Jun 9, 2008 7:14 pm US/Pacific
Bay Area Philanthropist Offers Help In A Hurry
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) ―
A Bay Area foundation has eliminated most of the stress and red tape that usually accompanies grant making, offering help in a hurry to those in need.
When Larry Purcell wanted a truck to deliver fresh fruit to people at his Catholic Worker House, he knew asking a charity for money would take months. Then he called Bill Somerville.
"He said 'Just a second,' and I thought he got another phone call. About 45 seconds later he came back, and said, 'We had a staff meeting. We're sending you a check for $44,000 tomorrow.'"
When Sister Christina Heltsley at the St. Francis Center wanted a place for homeless people to wash their clothes and clean up, she called Bill Somerville.
"He recognized it as a good idea, believed in it, and funded it. It's that simple," Heltsley said.
The next day, he showered her with $30,000.
Bill Somerville of the
Philanthropic Ventures Foundation is turning the business of charity upside down.
There's no paperwork. No long waits. If he thinks you have a good idea, and he trusts you, you'll get some of the $5 million his group gives away every year.
"We have immediate response grant making," Somerville said. "If you give money when it's needed, you can have a greater impact with that money, than if you have people sit around and wait for your schedule."
For four decades, at hundreds of charities, he's been helping people who want to help other people. Now at age 77, he's come to a simple conclusion. You don't give money to a project. You give it to people you trust to do good things with it. Any bad donations? None, he'll tell you.
Are you Bay Area school teacher? Fax him an idea for your class, and if he likes it he'll send you up to $500 overnight.
The name Philanthropic Ventures is no accident. Bill Somerville looks at his job as a venture capitalist. He just invests in people instead of in product. And he does it without the roadblocks of most other charities.
"I feel like the know-it-all farmer coming up to the young couple milking a cow upside down and says, 'You know, there's another way to do it if you want to' and they're thinking, what's wrong with the way we're doing right now?"
You might want to ask Larry Purcell and the hundreds of families he's helped feed.
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