The Power of Small:You don't have to be a giant foundation to have a measurable impact The Wall Street Journal, By Ruthie Akerman
"A foundation's impact is a result of its ability to focus narrowly on what it wants to achieve and then executing with discipline," says Fern Portnoy, an adviser and consultant to foundations, individual philanthropists and charities through her firm, Portnoy Philanthropy Advisors. "That can be done by a foundation regardless of its size," she says. Read More >
Nonprofits embrace a new giving model The Washington Post, The Color of Money, By Michelle Singletary
I’ve always believed that philanthropy should be at the top of any budget. Support those organizations that help people eat, move into affordable housing and find sustainable employment, and we all benefit. Read More >
New Fund to Promote Innovation in Philanthropy The Chronicle of Philanthropy, By Nicole Wallace
The Alliance for Global Good, a grant-making organization in Greensboro, N.C., is starting a fund to promote innovation in philanthropy. While the exact size of the fund hasn’t been decided, organization officials say it is likely to be in the $10-million range. Read More >
The 25 Best Givers - With money tight, top philanthropists insist on more bang for the buck Barrons, by Suzanne McGee
The name of the game in philanthropy this year is to make your dollars go far -- very far. With the recession squeezing donors and charities alike, it's more important than ever to make sure your giving really makes a difference. Ideally, each dollar you give will transform itself into $3 or $4 of benefits for your chosen causes -- from improving local schools to easing world poverty. That's high-impact giving, and some philanthropists are raising it to a high form of art. Read More >
The Power of the Purse The New York Times Magazine, by Lisa Belkin
Remember the concept of “sisterhood”? That quaint relic of an idea that women owed it to other women to crash through ceilings and navigate a male world? It just might be taking new root in a most unexpected place — among women with money. There are more women controlling more wealth in the U.S. than ever before. And unlike the women who preceded them — old-school patrons who gave to the museum and the symphony and their dead husbands’ alma maters — these givers are more likely to use their wealth deliberately and systematically to aid women in need. Read More >
Women and the Future of Philanthropy PhilanTopic: by Fern Portnoy
Sometime in the recent past, a tipping point was ever so quietly reached: half of this nation’s private wealth passed into the hands of women. It's estimated that this percentage will rise to 60 percent by 2010 and possibly rise as high as 70 percent in the not too distant future. Read More >
Fern Portnoy, member of the leadership group for “Women Moving Millions”
Women Moving Millions is a partnership of visionary donors and the Women's Funding Network. We represent a wide spectrum of women who share a powerful vision of the world, in which justice, equality and safety are experienced by all women and girls in every corner of the earth. Read More >
T&C’s Guide to Intelligent Giving; The Four C’s of Philanthropy Town & Contry Magazine, By Joanna L. Krotz
“When drafting a giving plan, invest some time in thinking through your goals. ‘Donors usually go through four stages,’ says Fern Portnoy, a philanthropy consultant to, among others, sisters Helen
LaKelly Hunt and former ambassador Swanee Hunt, of the famous Texas family. ‘The steps overlap, but I call them the four C’s.’ They are: Clarity, Consideration, Commitment, Consequences.” Read More >
Evening of Celebration: “Music of Winternight” Gala at the New York Marriot Marquis Hamptons.com, By Nicole B. Brewer
“A jaunty Clive Davis gave the crowd a wave upon receiving his award. ‘I have been blessed and I want to continually give back,’ he said. He added that it was a great honor, noting that 160 million people worldwide are suffering with vision problems and that Lighthouse International has been their beacon of hope for over 100 years. Clive cited lines from by Ralph Waldo Emerson from a page in the journal sponsored by Board Chair Roger O. Goldman, Fern Portnoy and family: ‘The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you lived well. Read More >
Women’s Work: Colorado Activists Struck First on Domestic Violence Denver Westword, By Patricia Calhoun
“’I saw the need to have a central place in a community that would give the message loud and clear that we don't accept wife abuse,’ [said Lenore Walker]... In the audience was Fern Portnoy, then the head of the Piton Foundation. Within a matter of weeks, Piton had arranged the funding to set up two battered-women's shelters--one in Jefferson County, the other Denver's Safehouse for Battered Women, the first long-term shelter in the country.” Read More >
The Philanthropist Next Door: Average Americans, not the super-rich, are the real givers US News & World Report, By By Thom Geier
"Researchers see potential for an even more explosive growth in charitable giving thanks to the estates of older Americans who lived through a half century of record prosperity. A 1993 study by two Cornell University economists estimated that Americans over the age of 60 are sitting on a pot of wealth totaling $10 trillion--more than enough to put every American under the age of 21 through Harvard for four years. ‘We're at the front edge of a huge generational transfer of wealth,’ says Fern Portnoy, a Denver-based adviser on philanthropic giving.” Read More >
CONTACT: 917.375.0938 |
223 Egremont Plain Road #36,
Great Barrington, MA 01230 | fern@portnoyadvisors.com
