Sunday, October 4, 2009

HSCC Testimonial: Evan Angcos (Los Angeles)


BDPA Los Angeles founded in June 1982 has been training students to compete in the national high school computer competition (HSCC) for many years.

One of the most talented students to come through the program is Evan Angcos. Evan was a member of the national team from Los Angeles in 2007, 2008 and 2009. He shared the following thoughts on his HSCC experiences:


The 2009 BDPA Technology Conference was a memorable and worthwhile event. This year’s conference held in Raleigh, North Carolina at the Raleigh Convention Center. Twenty-three (23) teams represented chapters from across the nation; each with the goal of ending the Southern Minnesota winning streak.

Our chapter, the well-known Los Angeles team consisted of five people. Each team-member was required to be an expert in different parts of the application development life cycle. The application usually has standard requirements over the years so assigning tasks and priorities was not too difficult. This year we had a new edition to the team, Mani Lewis. The four other team members were Terrell Allen,
Angela Bell, Tyrone Hinderson, and myself (Evan Angcos), the team-captain.

After a long flight, we *endured* the Opening Ceremony with the keynote speaker
Lamman Rucker. The next day was the first day of the competition and we were ready for our first event (Round Robin). This year, many of the questions were different, but we succeeded in answering three out of the five questions correctly, the other two we were incapable of answering without proper preparation. After the Round Robin was Quiz Factory. It was a shame to find out that the only questions that were the same in Quiz Factory were the BDPA history. As for the other questions, they were all different from what we studied.

Overall, our scores were good and we actually scored the highest (even hi
gher than Southern Minnesota) in the quiz event!

The next day was the final round; building the application. We went through the application with a breeze, because we did several mock-ups before going to the competition. Unfortunately, during the last minute of the programming event, the wrong code was deleted which left one of our pages dysfunctional. We were discouraged as we walked from the room, and into the holding area waiting to give our presentation. Our presentation was a full 15 minutes long but after leaving we felt we made a good impression on the judges.

The last and final day was filled with excitement. We made our way to the Raleigh Convention Center for the Awards Gala. We wanted to hear our name called for the top 5. We wanted to end Southern Minnesota’s winning streak.

Sadly, we did not and we didn’t place in the top 5. We deserved it, but we w
ere just unlucky this time. We were prepared, and properly trained by our coordinators … after the Awards Gala we got our results. Surprisingly, we placed 7th place! We were grateful that we placed at such a high rank and the highest in the Los Angeles’ Chapter history. Some of us are determined to come back and take top 5, and it won’t be long.


Share some BDPA-Love with Evan using the COMMENTS option below!

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Cause Marketing Still Bringing In Big Bucks


Despite the ailing U.S. economy, companies in North America are expected to spend $1.55 billion on cause partnerships during 2009, a 2.2 percent increase from the $1.52 billion invested in those programs during 2008, according to Chicago-based IEG, LLC. The amount spent in 2007 was $1.44 billion, according to IEG.

Read the rest of The NonProfit Times article here.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Nonprofits Reviewing Investment Management


Charitable foundations and endowments are assessing the overall process for managing their investments in the face of ongoing volatility in the capital markets, a new poll says. Among 160 U.S.-based nonprofits polled by SEI, none of them SEI clients, 31 percent of those using consultants to manage their investments said they were looking at other options.

Read the rest of the Philanthropy Journal article.

NOTE: BETF Investment Committee seeks to achieve a 4.5% return on investment. This committee is chaired by BETF Director Lydia Barron.

Huge Drop Off in African American Computer Scientists Impacts BDPA Membership Levels

Membership levels have been dropping in BDPA over the past few years. Part of the reason for the decreased membership is simple -- large segments of the U.S. population are not considering careers in IT. Few students are enrolling in computer science courses, and a dwindling number of those are African American. [SOURCE]

There has been a “huge drop off” in the number of computer scientists entering into the workforce since 2000, said Jan Cuny, the program officer at the National Science Foundation who oversees efforts to broaden participation in computing.

Seventy percent fewer students have majored in computer science since 2000 according to Computing Research Association data. The Higher Education Research Institute has determined that only 1% of students are majoring in computer science.

