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Elsewhere Online
Compiled by Maria Di Mento, Leah Kerkman, Sun Jung Kim, M.J. Prest, Caroline Preston, and Ian Wilhelm.» You can discuss the articles noted here in
The Chronicle's Charities in the News forum.
These are items on other Web sites that are of interest to the nonprofit world. The Chronicle has no control over their content or availability.
December 21
GETTY TRUST ADMONISHEDFor the first time in its history, the Council on Foundations, a Washington association of about 2,000 grant makers, said this week that it has placed a member organization -- the J. Paul Getty Trust, in Los Angeles -- on probation, reports the Los Angeles Times. The council took the steps after the trust did not turn over all the information the council requested for an investigation into the trust's financial practices. The council asked for the information after news reports revealed this summer that the Getty's chief executive had spent the trust's money on lavish perks. Getty officials said they were responding as quickly as they could, but that they also had to meet requests from the California attorney general's office, which is also investigating the trust. Read The Chronicle's article about problems at the Getty. (A paid subscription is required to read the Chronicle article.) SPECIAL OLYMPICS MOVIE DEAL
The Special Olympics International made an unusual deal with the makers of "The Ringer," a big-budget Hollywood movie that opens this week about a man who masquerades as an individual with a mental disability, reports The Washington Post. While some may find the the movie's use of words such as "retard" offensive, the Special Olympics allowed its name to be used in the film and participated in its production because it sees the comedy as a way to teach people about the charity and mental disabilities. "The risk of failing was enormous, but the upside of succeeding was even bigger," Special Olympics Chairman Timothy Shriver told the newspaper. CORPORATE HOLIDAY GIVING
Many of the nation's largest retailers have stepped up their efforts to connect holiday gift buying with charitable causes, reports USA Today. For example, the Target Corporation and the Salvation Army have created an online "wish list" for Katrina survivors and others. The new Internet effort allows Target customers to buy clothing, household items, personal products, and gift cards for people displaced by the disaster and other needy Americans. TELEVISION CHARITY DRIVES
Television stations in the Washington area have started enlisting local companies as sponsors for their holiday charity fund-raising drives, but critics say the programs are unethical, reports The Washington Post. The broadcasters require their corporate sponsors to buy TV ads that promote the charitable campaigns and the companies' involvement, while the stations often feature their sponsors on news reports about the drives, but usually without disclosing to viewers the financial connection. Station representatives have said such fund-raising efforts benefit charities more than anyone else, but other observers say they may violate journalism ethics. AFRICAN ANTIPOVERY SETBACK
In October, Bruce Wilkinson, a wealthy Georgia preacher, resigned as head of Dream for Africa, a charity in founded in 2002, and abandoned his ambitious plan to help children in the kingdom of Swaziland, reports The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Wilkinson had said his humanitarian effort would become one of the largest in the world, but after running into difficulties with Swaziland's leaders, he left the country. Critics in the country told the newspaper his departure left many local people further convinced that the wealthy Americans who come to aid Africa often quit when Africans resist their plans. (A paid subscription is required to view this article.) GEORGIA NONPROFIT SCANDAL
Georgia state auditors this week accused the Georgia Water Planning & Policy Center, which is run by Georgia State University, and the Flint River Regional Water Council of misspending $4-million in government money on exorbitant travel and entertainment expenses, reports The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The state stopped providing money to the nonprofit groups in July due to the investigation. Roy Bahl, dean of the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University, downplayed the auditors' charges, saying they only found problems with a small portion of the groups' spending. ST. LOUIS CATHOLIC CHURCH BATTLE
A financial battle between parishioners of St. Stanislaus Kostka Polish Roman Catholic Church, in St. Louis, and the city's archbishop has led to the excommunication of the church's six-member board, reports The Wall Street Journal. The archbishop has sought to oversee the church's property and assets, which, unlike most Catholic churches, is controlled by the board. While the St. Louis fight is unusual, a growing number of other parishes are fighting to free themselves from the control of U.S. dioceses, the newspaper says. (A paid subscription is required to view this article.)
December 20
FBI MONITORED ACTIVIST GROUPSThe FBI has monitored advocacy groups involved in causes including the environment, animal rights, and poverty relief, The New York Times and The Washington Post report. According to agency records first obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, the FBI has opened a preliminary terrorism investigation into People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, in Norfolk, Va., planned to conduct surveillance of a "Vegan Community Project" in Indiana, and expressed concerns about the Catholic Workers' group's "semi-communistic ideology." FBI officials said yesterday, however, that they were not looking into political or social activities and that any investigations concerning activist groups were sparked by evidence of their involvement in criminal or violent activity at protests.
MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME ACADEMY
Governor Mitt Romney has replaced two trustees of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, following through on pledges to overhaul the board after the state Board of Higher Education reversed a decision to fire Admiral Richard Gurnon as the academy's president, reports The Boston Globe. Marine Corps Reserve Col. William Sinnott and retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Jimmy Dishner were picked to replace Joaquim Nobrega and Paul McNally, who had remained as trustees even though their terms had expired. The board is expected to vote today to formally reinstate Mr. Gurnon as president of the academy, which trains students for maritime careers.
COMMUNITY-COLLEGE GIFT
Two Vietnamese immigrants have pledged $1-million to a community college near the Little Saigon neighborhood of Orange County, Calif., a gift that philanthropy experts say demonstrates the growing commitment to charitable giving among the state's Vietnamese population, reports the Los Angeles Times. The Vietnamese community in Orange County has a record of giving to disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami in Asia, but individual donations of this size are still relatively unusual, according to Thu-huong Nguyen-vo of the University of California at Los Angeles' Department of Asian American Studies. Coastline Community College will use the donation from restaurateur Chieu Le and developer Frank Jao for a variety of programs, including biotechnology and English-as-a-second-language courses.
TSUNAMI REBUILDING
A year after the tsunami hit South Asia, tens of thousands of people remain homeless and a majority of the money contributed to help victims has been unspent, reports The Wall Street Journal. Aid officials say that reconstruction has been hindered by the scope of the devastation, but also by efforts to ensure that money helps to improve living standards and remains safe from graft. (Read The Chronicle's article on efforts to resconstruct South Asia after the tsunami. A paid subscription is required to view both articles).
SINGAPORE CHARITY
The National Kidney Foundation, Singapore's largest charity, attempted to distance itself from a scandal-ridden past yesterday by releasing a report that outlined the failings of its former senior management, reports The Financial Times. The report, by accountants from KPMG, said the charity suffered from a "lack of meaningful governance" and that in some cases accounts were manipulated. The charity's former chief executive, T.T. Durai, and entire board resigned last July after revelations that Mr. Durai was paid a salary of $600,000. The foundation's new board has said it has made the charity more efficient and transparent in the wake of the disclosures.
HOLIDAY PARTY FOR HOMELESS
Approximately 2,800 homeless children and their parents celebrated at a holiday party on Sunday organized by a Boston physical therapist, Jake Kennedy and his wife, Sparky, reports The Boston Globe. Hundreds of volunteers ran the 17th-annual event, known as Christmas in the City, while the Bayside Expo Center donated space, local grocers and restaurants donated food, and a hair salon offered free holiday makeovers.
December 19
FRIST CHARITYWorld of Hope, an AIDS charity run by Senate Republican Leader Bill Frist, directed nearly $500,000 to friends of the senator who were hired as consultants, the Associated Press reports. Accounting records show that the high fees were paid to firms employing Mr. Frist's fund-raising director, accountant, and the wives of his lawyer and a Senate colleague. Some political observers and tax experts questioned the appropriateness of the consulting fees, saying they raised questions about a possible connection between the charity and the senator's presidential ambitions for 2008. Sen. Frist's lawyer said World of Hope's overhead was "leaner than the average charity," and that the senator consulted with people he trusted for its operation.
TIME'S PERSONS OF THE YEAR
Time magazine has divided its annual "Person of the Year" honor in 2005 among three advocates for improved global health: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates; his wife, Melinda; and rock star Bono, of the band U2. The magazine said it chose the trio "for being shrewd about doing good, for rewiring politics and re-engineering justice, for making mercy smarter and hope strategic, and then daring the rest of us to follow."
SEPT. 11 MEMORIAL
The $500-million fund-raising campaign by the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation faces mounting criticism as it seeks donations to pay for a Sept. 11 museum and memorial, reports the Associated Press. Concerns that many of the organization's board members have not yet contributed to the campaign add to complaints about how the fund raising has been conducted since the campaign was publicly announced in October. Groundbreaking on the memorial is set to begin in spring 2006.
CALIFORNIA HOSPITALS
The state of California is looking into allegations of excessive profits at several nonprofit hospitals, including those managed by the large Kaiser Foundation and Sutter Health organizations, reports the Sacramento Business Journal. Fifteen of the 200 hospitals reviewed by the state legislature reported profits of more than 10 percent in 2004, causing concern over whether they should continue to receive the state tax benefits that nonprofit health-care institutions currently enjoy. Audits are expected by the end of the year.
