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.

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October 2008

October 31, 2008

Kaiser Foundation Launches News Service

The Kaiser Family Foundation is starting an independent news service to report on the nation’s health-care system.

The news service will report on new developments in the health-care system and on health-care policy debates in Washington and in state capitals.

The news service, which will be located in Washington, is meant to supplement traditional news organizations, many of which no longer have the money to do in-depth reporting on the health-care system, the foundation said.

To read more about how foundations are taking steps to invigorate journalism in the wake of its financial struggles, read this article from The Chronicle’s archive.

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

Painting Stolen by Nazis Returned to Museum

The Minneapolis Institute of Arts has returned a painting stolen by Nazis during World War II to the family of its rightful owner, reports The Seattle Times.

It was discovered that the painting, “Smoke Over Rooftops,” by Fernand Leger, had been seized from the estate of Alphonse Kann, a Jewish art collector who had lived in Paris but fled to London when the Nazis invaded France.

Jerusalem Museum Gets Go-Ahead

Israel’s Supreme Court ruled this week that a museum in Jerusalem can be built on a site that was once a Muslim cemetery, reports the Los Angeles Times.

The museum will be built by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, in Los Angeles, and will be designed by Frank Gehry.

The project had been delayed since 2006, when construction workers unearthed bones. The court ruled that since a parking lot had previously been built on top of part of the cemetery with no objection, it would not block construction of the museum.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Oxfam Denounces a Controversial Supporter

The international poverty relief organization Oxfam has denounced a diamond mogul who was involved in the creation of a photo book featuring celebrities, which was designed to raise money for the charity, reports The Jewish Daily Forward.

The actresses Mary-Kate Olson, Susan Sarandon, Kate Hudson, and others agreed to be photographed for a coffee table book, the proceeds of which would benefit Oxfam.

But in the photos, the celebrities are wearing diamonds provided by Lev Leviev, a controversial billionaire who has been involved in housing construction for Jewish settlers on the West Bank. Mr. Leviev’s relationship with the Angolan government, where his diamond mines are located, has also been criticized.

Oxfam has put a statement on its Web site critical of Mr. Leviev, reports the newspaper.

From The Chronicle: Political Giving

Employees of the nation’s biggest charities and foundations steered the bulk of political gifts they made in this election cycle to Democrats, according to a new study of federal campaign-donation records conducted by The Chronicle.

Of almost $1.2-million contributed by employees of 100 organizations, 88 percent went to efforts to elect Democrats.

From The Chronicle: Economy's Effects on Charities

More than one-third of American charities say they have collected fewer dollars so far this year than in 2007, nearly double the share that saw such declines last year, according to a new survey covered by The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Plus: Chief financial officers of nonprofit groups offer a gloomy view of the outlook for their organizations.

Give and Take: Lessons From Political Fund Raising

Can charities learn from Barack Obama’s fund-raising success, asks a new post in Give and Take, The Chronicle’s summary of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

Online Discussion Next Week: Talk to a Foundation CEO

Join The Chronicle for a live online discussion on Tuesday, November 4, to ask questions of Paul Brest, president of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

Mr. Brest is co-author of a new book Money Well Spent, which examines how grant makers and wealthy donors can achieve the best results from their philanthropy.

He will take your questions on what foundations, donors, and grant seekers should do in this tough economy, as well as anything else you want to talk about.

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

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

October 30, 2008

Churches Cope With Drop in Donations and Investment Income

Local churches and their national organizations across the country have not been spared from the current economic crisis, as more are finding it difficult to maintain giving levels to support their operations, reports the Associated Press.

Many congregations are cutting expenses, delaying building projects, and taking other measures to respond to a decline in dollars in their collection plates. Those feeling less of a pinch are churches where tithing — the practice of giving 10 percent of one’s income to the church — is the norm, the news agency reports.

Meanwhile, national church organizations, from the Episcopalians to the Methodists, are facing major losses in their investments, which in some cases are critical to their operational budgets.

(Free registration is required to view this article in the Los Angeles Times.)

Colleges Consider Tuition Increases to Offset Endowment Losses

As college endowments shrink due to losses in the stock market, many institutions are considering increasing tuition to levels higher than planned, reports Reuters.

Some colleges have seen their endowments decline by 15 percent or more. Tuition, however, has increased much faster than inflation in recent years — jumping 175 percent since 1992, the news agency reports.

D.C. Food Bank Expands Operation

The Capital Area Food Bank, which is the main distribution center for 700 Washington-area food agencies, broke ground this week on a new warehouse that, when completed in 2010, will double the nonprofit organization’s capacity, reports The Washington Post.

The organization has raised nearly $30-million of the $36-million project cost, the newspaper reports.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Charities on Whose Boards Obama Served Gave to 'Controversial' Groups

Nonprofit organizations on which Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama served as a board member in the 1990s gave money to support organizations and causes that could be considered controversial, reports Fox News.

The groups — the Annenberg Challenge and the Woods Fund of Chicago — made donations or grants to organizations that included Acorn, the voter-registration group that has come under scrutiny recently for problems with its records; Trinity United Church of Christ, whose outspoken pastor is the Rev. Jeremiah Wright; and an institute at Northwestern University run by the wife of William Ayers, the Chicago professor who was once a member of a radical group, the news organization reports. Fox examined the tax returns of these and other organizations to develop its report.

An Obama spokesman responded by saying: “This is another pathetic attempt by Fox News to distract voters from the economic challenges facing this nation by patching together tenuous links to smear Barack Obama.”

From The Chronicle: Nike Co-Founder and Wife Pledge $100-Million

Philip H. Knight, a co-founder of Nike, and his wife, Penny, announced today that they are pledging $100-million to the Oregon Health & Science University Foundation for the university’s cancer institute, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

Give and Take: Disclosing Financial Woes Via Blog Post

The head of an African aid organization is using her blog to tell the world about her group’s financial woes, notes an item in Give and Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

Prospecting: Poor Economy Shouldn't Prevent Requests for Stock Gifts

A Memphis planned-giving consultant argues that, though fewer stock gifts are all but certain in this economy, donating appreciated securities is still advantageous for many people, and fund raisers should keep promoting those gifts among certain types of donors, notes Prospecting, The Chronicle’s column of news and tips on seeking donations.

Government and Politics Watch: Seeking Advice for the Next President

With the Presidential election less than one week away, the Chronicle wants to know what nonprofit issues readers think the next occupant of the White House should make a top priority. Share your thoughts in Government and Politics Watch, The Chronicle’s online column.

October 29, 2008

Minnesota Charities Bilked in Alleged Ponzi Scheme

Minnesota charities that invested funds with a businessman now in jail on federal fraud and money-laundering charges did not exercise prudent oversight of the donated money, according to nonprofit finance experts, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Religious nonprofit groups, led by the Fidelis Foundation, in Plymouth, Minn., invested some $27-million in a company run by Tom Petters. Federal authorities alleged last month that he and others had run a massive Ponzi scheme that bilked investors out of more than $3-billion. Mr. Petters has said he is innocent of wrongdoing.

But nonprofit consultants say that the investments charities made in the company were clearly risky, because Fidelis and other groups put most of their assets into the company, and the investments were highly unconventional and offered rates of return that were too good to be true.

Joseph Smith, president of Fidelis Foundation, said his organization has retained a lawyer to attempt to recover the money.

Former Museum Head Spent Funds Imprudently, Report Says

Spending by the former director of the Smithsonian Institution’s American Indian Museum was found to be lavish and imprudent but mostly conformed to the institution’s rules, according to a report by the Smithsonian inspector general, reports The Washington Post.

The report, which was distributed to Congress yesterday, was requested by Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, after the Post reported last year that the former director, W. Richard West Jr., spent more than $250,000 in institution funds over the previous four years on premium transportation and lodging during trips he took around the world. Mr. West has agreed to reimburse the Smithsonian, said Inspector General A. Sprightley Ryan.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Education Takes a Back Seat in Election

Despite big infusions of philanthropic dollars by Eli Broad and Bill Gates to promote education as a high priority this election, the issue has been given short shrift by the public, the news media, and the presidential candidates, reports the Associated Press.

Education has taken a back seat to more pressing issues such as the economy, and both presidential candidates are hesitant to talk about the No Child Left Behind law, which has varying levels of support among voters, reports the news service.

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

Former President Clinton Turns Philanthropic Focus to Asia

Bill Clinton will be expanding his charity forum, the Clinton Global Initiative, by playing host to at least 12 high-level government leaders from the Philippines, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and other countries at a meeting in Hong Kong in early December, reports The Wall Street Journal.

This is Mr. Clinton’s first attempt at expanding the forum beyond the United States, and he said he hopes the event can help raise awareness in Asia of the importance of civil society and nongovernmental organizations, which might benefit from the money Mr. Clinton helps raise, reports the newspaper.

Christian Science Monitor Goes Online Only

The Christian Science Monitor, an award-winning nonprofit newspaper that receives financial support from the First Church of Christ, Scientist, will cease to publish its weekday print edition and will publish online only to cut costs, reports The New York Times.

Like many other newspapers and magazines, the Monitor has decreased in circulation in recent years and will be laying off some staff members. John Yemma, The Monitor’s editor, said that moving online only will mean the news organization can keep its eight foreign bureaus open, reports the newspaper.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Government and Politics Watch: Oregon Ballot Measure

Charities in Oregon have joined a campaign to block approval of a state ballot measure that voters will decide on November 4, reports Government and Politics Watch, The Chronicle’s online column. The charities worry that the measure might affect state-government employees’ ability to give to charities by payroll deduction.

From The Chronicle: Concerns About Use of University Gift

T. Boone Pickens gave $63-million to Oklahoma State University athletics on Monday to allow the university to complete renovations to its football stadium, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports. The move follows the sharp drop in the value of a prior gift he had made for that purpose, which had been invested in Mr. Pickens’s own hedge fund.

Give and Take: Generation Y Leadership in Tough Times

One way that charities can navigate through rough economic seas is to tap younger workers’ leadership skills more often, writes a management expert in an item noted in Give and Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

Prospecting: Fund-Raising Advice Sought

Melanie Frazier, director of development at the Winnetka Community House, in Illinois, is the latest fund raiser to ask Prospecting readers for advice on a direct-mail letter.

October 28, 2008

Opera Companies and Orchestras Prepare for Troubled Times

The economic crisis has hit nonprofit opera companies and orchestras across the country as donors have less money to contribute to classical-music organizations, reports The New York Times.

Orchestras and opera companies are reacting by slashing costs (such as trimming some health-insurance benefits), cutting down on rehearsal time, and reigning in overtime for employees.

(Free registration is required to view this article)

NAACP Branch Sues Va.'s Governor Over Voter Preparation

The Virginia branch of the NAACP is suing that state’s governor, Tim Kaine, because, officials at the nonprofit group say, the state has failed to prepare for an unprecedented voter turnout in next week’s presidential election, the Associated Press reports.

The complaint was filed in U.S. District Court in Richmond, Va.

Officials at the state’s Board of Elections said in a statement that all jurisdictions have the legally required number of voting machines or voting booths and that machines and booths in some jurisdictions even exceed the required number.

