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, Anne W. Howard, and Candie Jones.

RSS / Atom

September 2008

September 30, 2008

Foundations Feel Wall Street Fallout

Several big foundations in New York are suffering from the recent collapse of Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns and the government takeover of the American International Group, reports The New York Times.

The Starr Foundation, which held 15.5 million shares of AIG in May, has seen its assets fall by at least $1-billion since the end of 2006. As a result, the grant maker says it will postpone some planned grants. The personal foundations of Bear Stearns executives have also taken losses, and the future of Lehman Brothers Foundation is in question now that Lehman Brothers is bankrupt.

See The Chronicle’s article on the effects on philanthropy of the problems at AIG.

(Free registration is required to view the Times article and a paid subscription or short-term pass is required to view the Chronicle article.)

New President Picked at Big Grant Maker

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, one of the nation’s wealthiest grant makers, has chosen Robert Tjian, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of California at Berkeley, to serve as its new president, reports The New York Times.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Arts Groups Innovate to Retain Attendance

Arts groups have been taking creative measures to increase donations and attendance since the 2001 economy slump, efforts that are becoming increasingly important in the current downturn, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Dance and theater groups, and museums have been trying new ways to draw participants, such as offering a “complete experience” that includes a meal and educational components, as opposed to just offering a single performance or exhibit. And many arts groups are trying to collaborate and learn from one another, the article says.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Emory U. Announces $1.6-Billion Campaign

Emory University has announced a $1.6-billion fund-raising campaign to run through 2012 and has already collected pledges of $800-million, reports The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Spinal-Cord Charity Gets Advertising Makeover

The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation is receiving a pro bono makeover to show the public why research on spinal-cord injuries is important, reports The New York Times.

The campaign is being created by agencies owned by the Omnicom Group. John Osborn, a foundation board member and president of one of the advertising agencies owned by Omnicom, says that spinal-cord injury is generally not “thought about till something happens to someone close to you or to yourself,” he adds.

To bring the issue to the public eye, the ads seek to demonstrate the difficulty that paralyzed people experience doing normal, everyday tasks. For example, one ad shows an Aztec pyramid. The word “You” is at the bottom and the words “Your refrigerator” are all the way at the top. Another ad shows the Golden Gate Bridge, with the word “You” is at one end and the words “Your backyard” at the other.

The ads are also intended in part to raise the organization’s visibility in the wake of the deaths of Christopher and Diana Reeve, says Peter Wilderotter, the charity’s president.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Opinion: Famous Artists Shouldn't Win Charity Prizes

The decision to give the first Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award to Tony Kushner, the Pulitzer Prize-winner author of Angels in America is inappropriate, says Terry Teachout, the drama critic for The Wall Street Journal.

The prize, given by the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, carries with it a $200,000 award. Mr. Teachout says the trust’s intention to use the prize to support “the growth and talent of outstanding playwrights . . . and encourage them to stay in their field” will not be fulfilled by showering yet another accolade on the well-established Mr. Kushner.

From The Chronicle: New Pressures on the Charity Work Force

The crisis on Wall Street –- and the likelihood that billions in federal money will be spent soothing it –- portend an era when government will need to turn more eagerly than ever to nonprofit organizations to serve social needs, said experts speaking Monday at a conference on the state of the nonprofit work force, reports The Chronicle of Philanthropy. That will require nonprofit groups to do more to attract workers who can handle those demands.

Transcript: Nonprofit Compensation Trends

Read the transcript of our online discussion today on the state of nonprofit compensation.

September 29, 2008

Los Angeles Museum Receives $55-Million Gift of Cash and Artworks

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has announced that it has received $45-million in cash and $10-million in artworks from the business entrepreneurs Lynda and Stewart Resnick, reports The New York Times.

The gift will support a new exhibition pavilion designed by Renzo Piano and will bear the couple’s name.

The Resnicks donated some of the money earlier but did not get attention for their gift.

In 2006, the Resnicks donated $25-million for a new entrance pavilion but agreed to relinquish naming rights to the oil company BP after it donated $25-million to the museum.

No details are known as to what works of art have been donated to the museum. The Resnicks are the co-chairmen of Roll International, a private holding company that owns Paramount Citrus, one of the nation’s largest citrus producers, as well as Fiji Water and Pom Wonderful pomegranate juice.

Ms. Resnick is chairwoman of the museum’s acquisitions committee.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Religious Leaders Offered Sermons on Sunday Designed to Break Federal Law

Thirty-three pastors from across the country on Sunday attempted to break a federal tax law that forbids members of the clergy from endorsing political candidates lest their organizations lose their tax-exempt status, reports The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal.

The Post quotes one pastor, the Rev. Ron Johnson Jr., who said that voting for the Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama was proof of “severe moral schizophrenia.”

