The Global Education Initiative is moving quickly to gear up towards the Summit on Global Education on November 18, 2011.  Thanks to our dedicated coordinating committee and task force members who conducted interviews with experts in the field, the first round of information gathering has been well underway. From the interview feedback, we have a great start on recommendations and inputs on improving the global education offerings in Washington State.

Now Global Washington has embarked on the second phase of information gathering – Community Conversations!

A series of community conversations will be held in September and October to gather key recommendations and inputs from diverse groups of practitioners across the state. They include individuals in education, nonprofits and businesses. In order to ensure a well-rounded geographic representation, these community conversations will cover different parts of the state.

Stay tuned for our announcements on the dates and locations very soon!  If you are interested in hosting a conversation, please email eugenia@globalwa.org.

Welcome to the August 2011 issue of the Global Washington newsletter. If you would like to contact us directly, please email us.

IN THIS ISSUE

• Note from our Executive Director
• Featured Story: Foreign Assistance: Past, Present, Future
• Featured Organization: Shoreline Community College’s Global Affairs Center
• Changemaker: Sandy Kemper, Founder of Smiles Forever
• Welcome New Members
• Announcements
• Global Washington Events
• Other Events

Note from our Executive Director

Greetings,

Our office has been so busy as we are getting ready for several large events.

The first of these events is Reforming Aid, Transforming the World on August 30th. This event will highlight a critical conversation about aid and aid effectiveness and update you about Presidential Policy Directive and the QDDR And the discussions in DC about the 2012 budget. We know that the budget cuts can have a dramatic impact on the international development community. Global Washington will continue to identify ways that we can advocate across key global development issues at the local, national, and global level. Register here now for this event.

The second event is the Summit on Global Education in Washington State. Throughout this year, Global Washington has been building a collaborative plan to create a shared strategy for global education in Washington State. Our vision is to prepare students to enter the professional world as knowledgeable global citizens and create competent global leaders in Washington State and internationally. We also added to the resources we offer to the international development community by developing our new Career Center. Our goal with this critical resource is to continue to provide the tools you need to build your capacity. Global Washington is also building up this sector by mentoring and training up to 20 interns during each quarter. We see a great deal of value in helping to support these future leaders of global development. Register here now for the summit. We are thrilled to announce Seattle University as our Presenting Sponsor for this event.

The last event is our upcoming third annual conference: Opportunities and Obstacles in Turbulent Times. Opportunities and Obstacles will build on the success of the previous years’ conferences. The first annual conference in 2009, A Blueprint for Action, convened over 300 people to build a strategy for collaborative work in the sector and discuss Global Washington’s role as a convening body. The 2010 Conference, Bridges To Breakthroughs: How Partnerships And Innovation Are Changing The World was attended by over 400 people and focused on new ideas and the role of cross-sector, cross-issue collaborative efforts in development work. We are happy to announce that Microsoft is once again our Presenting Sponsor and will host the event.

The annual conference is an important milestone in Global Washington’s work to convene, strengthen, and advocate on behalf of the global development sector in the state. Diverse players will find opportunities for collaboration and high-caliber speakers will provide valuable insight and the latest knowledge. All of this increases the impact of the work being done around the world, and enhances the reputation of Washington State as an international hub for innovative and effective development activity. Small and large organizations, businesses, government, academic institutions, and interested individuals are all encouraged to participate, joining our mission of working together to create a more equitable and prosperous world. I hope that you have seen the request for abstracts for our member organizations to present at the conference. Be sure to submit your presentations to us and use this opportunity to showcase your work.

We hope to see you at these three meetings and look forward to your participation in our many programs and our annual conference.

In unity,

Bookda Gheisar, Executive Director

Featured Story

Foreign Assistance: Past, Present, Future

By Sarah Horrigan

The year was 1961. In the United States, President John F. Kennedy was inaugurated and gave the first-ever live presidential news conference. U.S. Freedom Riders began interstate bus rides to test the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court on integration. Alan Shepard became the first American in space. In other parts of the world, construction of the Berlin Wall began as Cold War tensions increased, the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba failed, and the first American helicopters arrived in Saigon, signaling the beginning of the Vietnam War. In Liverpool, England, the Beatles made their first appearance at the Cavern Club. In the U.S. Congress, the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 was passed and signed into law.

In the following 50 years, the Foreign Assistance Act has been amended, and over 20 pieces of additional legislation have been passed, some of which establish authorities that lead to confusion within overall U.S. foreign policy. Many development experts view the current collection of legislation as being out-of date and not reflecting current international conditions; some also believe that the Foreign Assistance Act has to be rewritten for coherence and streamlining.

On August 30, Global Washington will convene a panel of policy experts who have been part of the discussion about foreign assistance reform for many years. “Reforming Aid, Transforming the World” will bring together U.S. Representative Adam Smith, National Security Council Senior Director Gayle Smith (invited), and World Vision Senior Vice President Kent Hill.

Adam Smith, now in his 8th term in the U.S. House of Representatives, serves as the Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee. Until recently, he also served on both the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Given his committee assignments and extensive travel, Smith has unique insights into today’s foremost national security issues, including the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan as well as our larger efforts to stop the spread of extremist groups and their violent ideology around the globe. Smith has traveled to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, countries throughout the Middle East as well as countries across Eastern, Central and Northern Africa where U.S. national security interests are most apparent. Harnessing his committee and travel experience, Smith has authored and passed legislation on national security issues such as strategic communication, irregular warfare, and international development.

Gayle Smith (invited) is Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director at the National Security Council, where she is responsible for global development, democracy, stabilization, and humanitarian assistance issues. She was instrumental in developing the Presidential Policy Directive on Global Development, the first such presidential directive on the topic. She was previously a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, Co-Chair of the ENOUGH Project, and Co-Founder of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network. During the Clinton Administration, Smith served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs at the NSC, and as Senior Advisor to the Administrator and Chief of Staff of the U.S. Agency for International Development. She was based in Africa for over 20 years as a journalist, and has also consulted for a wide range of NGOs, foundations, and governmental organizations.

