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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: philanthropy

philanthropy stories: 64 news summaries

41 - 60 of 64 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 4 Next >>

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 Teary Farewell for Gates 

Microsoft CEO salutes founder, leaving after 33 years, for 'enormous opportunity'

Jun 27, 08 4:18 PM CDT
(Newser) - Microsoft celebrated Bill Gates’ last day as a full-time employee today, the Seattle Times reports. More than 800 employees, family members and friends shared memories at the company’s corporate conference center in Redmond, Wash. CEO Steve Ballmer bid a tearful farewell to his longtime friend: "We've been given... More »

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philanthropy • technology • Microsoft • Bill Gates • computer programming • Steve Ballmer • Redmond • computer science

 Prize Philanthropy:
 A Winning Concept 

Donors make innovators compete for cash

Jun 12, 08 12:53 PM CDT
(Newser) - When the X-Prize foundation offered $10 million to anyone who could develop a viable commercial spacecraft, it didn’t just send innovators scurrying, and it didn’t just grab headlines. It also began the next big trend in philanthropy. Donors are in love with prize philanthropy, Portfolio reports, and causes... More »

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philanthropy • contest • innovation • space flight • prize • invention

OPINION

 Make Dams and Food,
 Not War and Ethanol 

A dollar of prevention is worth many times that in cure, researcher pleads

May 22, 08 4:55 PM CDT
(Newser) - Ethanol is among the "poor solutions to high-profile problems" researcher Bjorn Lomborg blasts in the Wall Street Journal. According to calculations by his Copenhagen Consensus, “carbon mitigation policies” return only 90 cents for every dollar spent; in contrast, he writes, $1 billion spent on tuberculosis would result in... More »

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philanthropy • civil war • food shortage • environmental impact • Iraq war • Iraq war spending • carbon emissions • international aid

Shakira Shakes Cash Loose
for Charity

Pair of star-studded shows take on Latin American poverty

May 18, 08 11:30 AM CDT
(Newser) - Shakira, Ricky Martin, and dozens of other Spanish-speaking pop stars performed at simultaneous fundraising concerts in Mexico City and Buenos Aires yesterday, reports the LA Times. “It is doable, we can really eradicate poverty,” said the Colombian singer, whose shows benefited Alas, a charity that helps Latin America's... More »

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philanthropy • music • Latin America • Mexico City • charity • fundraiser • concert • Buenos Aires • Shakira • Ricky Martin

 Harvard Gets $100M 
 From Rockefeller 

Gift will fund study-abroad and arts programs

Apr 25, 08 3:02 PM CDT
(Newser) - Harvard fund managers rejoice! The university will get to stock its coffers, already $35 billion strong, with a $100 million gift from David Rockefeller, the largest ever by an alumnus, the New York Times reports. The money will be used to expand the university's arts program and help more... More »

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philanthropy • Ivy League • Harvard • endowment • David Rockefeller

 Peru Distributes '$100 Laptop' 

One Laptop per Child effort faces on-the-ground test

Apr 24, 08 3:18 PM CDT
(Newser) - One Laptop per Child got a bumpy start, with the “$100 laptop” soaring to $188, for-profit competitors snatching customers, and developing countries hesitating to buy. But the true test for the nonprofit comes now, as Peru prepares to send 486,500 computers to its poorest schoolchildren. The country faces... More »

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philanthropy • Peru • developing countries • One Laptop Per Child • XO laptop

Bill's Charity Linked to Tibet Crackdown

'Philanthropic dynamo' took '05 donation from shady Internet firm

Apr 13, 08 11:56 AM CDT
(Newser) - Hillary Clinton's strong public stance against the crackdown in Tibet flies in the face of her husband's past fundraising ties in China, reports the LA Times. At the crux is a 2005 speech the former president gave for which he received an undisclosed donation to his charitable foundation—from... More »

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philanthropy • Hillary Clinton • Internet • censorship • Bill Clinton • charity • Democratic presidential candidates • first lady • Internet censorship

 Hockney Donates
 40-Footer to Tate 

Enormous work would have fetched millions on open market

Apr 8, 08 8:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - David Hockney has donated his largest-ever painting to London's Tate museum rather than sell it for a presumed price of several million dollars, reports the Times of London. Hockney, one of the world's foremost figurative painters, said donating the 40-foot-long Bigger Trees Near Warter was a "duty," and... More »

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philanthropy • London • art • Tate Gallery • David Hockney • Bigger Trees Near Warter • art donations

 Robin Williams, Wife Divorcing

Comedian's wife files to end 19-year marriage

Mar 27, 08 7:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - Funnyman Robin Williams and his wife are splitting up after 19 years of marriage, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. The divorce petition, filed by Marsha Williams in San Francisco, cited irreconcilable differences. The pair met when Marsha worked as a nanny for Williams' son from a previous marriage. She later... More »

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philanthropy • divorce • celebrity • comedian • Robin Williams • Marsha Garces Williams • Blue Wolf Productions • Windfall Foundation

TV REVIEW

With Big Give, Oprah Shows Smaller Side

Reality charity show provokes sniffles, but writer calls it vain

Mar 21, 08 6:26 PM CDT
(Newser) - The new ABC show Oprah’s Big Give might be exactly what it claims—an epically scaled, nurturing-obsessed cult of personality—but the format is old and unsuitable, Nancy Franklin writes in the New Yorker, and the star is self-obsessed. The competition charity program sometimes reduced to her tears, Franklin... More »

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philanthropy • reality TV • ABC • Oprah Winfrey • competition • Ford • James Frey • Oprah's Big Give