The actions of the 33 pastors are part of a campaign organized by the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative legal consortium in Arizona, hoping to spark a lawsuit that will eliminate the law that prohibits tax-exempt religious organizations from politicking. The law was set in 1954.

Although the Defense Fund says it tried to recruit both liberal and conservative pastors to take part in the campaign, most of the participants seem to be socially conservative, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Of the law, the Rev. Johnson said, “The point that the IRS says you can’t do it, I’m saying you’re wrong.”

Nancy Mathis, an Internal Revenue Service spokeswoman said, “We’re aware of recent press reports, and we’ll monitor the situation and take action as appropriate.”

(Free registration is required to view the Post article.)

Republicans Accuse Advocacy Group of Voter Fraud

Republicans have accused the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (Acorn), a housing advocacy group that is also known for its voter-registration drives, of voter fraud, reports National Public Radio.

Sean Cairncross, general counsel for the Republican National Committee said of the group, “It is at best a quasi-criminal Democrat-affiliated organization that willfully and openly breaks the law, is a clear and present danger to the integrity of the election process, and constitutes a threat to public safety.”

Mr. Cairncross alleges that employees hired to register new voters have forged voter-registration records and have felonies on their criminal records.

Michael Slater, executive director of Project Vote, a nonprofit organization that works with Acorn in voter-registration drives, said that the Republicans’ allegations are unfounded.

He said, “It’s very unfortunate that people would misconstrue our work and treat what is essentially a hiring and employment issue and turn it into an election or political issue.”

Read an opinion article about the challenges facing the advocacy group from the latest issue of The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

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

$8-Billion Pledged to Help the World's Needy

A variety of organizations have pledged $400-million for water and sanitation projects in developing countries, an effort that was announced as part of the annual Clinton Global Initiative meeting held in New York last week, reports The Wall Street Journal.

To read The Chronicle’s complete coverage from the event, see our conference notebook, which reports that a total of $8-billion — in donations, investments, and volunteer time — has been pledged for various projects around the world.

Company Will Continue Actor's Philanthropy

The actor Paul Newman, who died on Friday of cancer, expressed his wish to have his philanthropic endeavors continue after his death through his Newman’s Own Foundation, reports the Associated Press.

According to two friends of the actor, Mr. Newman wanted to be remembered for helping to start the Hole in the Wall camps for children with serious illnesses and to ensure that his popular food company, Newman’s Own, would continue to donate 100 percent of its profits to charity. To date, the company has given more than $250-million.

Said one of the actor’s friends, Robert Forrester, “He said, ‘When I’m not here, this foundation is to continue the tradition of giving all of this money away.’”

Mr. Forrester said the Newman’s Own company plans to expand and donate even more to fulfill Mr. Newman’s wish.

Government and Politics Watch: Charity Tax Breaks

The House of Representatives last week passed a tax bill that would renew and extend several provisions affecting charitable giving, including one for older people with individual retirement accounts, reports The Chronicle’s Government and Politics Watch column. But the legislation may be doomed because the House and Senate disagree over how to pay for the overall tax package.

Give and Take: A Bailout for Charities?

What role should charities have in the federal bailout now under discussion for the nation’s financial institutions? That is a key topic discussed in a new post in The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s Give and Take column.

Plus: Paul Newman’s philanthropic legacy.

Prospecting: Debunking Capital-Campaign Myths

A veteran fund-raising consultant pokes holes in myths that many fund raisers believe — and that cause capital campaigns to sink — in a new post in Prospecting, The Chronicle’s fund-raising column.

From The Chronicle: Compensation of Charity CEO's

Salaries and benefits paid to the leaders of the nation’s largest charities and foundations rose a median of 5 percent last year, according to results of a Chronicle of Philanthropy survey released today.

That gain not only outpaced inflation but also was higher than the percentage increase many corporate chief executives received, the Chronicle reported. Data from the survey are available exclusively to Chronicle subscribers.

Join us to discuss what compensation trends will be like for all people who work in the nonprofit world, given the challenges of the tight economy, in a live discussion tomorrow at noon, Eastern time.

The guest is Chuck McLean, vice president for research at GuideStar, who has compiled the organization’s comprehensive survey on nonprofit compensation for the past eight years.

The Chronicle’s online discussions are free and open to everyone. People who ask questions in advance have a better chance of getting answers.

See What's New in The Chronicle of Philanthropy

The Chronicle posted the entire contents of its October 2 issue online this morning. To see what’s inside the new issue, read the table of contents.

September 26, 2008

Government Suspends Support of Charity Run by Sacramento Mayoral Candidate

Federal officials investigating St. Hope Academy, a charity run by the Sacramento mayoral candidate and former NBA player Kevin Johnson, have suspended the government’s support of the group after uncovering possible criminal and financial irregularities, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Among the charges against Mr. Johnson is that he asked members of the federal AmeriCorps program to run errands, wash his car, and drive him to personal appointments. The findings have been given to the U.S. attorney’s office in Sacramento for review.