Kent R. Hill joined World Vision (a Global Washington member organization) in February 2011, after more than three decades serving in U.S. Government, academic, and non-profit leadership roles. As head of WVUS international programs, Kent collaborates with the international partnership of World Vision to help facilitate the overseas allocation of resources from government grants, corporate donated goods, and individual donors. Kent is based in the Washington, D.C., office. Kent served from 2001 to 2005 as U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Assistant Administrator of Europe and Eurasia, and was responsible for U.S. foreign assistance to 26 countries in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Between 2005 and 2009, he was Assistant Administrator of the Bureau for Global Health. Kent has extensive experience with multiple US Government departments and agencies, international assistance agencies from other countries, and hundreds of U.S. and international NGOs, including faith-based organizations.

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Featured Organization: Shoreline Community College’s Global Affairs Center

Promoting the Richness of Washington’s Global Work in the Shoreline Community & Beyond

By Bridgette Greenhaw

It isn’t just “famous people or folks living in major urban centers like Seattle who are globally affected and effective…”

Such appears to be the informal motto of Shoreline Community College’s Global Affairs Center (GAC) and its director, Dr. Lawrence (“Larry”) Fuell. When Larry speaks of the successes of Shoreline Community College’s Global Affairs Center, he tells them in stories. These stories highlight how Center programs drive students and community members to awareness and action regarding global issues.

Dr. Fuell describes Shoreline Community College students who, after attending the 2011 GAC Humanitarian Assistance Symposium, organized a community-wide computer drive for a local organization that provides computers to non-profit organizations abroad. He highlights students coming to him in the days following the 2010 Haiti earthquake asking that he coordinate a venue for the community to discuss relief efforts. The same thing happened this past April when students wanted to quickly arrange a discussion on the uprising in Libya. He details a student-created chapter of Amnesty International on campus – again spurred by a Global Affairs Center event.

Dr. Fuell seems excited but not surprised by the action that the Center’s programs stir. He chocks it up to the Center “finding and cultivating that sweet spot of student interest.”

From an outside perspective, what Shoreline Community College (SCC) is doing in terms of global engagement is extremely impressive. Dr. Fuell, a former U.S. Foreign Service Officer who teaches political science, created and currently directs the SCC Global Affairs Center, a “non-partisan program which strives to encourage critical thinking and engagement on global issues affecting global peace, prosperity and equity.” Just completing its third year of programming, the Center aims to stimulate critical thinking; encourage involvement; and show students, faculty and Shoreline community members that they can engage in global issues locally.

Dr. Fuell believes that global education– and thus the Center –must focus on four key pillars: awareness, engagement, collaboration through effective partnerships, and ongoing sustainable engagement that does not try to “reinvent the wheel.”

In addition to SCC students and faculty, the Center aims to reach community members. Events are widely promoted beyond SCC’s student body and often take place in the evenings and on weekends to ensure that community members can attend.

The Center’s programming focuses on symposiums, speaker events, campus town halls and small-group evening discussions. The topics of these events run the gamut of global issues. Programming in 2010/2011 included a symposium centered on the debate around immigration policy in the U.S. and Europe. The Center’s second annual International Humanitarian Assistance Symposium focused on how NGOs bring relief, development and equity to people around the globe. A series of events in commemoration of Earth Week focused on national and international policies regarding water, food, health and other environmental issues.

In 2009/2010 programming included discussions on US-China relations; a student-requested campus discussion on the Haiti earthquake; and a series of “Great Discussions”– weekly small group dialogues with community members, faculty and students centered on current foreign policy issues. Topics often attempt to connect SCC’s learning focuses with global issues. For example, a recent speaker from Guatemala with ties to the SCC nursing program, was able to engage nursing students, who might otherwise not engage in SCC’s global dialogue.

SCC hosts a number of other globally focused programs with which the GAC collaborates. SCC has one of the only community college study abroad programs, some of which have a service learning component. SCC also features an international studies track, which prepares students for a four-year college degree. Global Pathways is an SCC umbrella program that prepares students in and out of the classroom for globally focused post-college lives. Student clubs, such as the Worldly Philosophers and Dismal Scientists Society (WPDSS) club, often focuses on international political and economic issues.

There are numerous opportunities to engage with SCC’s Global Affairs Center. For those interested in attending a 2011/2012 program, speaking at an upcoming event, providing materials on a local organization or program, connecting with Shoreline area students, or finding out how to support the Center, please visit www.shoreline.edu/gac or email gac@shoreline.edu.

The Center will host a symposium this fall that focuses on how life has changed since the tragic events of 9/11 (2001). According to Larry, the GAC will continue this next year to “reach beyond the choir” to students and community members who are not naturally interested in global issues or who do not automatically see their lives as globally relevant.

With the increasing importance of globally competent students and community members – particularly in Washington state – the efforts of SCC’s Global Affairs Center are critical. The GAC will continue striving to remind Shoreline community members and SCC students that, as Dr. Fuell puts it, “Washington is rich in global resources and NGOs…and you don’t have to go overseas to be globally involved.”

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Changemaker: Sandy Kemper, Founder of Smiles Forever

By Carolyn Hubbard

The first time Sandy Kemper met Jobanna, she was a submissive young single mother getting her teeth cleaned at her resident shelter for indigenous women. Today, Jobanna is a confident dental hygienist, helping other women and advocating for the profession. Hers is just one of the many stories that illustrate Sandy’s success as founder and director of Smiles Forever, the Seattle-based non-profit organization that provides dental hygienist training and job placement for indigenous women in Cochabamba, Bolivia.

Born in south Seattle, Sandy worked as a dental hygienist from the moment she finished her training program. She raised a son, traveled occasionally, and spent weekends waterskiing or alpine skiing. As her son approached his college years, and as she tired of cleaning people’s teeth day in and day out, Sandy decided it was time for a change.

In 1999, she signed up for a 10-day program in which dentists provide free dental care for indigenous women and children at the Madre de Dios shelter in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Sandy’s job was to pull teeth, rather than clean them, often without any anesthetic and with the patient lying over a couple of wooden desk chairs. After some 30 years as a dental hygienist, the lack of preventative care shocked her and she was struck by the abject poverty in which they lived. “I would go home and sob, wondering what was going to happen to them,” Sandy recalls.

She returned to Seattle, convinced that she needed to do something to help. “I didn’t know what I was going to do,” she explains. Friends and family encouraged her to explore ways to help, and so she went back, this time alone, and the idea “just clicked:” She would train a couple of the women in the shelter to provide dental care to the others.

Developing a training program in a country you hardly know, let alone speak the language, might be considered a bit risky by some, but not Sandy. Tall and fit, she listens intently and speaks with a conviction present in those who forego the comforts of the everyday and plunge into humanitarian work. She’s determined and she’s tenacious. Sandy mentions that having learning challenges as a child taught her to not give up. “Once I get it, I get it,” she explains. “But I might need to find other ways to get there. I have no fear of failure.”