STUDY ON GIVING
A new study reveals that middle-class Americans of working age give more to charity than their much wealthier counterparts, The New York Times reports. The New Tithing Group, in San Francisco, found that, based on 2003 tax reports, people under 65 with annual incomes between $50,000 and $100,000 donate a much larger share of their investment assets than do those of similar ages who earn more than $10-million. Those 35 years old and under with incomes over $500,000 were found to give the least to charity. The relationship between income and charity, however, changes among Americans over retirement age. Retirees with $10-million or more were found to be most generous in that age group.
U. OF MARYLAND GIFT
Medical inventor Robert E. Fischell will give $30-million to the University of Maryland for a new bioengineering program, The Washington Post reports. Mr. Fischell's gift is the third of such size to be received by the public university in the last year.
UPDATE: EARTHQUAKE AID TO ASIA
NATO and UNICEF outlined their plans Saturday for disaster relief to the parts of Pakistan and Kashmir hit by the earthquake in October, reports the Associated Press. The two groups said getting local health providers trained in the next two months will be a key goal before the onset of harsh winter conditions in the region make travel to some areas impossible.
December 16
UPDATE: ALLEGED FOUNDATION FRAUDMaurice R. "Hank" Greenberg, former head of the American International Group insurance conglomerate, called the charges of foundation fraud made against him by New York Attorney General Eliot L. Spitzer "outrageous," according to an interview with The Washington Post. Mr. Spitzer has accused Mr. Greenberg of improperly draining the Starr Foundation's coffers during his tenure as director of the foundation. But Mr. Greenberg countered that he did nothing wrong and that Mr. Spitzer is seeking publicity. Mr. Greenberg -- currently chairman of the Starr Foundation, one of the country's largest grant makers -- said Mr. Spitzer misrepresented the deals he made as foundation head more than 35 years ago, and that the attorney general is simply creating a fervor to attract attention to his gubernatorial bid.
RED CROSS APPEALS
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, an umbrella group that includes the American Red Cross, has announced that it needs $333-million through 2007 to pay for its aid work, reports the Associated Press. The group, which normally makes annual appeals, said it was breaking its tradition so that it could help countries better plan for disasters. About 25 percent of the aid would be designated for Asia for disaster planning that would include ways to respond to public-health emergencies, like the bird flu. About 40 percent of the funds would be spent in Africa to combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases.
BABY BOOMER VOLUNTEERS
A new campaign announced this week by the Corporation for National and Community Service is aimed at attracting baby boomer volunteers, reports The Wall Street Journal. The "Get Involved" campaign compiles volunteer opportunities across the country for those interested. Read The Chronicle's special report about baby boomer volunteers. (A paid subscription is required to view articles in both publications.)
NORTH KOREA AID
The United Nations World Food Programme will stop providing food aid to North Korea after the group failed to reach an agreement with the country, reports the Los Angeles Times. Government officials say that, after a good harvest, the country does not need the food. But others say the government is trying to rid the country of foreigners and stop U.N. monitoring aimed at ensuring the aid goes to the hungriest, rather than ending up in the hands of the military. The country would allow the U.N. organization to play a role in development efforts, but the World Food Programme is still deciding on what will do.
UPDATE: FIRED SCHOOL PRESIDENT
After the board of trustees at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy voted to dismiss the college's president, the state's Board of Higher Education rejected the ouster, marking the first time it has reversed the firing of a chief executive, reports The Boston Globe and The Chronicle of Higher Education. Adm. Richard G. Gurnon had been president for six months when he was told by the board in late November that he could resign or be fired from the position. Admiral Gurnon was investigating a sex scandal among the cadets at the time, but officials say he was fired due to poor relations with the board. The Board of Higher Education said it did not see enough evidence to support the firing of Admiral Gurnon.
SESAME WORKSHOP
Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit group that produces the children's television program "Sesame Street," has licensed the show out to international affiliates in France, India, Japan, and other countries, to financial success, reports The New York Times. The exported shows, however, endure makeovers to create new characters that appeal to different countries. For example, the French version, "5, Rue Sésame," replaces Big Bird with Nac, an oversized yellow muppet with a large nose who was created with the approval of a psychologist.
DETROIT CHARITY
Focus: HOPE, a Detroit charity that ran a program making auto parts while providing job training to youths, announced it will no longer manufacture auto parts due to increasing competition in the market, reports the Detroit Free Press. The organization's Center for Advanced Technologies had been operating for 12 years, but a reorganization will drop the program, lay off about 40 employees, and shift training programs into other areas, such as health care or telecommunications.