Gerald Walpin, inspector general at the Corporation for National and Community Service, which oversees the AmeriCorps volunteer program, said that existing evidence is sufficient to warrant “that immediate action be taken” before the investigation is ended.

Steve Maviglio, Mr. Johnson’s campaign manager, said, “The timing is politically motivated. The dramatization of what are administrative errors is politically motivated.” Mr. Johnson was not available to comment, the newspaper said.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Charity Leader's Participation in Campaign Ad Draws Scrutiny

The Villages, an Indianapolis charity that provides foster care and other services to children, has drawn criticism after its president, Sharon Pierce, appeared in a political campaign ad that highlights Gov. Mitch Daniels’s record on child protection, reports the Associated Press.

Ms. Pierce said she believed that speaking about Mr. Daniels’s accomplishments was acceptable and that she had sought advice on whether it broke the Internal Revenue Service’s ban on politicking. However, critics are investigating whether her appearance in the ad crossed a line.

Mr. Daniels, a Republican, faces Jill Long Thompson, a Democrat, in the November election.

(Free registration is required to view this article on the Chicago Tribune Web site.)

Alliance Commits $3-Billion to Fight Malaria Worldwide

The Global Malaria Action Plan announced that business and government leaders will give $3-billion to combat malaria, reports The Wall Street Journal.

(To read more about the malaria effort, which was announced at the Clinton Global Initiative, see The Chronicle’s conference notebook.)

9/11 Memorial to Open by 2011 Under New Proposal

In a new arrangement that they say will resolve two of the biggest issues hindering the downtown rebuilding effort, Port Authority officials have drawn up a proposal to complete the September 11 memorial by August 2011, in time for the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attack and to disentangle the nearby transit hub, reports The New York Times.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

U.N. Receives $16-Billion in Pledges to Help World's Needy

The United Nations announced Thursday that it has collected more than $16-billion in pledges from governments to help fight poverty and infectious diseases and to support childhood education, reports The Washington Post.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Rockefeller Foundation Provides $1-Million to Climate-Change Group

Under a $1-million grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, the Center for Capacity Building, a program that helps poor countries improve their resistance to floods, droughts, and other climate-related dangers, will move from the National Center for Atmospheric Research to the University of Colorado at Boulder, reports The New York Times.

The pending move comes weeks after the loss of government support for the program, which eliminated its $500,000 annual budget last month.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

New Guidelines for Microlenders to Protect Needy Clients

Critics of the fast-growing Mexican bank, Compartamos, which began as a microfinancing charity but went public in April 2007, selling for $468-million in shares on the Mexican stock market, are accusing the institution of betraying the altruistic ideals of microlending by putting its profit ahead of its clients, reports The New York Times.

Compartamos, which gave the cash garnered from the sale to its investors, defended its action on the grounds that the sale demonstrated to private investors that microfinance could be profitable and would therefore attract more private capital to the industry. However, in a move to reach a truce this week, the bank joined a group of microfinancing organizations to announce a code of conduct to protect the clients of microlenders from exploitation.

See The Chronicle’s overview of challenges facing microlending groups.

(Free registration is required to view the Times article, and a paid subscription or short-term pass is required to view the Chronicle article.)

Prospecting: Seeking Big Gifts

Should fund raisers seek additional big gifts from people who have already made a large commitment to a capital campaign? A hospital fund raiser offers her view in Prospecting, The Chronicle’s fund-raising column.

Plus: A new report examines how much charities might lose from the woes facing the financial industry.

Online Discussion Next Week: Compensation Trends

Join us on Tuesday, September 30, at noon U.S. Eastern time for a live online discussion about nonprofit compensation trends in the current economy.

The conversation will draw on data from The Chronicle’s annual compensation study, which will be released on Monday morning, as well as the latest compensation report by GuideStar.

The Chronicle’s online discussions are free and open to everyone. People who ask questions in advance have a better chance of getting answers.

From The Chronicle: Clinton Meeting Examines Philanthropy's Faults

A session at the Clinton Global Initiative meeting in New York focused on the challenge facing philanthropy — including whether it gets in the way of helping the needy, reports The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

See other updates about the meeting in our conference notebook.

September 25, 2008

Ellis Island Museum Plans $20-Million Expansion

The museum that pays tribute to the immigrants who came to America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries at New York’s Ellis Island is planning a $20-million expansion to include eras before and after the portal’s heyday, according to The New York Times.

Construction on the new expansion, due to be completed in 2011, began last week. Stephen A. Briganti, chief executive of the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, says about 75 percent of donations needed have been raised, including $2.3-million from the National Park Service Centennial Challenge Initiative, $1.5-million from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, and $1-million from the Annenberg Foundation.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Corruption Charges Cripple Iraq's Red Crescent

Charges of embezzlement and mismanagement have paralyzed the Iraqi Red Crescent, the country’s leading relief charity, according to The Washington Post.

