border crossings since Nov. 6, creating lines that stretch for more than 30 kilometers (19 miles) and last up to three weeks in freezing temperatures. The protesters insist that they’re not stopping military transports or humanitarian aid into Ukraine.

“This is very puzzling to me, even hard to believe because everybody knows — those who order, those who expedite and those who do the transport — that aid for the military passes through without having to wait at all,” said Waldemar Jaszczur, a protest organizer.

The Polish truckers, meanwhile, say their Ukrainian counterparts are offering lower prices to haul everything from fish to luxury goods across the European Union since getting a temporary waiver on the 27-nation bloc’s transport rules after Russia’s invasion in 2022.

Despite Poland and other nearby countries being some of Ukraine’s biggest supporters in the war, resentment has built from truckers and farmers who are losing business to lower-cost Ukrainian goods and services flowing into the world’s biggest trading bloc. It underscores the challenges of integrating Ukraine into the EU if approved.

Now, the commercial clash is spilling over to the battlefield, the Ukrainian charities say.

About 200 pickup trucks needed to transport ammunition and evacuate the wounded from the front line are blocked at the border because “deliveries have practically stopped,” said Ivan Poberzhniak, head of procurement and logistics for Come Back Alive, Ukraine’s largest charitable organization providing the military with equipment.

The pickup trucks are easy targets for Russia, so it’s impossible to deliver enough of them even normally, he said.

When drivers show documents to the Polish truckers saying the vehicles are for Ukraine’s military, “it does not have a significant impact on the protesters,” Poberzhniak said.

“We must understand that during wartime, supply is needed on a daily basis in all directions,” he said.

Come Back Alive says 3,000 tourniquets also are stuck at the border. It’s been able to deliver drones, generators and batteries from what it has in stock, “but that reserve is running out,” Poberzhniak said.

The group is exploring alternative supply routes, he says, but there are few options, and the military’s unfulfilled requests for equipment are building up.

The protesting truckers assert that not all deliveries declared as military aid are really that. They are urging the EU to reinstate the limits on the number of Ukrainian trucks that can enter the bloc.

Jaszczur, the organizer, said Ukrainian truckers have been doing unauthorized transport services across Europe. They are asking “glaringly low prices” — 35% lower than what Polish truckers charge — and are “driving us out of the market,” he said.

The same thing is happening in other countries like Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania, he said. Some Slovak truckers staged a protest of their own in recent days at the Ukrainian border.

Jaszczur says many Polish transport companies are going under because of the pressure from Ukrainian competition.

While there is no quick resolution in sight, a change of leadership in Warsaw offers hope.

The new government is expected to be in place in the next week and almost certainly will be led by the pro-EU centrist Donald Tusk. He has criticized the outgoing government’s “inaction,” offering hope to businesses hurt by the blockade but also to the protesters.

“We will look for solutions that should satisfy Polish transporters, but we will not tolerate any events that threaten Polish security. Who inspired or initiated them?” Tusk said Friday, stressing that Ukraine is a strategic point for Poland as it fights Russia’s invasion.

Ukrainian truck driver Ivan Itchenko is one of those eagerly awaiting a resolution. He has been waiting in Poland for days with hundreds of others, trying to stay warm at a highway rest stop until he can bring his load of salmon and herring to Ukrainian supermarkets.

“I clean the truck, clear the snow. Polish customs officers come and ask for documents three times a day,” Itchenko said Thursday.

The 61-year-old hoped his turn to drive through the Korczowa-Krakovets crossing would come Saturday.

“I live in Chernihiv (region), near Russia. Every day there are attacks. Now I am stuck at the Polish border. What do they want?”

With temperatures falling, drivers are experiencing difficult conditions, choosing not to heat their trucks to save fuel and facing limited access to food and bathrooms, Ukrainian media say.

Polish and Ukrainian officials are negotiating with help from the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, but the protest has only expanded.

“We do not see any light in the tunnel, we do not see any authorities, any government or the EU Commission really giving attention to this,” said Dariusz Matulewicz, head of the truckers’ association in Szczecin, a city in western Poland.

Poland’s outgoing government has “nothing against supporting Ukraine” but it “must not allow the aid activity to be done at the expense of Polish firms,” deputy minister for infrastructure, Rafal Weber, said Monday in Brussels.

The EU has pressed Warsaw to find a way to end the blockade but stood by its deal with Kyiv. It’s “beneficial to the European market, to Ukraine and to Moldova,” said Adina Valean, EU transport commissioner who also threatened sanctions against Poland.

Ukrainian officials say the truckers’ protest adds more stress to their economy and only serves Russia’s interests.

Ukrainian exports have dropped by 40% through the four blocked border crossings, and the state budget has lost some 9.3 billion hryvnias ($254 million) due to the shortfall in customs payments, said Danylo Hetmantsev, head of the finance and tax committee in Ukraine’s parliament.

“Undoubtedly, this is a powerful blow to our economy and our exports,” Hetmantsev said Tuesday on state TV.

___

AP journalists Vanessa Gera in Warsaw and Volodymyr Yurchuk in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed.

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December 9, 2023
Polish truck drivers are blocking the border with Ukraine. It's hurting on the battlefield

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KORCZOWA, Poland — Pickup trucks and tourniquets bound for Ukraine’s battlefield are among items stuck in a mileslong line at the border with Poland. Components to build drones to fight off Russian forces are facing weeks of delays.

Ukrainian charities and companies supplying the war-torn country’s military warn that problems are growing as Polish truck drivers show no sign of ending a border blockade that has stretched past a month. The Polish protesters argue that their livelihoods are at stake after the European Union relaxed some transport rules and Ukrainian truckers undercut their business.

While drones will make it to the front line, they’re delayed by two to three weeks, said Oleksandr Zadorozhnyi, operational director of the KOLO foundation, which helps the Ukrainian army with battlefield tech, including drones and communications equipment.

“This means that the Russian army will have the ability to kill Ukrainian soldiers and terrorize civilians for several weeks longer,” he said.

Truck drivers in Poland have blocked access roads to border crossings since Nov. 6, creating lines that stretch for more than 30 kilometers (19 miles) and last up to three weeks in freezing temperatures. The protesters insist that they’re not stopping military transports or humanitarian aid into Ukraine.

“This is very puzzling to me, even hard to believe because everybody knows — those who order, those who expedite and those who do the transport — that aid for the military passes through without having to wait at all,” said Waldemar Jaszczur, a protest organizer.

The Polish truckers, meanwhile, say their Ukrainian counterparts are offering lower prices to haul everything from fish to luxury goods across the European Union since getting a temporary waiver on the 27-nation bloc’s transport rules after Russia’s invasion in 2022.

Despite Poland and other nearby countries being some of Ukraine’s biggest supporters in the war, resentment has built from truckers and farmers who are losing business to lower-cost Ukrainian goods and services flowing into the world’s biggest trading bloc. It underscores the challenges of integrating Ukraine into the EU if approved.

Now, the commercial clash is spilling over to the battlefield, the Ukrainian charities say.

About 200 pickup trucks needed to transport ammunition and evacuate the wounded from the front line are blocked at the border because “deliveries have practically stopped,” said Ivan Poberzhniak, head of procurement and logistics for Come Back Alive, Ukraine’s largest charitable organization providing the military with equipment.

The pickup trucks are easy targets for Russia, so it’s impossible to deliver enough of them even normally, he said.

When drivers show documents to the Polish truckers saying the vehicles are for Ukraine’s military, “it does not have a significant impact on the protesters,” Poberzhniak said.

“We must understand that during wartime, supply is needed on a daily basis in all directions,” he said.

Come Back Alive says 3,000 tourniquets also are stuck at the border. It’s been able to deliver drones, generators and batteries from what it has in stock, “but that reserve is running out,” Poberzhniak said.

