Major Foundations Pledge Funds toward Social Ills
Associated Press
June 10, 2011
More than 60 foundations across the country have joined a pledge to dedicate most of their giving to benefit the poor, elderly and marginalized groups, which could amount to more than $1 billion.
The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy in Washington announced Wednesday that major funders including the Ford Foundation of New York, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation in California and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in New Jersey joined the effort.
The idea is to maximize the impact of grant dollars to address the causes of poverty and social problems. In total, foundations that made the pledge give nearly $2.5 billion each year to nonprofits.
Some groups say it could be a challenge to meet the pledge because they give to cultural groups that don't serve a single cause.
This article appeared in the Fresno Bee, Silicon Valley Mercury News, the Times-Standard, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and other news outlets.
