Spring 2002 - East Bay Community Foundation

connections
Linking People, Programs and Resources
SPRING 2002
©2001 Vol.5, No.3
Students from Head Royce
School in Oakland hope to
fill their jar with "tiny
tickets."
Next Stop Philanthropy:
BART Tickets Add Up
to Community Support
A gold mine for area nonprofit organizations
might be hidden in your wallet, desk drawers and
pockets.
Our mission
The East Bay Community
Foundation is a permanent
endowment of charitable
funds dedicated to improving
the human condition and
enhancing the quality of life
of the residents and
communities of Alameda
and Contra Costa counties.
The objective of the
Foundation’s stewardship
and development of these
philanthropic funds is to
carry out donors’ wishes by
addressing ever-changing
community needs through
Foundation leadership,
collaboration and
grantmaking.
The East Bay Community Foundation’s Tiny Tickets
Program encourages BART riders to convert their
unused BART transit fares into charitable dollars
for their favorite local nonprofit organizations.
Launched earlier this year, the Tiny Tickets
Program has already attracted more than 200
nonprofit organizations and thousands of BART
riders. Many of these organizations have placed
receptacles in their offices or with area businesses
to collect tiny tickets. BART does not allow
permanent receptacles in or around its
stations.
Tiny tickets are those hoards of BART tickets, often
discarded or left in pockets or drawers, that have
tiny bits of value left on them that could be
turned into cash. BART has estimated that the
cash value of tiny tickets ranges from $300,000 to
$2 million annually.
Ticket holders are mailing their tickets to
participating organizations after visiting the
Foundation’s web site, www.eastbaycf.org, where
they can select from a roster of organizations
accepting tiny tickets. Organization addresses and
web sites are posted on the site.
The Foundation is working with BART to help
thousands of ticket holders turn their unused fares
into support for area community organizations.
The program allows leftover BART ticket values to
flow to nonprofits and public agencies, bringing
much needed resources to Bay Area community
organizations.
The Foundation’s coordination of the program
includes providing technical assistance to
nonprofits who collect the tickets, processing the
returned tickets and dispersing funds back to
those organizations once BART has determined
the value of their tickets.
"We see the Tiny Tickets Program as a great way
to help BART patrons become invested in their
communities simply by passing on their unused
fares to these organizations," said Michael Howe,
president of the East Bay Community Foundation.
"Just as important, the program accesses much
needed support for local organizations that have
seen their resources dwindling over the past year."
BART and the Foundation have already launched
a public relations campaign to get the word out
about tiny tickets. It includes billboards and
posters in BART stations and trains, radio
announcements, brochures, mailings, a 24-hour
information hotline and web site resources. For
more information about the program, visit the
Foundation web site at www.eastbaycf.org or
call 510/ 836.3223.
A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
michael howe
Dear Friends,
We take pride at the East Bay Community Foundation in providing high
quality personal service to our donors. It’s the principal reason the
Foundation has grown over the years and, frankly, it’s one of the main
reasons why we’ve witnessed increasing growth in donor assets in a year
when our colleague philanthropic organizations are weathering downturns.
Our donors are becoming more and more engaged in their philanthropy. Many are now interested in accessing information about their fund and performing some of their philanthropy over the Internet. Consequently, the Foundation
has developed a web tool for donor interface called Donor Express.
From now on each Foundation donor can access their donor advised fund from the Foundation’s web site. Donor
Express is a secure web portal through which Foundation donors can view their fund balances, gifts they’ve made to
their fund, grants made from the fund, and even recommend grants electronically. The information on Donor
Express is updated daily and access is password protected.
Donor Express can be accessed through the Foundation’s web site at www.eastbaycf.org. But before you do that,
please call our Ginny Hooper at 510/ 208.0822 for personal access information you’ll need to enter Donor Express.
Once in, you’ll be able to personalize your password and ID. Please contact Ginny if you experience any difficulties
using Donor Express.
Our donor service consists of a lot more than just Donor Express, however. In the next two months, donors will
receive a survey from the Foundation that will ask how we’re doing and where we might improve our service. We’d
appreciate it if you would return the survey. It provides important information that makes it possible for us to further
improve our service.
Thank you.
A Venture Capital Approach to Giving in the East Bay
A new breed of philanthropy has come to the East Bay.
Social Venture Partners (SVP) allows members to maximize
their charitable giving by making grants as a group and
investing their time and skills in the community
organizations they support.
SVP gives individuals a unique way to give back to their
community and move beyond traditional philanthropy. In
addition to making to multi-year grants together, the partners engage in a wide range of activities to assist their
grantees. For example, SVP volunteers have assisted nonprofits with strategic planning, legal and marketing work.
Partners are not required to give their time and expertise
but most do.
SVP has experienced strong growth since 1997 when it was
founded by former Aldus Corporation President Paul
Brainerd in Seattle. Now there are approximately 31 SVP
groups in different phases of operation and formation in
cities throughout the U.S and Canada. The local chapter
is SVP-Bay Area.
The East Bay Community Foundation has been working with
SVP-Bay Area since last year to form a SVP group that will
focus on investing in the East Bay. The SVP-East Bay group
will be under the larger umbrella of SVP-Bay Area but will
have a separate asset pool, thus the East Bay group will
determine its own focus for charitable giving and make their
grants independently from the existing San Francisco group.
A group of interested community members are coming
together as founding partners of SVP-East Bay.
Bill Gallagher, a local businessman, is the chairperson of
the group.
New members are welcome. A $6,000 per household
annual contribution allows you to join the group.
To learn more about SVP-East Bay, please call
Beth Shvodian at 510/208.0820.
Dr. Kathleen Hull and Foundation President Michael Howe
tour the George Mark Children’s House construction site.
H
Dr. Hull Builds Her Dream Home:
Unique Hospice for Ailing Kids
Generous gifts have helped Dr. Kathleen Hull take a huge
step forward in realizing her dream of opening the first
freestanding children’s hospice and respite care facility in the
United States. The dream began in 1998 with a donor advised
fund at the East Bay Community Foundation, and now,
thanks in part to a very generous gift from the Wayne and
Gladys Valley Foundation, George Mark Children’s House will
open its doors in Spring 2003.
"I cannot adequately put into words how exciting, and
satisfying to my soul, the weekly visits to our construction site
are," Dr. Hull said. "Our progress now is tangible and marked
by obvious milestones…the laying of the underground utilities,
the pouring of our foundation, the installation of streetlamps."
George Mark Children’s House (GMCH) will be dedicated to
the well-being and comfort of children living with lifethreatening and terminal illnesses. The House’s familycentered, life-affirming philosophy acknowledges the terrible
stress such illnesses place on every family member. In an
intimate, home-like setting, GMCH will provide services to
support parents and siblings, as well as the seriously ill child.
The ultimate goal of the House is to help families remain
intact, functional and capable of achieving the highest quality
of life together in the midst of a serious illness. Care will be
accessible to all medically eligible families, regardless of their
ability to pay.
The spacious 15,000 square foot house, nestled among trees
and gardens, will include eight children’s bedrooms and two
family suites, as well as indoor common areas and therapy
rooms. The grounds will include an all-faiths chapel and
outdoor play, garden and patio areas. The entire house and
grounds will be equipped to accommodate all the unique
needs of the children and families that GMCH will serve.
In addition to the Wayne and Gladys Valley Foundation gift,
the House has received generous contributions from the
David B. Gold Foundation, the Robert and Lois Braddock
Foundation, The Nicholson Family Foundation and the Hull
Family Foundation.
"The House has now raised nearly 90 percent of its
$13.4 million capital goal," said Deanna Dechaine, executive
director with GMCH. "We are confident that we’ll complete
the capital campaign by our grand opening next May and
then begin building our annual fund to cover House
operations."