Her determination worked. She took a loan out on her house to buy a dental chair, traveled once again to Bolivia and recruited six teenagers from the shelter as her first students. The ball was rolling, but not the funding. Sandy continues to privately finance the program, but has had no regrets about the changes in her lifestyle. “It’s a thrill to help somebody. To be able to give somebody something is a wonderful feeling.”

With 11 years of activity and growth, Smiles Forever now has two training clinics in Cochabamba, open to women who cannot afford other schooling. Trainee hygienists provide services to the Madre de Dios shelter residents, then to the general public before finding positions at dental offices. They are then supported to continue their education or become trainers for the next class of hygienists. So far, thirty-two young women have completed the training program. The Bolivian government recognizes the school’s curriculum, which permits students to receive national titles. Sandy emphasizes that these women not only receive professional opportunities, they build confidence that empowers them to leave a cycle of poverty. “Once they get self esteem, they are like light bulbs,” she observes.

The program continues to flourish, and Sandy works three jobs and fundraises nonstop to finance the growth. “Sometimes it gets really hard, but every time, I turn the corner and it goes to another level.”

Indeed, Sandy continues to bring her organization to new levels. She has partnered with Shoreline Community College’s dental hygiene program to provide students and graduates an opportunity to work with Smiles Forever students and participate in a rural community service project outside of Cochabamba, earning credit towards their degree. The Smiles Forever program also enrolls Bolivian nursing students for one year to learn how to identify and treat periodontal diseases. Sandy has also partnered with a burn center in Cochabamba to provide dental care to burn victims. And she’s taking a personal interest in the complicated process of reconstructing cleft palettes, after adopting Andre, born with a cleft palette and now a giggling, playful three year old.

This past year, twenty previous students, including Jobanna, traveled from various corners of Cochabamba to honor Sandy at a graduation ceremony. Their speech brought tears to her eyes. It was a well-deserved moment, and a rare chance for Sandy to sit for a few moments and absorb their gratitude and admire their brilliant smiles.

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Welcome New Members

Global Washington welcomes the following new member organizations!  Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with these organizations and consider opportunities for collaboration and support. Together we are creating a unified voice for the development sector in the state and are working to build an equitable and prosperous world.

Engineers Without Borders – Puget Sound Professional Chapter

Engineers Without Borders (EWB) is a non-profit organization established in 2000 to partner with developing communities worldwide in order to improve their quality of life. This partnership involves the implementation of environmentally and economically sustainable engineering projects, while involving and training responsible engineering professionals and students. http://ewb-pugetsound.org/

The Borgen Project

The Borgen Project believes that leaders of the most powerful nation on earth should be doing more to address global poverty. We’re the innovative, national campaign that is working to make poverty a focus of U.S. foreign policy. http://www.borgenproject.org/ 

Community Empowerment Network

The Community Empowerment Network is a Whatcom County-based non-profit which empowers rural communities in developing countries by helping residents build basic life skills, habits and mindsets to become more self reliant. We then build on this strong foundation by collaborating closely with residents, their leaders, government and other partners to offer a range of business development services and break down structural barriers so residents can build sustainable livelihoods and improve their quality of life. These efforts break the cycle of poverty, and foster long-term, sustainable development. http://www.endruralpoverty.org/

Individual Members

• Thomas DiDonna

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Announcements

Innovative Collaboration Promotes Small-Scale Coffee Growers

Seattle-based nonprofit investor and Global Washington member, Global Partnerships, has launched a collaborative partnership with Sustainable Harvest, a Portland-based specialty coffee importer, to broaden their outreach to small-scale coffee farmers in Peru and Mexico. In March and July, 2011, Global Partnerships disbursed loans to two cooperatives that are secured by sales contracts. Sustainable Harvest agreed to purchase coffee from the cooperatives and repay Global Partnerships upon receipt of the coffee. This innovative approach reduces the risk of default for Global Partnerships while providing the cooperatives a streamlined method of continued disbursements, which in turn benefits the small-scale coffee farmer.

Seattle Storm Honors Jessica Markowitz and Jerilyn Brusseau

The founders of two Global Washington member organization were recently selected by WNBA championship basketball team Seattle Storm for their annual Women of Inspiration campaign, celebrating women for their outstanding accomplishments, courage, service, and dedication. Jessica Markowitz, founder of Richard’s Rwanda-IMPUHWE and Jerilyn Brusseau, co-founder of PeaceTrees Vietnam were two one of the four local women selected and honored during a pre-game reception and halftime ceremony on Aug. 5, 2011.

Jessica, a junior at Garfield High School in Seattle, stood out for her commitment to civic responsibility and community involvement, which came to force when she founded Richard’s Rwanda-IMPUHWE when only 11 years old.

Motivated to respond to the loss of her brother in the Vietnam War, Jerilyn founded PeaceTrees to create friendship and peace instead of hostility between the people of Vietnam and the United States. She has won numerous awards for her work.

The other women honored by the Seattle Storm were Grethe Cammermeyer, equal rights pioneer; and Barbara Trask, scientist and cancer researcher.

Bill Clapp and Seattle’s Global Development Sector Highlighted

KPLU radio host and global development blogger Tom Paulson recently wrote a three-part series about Seattle’s global development sector’s efforts to build a stronger, more collaborative community. The engaging, witty articles can be accessed on his website, Humanosphere (July 27 and 29, August 1, 2011). Paulson begins the series with the work that the Seattle International Foundation is doing to build opportunities for collaboration, such as a fundraising event launched recently among Jolkona, iLEAP, and SIF.  Paulson then identifies Bill and Paula Clapp, Seattle International Foundation and Global Washington founders, as being some of Seattle’s first philanthropists and highlights their influence on the microfinance sector and on building awareness for the need for more cohesion across all global development sectors.  The third of the series highlights the burgeoning field of young “do-gooders” and the organization, Hub Seattle, which hopes to provide such people a communal hosted work space. Paulson’s articles bring to the table the challenges and the strength of Global Washington’s mission to convene and strengthen the state’s global development sector.