For more on the elections and the nonprofit world, see The Chronicle’s special Campaign 2008 section.

(Free registration is required to view the AP article on the Baltimore Sun site.)

Salaries of Nonprofit Theater Leaders Often Exceed $100,000

Many nonprofit theater companies pay their directors annual salaries of $100,000 or more, reports Bloomberg.com.

Theater employees and board members say such salaries are necessary, given the complexity of managing their operations, the news service says.

Yet six-figure compensation, no matter how comparatively modest, can still rankle donors. “Contributors are clear that when they see salaries over $200,000, they freak out,” said Ken Berger, president of Charity Navigator, in Mahwah, N.J., which rates nonprofit groups on their growth and efficiency. “They associate charity with a vow of poverty.”

To learn more about the salaries made by chief executives of nonprofit organizations, see The Chronicle’s most recent annual compensation study.

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

Google Steps Up Commitment to Clean Energy

Taking a cue from its nonprofit arm, Google.org, the Internet giant Google is stepping up its investment in energy, The New York Times reports.

Eric E. Schmidt, Google’s chief executive, joined Jeffrey R. Immelt, chief executive of General Electric, in announcing that the two companies will collaborate to find ways to improve the electricity grid, with a focus on renewable-energy sources.

“We want to make money, and we want to have impact,” said Dan W. Reicher, director for climate change and energy initiatives at Google.org.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Oklahoma State U. Lands $63-Million Donation

Rumors that T. Boone Pickens planned to give Oklahoma State University $63-million turned out to be true, the Associated Press reports.

The money will go to athletics programs. Mr. Pickens gave the university $165-million in 2005 for athletics facilities. He ranked No. 5 on The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s list of the most-generous donors that year.

Give and Take: A Fund Raiser's 'Manifesto'

Sasha Dichter, director of business development for the Acumen Fund, a nonprofit group that provides loans to small businesses in developing countries, has posted on his blog a “manifesto” about the vital role fund raisers play in creating social change, notes Give and Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

From The Chronicle: Inspiring Board Members to Solicit Gifts

Read a transcript of today’s online discussion about inspiring board members to solicit donations, especially in times when they may be worried about their own financial security.

Plus: See our articles on board members who have been successful in raising money, as part of our annual feature on the 400 American charities that raise the most from private sources.

And mark your calendars for next week’s online discussion with Paul Brest, president of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. He will take questions about his new book, Money Well Spent, which he wrote with Hal Harvey, president of the ClimateWorks Foundation. The conversation will begin at noon Eastern time. More details will be posted soon.

October 27, 2008

Churches Step Up Social Services During Economy's Downturn

Churches in the metropolitan Washington area find themselves doing more than providing spiritual guidance, adding financial and foreclosure workshops and hunger relief to their services, reports The Washington Post.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington says that requests for food and assistance with rent and utility bills have increased threefold while similar requests at the archdiocese’s seven Catholic Charities offices rose by 25 percent.

(Free registration is required to view this article).

T. Boone Pickens May Pledge Large Gift to Oklahoma State U.

The entrepreneur and philanthropist T. Boone Pickens may soon announce a large pledge to the Oklahoma State University athletics fund, reports Tulsa World.

An anonymous source says the gift will be $63-million. According to the newspaper, Mr. Pickens has said that he “will replenish” the athletics fund due to the fact that its value has declined by 60 percent during the economic downturn.

Mr. Pickens ranked No. 8 on The Chronicle’s most recent list of the 50 most-generous donors in the United States.

Humane Society Leads Push on California Animal-Safety Measure

The efforts of the Humane Society of the United States to push Proposition 2, a California ballot measure to improve the treatment of farm animals, are examined in detail in an article in The New York Times Magazine

The proposition requires that by 2015 farm animals be able to move around freely— stand up, lie down, turn around, and fully extend their limbs.

Under the leadership of its chief executive Wayne Pacelle, the Humane Society has become, according to the magazine, “a savvy, unapologetically aggressive political player.” The organization, which has more than 10 million members, has seen its budget rise from $75-million to $127-million. It has merged with smaller animal-welfare groups and is now the wealthiest and most powerful animal-rights group in the nation, the magazine says.

Mr. Pacelle wishes to bring the animal-rights movement into the spotlight of the mainstream and is blunt about the Humane Society’s methods. He said, “We aren’t a bunch of little old ladies in tennis shoes. We have cleats on.”

For more on the Humane Society, read The Chronicle’s article.

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

N.C. United Way Accused of Inappropriate Accounting

The United Way of Central Carolinas may be overstating how much money actually goes to outside charities after an investigation uncovered that millions of dollars have been spent on the programs it runs, reports The Charlotte Observer.

The United Way tells donors 85 cents of every dollar goes to charity programs, but the newspaper’s review found that only 75 cents is distributed to charities in the Charlotte metropolitan area.

An accounting expert hired by the newspaper said that the record-keeping system used by the group seems to be designed in part to hide some of the administrative overhead expenses incurred at United Way.

Dan Farrell, an accounting expert who reviewed United Way’s records for the Observer, said of the United Way’s records, “Dubious accounting at best.”

The Charlotte United Way has been rocked in recent months by a controversy over the retirement benefits awarded to its leader, who resigned under pressure, along with the chairman of the organization’s board, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

The new chairman of the board, Carlos Evans, said the organization was reviewing how it counted its spending to be sure it was providing an accurate picture of how much goes to local causes and looking to cut costs on administration so that more money would go to nonprofit groups in the region.

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

Judge Splits Princeton U. Lawsuit Into Two Parts

The judge presiding over a major lawsuit against Princeton University has decided to split the forthcoming trial into two parts, reports The Times of Trenton.

Members of the Robertson family sued Princeton in 2002, saying it failed to use $35-million their relatives gave to the university in 1961 for its intended purpose: to train graduate students at the Woodrow Wilson School to serve in the federal government. The gift is now worth more than $650-million, and family members want to sever ties to the university and get their money back. Princeton insists it has used the money properly.

For more on the lawsuit, read The Chronicle’s latest summary of the case.

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

From The Chronicle: Charities on the Philanthropy 400 Feel the Pain of the Economy

Donations to nonprofit groups on The Chronicle’s Philanthropy 400 list grew 4.5 percent last year, but many of the most-successful charities say they are already feeling the pinch of the economic slowdown.

United Way of America topped the list. The Salvation Army took the No. 2 spot, replacing the American Red Cross, which fell to No. 19.

To see a searchable database of the rankings, an interactive map showing where the organizations on the 400 are based, and many other features, see this special section of our Web site.

Prospecting: Navigating the Bad Economy

Fund raisers should seize the opportunity to talk to donors who are probably losing faith in their financial advisers, said experts speaking last week at the annual meeting of the National Committee on Planned Giving, notes Prospecting, The Chronicle’s column of news and tips on seeking donations.

From The Chronicle: Year-End Giving

Despite the bad economy, almost seven out of 10 adults plan to donate the same amount online as they did in the 2007 holiday season, according to highlights of a new study reported on by The Chronicle.

Online Discussion Tomorrow: Enlisting Board Members to Solicit Gifts

Enlisting board members to seek donations is always tough, but it is even harder at a time when many trustees are worried about their own financial security.

How can your organization best inspire board members to solicit donations? What are other organizations doing to build better relationships with their board members?

Join our online discussion tomorrow at noon Eastern time to get answers to these questions and more from a group of experts.

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 16 issue online this morning. To see what’s inside the new issue, read the table of contents.

October 24, 2008

Wal-Mart Foundation Leader Says Some Charities Should Fail

Wal-Mart Foundation’s president, Margaret McKenna, said at a breakfast meeting in Boston that the city has too many nonprofit groups and that instead of fighting for survival during the economic downturn, they should coordinate to find ways to continue their work, reports The Boston Herald.

“The argument that ‘our organization will go out of business’ doesn’t resonate with me,” said Ms. McKenna. What does resonate, she said, is, “Our population will not be served.”

Advocacy Group Overstated Tally of New Voters

Contrary to an earlier announcement by Acorn and an affiliated charity, called Project Vote, the real number of newly registered voters nationwide is around 450,000 — not 1.3 million, reports The New York Times.

Project Vote’s executive director, Michael Slater, said in an interview that the remainder includes registered voters who were simply changing their addresses, as well as nearly 400,000 names that were rejected by election officials for a variety of violations, including duplicate registrations, incomplete forms, and fraudulent submissions.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

N.Y. Times Invites Bono to Write a Column

The New York Times has invited the musician and philanthropist Bono to write an Opinion-page column for the newspaper.

Kathy McKiernan, a spokeswoman for the One Campaign, a charity created by Bono, said it was unclear whether he would be paid but that if he were, the money would go to the charity.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Global-Health Efforts Drive Seattle Economy

Seattle businesses and nonprofit institutions have identified global health as a significant part of the city’s regional economy, reports The Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

A 2007 University of Washington study found that global health supported 44,000 jobs statewide annually, providing more than $4-billion in “business activities” and involving more than 190 nonprofit organizations — including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation — the newspaper said.

Nonprofit Baseball League Must Choose Between Trademark and Tradition

The small-town baseball teams of the nonprofit Cape Cod League are embroiled in a trademark dispute that is forcing them to choose between maintaining their ties to Major League Baseball and preserving their homespun heritage, reports The New York Times.

The teams have been faced with a November 1 deadline to relinquish their names or purchase team uniforms and merchandise exclusively through licensed vendors. “We found that too constrictive,” said Peter Troy, president of Chatham Athletics. “We have longstanding relationships with local vendors.’

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Opinion: Tax-Code Changes Would Hurt Effective Charities

An anticipated Congressional review of the charitable tax deduction next year could undermine the work of some of the country’s most effective charities, says Howard Husock in an opinion article in The Wall Street Journal.

If Congress changes the tax code to favor donations to groups that can demonstrate direct service to “the poor and disadvantaged,” it could mean fewer contributions for organizations currently engaged in successful work by so-called social-enterprise groups that combine social purpose and business acumen, he writes.

Give and Take: British Charities Seek Government Bailout

As American charities suffer from the sour economy, nonprofit groups in Britain are arguably in worse shape, with charity leaders calling for the government to set up a roughly $788-million emergency fund to help struggling organizations, notes Give and Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

Prospecting: How to Promote Life-Insurance Gifts

Few charities promote insurance gifts, and most of them focus only on the transfer of existing life-insurance policies, a speaker told the audience at the annual conference of the National Committee on Planned Giving, according to a posting on Prospecting, The Chronicle’s column of news and tips on seeking donations.

Online Discussion Next Week: Inspiring Board Members to Raise Money

Enlisting board members to seek donations is always tough, but it is even harder at a time when many trustees are worried about their own financial security.

How can your organization best inspire board members to solicit donations? What are other organizations doing to build better relationships with their board members?

Join our online discussion on Tuesday, October 28, at noon Eastern time to get answers to these questions and more.

Our guest will be Carol Weisman, president of Board Builders, in St. Louis, which advises nonprofit groups on management and governance issues.

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

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 30 issue.