"At the graduate level, however, non-resident aliens become a major factor while minority enrollment in general plummets to very small percentages," according to Anthony Chow, an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
These statistics impact BDPA in a very direct manner. If we hope to live up to our mission of advancing the careers of African American in the IT industry from the classroom to the boardroom ... then we need to get busy at the 'classroom' level in a much more direct manner.

The U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts high demand for programmers. Its Occupational Handbook for 2006-2016 lists computer application software engineers as the fourth most in-demand occupation due to "increased applications of emerging technologies" and the growing complexity of businesses. Software engineers for systems are listed at number 25.

BDPA leaders at local and national level understand that this trend is not a good one for people of African descent in America ... our nation will be unable to produce enough students for the jobs that are out there if large segments of the population do not participate in computer science-related careers.

Retention of African American employees is another issue. Nearly half of all people of color leave technology jobs to enter other occupations, said National Association for the Advancement of Colored People vice president Deborah Bey. We have seen this trend within BDPA. Our inability to maintain high member retention in our 45 BDPA chapters is partially because our members are leaving the IT industry.

Isolation is a key factor for a higher attrition rate among African Americans. Our members continally tell us that they enjoy BDPA because of our networking opportunities ... our members cherish it when they can associate with people that have similar backgrounds and interests.

"If someone is the only woman or minority in a company, they will often not attract a peer group or informal mentor as easily as someone who is part of the majority", said Teresa Dahlberg, director of the Diversity in Information Technology Institute at UNC Charlotte.
BDPA Education & Technology Foundation (BETF) funds Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program that targets K-12 students. However, BDPA's strength has been at the high school level. Perhaps it is time for us to work a little harder to impact on our youth in elementary school.

"Many women and minorities are being turned off in the fourth and fifth grade before they even know what computer science is," the NSF’s Cuny said. "There are a number of things women don't understand about computing; they think they are insolated in front of a monitor."
I'm only aware of one BDPA chapter ... Richmond ... that is actively engaged with elementary school students. They use the First LEGO project to interact with these young people. Won't any of the other 44 BDPA chapters consider implementing this program within their 2010 SITES program?

The decrease in computer science majors is a national problem. It is time that Corporate America take some ownership of these negative trends for Blacks in technology. Corporations need to make stronger efforts to attend BDPA conferences on a regional and national levels. Our foundation would love to create scholarship and internship opportunities that match talented BDPA students with interested corporations. Eli Lilly and Company funds scholarships thru our foundation ... and it is no accident that they were named the 'Best Company for Blacks in Technology'.

"Mentoring and networking opportunities are important tools for retaining minority employees, in addition to training and skills-building to build confidence," Dahlberg said. She also suggested allowing new hires to explore different positions within an organization.
One of the ways the NSF is working to counteract declining enrollments is by providing opportunities for students, and it is partnering with local nonprofit and national organizations, said Cuny. The NSF has bridge programs to transition high school graduates into computer science majors at college, as well as programs to motivate undergraduate students to remain in the field.

The NSF's K-12 programs focus on informal education designed to spark student interest in computing by showing how computers can solve problems through creating and manipulating rather than being used as tools, Cuny added.

It is also working to infuse computer science in middle school and high school curricula, advocate computational thinking, and introduce a new Advanced Placement course for computer science. That effort, though, is being hampered by a shortage of computer science teachers, she said.

"There are few computer science teachers in the country. Many have degrees in other fields, especially business," Cuny said. The NSF has set a goal for 10,000 more computer science teachers by 2015.
Dahlberg participates in an NSF-sponsored program called the STARS (Students & Technology in Academia, Research & Service) Alliance. STARS mentors high-achieving computer science students at 20 colleges and universities in the southeastern United States, and has them talk to high school students, she said.

The program is also attempting to give businesses access to qualified computer science students in schools near them. BETF and BDPA Charlotte have both worked with the STARS Alliance. It is another program that should be aggressively explored by BDPA chapters co-located with the 20 colleges currently in the program.

"The National Science Foundation has many studies and projects to increase number of minorities and women in the field," said the NAACP's Bey. "It's not that there's not something being done…there's just no magic pill."
BDPA needs to be at the forefront of dealing with this issue. BETF is willing to work with any interested chapter to obtain funding that is related to increasing the number of African American students that are encouraged to follow-up on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) studies and careers.