Book Signing and Lecture by Acclaimed Journalist Alex Perry

World Affairs Council of Seattle presents Alex Perry, TIME’s Africa Bureau Chief and author of Lifeblood: How to Change the World One Dead Mosquito at a Time for a lecture on the impact malaria has had on international aid and development trends and what impact its eradication would have on the African continent and the rest of the world.  The event takes place at the Seattle BioMed Auditorium, 307 Westlake Ave. N., Seattle, WA, 98109, on October 13, 2011. A networking reception with light appetizers and a wine bar starts at 6pm, followed by the lecture at 7pm.  $10/ 15 for WAC members/nonmembers. Event co-presented by Eliott Bay Book Company, Washington Global Health Alliance, and Global Washington.

Unite for Sight: Conference Announcement

Registration for Unite for Sight’s, 9^th Annual Global Health & Innovation Conference, is now open. The conference will be held at Yale University April 21-22, 2012.  Unite for Sight, a global health delivery organization, is also currently accepting abstract submissions for presentation. Deadlines for oral/poster abstracts are August 31, with an additional deadline on September 30.  Social enterprise pitch abstracts are accepted on a rolling basis. For more details, go to http://www.uniteforsight.org/conference/.

Women of Vision Hosts Fundraising Event Featuring Sheryl WuDunn

Women of Vision, a World Vision affiliate, is hosting a fundraising event for global women’s issues called “make it right. From Oppression to Opportunity” on September 18^th, 2011. It will take place at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue from 5:00 to 7:30pm. The event will feature acclaimed author Sheryl WuDunn and writer and women’s advocate Renee Stearns. This fun and informational event will include a book signing, appetizers, and a string quartet. For more information or to register, visit http://www.wovwashington.org/

Seattle International Foundation Announces Call for Applications under its 2011 Global Program

The Seattle International Foundation (SIF) is now accepting applications under its Global Program. The Global Program (small grants for local organizations) supports and fosters local organizations working internationally. SIF is interested in development projects in all regions of the world.

The Global Program is open to 501(c)3 organizations, or those with fiscal sponsorship, with an annual organizational or project budget of less than $2 million (USD). This round, preference will be given to organizations based in the greater Puget Sound region whose work directly impacts the lives of women and girls. The program seeks to support organizations launching new projects, or working to establish or expand an international project or program.

For more information on how to apply: please visit www.seaif.org, or contact Michele Frix (Program Officer) at mfrix@seaif.org.

Global Visionaries Hosts “Global Leadership Teacher Workshop”

On Monday, August 29th, Global Visionaries Executive Director Christopher Fontana is leading a teacher workshop focused on cultivating global leadership in the classroom. The global leadership approach “focuses on social and environmental justice through service learning and leadership skill building. It is an environment in which students are responsible for their own learning and accountable to their fellow classmates.” For more information or to register, email partnerships@global-visionaries.org

Workshop time: Monday, August 29th, 9am to 1pm
Location: Cleveland High School — Room 1201 | 5511 15th Avenue South | Seattle, WA 98108
RSVP: partnerships@global-visionaries.org

Landesa hosts discussion on women’s land rights in India.

On September 13th, join Landesa’s India Country Directory Gregory Rake, and Landesa attorney Deena Ledger for a special briefing on the situation for landless women in India and how ensuring their rights can have a broad positive impact including an increase in children’s education, improved health and nutrition, and less domestic violence. The discussion will focus on the current situation for land rights in India and Landesa’s current programs and future plans in the country. Space is limited. To RSVP, email events@landesa.org or call Hilary Anderson at (206) 257-6148.

Time: September 13th, 4:30pm to 6pm
Location: K&L Gates | 925 4th Ave, Ste 2900 | Seattle, WA 98104
RSVP: events@landesa.org

Have An Open Position? Wondering How To Recruit Volunteers? We Can Help!

Global Washington has recently launched a Careers in Global Development Center on our website—your resource for attracting quality talent to your organization! Global Washington members have full access to postings—from paid jobs, to internships, to board positions, to consultant opportunities. Non-members can also post paid global development positions by emailing their job descriptions to us at careercenter@globalwa.org. For more information or instructions for registering as an employer, email careercenter@globalwa.org.

We are also placing a special focus on volunteer recruitment by hosting a workshop on August 23rd called “Harnessing Volunteer Power.” The workshop will focus on volunteer utilization, recruitment, and retention, and will feature Bookda Gheisar, Executive Director, Global Washington; Rick McKenney, Executive Director, Water for Humans; Stacie Henrickson, Volunteer Coordinator, Friends of the Orphans; and a real-life volunteer!

Registration and more details here: https://app.etapestry.com/cart/GlobalWashington/default/item.php?ref=1910.0.165791815

Showcase Your Art At Global Washington’s Office!

We’re looking for globally-focused paintings or photography to fill up the lonely walls in our office. We host numerous meetings and events so your art will find a lot of admirers here! We are looking for artists who would like to showcase their art here for pre-determined periods of time—more exposure for you and a nicer office for us! If you or someone you know might be interested, please contact megan@globalwa.org.

Seattle Children’s Receives Grant For Life-Saving Infant Respiratory Device

Seattle Children’s Research Institute has just announced the receipt of a $2.3 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for development of the Seattle Children’s Positive Airway Pressure (Sea-PAP). Sea-PAP–a simple respirator with for premature infants—will be much cheaper than conventional ventilators, making it optimal for use in the developing world, where hundreds of thousands of infants die yearly due to respiratory distress.

For more information about Seattle Children’s Research Institute, visit: http://www.seattlechildrens.org/research.

Global Washington Advertising Campaign To Highlight Development Work In Washington State

In the last quarter of the year, Global Washington will be launching a broad-reaching advertising campaign to highlight the innovative and extensive global development work coming out of the state of Washington. Utilized media will include a variety of print, web, and other sources to reach the widest possible audience. We expect that this exposure will drive a significant amount of traffic to our website, including our development directory. If your organization is not already included, please take a moment to add yourself now! Some data from the directory will also be used in the media campaign.