December 15
ALLEGED FOUNDATION FRAUDNew York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer accused Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, former CEO of American International Group, of improperly benefitting from a foundation started by the company’s founder, The New York Times reports. In a letter to the Starr Foundation, Mr. Spitzer said that Mr. Greenberg and other AIG executives sold assets left to the charity to companies they were associated with at prices well below their market value. Mr. Greenberg, who was a close friend of Cornelius Vander Starr, AIG's founder and still holds the title of chairman at the foundation, denies the allegations.
ABRAMOFF CHARITY QUESTIONED
Supposed beneficiaries of grants from the Capital Athletic Foundation, in Washington, D.C., said they never received the money, reports the Austin American-Statesman. The charity—led by Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff—reported in its 2002 tax filing that more than $330,000 was given to four nonprofit groups. But none of the organizations had records of receiving a gift from Capital Athletic. The discovery comes in the wake of several pending investigations into Mr. Abramoff’s management of the charity, including a controversy surrounding e-mail messages that suggest that Tom DeLay, who was House Republican Leader at the time, recruited Mr. Abramoff to raise funds illegally through the foundation. Mr. Abramoff declined to comment.
OPINION: AID IN AFRICA
Africa doesn’t need more glitz, writes Paul Theroux, contributor to The New York Times. The former Peace Corps volunteer in Malawi criticizes some aid organizations for pouring money into, and lavishing attention on, impractical and unconstructive projects fueled by billionaires looking to unload some dollars or celebrities who want to affirm their public image. Africa needs more pencils and paper, not computers, writes Mr. Theroux.
AUTISM RESEARCH
James H. Simons, a mathematician and hedge-fund millionaire who runs Renaissance Technologies Corporation, has with his wife, Marilyn, given $100-million for autism research, reports The Wall Street Journal. The gift is in addition to the $38-million they have already donated for the cause. In the past two years, the Simons family foundation has given research grants to Columbia, MIT, and Yale, as well as to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, to study the cause and diagnosis of autism. The couple’s daughter, Audrey, is autistic. (A paid subscription is required to view this article.)
ANNUAL GIVING
Donations to charities show no signs of ebbing this holiday season, the Associated Press reports. U.S. charities say that momentum from the outpouring of relief after the tsunamis in Asia and the hurricanes in the United States should carry through to the end of the year, with donations potentially surpassing the $248.5-billion record for giving that was set in 2004. Also: see The Chronicle’s story on year-end giving. (A paid subscription is required to view the Chronicle article.)
December 14
CHARITY BOOM TO COMEResults from a survey of the wealthiest families in the United States predict that donations from the baby boomer generation will usher in a “golden age” of charity over the next several decades, reports The Financial Times. The survey, conducted by the Harrison Group and Worth magazine, found that 22 percent of its subjects’ estates, or an estimated total of $4.5-billion, is expected to be left for philanthropy.
WILSON FOUNDATION
Arthur E. Levine was named the new president of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, reports The New York Times. Under his leadership, the foundation plans to create fellowship programs that focus on secondary education. Mr. Levine is currently president of Teachers College at Columbia University.
BODY SHOP FOUNDER
The founder of Body Shop cosmetics company announced she will begin giving away her wealth, reports the Edinburgh Evening News. Dame Anita Roddick, who stepped down from her leadership role at the company in 2002, remains its largest shareholder along with her husband. She said she plans to cash in her portion of the shares, worth about $90-million, and hopes to eventually set up a foundation with the proceeds. The couple gave large donations to Amnesty International and Greenpeace earlier this year.
NORTH CAROLINA DISCLOSURE POLICY
The ethics committee of North Carolina’s General Assembly drew rules requiring for the first time that legislative candidates report their affiliations with nonprofit organizations, the Associated Press reports. The new rules, based on legislation passed last year, are in response to concerns that certain lawmakers were improperly appropriating state funds to groups in which they had personal interest.
MIKE CARONA FOUNDATION
Michael S. Carona, the sheriff of Orange County, Calif., is dissolving his private charity and transferring its funds to United Way of Orange County, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Mike Carona Foundation, which runs programs for underprivileged youth, has had repeated trouble filing its taxes on time since its establishment in 1998.
OPINION: MONEY BUYS HAPPINESS
Money really can buy happiness, writes Arthur C. Brooks, guest columnist for The Wall Street Journal. National surveys show a direct correlation between income and happiness in individuals, yet there is little change in the reported happiness of entire populations as they get richer over time. This may mean people are happy about surpassing their neighbors—or, conversely, about sharing their wealth with them. Charity is a sure way to boost personal happiness, says Mr. Brooks, who suggests giving to others as a gift for the self this holiday season.
