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National   Foundation Support For Water-related Issues Growing

Source:  The Foundation Center

New York, NY —In recent years, the number of U.S. charitable foundations awarding grants for water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) projects around the world has more

Foundation Center

than tripled. A new research brief by the Foundation Center, Foundation Funding for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene, finds that between 2003 and 2010 this growth in the number of active funders was accompanied by a nearly five-fold increase in the number of organizations receiving these grants, to the tune of $144 million in 2009-2010.

And, while WASH funding as a proportion of international grant making overall has grown from 0.2 percent in 2003, it remains very small (1.7 percent in 2010). Among other key findings in the report: The total number of foundations awarding WASH grants has jumped from 24 in 2003 to 78 in 2010. Geographic distribution: 30 percent of all grant dollars in 2009 and 2010 went to Africa, the largest share of any geographic region, while 18 percent went to Asia, and 9 percent went to Central/South America.

Purpose of grants: The largest proportion of foundation grant dollars support water sector policy and administration (20 percent), followed by basic drinking water supply (17 percent), WASH research (14 percent), and basic sanitation (14 percent). More than 780 million people do not have reliable access to clean water, and a staggering 2.5 billion do not have adequate sanitation. This report looks at the role of foundation funding in addressing this global crisis, complementing the Foundation Center’s WASHfunders.org custom web portal.

As a hub for funders, practitioners, and policymakers working around the world, the portal provides free access to a broad set of knowledge resources, including a mapping tool with detailed grants information, case studies of WASH project funding around the world, and a searchable archive of reports.  The Foundation Center’s custom web portals empower donors to be more strategic, using data-driven decision making and peer-to-peer insights to strengthen their philanthropy.

National Society of Black Engineers Convention Kicks Off In Pittsburgh

Source:  BlackNews.Com

Alexandria, VA — The National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) will hold its 38th Annual Convention at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pa., from Wednesday, March 28 to Sunday, April 1, 2012. The event, which is expected to attract 8,500 attendees and generate $12.4 million in direct spending, is one of Pittsburgh’s largest conventions of the year.

This marks the third time NSBE has chosen Pittsburgh as its convention host city. The 1994 and 2006 NSBE Annual Conventions were also held in the Steel City.  With close to 30,000 pre-college, collegiate and technical professional members in the U.S. and abroad, NSBE is one of the world’s largest membership organizations for black students and professionals in engineering and other STEM fields.

With its hundreds of career development, educational and motivational activities, the Annual Convention plays a major part in NSBE’s efforts to reach its main goal, which is to end the under representation of blacks in engineering. The NSBE Annual Convention is supported by some of the nation’s largest private sector and government employers, and 2012 is no exception.

Speakers who will address this year’s convention attendees include Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert, chief of Naval Operations; Rodney C. Adkins, senior vice president of IBM Systems and Technology Group; Jeffrey P. Pino, president of Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation; Ben-Saba Hasan, senior vice president of Strategic Services ISD, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.; Tammee L. Thompson, vice president of Global Security and Fire, Johnson Controls, Inc.; and Maj. Gen. Melvin G. Spiese, United States Marine Corps, among others.

Representatives of more than 250 companies, government agencies, academic institutions and not-for-profit organizations will work as exhibitors at the convention’s huge Career Fair, Graduate School Fair and College Fair. As always, for many young convention attendees, these recruitment events will provide life-changing opportunities. NSBE is a student-founded and student-governed organization that promotes leadership among its young members, a fact that is also reflected in the lineup of convention speakers. Ambassador Andrew Young will address the convention’s General Session on Thursday evening, March 29, and Robert L. Johnson, founder and chair of RLJ Development and founder and former chair of Black Entertainment Television, will speak during the Opening Session on Wednesday evening.

The Annual Convention is also the site of the gala ceremony for NSBE’s top honors: the NSBE Golden Torch Awards, which recognize individuals and organizations that exemplify NSBE’s ideals of academic excellence, professional success and dedication to improvement of the black community. Among this year’s Golden Torch honorees are Warner M. Williams, vice president of the Gulf of Mexico Business Unit, Chevron Corporation; Vice Adm. Manson K. Brown, United States Coast Guard; and two Pittsburgh luminaries, Robert O. Agbede, president and chief executive officer of Chester Engineers, Inc., and Alaine Allen, director of the Pitt Engineering Career Access Program at the University of Pittsburgh.

The awards ceremony takes place on Saturday, March 31 at 6:00 p.m. Actor, educator, activist and entrepreneur Lamman Rucker, of “Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns” fame, will serve as master of ceremonies.  From the Opening and General Sessions to the technical competitions and workshops, excitement and positive, youthful energy permeate the NSBE Annual Convention and make it a unique event that has helped launch many successful careers. Calvin Phelps, 24, is NSBE’s national chair, the organization’s top-ranking officer.

A graduate student in mechanical engineering at Cornell University when he took office in 2010, he is now a Cornell graduate and a design engineer at Pratt & Whitney, a United Technologies Company. “It was a NSBE Annual Convention that taught me the interview and essay skills that I used to win a full academic scholarship for my undergraduate studies. It was a NSBE Annual Convention that convinced me to continue my education and get an advanced degree, and a NSBE Annual Convention that taught me how to pay for those graduate studies,” Phelps says. ”

Networking with corporate reps, building relationships with friends from all over the country, having the chance to lead first my (NSBE) region and now this organization as national chair: all of these things and more I owe to my participation in NSBE’s largest event.” The convention entertainment is also top-notch. Songwriter and vocalist Marsha Ambrosius, hip-hop artist DJ Drama, singer-songwriter Ambition and comedian J. Russ will perform.