What say u?

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Top 10 BDPA Chapters (Membership, Oct 2009)

It is difficult to grow the membership of a BDPA chapter with some of the challenges faced in our community. The 45 BDPA chapters in BDPA-nation average 50 members (no change from last month).

Congratulations to BDPA Triangle chapter (president, Rick Leggett) for setting a new chapter membership record high (195) this month ... breaking their previous high of 189 (Sep 2009). Anyone care to guess whether or not Rick can take his chapter over the '200 member' milestone next monthly?

BDPA New Jersey (president, Coram Rimes) regained its spot in the 'Top 10' for the first time since July 2009. They bumped their neighbors from New York (president, Judaea Lane) down to 11th place.

The top ten chapters in terms of membership as of 10/1/2009 are:

  1. Chicago - (Current and past chapter presidents shown in photo)
  2. Triangle - (all-time chapter record high, 195 members)
  3. Philadelphia
  4. Atlanta
  5. Richmond
  6. Detroit
  7. Washington DC
  8. Cincinnati
  9. Dallas
  10. New Jersey - (jumped one place this month)
The first five (5) chapters on this list are in the BDPA Century Club with at least 100 members. BDPA Chicago chapter tops the list with 509 members!

BDPA Education & Technology Foundation provides funding to support the programs and services carried out by these chapters at local level. Our hope is that you will consider making a donation to BETF this year. You can securely donate online or you can give BETF a call on (513) 284-4968 to discuss your pledge offline.

What say u?

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Matthew Harvey * BDPA Epsilon Community Service Award


BDPA Epsilon Awards recognize individual achievement by technologists who are nominated by BDPA chapters or corporate sponsors. One of the five award areas is community service. Matthew Harvey (Eli Lilly and Company) earned the 2009 Epsilon Community Service Award.

His nomination read as follows:
Matthew Harvey has demonstrated a consistent and selfless approach to community service. Matthew graduated from Florida A&M University in 2004 and consistently influenced his new community. He has volunteered as a basketball coach for an Indianapolis public school, where he linked playing time to classroom performance. He has served as the FAMU alumni community service chair, leading a diverse set of community activities.

In 2006, Matthew participated in the United Way Generation Next Leadership series, which continued to develop his skills in community leadership. Matthew currently holds a board member position with BDPA Indianapolis chapter. He has utilized this position to help rebuild the BDPA chapter.

Additionally, Matthew has been both the Coordinator and Head Coordinator for the chapter's High School Computer Competition. The computer competition program has helped many high school youth in learning new skills, which they have applied in both case competitions as well as in their high school studies.

Finally, Matthew and his wife identified an opportunity to utilize their marriage as a ministry by participating in their church’s marriage ministry. They have actively participated in this ministry since 2006.

Matthew’s consistent, heart-felt passion for serving the Indianapolis community deserves recognition.
The BETF-Blog is proud to have seen Bro. Harvey in action with his HSCC students over the past few years. His team came in 15th place at the national championships held in Raleigh NC earlier this year. That is the highest placement by BDPA Indianapolis chapter in the history of the competition.

Share some BDPA-Love with Matthew using the COMMENTS option below.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Are There Easy Ways to Reduce Donor Attrition Rates?


by Stephen Hitchcock
Reprinted from
Contributions

Today, losing donors has special urgency because more and more organizations are struggling to acquire new donors. Response rates are down exactly at a time when paper and postage costs keep climbing.

Your organization may also be facing sharp drops in giving from major donors who have taken a beating in the stock market. Every donor you lose—no matter at what giving level—creates more financial instability for your organization.

Put positively, increasing the loyalty of your donors produces huge benefits. The longer a donor keeps giving to you, the more likely it is that you will receive a major gift—often because that individual receives a windfall (or his or her children finish college). Those donors who stay with you year after year are also more likely to leave a charitable bequest to your organization.

So, what can you do to achieve this state of bliss?
  1. Send a thank you note as quickly as possible. For most donors, the greatest motivation for giving is a sense that their contributions are appreciated—and make a difference.

  2. Get the new donors on your newsletter mailing list right away—or send the most recent copy in a special mailing. Loyal donors feel they are well informed about organizations they support.