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

October 23, 2008

Gates Gives $10.4-Million for Cutting-Edge Research

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in Seattle, has announced 104 grants, of $100,000 each, awarded in hopes of sparking risk-taking and innovation in medical research, according to The Washington Post.

Applicants were asked to focus on HIV-AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases that plague the developing world. The research will not be subject to rigorous peer review because, the foundation says, that would stifle innovation. The grant program is the first part of a planned five-year, $100-million effort by the foundation to encourage cutting-edge medical research.

In other news, Mr. Gates, the chairman of the software giant Microsoft, is reportedly starting a new company to oversee his technical research and philanthropic efforts, according to The New York Times.

(Free registration is required to view both articles.)

Salvation Army Tries 'Texting' for Gifts

The Salvation Army is going to try a new method of getting holiday-season donors to fill up its famous Red Kettles — by asking supporters to send a text message that results in $5 being charged to their cell-phone bills and earmarked for the charity, according to the Associated Press.

The program will be tested in Ohio beginning in late November, with plans to expand it nationally if it’s successful, said the organization. It is aimed at younger people who are less likely to carry cash. The charity raised $118-million from its kettle campaign nationwide last year.

Fund Managers for Charitable Endowments Stay the Course

Many charitable-endowment fund managers in the United States are opting to keep much of their assets in the market in spite of other investors’ panicked selling, industry insiders tell Reuters. These managers, who oversee about $411-billion in assets, see promising long-term possibilities in overseas markets, real estate, and private equity.

From The Chronicle: Philanthropy Enhances CEO Reputations

The philanthropists Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Oprah Winfrey all landed near the top of the list of CEO’s whom Americans most admire, according to a survey by the Reputation Institute, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

N.J. Arts Center Receives $11-Million Gift

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center has received an $11-million gift from Betty Wold Johnson, the mother of New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, according to Newsday.

The gift, which is the largest the arts center has ever received, is earmarked to pay for maintenance of the facility.

Acorn Study Reveals Potential Problems

An internal study of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, the nationwide advocacy group known as Acorn, raises a number of concerns about possible violations of federal laws, according to a report in The New York Times. The group has been the subject of criticism during the presidential race for its voter-registration practices.

The report, prepared by a lawyer for the organization, questions the group’s use of charitable donations for political efforts, money transfers among the group’s affiliates, and the potential conflicts raised by the group’s workers being employed by more than one affiliate. Acorn’s leader, Bertha Lewis, said the group is taking the report seriously and working to correct any problems.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

McCain Says Charity Will Get Palin's Clothes

Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee for president, has said that the wardrobe purchased for Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin after she was chosen as his running mate this summer will be donated to charity, according to a report by Fox News and the Associated Press. The campaign came under fire after the Web site Politico.com revealed this week that the Republican National Committee spent about $150,000 on the governor’s clothing, hair styling, makeup, and other “campaign accessories” in September.

Give and Take: Charity Reality Show's Bad Review

A reality TV series about the party lives of socialites at charity fund-raising events in the nation’s capital is under fire — and the show hasn’t even hit the airwaves yet, notes Give and Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

Plus: What makes a charity’s online video stick?

October 22, 2008

eBay Founder to Expand Donations, Investment Areas

Pierre Omidyar, the founder of eBay, is expanding his philanthropic investment firm, reports The Wall Street Journal.

During 2009 the Omidyar Network — which is made up of a foundation that gives donations to nonprofit companies and also a venture-capital firm that invests in companies focused on social change — will expand its staff size and add two new areas of investment.

The group will focus on “access to capital” programs, which include investments into financial services for the poor, and another project it calls “media, markets, and transparency,” which will invest in technologies that can help improve transparency in government, the news media, and other areas.

The Omidyar network will also increase the total amount of donations and investments it makes. Other foundations, such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Skoll Foundation, are also steadily boosting their donations, investments, and hiring despite the looming possibility of a global recession.

(A paid subscription is required to view this article.)

Charities See Spike in Number of Homeless Families

More families with children are becoming homeless as they face economic difficulties, such as home foreclosures and job losses, according to a survey conducted by USA Today.

The newspaper surveyed government and nonprofit officials in 12 of the largest cities of the United States. These authorities say the number of families seeking help has risen in Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Minneapolis, New York, Phoenix, Portland, Seattle, and Washington. In New York City, for example, 2,747 families applied for shelter in September 2008, up 30 percent from 2,087 in September 2007.

Doctors Without Borders Appeals Aid Ban

Doctors Without Borders appealed to Niger’s government yesterday to repeal its ban on the group’s activities, reports The New York Times.

The international charity had been treating 3,400 children for malnutrition in the southern part of the country when the government ordered the group to halt its programs three months ago. The Niger government has had tense relations with groups working to combat hunger there since 2005, when a food crisis killed many people and livestock in that country.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Consultants Offer Survival Tactics for Nonprofit Groups

Though nonprofit groups are suffering from the economy, especially those in New York that have depended on Wall Street donations, these groups can adopt several tactics to protect themselves, reports City Limits Weekly.

Nonprofit consultants in New York say that charities should brainstorm about new ways of bringing in income, diversify their fund-raising sources, consider outsourcing some tasks or jobs, consider merging with other groups to help cut costs, and look for other ways to cut expenses to balance budgets, reports the newspaper.

Washington Foundation to Award Emergency Grants

The Community Foundation of the National Capital Region, in Washington, is awarding more than $500,000 in emergency grants to 40 local social-service organizations, reports The Washington Post.

Groups receiving grants will use the money to distribute food, provide shelter and transitional housing for homeless people, and give emergency funds to families struggling to pay rent and other basic expenses. The grants will help charities protect “those people who are kind of on the edge, are falling off the cliff, and they have to be able to depend on something,” said Terri Lee Freeman, president of the foundation.

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From The Chronicle: Agenda for the Next President

As charities grapple with the economic crisis, their executives would like to see the next president take steps to promote giving and to strengthen the nonprofit work force, according to a report released today and covered by The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Government and Politics Watch: National-Service Chief Will Step Down

David Eisner, chief executive of the Corporation for National and Community Service since 2003, said he plans to step down in mid-November, reports Government and Politics Watch, The Chronicle’s online column.

Prospecting: Economy Joke Dooms Fund-Raising Appeal

One college learned a painful lesson in misguided humor when it attempted to make light of the tanking economy and credit crunch in a recent fund-raising appeal, according to a posting on Prospecting, The Chronicle’s column of news and tips on seeking donations.

Plus: College students start a philanthropy journal.

Give and Take: Questioning Social Enterprise

While the current financial crisis has hurt fund raising, it may trigger bigger problems for social enterprise, meaning nonprofit groups that adopt business tactics or for-profit operations to further their charitable goals, writes a Pace University professor, as noted in Give and Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

From The Chronicle: Raising Money in Uncertain Times

Last week’s live discussion on year-end appeals during uncertain times prompted so many reader questions that our guest, Bruce Flessner, was not able to get to all of the queries.

To accommodate those whose questions weren’t answered, The Chronicle enlisted several other fund-raising experts — Mal Warwick, Samantha Cohen, and Temple Elliott — to offer their advice.

To read their answers to the questions posed during the conversation, see this transcript.

Building Nonprofit Careers: Tuesday's Live Discussion

Congratulations to Banu Benson, Abby Colson, and Harrison House, each of whom won a free copy of The Nonprofit Career Guide: How to Land a Job That Makes a Difference.

Their names were chosen at random from a list of participants in Tuesday’s online discussion with author Shelly Cryer.

Ms. Cryer took questions from readers on how to build a nonprofit career. A transcript of the discussion is available.

October 21, 2008

Philanthropist Pledges $75-Million for Pet Contraceptives

Gary Michelson, a California surgeon who invented spinal implants and who started the Found Animals Foundation, has pledged more than $50-million to support research into pet contraceptives and has promised to give $25-million to anyone who can come up with a workable contraceptive for dogs and cats, The Wall Street Journal reports on a blog. Forbes magazine pegged Mr. Michelson’s fortune at $1.5-billion.

Google’s Nonprofit Arm Donates $14-Million to Fight Pandemics

Google’s foundation is giving a total of $14-million to six nonprofit groups to work on combating the threat posed by pandemics, Wired magazine reports.

Officials at the foundation said the group is giving the grants to support efforts in Southeast Asia and Africa to better identify regions prone to disease, detect new strains of illness, and respond quickly to outbreaks to contain the damage.

Charity Worker Murdered in Afghanistan by Taliban

Two gunmen shot and killed a female aid worker in Kabul yesterday as the woman walked to her organization’s office in the Kart-e-Char neighborhood, reports The Washington Post.

A Taliban spokesman said the group carried out the attack because the woman, Gayle Williams, a citizen of both Britain and South Africa, worked for a Christian aid organization, Serve Afghanistan.

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Museums Tighten Belts in Face of Economic Slump

Museum directors across the country are steeling themselves for the effects of the current economic crisis, reports The New York Times. To keep their institutions afloat, many museum officials have already taken action.

The Museum of Modern Art, in New York, instituted a temporary hiring freeze last week, plus a 10-percent cut in its general operating budget. Meanwhile, officials at the Brooklyn Museum have started to worry about a retrospective scheduled for next summer devoted to the British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare since, so far, no money has been raised for the show.

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Mellon Foundation Donates $10-Million for New Plays

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, in New York, recently awarded $10-million to playwriting organizations and nonprofit theaters as a result of a three-year study the foundation conducted to look into specific problems playwrights and theaters encounter, The New York Times reports.

The grant maker has supported nonprofit theaters for years, but when writers and theaters alike reported having a harder time bringing new plays to fruition, the foundation decided to changes its grant-making approach.

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Acorn Board Votes to Drop Lawsuit

The board of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, a national activist group in New Orleans that has been criticized by the Republican presidential ticket for its voter-registration practices, has decided to withdraw an unrelated lawsuit over claims that its founder’s brother embezzled close to $1-million from the organization, the Associated Press reports.

Two of 51 board members of the group, known as Acorn, sued for access to the group’s financial records. But the rest of the board voted this past weekend to withdraw the lawsuit, which accused Acorn founder Wade Rathke of either concealing or failing to properly report that his brother Dale had misappropriated $948,000 from the group and affiliated charitable organizations in 1999 and 2000.

Dale Rathke did not comment in the article.

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Charity Employees Said Boss Forced Them to Campaign

The president of a Los Angeles branch of the Service Employees International Union, was accused by employees of a charity he ran of routinely ordering the group’s workers to help on political campaigns, the Los Angeles Times reports. Charities are prohibited from partisan political campaigning.

Tyrone Freeman, president of the Service Employees International Union’s largest California office, denied the accusation after the Internal Revenue Service investigated in 2006. Mr. Freedman did not comment to the newspaper, and IRS officials declined to discuss the investigation. The newspaper said the charity’s tax-exempt status has remained unchanged.

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Give and Take: Philadelphia Charities Protest United Way

In Philadelphia, charity discontent with the United Way for changing how it doles out money has turned ugly, notes Give and Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

Plus: A British businessman’s $1.5-billion pledge.

