A First for Women's Rights Funding

In March, the Global Fund for Women will announce a new endowment aimed at protecting women's rights—the first international effort of its size and scope.

The endowment will provide two vehicles for giving: The Now or Never Fund, to respond quickly to crises confronting women defending reproductive rights, challenging religious extremism and rebuilding lives devastated by war; and The Legacy Fund, to expand grantmaking capacity for women around the world.

The fund will commit $10 million to those efforts during the next five years. Read more about the fund at: www.globalfundforwomen.org.

—Darlene M. Siska

Measured, Then Reinstated

The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation resumed its capital grants program and an associated planning and technical assistance program in February. Both programs had been temporarily suspended during 2003 while the foundation's board evaluated their impact on grantees.

Foundation President Steve Anderson said that the foundation "continues to look for ways to improve the process by which we award grants so that the agencies and communities we serve receive the greatest benefit from our programs. Based upon our research over the past year, our board feels we have made and will continue to make such an impact in both of these program initiative areas."

Eligibility for the programs is limited to organizations based in Arkansas, Nevada and Oklahoma. For more on the programs, visit www.dwreynolds.org.

—Paula J. Kelly

Focusing on Goals

The Benton Foundation announced that it is "focus[ing] its activities on an area of longstanding and core interest—ensuring that the public benefits from the emerging digital communications environment." Among the goals: "promoting a public interest vision and communications policy alternatives" and "raising awareness among funders and nonprofits of their stake in these critical policy issues."

The foundation and the Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC) will create a new Center for Media & Community that concentrates on using media and technology "to strengthen both actual and virtual communities, promote the development of 21st century skills for underserved youth and foster lifelong learning."

A three-year grant of $668,000—the largest in the foundation's history—will launch the center, which will include the foundation's Digital Divide Network. Read the press release: www.benton.org/press/2004/pr0204.html.

—Paula J. Kelly

Web Sight

At www.grants.gov, federal government employees who oversee grantmaking agencies can post available grant opportunities and application packages, as well as apply tracking numbers to grant proposals. Grantseekers can use the website to locate potential funding sources and apply for grants at 900 federal grantmaking agencies. The site includes tutorials to familiarize users with its features.

Media Eye on Philanthropy

The Council on Foundations' media relations department compiled articles from mid-December 2003 through January 2004 by some of the top national publications. Articles highlighting charitable giving/philanthropy by foundations and individual donors made headlines during the holiday season. In addition, compensation and oversight, international grantmaking and private foundations also received press coverage.

Heightened interest in those issues may affect how the public and grantees perceive foundation activities.

For further information on how to respond to media inquiries related to those issues, contact Jeff Martin, the Council's director for media relations, at media@cof.org.

All articles have been highlighted in Breaking News, a free, members-only e-newsletter summarizing the top articles about philanthropy each weekday.

To subscribe to Breaking News, e-mail your name, title and foundation name to media@cof.org.

Noted in Media Eye on Philanthropy

Private Foundations (25 articles)

Charitable Giving/Philanthropy (17 articles)

Compensation/Oversight (14 articles)
What are appropriate compensation levels for executives and trustees of foundations and nonprofits?

International (8 articles)
Highlighting international grantmaking foundations as well as the awareness of philanthropy efforts in other parts of the world.