The group is exploring alternative supply routes, he says, but there are few options, and the military’s unfulfilled requests for equipment are building up.

The protesting truckers assert that not all deliveries declared as military aid are really that. They are urging the EU to reinstate the limits on the number of Ukrainian trucks that can enter the bloc.

Jaszczur, the organizer, said Ukrainian truckers have been doing unauthorized transport services across Europe. They are asking “glaringly low prices” — 35% lower than what Polish truckers charge — and are “driving us out of the market,” he said.

The same thing is happening in other countries like Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania, he said. Some Slovak truckers staged a protest of their own in recent days at the Ukrainian border.

Jaszczur says many Polish transport companies are going under because of the pressure from Ukrainian competition.

While there is no quick resolution in sight, a change of leadership in Warsaw offers hope.

The new government is expected to be in place in the next week and almost certainly will be led by the pro-EU centrist Donald Tusk. He has criticized the outgoing government’s “inaction,” offering hope to businesses hurt by the blockade but also to the protesters.

“We will look for solutions that should satisfy Polish transporters, but we will not tolerate any events that threaten Polish security. Who inspired or initiated them?” Tusk said Friday, stressing that Ukraine is a strategic point for Poland as it fights Russia’s invasion.

Ukrainian truck driver Ivan Itchenko is one of those eagerly awaiting a resolution. He has been waiting in Poland for days with hundreds of others, trying to stay warm at a highway rest stop until he can bring his load of salmon and herring to Ukrainian supermarkets.

“I clean the truck, clear the snow. Polish customs officers come and ask for documents three times a day,” Itchenko said Thursday.

The 61-year-old hoped his turn to drive through the Korczowa-Krakovets crossing would come Saturday.

“I live in Chernihiv (region), near Russia. Every day there are attacks. Now I am stuck at the Polish border. What do they want?”

With temperatures falling, drivers are experiencing difficult conditions, choosing not to heat their trucks to save fuel and facing limited access to food and bathrooms, Ukrainian media say.

Polish and Ukrainian officials are negotiating with help from the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, but the protest has only expanded.

“We do not see any light in the tunnel, we do not see any authorities, any government or the EU Commission really giving attention to this,” said Dariusz Matulewicz, head of the truckers’ association in Szczecin, a city in western Poland.

Poland’s outgoing government has “nothing against supporting Ukraine” but it “must not allow the aid activity to be done at the expense of Polish firms,” deputy minister for infrastructure, Rafal Weber, said Monday in Brussels.

The EU has pressed Warsaw to find a way to end the blockade but stood by its deal with Kyiv. It’s “beneficial to the European market, to Ukraine and to Moldova,” said Adina Valean, EU transport commissioner who also threatened sanctions against Poland.

Ukrainian officials say the truckers’ protest adds more stress to their economy and only serves Russia’s interests.

Ukrainian exports have dropped by 40% through the four blocked border crossings, and the state budget has lost some 9.3 billion hryvnias ($254 million) due to the shortfall in customs payments, said Danylo Hetmantsev, head of the finance and tax committee in Ukraine’s parliament.

“Undoubtedly, this is a powerful blow to our economy and our exports,” Hetmantsev said Tuesday on state TV.

___

AP journalists Vanessa Gera in Warsaw and Volodymyr Yurchuk in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed.

___

This corrects the conversion of the figure of 9.3 billion hryvnias to $254 million.

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December 9, 2023
Technology built the cashless society. Advances are helping the unhoused so they're not left behind

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WASHINGTON — John Littlejohn remembers the days when lots of people had a couple of dollars to spare to buy a copy of Street Sense, the local paper that covers issues related to the homeless and employs unhoused individuals as its vendors.

Today, he’s finding fewer people are walking around with spare change. Even well-meaning individuals who want to help are likely to pat their pockets and apologize, he said.

“I would be out here for six or seven hours and wouldn’t get more than $12 to $15,” said Littlejohn, 62, who was homeless for 13 years. “People are like, ‘I don’t leave the house with cash.’”

But just as technological shifts helped create the problem, further advances are now helping charitable groups and advocates for the unhoused reach those most in danger of being left behind in a cashless society.

A special Street Sense phone app allows people to buy a copy electronically and have the profits go straight to him. Thanks to Social Security and his income from Street Sense and other side gigs, Littlejohn now has his own apartment.

One of the larger shifts in Western society over the past two decades has been the decline of cash transactions. It started with more people using credit cards to pay for things as trivial as a cup of coffee. It accelerated as smartphone technology advanced to the point where cash-free payments became the norm for many.

This shift has been felt keenly in the realm of street-level charitable giving — from individual donations to panhandlers and street musicians to the red Salvation Army donation kettles outside grocery stores.

“Everybody just has cards or their phones now,” said Sylvester Harris, a 54-year-old Washington native who panhandles near Capital One Arena. “You can tell the ones who really do want to help you, but even they just don’t have cash anymore.”

The cashless world can be particularly daunting for the unhoused. While electronic payment apps such as PayPal or Venmo have become ubiquitous, many of these options require items beyond their reach — credit cards, bank accounts, identification documents or fixed mailing addresses.

Charities have struggled to adapt. The Salvation Army has created a system where donors can essentially tap their phones on the kettle and pay directly.

Michelle Wolfe, director of development for the Salvation Army in Washington, said the new system is only in place in 2% of the collection kettles in the greater Washington area, but it has already resulted in increased donations. The minimum cashless donation is now $5, and donors routinely go as high as $20, Wolfe said.

At Street Sense, similar advances were necessary to keep up with changing consumer habits. Around 2013, executive director Brian Camore said he started receiving “anecdotal reports left and right” from vendors saying people wanted to buy a copy but had no cash. Each vendor purchases the copies from Street Sense for 50 cents and sells them for $2.

“We were losing sales and had to do something about it,” he said. “We recognized that the times were changing, and we had to change with them.”

Eventually he heard about an affiliate paper in Vancouver that had developed a cashless payment app and licensed the technology. Vendors can now redeem their profits at the Street Sense offices.

Thomas Ratliff, Street Sense’s director of vendor employment, deals directly with the paper’s approximately 100 sellers. He cited the COVID-19 pandemic as an extra factor making life difficult for his team.

For starters, it scared people away from using cash for fear that paper money exchanges would be an infection vector. But the most damaging part was the permanent reduction in the number of people working from downtown offices, cutting off Street Sense’s main customer base.

“Commuters have always been the best customers compared to tourists,” he said.

But without that steady stream of familiar commuters, Ratliff said his vendors have had to expand their territory. Instead of concentrating on the downtown business district, Street Sense vendors now often travel by Metro to places like Silver Spring, Maryland, to find commercial areas with steady foot traffic.

Ratliff now finds himself doing tech support for his vendors, helping them navigate the complexities of a modern online presence. Among the most common problems: “Changing emails, losing or forgetting passwords, losing your documents.”

Certain payment platforms like Venmo and Cash App are more unhoused-friendly because they do not require a bank account, just a phone number and email address. But even that can be daunting. Ratliff said many of his vendors often change cellphone numbers, and a steady phone number can be a key element in verifying your identity on these apps.

Others have taken the technology a step further, developing apps that aim to not only enable cashless donations to the homeless but also to steer them into support systems that can help get them off the streets. The Samaritan app takes a deeply personal approach by allowing donors to essentially help sponsor an unhoused person without using cash.

Currently operating in seven cities, including Los Angeles and Baltimore, the program distributes special cards to unhoused people containing a QR code that enables individuals to donate directly to someone’s account. The app itself contains dozens of mini-profiles of local unhoused individuals describing their situation and immediate needs. Donors can give money to fund specific needs, from groceries or a deposit on an apartment to clothing suitable for a job interview.