  3. Call your new donors and invite them to become monthly donors. Automatic gifts through electronic funds transfer or credit card transactions creates a group of donors with almost zero attrition.

  4. Keep your names and addresses as clean as possible. NCOA and PCOA processing should be a regular part of your mailing plan (and NCOA is required if you want to get postal discounts). If your mailings stop reaching donors, then they can’t give to you!

  5. Encourage donors to use an 800-phone number or a dedicated e-mail address to let you know about changes of address.

  6. Survey your donors—ask them for their advice and suggestions. You’ll find out some things you may want to correct. Just as important, your donors will feel more involved and engaged with your organization.

  7. Be sure to have enough mailings in your schedule. At the most mundane level, mailing frequently enough will provide you with corrected addresses as your donors move. At a substantive level, more mailings give your donors more opportunities to contribute—and keep them from lapsing.

  8. Make it as easy as possible for donors to make contributions at your Web site. For some groups, the home page is now the donation page. More and more individuals respond to mailings or newsletters by making an immediate gift on-line.

  9. Even if you’re not a membership organization, you'll want to have a "renewal series" of anywhere from three to nine mailings. The message "It's time to renew your annual support (or membership)" wins hands-down against any other philanthropic proposition. Individuals don't want to let their support "lapse" or become "inactive."

  10. Let your donors know that you haven't heard from them. It's always startling to hear and read from individuals who say, "I didn't realize that it had been so long since I've given." A simple letter that starts, "I'm writing to you because our records indicate your last gift of $50 was in May 2006. If we've missed a recent gift, please let us know."

Not all of these suggestions are "easy." All will require an investment of time and energy. Some may involve additional expense, but all of these initiatives—even the survey—will generate immediate income. And, best of all, long-term loyalty.

As you implement some or all of these activities, be realistic in your expectations. One of the realities of fundraising is that even the best of organizations experience donor attrition. In any given year, 20 to 25 percent of those individuals who gave to you last year won't make a gift again this year. If your organization is acquiring or attracting a lot of new donors, then this attrition rate can be 30 to 40 percent.

Remember, the challenge of direct mail fundraising is that less than half (and sometimes as few as a third) of those who make an initial first gift go on to make a second gift. However, of those that make a second gift, two-thirds to three-quarters will go on to make many more gifts.

So focus on gifts and donors—and watch your donor attrition rate fall.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

BETF Executive Director Wayne Hicks on the Radio


BETF executive director Wayne Hicks was a guest for the full hour on the Cathy Harris Radio Show. Click here to listen to archive audio recording of the show.

Empowering Ourselves Now


I received an email the other day from Dartmouth College student Jarrett Mathis. He is a product of the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, NY. Over the past few years he used several research grants to find an effective way to stop Black youth from using the N-word.

Earlier this year, he transformed this research into a documentary that can be seen on his website. Here is a trailer that gives you an idea of what to expect from the full documentary:


Empowering Ourselves from Jarrett Mathis on Vimeo.



I encourage all BETF-Blog readers to check out the full documentary and support Bro. Mathis as you deem appropriate. Come back and let us know what you thought about his website, documentary and efforts.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

‘Giving Identity’ Seen as Vital for Fundraising


Crossposted from Philanthropy Journal

By helping existing and potential donors develop a "giving identity" for themselves, nonprofits can encourage supporters to give their time and money, a new study says.

Giving can be spurred by changing the context in which people give, says the article, published in the August 2009 issue of Stanford Knowledgebase and written by Jennifer Aaker of the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Satoshi Akutsu of Hitotsubashi University.

When soliciting a donation for a cause that has a personal or emotional connection, for example, approaching a donor in a personal setting may elicit a better response than a workplace meeting.

Making prospects aware that other members of their social profile have given to the cause tends to elicit a larger donation, the article says.

And giving can be increased by asking a prospect to volunteer time before asking for money.

The mere act of giving also can affect a person's "giving identity" by making them see themselves as a giver of a particular type.

Among people who say they do not plan to give or volunteer, the most common reason is that they are unable to find the right opportunity.

By making opportunities available and by adjusting the "ask" to fit different giving identities, nonprofits can improve their fundraising, the paper says.

