Philanthropy Today - Philanthropy.com

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. To reach the Philanthropy Today staff, send an e-mail message to daily.news@philanthropy.com

Compiled by Noelle Barton, Caroline Bermudez, Maria Di Mento, Audrey Hill, and Anne W. Howard.

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May 2008

May 17, 2008

Foundation Leader Chosen to Head NAACP

Benjamin Todd Jealous, president of the Rosenberg Foundation, in San Francisco, has been named the new president of the NAACP, reports the Sun, in Baltimore.

Mr. Jealous, 35, was previously director of Amnesty International’s human-rights program and worked as executive director of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, a federation of more than 200 black community newspapers, according to the NAACP’s announcement of his appointment.

Mr. Jealous takes over for Bruce Gordon, who resigned last year after conflicts with the organization’s board of directors.

May 16, 2008

Obituary: Robert Mondavi, California Winemaker and Philanthropist

Robert Mondavi, the California winemaker, died Friday morning. Read an article from the Chronicle archive about his leadership role in philanthropy among American vintners.

Chinese Donate More Than $192-Million for Relief Effort

In the wake of a massive earthquake in China on Monday, the Chinese people have donated $192-million toward the relief effort, an unprecedented philanthropic campaign for the country, reports The Washington Post.

In a country with no organized philanthropy or independent nonprofit organizations, Chinese officials’ request for aid was an unusual move. Many Chinese, either as individuals or through their workplaces, have responded to the need to help the estimated 10 million people affected by the earthquake.

Many Chinese people are wary of Chinese nonprofit organizations, which are controlled by the government and are frequently accused of corruption, the paper says. It reports that many are instead giving to foreign nonprofit organizations like the Chinese Red Cross.

In response to concerns, the Chinese government has said it will allow independent supervision of the way aid funds are spent, as well as an audit after the relief effort is completed.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Red Cross Makes Rare Request for Federal Money

The American Red Cross, facing a $200-million deficit, requested $7-million in federal support to help it pay for the employees it needs to respond to disasters, reports The New York Times.

The group — which normally relies on private donations, not federal money — made its request at a Congressional hearing on Thursday.

The Red Cross, under the National Response Framework, must have an employee at the 10 regional offices of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “While these positions bring value to the community’s response, they were not sustainable under our current budget guidance,” said Joseph Becker, Red Cross senior vice president for disaster services, in written testimony for the hearing.

The organization is laying off 1,000 people at its Washington, D.C., headquarters, which constitutes about one-third of the staff members there. It is also reducing staff sizes elsewhere.

The Red Cross attributed its current financial difficulties to a lack of recent major disasters, which spur financial support from donors. While the group has accepted federal money before, this is the first time it has requested money dedicated for a federally mandated task.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Judge Rejects Suit to Stop Art Collection's Relocation

A lawsuit to prohibit the relocation of the Barnes Foundation’s $5-billion art collection to a Philadelphia exhibition space was thrown out by a Montgomery County judge, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.

A citizens’ group, Friends of the Barnes Foundation, and the Montgomery County government were both ruled to have insufficient standing in the case, which sought to keep the art collection in its current location, Pennsylvania’s Lower Merion Township. The collection’s founder, Albert C. Barnes, had stipulated that the dozens of Renoirs, Cézannes, and other masterpieces he donated remain there.

The lawsuit hinged on a December 2004 court ruling that allowed the art foundation to overturn the will of Mr. Barnes.

The two plaintiffs in the lawsuit have not decided if they will appeal the ruling.

Microsoft Joins Inexpensive-Laptop Campaign

The One Laptop Per Child project has formed a partnership with Microsoft, despite a contentious history between the nonprofit group and the software giant, reports the Associated Press.

The laptop organization produces inexpensive “XO” computers for schoolchildren to spread access to technology in the developing world. Currently the group sells the computers for $188, but it would like to reduce the cost to just $100.

In the past, the two organizations have traded barbs, with Microsoft publicly criticizing the XO computer’s small screen and processing power.

Nicholas Negroponte, the nonprofit group’s founder, hopes the addition of Microsoft Windows software will increase sales of the laptops. He says he has received 600,000 laptop orders but had hoped to be selling millions at this point.

From The Chronicle: Judge Sides With Red Cross in Logo Dispute

A federal judge in New York has rejected an effort by Johnson & Johnson to prevent the American Red Cross from using the charity’s logo on retail products, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

Government and Politics Watch: AmeriCorps Bill and a Controversial Endorsement

New on The Chronicle’s Government and Politics Watch:

Sen. Christopher Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut, plans to introduce legislation to increase the value of the educational awards earned by participants in AmeriCorps, the federal national-service program, and make them tax-exempt.

NARAL Pro-Choice America, the abortion-rights group, is feeling a backlash after endorsing Barack Obama for president on Wednesday.

Prospecting: Cellphone Fund Raising

One Washington consultant predicts that raising money with text messaging and cellphones will expand greatly in the United States in the near future, according to Prospecting, the online fund-raising column published by The Chronicle of Philanthropy and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Online Discussions: Marketing Good Causes, Changes at United Ways, and Reaching the Millennial Generation

Charities need to find new ways to market their causes as the communications landscape has changed so significantly.

To learn how your organization can best compete for attention and reach out to new supporters, join marketing expert Seth Godin for a live online discussion on Tuesday, May 20, at noon Eastern time.

Plus: We have added a special discussion on Thursday, May 22, at 11:30 a.m. Eastern time (please note the different day and start time) to focus on the changes United Way of America just announced this week. Brian A. Gallagher, president of the organization, will take questions about the United Way’s new 10-year strategic plan and what it will mean to local charities.

