Millions of Americans share in Make a Difference Day online.

Millions of Americans shared in the fun and excitement of Make A Difference Day online, thanks to a strategic alliance between USA WEEKEND and Eastman Kodak Company. Created by USA WEEKEND magazine in partnership with The Points of Light Foundation, Make A Difference Day, which took place on

The Kodak/USA WEEKEND alliance allows photographs taken at Make A Difference Day projects throughout the country to be captured and uploaded to the Internet for free, courtesy of Kodak PhotoNet online. The photos are then being woven together in a special online Make A Difference PhotoQuilt, available for viewing at http://www.kodak.com/go/diffDay.

The Make A Difference PhotoQuilt uses Kodak's PhotoQuilt technology to form an interactive Web application that takes pictures and stories uploaded from people around the world and arranges them together like a quilt. From now until the year 2000, the PhotoQuilt will weave together millions of images to form a single powerful vision of our world.

Images from Make A Difference Day will document and explain our country's commitment to helping each other through volunteerism. Anyone will be able to view the pictures and the stories behind them, by logging on the Web site.

"The power of pictures is sharing them with others," says Phil Garfinkle, general manager, Network Services for Kodak and CEO of Picture Vision, Inc. "This special Make A Difference PhotoQuilt brings that fact to life, allowing millions of Americans to share in the Make A Difference Day experience online."

NGOs Growth A Positive Phenomena

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) doing volunteer and non-profit work are a booming $1.1 trillion industry in at least 22 countries, according to "The

Emerging Sector Revisited," a new report published by Johns Hopkins University.

The largest non-profits in the U.S. operate on budgets approaching $500 million. NGOs range from huge operations like the Red Cross, CARE and the Nature Conservancy, to one issue groups like Solar Cookers International. With the end of the Cold War, the need for a nuclear deterrent, secrecy and close government control has been replaced by a need to "mobilize any significant resources we can, involve as many people as possible, be as open as possible," says Jim Moody, head of InterAction, a coalition of 150 non-profits. It's a climate in which NGOs thrive. With rapidly expanding communications, including the Internet, nonprofit groups now have highly effective ways of sharing their goals, multiplying, organizing an mobilizing across borders, he added.

NGOs distribute aid, heal the sick, conserve natural resources, protect the environment, push human rights, promote education, preserve species, aid judicial systems, promote democracy and much more. There source of funding that comes from fees, is 42 percent; from contracts with government agencies and other public sector, 47 percent; and from philanthropy, 11 percent.

According to the report, NGOs employ six times more people in each country studied than the country's largest corporation. The combined total is 19 million NGO employees compared to 3 million for the combined employment of the countries' largest private employers. If volunteers are added, workers for non-government, non-profit groups total 29.3 million.

An average 28 percent of people in the countries studied contribute time to NGOs, either as volunteers or paid employees. Employment by NGOs is highest in the Netherlands (12.4 percent), and the lowest in Romania at 0.1 percent. The U.S. falls in the top five with 7.8 percent of the county's workforce employed by non-profits.

Arco To Scale Back Charitable Giving

Atlantic Richfield Company announced plans to scale back charitable giving recently, leaving local nonprofit organizations that have depended on Arco's philanthropy without a wealth of support.

Arco said donations to community causes will be among the victims of a general, company-wide contraction. The company said it will cut 900 jobs in Los Angeles and Texas as well as close 20 small international offices over two years.

"We anticipate earnings being depressed in 1998, and therefore it would be natural that the '99 (donation) figure would lower," said Russell Sakaguchi, head of the Arco Foundation, which coordinates donations.

Corporate giving reached a record $8.2 billion last year as many corporations reaped big profits in a booming national economy. But even as dollar amounts have increased, giving as a percentage of pretax income has fallen from a high of 2.35 percent in 1986 to 1.1 percent last year.

Besides Arco, Ashland Inc. has also said it will trim charitable giving next year. Ashland, the Kentucky-based maker of Valvoline motor oil and chemical products, made the announcement recently after a 47 percent drop in revenues during the first three quarters of 1998.

