Philanthropy Front and Center-Cleveland

NBA Player Devin Green Returns Home to Inspire Akron Youth

(This post, re-published here with permission from blogger Tracey Webb, originally appeared in blackgivesback a blog dedicated to philanthropy in the black community.)

Akron, OH, October 13, 2009 – Professional basketball player Devin Green of the Minnesota Timberwolves went back to high school for a day in his hometown of Akron, Ohio to share his journey to the NBA with students at Butchel High school. Green’s summer was the subject of a YouTube documentary entitled "Devin Green: The Journey,”chronicling his collegiate hoops at Hampton University, and professional career in the NBA and overseas. On September 11th, Green journeyed home to Ohio to impart his learned lessons on and off the court.

Buchtel High School opened in 1931 and was named after John R. Buchtel, one of Akron's leading industrialists and philanthropists. Green spoke with two groups of students, an academic scholars program and the basketball team. Green played on the varsity basketball team for two seasons for the “Griffins” and appreciated the home court advantage to speak with the students. “Home is where the heart is, I love Ohio and appreciate all the support and encouragement,” said Green. “The Journey is a documentary about my life and professional athletic career. I want to share my journey and let the students know I sat where they are sitting and that dreams come true.”

On September 28th, Green signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves as an unrestricted free agent. Green has played with the Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs and European teams.

Green’s commitment to giving back and his diverse support group propels him to keep going. His hometown of Ohio is where Green garnered his spirit of community service, zest for success and work ethic – on and off the court.

 

Green has “home-court” advantage and wants to inspire Ohio students to appreciate their own “Journey.” "I found Devin's visit informative and his presentation was engaging," said Brian Turner, College Access Coordinator, Project GRAD Akron. "The students were receptive to his message and hopefully it will inspire them to go to college and embark on their own journey." To view a clip of Devin’s documentary, The Journey, visit HERE.

Photos: (Top) Devin Green with Project GRAD advisors; (bottom) Devin with Butchel High School students

London Fletcher's London's Bridge Foundation Offers Mentoring for Youth

(This post, re-published here with permission from blogger Tracey Webb, originally appeared in blackgivesback, a blog dedicated to philanthropy in the black community.)

In 2003, NFL-er London Fletcher [a Cleveland native who attended John Carroll University] of the Washington Redskins founded the London’s Bridge Foundation, an Ohio-based non profit organization to build standards of education, leadership, teamwork and recreation for today’s youth, with the ultimate goal of instilling the values of volunteerism and philanthropy. Through the foundation’s mentoring and charitable giving programs, they teach youth life skills and valuable learning lessons. One of those programs is London’s Brigade, a community project that provides access to mentors 24/7. The project uses its website, which features a blog and discussion board, to connect with students.

On September 22, 2009 during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s annual legislative conference, Fletcher along with foundation staff and mentors took youth on a tour of the U.S. Capitol (in photo above) in Washington, D.C. They met Rep. Eleanor Norton and learned about various scholarship opportunities available to them. Norton, expressing appreciation to the foundation’s staff for bringing the youth to her office, shared that she rarely gets a chance to meet her youngest constituents. After spending the day on Capitol Hill, the youth were treated to a surprise dinner at B. Smith's restaurant in Union Station.

This month, the foundation’s theme is journalism and their upcoming mentoring trips will allow the youth to tour the Newseum, participate in a civil rights course that will allow them to stage their own mock social movement, visit BET and meet with executives in the entertainment industry, tour the Redskins stadium and have a chance to go on the field and write news paper articles about their experience.

The foundation states, “the central focus of the project is to provide students with an alternate game plan should their hopes and dreams of being professional athletes and entertainers not materialize. For many kids, especially minorities, these are the only perceived means of obtaining professional success. Thus, our primary goal is to introduce our students to alternative career options.” In addition to Washington, D.C., the foundation has provided mentoring activities in Cleveland, Ohio; Buffalo, New York; and Charlotte, N.C. (In photo: Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton and London Fletcher.) For more information, visit the website.

