By Maria Saporta
As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on January 10, 2014
The National Center for Civil and Human Rights had reasons to celebrate over the holidays — it had received a $2 million gift from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation.
By Maria Saporta
The Annie E. Casey Foundation has tapped a new executive to lead its community development efforts in Atlanta.
The national philanthropic entity has named Kweku Forstall, who was the founding director of Year Up Atlanta, as director of its Atlanta Civic Site. It focuses on improving the lives of children and families in five southwest Atlanta communities.
Forstall succeeds Forstall succeeds Gail Hayes, who retired in December after leading the Atlanta site since 2001.
By Maria Saporta
As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on January 10, 2014
From Ernest Greer’s point of view, it is wonderful that Georgia was recently named the No. 1 state in the country for business.
By Maria Saporta
One of the most popular programs of the Atlanta Regional Commission — the Livable Cities Initiative — has awarded $800,000 in grants to 11 communities throughout the metro area.
The grants help town centers plan and implement policies and designs to create more vibrant and connected communities — often through transportation projects that reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality.
Since its inception in 1999, LCI has assisted 113 communities with about $15 million in planning grants that better connect homes, shops and offices. Another $173 million has gone to help recipients build transportation projects to implement their community goals.
By Maria Saporta
The nation’s economy should grow at a slightly faster rate in 2014 than it did in 2013, according to Dennis Lockhart, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
Lockhart, who spoke only from his viewpoint and not on behalf of the Federal Reserve, gave his annual economic outlook speech Monday to the Rotary Club of Atlanta.
As he had foreseen last year, the gross domestic product (GDP) grew by estimated 2.5 percent in 2013 — with a particularly strong showing in the third quarter.
For 2014, Lockhart bumped up that number to a range of between 2.5 percent to 3 percent growth in GDP — and he wouldn’t be surprised if it was “at the upper end of that range,” he added.
By Maria Saporta
After conducting a national search, the Alliance Theatre has selected Mike Schleifer as its new general manager. He will begin his new job on March 3.
Schleifer is following Max Leventhal, who served in that role for 10 seasons before becoming the owners’ representative to the Woodruff Arts enter this past September.
Before getting selected as the Alliance Theatre’s general manager, Schleifer has spent 19 years in theatre management in a variety of role. Most recently he has been serving as the production manager and associate producer at CENTERSTAGE in Baltimore, Md., where he has been for five seasons.
By Maria Saporta
Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on January 3, 2014
Morehouse College has received a significant gift — financially and symbolically — from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation.
By Maria Saporta
Atlanta City Council President Ceasar Mitchell’s picks of chairs to key City Council committees actually spoke volumes about the tone of city politics in 2014 and for the next four years.
Mitchell named the two new members of Council — Mary Norwood and Andre Dickens — as chairs of committees — prestigious posts available to only seven of the 14 members on Council. Mitchell is the presiding officer who votes if there is a tie.
The appointments also included several potential candidates who might run for mayor in 2017. Mitchell has made no secret that he is considering a run for the city’s top office in four years.
By Maria Saporta
A reflective Arthur Blank expressed “a big disappointment” in the 4-12 outcome of 2013 season of the Atlanta Falcons, but the team’s owner said he has been spending the last several months focusing his energies on the future.
It didn’t hurt that Blank was devoting part of his time working on the development of a new $1.2 billion retractable-roof football stadium, which is scheduled to open in time for the 2017 season.
“It was a nice distraction in a difficult season,” Blank said of the stadium development. “It was able to take my mind off the season. We have a great stadium design. We will have the ground-breaking this spring.”
By Maria Saporta
Georgia-based MAP International’s longtime president and CEO — Michael Nyenhuis — will become president and CEO of Stamford, Ct.-based AmeriCares, one of the top 20 charitable organizations in the United States.
Nyenhuis, who has been with MAP, a Christian global health organization, for nearly 19 years —14 as its president and CEO, will leave his post at the end of January. MAP is co-headquartered in Atlanta and Brunswick, the site of its major distribution center.