"When you lose a $10,000 contribution in a community like ours, it takes a lot of $50 and $100 contributions to make that up. We don't know we're going to lose that, but if we do, it's going to take a lot to make it up," said Dee Fizdale, executive director of the Lexington Arts and Cultural Council in Lexington, KY.

Traditionally, Arco has been one of Los Angeles' most generous corporations, donating nearly $15 million during 1997 alone. The money has gone not only to Los Angeles, the company's home, but to other communities in states where Arco has a strong presence, Sakaguchi said.

A loss in giving by Arco is especially painful because of a series of mergers - in aerospace and banking, among other industries - that have taken many corporate headquarters out of Southern California.

The Library Foundation of Los Angeles already has seen a cut in Arco's contribution. The company typically buys a $25,000 table at the foundation's annual awards dinner, but last April went for a $10,000 table, said Evelyn Hoffman, the foundation's executive director.

"Arco was like the last corporate headquarters left in Los Angeles. Most everything else has left," she said. "It makes a difference. If you're funding a project in your own city, you are more likely to be involved."

Others are optimistic. The economic outlook is mild compared to the recession of the early 1990s, said Betty Beene, president of the United Way, which collected $3.4 billion last year, about one-third of it from corporations. "What's going on now compared to what was going on eight years ago, there is no comparison," she said. "The corporations have always been very generous and the expectation is they will come through with strong contributions."

The Conference Board, a group that tracks corporate giving, is not expecting an overall drop in contributions. That's because many companies boosted endowments to their own charitable foundations during the boom years, a move that should allow giving to continue in lean times.

Foundations To Be Set Up For German Holocaust Victims

Reversing German policy, the new center-left government pledged to set up foundations to compensate World War II slave laborers and "forgotten victims" of the Nazis. Chancellor-elect Gerhard Schroeder said no concrete plans or figures had been set for either fund.

"But we want to do something together with industry" to compensate former slave laborers, he said. "We've already started thinking about it." Facing lawsuits in the United States and threats of more at home from Naziera victims, German firms in recent months have come under increasing pressure to address the issue of slave labor.

For years they argued the government, as legal successor to the Nazi regime, should be responsible for back wage claims. But recently some of Germany's biggest firms have suggested they would be willing to contribute to a publicly administered fund.

Outgoing Chancellor Helmut Kohl had rejected any government involvement, saying companies are responsible for back wage claims. Schroeder said German firms that used slave labor during the Nazi era have "a historical, moral duty to fulfill." But he also stressed that they have "a need for protection against legal action that we have to guarantee."

Volkswagen and electronics giant Siemens have announced plans separately to establish their own funds to compensate former slave laborers forced to work for them by the Nazis during World War II.

The two companies, along with Krupp, Daimler-Benz, Audi and BMW, are among those named in a New York lawsuit seeking a portion of company profits for thousands of former slave laborers.

The coalition agreement signed by Schroeder and the small Greens party also calls for a new government foundation to compensate "forgotten victims" of Nazi injustice. Since World War II, the German government has paid billions in compensation for health damage and imprisonment.

Paul Simon Charity Cause Becomes Victim Of Embezzlement

Part of a contribution to the anti-apartheid cause made by singer Paul Simon never reached its destination, a witness said recently, in the embezzlement trial of a prominent figure in the straggle against white role.

The trial of former African National Congress official Allan Boesak resumed after being delayed because he could not afford to pay his lawyers. An unidentified donor has agreed to fund Boesak.

The former minister who once headed the World Alliance of Reformed Churches has pleaded innocent to 32 charges of fraud and theft of about $300,000 between 1988 and 1994. He is accused of taking money from several contributors besides Simon, including the Coca-Cola Foundation, Scandinavian aid agencies and others.

Simon, a well-known campaigner against white role in South Africa, in 1988 donated about $200,000 from a concert tour to Boesak to set up the Children's Trust charity for children suffering under apartheid. One of his albums, "Graceland," featured South African musicians and songs.