December 13
AMERICAN RED CROSS HEAD RESIGNSThe American Red Cross, in Washington, announced on Tuesday that Marsha J. Evans, the organization's president, is resigning effective December 31, The Washington Post reports. The resignation comes on the day that the House of Representatives was scheduled to examine how the Red Cross and other charities responded to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Jack McGuire, the charity's executive vice president of biomedical services, will serve as interim chief executive officer while the organization conducts a search for Ms. Evan's permanent successor. After leading the Girl Scouts of America, in New York, Ms. Evans took the helm of the American Red Cross in 2002, as the charity was trying to move beyond criticism of how it handled some of the donations sent to the organization in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
COLLEGE DONATIONS FROM SAUDI LEADER
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, a wealthy businessman, and a member of the Saudi royal family, has given $20-million apiece to Georgetown University, in Washington, and Harvard University, in Cambridge, Mass., to pay for Islamic studies programs, The New York Times reports. Georgetown said it would use the money to expand its Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, part of its foreign service school. Officials at Harvard said that in addition to creating a new program, the money would be used to convert rare Islamic texts into digital formats, provide financial aid to graduate students, and recruit new faculty members in the field. Prince Alwaleed, who gave $15-million to universities in Beirut and Cairo to establish two centers for American studies, said he gave both sets of donations, "to teach about the Islamic world to the United States," and to "teach the Arab world about the American situation," reports The Washington Post.
CLEVELAND CLINIC
The Cleveland Clinic, in Ohio, is under scrutiny because it did not disclose to patients the clinic's ties to AtriCure, a company that manufactures a medical device used in heart surgeries performed at the clinic, The Wall Street Journal reports. The clinic's conflict-of-interest committee is now investigating whether the organization broke its own rules in handling its ties to the company. Among other conflicts, the newspaper says, a venture-capital partnership that the clinic co-founded and invested in owns about $7-million worth of AtriCure stock, and the clinic's chief executive, Delos Cosgrove, was an AtriCure board member up until March of this year. (A paid subscription is required to view this article.)
BRITISH GIVING
People in the southwest of England are more likely to give to charity than people in any other part of Britain, and Londoners are least likely to give to charity, according to a study of charitable giving in the United Kingdom, reports The Guardian. Stuart Etherington, chief executive of the National Council for Voluntary Organizations, an umbrella group, in London, said the findings show that giving is closely linked to wealth, since people in more-affuent locales were most likely to give. The study was conducted by the council and the Charities Aid Foundation, a British group that helps facilitate large donations to charities throughout England.
COMMUNITY TRUST NEARS $1-BILLION MARK
The Chicago Community Trust has announced that in January it plans to award its one-billionth grant dollar, the
December 12
DONATIONS OF PRODUCTSMore than 54 percent of all corporate giving in 2004 was made in the form of products and other noncash gifts, the first time a majority of giving was merchandise, reports The Wall Street Journal. While charities welcome the gifts, some companies take overly generous deductions for their gifts and take other liberties because product donations are not closely monitored, the newspaper says. (A paid subscription is required to view this article.)
ESTATE FIGHT
A typo on the last will and testament of Max Lewin, a Holocaust survivor who secretly amassed a $5.6-million fortune, has sparked a fight over his estate, reports The Washington Post. Mr. Lewin asked that $2.5-million be donated to the Hadasa Hospital, in Tel Aviv, but no organization with that exact name exists. Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America, has staked a claim to the gift because the group founded a hospital in Tel Aviv in 1928, which is now known as the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center and operated by Sourasky, a separate entity that also says it is entitled to the donation.
FIRED PRESIDENT INVESTIGATING SEX SCANDAL
Admiral Richard Gurnon, who was fired as president of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy earlier this month, was investigating a student for soliciting sex for money from four fellow students when he was fired, reports the Associated Press. On December 4, the academy's Board of Trustees voted 9-1 to fire Mr. Gurnon after he had been hired less than six months ago. No disciplinary action has been taken against the accused student, and a statement released by the Board of Trustees denies that Mr. Gurnon's firing was related to his investigation. But Mr. Gurnon says that the investigation was the cause. He told the news service: "Even knowing that it cost my job I would not change a single decision."