Iraqi officials say the group inappropriately spent more than $1-million on Washington lobbying firms in a failed attempt to seek U.S. funds. The charity has stopped nearly all its humanitarian work since the Iraqi government froze its assets.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Embezzlement Charges Shadow Two Former Nonprofit Officials

Craig Rohr, former chief financial officer of Hartville Homes, which operates group homes for disabled people, has been sentenced to nine years in prison after pleading guilty last month to embezzling nearly $2-million from the nonprofit organization and from his Catholic parish, according to the Akron Beacon Journal, in Ohio.

Another nonprofit group, the Fruitlands Museum, in Harvard, Mass., says it is working to improve its accounting procedures in the wake of embezzlement allegations it has leveled against its former chief financial officer, reports The Boston Globe.

The museum claims that its former official Peggy Kempton and her children embezzled $1-million from the institution by diverting museum funds for personal use. The newspaper was not able to reach Ms. Kempton for comment.

(Free registration is required to view the Globe article.)

Trust for Public Land Buys New Orleans Marshland

The Trust for Public Land, in San Francisco, has purchased 2,027 acres of marsh on the eastern edge of New Orleans for $1.1-million, with plans to resell it for the same price within a month to the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge, according to The Times-Picayune, in New Orleans. The property is considered crucial to blocking overflow from Lake Pontchartrain during storms.

Drucker Innovation Award Winners Named

A San Francisco charity that fights poverty in Africa has been given a $35,000 first-place prize among this year’s Peter F. Drucker Awards for Nonprofit Innovation, according to Business Wire.

The Drucker Institute at Claremont Graduate University, in Calif., announced the first-place win by KickStart International, which creates and sells tools that help poor entrepreneurs in Africa.

From The Chronicle: Economy Triggers Nonprofit Reactions

Charities are taking steps to insulate themselves from the pain of the Wall Street crisis, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports. Some are altering fund raising, while others are examining their investments. Plus, read our online discussion with financial experts.

From The Chronicle: Bill Gates Talks Philanthropy

The highlight of this year’s Clinton Global Initiative for most people was a session that focused on Billanthropy — that is, the giving of Bill Clinton and Bill Gates — The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports. Keep up with all this and other developments at the gathering in New York this week by following our online conference notebook.

From The Chronicle: Hurricane Giving Hits $50-Million Mark

American charities have raised about $50-million so far for hurricane-relief efforts — much less than nonprofit groups typically raise immediately after big-scale disasters and far short of the hundreds of millions of dollars officials say are needed to help people harmed by the storms, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

From The Chronicle: Social-Enterprise Awards Announced

Grass-roots programs focused on helping homeless people, rebuilding hurricane-devastated New Orleans, and rescuing girls from the sex trade are among the winners of the eighth annual Social Entrepreneurship Awards, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

Mark Your Calendar: Online Discussion Next Week on Compensation Trends

Join us on Tuesday, September 30, at noon U.S. Eastern time for a live online discussion about nonprofit compensation trends in the current economy.

The conversation will draw on data from The Chronicle’s annual compensation study, which will be online starting Monday morning, as well as the latest compensation report by GuideStar.

More details will be posted soon at http://philanthropy.com/live.

Get Ahead: Deadlines for Grants and Awards

You can 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 October 2 issue.

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

September 24, 2008

Google Offers Up to $10-Million for Innovative Ideas

The search-engine company Google is soliciting new ideas for ways help a large number people — and is offering up to $10-million as an incentive, reports CNN. Project 10^100, as it is being called, marks the company’s 10th anniversary.

The offer comes with few restrictions. “These ideas can be big or small, technology-driven or brilliantly simple—but they need to have impact,” said Google in a press release. “We know there are countless brilliant ideas that need funding and support to come to fruition.”

Ideas are due by October 20.

Former Utah Charity Leader Faces Felony Counts

In the wake of the resignation of its chief executive, the Children’s Miracle Network, in Salt Lake City, has appointed Scott Burt, its chief operating officer, as its interim leader, according to PRNewswire-USNewswire.

The charity, which raises money for children’s hospitals, was previously led by James Larry Hall II, who resigned after appearing in court September 19 on felony counts that allege he diverted and misused $400,000 from an insurance company he founded in 2003.

The charges were filed in February, but charity officials said they did not know about them until Mr. Hall’s court appearance. Mr. Hall has denied wrongdoing but was willing to plead no contest to six felony counts—a deal that the judge rejected on the grounds of insufficient proof—in order to “get it out of his life,” according to his lawyer.

Ministers Set to Challenge Law That Bars Political Endorsements

About 30 clergy members nationwide are set to protest federal tax laws governing nonprofit groups this Sunday by endorsing a presidential candidate during religious services, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The protest has been organized by the Alliance Defense Fund, of Scottsdale, Ariz., a conservative legal-advocacy group, which hopes the action will goad the Internal Revenue Service into legal action. The law currently bars charitable nonprofit groups, like churches, from partisan political activity, such as endorsing candidates.