There was no immediate comment from Simon but the former charity head, Mary Burton, testified that she only received about $125,000. She told state prosecutor J. C. Gerber she had been unaware Simon had donated more than that. "I never met Mr. Simon," Burton said. "But I understand that he had implicit faith in Dr. Boesak."

Nearly all of Simon's donation went unused because there were few applications for aid and the trustees, who were all leading anti-apartheid campaigns, had little time to run the charity.

Burton said she tried to retrieve the cash in 1995, but discovered that the money had been transferred out of the trust's bank account four years earlier and into an account belonging to another charity headed by Boesak, the Foundation for Peace and Justice.

When Burton tried to get the money from the other charity, the bank said the foundation had run up a large overdraft and there were no funds available.

Two New Publications On Volunteering From Independent Sector (IS)

In 1995 more than half of America's teens reported volunteering, according to "America's Teenage Volunteers," a new booklet from IS, which summarizes the findings of "Volunteering and Giving Among Teenagers 12 to 17 Years of Age."

These 13.3 million teen volunteers gave an estimated 3.5 hours per week, totaling 2.4 billion hours of volunteer time. In addition, 41 percent of teens contributed to charitable organizations. Contributing teens have increased their giving over the past four years and gave an average of $82 in 1995 to charity.

IS cites that seniors comprise approximately 21 percent of the residents of the United States, and over the next 20 to 30 years, this number will increase.

They report that almost 44 percent of all people 55 and over volunteer at least once a year; and over 36 percent reported that they had volunteered within the previous month. These older volunteers give an average of 4.4 hours per week. The 24 million senior volunteers gave approximately 5.5 billion hours of their time - a value of $70.5 billion to non-profit organizations.

These findings by IS are included in "America's Senior Volunteers," from the biennial survey, "Giving and Volunteering in the United States."

Both of these booklets are available from IS's Publications Center at (888) 860-8118 or online at www.indepsec.org.

Customized Giving On New Web Site

Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) in Britain has launched the World People site (www.worldpeople.org), making giving to the world's poorest countries easy, flexible and interactive.

Sarah Norris, Internet development manager at CAF says, "The technology behind the World People site is invisible. But what is very tangible is the way that it allows us to build personal services for all our users, in which they can be fully involved. It also allows us to make the most of the support of significant new partners, such as OneWorld, who provide an international news feed to the site."

Word People itself allows donors to give to charities working on education and poverty relief projects in 80 designated countries. The World People site will enable Web novices to make 'dummy' donations to see how easy on-line giving can be, while state-of-the-art database technology will allow users to customize the site to meet their own needs. Whether tailored to the specific causes they wish to support, adapted to suit their visual requirements, or focused on making on-line donations and receiving 'virtual' statements, no two users need ever see the same site.

Charities registered with World People can develop a dialogue and build closer relationships with their donors through their own private access areas on the site. All that is needed to administer these areas is Internet access and a keyboard, enabling the charity to send its thanks to donors and view updated reports on the success of the scheme.

CAF's World People Card has been developed to help relieve poverty and further education in 80 of the world's poorest countries.

Johnson & Wales University Launches Vision 2001 Campaign

Johnson & Wales University has officially launched its $135.9 million Vision 2001 Capital Campaign.

The campaign will be broken down into two components: $67.7 million internally generated, and $68.2 million to be derived from external sources. The $67.7 million is being generated by allocating a portion of the operating budget each year to endowment and is supported by investment strategies. The $68.2 million will be used for new and enhanced facilities and equipment, expanded and improved information technology, and scholarships to help insure an affordable education for all students.

"We have taken the challenge and the responsibility for funding nearly 50 percent of our campaign, or $67.7 million, through our own fiscal management," said University President Dr. John A. Yena. "For the remaining portion, $68.2 million, we are looking to our many constituencies; those who embrace our mission and core values. The overall results to date are not only encouraging but astonishing."

Help On Rate Restrictions

The Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers says that non-profits are still having problems and questions about the eligibility that governs what can and what can't be sent at non-profit rates.

