One such example comes from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. With its “Good Neighbor, Great University” program, it offers financial aid to incoming freshmen who have graduated from high schools in Evanston and Chicago. Through this program, student loans and the pressure to take on a summer job or a work-study job are eliminated. Barriers on affordability are eased and students will not have to face the challenge of paying a student loan debt, which is one of the significant hurdles to promoting college education.

By offering its “Good Neighbor, Great University” program, Northwestern University acts on a key recommendation of an all-University task force on diversity and inclusion. It hopes to increase diversity in the student population, making it easier for families of low to middle incomes to afford an education.

Also, by focusing on the immediate area of Northwestern’s campus, the program hopes to reach out to the students there. The school plans to begin providing this improved financial aid to 100 students in the Fall of 2011. And hopefully, in the future, this could be increased to 200.

Aside from Northwestern, other private schools have been reaching out to their own locales. Since 2008, colleges and universities have been making the move to offer a more affordable education to those in their areas. One of these is College of Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, which has been offering free tuition to city residents whose families earn less than $50,000 a year.

This change of attention to local education serves as an answer to merit-based scholarships from comparable and lesser schools which easily plucks away prospective students from institutions such as Northwestern University. But aside from that, I believe that this paradigm shift for colleges and universities is a turn for the better, given the projected dip in high school graduates over the next five years. Changes like these make education worth its salt for the common person.

According to a March 2010 report from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory financed by the Energy Department, the sector devoted to energy efficiency has an estimated growth of as much as fourfold in the next decade to some 1.3 million people. Already, the federal government has poured $500 million into training for the industry. Educational institutions have picked up on this growth as well.

At community colleges, managers can look into programs to train them for the industry. Among those available are two-year degrees in environmental management and certificates for those who want to include green qualifications into their resumes. Depending on the college, these courses and other similar ones are available both on campus and online.

One such college offering training in the green industry is Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon. Among its offerings are two year programs for associate degrees in applied sciences. These degrees include a choice of energy management, renewable energy or water conservation. The college also offers other continuing education courses that include cross-disciplinary ones such as natural resource economics, global ecology and environmental politics.

Last year, the federal government awarded grants to Lane Community College and 10 other community colleges across the country to begin or enhance their programs in energy management over a three year period.

But it isn’t only colleges in the city that are offering these training courses. Rural areas also provide training through online environmental degrees and certificates. Four year degrees directly relevant to the energy efficiency sector are also available in about two dozen colleges and universities across the country.

With the growing strength and importance being placed on environmental sustainability, I believe it is only natural that training and education has developed to follow suit and prepare managers to handle the changes that science has uncovered. Through training programs such as these, I think that today’s managers are able to adapt and begin thinking with an environmentally-conscious mindset, making it possible for industries to make the full shift to greener practices.

Before releasing funds, Venture Philanthropy Partners applies tough evaluation standards and focuses on philanthropic investment endeavors that have the greatest potential to contribute to the improvement of children’s lives, their core developmental and educational needs. Since the late 1990s, KIPP DC has raised the level of public education in underserved communities across the country. Emphasizing extra learning time and support for children, the efforts of KIPP DC have had a huge impact not only on the students that enrolled into its program, but also on the rest of the state’s youth sector.

Charter schools differ from traditional public schools in that they are independently operated and are open to all residents of the District of Columbia, regardless of their neighborhood, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or educational level. There are no admission tests or tuition fees. Many parents opt to send their children to these educational institutions because they promise high quality education at little cost.

Large-sum donations from charitable entities such as Venture Philanthropy Partners are what keep the school operations running smoothly and at par with educational standards. They also take some of the pressure off of public schools that are filled to capacity or experiencing budget cuts. A good education is the foundation for better character and a brighter future. It is projects and partnerships like these that can give today’s children a better shot at success, no matter who they are or where they come from.