“It’s a lot harder to walk by someone when you know even 1% of their story,” said Jon Kumar, the Samaritan app’s founder. “It personalizes the person in need — their personality and the tangible specificity of their needs and goals.”

Kumar licenses his app technology to charities, and recipients can redeem their donations by meeting with a case manager — which serves as a route to provide other services like counseling or drug rehab. In addition to the direct donations, recipients can also receive $10 or $20 bonuses for reaching certain benchmarks, such as meeting with a case manager, submitting a job application or even reaching out to an estranged family member.

“No one is going to pay their rent through street donations. But if our platform helps a person press into their housing search, their employment search, their pursuit of recovery, those types of things are a lot more impactful,” Kumar said.

These efforts to transcend the cashless technology gap have seen their share of trial and error over the years. Wolfe said the Salvation Army originally tried out a system using a QR code that proved to be “too clunky and took too long.”

Kumar’s early efforts included an experiment with giving unhoused people Bluetooth beacon devices that enabled app users to see which beacon holders were in their area and donate to them. But the beacons needed regular battery changes, and the model was eventually abandoned.

None of these solutions is perfect, and plenty of people are still being left behind. Ratliff said many people simply don’t have the temperament or personality for the job.

“You have to have nerve to sell a paper and reel in customers,” he said. Others are disabled or frail and “not up for the physical stresses of selling out there.”

Kumar, the Samaritan app developer, said many unhoused people “are not a great fit for this kind of intervention.”

Some have deeper mental or emotional issues that make the level of structure required by the program impossible to navigate.

“Many of the people we’re trying to serve are in need of more intensive, perhaps permanent support in terms of their mental health,” he said. “Those folks, because of the polychronic nature of their challenges, they’re constantly left behind.”

___

Associated Press writer Gary Fields contributed to this report.

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December 9, 2023
Gates Foundation takes on poverty in the U.S. with $100 million commitment

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GRAND ISLAND, Nebraska — In recent years, city leaders in Grand Island, Nebraska, observed that many workers and students were walking or biking long distances to their jobs or schools. So when city administrator, Laura McAloon, learned of an opportunity to study the development of a bus system to meet those transportation needs, she jumped at it.

The opportunity was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in collaboration with the International City/County Management Association, a network of local government administrators. And it sent McAloon to Washington along with other local leaders to learn about strategies and policies to lift people in their community out of poverty.

The Gates Foundation announced Thursday that it will donate $100 million to expand its work on economic mobility — a move that the country’s largest foundation says is a change in how it operates, putting more power in the hands of grantees and looking to accelerate the speed at which its gifts have impact. The commitment is part of the $460 million the foundation said in 2022 it would donate over four years to this part of its portfolio.

Ryan Rippel, the founding director for the Gates Foundation’s economic opportunity and mobility strategy, said the grants represent an important and deliberate change in how it works, with large grants going to organizations that will have a great deal of autonomy in directing their own work and the work of subgrantees.

The strategy, he said, is a result of feedback they heard from speaking with others in the field and the people they hope to help.

“I went to a conference in Washington and was very proudly talking about a data investment that we had made that we think could actually help governments make very different decisions about allocating resources,” he said. “And a woman stood up in the back of the room and she shouted, ‘I just need a tank of gas.’ And that really stuck with me. And it stuck with our team as a profound lesson that these are very concrete, daily needs.”

The portfolio is a small portion of the foundation’s overall budget, which was $7 billion last year, but it’s grown significantly. Rippel said that is because they’ve learned so much about the strategies, interventions and organizations that can lift people out of poverty. The continued expansion of their work, he said, depends on whether they meet their goal of improving economic mobility for 50 million people in the U.S. who earn 200% of the poverty level or less, which is $29,160 in annual income for an individual.

The foundation will fund organizations working to expand support for local government implementing evidence-based policies, connecting people with skills but without college degrees to jobs, helping people claim government benefits and influencing small- and medium-businesses to adjust working conditions to help people balance personal and work commitments. The grantees include Opportunity@Work, Families and Workers Fund, Prosperity Now, Pacific Community Ventures, Results for America and the Urban Institute.

It was at a meeting in Washington in May where the Urban Institute introduced the tools and research they’ve developed to help cities and counties understand barriers to economic mobility that McAloon from Grand Island realized that her city of 53,000, located about 150 miles west from Omaha, needed to collect more information.

“We looked at each other and said, we don’t know that we have the data, the metrics, to show that this problem exists that we said we were going to come up with a solution for,” said McAloon, of her colleagues from the local community college and public school district who were with her.

By the end of the conference, they’d altered their objectives and launched a data collective and analysis project, which included surveying local residents with the help of translators at a summer festival and consulting with the human resources departments of major local employers.

What they learned is that transportation had been a problem for workers but when the meatpacking plant and other manufacturers raised wages during the period of low unemployment after the pandemic, many households were able to afford cars. Now the issue, the employers said, was housing.

“It’s a multi-pronged approach to actually creating opportunities for economic growth and personal income growth,” McAloon said. “There’s just no one silver bullet. There’s no one problem. You have to address all of it in order to make really significant change.”

The Gates Foundation is far from alone in this field with large funders, like philanthropist MacKenzie Scott and Blue Meridian Partners, also making multimillion dollar commitments, sometimes to the same organizations, in recent years.

Last week, Blue Meridian Partners announced it was granting $50 million each to three municipalities, San Antonio and Dallas County in Texas, and Spartanburg County, South Carolina, who each also raised at least $50 million from other sources, to support specific interventions like doubling the number of young adults making a living wage and increasing the percent of high schoolers who enroll in further education.

Jim Shelton, president and chief investment and impact officer at Blue Meridian Partners, said that while the interrelated issues that hold people in poverty are complex, there is a growing body of evidence for policies and programs that can have an outsized impact on people’s life trajectory.

“Once you start to disaggregate the problem that way, you start to recognize that there are all over the place, pieces of solutions that actually work,” he said. “But what we lack is the coherence to bring it all together in a way that consistently change people’s lives.”

When asked whether growing inequality in the U.S. played a role in its decision to increase funding for economic mobility, the Gates Foundation said, “Our increased investment is based on promising work from partners in the early years of the strategy and our belief that the foundation can play a unique role in improving systems that help people get back on their feet in times of need and get ahead economically.”

At the close of Grand Island’s research study this fall, McAloon said they determined it won’t be possible to set up a bus system, in part because of federal funding rules. Instead, they are exploring a van pool that is partially funded by employers and with state funds.

But, because of the new communication and coordination across agencies, schools and local organizations prompted by the study, her office heard that a lack of plumbers and electricians was holding up new housing developments. She reached out to the community college, which is now setting up a technical training program to funnel high school students into those trades.

“It was a matter of a couple of emails,” she said. “And they’re already working on developing the curriculum and creating an apprenticeship program that hopefully will start making an impact on that issue that’s keeping us from building more houses.”

___

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

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December 7, 2023
Amazon's internal plans to advance its interests in California are laid bare in leaked memo

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NEW YORK — An internal Amazon memo has provided a stark look at the company’s carefully laid out plans to grow its influence in Southern California through a plethora of efforts that include burnishing its reputation through charity work and pushing back against “labor agitation” from the Teamsters and other groups.

The eight-page document — titled “community engagement plan” for 2024 — provides a rare glimpse into how one of American’s biggest companies executes on its public relations objectives and attempts to curtail reputational harm stemming from criticisms of its business. It also illustrates how Amazon aims to methodically court local politicians and community groups in order to push its interests in a region where it could be hampered by local moratoriums on warehouse development, and it is facing resistance from environmental and labor activists.