Former Nonprofit Worker Pleads Guilty to Mail Fraud

The former director of financial services at a Washington nonprofit group has pleaded guilty to mail fraud for embezzling more than $400,000 from the organization, according to the Associated Press.

Federal prosecutors say that Earl Staubs, of Arlington, Va., opened a bank account in March 2005 under the name of his then-employer, the Center for Applied Linguistics, changed the mailing address on the account to his home address, deposited checks meant for the center, and used the money himself. Mr. Staubs, 63, is currently in prison on a separate embezzlement charge and faces up to 37 months in jail when he is sentenced later this year.

Carnegie Museum Leader Tapped to Head Guggenheim

Richard Armstrong, director of Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Museum of Art, has been named the new head of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, in New York, according to The New York Times.

Mr. Armstrong, 59, who ran the Carnegie museum for 12 years, succeeds Thomas Krens, who announced in February his decision to leave the Guggenheim after two decades. The hiring is being seen by observers as a retreat from the international focus the museum had under Mr. Krens’s leadership, when it opened branches in Berlin, Venice, and Bilbao, Spain.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Suppliers Gain Access to CVS Officials Via Charity Event

Despite an ethics policy intended to keep suppliers from buying influence with its employees via gifts or travel, an annual charity golf tournament sponsored by CVS Caremark helps vendors that donate to the event gain access to top company officials, according to The Wall Street Journal.

“I take advantage of this [CVS Charity] Classic, asking the different manufacturers I work for if they want to participate,” said John Malmborg, president of KKM, in Lincoln, R.I. “They all chip in and we work to get to a high level of participation and have access to CVS executives on an informal basis. It really is helpful.”

CVS officials declined to talk to The Journal about the golf tournament, which has raised given $10-million to such charities as the March of Dimes and the Special Olympics since the event began in 1999. In a written statement, however, the company said that participation in the event did not “influence in any way” its merchandising decisions.

Government and Politics Watch: Senate Passes Bill to Extend Charity Tax Breaks

By a vote of 93 to 2, the Senate has passed legislation that would renew and extend several tax provisions affecting charitable giving, including one that would allow older donors to get a tax break when they give charities money from their individual retirement accounts, reports The Chronicle’s Government and Politics Watch column.

Plus: Both the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates have agreed to co-sponsor a bill to expand the country’s national-service programs and provide money to help nonprofit groups recruit volunteers and replicate innovative programs.

Prospecting: Earning Donor Trust in Cynical Society

Do donors still trust charities? A direct-marketing fund raiser explores the issue in a new post in Prospecting, The Chronicle’s fund-raising column.

Give and Take: No Longer Envious of Financial Firms

As Congress debates a $700-billion bailout of troubled Wall Street companies, the head of a Michigan community foundation recalls with amusement the days when making groups like hers run more like businesses was all the rage, notes Give and Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

From The Chronicle: New Hurricane Fund Announced at Clinton's Global Philanthropy Conference

Former presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush announced a new fund to help victims of the recent hurricanes that ravaged Texas and other parts of the Gulf Coast, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports. Keep up with all this and other developments at this week’s Clinton Global Initiative conference, in New York, by following our online conference notebook.

From The Chronicle: $75-Million Pledged for Anti-Hunger Program

The Bill & Melinda Gates and the Howard G. Buffett Foundations last week pledged a total of more than $75-million to help farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and other impoverished areas sell their surplus crops to support anti-hunger efforts, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

September 23, 2008

Clinton Says More Philanthropy Needed in Tough Times

Former President Bill Clinton expressed concern Monday that upheaval in the financial world could undermine major worldwide charitable donations at a moment when help is most needed, reports The Washington Post.

On the eve of his annual philanthropy conference in New York, Mr. Clinton called on businesses, foundations, and others to increase their giving, saying that in the current economic downturn, philanthropy “is even more important over the next two or three years than it would otherwise have been.”

Read The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s recent interview with Mr. Clinton, and listen to excerpts from his talk with The Chronicle. The Chronicle will provide regular online updates of the meeting.

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

French Aid Group Workers Kidnapped

Two aid workers for Doctors of the World, in Paris, have been kidnapped in Ethiopia’s Ogaden region, near the Somali border, The Seattle Times reports.

The workers were kidnapped on Monday. Officials from the charity did not disclose the names of the workers or any details about the kidnappings, but said they are in contact with authorities and the workers’ families.

Preservation Group Buys Adirondacks Acreage

The Nature Conservancy, in Arlington, Va., has purchased a 14,600-acre piece of unprotected land in the Adirondacks Mountains that includes forests and wetlands — including Follensby Pond, where the essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson led a “philosophers’ camp,” in 1858, reports The New York Times.

