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

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March 2009

March 31, 2009

News and Tips From the Association of Fundraising Professionals' Annual Meeting

Good evening!

This special extra edition of Philanthropy Today comes to you tonight with highlights from the day’s sessions of the annual meeting of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, held in New Orleans—along with a news update on the passage of federal legislation to vastly expand community-service programs.

We’re keeping our special conference notebook filled with information to help you do a better job of seeking money for your cause. Be sure to check it out regularly to see our latest update. Or rely on this e-mail message for a quick summary of what matters most.

And if you’re attending the conference, we hope you’ll visit The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s business and editorial representatives, at Booth No. 520. Visitors will get a preview of our newly designed Web site and a generous discount on our new digital-subscription option.

We’ll be back in your mailbox tomorrow afternoon with our wrap-up of all the other news of the day, and again tomorrow evening with our last edition of conference news.

— The Editors of The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Americans Should Emulate Fund Raisers Abroad

Americans are no longer seen as the most innovative fund raisers in the world—and should look overseas for ideas, say two experts on international giving who spoke today at the annual meeting of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Recession Forces Charities to Extend Campaign Drives

With the economic downturn making it harder to raise money, 51 percent of nonprofit organizations that are amid capital or endowment campaigns have extended the length of their drives, and an additional 11 percent have reduced the amounts they are trying to raise, according to a study released today at the annual meeting of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Will Donors Return to Estate Planners and Lawyers for Advice?

In recent years, donors have turned more to investment advisers for suggestions on how to give money away, and less to lawyers and estate planners.

But now that investment experts have infuriated many donors who lost money in the stock market and elsewhere, that trend may no longer continue said a giving expert who spoke at today’s meeting of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

The Importance of Young Donors

Nonprofit groups should work aggressively to involve people in their 20s and 30s.

But Derrick Feldmann, president of Achieve, a consulting company in Indianapolis, said the groups should not expect young donors to open up their checkbooks quickly.

Nor should they expect to raise significant money, he told an audience at the Association of Fundraising Professionals annual conference, in New Orleans.

Even if the initial return is low, however, nonprofit groups should keep up their efforts to seek out young donors, he said. Mr. Feldmann offered four ideas to help nonprofit groups reach young people in an audio interview with The Chronicle.

Promise to Show Results, Grant Seekers Urged

Grant seekers should always show how they will evaluate their projects—and how they will show grant makers the results—even if foundations don’t require such a pledge, says an experienced reviewer of proposals who spoke at today’s annual meeting of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

She suggested that small charities that can’t afford expensive evaluations should seek out a graduate student at a local college who may be interested in following a grant as part of a thesis.

In Other News: National-Service Act Sent to President Obama

The House of Representatives today approved a national-service bill has also been passed by the Senate. The legislation, which vastly expands federal service programs, now goes to President Obama. He is expected to sign the bill into law when he returns from his overseas trip, which began today.

Gates Foundation and Federal Government Pledge $48-Million for Agriculture

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the National Science Fund are joining forces on a five-year, $48-million project to support agriculture in the developing world, the Associated Press reports.

The program will seek proposals to deal with droughts, pests, disease, soil quality, and other problems plaguing small farmers.

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

Obama Urges Sudan to Allow Aid Groups' Return

President Obama on Monday reiterated his call for Sudan to let expelled humanitarian agencies back into the country and suggested he would “find some mechanism” to get aid to Darfur if it did not, The New York Times reports.

Officials in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum expelled 13 aid groups this month, saying they were helping the International Criminal Court prosecute President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on war-crimes charges. The move exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in the strife-torn Darfur region.

Mr. Obama did not specify what Washington might do, but activists who met with the president at the White House raised the possibility of sanctions or the establishment of “humanitarian corridors” for supplies of food, water, and medicine.

Read The Chronicle’s article for background about the situation facing charities that were ousted from Sudan.