“I love MAP, its work and people and leave it in good shape and in good hands,” Nyenhuis wrote in an email before sending out the news release.
By Maria Saporta
Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on January 3, 2014
Few executives have been more involved in the Atlanta civic scene in the past decade than Phil Kent, the outgoing president and CEO of Turner Broadcasting System Inc.
By Maria Saporta
The Woodruff Arts Center has sold the 14th Street Playhouse to the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) for $1.9 million.
The proceeds from the sale will be reinvested in the community by supporting artists and cultural organizations.
SCAD will use the 14th Street Playhouse space to support its growing enrollment and to better serve its film and television degree programs, which were launched at the Atlanta campus during the fall of 2013.
The 14th Street Playhouse was gifted to the Woodruff Arts Center in 1991 by the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta when prior owners faced financial issues.
By Maria Saporta
Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on December 20, 2013
Atlanta-based Newell Rubbermaid is restructuring is philanthropic focus — dissolving the Newell Rubbermaid Foundation, which is less than three years old — and realigning its giving efforts to be more in sync with marketing its brands.
By Maria Saporta
The King Center will honor former heavy weight champion and humanitarian Muhammad Ali at its annual Salute to Greatness dinner on Jan. 18 at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta hotel.
The Salute to Greatness dinner is the major annual fundraising event for the King Center.
The dinner also will honor the Xerox Corp. as well as the One Billion Rising Campaign and its founder — Eve Ensler, a Tony award-winning playwright and founder of VDay; and Khalida Brohi, a Pakistani women rights activist.
By Maria Saporta
Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on December 20, 2013
The idea for an Atlanta Science Festival was born in February 2011 when three Emory University program directors and friends met for coffee at Starbucks at Emory Village.
By David Luse
The comedy duo Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone isn’t the same witty friendly chemistry as Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn. It’s exactly the opposite; witty antagonists throwing smart verbal jabs at each other that has the same effect on the stomach that the aforementioned duo brings.
If you’re as old as the people fighting, bring some Tums in the theater with you and leave your false teeth at home lest you want to hit the back of the head of the person in front of you due to laughing spasms. Who am I kidding, you won’t remember!
Razor Sharp (Stallone) is a simple, but charming and good-natured character who can be likened in personality to the lovable and dunce-like Rocky.
Dear SaportaReport Readers:
We are hoping you are enjoying the holiday season.
During these two weeks, our postings will be a bit irregular as we spend time with friends and family — recharging our batteries for the coming year.
We will resume our normal schedule with regular postings by Monday, Jan. 6, 2014, and you can look forward to our weekly email update resuming on Tuesday morning, Jan. 7.
Thank you all for being loyal readers of SaportaReport. We look forward to offering you insightful, entertaining and thought-provoking columns and stories in 2014.
Happy holidays and a Happy New Year to all of you.
Maria and the entire SaportaReport team
By Maria Saporta
Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on December 13, 2013
The Nature Conservancy in Georgia has a new executive director — Deron Davis — a conservation professional who has been with the organization since 2010.
By Maria Saporta
The United Way of Greater Atlanta demonstrated its commitment to collaboration Wednesday by awarding four local teams a total of $3.6 million over the next three years to lead transformation in their communities.
Milton Little, president and CEO of Atlanta’s United Way, said the social and human services organization has been looking for ways to promote collaboration between various sectors — public, nonprofit and private — to tackle the core human service needs in the region.
It launched the “Dare to Forget the Box” competition so agencies and organizations could join forces and seek funding for innovative programs in the areas of early education, workforce readiness, healthcare, housing and self-sufficiency.
By Maria Saporta
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal plans for the next legislative session to complete the third leg of his criminal justice reform stool — supporting transition and re-entry into the community for people who have been in prison.
Deal spoke to the Rotary Club of Atlanta Monday when he gave a preview of the 2014 legislative session as well as the messages that likely will be part of his re-election campaign next year.
“There are other things at work in our society — things that are not the most pleasant things to talk about,” Deal said. “We took on criminal justice reform — not something that a Republican governor should do.”
