Silicon Valley One - Summer 2008 - (Page 5) the primary goal is to accomplish something for the public benefit, you have to assess the risk that somewhere between your pocket and the ultimate goal, money can be diverted, whether for greed or political purposes,’’ says Betsy Buchalter Adler, an attorney who represents many philanthropic groups. Having a local connection in a needy area is key, says Barnett Baron, executive vice president of The Asia Foundation. “Unlike the vast majority of nonprofit groups, we operate on the ground in Asia,” Baron says. Following the devastating May 12 earthquake in China, The Asia Foundation quickly met with the country’s Ministry of Civil Affairs, the agency responsible for disaster relief, to determine the best way to target incoming contributions. The foundation quickly raised millions of dollars with its partner organization, Give2Asia, to support local projects that will restore services and assist rebuilding efforts, particularly in the remote mountainous areas north of Chengdu that were devastated by the temblor. (See page 19 for more about Give2Asia.) That familiarity with local organizations is key, says Dale Needles, chief operations officer of the Global Fund for Women, a San Francisco-based women’s rights advocacy group: “It’s critically important to The Write Stuff understand what’s going on so you don’t Simone Otus Coxe’s inadvertently expose the organization to international philanliability.” Global Fund, for instance, has thropy and work with provided grants to Burmese women’s Silicon Valley Community Foundation was featured groups operating out of nearby Thailand in the June 2008 Town & and Bangladesh. It is, however, unable Country. Missed it on to give money directly to organizations the newsstands? inside Myanmar, formerly Burma, Find the article at because it’s on the U.S. government’s list of siliconvalleycf.org. sanctioned nations. Adler advises: “It comes down to: Know your grantee, make sure they know what they’re doing and talk to other people who’ve funded with them and see what their experiences were. It’s the same set of issues as if you were making a grant to the South Bronx.’’ Despite these additional steps, international giving has a special appeal for people like Silicon Valley Community Foundation fund advisor Simone Otus Coxe of Palo Alto. “The dollar goes much further in the developing world than in the United States,” says Coxe, who in 2001 joined other globally minded philanthropists to form the Pluralism Fund, a 501(c)(3) with an emphasis on women’s rights in Pakistan and Iran. Giving internationally, Coxe says, “really connects you to the world in the most important way.” one c www.siliconvalleycf.org innovation through philanthropy one 5 http://siliconvalleycf.org http://www.siliconvalleycf.org
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