Oprah Makes Giving Competitive

New show's contestants will compete to be the best philanthropist

Mar 2, 08 12:42 PM CST
(Newser) - Heavyweight philanthropist Oprah Winfrey will outsource giving to a whole new level tonight: Her new ABC reality show, “Oprah’s Big Give,” makes charity a competition. Contestants compete to raise money for needy folks and causes, and each week the lowest-earner is given the boot, reports the New ... More »

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philanthropy • Hurricane Katrina • reality TV • ABC • Oprah Winfrey • Extreme Makeover • Oprah's Big Give • Survivor

The House of Mirthlessness

Drowning in debt,
Edith Wharton's
Mass. estate faces foreclosure

Feb 28, 08 12:19 PM CST
(Newser) - Edith Wharton's masterpieces include The House of Mirth, but the story of her own house is much less joyous. Her estate in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, currently a museum called the Mount that chronicles her life and career, is drowning under some $9 million in debt. Now, writes the Berkshire ... More »

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philanthropy • literature • foreclosure • museums • Edith Wharton • the Mount • Berkshires • The House of Mirth • estate

Microsoft
Pioneer Leaves $65M to Gay Rights Groups

Gates' high school pal leaves a record gift

Feb 25, 08 6:07 AM CST
(Newser) - One of the first five Microsoft employees has left $65 million of his estate to gay rights groups, the Seattle Times reports. Ric Weiland, who helped high school friends Bill Gates and Paul Allen launch Microsoft, committed suicide in 2006 at age 53. His donation is believed to be the... More »

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philanthropy • gay rights • Microsoft • AIDS • Bill Gates • Seattle • National Gay and Lesbian Task Force • Paul Allen • Ric Weiland • Pride Foundation • Lambda Legal • American Foundation for AIDS Research • bequest

New Breed of Billionaire Rises in Third World

Moguls turn into philanthropists to fund education, health care

Dec 14, 07 1:26 PM CST
(Newser) - A new type of billionaire with a philanthropic bent for social causes is emerging from once-poor nations such as Turkey, India, and Mexico, the New York Times reports. The billionaires, who generally made their money through investment in surging local markets, draw comparison to American titans of old such as... More »

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philanthropy • Warren Buffett • Roman Abramovich • Husnu Oyzegin

You, Too, Can Donate Online

AOL founder Steve Case hopes web
will democratize philanthropy

Dec 13, 07 10:07 AM CST
(Newser) - AOL founder Steve Case’s foundation is launching a major online charity drive today, aimed at using social networks and encouraging small-scale donors to join the ranks of millionaires. The drive consists of a new app, “causes” on Facebook, and a spread in this Sunday’s Parade Magazine. Facebook... More »

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philanthropy • charity • donation • giving • online philanthropy

Ditka Versus Da Charity

Dissolves fund he established for ex-players

Dec 11, 07 11:45 PM CST
(Newser) - Hall of Fame Assistance Trust was little more than friends "just mailing out checks to Hall of Famers we knew were having problems," according to the legendary player, coach and founder of the organization, Mike Ditka. Ditka announced yesterday that he will dissolve the charity, which gave away... More »

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philanthropy • NFL • Mike Ditka • charity

Gates Aims $100M at Polio

Foundation aims to eradicate disease

Nov 27, 07 4:30 AM CST
(Newser) - The world stands at the brink of eradicating polio, Bill Gates says, and his foundation yesterday awarded $100 million toward that end. One of the foundation's largest challenge grants will fund programs in four countries where the disease is still epidemic, notably Nigeria. The Rotary Foundation received the grant and... More »

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philanthropy • Bill Gates • Nigeria • World Health Organization • infectious diseases • Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation • disease control • rare diseases • polio • Rotary International

He Quietly Gave Away Billions

But now the secretive philanthropist spills the beans behind his generosity

Sep 29, 07 10:39 AM CDT
(Newser) - Chuck Feeney’s foundation gave $458 million in grants last year—third only to Ford and Gates—but very few know the secretive philanthropist’s name. Having thus far shielded himself from fame, Feeney gets some star treatment in a new biography that sheds light on his good deeds and... More »

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philanthropy • Africa • Vietnam • AIDS • Cuba • Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation • Atlantic Philanthropies • duty free • Ford Foundation

Clinton Summit Pulls in Billions

Norway, Netherlands, Brangelina vow to help

Sep 27, 07 7:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - Over 1,000 philanthropists pledged billions of dollars at this year's Clinton Global Initiative, where the ex-president annually brings together world leaders, corporate biggies and change-minded celebs. Angelina Jolie plans to educate 1 million children in conflicted areas; Brad Pitt pledged $5 million to build homes in New Orleans, and... More »

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philanthropy • Africa • Angelina Jolie • pregnancy • Brad Pitt • New Orleans • Bill Clinton • Netherlands • Norway • infant mortality • charity • donation • Clinton Global Initiative

The Heart of Geekness Will Save Us All

Nerds grasp large-scale human suffering much better, Wired says

Sep 1, 07 5:43 PM CDT
(Newser) - Why is Bill Gates, “practically a social cripple,” going to save the world? Because of numbers, says Clive Thompson in Wired. More than most, the Microsoft maverick -- who spearheads tireless crusades against poverty and AIDS -- can comprehend large quantities, while research shows that most of us... More »

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philanthropy • Bill Gates • aid • psychology • Paul Slovic • Decision Research • numeracy • Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

41 - 60 of 64 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 4 Next >>


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