The memo was leaked to the nonprofit labor organization Warehouse Worker Resource Center and posted online this week. The Associated Press independently verified its authenticity.

When reached for comment, Amazon did not dispute the authenticity of the document. But it said in a prepared statement it was proud of its philanthropic efforts.

“Partnerships with community leaders and stakeholders help guide how Amazon gives back,” said Amazon spokesperson Jennifer Flagg. “Through employee volunteerism or our charitable donations, it is always Amazon’s intention to help support the communities where we work in a way that is most responsive to the needs of that community.”

In the memo, Amazon says its top public-policy priority in Southern California is addressing “labor agitation that uses false narratives and incorrect information to affect public opinion and impact public policy.”

Earlier this year, the Teamsters unionized an Amazon contracted delivery firm in the city of Palmdale and subsequently supported protests around company warehouses after Amazon refused to come to the bargaining table. Last year, dozens of Amazon workers at a company air hub in San Bernardino, a city about 60 miles (100 kilometers) east of Los Angeles, walked off the job to demand safety improvements and higher pay.

Those same issues were raised by workers at a company warehouse in New York City where employees voted to unionize with the Amazon Labor Union in 2022. The e-commerce giant has been challenging the union’s win for more than a year in a case that’s still being adjudicated by the National Labor Relations Board.

The Amazon memo also says the Seattle-based company faces “significant reputational challenges” in Southern California, where it’s “perceived to build facilities in predominantly communities of color and poverty, negatively impacting their health.”

The Inland Empire, a region in Southern California that Amazon discusses in the document, has seen a boom in warehouse development over the past few decades. But there’s also been a groundswell of local opposition to new warehouses, with multiple municipalities enacting moratoriums on developments.

In January, dozens of environmental and community groups sent a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom urging him to declare a one-to-two-year moratorium on new warehouses in the area, arguing a temporary pause was necessary to address the “gaps in current legislation” that allows for pollution and congestion.

In the memo outlining Amazon’s goals for next year, the company says it plans to “earn the trust” of community groups and nonprofits, such as the San Bernardino Valley College Foundation, Children’s Fund, and Feeding America, to push back against state bills “that will continue to threaten the region’s economy, and Amazon’s interests.” The two bills cited include a state legislation that, if passed, would prohibit companies from building large warehouses within 1,000 feet (300 meters) of private homes, apartments, schools, daycares and other facilities.

The memo also says the company plans to “positively affect” legislative attempts to ban single use plastic by “showcasing Amazon as a leader in sustainability and counter the voices of environmental activists against Amazon.”

It also details local politicians Amazon is engaging and says the company has “cultivated” Michael Vargas, the mayor of the town of Perris, through pandemic-related “donations to support the region, touring him and his team, and ongoing engagement.” Vargas did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Media coverage is a top concern of Amazon’s. The document previews the company’s goals to generate positive news stories for itself through charitable campaigns, including through a food drive hosted by the Los Angeles Food Bank where employees would drop off donations “in big media moments that are broadcasted/posted.” The memo suggested curating similar moments during a back-to-school donation event and a holiday toy drive, where drop offs occur and Amazon executives, as well as groups who receive grants from the company, “speak about Amazon’s impact” to the media.

The company additionally says it won’t continue to support organizations that “did not result in measurable positive impact” to its brand and reputation and will stop funding groups that are antagonistic towards its interest. It noted it will stop donating to The Cheech, an art museum in Riverside, citing an incident this year where the center exhibited a local artist who depicted an Amazon facility on fire and gave an interview “expressing hostility” towards the company, the memo said.

In a section of the document titled “Dogs Not Barking,” the memo lists the three things Amazon will watch closely in the region next year: warehouse moratoriums, labor organizing among contracted delivery drivers, and community groups that are not accepting charitable donations. It says some elected leaders have been hesitant to accept political contributions from the company.

Sheheryar Kaoosji, the executive director of Warehouse Worker Resource Center, said in a statement that the organization works directly with Amazon warehouse workers in the region who consistently talk about low pay, high injury rates and other concerns.

“These are critical issues that impact the entire Inland Empire, but specifically the 45,000 people who work for Amazon here,” Kaoosji said. But, he said, the memo details Amazon’s strategy “to paper over these valid concerns with donations, media clippings and support for policy changes that either benefit Amazon or hurt their competitors.”

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December 7, 2023
Amazon's internal plans to advance its interests in California are laid bare in leaked memo

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NEW YORK — An internal Amazon memo has provided a stark look at the company’s carefully laid out plans to grow its influence in Southern California through a plethora of efforts that include burnishing its reputation through charity work and pushing back against “labor agitation” from the Teamsters and other groups.

The eight-page document — titled “community engagement plan” for 2024 — provides a rare glimpse into how one of American’s biggest companies executes on its public relations objectives and attempts to curtail reputational harm stemming from criticisms of its business. It also illustrates how Amazon aims to methodically court local politicians and community groups in order to push its interests in a region where it could be hampered by local moratoriums on warehouse development, and it is facing resistance from environmental and labor activists.

The memo was leaked to the nonprofit labor organization Warehouse Worker Resource Center and posted online this week. The Associated Press independently verified its authenticity.

When reached for comment, Amazon did not dispute the authenticity of the document. But it said in a prepared statement it was proud of its philanthropic efforts.

“Partnerships with community leaders and stakeholders help guide how Amazon gives back,” said Amazon spokesperson Jennifer Flagg. “Through employee volunteerism or our charitable donations, it is always Amazon’s intention to help support the communities where we work in a way that is most responsive to the needs of that community.”

In the memo, Amazon says its top public-policy priority in Southern California is addressing “labor agitation that uses false narratives and incorrect information to affect public opinion and impact public policy.”

Earlier this year, the Teamsters unionized an Amazon contracted delivery firm in the city of Palmdale and subsequently supported protests around company warehouses after Amazon refused to come to the bargaining table. Last year, dozens of Amazon workers at a company air hub in San Bernardino, a city about 60 miles (100 kilometers) east of Los Angeles, walked off the job to demand safety improvements and higher pay.

Those same issues were raised by workers at a company warehouse in New York City where employees voted to unionize with the Amazon Labor Union in 2022. The e-commerce giant has been challenging the union’s win for more than a year in a case that’s still being adjudicated by the National Labor Relations Board.

The Amazon memo also says the Seattle-based company faces “significant reputational challenges” in Southern California, where it’s “perceived to build facilities in predominantly communities of color and poverty, negatively impacting their health.”

The Inland Empire, a region in Southern California that Amazon discusses in the document, has seen a boom in warehouse development over the past few decades. But there’s also been a groundswell of local opposition to new warehouses, with multiple municipalities enacting moratoriums on developments.

In January, dozens of environmental and community groups sent a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom urging him to declare a one-to-two-year moratorium on new warehouses in the area, arguing a temporary pause was necessary to address the “gaps in current legislation” that allows for pollution and congestion.

In the memo outlining Amazon’s goals for next year, the company says it plans to “earn the trust” of community groups and nonprofits, such as the San Bernardino Valley College Foundation, Children’s Fund, and Feeding America, to push back against state bills “that will continue to threaten the region’s economy, and Amazon’s interests.” The two bills cited include a state legislation that, if passed, would prohibit companies from building large warehouses within 1,000 feet (300 meters) of private homes, apartments, schools, daycares and other facilities.

The memo also says the company plans to “positively affect” legislative attempts to ban single use plastic by “showcasing Amazon as a leader in sustainability and counter the voices of environmental activists against Amazon.”

