Earlier this fall, six VPP investment partners received a total of 2,400 new, age-appropriate books to distribute to children in their programs. The books came from First Book, an organization that works with existing literacy programs to distribute new books to children who have little or no access to books.

First Book executives Kyle Zimmerman and Kit Lunney were introduced to VPP Chairman Mario Morino by Michael Bailin of the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation. After the meeting, Kyle and Kit graciously offered to provide some books to VPP's investment partners and EMCF's grantees in New York and Boston.

Lori Kaplan, executive director of the Latin American Youth Center (LAYC), said, “Young parents at the LAYC and Next Step Public Charter School were so happy to get these books so that they could read them to their young children. Teachers at the center are using them in our classrooms, and many of our children and youth took them home to read over and over again.”

At Calvary Bilingual Multicultural Learning Center (CBMLC) staff have also begun sharing the books through their Family Literacy program. Titles like The Seven Wise Princesses and Bunbun, the Middle One were distributed at a CBMLC parent workshop and at the organization’s Harvest Fest on October 31.

It turns out that First Book has some additional ties to the VPP network. In an exchange of messages about the book distribution, VPP board member and Share Our Strength Founder Bill Shore said, “First Book seems to be on the move and growing impressively. It was started about eight years ago with an off-mission grant from Share Our Strength.”

First Book also launched "Book Drive America" in partnership with First Lady Laura Bush and Good Morning America this September. Using a bookmobile, the partnership will travel across the country during the school year to bring reading materials to various communities in need. We are grateful to First Book for sharing these gifts with the children served by our investment partners.

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Recently an online newsletter targeted to donors and nonprofits asked me to share my thoughts on the repeal of the estate tax. As you will see in the following article, I am opposed to an estate tax repeal. Although it would benefit me personally, the costs to our society as a whole and to the health and well-being of the nonprofit sector from such an action are far too high. If you share my personal concerns about this issue, I hope you will voice your views to your senators and representatives in Congress. Please note that the opinions expressed in this article are my own and do not represent VPP as an organization or the individuals on our team, board members, or investors.

Legislation is currently being considered that would permanently repeal the estate tax in 2010. Were this to become law, one of the most powerful stimulants for charitable giving would be eliminated with potentially devastating results for nonprofit organizations that depend on philanthropic giving for their survival.

Brookings Institution economists Jon Bakija and William Gale conducted a study that estimates that repeal of the estate tax “would reduce annual charitable giving in life and death by about $10 billion, the equivalent of eliminating all current grantmaking by the country’s 110 largest foundations.” My experience with family estate planning, as well as discussions I’ve had with others who are major philanthropic donors confirms that the estate tax is a strong incentive to charitable giving.

Furthermore, the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that in the first year that the estate tax is permanently repealed, the federal government would lose more than $50 billion, rising to roughly $64 billion in 2013. Similarly, state revenue would drop an estimated $9 to $10 billion by 2010. Since roughly one-third of charity revenue comes from public funding, a repeal of the estate tax would also dramatically reduce the amount of public dollars available to charitable organizations. Taken together, these figures are staggering and the impact on our religious institutions, colleges and universities, hospitals, and community-based organizations will be profound.

My work at Venture Philanthropy Partners is giving me a front-row seat to this issue. I am privileged to work with some of the most creative and innovative human services organizations helping children here in the National Capital Region. As an engaged investor in these organizations, I’ve been able to gain a great appreciation for the depth and severity of the current funding crisis and its impact on these organizations’ ability to deliver much needed services.

These organizations are already struggling with reduced funding as foundations have pulled back their giving in the face of endowments hit hard by stock market declines. And for those institutions that depend on public funding, today’s cuts in federal, state, and local government spending are making it harder for them to balance their own budgets—a situation unlikely to change any time soon. So many children and families are not getting the help they need. Further reductions in charitable giving will mean more children will be without access to educational support, health care, and other human services.

Those who are calling for the repeal of the estate tax are also calling on private philanthropy to assume a larger and larger role in funding social and other services. Compared with public dollars, funding from philanthropy represents just a fraction of the money supporting nonprofit initiatives. Private philanthropy is already challenged to maintain current levels of giving. And although we all should push for philanthropy to be more effective in what it does, how can we assume that it could take on a substantive role in closing the gap in growing public funding shortfalls if we eliminate one of our most powerful incentives for charitable giving?

In the nearly 90 years that the estate tax has been on the books, charitable giving in the US has grown enormously. Millions of Americans have benefited from the work of the nonprofit organizations and institutions that have been the beneficiaries of this largesse. The estate tax has helped to fuel that growth. If repealed, there will be a significant drop in capital flow to charities and nonprofits. Let’s not eliminate something that has such a positive impact on the greater good.

--Mario Morino

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See Forever Opens an Academy

At the beginning of the school year, See Forever Foundation’s Maya Angelou Public Charter School opened an academy to provide intensive math and reading instruction to 14 high school freshmen who are functioning academically at an elementary school level. The small setting offers greater flexibility to focus on each student’s needs. The goal is that students will improve their math and reading ability by two to three grade levels in one year, before transitioning to the main Maya Angelou campus.

