Tough Times Prompt IL Groups to Stretch Charity Dollars
By Mary Anne Meyers
Public News Service Illinois
June 13, 2011
More than 60 of the nation's charitable foundations are seeking new ways to help Americans who have been left out, economically or politically. They are pledging to focus on more strategic giving, to try to alleviate the causes of such problems as the foreclosure crisis and the growing gap between rich and poor.
They've signed a pledge called "Philanthropy's Promise," vowing to use at least half of their grant money for people who are marginalized by poverty, age or disability, and at least 25 percent for community organizing to address the roots of poverty.
At the Woods Fund, Chicago, Acting President and Program Director Consuealla Brown says they give much more than that to community organizations.
"People who go to work every day, work 40 hours a week, have done everything we've told them to do - get an education, get a job, buy a house - are still struggling."
Read the full article.