GATES FOUNDATION
Bill and Melinda Gates's philanthropy is following in the footsteps of wealthy donors who made their industrial fortunes of the late 19th century, and is most closely parallel to the charitable giving of John D. Rockefeller, reports The New York Times. Mr. Rockefeller's foundation succeeded in helping to eradicate yellow fever by employing scientists to develop the vaccine still used today. Similarly, the Gateses have poured money into researching prevention medicine for AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis.
TELEMARKETING RULING
A North Dakota federal-appeals court has ruled that the state’s restrictions on telemarketing are legal, reports the Associated Press. Under the law, charities may use employees and volunteers to solicit donations from anyone over the phone, but may not hire telemarketing companies to call people on the federal government's "do not call" list. The ruling reverses a 2003 court decision that said the law was unconstitutional because it infringed on the free-speech rights of telemarketers.
December 9
NEW YORK CHARITIES BUREAUA three-year investigation into the National Council of Young Israel, a synagogue in New York, has roiled the office of the state attorney general, contributing to the departure of the former head of its charities bureau, William Josephson, reports The Forward, a newspaper in New York that covers Jewish issues. In 1999 the office began examining the group for questionable financial activities, but despite finding "significant problems," no written settlement has been reached with the council. (In a separate article by the newspaper, the council's lawyer declined to respond to specific allegations.) Mr. Josephson, who left the office last year, said staff members in the state attorney general's office impeded the investigation. State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer denied the accusations, saying Mr. Josephson mishandled the investigation by showing a bias against Orthodox Jews. A spokesman for Mr. Spitzer said Mr. Josephson is bitter because he was forced to resign in 2004. Mr. Josephson, however, said he chose to leave the position of his own will. Read The Chronicle's profile of Mr. Josephson. (A paid subscription is required to view the Chronicle article.)
SEPTEMBER 11 MEMORIAL FUND RAISING
The World Trade Center Memorial Foundation, in New York, is under a tough deadline to raise $500-million, perhaps the most ambitious fund-raising campaign for a memorial in U.S. history, reports the Associated Press. The memorial is scheduled to open by 2009, but so far the organization has raised $102.3-million. "We're completely realistic about how hard this is, how time consuming it is, how important it is," Gretchen Dykstra, the president of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation, told the news wire service.
RUSSIAN ANTI-NONPROFIT LEGISLATION
Vladimir Putin, president of Russia, suggested this week that he would water down a controversial proposal that would restrict the efforts of nonprofit organizations in his country, reports the Associated Press. The United States and European Union as well as a host of nonprofit groups have raised concerns about the proposal. Read The Chronicle's story about the Russian effort.
DEALING WITH A CHARITY FOUNDER'S DEATH
The Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, in Short Hills, N.J., faced a crisis last year when its founder, the actor Christopher Reeve, died from complications from a spinal cord injury, says Jeffrey Zaslow in his Wall Street Journal column. But the group was able to recover thanks to Kathy Lewis, the organization's president, who had insisted despite protests from staff members to draw up an emergency plan on the event of Mr. Reeve's death. The group has asked its 25 board members to be more active in soliciting donations and organized events for the news media to keep its efforts in the public spotlight. The organization also shortened its name to the Christopher Reeve Foundation, to reflects its founder's hope that paralysis someday can be treated medically. As a result, donations this year, are keeping pace with 2004. (A paid subscription is required to view this article.)
CATHOLIC CHARITIES TURMOIL
The Catholic Action League and other groups of Catholic conservatives are protesting the annual Christmas fund-raising dinner of the Catholic Charities affiliate in Boston, reports The Boston Globe. They have asked people to boycott the dinner to protest Mayor Thomas M. Menino, a Democrat, who is being honored at the event. The conservative Christians are upset over the mayor's support for abortion rights and same-sex marriage. A Catholic Charities spokesman said the $500-a-seat event was still sold out.
UNUSUAL GIFTS
The Salvation Army's annual holiday fund-raising drive has yielded several unusual gifts this year, reports the Associated Press. In Pennsylvania, the Salvation Army received five golden rings dropped into its red kettles, while in a St. Louis suburb, an anonymous donor contributed a gold coin labeled with a piece of yellow tape reading "Annie," in memory of his deceased wife.
December 8
ACLU LEADERSHIP QUESTIONEDSince joining the American Civil Liberties Union as its executive director four years ago, Anthony D. Romero has drawn fire from some board and staff members who say he cares more about raising money than defending the First Amendment, reports The New York Times. Mr. Romero's critics on the board have been angered by his failure to inform them of certain matters, including a decision to name a building after a prominent donor, while some staff members have expressed concerns over a new requirement that they agree not to release information the organization has deemed confidential. In interviews, Mr. Romero said he was making a commitment to consult more frequently with board members, but he dismissed most of the criticisms as the work of two individuals, and not reflective of overall board or staff sentiment.