And mark you calendars for our discussion on Tuesday, May 27, at noon Eastern time with Allison Fine, an expert on how charities can more effectively engage members of the millennial generation.

These discussions are open to everyone, not just Chronicle subscribers.

People who ask questions in advance have a better chance of receiving answers during the online discussions.

For more details and transcripts of past discussions, go to http://philanthropy.com/live.

May 15, 2008

Fla. Residents Will Vote on Government Money for Religious Programs

Voters in Florida will decide this fall whether to repeal a law prohibiting public dollars for so-called faith-based programs and groups, reports The Washington Post.

The Blaine Amendment, which exists in 36 states besides Florida, does not allow religiously affiliated groups to receive government money. A citizen panel in Florida, the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, has voted to include a measure on the November ballot stating that “individuals or entities may not be barred from participating in public programs because of their religion.”

Patricia Levesque, the panel member who led support for the measure, cited a 2004 court decision that blocked then-Gov. Jeb Bush’s voucher program, which would have used government money to allow students in failing public schools to enroll in parochial and private schools.

But opponents of the measure say that faith-based groups that provide secular social services in a nondiscriminatory way are not affected by the Blaine Amendment or the 2004 court decision.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Aid Groups Say Pair of Disasters Present Major Challenges

International aid groups are facing challenges in bringing supplies and workers to disaster areas in Myanmar and China, whose governments have been reluctant to let in foreign organizations, reports The Wall Street Journal.

On Monday, an earthquake hit China, killing as many as 15,000 people; two weeks ago, a cyclone in Myanmar killed up to 100,000 people and displaced 200,000, the newspaper reports.

John Holmes, the United Nations humanitarian chief, warned of cholera outbreaks and said that the U.N. may consider unauthorized air drops of supplies into Myanmar.

Meanwhile, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has said it is concerned that a second storm headed for Myanmar will complicate the distribution of supplies and rescue efforts, reports Reuters.

For an article on fund-raising for the relief efforts, read The Chronicle’s coverage.

(A paid subscription is required to view the Wall Street Journal article.)

Americans on Charity Wildlife Tour Survive China Earthquake

Twelve American World Wildlife Fund members who were visiting a panda reserve in China when an earthquake hit this week are alive and safe, but two Chinese volunteers with the nonprofit group are still missing, reports CNN.

The “ecotourist” group was visiting the breeding center at Wolong Giant Panda Reserve on Monday when the earthquake struck. The disaster is said to be responsible for 15,000 deaths so far.

The 86 pandas at the reserve survived the earthquake.

Director of Asian Museum Dies While Held at Federal Detention Center

Roxanna Brown, the director of the Southeast Asian Ceramics Museum at Bangkok University, in Thailand, was found dead Wednesday at the Federal Detention Center in Seattle, where she was being held in connection with an investigation into looted art, reports The Seattle Times.

Ms. Brown, 62, was arrested last week in Seattle, where she was scheduled to speak at the University of Washington. She was indicted in Los Angeles on one count of wire fraud for allegedly allowing her signature to be used on appraisals of donated works; the appraisals were allegedly inflated so that the donors could claim higher tax deductions, the newspaper reports.

Ms. Brown’s brother, Fred Brown, told the Associated Press that she apparently had a heart attack. She was in a wheelchair after having lost her leg in 1980 and had been suffering from flu-like symptoms.

From The Chronicle: United Way of America's 10-Year Campaign

The United Way of America announced a broad, new 10-year campaign that it will focus support on health, income, and education, reports The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Give and Take: Tracking Disaster Aid and Response to Gates CEO

Among the new items on Give and Take, a service of The Chronicle of Philanthropy that rounds up the best postings that appear on blogs about the nonprofit world:

An appeal for better ways to track donations for disaster aid

Reactions to the new head of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Questions about whether venture philanthropy is a “high-end shell game”

May 14, 2008

Getty Trust Cuts 114 Jobs to Free Money for Arts Programs

The J. Paul Getty Trust, in Los Angeles, is cutting 114 positions so it can free resources to spend on its visual-arts programs, reports The Los Angeles Times.

However, fewer than 40 people have been laid off, as many positions were saved through attrition, retirement, or buyout packages, the newspaper reports. The organization said it achieved much of its goal through savings on maintenance, information technology, and security.

The decision to reduce the number of staff members came after a strategic-planning effort conducted by its chief executive, James Wood, who took over the institution in early 2007, the newspaper reports.

“This is to ensure that we have flexible funds to devote to both building our collections,” Mr. Wood told the newspaper, “and undertake targeted strategic initiatives where we feel we can really make a difference.”

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Teach for America Sees Surge in Applications

Applications to participate in Teach for America’s two-year program have risen by more than one third this year, in part because of a slow economy and better recruitment work on the part of the nonprofit organization, reports the Associated Press.

The program’s reputation is helping with fund raising and with recruiting on college campuses, the news agency reports. It has seen applications soar to 25,000, and its annual budget has increased from $40-million in 2005 to about $110-million this year, a change that has allowed for more recruiting.

At least one major donor, Eli Broad, who has given $16-million to the organization, is planning a larger contribution in the near future.

“It’s one of the best investments our foundation has made,” Mr. Broad, a California financier, tells the Associated Press.

Still, some critics observe that Teach for America teachers are less likely to embark on a full teaching profession than traditionally trained teachers and more often leave the classroom behind. The organization estimates that one-third of its alumni stay in the classroom, the news agency reports.

Read a Chronicle special report about the growth spurt of Teach for America and other new organizations seeking to spread their ideas across the country.