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Global Washington Events:

Tuesday, August 23

Harnessing Volunteer Power

Tuesday, August 30

Reforming Aid, Transforming the World

October 31^st and November 1

3^rd Annual Global Washington Conference

November 18^th

Summit on Global Education in Washington State

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Other Events:

Friday, August 19

Delivering Culturally Proficient Services to Diverse Communities: A Global Health Conference

Tuesday, August 23

 VIP Forum with Merck Global Health Innovation

Wednesday, August 24

VIP Forum with Merck Global Health Innovation

Wednesday, August 31

Today’s Iran: A Young American’s Perspective

Sunday, September 18

make it right. An evening with Sheryl WuDunn

Wednesday, September 21

Grameen Foundation Breakfast: How Mobile Phones Can Improve Health Outcomes in Developing Countries

Thursday, September 22

Lumana Benefit Dinner and Silent Auction

Saturday, September 24

Make Strides Walkathon

Medrix’s Enchanted Moon Festival – Benefit Dinner And Auction

Agros’ 2011 Tierras de Vida Dinner and Village Experience

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Every dollar of the U.S. discretionary budget is appropriated by one of 12 appropriations subcommittees, but each of these dollars can have more than one purpose. For example, a dollar spent on Education can be viewed as a dollar for a particular school improvement grant, or it can be viewed as a long-term investment in our Nation’s future. A dollar invested for the construction of highways can also be viewed as a dollar toward generating new jobs for unemployed citizens, or a dollar toward replenishing our country’s critical infrastructure.

Two of the appropriations subcommittees – Defense, and State, Foreign Operations , and Related Programs – may at first seem very different from each other. Defense funds the Pentagon (military personnel; operations and maintenance; research, development, test and evaluation for new weapons systems) and the National Intelligence Agencies (such as the CIA). State, Foreign Operations, and Related Agencies provides funding for State Department activities (such as maintaining our network of overseas embassies) and USAID (whose programs provide much of the U.S. foreign assistance).

Many people, however, are starting to “connect the dots” between these two sets of activities, making the point that both sets of activities are integral to our national security. Tom Nides, the new Deputy Secretary of State for Management, recently made exactly that point in an interview published in “The Cable.” He stated that the State Department and USAID have a national security mandate, and that American diplomats and development experts are part of the front line to keep the country safe and secure. He noted that diplomats and development experts become even more critical in a destabilized world, with potential food shortages and economic turbulence.

In a recent op/ed in the Seattle Times, Washington State representatives Adam Smith and Jim McDermott, along with Global Washington founder Bill Clapp, made a similar argument. “Foreign assistance is the first line of our national defense, making us safer by stabilizing volatile nations,” they said. They also quoted former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates as saying, “development is a lot cheaper than sending soldiers.”

As Global Washington continues to refine its advocacy strategy, we will work to find ways to explain why foreign assistance spending by the Federal government is an important use of taxpayer funds. Explaining how foreign assistance helps national security is one way of making that case.

On August 30, Global Washington will sponsor a panel discussion with Washington D.C. policymakers including Congressman Adam Smith (D-WA) and Gayle Smith (invited), Special Assistant to the President and Senior Adviser, National Security Council, to discuss foreign assistance reform. Please join us for the event!

It seems like the perfect match: nonprofit organizations need to accomplish their goals with less money and less staff, while unemployed professionals need to keep their skills fresh and their minds alert. Surely these two groups can help each other out. But, creating a mutually beneficial match isn’t as easy for organizations and individuals as it might seem. Sometimes it happens: Take, for example, Global Washington’s ability to corral a team of volunteers and interns to build and develop everything from blogs (this one included) to events to policy reports. But often, organizations struggle with how to handle the volunteer sector.

A couple of statistics, from the Volunteering in America Fact Sheet for 2009, get the mind spinning. (It’s a bit out of date, but socioeconomic trends haven’t changed that much, right?) One survey shows that the higher the education level and the more “robust the nonprofit infrastructure”, the higher the volunteering rates. But, contrary to all logic, higher unemployment rates lead to lower volunteering rates. Can we assume then that well-educated individuals volunteer less once they’re laid off?

Washington State, and Seattle in particular, have some more comforting statistics. Our state ranks 10th among the 50 states and DC in volunteers. Factors accounting for this are our above average level of education (30.7% state vs. 27.7% national with college degrees) and a slightly higher than average number of nonprofits (4.75 per 1,000 residents state vs. 4.45 per 1,000 residents national). But, despite rising unemployment, Washington State actually increased in volunteer hours in 2009, defying the national trend. Kudos to all, Seattle ranks 4th out of 51 large cities for the volunteer rate from 2007 to 2009. (Portland beat us though, coming in 2nd.)

Washington beats out the rest of the US with 20.6% providing professional and management services, versus the national average of 16.7%, with most of the work happening at religious institutions and at schools. The other top jobs in volunteerism are general labor (26.5%) and, no surprise, fundraising (25.2%).

Worth noting from these surveys is the retention rates of volunteers. In other words, once you get people to work for free, how do you keep them? Retention rates increased for volunteers providing activities that they do professionally, namely in management (69.5% to 82.3%) and administration (61.2% to 75.6%). On the other hand, fundraising is one of the few areas where retention rates decreased, from 63.4% to 61.4%.

Why? According to a study conducted for the article, “The New Volunteer Workforce” (Stanford Social Innovation Review, winter 2009), volunteers leave because the organization fails to do the following: match skills to assignments, recognize volunteer’s contributions, measure the value of volunteers, train volunteers (and train staff to train volunteers), and provide strong leadership.  Many studies, including those mentioned above, encourage nonprofit organizations to rethink how they manage volunteers. Considering that the value of one hour of volunteer time in Washington state is $21.62, according to the Independent Sector website, successful volunteer management makes financial sense.

How do organizations and individuals find one another? Online resource centers provide both parties a quick and easy way to detail skills, time frames, and expectations in such a way that both parties can make better choices. Global Washington’s Careers in Global Development site is a great resource for finding volunteer opportunities with member organizations, and for Global Washington members to find like-minded volunteers. With proper management and with volunteers able to treat their volunteer ‘gig’ with professionalism, it is possible to make a near perfect match.

Learn more about best practices in volunteer management and how to attract the skill set your organization wants at Global Washington’s workshop, Harnessing Volunteer Power, on August 23rd.

The European Centre for Development and Policy Management (ECDPM) is an independent foundation established in 1986 to promote cooperation between the European Union and developing countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific (ACP). Global Washington members heard a presentation by ECDPM’s Senior Executive for International Relations Andrew Sherriff, on the complex interactions between and among European nations, and how EU development policies might have implications for the global development agenda. Andrew asked the members present if there are parallel trends in the U.S. If you would like to share your thought, please feel free to “comment” in response to this blog.

