Giving Wisely - By SUZANNE MCGEE

Santa Cruz, CA, November 28 - Santa Cruz-based Firelight Foundation, which supports small community-based organizations that assist children affected by AIDS in Africa, is one of ten foundations profiled in the current issue of the national financial weekly Barron's as a model of "giving wisely".

"We take this recognition by Barron's as an endorsement of the crucial importance of the work of grassroots organizations on the frontline of Africa's struggle against AIDS - groups that most international donors do not reach," said Kerry Olson, founder and chief executive officer of Firelight.

Barron's, the influential weekly magazine of Wall Street giant Dow Jones, profiled ten foundations identified by Geneva Global, a top philanthropy consulting firm, as those that "epitomize thoughtful and effective giving." It notes the uniqueness of Firelight's vision and courage in taking the risk on "community projects, not the large nongovernmental organizations already getting [AIDS] funding."

Now in its eighth year of grantmaking, the Firelight Foundation has made more than 700 grants totaling $8.6 million to more than 300 grassroots organizations, translating into essential support for hundreds of thousands of children in communities heavily affected by AIDS.

"We have also worked hard to persuade larger foundations and other donors of the importance of supporting the kinds of services for vulnerable children that can only be designed and provided by people from the same communities as those children," said Olson.

The foundation has also urged donors to support community-based care for children orphaned by AIDS rather than housing them in orphanages. "Children are best cared for within families in the communities that they know," Olson noted. "Even when the number of orphans is as huge as in AIDS-affected countries of Africa, institutionalizing children should be a last resort."

For further information: Jennifer Astone, Executive Director, Firelight Foundation, (831) 429-8750

The Firelight Foundation’s founders, Kerry Olson and David Katz
profiled as effective givers by Geneva Global

Wise Givers: Kerry Olson Brings Firelight to Children Orphaned by AIDS - By TIM OGDEN and CARRIE LAUPPE

Geneva Global, one of the world’s top consultants on philanthropy, points out that it’s not just how much you give, but what you accomplish with your contributions that really counts. The Firelight Foundation’s founders, Kerry Olson and Dave Katz, were among the ten individuals selected by Geneva Global from a field of 100 for their philanthropic passion and effectiveness.

To make the selection, nominations were solicited from cutting edge thinkers, advisors, and experts in philanthropy. They looked for living individuals who were actively directly and deeply involved in choosing how their money was allocated.

The final ten individuals highlight people who are not only generous, but combine tough minded analysis with good stewardship to get the most possible out of their contributions. Their practices serve as models to others who don’t have hundreds of millions to give away.

Olson and Katz were lauded for funding small community-based projects that help children orphaned by HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa.