Philanthropy Takes the Bully Pulpit

Charities hope that conference at White House stimulates giving

By JENNIFER MOORE and GRANT WILLIAMS

Philanthropy will be in the national spotlight this week as the Clinton Administration holds the first

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White House conference ever to focus on charitable giving.

President Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton have invited 150 donors, charity executives, and others to attend the "White House Conference on Philanthropy: Gifts to the Future."

Among the topics to be discussed: how traditions of philanthropy can be passed to future generations, how companies can encourage individuals to increase their philanthropy, and how people who are making fortunes in high-technology fields are reshaping the non-profit world.

Non-profit leaders say they are eager for the attention. "If there was ever a right moment to step back, look at the big picture, and pull the key players in philanthropy together, this is it," says Bill Shore, founder of Share Our Strength, a Washington organization that fights hunger and poverty, and a former aide to two Democratic Senators.

"It's such a dynamic time, in part because of all the new wealth that's being created by philanthropists who are younger and giving their money away earlier -- the Silicon Valley entrepreneurs," says Mr. Shore. "It's also because our social institutions have changed dramatically: Non-profit organizations have assumed responsibility for being the service providers in a lot of areas where government was once the provider."

Others doubt that White House gatherings can really stir debate and force big changes in public attitudes.

"I look forward to seeing what comes out of it," says Chris K. Olander, executive director of the JM Foundation, in New York, "but I have a feeling that a lot of nice people will get together and say nice things and then not much is going to be accomplished."

Mr. Olander adds, "I hope some people who disagree with the Clintons on some of their basic precepts -- they deeply believe in the public sector -- are invited to discuss the role of philanthropy and ask some tough questions. But I don't expect that at a White House conference. That's not what White House conferences are for."

Still, many charity officials expect that the high-profile conference will lead Americans to focus on charitable giving the way similar gatherings at the Clinton White House have brought attention to issues of early-childhood development and child care.

Matthew E. Melmed, executive director of Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families, a Washington charity, says his organization continues to benefit from those conferences.

"The conferences opened up a whole new door of awareness and opportunity for us to step through in terms of working with people in the media and policy makers," he says.

Adds Jennifer Furla, co-chair of Leave a Legacy Kansas City, a group that promotes charitable giving through estate planning, "Anytime you have a President and First Lady involved in an issue, it certainly is a motivating force."

But White House officials and others are cautioning against inflated expectations about the influence of the conference on philanthropy.

Shirley S. Sagawa, deputy chief of staff to the First Lady, says that while an indirect goal of the conference would be to see charitable giving nationwide rise, "it would be unrealistic to think that one conference or a challenge by the President or First Lady would somehow increase giving when we know that it's been so steady over time."

Just days before the event, the Clinton Administration was still working out the details of the conference agenda and drawing up a list of speakers. The meeting's organizers are posting updates on the gathering -- before and after the event -- on a Web site at http://www.giftstothefuture.gov.

The White House has declined The Chronicle's request to disclose the costs of the conference or the names of any foundations or companies that are helping defray its expenses. The Administration also would not provide an advance copy of its guest list.

Because of the small size of the White House's East Room, conference planners had to limit the number of people invited. But thousands are expected to watch portions of the conference via satellite broadcast to special sites around the country or through a computer cybercast. The White House said last week that some 1,500 sites will receive the satellite broadcast.

Mrs. Clinton is expected to moderate the entire event, while the President is scheduled to give a short speech at the close of the first session. To help illustrate the conference's themes, the White House plans to show a videotape of "heroes" who have given their time or money to help a cause.

"We want to paint a picture of philanthropy in this country that's more true to the reality that givers come from all backgrounds, all races, all economic levels, all educational backgrounds," says Ms. Sagawa. "While it's often the extremely large gifts from extremely wealthy people that capture people's attention, the real backbone of giving to the non-profit sector and to people in need who might not be connected to any social program are regular people who ought to be celebrated."