The Alliance reminds readers that their Web site, www.nonprofitmailers.org, has a comprehensive archive of information on the rules and appeals process. Included are relevant Federal Register notices, USPS Customer Support Rulings and more.

Nation's Top Ten Innovative Government Programs Named

The winners of the nation's ten most creative and effective government programs have been selected. The winners will receive Innovations in American Government Awards. Each of the programs will be given $100,000 to promote the replication and expansion of their work.

Sponsored by the Ford Foundation and administered by the Kennedy School of Government in partnership with the Council for Excellence in Government, the awards are given to federal, state and local public sector initiatives. Approximately 1,400 applicants were assessed.

"Many of government's most creative programs are now so familiar that we forget that their origins were experimental," said Susan Berresford, president of the Ford Foundation. "From the GI Bill to the Internet, our government has created many new ways to fulfill our nation's potential. These ten Innovations Award winners remind us that despite the media's frequent contention to the contrary, government paves the way for much of our country's success."

Among the programs awarded are Vermont's Reparative Probation, North Carolina's Smart Start and the U.S. Navy's Best Manufacturing Practices.

Freddie Mac Announces Grants

The Freddie Mac Foundation announced grants totaling nearly 3.7 million for the third quarter of 1998, pushing the Foundation's total contributions to organizations serving at-risk children to more than $50 million since its inception in 1990. A large portion of the funds ($38 million) has helped support organizations in the Washington, DC, area.

"Having reached this important milestone, we are as committed as ever to helping brighten the future for children. Over the years, our largest investment has been the children of the Washington, DC region - our hometown. We invest in hope, opportunity and the chance to make dreams of a better life come true," explained Maxine B. Baker, executive director, Freddie Mac Foundation.

The quarter's largest grants went to the Alexandria Community Network Preschool ($350,000), the Baptist Home for Children in Families ($350,000), ESCAPE ($330,000), Perry School Community Services Center ($300,000), the United Way of Central Maryland ($250,000) and the Northern Virginia Family Service ($200,000).

Ireland Gets Grant For Terrorist Victims

Omagh, the town where a car bomb planted by Irish Republican Army dissidents exploded, killing 29 people and injuring 370, has been awarded $1.5 million in lottery money for an extensive rebuilding program. The tragedy occurred last August.

The Heritage Lottery Fund money will be used to help reconstruct Lower. Market Street, which took the brunt of the blast. "This is very timely, coming just as demolition work is complete and we are about to try and move forward," said John McKinney, chief executive of the Omagh District Council

McKinney said some of the money also will be spent on creating a memorial to the victims of the bomb. "Most people would like to see some sort of reflective area, but they also want to see something different there," he said. "They don't want to have to look at that street and see it how it was on August 15."

Charity Mug Recall

A mug maker for the Save the Children charity has recalled nearly 2,400 mugs after several showed high levels of lead during tests in California. A Save the Children spokeswoman said the mugs met federal guidelines for lead content, but had more lead than a voluntary standard to be introduced in California in April 1999. California's Department of Health Services put out a warning to consumers to stop using two types of 20-ounce Save the Children mugs.

The department said samples of the "Popsicle Faces" mug and the "Here comes Santa" mug were tested and found to have 21.6 parts per million of lead and 57 ppm of lead, respectively. That's higher than the 4 ppm-level the state plans to adopt as a voluntary standard next year. The current voluntary industry standard, set by the Washington-based Society of Glass and Ceramic Decorators, is 25 parts per million.

Tony Reed, director of licensing for the Westport, CT-based charity, said 2,380 of the questionable mugs were distributed nationwide. The company that makes and distributes the mugs, Norwalk, CT-based Centrum Corporation, has ordered all mugs remaining on store shelves to be destroyed, Reed said. Centrum also asked stores that carry the mugs to hang signs informing customers of California's health warning. It was unclear how many of the mugs already had been sold, but many remained on store shelves because the 20-ounce size was not a fast-seller, she said.

The recall is the charity's second publicity problem this year. The Chicago Tribune reported in March that Save the Children and three other children's relief organizations often gave little or no benefits directly to children who were sponsored. In response, the group said it does not try to fool sponsors, specifying in its ads and literature that the money is used for the entire community in which the child lives.