The conservation group paid $16-million for the property.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Foundation Named as Beneficiary of Singer’s Estate

Isaac Hayes, the soul-music singer-songwriter who died last month, left an undisclosed portion of his estate to the Isaac Hayes Foundation, according to the copy of his will filed with a probate court, reports The Commercial Appeal, in Memphis.

Some of Mr. Hayes’s estate will also go to his wife and 12 children. His foundation promotes literacy, education, music, and nutrition.

Opinion: Nonprofit Leaders Debate Separation of Church and State

In a Los Angeles Times opinion piece, Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, in Washington, and Erik Stanley, head of the Pulpit Initiative for the Alliance Defense Fund, in Scottsdale, Ariz., debate the issues surrounding federal tax laws that govern the extent to which clergy members may publicly endorse political candidates and election-ballot measures.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Give and Take: Foundations and the Internet

Foundations need to embrace interactive online communications, says a new report discussed in Give and Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

Plus: What questions should charities ask to get the best measures of their performance?

Prospecting: Why Direct-Mail Appeals Bomb

Sometimes no matter how well a direct-mail appeal is written, the results are horrible. To learn why, see a new post in Prospecting, The Chronicle’s fund-raising column.

Plus: A veteran fund raiser explains why some charities thrive during hard economic times — and others do not.

Transcript: How Charities Can Weather the Bad Economy

Read a transcript of The Chronicle’s online discussion today with experts on how charities should handle the economic turbulence.

Our guests:

Dan Cardinali, president of Communities in Schools, a Washington charity that works nationwide to prevent students nationally from dropping out of school. The group has taken some creative approaches to handling the problems caused by the downturn in the economy.

Rick Dunham, a fund-raising consultant in Addison, Tex. Mr. Dunham specializes in fund raising for Christian charities and he has also worked with organizations such as the University of Southern California and Children’s Medical Center, in Dallas.

Clara Miller, chief executive, of the Nonprofit Finance Fund, in New York, which provides financial resources for nonprofit groups.

From The Chronicle: 'Genius' Prizes Awarded by MacArthur Fund

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, in Chicago, today named 25 new MacArthur Fellows, a prize commonly referred to as a “genius” award, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

Among the winners were several nonprofit leaders, including Regina M. Benjamin, who founded the Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic, in Alabama.

September 22, 2008

Retrial in Muslim Charity Case Starts This Week

Federal prosecutors are returning to a court in Dallas this week to argue their case against the Holy Land Foundation, a Texas charity with alleged links to the militant Palestinian group Hamas, reports The Washington Post.

A previous case ended almost a year ago in a mistrial after jurors were deadlocked on charges against four of the five defendants.

Prosecutors say that five men affiliated with the group raised more than $12-million to support overseas suicide bombings. Prosecutors have streamlined the case, dismissing 29 charges each for two key defendants and focusing on counts of conspiracy to finance terrorism and conspiracy to commit money laundering, reports the newspaper.

In attacking the government’s case during the first trial, the defense said there was no evidence that private donations went to finance terrorist activities.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Trial Begins for Arts Patron

The trial of the investor and former philanthropist Alberto W. Vilar begins today, reports The New York Times.

Mr. Vilar, an arts patron who defaulted on some of his large pledges when technology stocks slumped in 2000, is charged with conspiracy to commit securities fraud and other criminal activities. He is accused of using $5-million of an investor’s money for his personal use, including donations to his alma mater, Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, Pa.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Conservative Groups Support College Courses

Conservative organizations and foundations are helping to create new academic programs on college campuses focusing on Western culture and American history and politics, reports The New York Times.

Organizations such as the Jack Miller Center for Teaching America’s Founding Principles and History, in Philadelphia, and the Veritas Fund for Higher Education, in New York, which funnel donations to establishing those types of academic programs, may soon gain federal support as the new Higher Education Act, signed into law last month, provides grants for “academic programs or centers” devoted to “traditional American history, free institutions or Western civilization,” reports the newspaper.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Smithsonian Expected to Name Former Gates Fund CEO to Chairman's Job

Patricia Stonesifer, former chief executive of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is expected to be named chairwoman of the Smithsonian Institution, reports The New York Times.

No one has ever previously held this position. Ms. Stonesifer is expected to improve stability and openness at the organization and help it raise more than $1-billion over the next five to seven years, reports the newspaper.

Read a profile of Ms. Stonesifer as she stepped down and a transcript of an online discussion in which she took questions posed from Chronicle readers.

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

MacArthur "Genius Prizes" to Be Announced Tuesday

Scholars, nonprofit officials, and others are learning whether they received one of this year’s coveted MacArthur “genius prizes,” as the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation prepares to announce the winners tomorrow.

The Associated Press looks at how one of last year’s winners — a medieval-history professor — has fared since he won the award.

