News

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/nba.30644
• Date: 01 August 2019
• Published date: 01 August 2019

NONPROFIT BUSINESS ADVISOR AUGUST 2019

12 © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company • All rights reserved

DOI: 10.1002/nba

the lapse of only a few days between the times the

plaintiff took medical leave and his termination was

sufcient to raise a question of fact of a causal link.

The judge dismissed some other claims but allowed

the ADA claim to proceed.

[Seehawer v. McMinnville Water & Light, U.S.

District Court for the District of Oregon, No. 3:16-

cv-1682, 02/21/2019]. ■

News

United Way Worldwide appoints

new U.S. president

United Way Worldwide has appointed Suzanne

McCormick as its new U.S. president. McCormick,

who currently serves as president and CEO of United

Way Suncoast in Tampa, Fla., will assume her new

role on July 31. She will succeed outgoing U.S. Presi-

dent Mary Sellers, who has lled the role since 2017.

Sellers plans to return to Des Moines, Iowa, where

she previously headed the local United Way afliate.

According to the United Way, McCormick holds a

B.A. in political science from Duke University and is an

alumna of the Peace Corps, where she taught English

in Thailand. In addition to her current role at United

Way Suncoast, McCormick is the current chair of the

United Way Network Partnership Group, the former

chair of the National Professional Council and the

immediate past chair of the United Ways of Florida.

As the group’s U.S. president, McCormick will be

responsible for building the modern United Way and

leading the continued digital transformation through

the organization’s enterprise technology platform

adoption, the United Way said in announcing the

appointment.

Private foundations kept up

giving levels, despite asset losses

New research from Foundation Source, a leading

provider of comprehensive support services for pri-

vate foundations, shows private foundations largely

maintained their grantmaking levels in 2018 despite

taking a hit on their asset balances due to a faltering

stock market at the end of the year.

The ndings are detailed in Foundation Source’s

2019 Annual Report on Private Foundations, a study

of how 987 of the rm’s clients with assets of less

than $50 million fared in 2018 compares to 2017. The

report found that overall asset balances of the founda-

tions in its study decreased 3.5% in 2018, compared

to 13.2% growth in 2017. Most of this drop in value

occurred in the fourth quarter of 2018 when, after

three strong quarters, the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock

index fell, ending 2018 down nearly 7% on the year,

the company said.

But despite this decline, the foundations collectively

awarded $298.7 million in grants, nearly matching

their 2017 disbursements of $299.3 million. They also

considerably exceeded the mandatory 5% distribution

requirement, having disbursed 7.3% of their assets for

charitable purposes on average, with the smallest foun-

dations in the sample (those with assets of less than $1

million) distributing 14.2% of their total asset balances.

For more information, or to access the report in full,

go to https://www.foundationsource.com.

Hershey launches new program

aimed at teen isolation

The Hershey Company has launched a new grant

program aimed at addressing one of the most press-

ing issues for today’s teens—social isolation. The

Heartwarming Project Action Grants program will

award grants of $250 to 400 teen projects aimed at

overcoming social isolation and creating more inclu-

sive communities.

Despite growing up in the digital age with tools to

connect online, research shows teens face high levels

of loneliness and social isolation with recent stud-

ies describing Gen Z (currently ages 13–23) as the

“loneliest generation.” The Heartwarming Project

Action Grants are designed to combat this issue and

support teens leading the way to advance inclusion

and connection across the United States.

In addition to awarding the grants, The Hershey

Company will continue its partnership with top

digital companies involved with the summit, includ-

ing Snapchat, Google and Imgur, to help teens use

social media to foster positive connections. Through

training programs led by Google employees and

“Snap School,” the teens will learn how to leverage

their social media channels for good and promote

their projects.

For more information, visit https://bit.

ly/30isw3x. ■