Reed said 80 cents of every dollar donated to the organization, active in 40 countries, goes to children's programs in health, education, humanitarian relief and to building small enterprises.

Canadian Walks Across Australia For Charity

After a 3,000-mile walk across Australia, Deanna Sorensen of Brampton, Ontario, dipped her feet in the Pacific Ocean and popped open a bottle of champagne. "I'm just so glad it's over, the feeling is indescribable," she said,

Sorensen left Perth, on Australia's west coast, on May 2. She walked to Sydney's North Bondi beach on its east without a support crew - she pushed her supplies in a purple, three-wheel infant jogging stroller. Beach-goers, cheering schoolchildren and officials from the animal welfare charity she promoted met her at the finish.

Averaging about 25 miles a day, Sorensen walked east from Perth to Kalgoorlie, across the Nullarbor and into South Australia. After leaving the state capital of Adelaide, she took a southern highway along the coast. Sorensen had asked those she met along the way to send donations to local animal shelters and raised hundreds of dollars from passing drivers.

Home Depot Founder Makes Large Donation

The founder of Home Depot has announced a $45 million donation to establish a national network of developmental services for children with brain disorders and their families.

Bernard Marcus, who is also co-chairman of the chain, said that he is donating the funds to the Baltimore-based Kennedy Krieger Institute, which helps children with disabilities resulting from brain disorders.

It is the largest-ever donation to the organization. As a result of the donation, the Marcus Institute in Atlanta - founded by Bernard and his wife Billi - will merge with Kennedy Krieger. The Marcus Institute provides similar services."

"I have personally found Kennedy Krieger to be the finest in the field," Marcus said in a statement. "Their team shares my vision, and through this partnership we will create a larger presence for our research and treatment work in this important area."

Humanities Medals Awarded

Along with Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., the scholar-historian and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, nine Americans were named winners of National Humanities Medals for lifetime achievement. The medals were presented by President Clinton and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton at a White House ceremony November 5, according to the National Endowment for the Humanities.

"Their ideas and insights have touched untold millions of our citizens and have shaped a clearer understanding of who we are as a nation," William R. Ferris, chairman of the national endowment, said in announcing the winners.

Nancye Brown Gaj, of Raleigh, NC, founder and president of Motheread Inc., a family literacy program to help newly literate adults improve their reading skills and Vartan Gregorian, president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, educator, administrator and philanthropist and former president of Brown University, were among those honored.

Foundation For Handicapped Entrepreneurs Established

In recognition of a growing nationwide need, the Foundation for Handicapped Entrepreneurs has became a reality in Denver, CO. The foundation was established to support the entrepreneurial efforts of handicapped persons who might not otherwise have access to critical resources necessary for furthering their business goals.

Jacque Winroth, the foundation's operations director and founder has personal experience as an entrepreneur facing the daily challenges of a physical handicap. In developing the basis for the foundation's philosophy, Winroth looked to his own personal life experiences to identify areas in which fledgling businesses, ventures and ideas of handicapped entrepreneurs could mature in a nurturing and positive environment.

Winroth announced the foundation will seek to attract startup seed capital to assist entrepreneurs in developing business plans, gathering necessary resources to facilitate those plans and to offer marketing, sales and technical assistance. Further, Winroth said, "the foundation is applying for 501(c)(3) status so contributions will be tax deductible."

Individuals who are or represent handicapped entrepreneurs who believe they might qualify for an initial-stage grant are encouraged to submit a written proposal to the foundation and are encouraged to contact the foundation for further details.

The foundation is headquartered at 10221 West 102nd Ave., Westminster, CO 80021 - (303) 469 3313.

Merck & Co. Donates 2.3 Million For Hurricane Victims

New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company Merck & Co., Inc. has provided relief for victims of Hurricane Georges in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, where the company has 1,700 employees in three manufacturing plants and sales offices. Relief efforts included $2.3 million in cash and donations of medicines, and the volunteer efforts of its employees on Puerto Rico.