(Free registration is required to view the AP article on the Washington Post site, and a paid subscription or short-term pass is required to view the Chronicle article.)

Houston Lawyer Gives $15-Million to Alma Mater

Joe Jamail, a Houston lawyer known for winning an $11-billion lawsuit for Pennzoil over Texaco in 1985, is giving $15-million to his alma mater, the University of Texas at Austin, reports The Houston Chronicle.

Mr. Jamail, 82, wants $10-million to go to the law school and the remaining $5-million will be split between the nursing school and undergraduate programs, the newspaper reports.

Director of Georgia Aquarium Heads to Ohio

The Georgia Aquarium’s executive director, Jeff Swanagan, is leaving the organization for the top post at he Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Ohio, reports The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Mr. Swanagan will return to his roots in Columbus, where he was once zookeeper and later, from 1982 to 1987, the Columbus Zoo’s education director, the newspaper reports. Mike Leven, a Georgia Aquarium board member who is also vice chairman of the Marcus Foundation, is now acting chief executive.

Mr. Swanagan helped develop the Georgia Aquarium with the billionaire Bernie Marcus, who provided $250-million for the facility. It has the world’s largest fish tank.

Read a Chronicle article about the aquarium in our special report on charities and design, and read this profile of Mr. Marcus.

(A paid subscription or short-term pass is required to view the Chronicle articles.)

From The Chronicle: Donors Respond to Global Disasters

Donations to help victims of the Myanmar cyclone continued to mount on Wednesday, even as charities faced enormous hurdles in bringing aid to the country. More than $8-million has been pledged so far to some of the biggest aid organizations in the United States, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

At the same time, groups have begun collecting money to aid victims of this week’s earthquake in China.

From The Chronicle: IRS Denies Tax Status to Group That Spends Too Little on Charity

In a ruling that could have implications for many charities, the Internal Revenue Service has denied a tax exemption to an organization in part because the group did not spend enough of its money on charitable programs, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

Prospecting: Election-Year Fund Raising

Fund raising for the political campaigns often poses challenges for charities — but also plenty of opportunities, notes a new item on Prospecting, an online fund-raising column published by The Chronicle of Philanthropy and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Plus, see new posts on the psychology of donor auctions and how to appeal to female donors.

May 13, 2008

San Francisco Seeks to Persuade People to Give to Charity, Not to Panhandlers

Officials in San Francisco hope a new effort to use 10 old parking meters to collect spare change will help the city’s homeless population and cut down on panhandling, reports The San Francisco Chronicle.

Instead of giving directly to panhandlers, the money will be given to charities that help the homeless, the newspaper reports. Other cities, such as Denver and Baltimore, have used this method — which does not necessarily raise a lot of money for charity — as a way to cut down on panhandling.

At least one charity official, Sister Bernie Galvin, executive director of Religious Witness With Homeless People, panned the plan, calling it “utterly ridiculous.” She said it was based on a stereotype that all panhandlers use every nickel and dime to buy drugs and alcohol.

“Forget the children, forget the mothers who are struggling to raise their family homeless or in inadequate housing,” she said. “Will the city never give up on trying to find ways to make the lives of homeless people harder?”

Another San Francisco Chronicle article reports on results in other cities with similar programs.

Red Cross Might Relocate Workers in Budget Move

In an attempt to generate revenue, an official at the American Red Cross said the organization might relocate as many as several hundred of its employees from its Washington headquarters to a satellite office housed at the site of its emergency office building at an undisclosed location in Northern Virginia, reports The Washington Post.

Laura Howe, a spokeswoman for the charity, said that relocating employees to the emergency site, which is near Dulles International Airport and maintained for use in the event of an attack on Washington, would open office space at the organization’s headquarters for rental to commercial tenants. The American Red Cross is facing a $200-million deficit this year and has laid off one-third of its 3,000 national employees.

“Knowing that we have a smaller number of staff in the Washington, D.C., area, knowing that we have a need to provide some revenue for the organization, we’re looking at a number of options to house our employees,” said Ms. Howe.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Historic New Orleans Sites Receive Grants

As part of a program called Partners in Preservation, five historic sites in New Orleans will receive $400,000 in grants today from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express, reports The Times-Picayune.

Grant recipients include St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church; St. Alphonsus Art & Cultural Center; St. Augustine Parish Hall; Odyssey House Louisiana, a social-services organization; and Save Our Cemeteries, which will use the money to refurbish a burial ground in the city’s Garden District.

Each site’s importance to its neighborhood was considered by the awards committee, which sought to focus on “community-gathering spaces.” All five sites are run by nonprofit organizations and must complete repairs within a year.

Bangkok Museum Director Arrested

Roxana Brown, director of the Southeast Asian Ceramics Museum, at Bangkok University, in Thailand, was arrested on Saturday in Seattle, where she was detained and indicted in connection with a federal investigation of looted Southeast Asian artifacts, reports The Seattle Times.

Ms. Brown, who was scheduled to deliver a speech at the University of Washington that afternoon, is charged with one count of wire fraud. She is accused of allowing her electronic signature to be used on appraisal forms for pieces that were donated to several Southern California museums at inflated prices so collectors could claim fraudulent tax deductions. She faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

A public defender, hired to represent Ms. Brown temporarily, did not comment on the charges she faces.

Colleges Seek Donors to Help Provide Aid

Following announcements by dozens of colleges and universities that they plan to overhaul their financial-aid programs, many are calling on donors to help ease the burden of student debt, reports The Wall Street Journal.