The Chronicle will post the list of recipients as soon as they are released by the foundation.

How Wall Street's Struggles Will Affect Fund Raising

The Wall Street economic crisis will probably hit charities in New York and Boston hard, reports The Wall Street Journal and The Boston Globe.

New York nonprofit groups particularly rely on the financial industry, the Journal notes, while institutions with endowments are also expected to take a big hit to their investment portfolios, reports the Globe.

Also: Fund raisers at business schools expect gifts of $1,000 or less to decline due to the downturn in the economy, reports The Financial Times. Most business-school fund raisers say that large capital gifts of more than $100,000 will probably be unaffected.

(Free registration is required to view the Boston Globe and Financial Times articles.)

Government and Politics Watch: IRS Outlines Priorities

The Internal Revenue Service has outlined its agenda for policing charities and donors, reports The Chronicle’s Government and Politics Watch column.

Plus: The IRS has scheduled a Webcast to explain how to fill out the new version of the informational tax return for charities.

Give and Take: A Google Co-Founder's Giving

A co-founder of Google has revealed why he wants his donations to support groups that do research on Parkinson’s disease, notes a new post in Give and Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

Plus: The leader of an association of grant makers complains about coverage of donor-advised funds in The New York Times.

Online Discussion Tomorrow: Coping With the Turbulent Economy

Join us tomorrow, September 23, for a live online discussion about ways charities can cope with the challenges posed by the bad news on Wall Street — combined with the recent hurricanes and the attention the public is giving to the November election.

What can your organization do to state its case to donors and supporters during anxious times? How have groups weathered previous uncertainty? And how can you stretch your resources to meet your mission when money gets tight?

Read Chronicle articles about how tumult in the financial markets affects charities’ finances and about fund raising in trouble times.

The Chronicle’s online discussions are free and open to everyone. People who ask questions in advance have a better chance of getting answers.

From The Chronicle: Aid for Whistle-Blowers

Whistle-blowers have more places to turn for help now, as a growing number of charities are stepping in to assist the parade of public employees speaking out about missteps, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

Plus: Learn how nonprofit groups handle reports from whistle-blowers about their own operations.

September 19, 2008

Charities Help Cities Handle Rising Homelessness

In cities across the country where rising homelessness has caused people to use cars, tents, and scrap wood for shelter, charities have collaborated with advocacy groups to help manage these encampments as outdoor shelters, reports the Associated Press.

According to a report by the National Coalition for the Homeless, nearly 61 percent of local and state homeless coalitions say they have seen a rise in homelessness since the outset of the foreclosure crisis in 2007, a problem that has gotten worse due to continued foreclosures, rising gas and food prices, and a tightening job market, says the group.

(Free registration is required to view this article on the Boston Globe Web site.)

National Lung Association Reprimands Northwest Chapter

The American Lung Association has warned that it will sever ties with its Northwest chapter unless the affiliate seeks to take steps to follow the national charity’s policies, reports the Associated Press.

The Northwest chapter changed its mission statement, declined to run anti-smoking programs for teenagers, and started a new nonprofit group this summer without approval from the national board, all of which is in violation of its agreement with the national charity. The national group has given the affiliate one month to correct its breach of contract.

Mike Alderson, who started in June as chief executive of the Northwest chapter, issued a statement saying he disagrees with the national organization’s interpretation of the contract.

“The ALA of the Northwest will address these allegations through the appropriate channels,” he wrote. “The ALA of the Northwest will continue to help people in the states of Washington, Alaska and Idaho as we have for the past 102 years.”

(Free registration is required to view this article on the Washington Post Web site.)

Oxfam Calls for International Aid for Afghanistan

To avert what it warns could be a “humanitarian crisis” in central Afghanistan, the British charity Oxfam is calling for international assistance for the country before winter sets in, reports The New York Times.

In a letter sent several weeks ago to officials in countries that provide aid to Afghanistan, the charity warned that the $404-million appeal by the Afghan government and the United Nations had not reached its goal.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Wealthy Parents Seek to Teach Kids Through Philanthropy

Wealthy parents are increasingly entrusting their charitable projects to their children in hopes of educating them about wealth inheritance and encouraging them to discover their own passions, reports The Financial Times.

Many entrepreneurs and corporate leaders believe by offering children a chance to get involved in charitable foundations and trusts, they can give their kids a chance to become knowledgeable about investing and financial returns and gain experience in related areas such as good governance and communication, the newspaper said.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Baltimore Company's Sale Could Affect Giving

Baltimore’s Constellation Energy Group was sold on Thursday to Warren Buffett’s MidAmerican Energy Holdings, in Des Moines, for $4.7-billion, reports The Baltimore Sun.

The newspaper reported previously that if the company was purchased by an out-of-town entity, Baltimore would lose its last Fortune 500 headquarters, which could cause a reduction in corporate philanthropy and in the number of volunteers who participate in community projects.