“There has been a lot of hard work and sacrifice by the 21 members of the Convention Planning Committee over this past year, but it will all be worth it when we see more than 8,000 black engineers descend into Pittsburgh that week,” says Taylor L. Mitcham, the chair of NSBE’s 2012 Convention Planning Committee. “It will all be worth it on Saturday when you see that everyone got something out of the convention, whether they discovered their teamwork or leadership abilities or were inspired to pursue something new. It will all be worth it when I hear that someone got their first job or internship at the Career Fair.”

Cision Named Top Marketing/PR Software Solutions

Cision Software Selected Finalist by 2012 CODiE Awards’ Judges

Source: Cision

CHICAGO – Cision, the leading provider of PR software, services and tools for the marketing and PR industry, today announced that Cision campaign management software has been selected as a finalist for 2012’s Best Marketing/PR Solution by the CODiE Awards, the software industry’s only peer-reviewed awards competition. Cision software – which in January was named 2012’s Best Online Business Information Service by the CODiE Awards and its sponsor, the Software and Information Industry

Association (SIIA) – also is the reigning winner of the 2011 CODiE as Best Marketing/PR Solution. The honor “recognizes the best solution for management of customer, promotional or media communications.” “The judges selection of Cision as one of 2012’s best marketing and public relations software solutions demonstrates our ongoing determination to anticipate and meet our users’ changing needs as social media continues to radically integrate the traditional marketing mix,” said Hans Gieskes, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cision AB.

“Since Cision won the 2011 CODiE Award as Best Marketing/PR software, we’ve introduced new ways for people to manage earned and owned media, such as the industry’s most meaningful Influencer Rating, and content marketing capabilities through Social Publish,” he said. “We’ve extended Cision to the world’s top mobile platforms and launched new content-driven search. We’re expanding the Cision Media Database, adding thousands of new profiles of digital influencers who are critical to shaping brands’ reputations, and we’ve enhanced Cision’s speed, performance and personalization capabilities.

Our selection as a 2012 category winner and finalist shows that Cision remains the best campaign management solution of its class.” Cision has won four CODiE Awards since becoming eligible to compete in 2009. In addition to its 2011 and 2012 awards, Cision was judged Best Online News Service in 2009 and the Cision Social Media Dashboard won a 2010 CODiE Award as Best Social Media Aggregation Service. Cision also won the 2010 Product Development of the Year Award from the United Kingdom’s Data Publishers Association (DPA).

The winner of the 2012 Best Marketing/PR Solution CODiE Award will be announced by the SIIA on May 10. Cision’s integrated campaign management software has been adopted by over 30,000 users in more than 20 countries since its launch in October 2007. It is available in nine languages and used by 49 of the top 50 PR agencies, corporations, nonprofits, universities and solo practitioners.

Cornel West Endorses A New Blog Site Targeting Millennials:  FWDNATION.COM  

Source:  BlackNews.Com

Los Angeles, CA – The 2008 election season not only gave us our first African American president but also ignited the voice of the millennial generation. In order to keep the momentum going through youth engagement, beyond the historic hype of the 2008 election, the concept of FWD Nation (www.FWDnation.com), a fresh new website built to target the collegiate, the hipster, and the young professional, was born.

Co-founders Brandon A. Lucas and Jeremy James Berry announce the launch of FWD Nation, an online community aimed at those born in the 1980s and 1990s with the goal of “amping up” the voices of the fast-paced, text-messaging, word-abbreviating millennial generation.  Both Lucas and Berry, employees of PBS broadcaster and New York Times bestselling author Tavis Smiley, felt driven to create an online portal for thought-provoking discussion after being exposed to some of the world’s most influential thought-leaders, including esteemed professor, philosopher, and activist Dr. Cornel West.

“My dear brother Brandon A. Lucas is one of the great prophetic voices of the millennial generation,” says Cornel West. “We are blessed to have the vision of FWD Nation from Brandon and my dear brother Jeremy Berry, here and around the world.” FWD Nation is a multidimensional, multimedia portal where politics, entertainment, business, lifestyle, technology and pop culture meet and blend together; a hub for real-time stories for the real-life millennials pushing forward agendas, initiatives, and issues that matter most.

“Developing FWD Nation was a simple decision for us,” explains Lucas. “During the 2008 election, no other voice was more amplified than that of my generation. We’re excited to move forward by keeping this momentum going.” The website will include diverse and relevant news stories analyzed by the 20-or-so official FWD Nation bloggers from across the country.

As the 2012 primary race for the presidency nears, FWD Nation will lend its platform to the myriad of millennial voices that seek to not only rock the vote, but also inform the young adult’s impact at the voting booths. “We live in a ‘FWD Nation’: the most multicultural, multiracial, multi-ethnic America ever,” insists Berry. “It is our belief that where old media fails to depict this reality, new media will prevail!”