It also details local politicians Amazon is engaging and says the company has “cultivated” Michael Vargas, the mayor of the town of Perris, through pandemic-related “donations to support the region, touring him and his team, and ongoing engagement.” Vargas did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Media coverage is a top concern of Amazon’s. The document previews the company’s goals to generate positive news stories for itself through charitable campaigns, including through a food drive hosted by the Los Angeles Food Bank where employees would drop off donations “in big media moments that are broadcasted/posted.” The memo suggested curating similar moments during a back-to-school donation event and a holiday toy drive, where drop offs occur and Amazon executives, as well as groups who receive grants from the company, “speak about Amazon’s impact” to the media.

The company additionally says it won’t continue to support organizations that “did not result in measurable positive impact” to its brand and reputation and will stop funding groups that are antagonistic towards its interest. It noted it will stop donating to The Cheech, an art museum in Riverside, citing an incident this year where the center exhibited a local artist who depicted an Amazon facility on fire and gave an interview “expressing hostility” towards the company, the memo said.

In a section of the document titled “Dogs Not Barking,” the memo lists the three things Amazon will watch closely in the region next year: warehouse moratoriums, labor organizing among contracted delivery drivers, and community groups that are not accepting charitable donations. It says some elected leaders have been hesitant to accept political contributions from the company.

Sheheryar Kaoosji, the executive director of Warehouse Worker Resource Center, said in a statement that the organization works directly with Amazon warehouse workers in the region who consistently talk about low pay, high injury rates and other concerns.

“These are critical issues that impact the entire Inland Empire, but specifically the 45,000 people who work for Amazon here,” Kaoosji said. But, she said, the memo details Amazon’s strategy “to paper over these valid concerns with donations, media clippings and support for policy changes that either benefit Amazon or hurt their competitors.”

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December 6, 2023
Wikipedia, wrapped. Here are 2023's most-viewed articles on the internet's encyclopedia

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NEW YORK — Remember what you searched for in 2023? Well, Wikipedia has the receipts.

English Wikipedia raked in more than 84 billion views this year, according to numbers released Tuesday by the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit behind the free, publicly edited online encyclopedia. And the most popular article was about ChatGPT (yes, the AI chatbot that’s seemingly everywhere today).

Since its launch just over a year ago, OpenAI’s ChatGPT has skyrocketed into the public’s consciousness as the technology makes its way into schools, health care, law and even religious sermons. The chatbot has also contributed to growing debates about the promise and potential dangers of generative AI, much of which is documented on its Wikipedia page.

The second most-read article on Wikipedia in 2023 was the annual list of deaths, which sees high traffic year after year — taking the #4 and #1 spots in 2022 and 2021, respectively. Individual entries for notable figures who passed away also garnered significant interest this year, including pages for Matthew Perry and Lisa Marie Presley.

Meanwhile, the highly anticipated 2023 Cricket World Cup took third place — alongside three other cricket-related entries in Wikipedia’s top 25 articles this year, including the Indian Premier League at #4, marking the first time cricket content has made the list since the Wikimedia Foundation started tracking in 2015.

“Barbenheimer,” Taylor Swift and more also appeared to sway our 2023 internet-reading habits. Here are this year’s top 25 articles on English Wikipedia.

1. ChatGPT: 49,490,406 pageviews

2. Deaths in 2023: 42,666,860 pageviews

3. 2023 Cricket World Cup: 38,171,653 pageviews

4. Indian Premier League: 32,012,810 pageviews

5. Oppenheimer (film): 28,348,248 pageviews

6. Cricket World Cup: 25,961,417 pageviews

7. J. Robert Oppenheimer: 25,672,469 pageviews

8. Jawan (film): 21,791,126 pageviews

9. 2023 Indian Premier League: 20,694,974 pageviews

10. Pathaan (film): 19,932,509 pageviews

11. The Last of Us (TV series): 19,791,789 pageviews

12. Taylor Swift, 19,418,385: pageviews

13. Barbie (film): 18,051,077 pageviews

14. Cristiano Ronaldo: 17,492,537 pageviews

15. Lionel Messi: 16,623,630 pageviews

16. Premier League: 16,604,669 pageviews

17. Matthew Perry: 16,454,666 pageviews

18. United States: 16,240,461 pageviews

19. Elon Musk: 14,370,395 pageviews

20. Avatar: The Way of Water: 14,303,116 pageviews

21. India: 13,850,178 pageviews

22. Lisa Marie Presley: 13,764,007 pageviews

23. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: 13,392,917 pageviews

24. Russian invasion of Ukraine: 12,798,866 pageviews

25. Andrew Tate: 12,728,616 pageviews

According to the Wikimedia Foundation, this top 25 list was created using English Wikipedia data as of Nov. 28. Numbers for the full year are set to be updated by the nonprofit on Jan. 3, 2024.

The top countries that accessed English Wikipedia overall to date in 2023 are the United States (33.2 billion) and the United Kingdom (9 billion) — followed by India (8.48 billion), Canada (3.95 billion) and Australia (2.56 billion), according to Wikimedia Foundation data shared with The Associated Press.

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December 5, 2023
Wikipedia, wrapped. Here are 2023's most-viewed articles on the internet's encyclopedia

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NEW YORK — Remember what you searched for in 2023? Well, Wikipedia has the receipts.

English Wikipedia raked in more than 84 billion views this year, according to numbers released Tuesday by the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit behind the free, publicly edited online encyclopedia. And the most popular article was about ChatGPT (yes, the AI chatbot that’s seemingly everywhere today).

Since its launch just over a year ago, OpenAI’s ChatGPT has skyrocketed into the public’s consciousness as the technology makes its way into schools, health care, law and even religious sermons. The chatbot has also contributed to growing debates about the promise and potential dangers of generative AI, much of which is documented on its Wikipedia page.

The second most-read article on Wikipedia in 2023 was the annual list of deaths, which sees high traffic year after year — taking the #4 and #1 spots in 2022 and 2021, respectively. Individual entries for notable figures who passed away also garnered significant interest this year, including pages for Matthew Perry and Lisa Marie Presley.

Meanwhile, the highly anticipated 2023 Cricket World Cup took third place — alongside three other cricket-related entries in Wikipedia’s top 25 articles this year, including the Indian Premier League at #4, marking the first time a cricket article has made the list since the Wikimedia Foundation started tracking in 2015.

“Barbenheimer,” Taylor Swift and more also appeared to sway our 2023 internet-reading habits. Here are this year’s top 25 articles on English Wikipedia.

1. ChatGPT: 49,490,406 pageviews

2. Deaths in 2023: 42,666,860 pageviews

3. 2023 Cricket World Cup: 38,171,653 pageviews

4. Indian Premier League: 32,012,810 pageviews

5. Oppenheimer (film): 28,348,248 pageviews

6. Cricket World Cup: 25,961,417 pageviews

7. J. Robert Oppenheimer: 25,672,469 pageviews

8. Jawan (film): 21,791,126 pageviews

9. 2023 Indian Premier League: 20,694,974 pageviews

10. Pathaan (film): 19,932,509 pageviews

11. The Last of Us (TV series): 19,791,789 pageviews

12. Taylor Swift, 19,418,385: pageviews

13. Barbie (film): 18,051,077 pageviews

14. Cristiano Ronaldo: 17,492,537 pageviews

15. Lionel Messi: 16,623,630 pageviews

16. Premier League: 16,604,669 pageviews

17. Matthew Perry: 16,454,666 pageviews

18. United States: 16,240,461 pageviews

19. Elon Musk: 14,370,395 pageviews

20. Avatar: The Way of Water: 14,303,116 pageviews

21. India: 13,850,178 pageviews

22. Lisa Marie Presley: 13,764,007 pageviews

23. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: 13,392,917 pageviews

24. Russian invasion of Ukraine: 12,798,866 pageviews

25. Andrew Tate: 12,728,616 pageviews

According to the Wikimedia Foundation, this top 25 list was created using English Wikipedia data as of Nov. 28. Numbers for the full year are set to be updated by the nonprofit on Jan. 3, 2024.