Last year the Baltimore company and its employees gave $5.1-million to United Way chapters and local charities around the world, said the newspaper.

(Free registration is required to view these articles.)

Booster Club Leader Raises Big Money for College Athletics

Bobby Purcell, executive director of North Carolina State University’s booster club, has built one of the most successful fund-raising operations in college sports history, raising more than $200-million in donations for the school’s athletics since he took over in 1997, reports The Wall Street Journal.

With more than 20,000 donors in his club, this year he raised $27-million in donations.

A View Into the Work of Community Organizers

Though the role of community organizers is not widely understood by the public — and has been ridiculed by Republicans during the presidential race due to Democratic candidate Barack Obama’s frequent mentions of his tenure as an organizer — the job has deep roots in American society, according to an article in the Los Angeles Times.

Read a Chronicle commentary that urges foundations and donors to do a better job of explaining community organizers’ work to the public.

(Free registration is required to view the Times article, and a paid subscription or short-term pass is required to view the Chronicle article.)

From The Chronicle: Donations to Hurricane Relief Groups Fall Short of Needs

Charities have raised just $25-million to provide relief to victims of this month’s storm — a sum far short of the hundreds of millions of dollars they say they need in the wake of hurricanes that altogether have caused nearly as much harm as Hurricane Katrina, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

Give and Take: Controversy Over Charity's Ad

A new television ad campaign to raise money for breast-cancer prevention and treatment has drawn some negative reviews, notes Give and Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

Online Discussion: Coping With the Turbulent Economy

Join us on Tuesday, September 23, for a live online discussion about ways charities can cope with the challenges posed by the bad news on Wall Street — combined with the recent hurricanes and the attention the public is giving to the November election.

The Chronicle’s online discussions are free and open to everyone. People who ask questions in advance have a better chance of getting answers.

September 18, 2008

Big Relief Charities Not Ready for Major Disaster, Says Report

The major relief charities are not ready to fully respond to victims’ needs in the event of another catastrophe like Hurricane Katrina, according to a new government report, says The New York Times and The Washington Post.

“In a worst-case, large-scale disaster, the projected need for mass care services would far exceed the capabilities of these voluntary organizations without government or other assistance,” said the Government Accountability Office, which conducts research and analysis for members of Congress.

The report follows news that the American Red Cross is seeking $150-million in federal aid to help pay for its work in helping victims of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. The government’s study found that the Red Cross, Catholic Charities, the Salvation Army, and the Southern Baptist Convention combined lack the resources to respond to another large-scale disaster.

(Free registration is required to view the Times and Post articles.)

Women Give More Than Men, According to a New Study

Women are more generous than men when it comes to charitable giving, according to a review of Internal Revenue Service data by the consulting firm Grant Thornton, reports Business Wire.

American women gave almost $5-billion more than their male counterparts in 2005, the last year for which such data are publicly available, according to the Chicago firm. These findings reverse the IRS’s last study of giving by gender, in 1997, when men were found to have given nearly $3-billion more than women. Giving by women overall in 2005 reached $21.7-billion, according to study, while men overall gave $16.8-billion.

Mark Twain Museum Fights to Stay Open

A museum in Hartford, Conn., dedicated to the memory of the author Samuel Clemens — better known as Mark Twain — is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, according to reports in The Wall Street Journal.

At the center of the museum’s woes is the $19.5-million price tag of the institution itself, a 32,000-square-foot Modernist structure, which opened in 2003, that adjoins Mr. Twain’s former house. The newer building’s costs have virtually bankrupted the nonprofit organization, which runs both structures.

“It’s not, ‘If you build it, they will come,’” says Dede D. DeRosa, the organization’s board chairwoman. Since it opened, the new museum has produced only a modest increase in annual visitors, from 50,000 to 68,000. To help stay afloat, the Twain House has cut its staff from 49 employees to 17 and trimmed its operating budget from $4-million to $2.7-million.

Obituary: Philip E. Clapp, 54, Environmental Activist

Philip E. Clapp, an environmental activist and the creator of an organization that is now part of the Pew Environment Group, died of pneumonia September 17 while on vacation in Amsterdam, reports The Washington Post. He was 54.

Mr. Clapp spent three decades in Washington working on such causes as reducing global warming and pollution and on ocean conservation, focusing on solutions that were international in scope. In 1994 he started the National Environmental Trust, a policy and advocacy organization in Washington. The group worked to block attempts by Republicans in Congress to roll back environmental laws and also sought to mobilize grass-roots activists. The group merged with the Pew Charitable Trusts in January to form the Pew Environmental Group.

“In a community that’s more policy wonk than political, Phil was the political one, always,” said Timothy E. Wirth, the United Nations Foundation president, for whom Mr. Clapp worked when Mr. Wirth was a member of Congress. “He was the single-most-effective person in terms of pushing for change