FOUNDATION NEWS & NOTES
Volume 1, Number 2 July 20, 2007
Midsummer?
Hard to believe, but here ‘tis almost August – normally parched in these regions, but this year? Quack. The Red River is so high that the boat-launch ramps have been closed since July 2 (JB is fighting withdrawal pains) and no one’s had to water lawns, which are beginning to resemble hayfields because they’re too wet to mow.
On the Foundation front, there’s been a flood of news about some of our grantees, and the fall grant requests are starting to trickle in.
‘Build on gains at BethuneMiddle School’
That’s the headline on a Times editorial week before last, which begins:
“Improved student attendance and a decline in discipline referrals at BethuneMiddle School are certainly accomplishments worth cheering. Continued community support, including financial backing from philanthropic efforts, are key as the beleaguered campus continues its quest to meet state standards of academic acceptance…” (Italics added by your e.d., and the verb disagreement is theirs, not mine.)
There’s a recap of the school’s history, including four years of failing scores in state accountability, before new Principal Perry Daniel drafted “an aggressive plan to address a variety of concerns, including those associated with discipline, parental involvement and teacher quality…”
It was his plan which attracted the support of the Women’s Philanthropy Network with a grant to improve student achievement. The Charles T. Beaird Foundation and the Powers Foundation combined to fund a full-time nurse for the 600-plus students, to treat minor ailments and provide referrals for more serious illnesses.
To that, this fall, the school will add an initiative by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities – the Prime-Time Family Reading program, which will bring up to 50 seventh-graders and their families together weekly to read and discuss books.
Even now, only midway into the overall improvement program, standardized test scores were up in several categories. One-third of Bethune’s eight-graders, though, did not score well enough to advance to high school. That’s the challenge to meet as efforts go forward.
One interesting statistic: School attendance is up 2 percent and out-of-school suspensions fell by 31 percent, both good signs. As the editorial concludes:
“Bethune is an example of how community partnerships – through volunteer efforts and funding for special programs that enhance learning – can change school dynamics.”
School Turnaround program chooses five local principals
Speaking of Bethune’s Perry Daniels, he was one of five local public school principals selected to the Louisiana School Turnaround Specialist Program sponsored by the state’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education – which only had 10 slots available for principals in the entire state.
That’s not altogether good news, because the program, an initiative of the Rensselaerville Institute, is designed to help strengthen under-performing schools – so Caddo Parish had at least five fitting that description. Still, it’s encouraging that the state believes these five principals deserve the training to help lift their schools.
Among the others were Joanne Hood, principal of Barrett Elementary, where your Foundation just funded the Youth Enrichment Program’s after-school sessions for underserved children; Linwood Middle Principal Monica Jenkins-Moore, Fair Park High Principal Bruce Daigle and Mooretown Elementary Principal Sabrina Brown.
They attended special training at the University of Virginia in June, and will continue studies to strengthen their organizational and instructional leadership skills.
Thanks for OneGreatRiver experience
We get the usual Grant Review reports from all our grantees, but every so often we get a truly personal response, such as this one:
“Dear Members of the Foundation:
“I was chosen to receive a scholarship from the Charles Beaird Foundation for my 2007 Trek fees, and I am writing this letter to express my sincerest thanks to you for providing this scholarship.
“Becoming a member of the OneGreatRiver organization has allowed me to experience activities of great discovery and personal growth. Each of the activities, beginning with the Trust/Team Building through the Challenge By Choice, were wonderful and educational. But, the trek trip capped off everything! The white water rafting, rock climbing, mountain biking, and day hiking will always be some of the great learning experiences of my life. I have enclosed photos to show how much I enjoyed the trek!
“Your generosity has made a profound impact on my life, and I am truly grateful. Thank you once again for your contributions to the OneGreatRiver program and to me.
“Sincerely yours,
Forrest H. Ashley
3310 Blanchard Road
Shreveport, LA71103
More on OneGreatRiver
Does OneGreatRiver work? We at the Beaird Foundation obviously think so, since we’ve funded it at least six times in recent years. So does Peter Bunce, OGR’s executive director, but he wants to prove it with a “Gold Standard Evaluation,” as he explained in a recent visit to the office.