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December 5, 2023
Waterford.org Awarded $13.9M Grant to Expand Early Education Success in Rural Southern States

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TAYLORSVILLE, Utah, December 5, 2023 (Newswire.com)
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Waterford.org, a national not-for-profit committed to advancing early education, proudly announces a $13.9 million Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Waterford received bipartisan support from federal legislators in securing this grant, which is focused on expanding school readiness in rural communities across 16 southern states.

This initiative builds upon Waterford’s successful partnership with the Department of Ed. in five Western states, using evidence-based solutions to address rural community needs. Totaling $15.3 million over five years, the project aims to expand this strategy by fostering authentic community partnerships to develop a scalable blueprint for enhancing student achievement.

The Upstart Rural TASK Force, led by Waterford.org, will study the impact of early learning on thousands of PreK through 2nd-grade students across Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.

“Our focus is to ensure that every child, no matter their location, has access to quality early education,” stated Rebecca Kelley, Head of Advocacy and Community Engagement. “This study ensures we continue to scale evidence-based programs and advance equity through early learning.”

The EIR award expands the work of Waterford.org, backed by philanthropic funders, including Blue Meridian Partners, Valhalla, Overdeck Family Foundation and Yield Giving. Waterford is also grateful for the transformational support from The Audacious Project by TED, which continues to position the organization for success.

Waterford’s evidence-based approach to delivering personalized reading, math and science learning, complemented by family support, has undergone thorough third-party research, earning Tier 1 recognition by What Works Clearinghouse.

Partners for Rural Impact, a fellow Blue Meridian Partner grantee, and the American Institutes for Research (AIR) join Waterford.org in this mission. AIR shares a vision of equitable access to high-quality learning for all children.

For more information about Waterford programs and collaboration opportunities, visit the Waterford.org website.

Media Contact:
Kim Fischer
Executive Vice President of Marketing & Communication
Waterford.org
801-831-0828
kimfischer@waterford.org

Source: Waterford.org

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December 5, 2023
Willie’s Grill & Icehouse Celebrates 30th Anniversary Reaching Philanthropic Milestone of $1.5M

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THE BELOVED TEXAS ICEHOUSE WILL CELEBRATE THREE DECADES OF GIVING BACK TO LOCAL COMMUNITIES WITH SPECIALS 30 YEARS IN THE MAKING

HOUSTON, December 4, 2023 (Newswire.com)
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Willie’s Grill & Icehouse, the brand that brings the classic icehouse experience to communities across Texas, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. The brand will celebrate throughout December with a discount that harkens back to the origins of the icehouse, as well as a commitment to continue their tradition of financially supporting communities across the state.

The restaurant, known for its family-friendly atmosphere and icehouse classics, closes out its third decade of service with more than $1.5M in monetary donations to various charities and public services within the cities where the brand operates.

Among the philanthropic programs are the Willie’s Grill & Icehouse Spirit Nights, in which local community charities are given a portion of the proceeds from a specific day’s overall sales. Their commitment to public servants is another important piece of the brand’s mission, as seen through their community sponsorships. Throughout the year, Willie’s Grill & Icehouse offers a 10% discount to first responders, teachers, firefighters, and nurses at all locations. Local law enforcement departments are also treated to 50% off their meals throughout the year at Willie’s. During their grand opening celebrations, Willie’s Grill & Icehouse hosts VIP soft openings where they invite educators, nurses, law enforcement, and other essential workers to dine for free throughout the day. Finally, all locations offer the Fire & Icehouse Lager throughout the year and a portion of the proceeds is donated directly to local fire departments.

All Willie’s customers are in luck throughout the month of December, as the brand is offering a Texas-sized discount on one of their original menu items. Every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday throughout December, Willie’s will offer their original Cheese Willie Burger, the menu item that the brand was built on, for only $6.30 in honor of their milestone anniversary. The promotion, a ‘thank you’ to customers for their years of support, is valid for both in-store and online orders.

“We are thrilled to be celebrating 30 years of serving Texans our icehouse classics and welcoming families through our doors,” said Greg Lippert, CEO of Willie’s Restaurants. “Giving back to our communities has always been a pillar of who we are, and we look forward to continuing the tradition as the brand moves into our next era. We invite all customers to come and enjoy a delicious Cheese Willie Burger at a discounted price throughout December as a thank you from all of us at Willie’s Grill & Icehouse.”

Source: Willie’s Grill and Icehouse

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December 4, 2023
Fred Says Announces Annual Giving on World AIDS Day
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CHICAGO, November 30, 2023 (Newswire.com)
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On Dec. 1, World AIDS Day, Fred Says announced it is giving nearly $200,000 to youth-serving organizations in the United States and around the world.

Fred Says was founded in 2012 by Dr. Robert Garofalo and named after his dog Fred. The 501(c)(3) non-profit supports domestic and international organizations that serve LGBTQ youth and young people living with and/or impacted by HIV.

Dr. Garofalo is the Chief of the Division of Adolescent & Young Adult Medicine at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago and a Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. He adopted Fred following his own cancer and HIV diagnosis and created the non-profit to honor the joy, peace, and healing Fred brought to his life.

In 2023, Fred Says celebrated its 10th year of giving. To date, the organization has raised and distributed $1 million to support adolescents and young adults affected by HIV.

“It’s really rather amazing that on World AIDS Day, this little grassroots charity will celebrate a decade of charitable giving,” said Garofalo. “I hope these monies will help organizations provide the care and services that young people need to thrive and live their best authentic lives.”

In sum, $190,000 will be gifted to 13 youth-serving organizations to support pet therapy and adoption programs, specialized mental health and drop-in services, transportation and housing assistance, peer-led support for HIV+ youth, and the development of educational materials about sexual health, wellness, and HIV-prevention, with an emphasis on minoritized transgender youth, their parents, and caregivers.

The 2023 Fred Says award recipients are:
- Magic City Acceptance Academy, Birmingham, AL
- One Roof Chicago, Chicago, IL
- Human Rights Campaign, Washington, D.C.
- University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
- Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL
- Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria
- Youth Outlook Services, Chicago, IL
- Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center, Los Angeles, CA
- Advocates for Youth, Washington, D.C.
- Desmond Tutu Health Foundation, Cape Town, South Africa
- Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
- VIVENT Health/TPAN, Chicago, IL
- Initiative for the Advancement of Improved Health & Development, Ibadan, Nigeria
Fred Says will also continue its tradition of distributing 500 Fred plush toys to children for the holidays in Chicago and Birmingham as well as in Nigeria and South Africa.

“The generous gifts that Fred Says has given to us has ensured access to sexual and reproductive health services for young people who otherwise would not have had them,” said Linda-Gail Bekker, Chief Executive Office of the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation in Cape Town. “This is a wonderful investment in those young lives and in the future of South Africa.”

You can learn more about Fred Says at www.fredsays.org. Contact: rgarofalo@luriechildrens.org

Source: Fred Says
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November 30, 2023
Charlie Munger, investing genius and Warren Buffett’s right-hand man, dies at age 99

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Billionaire Charlie Munger, the investing sage who made a fortune even before he became Warren Buffett’s right-hand man at Berkshire Hathaway, has died at age 99.

Munger died Tuesday, according to a press release from Berkshire Hathaway. The conglomerate said it was advised by members of Munger’s family that he peacefully died this morning at a California hospital. He would have turned 100 on New Year’s Day.

“Berkshire Hathaway could not have been built to its present status without Charlie’s inspiration, wisdom and participation,” Buffett said in a statement.

In addition to being Berkshire vice chairman, Munger was a real estate attorney, chairman and publisher of the Daily Journal Corp., a member of the Costco board, a philanthropist and an architect.