"We are greatly saddened by the devastation suffered by the thousands of people and communities affected by Hurricane Georges - the area's worst hurricane in decades," said John R. Taylor, executive vice president, The Merck Company Foundation and senior director, Merck Public Affairs. "Their needs are compelling and called for a major response from Merck."

The Merck Company Foundation pledged $1.5 million to the American Red Cross in response to an urgent plea for assistance from Elizabeth Dole, president of the Red Cross. $500,000 of the pledge will support immediate relief efforts associated with Hurricane Georges and the remaining $1 million will be paid for over five years.

The Foundation also provided $150,000 to International Medical Services for Health to support disaster relief fund-raising activities and donated $650,000 worth of medicine.

Susan J. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Honors Candice Bergen

Former First Lady and breast cancer advocate Betty Ford presented Candice Bergen with the 1998 Betty Ford Award for the actress's work in the fight against breast cancer at the Susan G. Komen Foundation's 16th Annual National Awards luncheon in Dallas, TX, on October 19.

More than 2,100 guests attended the event. The focus of this year's luncheon, Celebrations and Affirmations - There Will Be A Cure, commemorated the tremendous advances made in the past year in the race for a cure. Bergen received the award for her portrayal of a woman battling breast cancer on the TV sitcom Murphy Brown.

Low Cost Pre-Printed Return Address Labels In Sheet Form For Fund Raisers

DeskTop Direct has announced the availability of a new low cost address label sheet which is used by fund-raising organizations. Available in different sizes, the address label sheets are pre-printed by organizations and enclosed in their direct mail fund-raising solicitations.

In announcing the new address label sheets, Marty Marion, marketing manager for DeskTop Direct said, "Our new label sheets provide fundraising organizations with the market's highest printing resolution which immediately attracts the attention of the recipient. The sheets, which are pre-printed on either ink jet or laser printers, also have our exclusive 'easy label peel-off feature.'"

DeskTop Direct has been a major supplier of these labels which, during the past three years, have enjoyed explosive growth in their fund-raising endeavors.

For information, call DeskTop Direct at (800) 241-9730 or on the Web at http://dtdir.com.

Computer Giant Makes Big Donation

A first-grade teacher and anti-bilingual education crusader received a whopping $500,000 donation from a computer company heir in her long-shot bid to unseat the state schools chief.

The donation from David W. Packard, son of the co-founder of computer giant Hewlett-Packard, was prompted by the multimillionaire's belief in Gloria Matta Tuchman's teaching methods, particularly phonics-based reading instruction.

Matta Tuchman, a Republican, is challenging Delaine Eastin, a Democrat and former assemblywoman seeking a second four-year term. A recent poll showed Eastin leading 28 percent to 18 percent, with 54 percent undecided. Matta Tuchman is best known for her efforts on behalf of Proposition 227, the successful June ballot measure that aimed to scrap bilingual education.

The contribution brings Packard into a small but growing group of wealthy men trying to reshape California education. Matta Tuchman's two other big contributors are Home Savings and Loan heir Howard Ahmanson, $200,000, and Wal-Mart heir John Walton, $35,000, both big school voucher advocates.

"This is essentially a hostile takeover of the public schools by three billionaires," Eastin campaign consultant Cliff Staton said recently. The Packard donation gives Matta Tuchman about $1 million in contributions compared to Eastin's $1.4 million, $250,000 of which came from the powerful 280,000-member California Teachers Association.

Until this contribution, Packard had made only one other political donation - $1,000 to a Silicon Valley congressman, Republican Tom Campbell. Packard told the San Jose Mercury News his donation was prompted by a strong interest in promoting phonics-based reading instruction.

CBA Launches Direct Mail Consortium For Libraries

Carl Bloom Associates has launched the country's first national direct mall "consortium" program to build donor constituencies and raise funds for city, state and regional libraries. The CBA Library Consortium offers libraries creative and high-volume list selections at group purchase prices. Clients include Queens Borough Public Library (New York), The Library Foundation of Los Angeles, and King County Library System Foundation (Seattle, WA).

