Success Stories

Region: National

A FEW WORDS WITH: Ashley Snowdon Blanchard

Each month, we spend a few minutes with a leader in a particular field, foundation or issue area, to seek their thoughts about how donors can best make a difference in low-income communities.  In keeping with this month’s focus on collaboration, we catch up with the President of the Hill-Snowdon Foundation Board, Ashley Snowdon Blanchard. 

Contorer Foundation stresses strategy and humility

When successful technology executive Aaron Contorer started his own family foundation, he was not simply trying to create a more meaningful life for himself. He felt compelled to ensure a sustainable future for generations to come. He seeks to accelerate social change in his community.  A former Microsoft executive who helped build products including Windows and MSN, Aaron became inspired by his former boss’ philanthropy while working with him in Seattle in the late 1990s.  “Bill Gates was obviously an amazing role model regarding the importance of philanthropy and focusing on results,” recalls Aaron, 41. “He looks at philanthropy as real work to improve the world rather than just the opportunity to write checks and hope that it does something.”

The Siebel Foundation: strategic focus achieves groundbreaking results

When Woodside, CA-based software developer Tom Siebel and his wife Stacey established the Thomas and Stacey Siebel Foundation in 1996, they did something few philanthropic organizations do:  they chose not to accept grant proposals. Investing primarily in projects it creates and operates, the Siebel Foundation’s strategic philanthropy focuses on community-based organizations that benefit the homeless and underprivileged, methamphetamine prevention as well as creative educational, research and alternative energy initiatives.  “I have the opportunity to work with some very talented people...where the consequences of failure are actually very low, and the consequences of success are almost unbelievable.”  Unbelievable success is exactly what the Siebel Foundation has achieved since launching The Meth Project in Montana in 2005.

The Discount Foundation: a small foundation focused on big impact

“What is special about Discount is that it believes that people in the community who are directly experiencing poverty have a fundamental insight into what’s happening in their lives, their families and their communities,” notes Henry Allen, executive director of the Discount Foundation, adding that the heart of Discount’s strategy is developing leaders from within. 

“Leadership development is all about drawing on people’s first-hand experiences, and trusting that they have the ability to work collectively to change the situations they confront. There’s nothing theoretical about it.”  Established in 1977, Discount supports community-based organizations striving to inspire and organize the working poor to improve their living conditions and economic opportunities.

Through Multiple Generations: Rosenwald and Stern Families' Philanthropic Journey

When David Stern’s great-grandfather, Julius Rosenwald, established the Rosenwald Fund in 1917, he set a philanthropic precedent for the family. Rosenwald, who was instrumental in shaping the success of Sears and Roebuck Company, focused on philanthropy after resigning as president from Sears. When the Rosenwald Fund was initiated, he made the decision to use all his funds for philanthropic purposes, and to spend out the fund in 25 years. “He believed that foundations should not exist in perpetuity,” explains David Stern. “-- That all assets should be spent in one generation.  He believed philanthropic dollars should be used to bring about desired social outcomes, not to create a foundation interested in self-preservation.”

From this basis, succeeding generations would make decisions that embraced a variety of groundbreaking and creative grant-making strategies, influencing U.S. philanthropy and simultaneously facilitating social change.

Friedman Family Foundation takes aim at poverty's root causes

When Friedman Family Foundation directors review requests for funding, they begin with a question: “Does this program have the potential to promote or create community change?”  Established in 1964, by Phyllis Koshland Friedman, a member of the Levi Strauss family, and her late husband, Howard, the Friedman Family Foundation seeks long-term, widespread solutions to poverty. Lisa Kawahara, Friedman Family Foundation staffer:  “The Friedman family has always had an interest in true equity. For them, grants are not a way to give back – but a way to create opportunity for people."

Ottinger Foundation: Strong Family Vision + Innovative Executive Directors = Success

Since the mid-1950s, the Ottinger Foundation has employed a variety of strategies to make an impact on issues the family cares passionately about, including the root causes of poverty. One key to the foundation's success has been selecting executive directors that are willing and able to take on the most challenging issues--collaboratively and ambitiously. Another has been finding courageous community leaders at the fore-front of innovation.

Needmor Fund: A Long-Term Commitment to Local Community Leadership

When they started their family foundation, Duane and Virginia Secor Stranahan drew upon their parents' legacy of community stewardship. In the late 19th century, the Secors were pivotal to Toledo, Ohio's economic, intellectual, and cultural formation. In 1910, Frank Stranahan and his brother Robert founded The Champion Spark Plug Company, which was to become a leader in corporate accountability and philanthropy.  Leadership and strategies change; yet the Needmor Fund remains faithful to one goal: to empower those individuals whose basic rights to justice and opportunity are systematically ignored or denied.

Helping donors achieve impact

You have questions, when it comes to your community giving.  All over the country, your fellow donors have similar goals and face similar challenges. Learn how other donors are navigating their way to effective, satisfying community giving.

From the Trenches: A Philanthropic Experience Following Katrina

At 11 p.m. on September 7, 2005, just as I was shutting down my computer, an e-mail arrived asking whether I would be willing to go to Louisiana to help create a foundation to receive and distribute private funds for disaster relief. 

Nine days after Hurricane Katrina had hit, and with flood waters still inundating New Orleans, the Kennedy School of Government had been approached by the governor's office to send a team to join with philanthropic professionals from around the nation to plan the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation.  I jumped at the opportunity to be helpful. 

Over the next day and a half, I found it difficult enough to get confirmation of our participation, clear schedules, and coordinate flights with other Kennedy School members (Baton Rouge via Detroit), let alone gather good information from Louisiana about the particulars of our assignment and the situation on the ground. 

I packed a pillow in case I ended up sleeping on the floor of a shelter.  One of my peers brought iodine tablets for purifying non-potable water.

The Gulf Coast: Lessons on Community Building and Re-building

Hurricanes and subsequent levy breaks and flooding devastated the Gulf Coast in August 2005.  This natural and man-made disaster was particularly destructive in low-income communities.  Years later, communities continue to re-build and engage all residents in envisioning a new future for the region.  Donors like you, from the Gulf Coast region and around the country, have made a real difference in shaping a brighter, more equitable future for the Gulf Coast.  Along the way, lessons have been learned which can help instruct community building efforts all over the United States.

Melville Charitable Trust sees giving as venture capital

Charged by his dying mother to discover a mission for the fledgling Melville Charitable Trust, Frank Melville agreed, with one stipulation: he wasn't interested in supporting “horse shows and bad art.” With little background in philanthropy, Mr. Melville wondered how his small family foundation could truly have an impact in his community.

Butler Family Fund Brings Attention, Success to New Housing Strategy

In 1999, the Butler Family Fund awarded a $20,000 grant to the Southern California Association of Non-Profit Housing (SCANPH) to help launch Housing L.A., an advocacy campaign to create an affordable housing trust fund in the city of Los Angeles. 

At the time, a housing trust fund was an untested idea in Los Angeles.