To the Editor:

As you may be aware, NBC began airing a summer replacement series called The Philanthropist on Wednesday, June 24.

The Philanthropist is a thrill-seeking, anything-is-possible story of redemption through spontaneous acts of extreme giving by a powerful billionaire playboy. Unlike some of the television hospital, crime-solving and legal dramas, which strive for realistic depictions of those fields, this show relies primarily on hyperbole for its entertainment value.

Each weekly episode is expected to highlight the philanthropist’s giving in a different country. NBC says the series “follows the heroic adventures of Teddy Rist, billionaire playboy-turned-vigilante philanthropist, taking him across the globe from Haiti to Myanmar, Kashmir to Paris, Kosovo to San Diego.”

The show’s storyline bears little resemblance to the realities of carefully considered, long-term strategic investments that socially responsible individuals and institutions make – domestically and globally. While many decisions of giving begin with the heart, smart giving for the community involves one’s head. Such decisions though “heroic” are not the type made that lead to weekly global action hero adventures.

While our foundation’s stories may not be quite as exhilarating as those in the TV show, our work and that of foundations’ across the globe is critical, poignant, effective and life-changing. Nationally, in 2008, foundations provided $45.6 billion in grants to aid families, deliver human services, assist low-income populations and support economic development. That funding represents an increase of $1.2 billion over 2007 despite the economic downturn.

In 2008 alone, your Toledo Community Foundation contributed more than $8.9 million to help alleviate critical social needs in our region and beyond.

Most recently, the Safety Net Fund of the Toledo Community Foundation – created in January to be used exclusively for grants for food, clothing and shelter assistance to nonprofit organizations that provide these basic services in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan – disbursed more than $200,000 to nonprofit organizations to support basic needs services in our community.

You can learn more about your local community foundation at www.toledocf.org, or contact us at (419) 241-5049 with your questions.

Keith Burwell, President

Toledo Community Foundation

This entry was posted on Friday, June 26th, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under Letter To The Editor, Opinion.
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