In early 2023, his fortune was estimated at $2.3 billion — a jaw-dropping amount for many people but vastly smaller than Buffett’s unfathomable fortune, which is estimated at more than $100 billion.

During Berkshire’s 2021 annual shareholder meeting, the then-97-year-old Munger apparently inadvertently revealed a well-guarded secret: that Vice Chairman Greg Abel “will keep the culture” after the Buffett era.

Munger, who wore thick glasses, had lost his left eye after complications from cataract surgery in 1980.

Munger was chairman and CEO of Wesco Financial from 1984 to 2011, when Buffett‘s Berkshire purchased the remaining shares of the Pasadena, California-based insurance and investment company it did not own.

Buffett credited Munger with broadening his investment strategy from favoring troubled companies at low prices in hopes of getting a profit to focusing on higher-quality but underpriced companies.

An early example of the shift was illustrated in 1972 by Munger’s ability to persuade Buffett to sign off on Berkshire’s purchase of See’s Candies for $25 million even though the California candy maker had annual pretax earnings of only about $4 million. It has since produced more than $2 billion in sales for Berkshire.

“He weaned me away from the idea of buying very so-so companies at very cheap prices, knowing that there was some small profit in it, and looking for some really wonderful businesses that we could buy in fair prices,” Buffett told CNBC in May 2016.

Or as Munger put it at the 1998 Berkshire shareholder meeting: “It’s not that much fun to buy a business where you really hope this sucker liquidates before it goes broke.”

Munger was often the straight man to Buffett’s jovial commentaries. “I have nothing to add,” he would say after one of Buffett’s loquacious responses to questions at Berkshire annual meetings in Omaha, Nebraska. But like his friend and colleague, Munger was a font of wisdom in investing, and in life. And like one of his heroes, Benjamin Franklin, Munger’s insight didn’t lack humor.

“I have a friend who says the first rule of fishing is to fish where the fish are. The second rule of fishing is to never forget the first rule. We’ve gotten good at fishing where the fish are,” the then-93-year-old Munger told the thousands of people at Berkshire’s 2017 meeting.

He believed in what he called the “lollapalooza effect,” in which a confluence of factors merged to drive investment psychology.

A son of the heartland

Charles Thomas Munger was born in Omaha on Jan. 1, 1924. His father, Alfred, was a lawyer, and his mother, Florence “Toody,” was from an affluent family. Like Warren, Munger worked at Buffett’s grandfather’s grocery store as a youth, but the two future joined-at-the-hip partners didn’t meet until years later.

At 17, Munger left Omaha for the University of Michigan. Two years later, in 1943, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps, according to Janet Lowe’s 2003 biography “Damn Right!”

The military sent him to the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena to study meteorology. In California, he fell in love with his sister’s roommate at Scripps College, Nancy Huggins, and married her in 1945. Although he never completed his undergraduate degree, Munger graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1948, and the couple moved back to California, where he practiced real estate law. He founded the law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson in 1962 and focused on managing investments at the hedge fund Wheeler, Munger & Co., which he also founded that year.

“I’m proud of being an Omaha boy,” Munger said in a 2017 interview with Dean Scott Derue of the Michigan Ross Business School. “I sometimes use the old saying, ‘They got the boy out of Omaha but they never got Omaha out of the boy.’ All those old-fashioned values — family comes first; be in a position so that you can help others when troubles come; prudent, sensible; moral duty to be reasonable [is] more important than anything else — more important than being rich, more important than being important — an absolute moral duty.”

In California, he partnered with Franklin Otis Booth, a member of the founding family of the Los Angeles Times, in real estate. One of their early developments turned out to be a lucrative condo project on Booth’s grandfather’s property in Pasadena. (Booth, who died in 2008, had been introduced to Buffett by Munger in 1963 and became one of Berkshire’s largest investors.)

“I had five real estate projects,” Munger told Derue. “I did both side by side for a few years, and in a very few years, I had $3 million — $4 million.”

Munger closed the hedge fund in 1975. Three years later, he became vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway.

‘We think so much alike that it’s spooky’

In 1959, at age 35, Munger returned to Omaha to close his late father’s legal practice. That’s when he was introduced to the then-29-year-old Buffett by one of Buffett’s investor clients. The two hit it off and stayed in contact despite living half a continent away from each other.

“We think so much alike that it’s spooky,” Buffett recalled in an interview with the Omaha World-Herald in 1977. “He’s as smart and as high-grade a guy as I’ve ever run into.”

“We never had an argument in the entire time we’ve known each other, which is almost 60 years now,” Buffett told CNBC’s Becky Quick in 2018. “Charlie has given me the ultimate gift that a person can give to somebody else. He’s made me a better person than I would have otherwise been. … He’s given me a lot of good advice over time. … I’ve lived a better life because of Charlie.”

The melding of the minds focused on value investing, in which stocks are picked because their price appears to be undervalued based on the company’s long-term fundamentals.

“All intelligent investing is value investing — acquiring more than you are paying for,” Munger once said. “You must value the business in order to value the stock.”

Warren Buffett (L), CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, and vice chairman Charlie Munger attend the 2019 annual shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, May 3, 2019.

Johannes Eisele | AFP | Getty Images

But during the coronavirus outbreak in early 2020, when Berkshire suffered a massive $50 billion loss in the first quarter, Munger and Buffett were more conservative than there were during the Great Recession, when they invested in U.S. airlines and financials like Bank of America and Goldman Sachs hit hard by that downturn.

“Well, I would say basically we’re like the captain of a ship when the worst typhoon that’s ever happened comes,” Munger told The Wall Street Journal in April 2020. “We just want to get through the typhoon, and we’d rather come out of it with a whole lot of liquidity. We’re not playing, ‘Oh goody, goody, everything’s going to hell, let’s plunge 100% of the reserves’ [into buying businesses].”

The philanthropist/architect

Munger donated hundreds of millions of dollars to educational institutions, including the University of Michigan, Stanford University and Harvard Law School, often with the stipulation that the school accept his building designs, even though he was not formally trained as an architect.

At Los Angeles’ Harvard-Westlake prep school, where Munger had been a board member for decades, he ensured that the girls bathrooms were larger than the boys room during the construction of the science center in the 1990s.

“Any time you go to a football game or a function there’s a huge line outside the women’s bathroom. Who doesn’t know that they pee in a different way than the men?” Munger told The Wall Street Journal in 2019. “What kind of idiot would make the men’s bathroom and the women’s bathroom the same size? The answer is, a normal architect!”

Munger and his wife had three children, daughters Wendy and Molly, and son Teddy, who died of leukemia at age 9. The Mungers divorced in 1953.

Two years later, he married Nancy Barry, whom he met on a blind date at a chicken dinner restaurant. The couple had four children, Charles Jr., Emilie, Barry and Philip. He also was the stepfather to her two other sons, William Harold Borthwick and David Borthwick. The Mungers, who were married 54 years until her death in 2010, contributed $43.5 million to Stanford University to help build the Munger Graduate Residence, which houses 600 law and graduate students.

Asked by CNBC’s Quick in a February 2019 “Squawk Box” interview about the secret to a long and happy life, Munger said the answer “is easy, because it’s so simple.”

“You don’t have a lot of envy, you don’t have a lot of resentment, you don’t overspend your income, you stay cheerful in spite of your troubles. You deal with reliable people and you do what you’re supposed to do. And all these simple rules work so well to make your life better. And they’re so trite,” he said.

“And staying cheerful … because it’s a wise thing to do. Is that so hard? And can you be cheerful when you’re absolutely mired in deep hatred and resentment? Of course you can’t. So why would you take it on?”