In See Forever’s recent newsletter, Nora Gutierrez, the lead teacher at the academy said, "Even though we could provide specialized attention at Maya Angelou, every year there was a group of kids who needed more attention and an even smaller setting. At the academy, students don't have to put up a front. We're honest and say, you're behind. Now let's deal with it instead of doing things that hide it."

The success of innovative approaches used at Maya Angelou is being rewarded. Recently, after a rigorous competitive process, See Forever was selected by CharityWorks to receive the proceeds of its 2004 benefit gala. Charityworks is an all-volunteer organization in the National Capital Region that partners on an annual basis with an area nonprofit whose programs make a significant impact on improving the quality of life for local families and children. See Forever expects to receive approximately $500,000 from the event. The funds will support a second school that See Forever will open in the District of Columbia next year. The Walton Family Foundation is also supporting the opening of the new school with a $203,000 grant that was announced last month.

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Joseph Edgar Robert, Jr. likes a good fight and he likes being in the winner’s circle, especially if the other winners are children. Joe Robert, founder, chairman, and CEO of J.E. Robert Companies and one of VPP’s founding investors, wanted to be a fighter pilot when he was growing up in Silver Spring, MD. His Tysons Corner offices are adorned with several large birds of prey and a number of model airplanes, all poised for flight. But Joe says his eyes were not suitable for flying, so he became an amateur boxer instead. He has used the sport to create a glide path for scores of children in the Washington, DC area.

Nearly two decades ago he took his eldest son, now a US Marine, to learn how to box at the Charles Houston Recreation Center in a poor section of Alexandria, VA, where he would meet children from a different background. The wary African American boys at the center warmed up when they discovered that the white man in the ring could throw a good punch. Joe has supported the Alexandria Boxing Club ever since. But when Joe offered the kids college scholarships if they finished high school, there was only one taker. Most of the youngsters never graduated. That prompted Joe to learn about the complex issues that prevent so many low-income children from succeeding in life, and launched his other career as a philanthropist and founder of Fight for Children.

In 1990, Joe built on his childhood experience of staging boxing matches in his backyard and brought together a few Soviet fighters and his friend’s home stereo system at a local hotel for the first Fight Night fundraiser. “I lost $70,000, but the people loved it! The event has been sold out ever since,” Joe says. This week, at the Washington Hilton, more than 2,000 executives, entertainers, and politicians will attend the 14th annual Fight Night boxing extravaganza to watch several professional boxing matches. A number of boxing legends including Joe Frazier, Evander Holyfield, and Leon and Michael Spinks will be among the guests. The event will benefit local children’s health care organizations and mentoring programs. Over the years, Fight Night has raised more than $16 million, enabling the organization to give away $7.5 million to children’s causes in the region.

In 1998, Joe launched another party not to be missed—School Night—to raise funds to support local early childhood and literacy efforts, and to provide scholarships to help children attend private schools in the area. Since then, thousands of guests have partied with great entertainers like Patty LaBelle, Stevie Wonder, and Lionel Richie to raise a total of $23.6 million, with more than $17.5 million going to support youth education.

Joe’s own education often came by the seat of his pants, he admits. He was bounced out of St. John’s High School several times, and lasted only a year at St. Mary’s College. He bought real estate books and taught himself the business, joining his father briefly in a venture selling failed condominium projects. He hated it. Joe stumbled onto two mentors—a mortgage banker and the former chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank. As a result of lessons learned from these men, Joe decided to try his hand at buying and reselling failing real estate loans. He was intrigued by “the challenge of analyzing and pricing risk in complex real estate portfolios.” He turned what many people call the “turnaround, or workout business,” into a $40 billion international real estate and asset management enterprise.

The business has been a great adventure, but Joe says his real passion is “for kids who had a bad break.” That passion made him a natural ally of VPP. Mutual friends introduced Joe to VPP Chairman Mario Morino. Their common interest in leveraging resources to benefit children has benefited both of their organizations.

Recently, Joe and Fight for Children have entered another fight of sorts—helping to ensure that children in Washington, DC have access to quality K-12 education. The organization’s District of Columbia K-12 Education Initiative was created to strengthen and expand school options for children in the city, bring new financial resources and partnerships to the education arena, and provide parents with information and resources to make informed education choices. Fight for Children joined the White House, the Department of Education, and others to advocate a “three sector strategy” to bring reform to public, private, and public charter schools in the District. They lobbied hard to include new money for DC public schools and charter schools in the legislative package that is being hotly debated in the US House and Senate because of its school voucher component. Joe and Fight for Children’s Executive Director Rita Harmon believe that public, private, and charter schools each have models that can benefit more children than they do today. Says Rita, “Let’s apply the best thinking from all of these models, and Washington, DC can be an example of innovation in education for the nation.” For more information about Fight for Children’s District of Columbia K-12 Education Initiative, contact Kaleem Caire.

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If you are interested in attending The Community Foundation’s 30th Anniversary Celebration on December 4, please contact Kenny Emson at or Starlet Hunter.

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