"We are very excited about being part of the Consortium start-up," said JoAnn Yoshimito, executive director of the King County Library System Foundation. "Our board realizes that direct mail provides a critically important, long-term donor base that can bring in major gifts, and volunteers. We are looking forward to getting our program up and running."

"We are focused right now on getting the best quality package out for our new library clients," said CBA president Carl Bloom. "The future for growth of the Consortium huge, but only after we show them that this approach works, as it has so well for public TV stations."

Innovative Non-Profit Pursues Self Sufficiency Through Entrepreneurship

Community Workshops Inc., a non-profit company that creates jobs for people with disabilities, is determined to reduce its reliance upon outside funding through its launch of The Pack Basket, a national, direct-mail catalog. Inspired by the classic beauty of the Adirondack region, the catalog features more than 130 products.

"Faced with the reality of decreased government funding support, CWI knew it had to become more innovative and progressive in order to preserve the quality of services provided to individuals with disabilities," says Edward S. Ziminski, President of CWI.

CWI turned to Philadelphia-based Foster Chamberlain, LLC, a business development firm whose mission is to help its corporate clients launch new products and businesses quickly, cost-effectively, and successfully. Foster Chamberlain's Extrapreneurship Services helped CWI to get from concept to market in time for the holiday season.

Help For Landmine Victims Only

Princess Diana's Memorial Fund said it will give $1.7 million to help victims of land mines but nothing to assist her cause of removing mines around the globe.

The Princess of Wales Memorial Fund said it decided the money available was a tiny fraction of the cost for removing mines worldwide, and that the funds were best used for victims.

Diana drew attention to the issue by making a highly publicized walk through a minefield in Angola in February 1997. She died in a car crash in Paris on August 31 of that year. The fund's decision dismayed one major group involved in clearing mines.

"Land mine clearance was something with which Diana was very clearly involved and because of that people expect we are receiving plentiful donations from the fund," said Lou McGrath, director of the Mines Advisory Group. "But, as we have heard today, the opposite is the case and we face the ludicrous situation of the Diana memorial fund doing nothing to help a cause to which she gave a very clear and very important commitment."

McGrath said fund raising had been hampered by a public perception that mine clearance work was being supported by the memorial fund.

American Leprosy Missions' "Leap For Jeeps" Helps Achieve Agency's Treatment Initiatives

American Leprosy Missions (ALM) will be able to purchase one jeep through its "Leap for Jeeps" campaign and is still receiving funds toward a second vehicle. Health workers in Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo will use the jeeps to visit remote villages, finding and treating people with leprosy.

ALM staff member Kerry Moody, donor Tom Pechette and board member Jim Cockman skydived 12,000 feet on October 17, to raise $60,000 to purchase two jeeps for ALM-supported projects.

"It is comforting to know that, because of Leap for Jeeps, people in remote locations will be brought hope and healing," Moody said. "No longer will distance and terrain be the determining factors in healing."

Moody originated the "Leap for Jeeps" idea with Pechette, said that the event generated enough interest - and funds - that he plans to make it an annual campaign. ALM programs always need jeeps, Moody said. The agency received requests for at least eight jeeps in 1999.

DMA Sponsors Privacy Notice Copywriter's Challenge

The Direct Marketing Association is looking for the most consumer-friendly privacy notices in a new award competition: The DMA Privacy Promise Copywriter's Challenge. The winning entries will be featured in a new publication this Spring to give direct marketers sample privacy notices they can use in their own communications with customers and consumers.

Entries are being accepted in two divisions and six product/service categories. The divisions are print (mail, catalogs, brochures an statement stuffers) and online. The service categories are: consumer products, financial services, health care, non-profits/fund raising, other consumer services and children's products.

The awards for the best consumer privacy and list rental/exchange notices will be announced at The DMA's net.marketing conference, February 28-March 2, 1999, in Los Angeles, CA.

The deadline for entries is January 22, 1999. For entry information and contest rules, contact Linda High, DMA consumer affairs department, at (202) 861-2404 or lhigh@the-dma.org.