GMCH has developed a commemorative giving program as
part of the final phase of its fundraising campaign. The
program is designed so that every gift, no matter what size,
received prior to the House opening will be recognized at the
House.
GMCH has drawn raves from local and national health care
professionals who recognize the need for residential pediatric
services, and from families who wished such services had
been available when they faced the loss of a loved one.
"GMCH will provide the missing link between the acute care
hospital setting and child’s home," said Dr. Barbara Beach,
pediatric oncologist and medical advisor to Comfort for Kids,
a pediatric care and hospice program. " The House also will
provide end-of-life care when necessary outside of the
hospital setting where it is currently provided, often
inappropriately, because of the lack of an alternative."
Dr. Hull herself was inspired to undertake the founding of the
House because of personal experiences. The House is named
in memory of her brothers, George and Mark Nicholson, who
died at young ages. As a psychologist with Children’s
Hospital, she has a deep concern for the challenges facing
families of children with terminal illnesses and sees firsthand
the unmet needs of such families.
"In retrospect I am glad I didn’t know how challenging the
last few years would prove to be," Dr. Hull said. "Fortunately,
I operate in the world with a strong sense of optimism, and
more than a modest amount of determination, so I, along
with all of our board, refused to be daunted by the obstacles
we had to overcome. We have all waited a long time to be
able to exult today in the thrill of watching our dream come
to fruition."
e
Dental Care for
Low-Income Kids
Lynn Pilant, known as the tooth fairy by her colleagues in Contra Costa
Health Services, could hear concern in the teacher's voice. A little girl in the
teacher's first-grade class at Shore Acres Elementary was experiencing dental
pain that made it impossible for her to focus on learning.
The girl, an immigrant from Mexico, would put her head down on her desk
each day, cry and complain about the pain in her mouth. Her parents were
afraid to seek health care due to their immigration status, and the pain was
preventing her from learning English and adapting to her new environment.
The call is typical of those received by Pilant, the county's dental program
manager, and Bay Point Family Health Center, a program of Contra Costa
Health Services based at Riverview Middle School, which started the Children's
Dental Health Project a year ago. A recent grant of $23,600 from the East Bay
Community Foundation will help to expand the project.
Revealing statistics bolster the anecdotes. Bay Point, Pittsburg and Concord's
Monument Corridor are poverty-stricken areas where many children suffer as
a result of poor dental care. Public health data show that 80 percent of the
children qualify for free or reduced lunches at school, and that most are
uninsured, even though 75 percent were eligible for Medi-Cal. Bay Point does
not have a fluoridated water supply. There are no private dental providers
there, and only one private pediatric dental provider in East County who will
accept Medi-Cal.
Dental screenings showed that 65 percent needed dental sealants, 25 percent
of the children assessed had obvious tooth decay, and 27 percent required
urgent treatment. This added up to frequent school absences, financial stress
on families and suffering for many children.
"Teachers told us that many of the children don't have their own toothbrushes
at home," said Conception James, program manager at Bay Point Family
Health Center.
A year ago, the clinic began providing periodic children’s dental screenings
through rotating part-time dentists and dental assistants. Children are seen at
the clinic and at schools where screenings take place on auditorium stages,
empty offices and staff lounges. Anywhere there is room, said James. Since
then the project has logged 488 visits.
Now, with the help of the Foundation’s grant, the Children's Dental Project is
expanding to help address more of these needs. The Project will be able to
take on a dental hygienist who can perform many important dental services,
ranging from cleanings to topical anesthesia, to free up the Project's dentists
to handle more complex procedures. This increased efficiency will allow the
Project to bring services to a larger number of needy youngsters. The hygienist
also will be able to visit schools, bringing dental services where they are
needed most.
Thanks to the Children's Dental Project, the young girl at Shore Acres was able
to receive dental services that corrected the problems causing her pain. Her
teacher noticed a difference in the little girl's focus and behavior and told
Pilant about the change she'd witnessed.