RED CROSS
The Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have adopted a new emblem that will allow Israel to join the global relief organization after decades of exclusion, reports Reuters. The 192 countries party to the Geneva Conventions voted to approve the new symbol, a red crystal into which the Red Star of David of the Israeli relief group Magen David Adom can be placed. Because Israel had rejected the Christian cross and Muslim crescent in favor of the Star of David, it had previously been prevented from joining the International Red Cross.
CHARITY FRAUD
A mayor in Virginia has been charged with stealing more than $30,000 from a religious charity and defrauding two people of their Social Security benefits, The Washington Post reports. The federal indictment alleges that Carl B. Hutcherson Jr., the mayor of Lynchburg, stole the money from a charity connected to a church where he is pastor so he could make payments on a funeral home he runs. Mr. Hutcherson did not comment in the article, and Kimball Payne, the city manager of Lynchburg, had no comment and said there were no immediate plans to discuss his political future.
TSUNAMI REBUILDING
The vast majority of people left homeless by last December's tsunamis are still living in temporary shelters or camps, reports Alertnet. The Fritz Institute, a nonprofit group based in San Francisco, surveyed 2,300 tsunami survivors and found that 100 percent of people in Indonesia, 92 percent in India, and 78 percent in Sri Lanka, were living in temporary shelters set up by governments or aid groups. "People can't expect that one year later everything is back to normal because it's not. We all have a lot to learn from this recovery process," said Anisya Thomas, the institute's managing director. Read The Chronicle's coverage of the tsunami recovery.
December 7
RED CROSS VOLUNTEER ARRESTEDIn the second major fraud case facing the American Red Cross after Hurricane Katrina, a volunteer for the charity was arrested yesterday on charges of stealing more than 100 debit cards, worth about $230,000, meant for victims of the hurricanes, reports The New York Times. Brian Hines and his sister Charmaine Hines were arrested in Texas and accused of using the stolen debit cards to purchase jewelry, cars, clothing, and other items.
AFRICAN-AMERICAN MUSEUMS
In recent years, as a number of African-American museums, memorials, and cultural centers have opened their doors, not many prominent black donors have given money to the cause, reports The Washington Post. For example, the Muhammad Ali Center, in Louisville, Ky., received only one large gift from a wealthy black donor during a two-year fund-raising campaign: a $300,000 gift from former heavyweight boxing champion Lennox Lewis. Studies have shown that blacks are generous overall in their giving, but their money tends to go to local churches, schools, and scholarships, the newspaper says. Read The Chronicle's article about black museums, as well as its special report on race and philanthropy in the United States. (A paid subscription is required to view the Chronicle stories.)
LOYOLA GIFT
Loyola University, in Chicago, has received its largest donation ever--$20-million--from an alumna, along with her husband and a foundation he serves, reports the Chicago Tribune. Joan and William Hank, of Wheaton, Ill., gave $10-million to the university to use at its discretion, and the MacNeal Health Foundation donated an additional $10-million to the nursing and education schools. Mr. Hank is vice chairman of the foundation's board and chief executive officer of Farnham Investment Group, in Westmont, Ill.
MONTANA'S CHARITIES
According to a new report from the Montana Nonprofit Association, the state's charities generate about $2.5-billion a year in expenditures, accounting for 11 percent of the state's gross product, reports The Daily Inter Lake, in Kalispell, Mont. About 1,520 of the state's 5,600 charities generated more than $25,000 in revenue annually, and half of the total assets earned by those charities comes from hospitals and medical centers.
December 6
RUTH LILLY ESTATEA probate judge in Indianapolis has dismissed claims by two charities that the National City Bank of Indiana mismanaged two charitable trusts as part of the estate of Ruth Lilly, the pharmaceutical-company heiress, reports the Indianapolis Star. Both beneficiaries of the trusts -- Americans for the Arts, in Washington, and the Poetry Foundation, in Chicago -- are claiming that the bank cost the organizations tens of millions of dollars in assets by inadequately diversifying the trusts' holdings to minimize the risk of investment. The bank's lawyers said in court documents the nonprofit groups should be grateful for the heiress's charity, and that the groups are "potential beneficiaries today only because the bank sought them out."
