He walks free after 17 years

Some of you may have been following the case of Gregory Taylor, a convicted murderer who has been serving time for 17 years and whose case has been in front of a panel of three judges over the past few days in Raleigh.

The panel's decision has just been announced and Mr. Taylor, by a unanimous vote, is being set free. Imagine. Serving 17 years as an innocent man. Fairness and justice should be at the core of our judicial system.

This will mark the first time that the so-called NC Inquiry Commission, the only one of its kind in the US, has considered a case. So it's a landmark decision. And one that we should all ponder.

A situation like this calls for us to examine what happened, what we can learn from, what needs to be changed. That's what pushed the creation of the Commission in the first place. That and the involvement of people from across political aisles, which is an infrequent happening these days.

The Foundation has funded several nonprofits and efforts over recent years involved in different aspects of this issue, from the NC Coalition for a Moratorium, to the many groups who worked on the Racial Justice Act, the NC Center on Actual Innocence, and many others.

The Taylor case, together with other recent high profile cases, should bring more attention to the need for support for these efforts.

The legal team and all those involved in the Taylor case are to be applauded.

Phil Serving

The Philanthropic Services Committee met this morning, and as we were sitting there, deep in discussion, I thought- I better blog about this. This is one of our better board committees at TCF. I'm already going through withdrawals because our long-time Chair, Mary Mountcastle, will be retiring from the board in the next few months- but more on that at a later time.

The Committee guides the Foundation and staff on grantmaking and special projects, as well as fundholder policies. Not an easy or small task.

Today on the agenda: The Community Grantmaking Program, our partnership with Executive Service Corps, Haiti Relief, and looking ahead at the new Strategic Plan. All in 1.5 hours.







So about CGP. TCF has been proactive in funding some great issue areas through its Community Grantmaking Program, or CGP, mainly, Civic Engagement and Youth Leadership & Development. We've been deliberating the next phase of CGP, as our funding for this program is limited and proposals are many. The program has been in existence for several years already, and it's one of our better known initiatives.

The Committee engaged in a spirited conversation today about how we move forward, given the region's many needs and interests, the track record of CGP, the fundholders' interests, the Foundation's standing in the community, etc. In the area of civic engagement, we fund direct lobbying, and some of it go to groups that are doing advocacy for some good and needed systemic change. Some of these groups don't get funding from many other places. They can be called controversial by some. Proactive by others.

At some point over the past few months, we have wondered if we should focus on just one issue area and do away with the other- would that be a better way to focus our resources? Should we try to change the parameters of CGP? We've done some evaluation of CGP grantees, but not an exhaustive assessment. Today, we took this up to the committee once again.

When you consider that we are a community foundation that holds over 750 funds, we could never reach a place where we will have consensus with everyone about what issues are funded. The CGP program is overseen by the Board, and funded by unrestricted and what are called 'field of interest' funds. And, at an average of $350,000 a year, this program is only a very small portion of our over $15 Million yearly grant portfolio.

For now, CGP will continue to fund under its current guidelines. We decided to tackle this further during our upcoming Strategic Plan (late Spring) and see how it evolves. A suggestion was made to also investigate how the Foundation can take a more proactive role on issues affecting the community at large. Someone said: we need to ensure that the foundation, its board, its fundholders, its staff, has criteria it can consider when it's asked to take a position on something.

The more we're out there, the more we're asked to do. Which is what being a community leader is all about.

Great meeting today.