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November 28, 2023
VIP Minds CEO and Visionary Nora Abou Chakra Launches ‘Power Hearts,’ a Transformative Initiative Driving Social Change

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LAS VEGAS, November 27, 2023 (Newswire.com)
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Today marks the launch of “Power Hearts,” an innovative initiative led by businesswoman and visionary Nora Abou Chakra. With each endeavor, Power Hearts embarks on a different mission, empowering CEOs to take direct action and make a tangible impact. Through immersive experiences and hands-on involvement, Power Hearts addresses pressing societal issues, fostering empathy and inspiring CEOs to become advocates for change within their organizations and communities.

Nora Abou Chakra, a respected entrepreneur known for her philanthropic endeavors, has once again demonstrated her commitment to driving social change with the launch of Power Hearts. Under this empowering initiative, CEOs from diverse industries come together to tackle pressing issues and create transformative solutions.

An example of these missions is hunger. Power Hearts combats hunger and alleviate the suffering of those affected by it. CEOs gather in a large-scale communal kitchen, where they actively participate in purchasing groceries and cooking meals for those in need.

The immersive experience provided by Power Hearts goes beyond the kitchen. CEOs physically hit the streets, personally distributing the freshly prepared meals to individuals experiencing hunger. This direct interaction with those in need further deepens their understanding of the issue, sparking a profound connection and a sense of shared humanity.

CEOs return to their organizations with a renewed perspective and a profound commitment to addressing the issue of hunger. They become ambassadors for change, leveraging their influence and resources to advocate for hunger relief initiatives within their respective communities and among their staff members.

Nora Abou Chakra, the driving force behind Power Hearts, expressed her enthusiasm for the initiative, stating, “Power Hearts aims to create a ripple effect of compassion and advocacy. By immersing CEOs in the realities of pressing social issues, we ignite a powerful drive for change that reverberates throughout their personal and professional spheres. Together, we can make a significant difference and create a more compassionate and equitable world.”

Power Hearts represents Nora Abou Chakra’s unwavering commitment to leveraging the influence and resources of business leaders for the greater good. By providing CEOs with transformative experiences, Power Hearts empowers them to become catalysts for change and advocates for social causes that resonate with their hearts.

For more information about Power Hearts and its upcoming initiatives, please visit powerhearts.com or follow us on @power.hearts

Source: VIP Minds

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November 27, 2023
Why do they give? Donors speak about what moves them and how they plan end-of-year donations

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What motivates people to donate to charities or causes they care about is often deeply personal. Donors name relatives or friends who have survived or died from illnesses. They recount tearful conversations with their children. They point to their aspirations for how their communities and the larger world could be improved.

In advance of GivingTuesday, The Associated Press interviewed people from across the country with a variety of life experiences about why they give, which organizations they choose to support and how they plan their giving throughout the year.

While not all will participate in GivingTuesday, which started in 2012 as a hashtag, the date has become a central part of nonprofit fundraising and a kind of last chance to meet their budget goals for the following year.

These interviews have been edited for length:

HOUSTON — A longtime resident of Houston, Monica Fulton, 51, prioritizes giving to organizations serving the city’s residents. She’s volunteered with the Houston Food Bank for decades, doing “everything except the cold room. Because I don’t like the cold,” she joked.

Fulton, who is originally from Panama, sees her giving and volunteering as a way to make a difference, something she has tried to pass on to her children, who are now 18 and 20 years old.

“You look at what’s happening in the world and you tend to feel helpless. And what I try to teach my kids instead of feeling helpless is find one little patch of grass that you can make better,” she said.

Usually, at the beginning of the year, Fulton sets aside the funds that she intends to give to nonprofits, with the majority going to the food bank, a homeless shelter, a women’s fund and an arts education organization. But she keeps aside a portion to respond more flexibly, including on GivingTuesday when she seeks out nonprofits that are running matching campaigns.

“My advice for people for Giving Tuesday is, do a little bit of research and see who needs help, who has matching challenges,” she said. “And that makes it kind of fun and exciting to think that even though you give something small, it gets doubled or tripled.”

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CHICAGO — Alicia Bailey said her philanthropic giving was not always intentional.

A former producer who now works in real estate, Bailey would give $5 when checking out a store or attending a charity gala when invited by a relative. That changed in 2018 when she helped organize a group of donors who pool their funds to support small organizations serving women and girls on Chicago’s South Side.

Bailey’s involvement with philanthropy has since grown to the point where she joined the board of the Chicago Foundation for Women, which hosts her giving circle and also makes its own grants.

“To go through the process of understanding and getting educated about the grantmaking process, all the way through to deciding and doing site visits, and seeing and hearing the work that’s actually happening in the Chicagoland area and being able to put faces and names and sounds to these women who are making things possible with very little,” Bailey said was incredibly beneficial to her.

The giving circle makes relatively small grants to organizations that have budgets of less than $500,000, where those grants can make a big difference.

“People may have an idea of like, ‘My dollars are too small, they wouldn’t matter,’ right?” Bailey said. “But in these cases, we know that it is because of people giving what they can that it literally has changed the way that organizations are able to do their work. And then that changes lives in the community.”

She doesn’t plan to mark GivingTuesday specifically for donations because she’s already found, through the foundation and the giving circle, ways to pursue her mission of improving the lives of women, girls and gender-nonconforming people in her area.

“I will be doing much of the same work that I’ve been doing every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,” Bailey said, though she is glad the date will prompt many people to consider how they can make a difference in a cause they care about.

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ATLANTA — The amount that Ruben Brooks, 56, will give each year varies, but what doesn’t change are the causes he supports: financial literacy, scholarships and mentoring for young people in the African American community.

“If you want a healthier society, if you want a more productive society, a safer society, then it probably behooves all of us to give in an effort to effectuate the desired result,” said Brooks, who is the chief operating officer of Atlanta Beltline.

Years ago, he volunteered as a mentor for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, an organization that he continues to support financially, along with Junior Achievement of Georgia, where he is now a board member. While he has less time to volunteer nowadays, he has extended his network to students who receive scholarships through another nonprofit, the Ezekiel Taylor Foundation, sometimes hosting them at his home.

“Hearing the stories, hearing the challenges, providing solutions, letting them know I’m available, my friends are available, and there are solutions to the problems that they will encounter,” Brooks said of his time with those students.

He usually makes his donations in November and December when he has a sense of his income for the year, in part because he will claim tax advantages. While he may donate on GivingTuesday, it’s not a priority, Brooks said.

“I want to give on my own terms and what I think is appropriate and not sort of with a commercial day that’s sort of put out there,” he said.

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LAFAYETTE, Co. — Lynne Garfinkel, 55, and Pam Lowy, 58, met through a mutual friend when they both moved to Lafayette, near Boulder, Colorado, several years ago. During the height of the pandemic, they took an online training through the organization Philanthropy Together about how to run a giving circle. They eventually decided to co-lead a new group, Moving Mountains, in part to deepen their connection to the area.

The members of the group vote on a cause to support and then they research local organizations, including sometimes visiting the nonprofits and asking them questions about how they would use a donation, which has ranged from $4,000 to $16,000 depending on the cycle.

“We want a project or something that we know where our money is going to make a bigger impact,” Lowy said.

The only requirement for joining the group, which uses an online platform called Grapevine to manage donations and voting, is to donate to the pooled funds. Garfinkel said they have never met some of the members in person.

“They trust that the group is doing the vetting and that their money’s going to a good cause. They like being part of something bigger,” she said. “But they don’t have the time to do the research themselves, to participate, to volunteer, and that’s okay.”

For Garfinkel, her contributions to the giving circle represent one of her main charitable donations each year, but she said of GivingTuesday, “I still use that time to pull together all my receipts and what have I given this year? And what did I plan to give? And where do I still have some room in this last month of the year to give?”

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Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and non-profits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

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November 26, 2023