ACTIVITES

From the President: "In my 20 years as President of the Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation, I have found the role to be a challenging task: leading the Foundation forward while being cognizant of honoring the directives of Mrs. Bush and addressing both the current and future needs of the community. We are an independent foundation, but we are clothed with a public responsibility. It is to this end that I can say that my two predecessors, H. Clifford Lee and the late David R. Roberts, have had a major impact on philanthropy in Florida. One of their very first actions was to create a Code of Ethics Policy (pdf) and a
Disclosure Statement (pdf). These documents have stood the test of time and have now been in use by the Foundation for 37 years. Ethical grantmaking may be a current topic of the day in our Sarbanes-Oxley world, but it has been the bedrock of the Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation. If you have any questions or comments about the Foundation's policy or on any other matter, please contact me, David A. Odahowski, President."

The Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation is about to take the grant application process into the age of electronics. Deborah Hessler, the Foundation’s Program Officer, has been working diligently at streamlining and refining current procedures, organizing, documenting, and generally taking whatever footsteps necessary to make an online grant application a reality. She has been very appreciative of whatever input the rest of the staff can provide, demonstrating once again, that the Foundation’s work is a result of a team effort. In the next several months, when the Foundation is ready to “roll out” the application and when the Foundation is once again able to accept grant applications, we will make an announcement here on our website.

The Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation and its Board of Directors are proud to announce the recipients of funding to support critical areas of need in Central Florida. Grantees include: BETA Center, Boy Scouts of America Central Florida Council, HOME, Quest Inc, Rollins College Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership Center, and University of Central Florida College of Medicine.

New grantees are in the process of meeting with the President and Program Officer of Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation after the Foundation's recent Board Meeting. It is the Foundation's practice to invite all grant applicants to meet with Foundation staff, whether they have received a grant or not. New grantees learn more of what is expected of them and what they can expect of the Foundation during the grantor/grantee relationship. Those who did not receive a grant learn why. Organizations have found these meetings to be valuable for the exploration of new ideas, improving communication and laying the groundwork for future proposals.

The Foundation currently has over 45 active grants in various stages of completion, from the beginning phase of an organization having just presented the Foundation with a formal grant proposal, through the Board of Directors’ decision process, to the completion and submission of the grantee’s final report, and all the steps in between. Most of the approved grants have a “challenge” component or other threshold requirement. With so many “moving parts” requiring diligent monitoring, the Staff and Board of Directors are kept extremely busy.

Mary Ellen Hutcheson has been with the Foundation for nine years having served as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer; we congratulate her on her election as Vice President and Treasurer at the annual meeting of the Board of Directors in November 2009. The Foundation also is pleased to welcome its newest staff member, Sue Kabbourim, as she assumes the role of Executive Assistant. Sue comes to the Foundation having served many years in the government sector and most recently with a national law firm where she worked in various administrative capacities. We believe she is a fine addition to the “team” and look forward to a long and rewarding association.

Donors are the lifeblood of nonprofit agencies. Therefore, it is vital for nonprofits to earn and gain the trust of the donor. In an effort to “assure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public, and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the not-for-profit organizations and causes they are asked to support,” a Donor Bill of Rights has been developed by a group of fundraising associations. Please click here to read A Donor Bill of Rights, a document the Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation wholeheartedly endorses.

The Foundation is pleased to have its profile and copies of the IRS Form 990-PF on file with GuideStar.org, a searchable database of 1.7 million nonprofit organizations. GuideStar's mission is to revolutionize philanthropy and nonprofit practice by providing information that advances transparency, enables users to make better decisions, and encourages charitable giving.

Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation teams up with community leaders to deliver 250,000 pound food basket. Please click here for press release.