It is now officially dead week of Spring term 2010. While some people are “dead” because they have nothing to do besides bar-hopping with friends before summer tears them all apart, many people are “dead” from lack of sleep, paper deadlines, last minute midterms (not cool), and the yearning for summer. I fall into the latter this week but I have good faith that I’ll get everything done. Do or die, right?
This is my last blog posting for this class and I’m a little weepy about it. This class has been my favorite classes this term and one of the more interesting out of all the classes I’ve taken at U of O. I have learned so much more about my world and my country because the class is set up to insure that the studies are always applicable to current events. Through this class I have restored some faith in the human race through learning how a few individuals can take a dream or cause and use it to help people with little monetary reward for themselves. I never realized the difficulties and sacrifices involved in forming a nonprofit and I now hold more respect for individuals that take that path. I am now officially a nonprofit advocate that not only researches them in my free time, but now brings them up in conversations. I’d like to thank Bob and Sarah for leading a great class together and for giving me a new optimism every Monday and Wednesday night.
The last week or so we have been focusing primarily on ins and outs of foundations. For me, foundations have always been that thing that I hear about and then immediately move past for more thought tangents. I had always overlooked the fact that there are different types of foundations that are made by completely different people for endless causes. As in most things, companies have their own corporate foundations that work to both help the community and themselves through public relations, advertising, and forms of further research in some cases such as pharmaceutical companies. In these cases it is sometimes hard to think of corporate foundations in a good light when they are using charity as a way for them to make more money. However since corporate foundations are usually well endowed and 98% of foundation funds go to nonprofits, it becomes hard for nonprofits to turn away thousands of dollars in grants even if it came from a BP foundation like the Conservation Leadership Programme.
I found it interesting how foundations sometimes have to change their mission to adapt to a new society with new needs. It’s interesting how massive amounts of money fall into causes like Hersey’s foundation for the Hershey Industrial School and the grants that come out of Fossil, Oregon from grandmas. This is because Milton Hershey and those Fossil grandmas (no pun intended) formed a connection with a community and wish to help by giving back. Although the grants from the old women may be small in comparison to a pharmaceutical company’s foundation, the woman from Fossil’s money holds more value because it is directly serving the community without asking for anything in return. David from the Oregon Community Foundation gave several examples of this small town charity that funds everything from scholarships to shelters. Before his presentation I had no idea what Oregon Community foundation was or what it did. I think it is a great program because it gives cautious and specific donators a legitimate resource and works with their decision. I am very proud to have such a large foundation like this serving all of Oregon.
This is my last blog posting for this class and I’m a little weepy about it. This class has been my favorite classes this term and one of the more interesting out of all the classes I’ve taken at U of O. I have learned so much more about my world and my country because the class is set up to insure that the studies are always applicable to current events. Through this class I have restored some faith in the human race through learning how a few individuals can take a dream or cause and use it to help people with little monetary reward for themselves. I never realized the difficulties and sacrifices involved in forming a nonprofit and I now hold more respect for individuals that take that path. I am now officially a nonprofit advocate that not only researches them in my free time, but now brings them up in conversations. I’d like to thank Bob and Sarah for leading a great class together and for giving me a new optimism every Monday and Wednesday night.
The last week or so we have been focusing primarily on ins and outs of foundations. For me, foundations have always been that thing that I hear about and then immediately move past for more thought tangents. I had always overlooked the fact that there are different types of foundations that are made by completely different people for endless causes. As in most things, companies have their own corporate foundations that work to both help the community and themselves through public relations, advertising, and forms of further research in some cases such as pharmaceutical companies. In these cases it is sometimes hard to think of corporate foundations in a good light when they are using charity as a way for them to make more money. However since corporate foundations are usually well endowed and 98% of foundation funds go to nonprofits, it becomes hard for nonprofits to turn away thousands of dollars in grants even if it came from a BP foundation like the Conservation Leadership Programme.
I found it interesting how foundations sometimes have to change their mission to adapt to a new society with new needs. It’s interesting how massive amounts of money fall into causes like Hersey’s foundation for the Hershey Industrial School and the grants that come out of Fossil, Oregon from grandmas. This is because Milton Hershey and those Fossil grandmas (no pun intended) formed a connection with a community and wish to help by giving back. Although the grants from the old women may be small in comparison to a pharmaceutical company’s foundation, the woman from Fossil’s money holds more value because it is directly serving the community without asking for anything in return. David from the Oregon Community Foundation gave several examples of this small town charity that funds everything from scholarships to shelters. Before his presentation I had no idea what Oregon Community foundation was or what it did. I think it is a great program because it gives cautious and specific donators a legitimate resource and works with their decision. I am very proud to have such a large foundation like this serving all of Oregon.
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