Prospecting: Sparking Fund-Raising Careers

Young people won’t enter the pipeline for fund-raising jobs unless they’re introduced early to the broad range of careers available in this area, according to a posting on Prospecting, The Chronicle’s column of news and tips on seeking donations.

Plus: One charity’s efforts to enlist more women as donors.

Transcript: Building a Nonprofit Career

Read a transcript of The Chronicle’s online discussion examining how young adults can pursue nonprofit jobs. Joining us to answer questions was Shelly Cryer, author of The Nonprofit Career Guide: How to Land a Job That Makes a Difference.

October 20, 2008

White House Bypasses Law on Religious Hiring

In a newly disclosed memorandum, the Bush administration says it can override laws that forbid the federal government from awarding grants to religious groups that hire only members of their faith, reports The New York Times.

The memorandum authorized a $1.5-million grant from the Justice Department to World Vision, a group that hires only Christians, for salaries of staff members running a program that seeks to prevent troubled youngsters from joining gangs.

While the Justice Department program was legally supposed to benefit groups that do not discriminate, the White House argues that the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act permits exceptions to a federal law if obeying it would impose a “substantial burden” on people’s ability to freely exercise their religion.

Several law professors told the newspaper they found the memorandum’s arguments legally dubious. But the Justice Department “stands strongly behind the opinion, which is narrowly drawn and carefully reasoned,” said Erik Ablin, an agency spokesman.

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Lobbyists and Companies Use Charity Gifts to Curry Favor With Lawmakers

Now that corporations and lobbyists are obligated to disclose charitable donations they make to the favorite causes of House and Senate members, it seems many of their gifts are politically motivated, reports The New York Times.

So far in 2008, corporations and lobbyists have given $13-million to nonprofit groups in honor of House and Senate members. Some of these donors have acknowledged that charitable giving is a way to build good will with lawmakers, whose decisions can have a huge effect on their business.

For example, the Exelon Corporation, a major nuclear-power company in Chicago, gave $25,000 to a nonprofit group founded by Rep. Joe Barton, a Texas Republican who has served nearly 25 years in the House and remains one of the most influential members of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. A spokesman for Mr. Barton did not respond to phone calls seeking information about the foundation.

Keith Ashdown, the chief investigator for Taxpayers for Common Sense, a watchdog group, says the donations are “a lobbying tactic that is not completely understood or even known by the public.”

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Mayor Bloomberg Asks Charities for a Political Favor

Staff members at several nonprofit groups that receive charitable gifts from Michael R. Bloomberg, New York’s mayor, say they have been asked to express their support for Mr. Bloomberg’s third-term bid, reports The New York Times.

The council will soon vote on a bill that would amend the city’s term limits law, allowing Mr. Bloomberg and dozens of elected officials to serve 12 years in office, rather than the current eight.

Some employees said the requests put them in an uncomfortable position, as they feel that if they do not assist the mayor, their donations from him may be endangered. During public hearings in the council last week, five nonprofit groups testified on behalf of the mayor but did not disclose that they had received money from him.

Top political figures in New York denounced Mayor Bloomberg’s efforts to enlist charities to help his political bid, calling it coercive, the newspaper reports in a follow-up article

Senior officials in the Bloomberg administration said that the groups whose support the mayor is seeking have not been offered a quid pro quo or been threatened.

Mr. Bloomberg has long been a major philanthropist and last year ranked No. 7 on The Chronicle’s list of America’s top donors.

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Charity Leader Says She Was Fired After Uncovering Wrongdoing

Nancy Schmitz, former director of Upper Des Moines Opportunity, is suing the Iowa charity because she says she was fired after revealing financial misconduct there, reports The Des Moines Register.

Ms. Schmitz says that shortly after she began her job with the charity, she found that the group’s former director had used the organization’s funds to make unauthorized loans to individuals and businesses. The director of the group died unexpectedly in 2006, and Ms. Schmitz was asked to take over his duties.

The charity is not set up to make loans. Ms. Schmitz says she was fired without explanation two weeks after telling the group’s board about the loans. A recent investigation by the state auditor’s office found that federal grant money may have been used to make the unauthorized loans, which violated the terms of the grant. The audit also found other financial discrepancies.

Officials at the group have said they are already making changes at the organization to meet with the state auditor’s recommendations.

Top Obama Aide Has Consulting Ties to Charities and Corporations

Barack Obama’s chief strategist, David Axelrod, is being criticized for his consulting and public-relations work for corporations and nonprofit groups after he accused John McCain’s campaign manager, Rick Davis, of selling access to public officials on behalf of his lobbying clients, reports The New York Times.

Mr. Axelrod has never been a registered lobbyist, but he has helped promote corporations such as AT&T, Cablevision, and the University of Chicago Medical Center through his company ASK Public Strategies.

However, no conflicts have emerged between Mr. Axelrod’s consulting business and his current work for Senator Obama, and most of Mr. Axelrod’s clients predate the presidential campaign, reports the newspaper.

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State Spending Freeze Causes Problems for Conn. Charities

A survey of nonprofit groups in Connecticut shows that charities there are delaying repairs and waiting to fill jobs to save money, reports the Associated Press.

Some also are closing programs for the elderly and mentally ill, according to the Connecticut Community Providers Association, a group that represents social-service organizations.

The group says the charities, which serve 500,000 people annually, have to cut costs because government officials did not increase state spending to subsidize social-service groups. The association plans to seek approximately $65-million more for nonprofit providers in each of the next two fiscal years when lawmakers return to work in January to pass a new two-year budget.

Online Discussion Tomorrow: Building a Nonprofit Career

As the economy continues to sour, a growing number of young adults are likely to turn to the nonprofit world for jobs.

What many young people find, however, is that while they have an urge to help others, they don’t have the knowledge they need to earn the autonomy and expertise to succeed on the job. Many others feel as though they are not being trained to become leaders in their field.

How can young people avoid these pitfalls?

Join Shelly Cryer, author of The Nonprofit Career Guide: How to Land a Job That Makes a Difference, to discuss these issues in a live online discussion tomorrow (October 21) at noon U.S. Eastern time.

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: Improving Board Meetings

Relations between trustees and charity leaders are often fraught with difficulties, leading many nonprofit executives to seek guidance on how to work better with members of their boards, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

October 17, 2008

University of Texas Announces $3-Billion Capital Campaign

The University of Texas today will announce a $3-billion capital campaign, reports the Austin American-Statesman.

The quiet phase of the campaign kicked off two years ago and has raised $700-million in gifts, leaving $2.3 billion to raise by the campaign’s planned end of August 2014.

While the faltering economy has many fund raisers worried, the university said it decided to go ahead with what its president, William Powers Jr., called “a reasonable but ambitious goal.”

Cornell Receives $50-Million Gift From an Indian Industrialist

Ratan Tata, an Indian industrialist and Cornell University alumnus, announced today a gift of $50-million to his alma mater to help recruit top Indian students to the campus and to support joint research projects with Indian universities in agriculture and nutrition, reports The Chronicle of Higher Education.

The gift comes from the Tata Trusts, a group of philanthropic organizations run by Mr. Tata, chairman of the business conglomerate Tata Sons Ltd.

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Colleges Prepare for Decline in Corporate Giving

As the economy enters a recession, colleges are bracing themselves for a drop in corporate giving, especially among companies that are filing for bankruptcy, being acquired, or drastically losing stock value, reports The Chronicle of Higher Education.

“We’re going to see a real shortfall,” said Edith H. Falk, chief executive of Campbell & Company, a fund-raising consulting firm in Chicago. “Some of these corporations just don’t exist anymore.”

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Minn. Charities Seek to Engage Voters

As the presidential election nears, charities are pursuing a wide range of approaches to persuade people to vote, reports MinnPost.com.

For instance, Twin Cities Community Voice Mail is working with homeless shelters in Minneapolis and St. Paul to help their clients cast votes.

Older Americans Explore Ways to Donate Their Wealth

A growing number of older Americans are facing the challenge of determining how best to donate their money, reports The Washington Post.

“There is a lot more wealth out there, and more people are thinking about giving as part of a lifetime experience instead of just leaving everything to their estate,” said Virginia Esposito, the founding president of the National Center for Family Philanthropy, in Washington. “People are leading longer, healthier lives, and they want to be active with the causes, institutions, and people they really care about.”

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Harvard Art Museum Receives $45-Million, Plus Major Art Gifts

The Harvard Art Museum received $45-million from Emily Rauh Pulitzer, a former assistant curator of the institution, reports Bloomberg.

Ms. Pulitzer also pledged 31 artworks, including pieces by Picasso, Miro, and Modigliani, Harvard University announced today.

Opinion: Corporate Social Responsibility Doesn't Pay Off

Contrary to the belief that companies that demonstrate strong corporate social responsibility enjoy stronger profits as a result, evidence that corporate virtue is rewarded and corporate irresponsibility punished is rather weak, says an opinion article in Forbes.

In a special section on corporate social responsibility, David Vogel, professor at the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley, writes that only a handful of consumers know or care about corporate social practices and records, and that most goods and services are purchased on the basis of price, convenience, and quality, rather than ethical appeal.

Plus: The magazine ranks the most-generous companies in America, based largely on data supplied by The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s annual survey of corporate giving.

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Give and Take: How Badly Will Charities Be Hurt by the Economic Fallout?

Scholars are predicting that nonprofit groups will not see a major drop in giving due to the economy’s troubles, but one seasoned philanthropy expert says she thinks they are flat out wrong, notes Give and Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

Plus: Should America set up one charity to collect disaster-relief donations?

Prospecting: Crafting a Direct-Mail Appeal

A fund raiser who sought advice from Prospecting readers on how to craft his first direct-mail appeal has overhauled the letter. You can read the latest effort and comment on what worked — and what did not.

We encourage other fund raisers to share their challenges so that Prospecting readers can offer their advice.

Online Discussion Next Week: Building a Nonprofit Career

As the economy continues to sour, a growing number of young adults are likely to turn to the nonprofit world for jobs.

How can young people avoid these pitfalls?

Join Shelly Cryer, author of The Nonprofit Career Guide: How to Land a Job That Makes a Difference, to discuss such issues in a live online discussion on Tuesday, October 21 at noon U.S. Eastern time.

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: Charity Hiring Trends

Half of nonprofit employers say people who decide they want to work for charities late in their careers or after they have retired are highly appealing job candidates, according to a new survey whose results appear in The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

October 16, 2008

Financial Turmoil Puts World's Poor at Biggest Risk

Aid groups say the world’s most vulnerable people will become even more so due to the global financial crisis and the increasing strain it has put on agencies that have been able to help them in the past, reports the Associated Press.

Declining donations, rising food prices, and higher unemployment are combining to increase the number of people in need, the news agency reports. One major group facing cutbacks is World Vision.

“What we are going to do now is to issue an order to reduce spending, to delay recruitment, delay purchases of capital assets, etc., until we can see clearer how much our income has dropped,” Philippe Guiton, of World Vision, tells the news agency.

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Foundations Offer Prize for Health-Care Solution

Insurance giant WellPoint and its corporate foundation will give a $10-million prize to the winner of a contest sponsored by that company and the X Prize Foundation to improve the country’s health-care system, reports the Associated Press.