"She is going out to play, learning English and doing much better," said Pilant.
"We see it time and time again. Providing dental care to disadvantaged kids
makes such a difference."
RECENT GR ANTS
A Riverview Middle
School student shows off
new toothbrushes from
the Bay Point Family
Health Center.
Afghan Healthy Aging Project,
Afghan Elderly Association,
Alameda County [$10,000]
The Afghan Elderly Association
provides services to elderly, lowincome refugee Afghan women in
Fremont, Union City, Newark and
Hayward. These communities are
home to the largest Afghan
concentration in the United States.
The project offers a weekly three-hour
program for up to 80 elders and
provides nutritional and social support, English classes, recreation and a
peer-counseling program.
Readiness for Algebra and Math
Project (RAMP), Contra Costa
Economic Partnership (CCEP),
Contra Costa County [$10,000]
CCEP’s mission is to foster the
economic health and vitality of the
county. It is the founding partner of
RAMP, which insures math competency by addressing the needs of both
teachers and students. The grant
supports teacher professional development in mathematics content and
pedagogy, ongoing mathematics
coaching both inside and outside the
classroom, and additional teacher time
for discussion centered on student
achievement and assessment.
Women’s Cancer Resource Center,
Contra Costa County [$15,000]
As Bay Area cancer rates rise, women
of color and low-income women are
especially affected. Latinas, especially
monolingual Spanish-speaking
women, face high barriers to the
health care system. This grant supports the Women’s Cancer Resource
Center’s outreach and practical
support services to Latinas with
cancer and their families through the
addition of a case manager and a
multicultural outreach coordinator. All
services provided to the women by
WCRC are free of charge and include
education, information and referral,
patient advocacy, legal service and
support groups.
Community Parks and Playgrounds
Program, Trust for Public Land,
Alameda County [$20,000]
The Community Parks and
Playgrounds Program is a multi-year
initiative to create and/or revitalize
open space resources in disadvantaged Bay Area neighborhoods. This
grant supports TPL’s work in Oakland.
Bella Vista Park in the San Antonio
District will receive landscaping
improvements, drinking fountains,
picnic tables, basketball courts and
community artwork. At Lockwood
Elementary School, TPL will convert
a six-acre asphalt playground into an
environmental learning center. Two
parks, Willow Park and Bertha Port
Mini-Park, will be added to West
Oakland by 2003.
Laura Pinkney
Executive Director of Safe Passages
Safe Passages for
Oakland Youth:
Agencies Working
Together to Keep
Kids on Track
Growing up in Oakland can be a risky proposition.
Consider these statistics: The number one cause of death and
serious injury among Oakland youth is violence; fifty percent of
Oakland’s kids say they do not feel safe in their schools,
neighborhoods and homes.
Meeting these issues head on is the East Bay Community
Foundation’s initiative, Safe Passages. Founded on the principle
that no one public agency can solve the safety issues of
Oakland’s youth, Safe Passages is a partnership of the city of
Oakland, Alameda County, Oakland Unified School District,
Children’s Hospital Oakland, the Foundation and other
youth-serving organizations.
"In the Oakland community, Safe Passages is the only forum in
which all major public agencies that serve kids meet together,"
said Laura Pinkney, the initiative’s executive director. "We’re
bringing agencies together around proven strategies."
The initiative’s partners are aligning systems and resources
around strategies that intervene to help children and youth stay
on track, or get back on track, at three critical junctures: when
exposed to violence at an early age; during the vulnerable
middle school years; and after they have been arrested for
violent acts.
According to Pinkney, young children who are exposed to violence are 14 times more likely to become both victims and perpetrators of violence in adolescence. That’s why Safe Passages is
working with Alameda County’s Every Child Counts to make
sure these children are provided with the services they need.
The initiative also has facilitated a partnership between the
Oakland Police Department and the Family Violence Law Center
whereby trained advocates will respond immediately with
officers to domestic violence calls. The advocates will connect
the victims and their children to supportive services such as
counseling, legal support, education and job training.
