May 2008 No. 20Table of Contents |
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“Farmers are producing record harvests,” reports The Week news magazine, with the United Nations expecting 2.16 billion tons of grain this year. But food prices are also skyrocketing, says the World Bank, up 80% in the past 3 years—2007 dairy products up 80% worldwide, cooking oils up 50%, grains up 42%.
Rice is topping wheat, corn, and beans for price hikes—147% more in 2007—with supplies at the lowest levels since 1976. Vietnam, India, Cambodia, and China have banned exports to conserve supplies for their own developing populations. Elsewhere, people have taken to the streets in protests.
Why? Six years of severe drought in Australia, floods in Argentina, other extreme weather laying waste millions of acres, plus the demand of biofuels. The USA produces 40% of the world’s corn, but 20% of it now goes to make ethanol. But the biggest cause is a growing middle class in China, India, and other formerly poverty-stricken nations.
The 2.3 billion people in China and India are raising their standard of living as their economies go industrial. They are consuming more meat, causing more grain to feed livestock. By 2020, half the world’s population will be middle class, Brookings estimates. It’s like America’s 19th century writ large.
Some are optimistic about the challenge of feeding the world. US grain production will flourish with such incentives. But others dread that 21st century demands will exceed food production capabilities. “Continuing with current trends would mean the earth’s haves and have-nots splitting further apart,” The Week quoted British scientist Robert Watson. “It would leave us facing a world nobody would want to inhabit.” No man is an island…
IN. The state Chamber of Commerce named 2008 “Best Places to Work” for smaller and larger Hoosier firms. Selection was based on employer reports and worker surveys. For companies with 25-249 employees, Indy-based Schmidt Associates architectural firm won for the 3rd time. For businesses with 250+ workers, Edward Jones investment firm with 356 offices statewide topped the list. To find out if a local firm made the list, see www.indianachamber.com.
Fortune 500. Four Indiana companies made the list of 500 U.S. corporations with the most revenue in 2007:
Wal-Mart was #1 overall with $379B in revenues, up 7.9% from 2006; the other top four are Exxon Mobil, Chevron, General Motors, and ConocoPhillips. When Fortune started this ranking in 1955, the top five were General Motors ($9.8B), Exxon Mobil ($5.7B), U.S. Steel ($3.25B), General Electric ($3B), and Esmark ($2.5B). How times have changed. The country has experienced several recessions, wars, new technologies, and a global economy that’s very competitive.
Two Indiana towns made the Fortune Small Business Magazine’s list of “100 Best Places to Live and Launch a Business.” Zionsville was #57, and Columbus ranked #74. Entrepreneurial environment, stable taxes, and proximity to major urban centers factored into their selection. Bellevue WA came in #1.
CEOs. Forbes reports that chief executives of the 500 biggest U.S. companies saw a combined pay that shrank 15% last year as compared to a 38% growth from 2006 to 2007. All together this group earned $6.4B, averaging $12.8 Million apiece. At the top was Oracle’s Larry Ellison who got $183M in salary and from vested stock options. The others in the top 5 were Frederic Poses of Trane ($127M total), Aubrey McClendon of Chesapeake Energy ($117M), Angelo Mozilo of Countrywide Financial ($108M), and Howard Schultz of Starbucks ($99M).
Cleveland Cavaliers’ pro basketball standout LeBron James took home $27M in the “superstars” category, with the 22-year old Olsen twins (Mary-Kate and Ashley) each getting $17M, and 19-year old Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe ranking #6 with $15M.
What proved more conspicuous were the lump-sum payments given to CEOs who got canned or ought to, according to Forbes. Gary Forsee was paid $6.5M to leave BellSouth 5 years ago for a package at Sprint that paid him $40M in cash, restricted shares, and $84k per month “pension for life” when he was fired last year.
Mozilo is still at Countrywide Financial with a company 6-year annualized return on investment of -9% during his 10-year reign. It’s worth a read, if the numbers don’t drive you crazy.¶
Philanthropic Summit. Some 3,000 foundation, nonprofit, business, and political leaders gathered outside Washington DC last week to “get real” about the state and prospects of the voluntary sector in America and around the world. It was coalesced by the Council of Foundations—under its new CEO, former Con-gressman Steve Gunderson—that is planning to take a new role as a major player in advancing philanthropy and not just be a service center for its members.
Nonprofits’ growth. From 1995 to 2005, the U.S. inflation-adjusted gross domestic product grew 35%. At the same time, the revenue of nonprofits jumped 55% with assets swelling 77%, reports the Urban Institute.
The Nonprofit Almanac 2008 can be ordered now from www.urban.org/uipress.
Corporate foundations. Every $1 in $9 of foundation giving in the USA comes from business-based grantmakers, the Foundation Center reports, amounting to $4.4B in 2007, up 7% over 2006. Yet, as a share of total foundation giving (also independent, community, and operating), corporate has declined from 17% in 1990 or $1 in every $6 overall. Where does it go? Education got 25% in 2006, human services 21%, public affairs/society benefit (including UWs) 20%, health 13%, arts & culture 12%, with less than 10% each to international affairs, environment & animals, and science & technology. The report is short and detailed: http://foundationcenter.org/gainknowledge/
research/pdf/keyfacts_corp_2008.pdf.
Drowning in Paperwork. Though aimed at foundations, a report from the Grants Managers Network might also apply to UWs. The bottom line is that getting and exercising a foundation grant entails more and more of a nonprofit’s time and energy, so that the “net” amount of such grants is shrinking. “Grantseekers are required to do what is essentially the grantmaker’s work without compensation.” See if you agree, download the report from www.projectstreamline.org.
Diversity. Slowly but surely, foundations are achieving diversity of boards and staff, reports the Foundation Center. From 1982 to 2006, grantmakers’ board diversity rose from 4.3% to 13%, while staff diversity doubled from 12.6% to 23.2% with program officer diversity going from 15.4% to 35% in the same period. http://rockpa.org/pdfs/
Philanthropy_in_a_Changing_Society_full.pdf
Yet, the amount of grant dollars targeting minority populations stayed around 8%.
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