ShareThisThey are tactical philanthropists -- part of a growing group of socially conscious givers in the San Francisco area whose generosity accounts for more than half the $1 billion in assets at the San Francisco Foundation. Otherwise known as "charitable checking," or "giving while living," donor-advised funds are quickly becoming the most popular way to invest social capital.Donor-advised funding marks a sea change in the power paradigm of community foundations, where a board of trustees has traditionally decided how to disburse the charity of the Bay Area's wealthiest families."You click and send to specific groups that are doing what you like, instead of sending it to a charitable clearinghouse where you can't see the impact of your dollars," said San Francisco Foundation spokeswoman Sara Ying Rounsaville. Donor-advised funds appeal to more modest investors, who, with as little as $10,000, can open an account. Such funds help put the San Francisco Foundation among the top 10 richest community foundations among the 717 nationwide. The rest of the foundation's endowment comes from more traditional sources: wealthy families bequeath money in their wills or give enormous gifts to the foundation, with no strings attached."We live at the crossroads of extraordinary wealth and goodwill," said San Francisco Foundation CEO Sandra Hernandez, the former public health director for San Francisco who started two national firsts in the city: universal health care and needle exchange. Giving donors more say in where their money goes dovetails with trends in philanthropy of targeted giving and micro lending, where the donor can concentrate on helping one village with simple solutions such as buying a cow or installing a well. Donor-advised funds at the San Francisco Foundation are local versions of that, allowing investors to contribute to the shelter or school down the street. "You have relatively younger donors choosing to set up funds this way, so they can be more engaged with their local community," said Steven Lawrence, senior director of research for the Foundation Center, the New York-based philanthropy research center."It represents a cultural and generational shift from the tradition of older donors setting up funds simply for estate planning," he said. The San Francisco Foundation created its donor-advised Web portal in 1999, at a time when only five other community foundations had point-and-click giving. Since then, Web-based giving has become ubiquitous, and San Francisco donors have used the site to send $152 million to Bay Area nonprofits. "Technology has helped keep donors philanthropically informed," Hernandez said. "If there's a hurricane, they can go on our site, see the places we researched to give and -- boom! -- make a grant."Account holders can go online to check their balances and transfer funds to their favorite nonprofits. Each request is vetted by the foundation, to ensure the chosen charity is a legitimate 501(3)c that qualifies for tax exemption. The foundation serves as a catalyst by researching and mentoring promising nonprofits and then investing philanthropic money and helping donors decide which local charities match their social values.The donors get the tax deduction of their entire contribution up front, but can disburse it over years to as many different charities as they want. In 2007, the foundation granted almost $90 million. It developed almost 5,000 units of Bay Area affordable housing; gave grants to 70 local poets, writers, photographers and videographers; started a free program to help struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure; sent nearly $175,000 to help clean up the Cosco Busan oil spill; and funded food banks and meditation centers. A growing number of donations is coming from the newest philanthropists -- the socially conscious dot-com riche. Tech millionaires are coming of age and are now ready to give back, but they want the same control over their giving as they had with their startups, said Sean Stannard-Stockton, director of tactical philanthropy for Ensemble Capital Management in Burlingame. "You look at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates -- the big story is not how much they gave, but that Gates, at 50, decided he had something more important to do than run Microsoft," Stannard-Stockton said. "Philanthropy is a higher calling." Top 10 community foundations by size of assets 1. Tulsa Community Foundation (Oklahoma) $3.1 billion2. New York Community Trust $2.0 billion3. Silicon Valley Community Foundation $1.9 billion4. Cleveland Foundation $1.89 billion5. Chicago Community Trust $1.6 billion6. California Community Foundation (Los Angeles) $1.3 billion7. Marin Community Foundation $1.1 billion8. Greater Kansas City Community Foundation $1.05 billion9. San Francisco Foundation $1.03 billion10. Oregon Community Foundation $996 millionSource: Foundation Center, New York. Data as of June 26, 2008 E-mail Meredith May at mmay(at)sfchronicle.com.(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
Donor-advised funds grow in popularity
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KENYA TOBACCO CONTROL ALLIANCE
Tobacco the leading preventable cause of death and disability in the world
According to reports by the associated press, tobacco is predicted to kill a billion people, by the end of the 21st Century. The report goes further to explain that the death trend has hit 10 times between 20th Century and now. During a recent interview, The Institute of Legislative Affairs (ILR) director lawyer Rachael Kitonyo argued, “Tobacco is the only product if used as prescribed, will easily kill you.”