Through Safe Passages, public agencies and community-based
organizations also are partnering in Oakland’s middle schools.
Alameda County has placed child welfare workers at four
schools where violence is most prevalent. The schools also are
using Second Step, a nationally acclaimed violence prevention
curriculum to teach students and all adults on campus to
recognize and reduce violent tendencies.
In a pilot program, Safe Passages paired youth repeat offenders
with advocates who linked the teens to counseling, mentoring,
court advocacy and tutoring services. The 87 teens who
participated have taken more than one trip through the juvenile
justice system and most were not in school. The services offered
by Safe Passages worked. Overall the program brought the rate
of repeat offenses among participants down to 10 percent,
compared to a countywide rate of 72 percent.
Who the advocates are mattered as much as the strength of the
program they delivered. The teens had to see the advocates as
credible and trustworthy.
"We know teens are best served by people who come from
their communities, look like them and share their experiences,"
said Pinkney.
Safe Passages is building on these early accomplishments by
expanding the number of community-based organizations
trained and funded to provide this individualized, intensive
support.
Breaking down bureaucratic barriers to keep the major agencies
in the partnership has been challenging, but doing so has
allowed for these and other creative solutions.
"Only a community foundation could have pulled this together,"
said Pinkney. "The East Bay Community Foundation is neutral
and has a unique ability to serve as a convener and a catalyst to
make sure this partnership happens."
special
thanks
to the Foundation’s Professional Advisor Committee.
We appreciate their commitment to the community
through their work with the East Bay Community
Foundation to advance philanthropy and encourage
charitable giving.
PAC members Darryl Ott, Ward Pynn and Ira Hillyer.
Barbara M. Beery
Law Office of Barbara M. Beery
Ken N. Haas
Bankers Trust of California
Alan L. Olsen
Greenstein, Rogoff, Olsen & Bjornson
Stephen P. Blanding
Blanding Boyer & Rockwell
John A. Hartog
Law Offices of John Hartog
Darryl D. Ott
Morgan, Miller and Blair
Norleen S. Bounds
Arthur Andersen
Ira L. Hillyer
Mechanics Bank
Ward Pynn
Blanding, Boyer & Rockwell
Lorin M. Castleman
The Castleman Law Firm
James King
J.P. King & Associates
Penny Righthand
New York Life Insurance Company
Joan DiFuria
Money, Meaning and Choices Insititute
William Lee
Union Bank of California
Bart J. Schenone
Schenone & Peck
William Espey
Citicorp
Robert Lew
Planning & Financial Advisors
Jeff Shields
U.S. Trust Company
Timothy J. Gavin
Gavin Financial Design, Inc
John L. McDonnell, Jr.
Crosby Heafey Roach & May
Timothy Smallsreed
Fitzgerald, Abbott & Beardsley
Stephen Goldbart
Money, Meaning and Choices Institute
Sally W. Ng
The Estate Advisory Group
Henry Whiffen
The Estate Advisory Group
Megan McNealy Graves
Merrill Lynch
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
De Domenico Building
200 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza
Oakland, CA 94612
510/836.3223
www.eastbaycf.org
FOUNDATION TRUSTEES
Helen Pan Troxel, Chair
Craig Lundin, Vice-Chair
Jill Dinwiddie, Vice-Chair
Ernest S. Leopold, Treasurer
Dean M. Alms
William F. Ausfahl
Michael Bush
John Chapman
Edward M. Downer, III
Judith Epstein
Michael Freedland
Edgar H. Grubb
Richard G. Heggie
Stephen L. Hicks
James H. Hill
Janet Holmgren
Cornelius L. Hopper, M.D.
Kathleen Huston
Patricia Jones
James P. King
John McDonnell
Karen Stevenson
Alfredo Terrazas
Lois De Domenico, Emerita
Michael M. Howe, President
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage Paid
Oakland, CA.
Permit No. 76