More than a third of restricted gifts made to colleges and universities support financial aid, but institutions continue to seek more. After receiving an anonymous $100-million gift last May to improve its financial aid, the University of Chicago started a campaign to raise an additional $300-million to replace loans with scholarships for needy students.

From The Chronicle: A Call for New U.S. Foreign-Aid Policies

Many speakers at the annual meeting of InterAction last week said there is a dire need for the United States to fundamentally restructure how it delivers aid overseas, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

From The Chronicle: What Happens to National-Service Volunteers

AmeriCorps alumni are more likely than their peers to volunteer, be active in their communities, and trust others, according to a study released today, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

Online Discussion Transcript: What Women Want

Read a transcript of our discussion on advice for seeking money and other support from women.

Join us next week for a conversation with the marketing expert Seth Godin, who will help you learn techniques for promoting your cause.

May 12, 2008

First U.S. Aid Is Sent to Myanmar, but More Is Needed

The United States has sent its first airlift of supplies to Myanmar in the wake of the cyclone that hit the country last week, but further humanitarian efforts have been largely blocked by the country’s government, reports The Wall Street Journal.

The World Food Program, an agency of the United Nations, estimates that aid has reached only 30,000 survivors, and only a small number of warehouses and distribution centers are in place to give aid to needy people. Aid workers say as many as two million people have been displaced by the cyclone. The death toll could be as high as 100,000 people, with many more lives threatened due to the lack of clean water and sanitation.

The military government of Myanmar has resisted allowing foreign aid workers to enter the country due to fears of civil unrest. It has granted only a small number of visas to experienced U.N. personnel.

Terje Skavdal, a U.N. disaster-response expert in Bangkok, said, “With each day passing, concern about the survivors is increasing. We could have done much more if we’d had more openness.”

Panel Meets to Discuss University Endowment Spending

The controversy over endowment spending among universities was the primary focus of a panel at the American Bar Association on Friday, reports The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Congress has proposed that universities spend at least 5 percent of their endowments every year. However, there is a lot of room for interpretation as to what constitutes an endowment. Most endowments are a combination of disparate investments, and many have their own rules regarding spending.

Dean Zerbe, former senior counsel to Sen. Charles E. Grassley, of Iowa, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said that Congress would continue to push its concerns on endowment spending.

Adam A. Parachin, a law professor at the University of Western Ontario, cautioned against following Canadian regulations on investments held by universities. Charities must spend 80 percent of their revenue from the previous fiscal year, and universities must spend at least 3.5 percent of their endowments. Mr. Parachin said these measures are a “technical disaster.”

Lorraine A. Sciarra, senior counsel at Princeton University, suggested three methods to govern endowment spending: a balance between present and future needs, stability in the current operating budget, and a provision to allow investment managers to focus on long-term returns.

(A paid subscription or short-term pass is required to view this article.)

From The Chronicle: New Leader for Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy has named an investment manager with a deep background in environmental issues to be its new chief executive, reports The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Charity Volunteers File Lawsuit Against Calif. State Parks Officials

A charity’s volunteers have filed a federal lawsuit against California State parks officials alleging their constitutional rights were violated after the group tried to provide food for homeless people at a beach, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Welcome INN went to Doheny State Beach, in Dana Point, Calif., to give food to homeless people but was blocked by a park ranger, who allegedly told the group’s representatives that they were taking part in “unlawful assembly” and threatened them with arrest. A complaint filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing the charity, said the group provided food in the park’s picnic area on two nights in February without action by park officials.

Hector Villagra, a lawyer for the ACLU, says the section of California’s code the park ranger cited “is fundamentally flawed from a First Amendment perspective.” The lawsuit seeks to overturn the provision.

Roy Stearns, a spokesman for the state parks system, said, “It’s not appropriate for a state park system that’s designed for vacation and recreation . . . to be an answer to a social-services problem.”

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Course Created to Teach Students About Microlending

A new course aims to teach middle- and high-school students about making small loans to poor people in developing countries, reports The Boston Globe.

The program, called Small Change, Big Changes, is the idea of the MicroLoan Foundation USA, a spinoff of the London MicroLoan Foundation. Students will be encouraged to form microfinance clubs to raise money in their local areas to provide small loans and basic business training for women in sub-Saharan Africa.

The program will take place in 12 Boston schools in September and will be taught by volunteer college students and classroom teachers.

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Opinion: Teenagers Have Become Impressive Fund Raisers

High-school students are increasingly raising large amounts of money for causes and are showing incredible skill at it, writes columnist Nicholas Kristof in an opinion article for The New York Times.

Mr. Kristof calls these young people “piggy-bank philanthropists” and cites several examples. Ana Slavin and Nick Anderson, two high-school students in Massachusetts, raised $420,000 through their nationwide campaign Dollars for Darfur, an effort to give aid to people in the embattled region of Sudan. Rachel S. Rosenfeld, a student in Harrison, N.Y., raised $57,000 to build an elementary school in rural Cambodia when she was bedridden for a year.

Mr. Kristof agrees with Sen. Christopher Dodd, Democrat from Connecticut, that it should be mandatory for high-school students to complete 100 hours of community service. He also believes that colleges should encourage students to take a year off to devote themselves to public service, as Princeton University has done.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Online Discussion Tomorrow: What Women Want

More and more women are making big gifts to charity, but nonprofit groups still struggle with how best to obtain donations and other support from women.

What can your organization do to reach female donors and volunteers more effectively? What can charities learn from companies that promote products and services to female consumers? And how can this approach help your charity connect with men as well?

Join The Chronicle on Tuesday, May 13, as it plays host to a discussion on this topic.

A marketing expert and author will answer your questions and improve your ability to raise money and effect change.