Research by globalsmokefree partnership, American Cancer Society and Framework Convention Alliance indicates that tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death and disability in the world today. Globally, it kills 5.4 million annually more than HIV/AIDS and malaria combined. In Kenya, statistics indicate that the Government collects five billion revenue from tobacco manufacturing companies hence spends 18 billion in curing tobacco related ailments. Smoking prevalence is increasing especially among the youth. The 2007 Global Youth Tobacco Survey revealed that over 20% of Kenyan youth are using tobacco products.
Conferences on lung cancer, heart ailments and other diseases related to tobacco use have grab headlines in media world over. Such conferences which consume millions of dollars would be unnecessary if cigarettes, cigars, and other nicotine related products had not been discovered.
Billions of workers worldwide are risking their health because they are exposed to second hand smoking in their work place, Kenya being no exceptional. Workers who are exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely to die from cancer, heart disease and respiratory conditions. The world’s economy is at jeopardy if this one problem is not addressed considering that the number of deaths attributable to tobacco use is greater than the number of deaths from AIDS, car accidents, alcohol, suicides, homicides, fire, and illegal drugs – combined;
Researchers and medical experts warn that nicotine, the drug in tobacco, is six times more addictive than cocaine or heroin. Tobacco has been proven by a number of health organizations and doctors that has over 4,000 known chemicals and is the major contributor of all the 40 cancer strains in human being. It also affects the sexuality of both gender whether smokers or non smokers.
Locally, Tobacco manufacturing companies knowingly lie to the government and the public that tobacco is a big revenue earner as they continue to sell the dangerous and lethal product. Prof. Peter A. Odhiambo, chairman Kenya Tobacco Control Alliance refutes such claims saying the ultimate health and environment bills are more than three (3) times what the tobacco industry gives in taxes. He adds, “Otherwise, tobacco-growing countries, like Malawi and Bangladesh would have some wealth to boast of. These two countries are among the poorest in the world. To cap it all, BAT (Kenya) recently boasted of exporting tobacco from Kenya to Malawi!
Tobacco growing areas in part of Western Kenya is still trapped in abject poverty for instance Migori, Uriri, Kuria among others. Families are exposed to dangerous chemicals while harvesting the crop manually or weeding,. The contents of tobacco are absorbed through the skin therefore spend all their income treating tobacco related ailments. Women have complained of missccarge, children miss to go to school to help their parents in harvesting. According to United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF) school attendance and academic performance in such areas is very poor.
Then, there is the issue of environmental degradation. Agricultural/environmental experts have warned that rivers and waters in tobacco growing areas are polluted by effluents from tobacco nurseries. Trees are cut for curing tobacco and the fertility of soil is destroyed by harsh chemicals. Tobacco is the only crop that can not be mixed with others.
Dr. Wilfred Machage, Assistant Minister for Roads and Member of Parliament for Kuria attest that his constituency is trapped in abject poverty and many have succumbed to ailments related to tobacco.
“Being a medical doctor, I understand the health complications tobacco growing, manufacturing and smoking cause on humanity. I have seen people die in my constituency and still impoverished. There is a need for them to be sensitized to discard tobacco growing and find an alternative crop.
Tobacco farmers are harvesting large areas of forests yet the companies are putting very little efforts to plant new trees to protect the environment,” he says
The Government has a moral responsibility to protect her people through promoting public awareness about health consequences, addictive nature and mortal threat posed by tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco. Prof. Odhiambo challenges professionals in the country to join the health workers in fighting the menace. The fight he insist must not be left to only the Ministry of Health, Tobacco Control Board, Kenya Tobacco Control Alliance (KETCA), National Agency for the Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NACADA), National Environment Management Agency (NEMA) and other similar minded consumer organizations. He says it is everyone's responsibility to join in promoting the health of the nation and in undertaking preventive measures all round.
VICTOR MATETE
Kenya Tobacco Control Alliance (KETCA)
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