Read the full article.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Toyota TAPESTRY Program Accepting Entries for the 20th Annual Science Grant Competition


The Toyota TAPESTRY Grants for Science Teachers program, one of the largest science teacher grant programs in the United States, is now accepting entries for the 2009-2010 competition. Sponsored by Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. and administered by the National Science Teachers Association, the program offers grants of up to $10,000 each to K-12 teachers for innovative science projects that enhance science education in their school or district over a one-year period.

Fifty large grants and a minimum of 20 mini-grants totaling $550,000 will be awarded this year. Individual science teachers or a team of up to five teachers can submit proposals in one of three categories: physical science application; environmental science education; and integrating literacy and science. A judging panel convened by the NSTA will select the award-winning projects based on several criteria, including their innovative approach in teaching science and ability to create a stimulating and hands-on learning environment.

Applicants must either be an elementary teacher who teaches science in the classroom or a middle or high school science teacher. Applicants must be residents of one of the 50 states or a resident of Washington, D.C.; Puerto Rico; or the U.S. territories including American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

For more information about the Toyota TAPESTRY Grants for Science Teachers program or to learn how to apply, visit the link to Complete RFP.

Join BDPA Group on LinkedIn Network

There are hundreds of BDPA members on the LinkedIn Network. I have my profile on LinkedIn. I shared my thoughts on the LinkedIn Network a few months ago.

Anyhow, I want to invite all current and former members to join the BDPA Group on LinkedIn. Joining will allow you to find and contact other BDPA members on LinkedIn. The goal of this group is to help you:
  1. Reach other members of BDPA
  2. Accelerate careers/business through referrals from BDPA Group members
  3. Know more than a name – view rich professional profiles from fellow BDPA Group members
All you need to do is click here to join the new BDPA Group created on LinkedIn Network for us.

I hope to see you in the BDPA group. Please post a comment below if you are currently a member of LinkedIn. What has been your experience to date with this professional network?

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Transparency of Nonprofits Improved with new IRS Form 990


By Carroll Boardway

The dramatic turmoil of our current financial situation has been injected with an ever stronger platform of full transparency. Not to ignore nonprofit organizations, the Internal Revenue Service has recently updated Form 990 to reflect the greatest number of changes in reporting requirements since the 1970s.

Though nonprofits do not pay income taxes on their revenue, they are obligated to report their income annually. In addition to these reports, called 990s, these groups are now faced with the demands required by a deeper look into how the organization operates. Such scrutiny extends from policies of the entity to board configuration and compensation for the executive team, among others. The goal is for the IRS to ensure that all nonprofits have built in safe-guards to promote accountability and protect from corruption, thus giving donors peace of mind when making the decision on which organizations to fund.

Read the rest of the Fort Worth Business Press article here.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Foundations That Tweet


I trust that most BETF-Blog readers follow the BDPA Foundation on Twitter. If so, I would be interested in your thoughts on the analysis that Beth Kanter completed on a list of “foundations that tweet”. Beth breakdowns the various ways the foundations are using Twitter.

She breaks the profiles into four types:
  1. Pure Foundation Brand
  2. Foundation with Personality
  3. Employee with Foundation Association
  4. Pure Personal Account

Personally, I think that the BDPA Foundation twitter 'profile' fits option #2. I think that we are a 'Foundation with Personality'. What do you think?

Monday, September 21, 2009

Grant Recipient: BDPA Greater Columbia ($850)


BETF provided an $850 grant to support the Student Information Technology Education & Scholarship (SITES) program implemented by BDPA Greater Columbia chapter.

The funds helped the high school computer competition (HSCC) team trained by BDPA Greater Columbia to participate in the Southeast Regional Competition. The three students on the team (Dominique Geiger, Sami Patel, Raven Stevenson and Courtland Thomas) took home the silver medal at the regional event in Charlotte NC.

Later the team travelled to Raleigh NC to compete in the national championships. The team finished in 19th place.

However, an unexpected serendipity happened at the Awards Gala during the conference. The United States Navy offered a $180,000 scholarship for Raven Stevenson to study biomedical engineering at Duke University!