The X Prize Foundation previously held a competition that resulted in the first private manned space flight and will pay $10-million to a team that can produce a car running at 100 miles per gallon. Its joint venture with WellPoint seeks to tackle health care — the issue the group’s chief executive says is “at the top of the list” of the world’s biggest problems that need a breakthrough, the news agency reports.

Acorn Leaders Consider Ousting Founder

Leaders of the neighborhood organizing group Acorn have been discussing a plan to sever ties with the group’s founder, Wade Rathke, whose brother stole nearly $1-million from the nonprofit group eight years ago, reports The New York Times.

While Mr. Rathke stepped down as the head of the organization this summer, some affiliated with Acorn have said his role as head of Acorn International has allowed him to continue to influence the group, the Times reports. One such deal under consideration that board members shared with the Times would have Mr. Rathke take over the Wal-Mart Alliance for Reform Now, an Acorn affiliate, and a Texas radio station affiliated with Acorn.

But Bertha Lewis, Acorn’s interim chief organizer, said no deal had been reached.

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Broad Foundation Honors Texas School With Prize

The Broad Foundation has picked the Brownsville, Tex., Independent School district to receive the $1-million Broad Prize for Urban Education — a prize that will support college scholarships for the school’s graduating seniors, reports the Associated Press.

“In the face of stark poverty, Brownsville is outpacing other large urban districts nationwide because it is smartly focusing all resources on directly supporting students and teachers,” said philanthropist Eli Broad, at the prize ceremony in New York.

From The Chronicle: Charity and the Presidential Campaign

John McCain and Barack Obama both have strong backgrounds in public service — making charity leaders optimistic that they will get a sympathetic ear from the next president, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports. But as the economy sags, it is unclear what steps the government will take to mobilize charities and donors to deal with big challenges.

Plus: See The Chronicle’s 2008 campaign section.

Give and Take: Outing Anonymous Donors

Conde Nast Portfolio magazine has added a new feature to its philanthropy coverage called “Anonymous — Not!” as noted in a new post in Give and Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

Plus: Annual reports for the YouTube generation and the demise of a social-justice group.

Prospecting: Foundation-Giving Outlook

Worries that the current economic crisis will severely curtail grant making among American foundations are overblown, according to a special report highlighted in Prospecting, The Chronicle’s column of news and tips on seeking donations.

Online Discussion Next Week: Building a Nonprofit Career

As the economy continues to sour, a growing number of young adults are likely to turn to the nonprofit world for jobs.

How can young people avoid these pitfalls?

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

October 15, 2008

Charities Report Rise in Suicides and Depression Due to Economic Crisis

Staff members at groups such as the Samaritans of New York and Catholic Charities USA say they are seeing a rise in suicides, depression, and domestic violence due to current economic stresses, reports the Associated Press.

Officials at the Samaritans of New York have seen calls to the group’s suicide-prevention hotline rise more than 16 percent in the past year, many of them money-related. The Switchboard of Miami, a nonprofit group that connects callers to places that offer help, has recorded more than 500 foreclosure-related calls this year.

Economy Squeezes Nonprofit Hospitals

Nonprofit hospitals are suffering from a one-two punch of not being able to purchase new equipment or make improvements because of the tight credit market, while not being able to collect debt from patients who can no longer afford care, reports The New York Times.

Many nonprofit hospitals are already cutting their budgets, the newspaper reports.

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From The Chronicle: MacArthur's Response to Foreclosure Crisis

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced Wednesday that it plans to spend $68-million in grants and low-interest loans through 2009 to help prevent Chicago neighborhoods from being devastated by the national foreclosure crisis, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

From The Chronicle: Texas Court Rules in Planned-Gift Lawsuit

A Texas court has ordered the National Heritage Foundation, a Virginia charity, to pay $6.5-million in damages to two donors who claimed to have been misled by the organization, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

Numbers of Low-Income Families and Low-Paying Jobs Grow

The number of jobs paying a poverty-level wage increased to 22 percent of all jobs in 2006, up from 19 percent in 2002, according to the Working Poor Families Project, a study paid for by the Annie E. Casey, Ford, Joyce, and C.S. Mott Foundations, reports the Associated Press.

The number of low-income families, defined as families earning less than $41,228 annually, also increased, from 9.2 million, or 27 percent of all families, to 9.6-million, or 28 percent of all families. The increase is due both to new jobs that pay poverty wages and to existing jobs that have reduced pay to poverty wages or failed to keep up with the cost of living in their compensation, reports the news service.

From The Chronicle: Nonprofit Hospitals and Charity Care

While nonprofit hospitals largely agree on what they think should and shouldn’t count as a “community benefit” provided in exchange for their tax-exempt status, there are large disparities in the way they measure and report that information, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s coverage of a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

Rainforest Alliance Named as a Top Place to Work

The international nonprofit group Rainforest Alliance, in New York, has made The Wall Street Journal’s list of “Top Small Workplaces 2008,” reports that newspaper.

The group is the only nonprofit organization on the list of 15 workplaces. Employees say they enjoy working there because they’re given ample opportunity to advance and promote their own ideas, and junior staff members gain experience learning about the organization on the front lines of its work in other countries, as opposed to just handling administrative tasks, reports the newspaper.

States Investigate Group's Voter-Registration Efforts

State governments are investigating voter registrations collected by the housing-advocacy group Acorn after some of the registrations were found to be falsified, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Many faulty registrations were flagged by Acorn’s own internal controls before being reported to election officials. Acorn took steps to minimize voter fraud last year when canvassers in Washington state and Missouri admitted to falsifying voter registrations. But election officials in Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and other states say they are reviewing thousands of registrations for potential problems, reports the newspaper.

Boston Education Group Expands to Other U.S. Cities

Year Up, a Boston-based program that provides education and training in information technology and finance for young people, is expanding across the United States, with new offices in San Francisco and Atlanta, reports The Boston Globe.

The group, founded by businessman Gerald Chertavian, aims to increase economic justice for poor people by giving talented, at-risk youths tools to support themselves and pay for further education. About 85 percent of alumni from the yearlong program get jobs that pay $35,000 or better after graduating. Year Up will serve 800 students next year and hopes to double that number by 2011, reports the newspaper.

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Government and Politics Watch: Foundation Association Hires Public-Policy Director

The Philanthropy Roundtable, a Washington association of grant makers and philanthropists, is strengthening its ability to lobby Capitol Hill, in part to fight potential new federal rules on foundations, reports Government and Politics Watch, The Chronicle’s online column.

Give and Take: Gates Education Pick Under Fire

Education-policy experts are raising questions about the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s selection of John E. Deasy, the school superintendent in Prince George’s County, Md., to help lead its effort to improve America’s public schools, notes a new post in Give and Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

October 14, 2008

Nonprofit Hospitals Expand to Affluent Suburbs

Nonprofit hospital systems across the country are increasingly closing inner-city facilities that serve the poor, while spending billions of dollars to expand into the suburbs, where more patients have health insurance, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Shutting unprofitable operations and expanding the profitable ones is common in business, but nonprofit hospitals, which see billions of dollars in annual tax exemptions, are charged with providing charity care, the newspaper notes. It also notes that the expansions to the suburbs come as many nonprofit chains are doing well financially.

To examine the trend, the newspaper focuses on Ascension Health, in Detroit, the country’s largest nonprofit system. Ascension says it is unable to allow its more profitable subsidiaries to subsidize those that are struggling. “Such an approach would mean that needs in other communities may not be met,” a hospital spokeswoman told the newspaper.

Donation to University Center Draws Fire

A University of Michigan scientist’s study of the chemical bisphenol A, which is used to make baby bottles and aluminum-can liners, has drawn questions because he failed to disclose a $5-million gift to his research center from a controversial donor, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The researcher is chairman of a Food and Drug Administration committee that is about to make a ruling on the chemical’s safety.

The donation, which is 25 times as large as the annual budget of the center conducting the research, came from Charles Gelman, a retired medical-supply manufacturer, who has been accused by critics of industrial pollution and says he believes bisphenol A to be safe.

Martin Philbert, the University of Michigan researcher, says his research was not influenced by Mr. Gelman’s donation.

Rockefeller Foundation to Announce Art Fellowships

The Rockefeller Foundation, in New York, will announce tomorrow the three artists it has chosen to be its first creative-arts fellows, the Financial Times reports.

Through the program, the artists will live and work for three months at the foundation’s center in Bellagio, Italy, where they will mingle with people from the worlds of the arts, science, and policy making, and participate in the Bellagio Conference, a debate on world issues. Previous conference participants include Henry Kissinger, Shimon Peres, and Joseph Stiglitz.

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Tech Entrepreneur Urges Silicon Valley to Focus on Altruism

Tim O’Reilly, the entrepreneur, investor, and book publisher, is urging young entrepreneurs and engineers to stop spending so much of their time making frivolous software and instead start using their work to make a difference in the world, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Mr. O’Reilly said that Silicon Valley has strayed from its original passion and idealism to fuel innovation and has fallen into a habit of what he calls the “mad pursuit of the buck with stupider and stupider ideas.”

Charity Whistle-Blower Cites Lessons From Scandal

Willie Cheng, who blew the whistle on a scandal at Singapore’s National Kidney Foundation several years ago, talks to The Straits Times, a Singapore newspaper, about a new book he has written on charities.

He includes an account of what happed in the scandal and then discusses the future of philanthropy and lessons he learned. Among them: It is possible to have a powerful impact on philanthropy without being immersed in day-to-day charity work.

Social Entrepreneurship Growing in Popularity

More and more young people are creating nonprofit or business ventures to solve problems in poverty-stricken regions, reports The Washington Post.

A national poll of college freshmen conducted by the University of California at Los Angeles found that young adults resemble baby boomers in their level of interest in helping others during their young-adult years.

Government and Politics Watch: Charity Benefits From Presidential Politics

A public-relations company is promoting an online contest to predict the next president by offering to award $1,000 to the winner’s favorite charity, reports Government and Politics Watch, The Chronicle’s online column.

Give and Take: Changes at the Kellogg Foundation Questioned

Questions are being raised about grant-making changes at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, notes a new post in Give and Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

From the Chronicle: Small Businesses and Charity

A new Chronicle study finds that many small businesses want to help local charities and are most interested in supporting social-service groups. The study, which examined what motivates small-business owners to give, was conducted with the Advanta Corporation, which offers credit cards to small businesses.

Transcript: Seeking Year-End Gifts in Uncertain Times

Read a transcript of The Chronicle’s online discussion examining the best ways for charities to handle year-end appeals in these challenging economic times. Joining us to answer questions was Bruce Flessner, a veteran fund-raising consultant.

October 13, 2008

From the Chronicle: Grant Makers Urged to Respond to Financial Crisis

An association of the country’s largest grant makers is urging its 2,000 members and other foundations to support charities that are struggling due to the down economy and assist cities where the financial crisis has sapped philanthropic resources, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

Job-Skills Program for Young Women Receives $20-Million

A program that will teach job skills to young women in developing countries in Africa and the Middle East has received $20-million, reports The Washington Post.

