The Association of Fundraising Professionals – Washington Chapter has chosen seven outstanding philanthropists to honor at its 20th anniversary National Philanthropy Day luncheon on Nov. 20, 2008.

National Philanthropy Day honors and supports the efforts and passions of philanthropic leaders and the organizations they serve. Community leaders, non-profit organizations, volunteers, and donors from across Washington State will gather to honor this year’s outstanding honorees who have invested their passion, time, talents, and financial support to better their community. Seven individuals and organizations will be recognized for their philanthropic work.

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While Old Bill’s organizers continue to tally community donations, members of valley character group Save Historic Jackson Hole, estimate their organization has already taken in more in private money than it received last year from Old Bill’s. SHJH was excluded from Old Bill’s 2008 for running what event organizer the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole said was a negative ad against another participating nonprofit, the Jackson Hole Community Housing Trust.

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The Community Foundation of East Mississippi hosted a meeting Friday to discuss childhood obesity in Mississippi.

The conversation was guided by Therese Hanna, executive director of the Center for Mississippi Health Policy, and Anne Travis, executive director of the Bower Foundation.

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“I didn’t know as much about LOGAN as I wished I did,” photographer Scott Bourdon says, “but a lot of people I saw there, I had seen before.”

That’s when Bourdon, the South Bend-based photographer whose 20-year-old daughter Haley is both deaf and developmentally disabled, knew the assignment would be profoundly personal.

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THROUGHOUT the history of the Marin Community Foundation, a defining theme of our work has been the promotion of equity and social justice: giving people from all backgrounds and circumstances the chance to thrive, often in the face of major obstacles.

Equity and social justice per se are not program areas at the foundation. They are, even more fundamentally, core values that pervade all our activities – our grantmaking, our efforts to bring people together to solve problems, and, when called for, our advocacy efforts.

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But bucking perceptions that high levels of immigration are jeopardizing national cohesion, the data showed that today's immigrants, like those before them, are embracing an American identity. In Los Angeles County, for instance, the proportion of native Spanish speakers fluent in English increased to 51.4% in 2007 from 44.6% in 2000. The share of naturalized citizens among the foreign-born grew to 43.3% from 38% over that time.

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The Oklahoma City Community Foundation Board of Trustees recently approved $132,044 in community program grants to 24 metropolitan area charitable organizations, including some Edmond facilities.

“We are fortunate to have loyal donors who consistently support our charitable organizations,” said Nancy B. Anthony, executive director. “Their generosity enables us to provide growth and assistance to numerous organizations in the community.”

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Alpine Bank has issued a challenge to the Rock River Valley – raise $50,000 from now until Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 5:00 p.m. in order to secure the Kresge Foundation Grant for the Connecting Our Future Capital Campaign, and the remaining

$50,000 – the last amount needed for the grant – will be matched and donated by Alpine Bank.

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Local teens will be the beneficiaries and designers of a program at the Boys & Girls Club of Washington County.

The Citi Foundation is providing $20,000 to the Boys & Girls Club to implement a teen program, called Teens with Priorities, which will focus on bringing higher education opportunities to at-risk youth in Washington County.

A focus of the program will be on educational achievement and career goals.

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At the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, every one of the more than 2,200 funds is an example of tremendous generosity. The stories of the people behind the funds are remarkable evidence that giving is alive and well in Kansas City, improving the lives of everyone who lives here. Consider the story of Beth Smith, who, with her husband, Ed, established one of the first funds under the Community Foundation's umbrella. Nearly three decades later, Beth's commitment to the future stability of the nonprofit sector is as strong as ever. Beth recently established a fund for the Women's Employment Network, an organization dedicated to supporting all women in their pursuit of careers.

Greater Kansas City Community Foundation: Big shoes to fill.