Andrew presented the EU’s current role in providing “Official Development Assistance” (ODA) to the developing world. (By definition, ODA must be provided by the official (government) sector, its main objective must be the promotion of economic development, and it must have a grant element of at least 25 per cent.) The UN has established a target for each developed country to provide 0.7 per cent of its GNP to ODA by 2015. A few countries (Sweden, Luxembourg) have already met that goal. The U.S. is currently at <0.2 per cent of GNP. With the current worldwide financial crisis, many countries are backing off their current commitments; however, the U.K. and the European Commission are bucking the trend and proposing to raise their contributions. Another way to “increase” ODA would be to broaden the categories that ODA can fund. (The U.S. contribution, for example, would be considerably higher if military aid were included.) Some have suggested that support for security sector reform, such as police forces, be included within the ODA categorization.

Another major change that is influencing the EU’s outlook on its contributions to ODA is the rise of the “BRICS” – the emerging market countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. BRICS are investing in Africa in a different way from the EU model of investing ODA in good government; over 37 per cent of Africa’s trade is now with BRICS countries. Much of the BRICS investment is in infrastructure, such as roads and transportation routes to access raw materials that the developing countries have.

A further complication is that the fragile and conflict states, countries which could benefit most from outside investment, are often the least well performing. “How do you spend money well?” in fragile states, Andrew asked.

Andrew presented the conclusions of a European Commission “Green Paper” on Developmental Policy, prepared in 2010. [http://ec.europa.eu/development/icenter/repository/GREEN_PAPER_COM_2010_629_POLITIQUE_DEVELOPPEMENT_EN.pdf] The goal of the paper was to launch a debate on how the EU can best support developing countries' efforts to speed up progress towards the Millennium Development Goals centering on four main objectives:
• how to ensure high EU impact development policy, so that every euro spent provides the best value added and value for money, the best leverage and the best legacy of opportunities for generations to come (Andrew noted that ensuring high impact requires measuring results, but cautioned that overemphasis on short-term results may lead to perverse outcomes);
• how to facilitate more, and more inclusive, growth in developing countries, as a means of reducing poverty and providing a chance for all to have a decent living and a perspective for their future;
• how to promote sustainable development as a driver for progress (but noted that blending loans from the private sector may lead to unsustainable debt); and
• how to achieve durable results in the area of agriculture and food security (without additional “new” money).

However, he also noted that this paper was prepared before the Arab Spring of 2011, which could have long-ranging effects, particularly on Northern Africa.

Andrew ended his talk with the title of his talk: Back to the Future. He asked where the EU might be going “back” to:
• The early 1990’s, focusing on sustainable development?
• The 1980’s, focusing on competition and the Cold War?
• The 1960’s, focusing on economic growth?
• The 1950’s, focusing on the political strategy of the Marshall plan?
Do you have any thoughts? Feel free to “comment” below.

The Millennium Development Goals were brought into the world during the United Nations Millennium Summit eleven years ago for one purpose: “to set our sights on the eradication of extreme poverty in our time”, as explained by President Barack Obama. The development sector stares down the eight lofty goals every day and each bit of progress improves the lives of citizens of the world. By 2015, the hope is that through effective foreign aid, the world will have eradicated extreme poverty and hunger; achieved universal primary education; promoted gender equality; reduced child mortality; improved maternal health; more efficiently combated HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and other diseases; ensured environmental sustainability; and created a partnership for global development. Describing these goals as “lofty” seems perhaps an understatement. In last year’s August Panel hosted by Global Washington, administrator for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Rajiv Shah said that it was vital to demonstrate that the big problems of the world are solvable. So now, four years from the set end date of the summit, we must ask ourselves: what progress have we made? Are these problems as solvable as we would like to believe?

Earlier this year, a Congressional Caucus for Effective Foreign Assistance (CCEFA) was formed by Representative Adam Smith (D-WA) and Representative Ander Crenshaw (R-FL) to address issues with foreign aid and the most effective means to reform. One of their first orders of business was to launch Oxfam America’s updated Foreign Aid 101 report, which was designed to provide a factual overview of U.S. foreign aid. The report designated three major changes to U.S. foreign aid that would lead to broad-based economic growth:

• Fully implementing the U.S. Global Development Policy, which holds aid accountable for fighting poverty first and foremost, and designating more resources to initiatives that will produce sustainable change.
• Modernize the outdated laws, strategies, and structures around U.S. foreign aid. Amendments to the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act have been the main changes to development policy in the intervening years, which leaves many in the community calling the laws cumbersome and ill fitted to 2011 realities.
• Promote local ownership as the most effective path to economic growth.

These sentiments were echoed by USAID in the September 2010 US Strategy for Meeting the Millennium Development Goals. The strategy put forth calls for leveraging innovation, investing in sustainability, tracking development outcomes, and creating accountability on all sides.

The Presidential Policy Directive on Global Development was the first by any U.S. administration. Much of the sentiment previously endorsed by USAID and Oxfam’s report was echoed in the directive. It recognized that “development is vital to U.S. national security and is a strategic, economic, and moral imperative for the United States.” Its approach to global development rested on three main ideas: focusing on sustainable development outcomes, finding new operational models to make the United States a more effective partner, and harnessing development capabilities spread across government. The President too seeks to reform foreign aid into a more effective machine for combating global poverty. His administration’s revitalized operational model has stated the importance of country ownership and has pledged to work through national institutions rather than around them. They have also decided to reallocate resources in support of development initiatives that prove the most effective. It has also been decided that the Administrator of USAID will be included in relevant meetings of the National Security Council. The Presidential Policy Directive acknowledges the need for reform and cooperation within the development sector, with goals similar to those expressed by CCEFA through Oxfam’s revised report.

The Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR) was launched by Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and modeled after the impressive Quadrennial Defense Review of the Defense Department. Clinton says the inspiration for the massive report began with a simple question:How can we do better?Under the bold-faced banner “Transforming Development to Deliver Results” the QDDR alongside Oxfam and the Presidential Policy Directive expresses similar needs for reform. The QDDR details changes being made to both State and USAID to make more of our development dollars: USAID will be made the lead agency for the Feed the Future and Global Health Initiative presidential missions. Aid will be made more transparent through the creation of a Web-based “dashboard” that publishes State and USAID foreign assistance data. A development lab will be created at USAID to establish an Innovation Fellowship to assist the best practices that come out of development. The White House, USAID, members of congress, and other massive forces in the development sector are beginning to knit themselves together to better cooperate with governments and nonprofits on the ground. The sector is committing to sustainable, transparent programs driven by recipients of aid themselves.

