Nonprofit News and Comment

LEADERSHIP

“Obama Picks Foundation President for Budget Chief.” By Annie Lowrey. New York Times. March 3, 2013. President Obama plans to nominate Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the president of the Walmart Foundation, as his budget chief, a White House official said on Sunday. Ms. Burwell, if confirmed by the Senate, would step into the role amid heated budget battles with Congressional Republicans. Federal agencies have started to implement the budget cuts known as sequestration — $85 billion in blunt, across-the-board spending reductions that were meant to force Democrats and Republicans to reach a long-term deal to pare the deficit. Ms. Burwell would bring a new voice to an administration that has developed a reputation for insularity, and she would provide some gender diversity to a circle of top White House aides that is dominated by men. Ms. Burwell would be only the second woman to hold the title of budget director, after Alice Rivlin, an economist now at the Brookings Institution, who held the job in the Clinton administration. Ms. Burwell’s selection, which was expected, was to be announced on Monday. She has worked in the nonprofit world since leaving politics, spending much of the 2000s at the Gates Foundation, the $36 billion fund that finances global health and poverty-eradication programs. She has led the billion-dollar Walmart Foundation, the charitable organization with ties to Wal-Mart Stores Inc., since late 2011.

“Ford Foundation Head Steps Down.” By John Schwartz. New York Times. March 5, 2013. The president of the Ford Foundation, Luis A. Ubiñas, will leave in September after six years at the nation’s second-largest philanthropic organization. Mr. Ubiñas engineered an overhaul intended to streamline Ford’s operations and led Ford through the worst of the recession. “One of the hardest things for a leader is to know when to step down,” he wrote to the staff.

LEADERSHIP

“Heifer International: Pierre Ferrari on Thursday was named CEO of Heifer International. Food industry exec leads hunger-fighting nonprofit;
Ben & Jerry’s chairman, an ex Coke vice president, takes reins at Heifer International.” MSNBC. October 28, 2010. A food industry executive once focused solely on selling food is the new leader of a nonprofit organization
that gives away animals worldwide so families can feed themselves.Little Rock, Ark.-based Heifer International on Thursday introduced Pierre Ferrari as its chief executive officer. He replaces Jo Luck, who stepped away from the CEO duty in January but remains president of the organization, which provides cows, goats, water buffalo and other livestock to thousands of people in more than 50
countries, including the United States. The charity focuses on helping the poor become self-sufficient and urges the people it helps to go on to train others. Ferrari is a former senior vice president of Coca Cola USA and is chairman of the board of Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream. He plans to step down as chairman but stay on the board as he devotes time to Heifer. Coca-Cola recently was cited by Melinda Gates in a TED video as a model from which nonprofits can take a cue.

LEADERSHIP

“Former Mercury News editor named CEO of National Audubon Society.” By Paul Rogers. San Jose Mercury-News. July 29, 2010. David Yarnold, the former executive editor and editorial pages editor of the San Jose Mercury News, on Thursday was named president and CEO of the National Audubon Society. Founded in 1905 and based in New York City, the National Audubon Society is one of America’s most prominent conservation groups, with an annual budget of $86 million last year and more than 500 chapters. “David brings proven leadership in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors to Audubon at a time when efforts to protect birds, habitats and the resources that sustain us are needed more than ever,” said Holt Thrasher, chairman of Audubon’s board of directors. Yarnold leaves his job as executive director of the Environmental Defense Fund, also based in New York City.

LEADERSHIP

“The Philanthropist King.” By Amie Parnes. Politico.com. December 4, 2009. Billionaire Stephen Schwarzman, the 53rd richest American, is old chairman and chief executive of the Blackstone Group, a global alternative asset manager, also serves as a trustee of the New York City Ballet, the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Frick Collection and chairman of the Kennedy Center for the Arts. Last year he donated $100 million to the New York Public Library, as part of a $1 billion expansion. When construction of the handsome Fifth Avenue building is completed in 2014, it will carry his name.

LEADERSHIP

“Few Latinos in leadership positions at California nonprofits.” By Joe Rodriguez. San Jose Mercury-News. November 12, 2009. While Latinos make up more than a third of California’s population, they are the least represented ethnic or racial group in nonprofit organizations throughout the state, according to a new report. In the first study of its kind, the Urban Institute said Latinos lagged significantly behind whites, Asians and blacks in nonprofit leadership and employment.

“Q&A: Civil Society to Lose Major Supporter.” No by-line. Inter Press Service News Agency. November 13, 2009. Human rights and democracy are causes that are never completely won, which is why civil society needs the support of philanthropists. This is the view of Gara LaMarche, chief executive and president of The Atlantic Philanthropies (TAP), one of the largest philanthropic foundations in the world. It spends some 400 million dollars annually in seven countries: South Africa, Vietnam, Ireland, Northern Ireland, the U.S., Bermuda and Australia.

LEADERSHIP

“The Biz Beat; CARE chief taps business know-how.” By Henry Unger. Atlanta Journal-Constitution. November 3, 2009. Dr. Helene Gayle heads one of the most critical non-profits in the world, Atlanta-based CARE. But she’s increasingly focusing on lessons from the corporate world when directing her organization’s fight against worldwide poverty. These days, Gayle said, the line between for-profits and non-profits is blurring. Companies want to have a sustained impact if they’re going to do engage in “social responsibility.” At the same time, non-profits like CARE need corporate know-how, along with corporate money.

“Oregon forester heads national foundation’s board.” By Amy Hsuan. Oregonian. November 6, 2009. The American Forest Foundation has named Clint Bentz, a Scio forest owner, chairman of its board of trustees. The foundation, which represents 90,000 forest owners, is the oldest and largest forest landowner group in the nation. With the economy delivering a harsh blow to the timber industry, the foundation has also been focused on addressing issues of forest loss, emerging markets, climate change and taxation.