Report Cites Paucity of Education Philanthropy in the South

By Jonathan Weisman

Education philanthropy in the Southeastern United States lags well behind other regions of the country, despite the fact that the stubborn problems associated with schools in the South cry out for the kinds of innovative answers traditionally funded through private sources, a new report says.

For its study, "Fulfilling Reform's Promise: The Need to Expand the Vision of Education in the South," the BellSouth Foundation surveyed educators and philanthropists in the nine states that make up its service urea: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, and Tennessee.

The 938 philanthropic institutions in the South, where 20 percent of the U.S. population lives, represent 12 percent of the nation's total and 7.9 percent of total giving, according to...