The discussion will be held at noon Eastern time on Tuesday and is open to everyone, not just Chronicle subscribers.

People who ask questions in advance have a better chance of receiving answers during the online discussion.

Government and Politics Watch

Among the highlights from The Chronicle’s Government and Politics Watch:

IRS updates rules on disclosing business activities

A project to create more Hillary Clintons

From The Chronicle: Gates Foundation Names New CEO

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has named a Microsoft veteran to fill the role of chief executive officer, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

Give and Take, a Roundup of Nonprofit Blogs

Give and Take is a service of The Chronicle of Philanthropy that rounds up the best postings that appear on blogs about the nonprofit world.

Among the new items is a debate on whether churches and electioneering can mix.

May 09, 2008

Churches Seek Court Test of Federal Ban on Electioneering

In a test of federal tax law, a conservative legal group is encouraging pastors to preach about election candidates in September, reports The Wall Street Journal.

The Alliance Defense Fund hopes a court case will result from this open defiance of tax rules, which bar churches from engaging in partisan politics, and that the restrictions will be struck down by the courts.

The planned September 28 protest comes in a year when the Internal Revenue Service has stepped up investigations of churches accused of political actions, the newspaper notes.

Barack Obama’s denomination, the United Church of Christ, is being investigated for allowing the candidate to speak to 10,000 of its members last year. Churches found guilty of violating the tax rules may be fined or lose their tax-exempt status.

“The government should not be telling the church what it should or should not be saying,” says the Rev. Steve Riggle, senior pastor of Grace Community Church in Houston.

The effort angered groups that seek to enforce the tax law forbidding partisan electioneering by churches. Said Rob Boston, a spokesman for Americans United for the Separation of Church and State: “If any pastor out there feels he is gagged or can’t speak on partisan politics, … forgo the tax exemption and say what you want.”

To learn more about issues affecting nonprofit causes in the 2008 election, see The Chronicle’s special campaign section.

Conservation Groups Protect Major Land Tract in California

A coalition of environmental groups has persuaded a developer to preserve 90 percent of the largest piece of undeveloped land in Southern California, reports The Los Angeles Times.

The historic Tejon Ranch, 60 miles north of Los Angeles, is eight times the size of San Francisco at 270,000 acres and is prime habitat for the endangered California condor and other species.

The coalition of environmental groups has agreed not to oppose development of the western and southwestern edge of the land.

As part of the agreement, a 12-member Tejon Ranch Conservancy will be established to ensure that the land will be preserved in perpetuity.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Charity Brings Volunteering to Offices and Homes

Seeking to take the legwork out of volunteering, a Boston nonprofit organization brings volunteer opportunities to office and residential buildings, reports The Boston Globe.

The charity, Building Impact, hopes not only to increase philanthropic efforts but also to build community among its clientele.

“Between the commute in, the commute home, and really busy schedules, there are some clear barriers that prevent people from getting more involved in the community,” Lisa Guyon, executive director of Building Impact notes.

The five-year old organization operates in numerous commercial and apartment buildings in Boston and its suburbs.

Building Impact is a revenue-generating organization, drawing about 45 percent of its income through charging a licensing fee to the buildings where it operates. The remainder of the group’s $500,000 annual budget comes from foundations, corporate sponsors, and individuals.

Several landlords say they underwrite the service because on-site volunteer options are an important tenant amenity, much like a building gym or round-the-clock security.

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Opinion: Government Scrutiny of College Endowments

The increased scrutiny of college endowments by lawmakers and the Internal Revenue Service is drawing criticism from a senior editorial writer at The Wall Street Journal.

In an opinion article, Collin Levy notes that college endowments are often subject to donor restrictions and that colleges that flout the intentions of their donors could land in court.

What’s more, she writes: “The money flowing into university coffers was to be spent at the discretion of the school.”

She quotes Leslie Lenkowsky, a professor of philanthropy at Indiana University and Chronicle of Philanthropy columnist, who says: “This is private money. The whole idea that a donation should be regulated by government really challenges our notion of what philanthropy is supposed to be about.”

From The Chronicle: Fund Raising for the Cyclone Victims

A growing number of charities have sent supplies to Southeast Asia to help victims of the recent cyclone in Myanmar, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports. But many aid workers continued to express concern that red tape and foot-dragging on the part of government officials were delaying their ability to provide assistance.

Plus: The United Nations suspended transportation of relief supplies to Myanmar Friday after the military government seized food and equipment it had already sent, but then the U.N. announced it would resume flights on Saturday, The New York Times reports.

(Free registration is required to view the New York Times article.)

From The Chronicle: Foundation Update

Catch up on The Chronicle’s coverage of the Council on Foundations in our conference notebook, which includes dozens of reports from reporters and editors who attended the major sessions at this week’s meeting.

May 08, 2008

Massachusetts Lawmakers Consider Taxing Big Universities

In Massachusetts, legislators are considering taxing higher-education institutions with endowments over $1-billion, arguing that the universities don’t do enough for their surrounding neighborhoods considering their vast wealth, reports The Boston Globe.

The measure would impose a 2.5 percent annual tax assessment on Amherst College, Boston College, Boston University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Smith College, Tufts University, Wellesley College, and Williams College. It is estimated the tax would bring $1.4-billion into the state’s coffers.

“It’s mind boggling that one entity not paying taxes has $34-billion. How do you justify that?” said Rep. Paul Kujawski, a Democrat and the plan’s chief supporter, referring to Harvard’s endowment, the largest in the nation. “When people can’t afford to live. How do you justify not taxing them?”