Please call BETF on (513) 284-4968 or email us if you want to make a tax-deductible pledge in support of the restricted Greater Columbia Chapter Fund.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Most Americans Cut Back on Volunteer Work, Report Says


by Stephanie Strom

As the recession took hold, most Americans cut back on volunteer work and other civic activities, according to a survey conducted for the National Conference on Citizenship.

That finding undercuts anecdotal reports of volunteers’ flooding nonprofit groups as unemployment has increased and suggests the challenges faced by the Obama administration, Congress and foundations working to encourage greater volunteer service and civic participation.

They’re not saying they’ve stopped volunteering, but they are cutting back on the time spent on volunteering and civic engagement,” said David Smith, executive director of the National Conference on Citizenship, which conducted the survey as part of a study titled America’s Civic Health Index.

Read the rest of the New York Times article here.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

8 Ideas for Book Donations to Support African Nonprofits


One of our BETF supporters recently requested support in his effort to obtain book donations for an African nonprofit organization. BDPA Orlando chapter president Pablo More provided him with eight remarkable ideas. Our blog shares these tips with our readers for posterity:
  1. Get in touch with your local member of Congress both U.S Representative and U.S. Senators. Make them aware of what you are working and ask for guidance and assistance.
  2. Seek out the U.S. Ambassador where the nonprofit is located. The embassy may help with transporting of the books to that country at no cost to you. to the specific African country
  3. Reach out to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that have partnerships with Alkebulan.
  4. Visit your local Goodwill, Salvation Army, and Public Libraries to pick up books that are being disposed.
  5. Visit your local state college or university libraries and speak with the librarian about when do they dispose of their books. College Libraries tend to keep a copy of text books in their shelves which they get rid of after new editions become available. There is only so much shelf space in a library. This tends to occur over the summer and winter recess.
  6. Contact the major publishing companies below. Seek out the sales rep in your district explain your initiative and if your organization has a 501c3 non-profit status with a good track record and a good education program you "might" get a shipment of books at little to no cost.
  7. Seek out other NGOs that operate in Alkebulan with offices in the United States.
  8. Make sure your renew your BDPA membership and pre-register for the 2010 BDPA technolgy conference.
The major textbooks publishers are:
I hope that this information helps anyone seeking to donate books to African nonprofits. If you are looking for similiar programs in the United States ... you might check out the First Book program.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Microsoft sponsored Imagine Cup 2010 in Poland


Are you technically savvy, a problem solver, or a digital media wizard looking to test your skills against the best students in the world with a chance to win cash prizes?!

If so, registration for the Poland 2010 Imagine Cup sponsored by Microsoft is now open. Imagine Cup 2010 is the premier student technology skills competition and one of the largest tech competitions in the world. The competition categories for Imagine Cup 2010 are Software Design, Game Design, and Digital Media.

We highly recommend that you register yourself or your team early because Imagine Cup 2009 just ended and over 300,000 students registered.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Planning and Preparing for College

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Please visit the blog at http://www.ctherd.blogspot.com and view opportunites on scholarships, internships, fellowships, college preparation, college search engines, common application, and much more.

I have justed updated the blog with the

The National Security Agency (NSA) Summer Position...

2010 TN Governor's Schools -- Application Accepte...

The Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS ) - Deadline: ...

Yale's College Tours Scheduled

Upcoming College Fairs

ESSAY CONTEST FOR TENNESSEE HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS -...

It is also important that students take the time to prepare for college properly. Below is a link that provide a guidelines 12th grade parents and students to follow along with important tips:

(click link to retrieve info)
How To Prepare for College Correctly -- Please Sha...
ACT Test Dates -- Please Read

Please take the time and share with others.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Corporate Philanthropy Can Boost Education


By Michael Inganamort

As American philanthropy continues to expand and corporate foundations seek to address increasingly complex societal problems, these resources can and should be applied to an area that directly affects our national security and quality of life -- educational competitiveness.

When it comes to the United States' ability to compete with other countries in the areas of math and science, alarms bells have been ringing for years.

A critical examination of the United States' technological infrastructure and its promotion of math and science education suggests the country is steadily losing its competitive edge.

While less than one-third of American undergraduate students earn degrees in science and engineering, nearly 60 percent of Chinese students and roughly two-thirds of Japanese students received degrees in these fields.

These choices are not without consequences.

Read the rest of the Philanthropy Journal article here.