ST. PAUL, Minn. -- As 2020, with all of its challenges, draws to a close, a Minnesota nonprofit is celebrating some good news. A longstanding effort focusing on donating books to communities across the African continent saw its 50 millionth item sent this week.

What began as a book-donation effort out of a church basement has transformed into a large-scale initiative providing essential learning materials to institutions in all of Africa's 55 countries. Books for Africa executive director Patrick Plonski said it goes well beyond distributing outdated items of little value.

"Our goal - our mission - is to fill up the schools and libraries and university libraries across Africa with high-quality books and computer content," Plonski said.

There are small fees for some brand new books, as well as digital content. Plonski said they're not blindly donating books, they're providing items institutions are asking for.

The organization was founded 32 years ago, and Ponski said strong partner support allows them to keep going amid a maze of logistical hurdles. The group said those were even more pronounced this year with many restrictions in place due to the pandemic.

Plonski said when the group was established by world traveler Tom Warth, there were aspirations to end "the book famine" in Africa. He said it's hard to measure their impact, but added the need is still there.

"I think economic development in Africa is probably the ultimate solution, and then folks in Africa will be sourcing their books the way we source them here in the United States - by tax revenues or private funding," he said.

Until the communities they work with are able to buy the books on their own, Plonski said his group will keep sending books to where they're needed. Books For Africa relies on financial support from a variety of corporate and nonprofit groups.


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HOUSTON - When the unexpected winter storm hit Texas in February, foundations, corporations and individual donors stepped up to help communities recover. And with climate change expected to increase the frequency of natural disasters, these contributions are more important than ever.

The nonprofit Americares has responded to disasters for more than 40 years - including the extreme cold spell in Texas and Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

Tara Waters, director of business development for Americares, said her organization focuses on emergency aid to lower-income families who lack the resources to respond to a disaster.

"They're evacuating their homes on a moment's notice," said Waters. "They're spending days, weeks, even months sometimes, living in shelters, having left their personal items behind."

Waters said low-income neighborhoods often are more vulnerable in climate emergencies, because these are areas in many cities where basic infrastructure needs have gone unmet.

During the winter storm, the Siebert Williams Shank Foundation was one of several that donated to recovery funds established in major Texas cities.

Senior Manager for the Texas region Keith Richard said the goal was to help the most vulnerable residents - seniors, families and people of color - get back to normal.

"We talk about whether it's climate events or other critical infrastructure needs, these investments are important," said Richard. "When we all succeed, it's better for everybody."

In addition to the pandemic, the U.S. continues to rack up record-breaking years for wildfires and hurricanes. Waters said the combination has made recovery for families very complex.

"In the case of Harvey, we did long-term mental-health programming for health-care workers, who were themselves survivors of the disaster," said Waters. "It actually lasted for years."

A University of Houston survey found almost 70% of Texans agree that due to climate change, the state is more likely to be adversely affected by severe weather now than it was 30 years ago.

ST. PAUL, Minn. - The world of philanthropy isn't immune from the need to improve workplace culture as society demands greater equity. One Minnesota organization is among those enacting changes in light of the pandemic and racial reckoning.

Improving communities and helping to foster social justice are common missions for nonprofits, and some groups have said that in order to stay true to their work, their internal operations also must reflect their values.

Nadege Souvenir, senior vice president for operations and learning at the Saint Paul and Minnesota Foundation, said an example includes their information-technology department asking outside vendors to update language routinely seen on staff computer screens that could be deemed offensive.

"Some of the language used in spam vendors - 'black-listing,' 'white listing' - is unnecessarily racist language," she said.

The foundation also has changed its recruiting practices, including no longer having a college-degree requirement for all job postings. Philanthropic groups also have faced criticism from smaller nonprofits over onerous grant applications that restrict spending. Souvenir noted that the foundation has responded in the last year by opening up more funding for operating expenses.

Demetric Duckett, managing director of Living Cities, a collaboration of 19 of the world's largest foundations and financial institutions, acknowledged that staff diversity still is a challenge in this sector that must be addressed.

"If you're going to be able to create solutions," he said, "you have to ask how can you figure out problems in situations that aren't familiar to you?"

He suggested that having a more diverse staff with different perspectives can help foundations address community-level issues without being out of touch. Living Cities has prioritized anti-racism training for its board members, allowing them to share the findings with the groups they oversee.

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Healthcare workers have often been called heroes during the pandemic, but their advocates say the sentiment can be quickly forgotten by the public - including in some cases, their deaths. A Minnesota organization is honoring their sacrifice by helping their families.

With the help of infectious-disease expert and Professor Michael Osterholm, the Saint Paul and Minnesota Foundation recently launched the Frontline Families Fund.

It provides emergency grants and scholarships to families of healthcare workers who have died from COVID-19. Jeremy Wells, senior vice-president of philanthropic services with the foundation, said the fund is designed for situations in which the person didn't leave behind a lot of wealth.

"Let's say they were a nursing aide or something that's not a highly paid profession," said Wells, "versus a physician that passed, you know, who had a $5 or $10 million life-insurance policy."

There are two phases for the grants: One provides $15,000 for funeral costs. The second round funds up to $60,000 for long-term expenses.

They're administered by the separate Brave of Heart Fund, which was established with the same mission.

Publications including Kaiser Health News estimate that more than 3,000 U.S. healthcare workers have died from COVID.

Osterholm said despite positive news of declining cases in Minnesota and elsewhere, he predicts the pace of vaccinations won't keep up with the spread of new COVID variants, which creates new daily threats for healthcare workers.

"I think the challenge we have today is just, you know, letting healthcare workers know that if they're coming to work putting their life on the line," said Osterholm, "that we are going to do what we can to take care of their families if something happens to them."

Osterholm - the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research at the University of Minnesota - added that the U.S. healthcare system needs to be mindful of the long-term effects for workers still on the frontlines.

He said the care they've provided has taken a toll, including on their mental health.

"Many of them have been really challenged with the long hours," said Osterholm, "the number of deaths that they've had to deal with, the serious illnesses."

The foundation says a key component of its effort is to elevate discussion and resources for healthcare workers and families in the racial groups disproportionately affected by COVID-19.