Critics called the proposal misguided. “You’d be taxing success here,” said Kevin Casey, Harvard’s associate vice president for government, community, and public affairs. “Over time, this would put us at a real competitive disadvantage, which would drastically hurt the Commonwealth.”

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Nonprofit Group Wins Fight Over FBI Inquiry Into Records

The Federal Bureau of Investigations has withdrawn its request for information about one of the users of a nonprofit digital library, in San Francisco, after the charity took the agency to court claiming a freedom-of-speech violation, reports the Associated Press.

The FBI sent the Digital Archive a letter last November seeking information, without a judge’s order, about one of the charity’s patrons. The group sued the bureau, saying that because the letter prohibited recipients from discussing it with anyone else, it violated the group’s free-speech rights. Last week the FBI agreed to withdraw the letter but did not explain why.

“Without judicial or public oversight, there is literally nothing stopping the FBI from issuing improper demands for records,” said Melissa Goodman, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer who represented the Internet Archive.

“The information requested in the national-security letter was relevant to an ongoing authorized national-security investigation,” said John Miller, the assistant FBI director in a statement. He added that such letters “remain indispensable tools for national-security investigations and permit the FBI to gather the basic building blocks for our counterterrorism and counterintelligence investigations.”

Georgia Aquarium Keeps Title as World's Biggest With $110-Million Expansion

The Georgia Aquarium has announced plans to build a $110-million, 1.5 million-gallon expansion, holding on to its reputation as the “world’s largest aquarium,” reports The New York Times.

“This is the next ‘big wow,’” said Bernard Marcus, founder of the Home Depot and one of the Georgia Aquarium’s chief backers.

The aquarium, which already contains 8 million gallons of water and 80,000 animals, plans to open its new exhibit — which will include dolphins — in 2010, beating out an attraction set to open in 2009 in Dubai that claims will be “world’s largest indoor marine mammal pavilion.”

For more on the Georgia Aquarium’s expansion, read The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s coverage.

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Opinion: Bill Gates on 'Strategic Corporate Philanthropy'

Partnerships between governments, local organizations, and private companies — or “strategic corporate philanthropy” — can bolster economic and technological development, writes Bill Gates in an opinion article in The Wall Street Journal.

“When a company like Microsoft is in a position to provide not just money but also the expertise and experience to help an organization use technology to achieve its goals more quickly and more effectively, it can speed the pace and scale of progress,” he writes. “The ultimate goal is to support the development of local economies that have the infrastructure and skilled work force needed to create sustainable growth.”

With a better-educated global population, and as “more people join the global-knowledge economy, they will spur further innovations that address difficult issues faced by so many people around the world. This, more than anything, will be the key to creating a world where everyone can expect to lead long, healthy, productive, and fulfilling lives.”

Prospecting: Fund-Raising News and Tips

Prospecting is an online fund-raising column published by The Chronicle of Philanthropy and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Among the recent posts:

A look at a college senior’s $50,000 pledge.

Lessons in coping with donor anger.

Give and Take, a Roundup of Nonprofit Blogs

Give and Take is a service of The Chronicle of Philanthropy that rounds up the best postings that appear on blogs about the nonprofit world.

Among the new items:

Mounting pressure on the Clinton Foundation to release the names of its donors.

Criticism of Laura Bush’s approach to helping cyclone victims in Myanmar.

A critique of how some new philanthropists are approaching social change.

Online Discussion Next Week: What Women Want

More and more women are making big gifts to charity, but nonprofit groups still struggle with how best to obtain donations and other support from women.

Join The Chronicle on Tuesday, May 13, as it plays host to a discussion on this topic.

A marketing expert and author will answer your questions and improve your ability to raise money and effect change.

The discussion will be held at noon Eastern time on Tuesday and is open to everyone, not just Chronicle subscribers.

People who ask questions in advance have a better chance of receiving answers during the online discussion.

May 07, 2008

L.A. Investigates Alleged Patient Dumping by Hospital

College Hospital, in Costa Mesa, Calif., accused of taking a mentally ill patient 42 miles to skid row in downtown Los Angeles and leaving him near the Union Rescue Mission, where he had been cared for by the charity’s workers before going to the hospital for treatment, is being investigated by city prosecutors, according to officials cited by the Los Angeles Times.

“The bottom line is we are … taking it very seriously,” said Jeff Isaacs, who oversees the city attorney’s criminal prosecutions. “It could be another classic case of dumping.” A state law enacted about two years ago that makes it a misdemeanor to dump patients in another county makes it easier for prosecutors to bring charges against such cases, he said.

Susan Taylor, a lawyer for the hospital’s parent company, said it was “looking into the matter” but wouldn’t comment further until an internal review has been conducted.

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Environmental Group Ranks Corporate Commitment

Climate Counts, a nonprofit organization that scores consumer-products companies on their environmental practices and values, today released its second annual ranking of 56 consumer companies based on how they measure greenhouse-gas emissions, their plans to reduce them, and how openly they disclose those efforts.

The report found that 84 percent of the companies improved their scores since last year’s report, with Nike earning the highest overall score (82 points out of a possible 100), with Stonyfield Farm, IBM, and Unilever scoring 75 points or higher.

Investigation Examines Philanthropist's Ties to Israel's Prime Minister

Morris Talansky, a Long Island philanthropist and fund raiser for Israeli charities, is the focus of a case related to the continued investigation of Israel’s prime minister, Ehud Olmert, reports The New York Times.

Israeli prosecutors asked a Jerusalem court on Tuesday for permission to take the testimony of a man believed to be Mr. Talansky, 75. Apparently approached last month by Israeli authorities upon his arrival at the Tel Aviv airport, it remains unclear whether Mr. Talansky is a witness or suspect in the case. The nature of the inquiry appears to focus on suspicion of bribery or campaign-finance irregularities involving Mr. Olmert in or around 1999.