With such a fertile environment surrounding aid reform, what progress has actually been made towards the Millennium Goals? Between 1990 and 2005, the percentage of the world’s population living on less than $1/day dropped from 42% to 25%. Enrollment in primary education has reached 89% in the developing world. The total number of under-5 deaths decreased globally from 12.4 million/year to 8.1 million/year. UNICEF cites that the number of women dying due to complications during pregnancy and childbirth has decreased from 546,000 in 1990 to 358,000 in 2008. We still have a long way to go until the goals set to us have been achieved. But with the White House, USAID, and members of congress calling out for reformed aid that can demonstrate its own effectiveness and create solutions that sustain themselves, these numbers will continue to drop.

With the recession threatening to be the justification for cutting foreign aid projects, making aid as effective as possible is even more pertinent. Global Washington is providing a venue to discuss exactly this issue. From 3:30-5:30 on August 30th in Kane Hall of the University of Washington, U.S. Representative Adam Smith and Kent R. Hill of World Vision will be discussing effective foreign aid reform. Special Assistant to the President Gayle Smith has also been invited. Come and join us to talk about issues that shouldn’t be overlooked.

“I believe in synergy, the power of collaboration.” These are the words of Bill Clapp, active Seattle philanthropist fighting global poverty, who encourages collaboration between isolated social entrepreneurs so that they may improve the effectiveness and sustainability of their efforts.

On July 27, 2011, Tom Paulson published the first in a series of three articles addressing the opportunities and dangers in Seattle’s burgeoning humanitarian sector on Humanosphere, an online news source focused on the intertwining issues of global health and poverty.

In one article Tom Paulson looks at the influential role Bill Clapp has played in forming and supporting Seattle’s community of people focused on social change. Bill and Paula Clapp have launched or helped to launch several initiatives to promote and support this collaborative humanitarian community – the Seattle International Foundation, Global Washington, and the Initiative for Global Development. Tom Paulson points out that, while these organizations vary in their specific focuses, they all share the central goal of “bringing people together to figure out how to make the world a better place.”

Bill Clapp states that, while much of congress does not realize the practical importance of international development “to our country, to our business community and to improving all aspects of our society,” the Seattle community seems to have strongly grasped this. Over the past decade, this internationally orientated community has dramatically expanded, leading to the creation of hundreds of small organizations focused on global development. While this growing humanitarian sector means greater job opportunities and chances to “do well by doing good,” it also poses the issues of “a plethora of good (or maybe not-so-good) causes competing for funding,… redundancy, lack of clarity as to what really constitutes a “social enterprise,” lack of criteria for measuring success (or failure) and, overall,… not making the most of this opportunity due to lack of collaboration, of community.”

In another of Tom Paulson’s articles, he focuses on the recent collaborative efforts of the Seattle International Foundation, an organization that supports global poverty alleviation through grant-making, and Jolkona, a recent start-up that connects funders with small organizations engaging in meaningful causes. Using the online “deal of the day” website, Groupon, Jolkona fundraised $5,000, which the Seattle International Foundation matched, for iLEAP, an organization working on women’s empowerment. With this money, iLEAP was able to fund a fellowship for a woman working on social change. According to Maurico Vivero, executive director at Seattle International Foundation, “supporting women leaders working on issues of poverty and social empowerment is proven to be one of the most effective means for affecting change in power, or any, communities.” Through effective collaboration, the Seattle International Foundation, Jolkona, and iLEAP were able to quickly raise enough money to fund a fellowship for a woman leader creating positive social change.

The Seattle International Foundation awards grants to many other organizations like iLEAP, yet they are also forced to decline many other requests for support. While, in this region, there exist numerous good intentions to better the world, an effective, sustainable approach is not always taken. In keeping with Bill Clapp’s aim, Vivero says, “we want to bring all these people, and their causes, together and see what happens.”

In Tom Paulson’s last article, he looks at how a sense of community and collaboration between isolated individuals can be enhanced through the creation of a space where these individuals can convene. This is where The Hub comes in. The Hub says on its website:

“We believe that there is no absence of good ideas in the world.  The problem is a crisis of access, scale, resources and impact. So it felt vital to create places around the world for accessing space, resources, connections, knowledge, experience and investment.”

Beginning in British Columbia and Europe, there are now currently three branches of The Hub in the U.S., two in San Francisco and one in Atlanta, and large support for the launch of The Hub here in Seattle. In addition to the efforts of Global Washington, the Seattle International Foundation, and the Initiative for Global Development to bring people together, The Hub may be able to further the creation of a community and its ability to collaborate.

As Seattle continues to grow as a center for international development work, organizations such as Global Washington, the Seattle International Foundation, and the Initiative for Global Development are “increasing accountability and improving effectiveness by building community,” establishing Seattle as a center for sustainable and meaningful international development work.

While much of the country and the world had been focused on whether or not the U.S. debt ceiling would be raised by August 2, the U.S. House of Representatives was continuing its work on discretionary funding for Fiscal Year 2012. The House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on State/ Foreign Operations approved its version of the legislation, which would make deep cuts in State Department operations and foreign aid. While it is not surprising that the Republican-crafted bill includes deep cuts, Democrats such as Nina Lowey (D-NY) noted the impact that the legislation would have on mitigating the current famine in Africa. “This legislation would be a step back from U.S. leadership and substantially weaken the United States’ efforts overseas by decreasing economic opportunity, stability and access to critical services for millions of the world’s poorest people,” Lowey said.

The House subcommittee bill includes a total of $39.6 billion in regular discretionary funding, $8.6 billion or 18 per cent below last year’s level. In addition, the bill includes $7.6 billion for “Global War on Terror” funding, for a total of $47.2 billion.

On July 11, 2011, Health Ministers from the BRICS countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—came together in Beijing for the BRICS Health Ministers’ Meeting. The primary focus of the meeting was to discuss these countries’ role in providing wider access to quality and affordable health care around the world. The meeting concluded with the Health Ministers signing of the ‘Beijing Declaration,’ which called for collaboration with international health organizations, as well as with each other. These collaborations would hopefully yield the promotion of technology transfer and accessibility to “affordable, quality, efficacious, safe medical products and other health technologies” in developing countries. The Declaration also stressed the importance of reforming international organizations like WHO in order to improve transparency, efficiency, and accountability.