The World Bank, the Nike Foundation, and several European governments have created the Adolescent Girls Initiative to improve young women’s access to credit and help them find stable employment.

“Our greatest resource overall in breaking the cycle of poverty is the adolescent girl,” said Mark Parker, Nike’s chief executive. “We’re building a bridge between relevant training and real jobs that helps accelerate the economy.” The company has given $3-million to the program.

Despite the financial crisis, Goldman Sachs said it would not break its commitment to spend $100-million over five years to provide business education to 10,000 young women in developing countries.

Colleges Hurt by Sliding Economy

The current economic crisis is forcing colleges to delay construction projects and fund-raising campaigns, thereby scaling down their short-term goals, reports the Associated Press.

Because credit markets remain frozen, colleges cannot borrow as cheaply as before, and due to falling home prices, parents cannot use home equity as a resource to pay tuition bills.

“We don’t want to forget our aspirations,” said Thomas Ross, president of Davidson College, in North Carolina. “The minute you stop planning for the future and thinking big and having aspirations, that’s the time when you suffer the most.”

British Charities May Lose Money in Icelandic Financial Crisis

British charities seeking emergency payouts after depositing millions of dollars in failed Icelandic banks had their requests denied by Britain’s treasury department, reports the Financial Times.

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations estimates that British charities could lose up to $205-million in the economic crisis facing Iceland. The council says that it has so far identified seven charities with more than $51-million at risk

Gates Foundation Accused of Exerting Too Much Power in World Agriculture

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation plays a very significant role in supporting agricultural efforts in the developing world, but some critics contend that the grant maker holds too much power, reports The New York Times.

The foundation seeks to make agricultural markets work better. Working with the Rockefeller Foundation, the Gates fund has given $264-million to the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, and also $100-million to the Program for Africa’s Seed Systems, which seeks to develop seeds and establish a network of retail agricultural dealers to market them.

Not everyone welcomes the large-scale efforts of the Gates foundation.

Raj Patel, author of Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System, said it is not entirely clear what the fund is doing and that it lacks accountability. He said, “It seemed so up in the air. And of course while a public institution would have to be clear, they do not, and it’s hard not to feel that what we’re seeing is a foundation playing God in Africa.”

Gates foundation officials deny advancing a particular agenda. Mark Suzman, the foundation’s global development and advocacy director, said, “One of our goals is to get donors to rethink their commitment to agriculture in Africa — and African governments as well.”

(Read The Chronicle’s interview with the head of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa.)

Senator Challenges Colleges to Spend Their Endowments

Sen. Charles Grassley, Republican of Iowa, wrote an opinion article in the Los Angeles Times to
urge colleges and universities to justify their federal tax exemptions by spending more from their endowments and providing more tuition assistance to the needy.

He writes that colleges do not pay federal income taxes on their operating income or investment returns from their endowments and that federal tax subsidies for colleges and their students add up to $17-billion per year.

Senator Grassley hopes that colleges will monitor themselves. He writes, “I told the experts I gathered in Washington last month that I’m looking for self-correction. I want to see voluntary action on college affordability before I legislate a mandatory endowment payout. Some of them took that to mean they’re off the hook. They’re not. Legislation is a possibility, either from me or someone else. If universities want to stave that off, they need to offer more ways they can make education more affordable and fewer reasons why they can’t.”

Opinion: Foundation Chief Urges Government to Do More to Help Homeowners

Luis Ubiñas, president of the Ford Foundation, outlines four priorities that the government should undertake to ensure that Americans can keep their homes, in an opinion article for Forbes.

Mr. Ubiñas urges policy makers to reject the idea that helping homeowners is tantamount to assisting deadbeats; end predatory lending practices; move quickly to use vacated properties; and ensure that all Americans have access to fair and responsible financial services.

Mr. Ubiñas writes, “Over the last decade, innovative partnerships between the public and private sectors have proved that low- and moderate-income Americans can be reliable borrowers and responsible homeowners. Turning back the clock on this progress is the exact wrong way to respond to today’s mortgage crisis. We know that responsible lending to these communities works. Now, more than ever, we need the commitment to ensure it continues. “

Plus: Read an opinion piece from the new issue of The Chronicle about the lessons nonprofit leaders should learn from the foreclosure problems and other economic challenges facing the United States.

Prospecting: Hard Times Should Prompt Fund Raisers to Step Up Direct Mail

Charities that have eschewed direct-mail appeals in the past should consider incorporating them into their year-end solicitation efforts, says a fund-raising expert quoted in Prospecting, The Chronicle’s column of news and tips on seeking donations.

Plus: A company that sells gift cards is trying to help charities benefit from the large number of cards that never get redeemed for goods or services.

Give and Take: Getting Attention for Global Challenges

How can charities gain attention for the world’s humanitarian crises? A new survey points out the lack of understanding the public has about key disasters around the globe — and is among the latest topics discussed in Give and Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

Plus: Reviews of the new book, Philanthrocapitalism, are summarized in another post.

Online Discussion Tomorrow: Year-End Appeals in Uncertain Times

Many charities are entering the most crucial months of the fund-raising year at the same time that many donors are dealing with the most uncertain economic circumstances of their lifetimes.

What should you say to donors who have been shaken by the financial crisis? How can you figure out which supporters are most inclined to give to your cause? How should you adjust your budget expectations?

Join our live online discussion on Tuesday, October 14, to discuss these questions with Bruce Flessner, a fund-raising consultant, and other experts.

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 16 issue online this morning. To see what’s inside the new issue, read the table of contents.

October 10, 2008

Money Managers Look to Charities for Business

Financial managers are looking to charities as a potential source of new business, reports the Financial Times.

As charities become more fiscally sophisticated, they are more willing to change investment managers if they do not see results, which drives competition among money managers working for charities. Economic uncertainty is also causing trustees and board members at charities to look for the best option in investment performance, the newspaper notes.

As a result, many investment firms and money managers are giving a higher priority to charity clients, developing specialized charity teams of money managers to tap into the previously untapped market, reports the newspaper. (See The Chronicle’s article on the growing number of small charities seeking outside investment advisers.)

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Charity Sues Federal Government for Freezing Its Assets

The charity Kindhearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development, in Toledo, Ohio, sued the federal government this week in response to the Treasury Department freezing the group’s assets in 2006, reports the Associated Press.

The government accused the group of funneling money to organizations affiliated with the militant Islamic group Hamas. The group denies any connection to Hamas and says it hasn’t been given a chance to defend itself. The Treasury Department did not comment.

Midwest Charities Nervous About Bank’s Future

Charities in the Midwest are nervous that they will lose much of the $20-million in annual donations provided by National City Bank, with headquarters in Cleveland, as reports surface that the bank may soon be sold, reports The Plain Dealer in Cleveland.

The bank has long been a supporter of the United Way of Greater Cleveland and the American Red Cross, among many other charities, reports the newspaper.

Theater Prize Will Honor Top Philanthropists

The Tony Awards, held next June, will feature a new prize for philanthropic efforts made by someone involved in theater, reports The New York Times.

The award is named for Isabelle Stevenson, who died in 2003 and had served as president of the American Theater Wing, a New York nonprofit group that co-sponsors the Tony awards.

The award will go to an individual “who has made a substantial contribution of volunteered time and effort on behalf of one or more humanitarian, social-service, or charitable organizations,” according to a statement from the American Theater Wing.

Opinion: Unfair Reviews of Annenberg Foundation's School Effort

The Chicago Annenberg Challenge, chaired from 1995 to 1999 by the presidential candidate Barack Obama, is being unfairly cast by some as an attempt to push radicalism into schools, writes Dakarai I. Aarons, a columnist for Education Week.

The goals of the program, for which the Annenberg Foundation provided almost $50-million, were to encourage collaboration among teachers and push for better professional development; improve relationships between schools and their neighborhoods; and reduce school size to improve learning.

William Ayers wrote the proposal for the grant, and his relationship with Senator Obama, as well as the program itself, is now under close scrutiny by John McCain’s presidential campaign and by individuals such as Dick Morris, a political consultant and pundit, who said the program was a means to “pass the money out” to “extremist community groups” to “infuse students with “radical ideology.”

Prospecting: Election Giving

Charities don’t need to worry about competing with election fund raisers, according to a new poll discussed in Prospecting, The Chronicle’s online column about seeking donations.

Give and Take: Public Asked to Vote on Company's Giving Decisions

A travel company has become the latest organization to turn to the public for help in deciding how to give away its money, notes Give and Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

Plus: What ails the nation’s disaster-response system?

Online Discussion Next Week: Year-End Appeals

Many charities are entering the most crucial months of the fund-raising year at the same time that many donors are dealing with the most uncertain economic circumstances of their lifetimes.

Join our live online discussion on Tuesday, October 14, to discuss these questions with fund-raising experts.

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: Assessing Philanthrocapitalism

In an opinion article that will appear in next week’s issue of The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Phil Buchanan assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the new book Philanthrocapitalism, which looks at growing efforts to make philanthropy more businesslike. Mr. Buchanan is president of the Center for Effective Philanthropy, in Cambridge, Mass.

October 09, 2008

Kresge Earmarks $8.8-Million for Arts in Detroit

The Kresge Foundation, in Troy, Mich., announced October 8 that it will give $8.8-million in grants over two years to artists and arts organizations in economically embattled Detroit, reports The Detroit News.

The giving program, the details of which will be announced October 16, are part of the $3.5-billion grant maker’s multifaceted Detroit Program, which is designed to support the economic, environmental, social, and cultural life of the metropolitan area.

Director of Hispanic Ballet Company Will Step Down

Tina Ramirez, the leader of one of the country’s most prominent Hispanic dance organizations, is leaving her position next June after almost 40 years, reports The New York Times.

Ms. Ramirez, the artistic director of Ballet Hispanico, whom unconfirmed reports place at about 80 years of age, resisted labeling her departure as a retirement. She started the company in 1970, she says, because at the time few companies included young Hispanic dancers.

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Vermont Town Boosted by Farm Collectives

A nonprofit organization is part of a small Vermont town’s overall effort to consolidate and shore up its farming industry and improve its overall economic fortunes, according to The New York Times.

The nonprofit Center for an Agricultural Economy is planning an industrial park in Hardwick, Vt., to center on farming businesses that seek to sell their products more widely. Elsewhere in and near the town of 3,000, farmers and other agricultural producers are luring investors, to a degree that the town’s manager says they have added between 75 and 100 jobs to the area in the past few years.

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Opinion: Hard Times Call for Strategic Giving

In the face of Wall Street’s troubles, donors must give “thoughtfully and strategically” to make the most of their shrinking discretionary funds and to shore up the charities hit hardest by an economic downturn, writes Raymond Fisman, a professor of social enterprise at Columbia Business School, in a commentary published in Forbes.

“So think hard about the biggest problems out there and survey the charity landscape for organizations that most effectively address those problems,” urges Mr. Fisman, who suggests that readers look to social-service organizations and use the assessments of watchdog organizations and large foundations to investigate the results that a charity’s programs produce before making giving decisions.