GAY-MARRIAGE GROUP
Tim Gill, a founder of Quark, the software company, has incorporated the Gill Action Fund, a nonprofit group in Denver that will combat efforts to ban gay marriage, reports the Denver Post. Mr. Gill, who also runs the Gill Foundation, hopes that the group can successfully lobby against legislature that seeks to ban gay unions, expected to appear on the Colorado ballot in 2006. The Gill Action Fund is a 501(c)(4), a tax-exempt designation that allows lobbying and some involvement in political races.
NATIONAL NEWS COUNCIL
The news media would benefit from the establishment of a national "news council" that would oversee questions of ethics and journalistic integrity, argues author Murray Seeger in an opinion piece in The Washington Post. For example, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, in Miami, has made grants to watchdog groups in Minnesota and Washington State to sponsor competitions in which nonprofit groups can apply for $75,000 grants to form comparable groups elsewhere. Mr. Seeger says the evolving news media, including bloggers, broadcast journalism, and print publications, needs to submit to independent regulation or risk losing public support.
LAS VEGAS ORDINANCE
Nonprofit organizations in Las Vegas are scrambling now that the city has begun enforcing a four-year-old ordinance that requires charities to obtain business licenses, reports the Las Vegas Sun. Without the licenses, the charities are barred from applying for federal grants for next year. The newspaper also reports that 15 groups, including food banks and programs that help homeless people, are operating outside areas zoned for business, and must obtain exceptions to the zoning regulations, move, or close down.
BLOOMBERG PHILANTHROPY
Patricia E. Harris, a longtime aide to Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York and former director of philanthropy at his media company, has been named first deputy mayor, making her the highest-ranking woman in New York's city government, reports The New York Times. Mayor Bloomberg also appointed Ms. Harris to direct his philanthropy after he leaves office, when he plans to give away his entire fortune.
OBITUARY: PETER EDGAR HAAS SR.
Peter Edgar Haas Sr., former president and chairman of Levi Strauss & Company, died on December 3 at his home in San Francisco, reports The New York Times. Mr. Haas was also the co-founder of the Miriam and Peter Haas Foundation, through which he gave millions of dollars to support early-childhood programs for children living in poverty. He was 86.
December 5
RED CROSSAfter an October meeting with more than 60 representatives of minority groups and religious institutions at its Washington headquarters, the American Red Cross has begun making aggressive efforts to increase the ethnic and racial diversity of the charity's staff members, and to draw more minorities into its volunteer network, reports The Washington Post. Those actions came after minority evacuees and others complained about missteps the nonprofit organization made in its response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Plus:In an editorial, The New York Times said the American Red Cross must be held to a higher standard than other charities. The editorial argued that leaders of the nonprofit organization, which has had a government charter for the last 100 years, should do more to make sure it can provide services in all regions of the country, even in places where it does not have chapters. The newspaper also said the organization needs to improve its technological capabilities.
WEALTHY DONORS
People with a net worth of more than $10-million are expected to spend an average of $62,100 each on charity during this holiday season, a 5-percent increase from last year, according to a press release from Prince and Associates and Elite Traveler, a bimonthly magazine.
CARE USA
Helene Gayle, a top official at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in Seattle, is leaving the foundation to become chief executive officer of CARE USA, in Atlanta, The Seattle Times reports. Dr. Gayle, who oversees grants for AIDS, tuberculosis, and reproductive health, will leave the foundation in February; she will take over at CARE, where she will oversee an annual budget of $624-million and a staff of 12,000 people in 70 countries, in the spring. She will replace Peter Bell, who is leaving the organization after 10 years. Dr. Gayle joined the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in Atlanta, in 1984, and eventually directed the center's AIDS program. Nicholas Hellmann, will replace Dr. Gayle and will serve as interim director of HIV, tuberculosis, and reproductive health at the Gates Foundation.
FOCUS ON THE FAMILY
Focus on the Family, a nonprofit Christian group, in Colorado Springs, announced last week that it has decided to withdraw all of its money and stop banking with Wells Fargo Bank, in San Francisco, because of the bank's support of gay groups, the Associated Press reports. A Wells Fargo & Company spokesman said the bank provided a $50,000 grant to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, in Los Angeles, and said he told officials at the Christian group that the bank contributes to a variety of charities, some of which the nonprofit organization would approve.
MICROSOFT AND BANGLADESH
Bill Gates signed an agreement on Monday in Bangladesh promising that Microsoft would provide technology training to 10,000 teachers and 200,000 students in the next three years, reports Reuters. Mr. Gates, and his wife, Melinda, spent part of the trip inspecting a microfinance and health project run by the nongovernmental agency, BRAC, to which the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donated $1-million last year. The couple also visited a health project run by the International Center for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
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