Details of the investigation have recently circulated among politicians and journalists in Israel, despite a government order forbidding publication of information about the case. The New York Post published Mr. Talansky’s name on Tuesday, prompting Israeli radio announcers to direct listeners to the newspaper’s Web site.

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Federal Agency Seeks New Approach to Cuba Grants Program

A program designed to promote democracy in Cuba is being overhauled by the Bush administration to improve its financial controls and broaden its reach beyond the heavy involvement of anti-Castro groups in Florida, reports The Los Angeles Times.

The U.S. Agency for International Development oversees the program, which seeks to support Cuban dissidents and ideas to facilitate a shift away from the Castro government, and is now trying to persuade Central European and Latin American nonprofit organizations to join American charities in applying for its grants. Critics of the 12-year-old program charge that it has mostly benefited the Cuban American-led groups in Miami that receive most of its grants.

In 2006, a report by the Government Accountability Office found that 92 percent of its grants had been awarded without competitive bids.

Read The Chronicle’s coverage of nonprofit efforts in Cuba.

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Obituary: Claude Rosenberg, Philanthropist

Claude Rosenberg, the money manager and philanthropist, died May 3 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease, reports The San Francisco Chronicle. He was 80.

Mr. Rosenberg sought to bring about a revolution in giving by showing wealthy people they could afford to give far more than they thought if they looked at their total assets, not just their annual income.

In 1998 he founded the NewTithing Group, a San Francisco nonprofit organization that helped donors determine how much they could afford to give to charity. “It became his passion and his life calling to convince people they could give more money away,” said his son, Douglas Rosenberg.

Mr. Rosenberg founded Rosenberg Capital Management, from which he retired after the firm’s sale to Germany’s Dresdner Bank in 1995.

See an opinion article from The Chronicle about Mr. Rosenberg’s approach to giving.

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From the Chronicle: Foundation Update

More than 3,000 grant makers from around the world are meeting outside Washington this week at a conference organized by the Council on Foundations.

Reporters and editors from The Chronicle of Philanthropy are providing updates on the sessions throughout the day in on online conference notebook.

Among the highlights:

Influential Americans don’t know much about the work of individual foundations

How philanthropy can help the poor

What foundations should do after a disaster strikes

Why foundations should brace for tough times

A new project to create more Hillary Clintons

Get Ahead: Deadlines for Grants and Awards

You can now get an early look at the deadlines for grants and awards compiled by The Chronicle. We have posted on our Web site all the application deadlines that will appear in our May 15 issue.

You will also find an updated list of conferences and workshops designed for nonprofit executives.

From The Chronicle: Relief Challenges in Wake of Cyclone

Charities say donors are anxious to help victims of the cyclone that hit Myanmar, killing at least 22,500 people. But government restrictions are presenting major challenges for foreign relief organizations, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

May 06, 2008

Relief Charities Face Huge Challenges in Myanmar

Relief organizations working to assist victims of the cyclone in Myanmar face many obstacles, including inadequate telecommunications systems and a lack of cooperation from the local military, reports The New York Times.

One such charity, Unicef, sent five assessment teams to the region and is preparing supplies for delivery, reports The Times in a second story on the disaster. The number of displaced people could reach one million, by United Nations estimates, the paper reports.

“Our biggest fear is that the aftermath could be more lethal than the storm itself,” Unicef’s Caryl Stern tells the Times.

Christine South, Asia-Pacific operations coordinator at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, tells the Los Angeles Times that her organization is awaiting the go-ahead from the Myanmar government to send more relief teams into the region. The organization already has five teams surveying the damage, the paper reports.

World Vision’s Kyi Minn did not hedge when speaking to CNN.

“It could be worse than [the] tsunami,” Dr. Minn said, citing the December 2004 disaster that killed more than 150,000 people in Southeast Asia.

An article in The Wall Street Journal delves into the ripple effects of the cyclone’s damage to a major rice-producing region and the developing international food crisis. Some countries like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, for example, were counting on rice supplies from Myanmar to add to their own, the newspaper reports.

In Boston, Oxfam America officials are meeting today to plan how to assist with the relief effort, reports The Boston Globe. Among their helpers are Harvard University students, already raising money with T-shirt sales.

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Foundation Commits $50-Million to Community Colleges

The Bernard Osher Foundation, in San Francisco, has pledged up to $50-million to the California Community Colleges system to support scholarships at 109 colleges, reports The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Students will start receiving scholarships in the fall of 2009 after an initial $25-million gift from the foundation, the paper reports. The second $25-million will be awarded as matching funds — $1 for every $2 the college system raises. Foundation officials hope the gift inspires others to follow suit.

“We haven’t been at the table when it comes to philanthropy for years,” Paul I. Lanning, president of the Foundation for California Community Colleges, tells The Chronicle. “To me, it changes things for community colleges nationwide, tells the public community colleges want support.”

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Musician's Charity Takes Heat From Charity Watchdog

Charity Navigator, a watchdog organization in Mahwah, N.J., that rates charities’ performance, has given bad marks to the musician Sting’s charity, which has raised money to preserve rain forests, reports the New York Post.

Sting’s Rainforest Foundation is planning its next fund-raising concert at Carnegie Hall for Thursday and expects such high-profile participants as Billy Joel and James Taylor, the paper reports.

After reviewing the charity’s tax filings, the Post found that just 41 percent, or about $887,000, of the more than $2-million raised at the organization’s 2006 concert ended up in the hands of charities working to save the rain forests.