Hard Times on Historically Black Campuses

The New York Times ran an interesting article (registration required) a couple of weeks ago about the effect of the economy on black campuses. The article talks specifically about some of the hardships being faced by historically black institutions in Atlanta. Clark Atlanta University laid off 70 faculty members and 30 staff members in February 2009 as well as canceling physical education classes. Spelman College, among the wealthiest and most prestigious historically black colleges, eliminated 35 staff positions after a decline in enrollment precipitated a projected $48 million deficit next year. Morris Brown College just paid off the majority of a $200,000 water bill and averted having its water shut off.

This makes me wonder how Ohio's historically black colleges are doing: Central State University and Wilberforce University?

Although colleges and universities all over the U.S. are looking at shrinking endowments, decreasing giving and government cutbacks, historically black institutions have two major disadvantages during hard economic times. They typically have smaller endowments requiring heavier reliance on tuition and fees. They also have a higher proportion of disadvantaged students who are now facing their own credit crunch when they apply for loans.

According to Dr. Michael Lomax, president of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), the amount UNCF has collected for scholarships was down 10 percent in 2008, while the number of applications increased 26 percent. UNCF provides operating funds for its 39 member colleges (including Wilberforce University), all of them small, liberal arts institutions; administers 300 scholarship and internship programs; and serves as a national advocate for the importance of minority higher education. They've set up an Emergency Student Aid funding appeal.

For information about searching for financial aid for education, see our tutorial Finding Foundation Support for Your Education (registration required) or our section of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) concerning financial aid. 

(Originally posted by Kayron Bearden, Reference Librarian, Foundation Center-Atlanta, in Philanthropy Front and Center-Atlanta)

News Round Up: Minority Business Accelerator; JumpStart

The involvement of Northeast Ohio's philanthropic and nonprofit communities in economic development continues to make the news:

• With a goal of assisting 10 companies in 2008, a recent article in the Plain Dealer explores the work to-date of the Minority Business Accelerator 2.5+, a $1 million project seeded by the Fund for Our Economic Future, which aims to expand minority-owned businesses in Northeast Ohio with sales of at least $2.5 million. During its first 6 months, the Accelerator has registered 30 companies and has 2 deals underway.


• JumpStart Inc., another economic development group supported by foundations and the Fund for Our Economic Future, garnered some nice ink in the New York Times recently. Praising JumpStart's approach, Robert Litan, director of research for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, said “The traditional model for helping relatively depressed areas of the country is smokestack chasing, where a city provides incentives to attract companies or to keep them from leaving,” he said. “But the problem with that approach is that it is very expensive and it is a zero sum game from the point of the country as a whole, because if I attract a company to my city, then I win, but the city where the company used to be from loses.” If a city can successfully spawn more businesses locally, Mr. Litan said, then they are more likely to stay at home.

If you are wondering about the impact of efforts like these and others on moving the dial of Northeast Ohio's economy, check out the the Dashboard of Economic Indicators and read some good news posted at Advance Northeast Ohio about $1.5 million heading our way from the Economic Development Administration (EDA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Speaking of Funding for Economic Development...

Have you taken our poll yet (look right!)? We want to know what you think grantmakers should invest in when it comes to economic development.

Here's one example of such an investment:

The Cleveland-based Minority Business Accelerator 2.5+ (MBAccelerator2.5+) recently opened for business. A new initiative of the Commission on Economic Inclusion, the Hispanic Business Association, JumpStart, Inc., and the Northern Ohio Minority Business Council, it is funded by a first-year grant of $1 million from the Fund for Our Economic Future. 

The MBAccelerator 2.5+ is focused on growing the size, scale and infrastructure of African American and Hispanic minority-owned enterprises with annual revenues of at least $2.5 million in a 16-county area of Northeast Ohio: Ashland, Ashtabula, Carroll, Columbiana, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Richland, Stark, Summit, Trumbull, and Wayne.

The Accelerator will work with the corporate community and the public sector to determine the demand for business-to-business opportunities. It will then use that demand to identify minority-owned enterprises for participation. Economic indicators suggest these opportunities are likely to be in  construction, manufacturing, IT, financial services, and health care.

What do you think? Is philanthropic investment in this type of business development and promotion good for the communities of Northeast Ohio? Is it good for philanthropy?

Do you want a more global take on capitalism, philanthropy, and economic development?  Excerpts from Bill Gates' speech at the World Economic Forum were recently posted at our big-sister blog, PhilanTopic.

First, Northeast Ohio, then the world!?!

--Cindy Bailie