'Honor Flights' Bring World War II Veterans to See Memorial

The aging veterans of World War II are getting a chance to see the memorial in Washington that honors their service, thanks to nonprofit programs around the country that make such trips possible, reports The Washington Post.

The Honor Flights, which began in 2005, are the brainchild of Earl Morse, a pilot and physician’s assistant in Springfield, Ohio, who wanted to give his World War II veteran patients the means to travel to see the national World War II memorial. In the program, local charities raise money and provide “guardians” for elderly veterans to make a one-day trip to the nation’s capital.

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Prospecting: Charitable-Giving Meltdown Not Inevitable

Even with the steep stock-market drops of the past week, a prominent wealth researcher at Boston College says philanthropy may not suffer a financial meltdown as dire as some fund raisers fear, notes a new post in Prospecting, The Chronicle’s fund-raising column.

Give and Take: Social-Issues Blogs Redefined

Change.org, a Web site started 18 months ago to connect donors with causes, has reinvented itself as a network of blogs that discuss social issues, as featured in Give and Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

Plus: How Midwestern roots are shaping the leadership of the new chief at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

October 08, 2008

Federal Government Gives $100-Million to Red Cross

Congress approved $100-million in federal aid to the American Red Cross in response to the charity’s request for $150-million to offset the debt it faces after several hurricanes this summer, reports The Washington Post.

The organization traditionally relies on private donations. It last received federal aid in 2004 after four hurricanes hit Florida, the paper reports.

Red Cross president Gail McGovern told the newspaper the organization spent $260-million responding to disasters and took out loans of $200-million. It started a campaign to pay off its debt in September and has raised $42-million so far.

“This has been an absolutely extraordinary year in terms of these big disasters and the challenges they bring,” she tells the Post.

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Mich. Businessman Gives $22-Million for Stem-Cell Research

Michigan businessman and philanthropist A. Alfred Taubman announced that he plans to leave an additional $22-million to a research institute at the University of Michigan that works on human diseases and stem-cell research, reports the Associated Press.

Mr. Taubman also secured the commitment of former president Bill Clinton to come to Michigan this week to raise money for CureMichigan, a group supporting a ballot initiative this November that would allow the donation of leftover fertility-treatment embryos for stem-cell research.

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

Cancer Groups Form Coalition

As competition for federal cancer-research dollars tightens, at least one major nonprofit cancer advocacy group is voicing concerns about whether the sheer number of cancer-related organizations advances their cause or hurts it, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Dan Smith, vice president of the American Cancer Society, says donors and elected officials do not want to be called upon by multiple groups, the paper reports. For this reason, the organization has formed a coalition of smaller cancer organizations, One Voice Against Cancer, to send a unified message.

Voluntourism Options Abound for Travelers

Vacation-goers looking for a way to volunteer during their getaways are finding more opportunities to do so, thanks to an influx of organizations catering to that crowd, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.

Organizations like Kiva.org offer programs that can place volunteers with partner organizations for a minimum of 10 weeks, but others that focus on shorter-term work are becoming equally popular. One observer, Gina Russo, country manager for Global Volunteers, says she’s noticed a shift in the kinds of people seeking out such trips.

“We used to get more working-class volunteers,” Ms. Russo tells the Chronicle. “Now it’s a lot of doctors and lawyers.”

Give and Take: Foundation Leader and His Blog

A foundation president delivers insights on giving, shares trip photos, and talks politics in his personal blog, featured in Give and Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

Prospecting: Consumers Expect Companies to Keep Giving

New research suggests that consumers would show less loyalty to companies that curtail giving as the economic crisis worsens, notes a new post in Prospecting, The Chronicle’s fund-raising column.

Plus: The do’s and don’ts of raising money with e-mail and of crafting a charity tag line.

From The Chronicle: A Lawyer Changes His Tune on Nonprofit Advocacy

A lawyer who used to advise nonprofit clients to avoid lobbying, Tim Delaney has become a champion of charities’ advocacy work as the new head of the National Council of Nonprofit Associations, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

October 07, 2008

Nonprofit Groups Cannot Expand in Face of Credit Freeze

The credit crisis is affecting the ability of hospitals, charities, and colleges to expand because of interest rates that have quadrupled, reports National Public Radio.

International Aid Latest Victim of Credit Crisis

Efforts by humanitarian groups to fight disease, feed hungry children, and shelter refugees around the globe could suffer in the face of the global financial crisis, Reuters reports.

International charity experts warned of “disastrous consequences” for impoverished countries if the credit crisis prompts donors to cut international aid from its current rate of $104-billion a year.

Obama’s Earmarks for Charity Scrutinized

Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate for president, steered $75,000 in government grants in 1999 and 2000, while serving as an Illinois state senator, to a Chicago social-service group, Blue Gargoyle, that was led by a rabbi who is also his wife’s cousin, reports the Associated Press.

Capers Funnye, executive director of the group when the grants were awarded, said nothing was unethical about the way Blue Gargoyle obtained the grants. Senator Obama did not encourage him to apply for the money, said Mr. Funnye, who is Michelle Obama’s first cousin once removed.

(Free registration is required to view this article on the Los Angeles Times site.)

Symphony Rebounds After Decade of Struggle

The San Diego Symphony was nearly broke 10 years ago, but now, as it embarks on a $96-million fund-raising campaign, the organization has shored up its budget problems and attracted new patrons, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Orchestra officials credit the turnaround in part to a $120-million donation given to the group six years ago by the philanthropists Joan and Irwin Jacobs.

Rising Rents Force Another New York Arts Group Out

Like many arts groups in New York in the past decade, the Paul Taylor Dance Company is losing its lease on its downtown home for the past 20 years to make room for a national retail chain store, The New York Times reports.

The cost of a Manhattan lease for many of the city’s nonprofit groups has skyrocketed as national chains like Best Buy, Adidas, Urban Outfitters, Levi’s, and Sephora have come to dominate the city’s commercial areas, including the stretch of downtown Broadway near the Taylor group’s headquarters.

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Government and Politics Watch: Election Web Site

The Carnegie Corporation of New York has created a new Web site to educate voters, reports Government and Politics Watch, The Chronicle’s online column.

Give and Take: Debating a Popular Fund-Raising Approach

A donor raises question about the wisdom of a popular fund-raising approach in Give and Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best posts about the nonprofit world.

Plus: A nonprofit scandal suggests why charities need to be careful when a leader stays on the job too long.

Online Discussion: Creating a Memorable Message

Read a transcript from today’s online discussion about creating memorable slogans for charities.

From The Chronicle: Nonprofit Groups Face New Scrutiny

Growing questions about the recent actions and responsibilities of boards of deeply troubled American banks and companies will eventually also be felt by nonprofit organizations and their leaders, a leading nonprofit expert told state regulators who monitor charities, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

Plus, the head of the Internal Revenue Service and other experts discuss issues involving the new disclosure requirements charities must follow.

From The Chronicle: $125-Million Pledged to Harvard U.

Hansjörg Wyss, a Swiss-born engineer and businessman, has pledged $125-million to Harvard University to expand the university’s Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

October 06, 2008

Obama’s Charity Connections Under Attack

Sen. Barack Obama and Bill Ayers, a former member of the radical group the Weatherman, have worked with each other on charity projects, but representatives for Senator Obama say his relationship with Mr. Ayers has been exaggerated by Senator John McCain’s campaign, reports The New York Times. The Weatherman conducted a bombing campaign nearly 40 years ago to protest the Vietnam War.

In the mid-1990s, Mr. Ayers, along with two other education activists, applied for a grant from the Annenberg Foundation for school-improvement efforts in Chicago. Senator Obama became the chairman of the six-member board that oversaw the distribution of the grants.

The pair also served together on the board of the Woods Fund, a Chicago charity that had supported Mr. Obama’s first work as a community organizer in the 1980s. (See The Chronicle’s article on the scrutiny the fund came under during the primary season.)

In response to attacks made by Mr. McCain and his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, Mr. Obama said his opponents “are gambling that he can distract you with smears rather than talk to you about substance. They’d rather try to tear our campaign down than lift this country up. It’s what you do when you’re out of touch, out of ideas, and running out of time,” reports the Associated Press.

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

Economy Woes Cause Concerns About New York Galas

As the season for fund-raising galas in New York opens, many nonprofit groups are worried about how the economy’s downturn will affect their efforts, notes The New York Times in an article examining what goes on behind the scenes at a fund-raising event.

“I think it’s going to be overall disastrous for charities, with no end in sight,” Sanford J. Schlesinger, a New York trust and estates lawyer who has clients who are putting off making big gifts, told the newspaper. Seedco, a charity that aids low-income workers, has canceled its benefit planned for this week because of the economy, the newspaper says.

Even so, the charity featured in the article — the New York Women’s Foundation — held its first gala event last week but managed to raise $675,000.

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Wall Street Volunteers Suspends Operations

Wall Street Volunteers, an organization that connects financial executives with nonprofit groups said last week it was suspending its operations, reports Reuters.

The group said it no longer had the money or personnel to continue. The aim of the group was to get employees of financial institutions more involved in volunteering at nonprofit groups. The group had 2,500 members.

Legal Battle Rages Over Episcopal Church Assets

The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh is battling the national Episcopal church over which body owns diocesan and parish property and assets now that the majority of churches in the Pittsburgh diocese have voted to secede from the national church, reports The New York Times.

The national church may sue the diocese to retain church property. Representatives of the parishes that seceded from the national church say that parishioners should be able to keep the property and buildings they have sustained; officials at the national church say that those individuals have chosen to leave the church and should not be allowed to take church property with them, reports the newspaper.

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Pennsylvania Rules on Conflict-of-Interest Concern Over State Grants

Pennsylvania’s state court has ruled that state cabinet secretaries are not violating conflict-of-interest laws by approving grants to nonprofit organizations that employ their spouses, overruling a finding last year by the state Ethics Commission, reports the Associated Press.

The majority decision cited a state Supreme Court ruling in 2006 that a nonprofit organization should not be considered a business and thus is not subject to conflict-of-interest laws, reports the news service.

University of South Dakota Donation Redirected

A large part of an $8.4-million donation to the University of South Dakota’s business school has been redirected after a dispute over naming rights between the donor and the university, reports the ArgusLeader, in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Lucy Buhler, who made the gift in 1998, thought the donation would ensure that a new business school building and the business-school program would be named after her late husband, Walter Buhler, a 1960s graduate of the business school. Representatives from the university say that the donation guaranteed naming rights only to the building. The university’s foundation sued Ms. Buhler last year when it could not resolve the dispute. Ms. Buhler wanted the university to return $1.7-million of her donation, which had been earmarked for construction of a new business school, so she could give it to different charities.

The money will now be used to pay for scholarships for students as well as an endowed chair in the school’s College of Fine Arts. Under the agreement, Ms. Buhler will not have naming rights to either the building or the program.

Government and Politics Watch: Debating Hunger Issues

A fast-food company has offered a charitable incentive to get the issue of global hunger injected into tomorrow’s debate between John McCain and Barack Obama, notes Government and Politics Watch, The Chronicle’s online column.

