Philanthropy News Digest
Aug. 15, 2000
Philip R. Berber, the founder and chairman of CyBerCorp.com, an Austin, Texas-based online brokerage, and his wife Donna have launched a new charity to "reduce some of the pain and suffering on the planet," especially in Ethiopia and other parts of Africa. The Berbers have announced that they will make an initial pledge of $100 million to the charity through the Berber Trust.
"A Glimmer of Hope", as the new organization will be called, will be run as an entrepreneurial "dot org," a business-based model reflecting the approach of other "New Philanthropists." According to a press release on the project, the Berbers' $100 million pledge will cover all operational costs, enabling the charity to deliver 100 percent of donations to projects specified by donors.
A Glimmer of Hope will be run much like an entrepreneurial start-up, engaging all of the commercial, planning, and management approaches necessary to build and run a long-term, financially sustainable charitable organization," said Philip Berber, whose company was acquired earlier this year by Charles Schwab Corp., in a stock deal worth about $488 million.
The organization has already funded several projects, including construction of a kindergarten and two classrooms in Ethiopia. Other projects on the drawing board for Africa include drilling water wells and helping mothers and children through the establishment of a Women's Village. Programs are also being considered in the United Kingdom, as well as in the Austin area.