For this project, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman announced an award of up to $122 million over five years for the team to establish an Energy Innovation Hub aimed towards the development of artificial photosynthesis. By finding a way to harness this innovative method of generating fuel, it may be possible to cut down dependence on oil and enhance energy security.

According to Senator Feinstein, the award for California’s top scientists would help them along the way to producing a fuel that can be put into cars without further processing, and thus make use of the excessive carbon dioxide in the atmosphere while at the same time, eliminating dependence on oil. This same project also hopes to generate an innovative industry in the heart of California, a state on the cutting edge of the clean energy movement.

Aside from the Fuels from Sunlight Energy Innovation Hub, there will also be two other hubs that will receive funding for the Fiscal Year 2010. One would be a hub dedicated to the modeling and simulation of nuclear reactors, established by a team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The other would be announced over the coming months.

“Finding a cost-effective way to produce fuels as plants do — combining sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide — would be a game changer, reducing our dependence on oil and enhancing energy security. This Energy Innovation Hub will enable our scientists to combine their talents to tackle this bold and highly promising challenge,” said Poneman.

This is not just a push for investments in science and finding breakthrough discoveries, it’s a way to turn theoretical science into practical technology by bringing together great minds from different industries. It’s a catalyst of change.

In New York alone, with a budget deficit of $9 billion, 30,000 social-service agencies have yet to be paid since April. California has a budget gap closer to $20 billion, while Illinois is $11 billion short. Undoubtedly, hundreds of thousands of non-profit agencies are experiencing the financial strain, and most of them won’t survive if nothing is done to remedy the situation.

“I have contracts that go through August or December, and these agencies want me to continue providing services,” Christine Molnar, president of Safe Space NYC, told The Wall Street Journal. “My reserve will only carry me for a month. No business can operate this way.”

Even healthcare and educational institutions are not exempt. Public schools are forced to decide whether to get rid of arts or physical education classes if not both. Some schools are requiring their students to pay for their own materials and books.

At the same time, nonprofits are being forced to let go of employees, and cut or reduce programs that may have already been approved. Many of these programs would have benefitted homeless people, children from underprivileged families, and unemployed individuals, among others.

All this and more are happening despite the fact that the nation is already in recovery. The effects have just yet to kick in. Until then, taxpaying Americans could be facing months to years of poor education, inadequate health services, non-existent library systems and privatized zoos, museums and aquariums.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about Philanthropy.

Last year, California’s community clinics suffered over $80 million in state and local budget cuts. At the same time, clinics are reporting a record increase in the number of uninsured patients as a result of high unemployment. Some clinics are reporting a 50 percent increase in the number of uninsured patients.

Over the last six years, BSCF has invested nearly $40 million in over 200 community clinics and their associations across the state of California. These clinics are able to stay open and continue to provide care to Californians in need because of core support from BSCF’s Clinic Initiative.

In addition to direct support for California clinics, BSCF also awarded $100,000 to residents of San Diego for healthcare coverage to develop a San Diego Roadmap to Health Coverage and Care. With the help of the Foundation, the organization will assess the local need for better access to care, identify options for expanding coverage, and develop a plan to strengthen local safety net providers.

Now more than ever, California health care needs core support. I believe the best way to provide an immediate lifeline to vulnerable families is to support California’s community clinics. Support grants can make a critical difference.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about grants

First, it could indicate a significant revival of the U.S. technological innovation that has largely slipped away into the hands of China, Germany, and other nations. China is currently excelling ahead in terms of solar power development.

A fuel cell the size of a loaf of bread providing power for home and businesses would also significantly reduce some of the heavy costs of producing and transmitting electricity, as well as drastically cut down on the use of some fossil fuel products. Additionally, such a device would improve air and water quality, and could lead to byproducts yet to be explored or even imagined.

Several major corporations – Wal-Mart, Google, FedEx, Coca Cola, Bank of America, and Cox Enterprises – have ordered the cell boxes, which have been in development for nearly a decade by Bloom Energy under the supervision of a space scientist.