From The Chronicle: Charity Tax Breaks

A package of tax breaks for charitable activities cleared a final hurdle, with President Bush signing it into law as part of the bill the House of Representatives passed Friday to provide a $700-billion rescue package for the nation’s financial systems, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

From The Chronicle: $42-Million Gift

A California philanthropist has pledged $42-million for stem-cell research at Stanford University, adding to a gift of $33-million he made last year, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

From The Chronicle: Sarah Palin's Charitable Giving

Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential candidate, and her husband, Todd, gave 1.5 percent of their income to charity last year and 3.3 percent in 2006, according to tax returns she released on Friday, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

Online Discussion Tomorrow: Creating Memorable Charity Slogans

Join our live online discussion tomorrow to learn how to create a marketing slogan that will catch the attention of donors and other potential supporters.

Nancy Schwartz, a marketing consultant who recently studied the tag lines of more than 1,900 organizations to identify some of the nonprofit world’s most effective messages, will explain what makes a slogan work. She will also show you how you can craft a tag line that cements your organization and cause in the public’s mind.

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

October 03, 2008

International Charity Says U.S. Government Curbs Its Family-Planning Work

Marie Stopes International, one of the world’s largest family-planning organizations, has complained that the Bush administration has told six African governments to stop giving contraceptives donated by the United States to the charity, halting its distribution to women and girls in Ghana, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, reports the Associated Press.

The organization alleges that political motivations prompted the American government to act after it said it believed the group played a major part in a United Nations program in China that promote coerced abortion and sterilization.

The State Department and the United States Agency for International Development denied the group’s charge that African women and girls have been endangered by the decision, saying that the same quantity of contraceptives donated by the U.S. government would be supplied to the affected countries and that they “will do everything possible” to ensure the contraceptives are distributed in the same countries by other groups.

Credit Crisis Strikes Colleges

Last week’s financial meltdown wreaked havoc on business operations at colleges and universities prompting some institutions to take radical steps such as freezing hiring and halting building projects to cope with the fiscal turmoil, reports The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Some institutions already are changing their fund-raising plans, based on the economic troubles, the newspaper said. The University of Colorado had been gearing up to start a fund-raising campaign but might now delay it. Westminster College in Missouri was also preparing a fund-raising campaign to double its endowment, starting this year, The Chronicle reported.

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

Conventional Wisdom About the Audiences for the Performing Arts Questioned

Conventional wisdom about whether audiences for live performing-arts events are dwindling is debated in two articles in major newspapers today:

Whether there’s any truth to the notion that supporters of the performing arts represent a rapidly aging audience or whether such audiences consistently comprise older patrons, even as those patrons come and go, is the subject of a Los Angeles Times exploration of what it calls the “ageless audience.”

An article in The Wall Street Journal reports that ticket sales for classical music concerts are rising and the revenues of orchestras are growing. The number of orchestra concerts performed annually in the United States rose 24 percent in the past decade, to 37,000, and ticket-sale income from orchestra performances grew almost 18 percent, to $608-million, between the 2004-5 and 2005-6 seasons, the newspaper reports.

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

Prominent Conservationists Gather to Raise Support

Prominent conservationists are gathering in the Bay Area this weekend to recruit volunteers and raise money through the Wildlife Conservation Network, a charity founded by Charlie Knowles, a former Silicon Valley engineer, that supports innovative conservation activists working to save endangered species, reports The San Francisco Chronicle.

The network has attracted support from some high-profile people over the years, including the conservationist Jane Goodall, actress Isabella Rossellini, environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and the model Cindy Crawford. The Silicon Valley venture capitalists Steve Jurvetson and William Hearst III are donors, as are companies and philanthropists who made their fortunes in the technology business.

From The Chronicle: Economy Woes Lead to Problems for Charities and Foundations

The crisis in the nation’s financial markets has yet to officially spill over into a full-blown recession, but the sharp downturn is already affecting foundations and charities in myriad ways, reports The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Plus:

As lawmakers in Washington debate how to handle America’s financial crisis, social-service charities across the country are busy facing what leaders call dramatic and unprecedented increases in demand for help, The Chronicle reports.

Charity Navigator, a nonprofit watchdog group, says there may be a silver lining for donors hidden within the dark clouds of the financial meltdown and fears of an economic depression, says a new post in our Give & Take column, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

The Chronicle has gathered all its recent articles offering tips on how charities can best weather the troubled economy in a special section.

Government and Politics Watch: Obama's Foreign-Aid Pledge

As a result of the bailout of financial institutions, Sen. Barack Obama may not be able to increase foreign aid from $25-billion to $50-billion by 2012 if he is elected president, said Mr. Obama’s running mate Sen. Joe Biden during last night’s vice-presidential debate, reports The Chronicle’s Government and Politics Watch.

Online Discussion Next Week: Crafting a Memorable Slogan

Join our live online discussion on Tuesday, October 7, to learn how to create a marketing slogan that will catch the attention of donors and other potential supporters.

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

October 02, 2008

Nation's Charities Predict Troubled Times Ahead

As nonprofit fund raisers embark on the most important period of the year for landing donations, charity leaders are bracing for a lean year, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Charitable giving reached $306-billion in 2007, with almost 75 percent coming from individual donors. Charity experts think people of average means may curtail their giving this year as they worry about losing their savings and investment earnings in the wake of the plummeting financial markets.

Charity leaders are also worried about falling corporate donations. The pending sale of Wachovia to Citigroup, for example, caused alarm among charities in Charlotte, N.C., where Wachovia had its headquarters. Wachovia is one of the region’s largest contributors to local nonprofit groups, giving more than $8-million to Charlotte charities last year, reports The Charlotte Observer.

Meanwhile, New Hampshire charities are fighting to retain donations, especially to food banks, where leaders say the poor economy is causing a crisis, New Hampshire’s WMUR.com reports.

Nonprofit Endowment Returns Tumble as Markets Plummet

The nation’s financial crisis is exerting excruciating downward pressure on returns at endowments of nonprofit groups, reports The Washington Post.

Officials at the Community Foundation for the National Capital Area, in Washington, said the organization’s endowment lost approximately $40-million during the quarter that ended Tuesday.

“If you look at these nonprofit institutions that service the neediest people in our community, those people’s own assets are taking a hit personally, and now the community institutions they rely on for support are taking a hit and they don’t know where to turn,” said Eric Kessler, managing director of Arabella Philanthropic Investment Advisors, in Washington.

Meanwhile, officials at Suburban Hospital, in Bethesda, Md., and Adventist HealthCare, a Washington area nonprofit organization that runs two hospitals in the region, said they are monitoring the bond markets to make sure their institutions remain safe from the financial crisis.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

International Aid Groups Accuse Middle East Peace Negotiators of Failing

CARE International U.K., Christian Aid, Oxfam, and Save the Children are among the aid agencies that are accusing the Quartet of Middle East peace negotiators of failing in its mission, Reuters reports.

The groups issued a critical report just before the Quartet — which is made up of representatives from Russia, the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations — meets in New York on Friday to discuss the peace process.

Government and Politics Watch: Senate Passes Charity Tax Breaks in Bailout Bill

The U.S. Senate attached a package of tax benefits to legislation to rescue the troubled financial sector, increasing the odds that the expired charity tax incentives could be renewed this year, reports The Chronicle’s Government and Politics Watch.

From The Chronicle: IRS Discloses Details of Probe Into College Pay and Operations

As part of ongoing efforts to police the nonprofit sector, the Internal Revenue Service will ask some 400 colleges across the country to disclose intimate financial details of their operations, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

Give and Take: Movie Mogul's Charity 'Bet'

The Robin Hood Foundation will likely receive $1-million, somewhat reluctantly, from Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, tied to a bet he made with the New York Post, according to a new post in The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s “Give and Take” column.

Plus: Wealthy families rethink charitable giving.

Online Discussion Next Week: Crafting Memorable Charity Slogans

Join our live online discussion on Tuesday, October 7, to learn how to create a marketing slogan that will catch the attention of donors and other potential supporters.

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

October 01, 2008

U. of Texas Announces a $500-Million Pledge

The University of Texas stands to receive a $500-million pledge from an international oil company in Fort Worth — if the company wins a legal battle over its interests in a Russian natural-gas field, reports The Austin American-Statesman.

Moncrief Oil is suing a Russian oil company that currently controls the gas field in question because, it says, the Russian company is not honoring its contracts with a subsidiary. The American oil company says it owns 40 percent of the field, valued at $16-billion, and that several years ago the Russian company sold a stake in the field to a German company without Moncrief’s knowledge, the paper reports.

The university’s announcement of the pledge caught the attention of Rob Reich, co-director of the Stanford Center of Philanthropy and Civil Society at Stanford University. “Making a public announcement about a pledge that is conditional on the outcome of a trial is unusual,” he tells the Statesman.

Book Teaches Lessons for Arts Leaders

A new case-study book by the head of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, in Washington, examines successful management techniques at arts institutions, reports The Washington Post.

The lessons in The Art of the Turnaround: Creating and Maintaining Healthy Arts Organizations can be applied to local and regional groups. Among Mr. Kaiser’s suggestions is to expand programming, marketing, and fund-raising efforts rather than reducing the number of productions or cutting back on marketing to save money, the paper reports.

“My focus is on revenue more than cost,” Mr. Kaiser tells the Post. “If you keep cutting, you will disappear.”

See The Chronicle’s profile of Mr. Kaiser.

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

Corporate Philanthropy Turns to U.N. Foundation

The creation of a private foundation to distribute Ted Turner’s mammoth $1-billion pledge to the United Nations has provided a place for other individuals and entities to contribute to the United Nations, reports The Financial Times.

Donations to the U.N. Foundation have topped $700-million thus far from sources other than Mr. Turner and have included gifts from major companies. The foundation expects to raise another $1-billion by 2017, the Times reports.

Philadelphia Conductor Takes Up National Symphony Baton

Christoph Eschenbach has been named the next music director at the National Symphony Orchestra and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, both in Washington, reports The Washington Post.

Mr. Eschenbach has most recently been music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

From The Chronicle: 'Philanthrocapitalism'

A new book explores so-called philanthrocapitalism, a term signifying wealthy donors’ businesslike approach to giving, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

Government and Politics Watch: IRS Urged to Examine Pastors' Comments

A group advocating separation of church and state has filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service against six churches it says flagrantly violated federal laws that prohibit clergy members from endorsing political candidates, reports The Chronicle’s Government and Politics Watch.

Plus: A nonprofit Web site is asking Americans to make their suggestions for what the next resident of the White House should commit to “on day one.”

Prospecting: Presidential Race Nets New Donors for Planned Parenthood

A political observer who dislikes John McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate has created an e-mail campaign that has spurred tens of thousands of donors to give to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, notes a new post in Prospecting, The Chronicle’s fund-raising column.

Plus: An oncologist discusses how grateful patients often are an untapped resource for fund raising at health institutions.

Give and Take: Taking a Dig at a News Web Site

A social-media expert take a dig at the popular news networking site Digg and its lack of a nonprofit news category, according to a new post in The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s Give and Take column.

Plus: Commercial microfinance institutions are being scrutinized.