Even so, the conference apparently will count at least one well-known name among its speakers, Steve Case, chairman of America Online.

The timing of the White House meeting makes it unlikely that any major proposals to influence public policy will be announced.

One reason, according to Administration officials: Congress and the President are just now trying to wrap up their spending decisions for the federal budget for the new fiscal year and are not yet thinking about plans for next year. "Don't expect any major announcements, because the timing's wrong," says Ms. Sagawa.

Another reason that major policy proposals are unlikely to emerge: The strong possibility that Mrs. Clinton will run for a Senate seat in New York next year. White House officials are reportedly concerned that Mrs. Clinton's critics might accuse her of using the conference to advance her standing in the political world and are taking great pains to insure that the conference agenda avoids such a trap.

But Ms. Sagawa says that the First Lady's potential Senate bid has had no effect on the conference's agenda. Plans for the meeting have been in the works for more than a year, she says, "well before" Mrs. Clinton considered running for office. "This has nothing to do with her political aspirations," says Ms. Sagawa. "If people look at her track record of working with non-profits and talking about the importance of giving in a whole variety of ways, especially around the world, they'll see that this is an interest that she's had for many, many years."

Many charity officials back up that point. Kathy McKinless, an audit partner at the accounting firm KPMG and a trustee of Greater DC Cares, which coordinates volunteer services, recalls how the First Lady served as the keynote speaker two years ago at the charity's annual conference.

Last year, Mrs. Clinton returned to the meeting to be part of a panel discussion. "She talked about the very topic she's talking about nationally now -- about the need for people to give and the importance of corporations and businesses to support philanthropy," says Ms. McKinless.

Still, some non-profit leaders worry privately that the White House will be so concerned about a potential backlash against Mrs. Clinton that this week's conference will have little substance. They say that is especially worrisome since this is probably the last major opportunity for the Administration to influence philanthropy before President Clinton leaves office.

Perhaps more important than the conference itself will be efforts by the Administration and charity leaders to follow up on the meeting.

"The reality in Washington is there are so many things that pop up that it's very hard for the White House to stay focused on one or two or three initiatives," says Chris Kjeldsen, vice-president of community and workplace programs for Johnson & Johnson, who attended the White House conference two years ago on early-childhood development.

But the Clinton Administration continued to pay attention to that issue after the 1997 conference, he says. Mr. Kjeldsen was named to a special committee formed to help come up with a list of corporate policies that do the most to help workers deal with their family responsibilities, and the panel later presented its recommendations in person to the First Lady, the President, and Cabinet secretaries.

"The day after a White House conference, you'll see splashes of news in the papers about it," he says. "But it's what happens the weeks afterward that really matter."

While an Administration must follow through, so must participants and observers, Mr. Kjeldsen adds. "If the volunteers are energized," he says, "then it really is up to them to make sure the issue stays on the agenda of the White House, and on the American people's agenda, too."

Government agencies and non-profit organizations alike have announced plans to try to make that happen.

For example, the Corporation for National Service has scheduled a meeting of 25 representatives of youth organizations the same morning as the White House conference to look at ways to encourage people ages 14 to 24 to get involved in philanthropy. American Red Cross chapters, United Ways, regional associations of grant makers, planned-giving councils, and other organizations across the nation are holding discussion groups just before -- or just after -- local non-profit officials watch the first session of the White House conference through satellite transmissions. Many of those organizations have invited members of Congress and elected officials of local governments to attend the sessions.

Some organizations hope to use the conference as a chance to take a closer look at local giving. The Connecticut Council for Philanthropy, for example, plans to release updated figures on giving to charities in the state.

And some organizations are scheduling follow-up meetings. The Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers says it will gather local groups on December 1 to discuss ways to encourage people who haven't given to charity in the past to become donors.

A few foundations, including the country's largest philanthropy, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, are also starting to think about ways to build on momentum generated by the conference. Says Trevor Neilson, a spokesman for the Gates Foundation: "I think there will be follow-up activities and there's a good chance that we'll be involved with them."