“This one would fall to the bottom of the bucket,” Sandra Miniutti, a spokeswoman for Charity Navigator, tells the newspaper.

Charity Navigator has given the Rainforest Foundation a mark of zero for the last four years, the newspaper reports.

Sting and his wife, Trudie Styler, who founded the organization in 1989, did not comment in the article.

But Ms. Styler, responding to the story in the Post, tells People magazine: “The Rainforest Foundation is celebrating its 20th year. We wouldn’t still be in business or have given out millions of dollars over the years if we’d spent everything we made immediately after it came in.”

Chicago Symphony Picks New Director

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has selected the Italian music director Riccardo Muti to lead its symphony for five years starting in the 2010-11 season, reports The New York Times.

Chicago’s last full-time music director, Daniel Barenboim, left his position after the 2005-6 season in part because of the headaches involved in the administrative side of the job. Mr. Muti, 66, was music director at the Philadelphia Orchestra from 1980 to 1992 and had previously said he was not interested in leading another American symphony, the newspaper reports. Mr. Muti expressed similar concerns to those cited by Mr. Barenboim.

But on taking the contract with the symphony, Mr. Muti tells the Times he is aware of the role he will play as one of the key faces of the organization in Chicago.

“To be music director of an American orchestra doesn’t mean only to try to make good music with the orchestra for the audience that comes to the hall but to serve the community,” Mr. Muti says.

Prospecting: Fund-Raising News and Tips

Prospecting is an online fund-raising column published by The Chronicle of Philanthropy and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Among the recent topics discussed:

Charitable bequests expected to become another victim of the bad economy

How a California group fended off government budget cuts

From The Chronicle: Foundation Update

More than 3,000 grant makers from around the world are meeting outside Washington this week at a conference organized by the Council on Foundations.

Reporters and editors from The Chronicle of Philanthropy are providing updates on the sessions throughout the day in on online conference notebook.

Among the highlights:

Philanthropy and “quiet diplomacy.”

How foundations are using new online tools.

Getting older Americans involved in social causes.

Why foundations need to prepare an agenda for the next president — and what items are on the list.

Fighting global warming.

Taking a long view of foundation investments.

Why the IRS doesn’t plan to overhaul a key foundation tax form anytime soon.

Transcript: Foundations and Diversity

Read a transcript of today’s online discussion about foundations and diversity. The guests were Robert K. Ross, chief executive of the California Endowment, in Los Angeles, and Mark Rosenman, director of Caring to Change, a project of the Union Institute & University, which has its headquarters in Cincinnati.

May 05, 2008

9/11 Charity Seeks to Offer Lessons to Other Charities

The Survivors’ Fund, a Washington charity that raised and distributed money to victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks, is shutting its doors and winning praise as a model for how other organizations can help people in times of crisis, reports The Washington Post.

The organization raised more than $25-million from more than 12,000 residents and businesses in the Washington metropolitan area. It has issued a report summing up how its approach could be useful to other organizations.

The charity did not distribute most of its money right after the attacks, as most organizations did, but waited until people developed needs that were not taken care of by other charities and government agencies.

It also hired professional case managers to work with families individually to assess their needs. About 58 percent of the money went to help families pay bills. 14 percent went to education, 11 percent paid for medical expenses, and 14 percent was devoted to emotional and mental-health concerns.

Daniel K. Mayers, who served as chairman of the Survivors’ Fund, said, “We don’t know when or if the next tragedy will strike. But I do think that it’s very important to at least say here’s how we did it, here’s how our community got together, and here’s the facts and a legacy for the future.”

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Companies Send Employees Abroad to Volunteer

Some well-known corporations are combining volunteering with their global business interests, reports The Boston Globe.

Companies such as Ernst & Young, IBM, and Pfizer are sending employees abroad for up to a few months to volunteer at schools, hospitals, and charities in developing countries.

Since 2003, Pfizer has sent 155 employees to 31 countries to participate in programs that fight HIV/AIDS and other diseases, for example.

The programs are not purely altruistic but are an attempt to help the companies develop managers with a global outlook, the newspaper says.

Deborah K. Holmes, Americas director of corporate responsibility at Ernst & Young, said of these kinds of programs, “We need people with a global mindset, and what better way to develop a global mindset, and what more realistic way, than for somebody to have an immersion experience with just enough safety net?”

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Clinton Charity Draws 1,000 Pledges

The Clinton Global Initiative has netted almost 1,000 commitments from businesses, nonprofit organizations, government leaders, and philanthropists over the past three years, reports Reuters.

The organization, which was founded by Bill Clinton, holds a meeting every September to offer a midyear update of its progress. Commitments include $100,000 pledged by the Hashoo Foundation for women beekeepers in Pakistan, to about $1.5 million from the United Methodist Church to fight malaria in the Ivory Coast with insecticide-treated nets.

There is no minimum amount to donate, but those who do not follow through with their pledges are not invited to the organization’s annual meeting.

See The Chronicle’s coverage of last September’s Clinton meeting.

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Young Black Activists Go Online

Young black activists are increasingly using online tools to advance their causes, reports The Washington Post.

For instance, they are using blogs to call attention to issues in the Democratic primary for the Presidential nomination and to controversies involving six black teenagers who were accused of attempted murder in Jena, La.

As they go online, young activists are often forming new groups and criticizing more-traditional civil-rights groups such as the NAACP.

L.N. Rock, a blogger and activist, says the NAACP has not done enough to recruit young people. He said, “The NAACP’s youth-outreach efforts are dysfunctional. We would have