The Health Ministers collectively acknowledged the lack of access to health care and affordable medicine in their own countries, and recognized the benefit of this collaboration and technology transfer to significant portions of their populations. UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé, who also attended the Ministers’ Meeting, spoke to the unique position of BRICS nations of being “a voice with incredible economic, technological and innovative strength…[that is] intimately connected to the needs and interests of the developing world” (unaids.org).

The increasing economic power of the BRICS countries in the global economy does place them in an interesting, new arena of foreign aid. These five nations account for 40 percent of the world’s population, 18 percent of global trade, and 45 percent of current growth. However, in four out of five of the BRICS countries, two thirds of the people who need HIV treatment are not receiving it. Are these countries really in a position to bring about real, substantial change to the way health care is accessed in the world?

Sidibé says yes.  “It will help us to change the course of debate on public health by bringing to the center the voice of the poorest segment of society by making sure that social justice and the redistribution of opportunities will become a major aspect of the way we deliver public goods to the people,” he says. South African Health Minister Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi stated that the BRICS countries could form a strong partnership with international health organizations because they are the ones that have the “most of the affordable drugs… to supply the developing world.” An example of this is the new meningitis conjugate vaccine developed by the Serum Institute of India, with an estimated cost of only 50 cents a dose. Because these countries share similar health care challenges in their own countries, they have the unique understanding of the problem of accessibility. This could yield a more informed and effective approach to efforts of improving health care systems worldwide.

In light of the recently approved legislation from the U.S. House of Representatives that proposes deep cuts to the foreign aid budget, the entrance of the BRICS nations into the foreign assistance arena could not come at a better time. As these countries seek greater influence in the global development community, the world could see a significant shift in how international aid is administered, and ultimately, what this means for the overall global economy. It is up to us to decide what the role of the U.S. will be in that change.

For more information on the first BRICS Health Ministers Meeting, go to <http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/BRICS-countries-vow-to-help-poor-nations-in-health-1460626.php>.

Some of the most amazing people I know on this beat — covering Seattle’s role in global health and poverty reduction — are named Bill.

There’s Bill Gates, of course, his bold and insightful (and often funny) dad Bill Gates Sr., Bill Foege, the local doc who figured out how to beat smallpox, and then there’s Bill Clapp.

I can’t really quantify this, but I don’t think many would argue with me if I said that Bill Clapp has probably done more than any other single person (named Bill or not) over the years to try to promote the culture, the emerging community, of do-gooders in Seattle and throughout this region.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the 8,000-lb gorilla on the scene today, of course. The Gates Foundation and its primary mission of global health tend to dominate the do-gooder conversation and media coverage.

But Clapp and his wife Paula were active philanthropists fighting poverty years before Bill and Melinda Gates got into the act — and well before most of us were really paying that much attention.

This is the second of three parts in a series aimed at how Seattle’s burgeoning humanitarian “sector” is coalescing, coming together. As noted in the first post, it’s a bit of a hodgepodge right now, with hundreds of groups working on their own, often unaware of others with shared interests and missions.

Moving from this creative chaos to community has long been one of Clapp’s primary aims.

“I believe in synergy, the power of collaboration,” he said.

He and Paula have launched or helped launch several initiatives aimed at creating this kind of synergy — the Seattle International Foundation (subject of my first post), Global Washington and the Initiative for Global Development.

Arguably, all of them are different means to the same end — bringing people together to figure out how to make the world a better place.

The great-grandson of the timber baron and Weyerhaeuser Co. co-founder Matthew Norton, Clapp has always been wealthy, business-minded and one of those old-school (moderate and reasonable) gang of Washington state Republicans like former Sen. Dan Evans. He certainly wasn’t always philanthropic.

As this Seattle Times article by Carol Ostrom quoted him describing his pre-philanthropy stage:

“I didn’t know what I wanted to be doing, because I hadn’t done anything socially redeeming, I guess you’d say, for most of my career, other than trying to do a good job at my work.”

A trip he and Paula took in the early 1990s to El Salvador changed all that.

Seattle had strong connections to El Salvador, Nicaragua and other Central American countries in part because we were a sanctuary city for many fleeing the numerous civil wars (some of them funded or supported by the U.S. government). In 1992, the Clapps were asked by some anti-poverty advocates to join them on a trip down south.

“I was just stunned, appalled really, to see what conditions were like down there,” Clapp said. “Just two hours outside of the U.S. and here were people living in shacks with dirt floors, in severe poverty.”

With the end of the conflict in El Salvador, he said, the U.S. government also apparently lost interest in sending any more money down there. The war had ravaged this tiny country but few were working to rebuild it.

That motivated the Clapps to move into microfinance, the anti-poverty scheme that involves giving small loans to poor people allowing them to grow their businesses or otherwise get themselves out of poverty. A year or so later, they started Global Partnerships, Seattle’s oldest and largest microfinance organization.

“We worked hard at this but eventually realized that much of what U.S. government was doing wasn’t supporting what we were trying to do, and was even sometimes at cross-purposes,” Clapp said. So he and some of those other old Republicans — Dan Evans, Bill Gates Sr., former Nixon EPA director Bill Ruckelshaus, etc. — launched the Initiative for Global Development.

“These were all people who understand, practically and not ideologically, why international development is important to our country, to our business community and to improving all aspects of our society,” Clapp said. Unfortunately, he added, many in Congress these days don’t seem to understand this.

“Our community has, for some reason, always been very aware of this,” Clapp said. “Historically, we were the first to open up trade with Japan, China and Russia. We took in a lot of refugees during the wars in Central America. There is something about this place.”

There always has been a strong international mindset here, Clapp said, and this has exploded in scope over the past decade.The Gates Foundation is highest-profile, he said, but there are literally hundreds of other small organizations — many of them launched by young “social entrepreneurs” — out there also trying to do their part.

What’s lacking, Clapp said, is a coherent community. The global health community has come together, he said, but global health really is just (or should be) a subset of development, of the fight against poverty. And the rest of the Seattle do-gooder community remains a bit fragmented, working in isolation.

“I would like to see other aspects of international development gain the same momentum global health has gained, thanks to the great work being done by the Gates Foundation,” Clapp said.

The Clapps are on a roll, creating organizations like Global Washington and the Seattle International Foundation, aimed helping support and grow what could someday become the world’s biggest community of do-gooders.

A(nother) Guy Named Bill Creating Seattle’s Do-Gooder Community
Tom Paulson | Humanosphere | July 29