Although the “box” won’t be available for use in homes for several years, care must be taken meanwhile to prevent this promising new product from being smothered in the marketplace by other energy producers fearful of competition.

I personally believe that Bloom’s “box” should be embraced for what it is – an industrial breakthrough whose benefits to society and industry can be adopted and shared, not dreaded.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about California Clean Energy

Faced with California’s budget crisis and soaring unemployment rates, the state’s Business, Transportation and Housing Agency (BTH) has launched the California Innovation Hub (iHUB) initiative, a program designed to enhance the state’s competitiveness on a national and global scale by stimulating partnerships, economic development, and job creation around specific research clusters.

The six inaugural iHub members are Orange County, Sacramento, Coachella Valley, Northgate, i-GATE (Innovation for Green Advanced Transportation Excellence), and San Francisco Biotech.

The main component of the iHUB program is collaboration. By building a network of cutting-edge companies, forward-thinking organizations, and research institutions across the state, California will benefit from greater exposure, smarter partnerships, more jobs and a fusion of new ideas that would establish the state as a global innovation powerhouse.

The lead organization for the Orange County iHub is OCTANe, a nonprofit organization that fuels the area’s technology sector through educational programming, business acceleration, job connections, and university partnerships.

OCTANe felt the impact of the recession last year as the amount of sponsorships decreased. But at the same time, the organization’s memberships increased, and the unemployment rate created a demand for job support and financial strains motivated universities to turn to OCTANe to help license technology.

I really believe that technology and innovation will ultimately be what helps the state recover from the economic recession. California needs that more than anybody.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about innovation in California

Henry Ford Community College will design a curriculum to develop core competencies and skills to retain workers for 21st century jobs.

“This program recognizes and will tap into the tremendous potential of the human capital we have in Michigan,” said Governor Jennifer M. Granholm. “This initiative will provide our workers the opportunity to learn the skills they will need to help grow the 21st century economy right here at home.”

The Michigan Alliance for High-Tech Skills Training Program supports efforts by the governor and other Michigan leaders, as well as the Obama Administration, to engage businesses in the education and retraining of displaced workers.

“As President Obama recognized when he announced the American Graduation Initiative right here in Michigan, our nation’s community colleges will continue to play an even greater role in expanding economic opportunities to all individuals,” said Dr. Gail Mee, Henry Ford Community College president. “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to continue helping those here in Michigan who have been hit hardest by the struggling economy.”

I personally believe that evolving technologies require that leading edge businesses train and educate their employees to remain in lockstep with the industry. Education and retraining are the keys to assisting people in rejoining the workforce. The curriculum being offered by Henry Ford, developed together with this coalition, will provide displaced workers with new high-tech skills that can be applied across many industries.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about job creation

The other part of the story is about L3Cs, which are a type of “low-profit” LLC that has a charitable mission. It also qualifies as a PRI for foundations.

This essentially means that if Bill Gates is giving his blessing to PRIs, he is also, by extension, doing the same for L3Cs. And that could mean that 2010 will become the year when L3Cs really start to gain momentum.

Although the $400 million program-related investments fund is dwarfed by the $3.5 billion in grants made annually by the Gates Foundation, the fact that the world’s largest foundation is dipping its big toe into the world of venture philanthropy may accelerate a nascent trend in philanthropy.

So, what is venture philanthropy, and how do program-related investments play a key role in it? The phrase “venture philanthropy” was coined in the 1960s as an alternative strategy to merely having foundations write grant checks and hope the recipients (usually public charities) would use the money wisely. The concept is borrowed from venture capital, and uses loans and equity investments along with ongoing management and strategic assistance as a way to help the recipient organizations become self-sufficient.

In my opinion, the $400 million commitment to program-related investments by the world’s largest foundation supported by the two wealthiest men in the world – Bill Gates and Warren Buffett – should be just the kick in the pants needed to bring program-related investments into the mainstream of foundation philanthropy.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about philanthropy