The program involves adolescents at a period in their lives when thrill-seeking is the norm – and when too many find their thrills in substance abuse and crime. OGR works with adolescents from diverse backgrounds to help them choose “healthy thrills” instead, and to try to set that pattern for the rest of their lives. At the same time it teaches – by experience – leadership, team-building and conflict resolution.
While there are a number of such programs around the country, no one, according to Bunce, has done a control study to prove that “experiential education” actually works. He says the Daniels Fund (Denver), the National Institute of Health and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (a division of NIH) have expressed interest in such a study, but he is also searching for a local foundation to be the “lead dog” in this hunt – namely us.
He’ll bring in OGR’s formal grant request for Spring 2008 consideration.
For more on the program,
In the nearer future…
Of more immediate interest is the arrival of requests for the Fall 2007 grant cycle. Already in hand are one from The Glen Retirement System (Shreveport) for $100,000 to renovate their long-term care facility, as well as one from BluffLakeNatureCenter (Denver) for $10,000 to support their science andenvironmental programs for children in low-income schools.
There have been a few others which went to the “reject” pile for reasons of location or ineligibility, but we expect the legitimate ones to start rolling in as August appears on the calendar. Our deadline is Sept. 1, with grants to be distributed to Grants Committee members for investigation so that they can report to the Board for its Oct. 27 meeting.
Committee ‘commercial’
That brings us to another commercial for the Grants Committee, for which we need a few more members so that the load can be fairly distributed. This is an opportunity to get into the real workings of grant-making, to get to know some of the potential grantees – and to influence Board decisions on who gets grants and who doesn’t.
It also comes with a “perk,” namely that each member of the Grants Committee gets to recommend a grant or grants up to a total of $1,000 to qualifying nonprofit organizations of his or her choice.
If you haven’t volunteered for this but would like to, just e-mail your e.d. at and you’ll be signed up!
No Child-Care Reimbursement, per IRS
Questions posed to the legal staffs of the Council on Foundations and the Association of Small Foundations came back with this information based on IRS rules: “…costs of child-care (during any foundation meeting) are considered personal expenses, and therefore not reimbursable by the foundation…” Therefore, the resolution approved at the May 27th meeting is effectively not in force.
On the Income side…
The Vaughan Nelson portfolio at the end of Mayhad market value of $4,685,398.33. As of June 30, it had slipped a little to $4,646,284.50 – a loss of $39,112.83. Please note, however,that this was before the July run-up in stocks – which, if it holds, should tell a different story next month.
Another note from the VN report: Over the past one-year period, the portfolio’s value has increased 18.4%
Still Veep Duncan
In case anyone wondered why we didn’t elect a new Vice President when Duncan’s Board term ended in May, it’s because he’s still Vice President, and happy to be so. The only officer who must also be a Board member is the President, so though he’s no longer on the board, he’s Veep Duncan until the end of the officers’ terms next May.
A few G.E.M.S.
Volunteers for Youth Justice, another major grantee of ours, has an in-house organization which pairs at-risk teen girls with positive female role models. They recently held a garage sale and raised $1,200 to pay for their members’ trip to the Always Sisters conference in Nashville. The group’s name? Girls Empowered to Move Successfully – true G.E.M.S.
Not a one-way street
Lest you think these occasional communications will always be one-way, please be aware that the forum is open to anyone who wants to contribute. If you have a special message to send to other Foundation members, e-mail it to by the 15th of the month and it will be in the 20th-of-the-month newsletter.
Likewise, if you have a particular question about the Foundation – or foundations in general – that you’d like to have answered for all the Members, send that too.
Report from the Gulf…
No hurricanes, but not many fish, either. A bay charter (paid) in search of speckled trout turned out to be an enjoyable boat ride but little else. Surf-casting (free) was a slightly better story.
The first day’s catch from the shoreline was one whiting (keeper), one ladyfish (trash), one small shark (feisty) and one brown crab (indignant).
Things got a little more consistent as the week went on, and by Friday evening there was an accumulation of fillets in the fridge sufficient to feed a houseful at dinner. What more could one ask?
Hope your summer continues to be a good one!
1