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

Credit Crunch Attracting Clients to Nonprofit Microlenders

With banks continuing to keep a tight rein on credit, American small businesses and would-be entrepreneurs are increasingly turning to nonprofit lenders for financing, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Typically nonprofit lenders have focused on making small grants to entrepreneurs from impoverished neighborhoods in the United States and elsewhere, offering small capital injections at higher interest than banks but with more lenient screening and greater flexibility in repayment.

Kathy Ricci, executive director of the Utah Microenterprise Loan Fund, said the organization doubled its loan volume last year to $1.2-million. “We are seeing more people that perhaps a year ago could have gotten a bank loan,” she said.

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

British Charities Press for 'World Social Bank'

Leaders in the British nonprofit field are calling on Prime Minister Gordon Brown and other world leaders to abolish offshore tax havens and plow the resulting revenue into a bank to stimulate social investment, Third Sector Online reports.

Mr. Brown, who is hosting this week’s Group of 20 meeting in London, has pledged to take action on tax havens. In a letter, top charity officials urged the prime minister and other leaders to enact such reform “in a way that provides a real boost to the growth” of nonprofit activity.

Nature Conservancy Sells Adirondack Woodland

The Nature Conservancy has sold 92,000 acres of Adirondack forest to a Danish pension fund as part of a long-term program to protect the land from development, The New York Times reports.

The fund, ATP, paid $32.8-million for the land, part of 161,000 acres that the nonprofit environmental group bought in 2007 from a paper company to prevent it from being developed for homes and resorts.

Conservancy officials said the deal strikes a balance between preservation and regional economic interests. The pension fund will get tax credits from a planned conservation easement that prohibits development but allows recreational uses and limited logging.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

In the Arts: Stars Lobby for Arts Spending, Governor Slashes La. Arts Funding

The lobbying group Americans for the Arts will ask Congress today to increase the National Endowment for the Arts’ annual allocation from $155-million to a record $200-million, reports The New York Times.

The singers Linda Ronstadt and Josh Groban and the trumpeter Wynton Marsalis are scheduled to testify before a House subcommittee as part of the campaign.

In other arts news, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has proposed eliminating most spending on the state’s Decentralized Arts Fund, which makes small grants to arts and culture projects, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Republican governor’s proposed state budget cuts the fund’s allocation by 83 percent.

(Free registration is required to view these articles.)

From The Chronicle: Foundation Giving

Assets at the nation’s largest private foundations fell by a median of 28 percent from 2007 to 2008, and 40 percent of grant makers who participated in a new Chronicle survey say they expect giving to decline in 2009.

Give and Take: Foundations and the Recession

Foundations shouldn’t wait for Congress to change the excise-tax rules before stepping up their giving, says a new post in Give and Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

Transcript: How to Make Sure Loyal Donors Keep Giving in Hard Times

Read the transcript of our online discussion about the best ways to keep donors from abandoning a charity in these tough times.

Fund-Raising Conference: What Grant Makers Want

Learn what foundations are looking for when they evaluate grant proposals, as part of our continuing live coverage from the Association of Fundraising Professionals annual meeting.

March 30, 2009

Direct From New Orleans: What's Happening at the Association of Fundraising Professionals Meeting

Good evening!

This special extra edition of Philanthropy Today will be sent to you for the next few days to offer you highlights from the day’s sessions at the annual meeting of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, held in New Orleans.

We’re keeping our special conference notebook filled with information to help you do a better job of seeking money for your own cause. Be sure to check it out regularly to see our latest update or rely on this e-mail message for a quick summary of what matters most.

And if you’re attending the conference, we hope you’ll visit Chronicle of Philanthropy business and editorial representatives at Booth No. 520. Visitors will get a special preview of our newly designed Web site and a generous discount on our new digital subscription option.

We’ll be back in your mailbox tomorrow afternoon with our wrap-up of all the other news of the day.

— The Editors of The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Economy's Troubles Pose Challenges for More Than Half of Charities in New Survey

Forty-six percent of nonprofit organizations raised more money last year compared with 2007, according to preliminary findings of an annual survey released today by the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Reflecting the toll exacted by the economic downturn, the percentage of fund raisers whose institutions raised more money last year was a new low in the eight years the survey has been conducted. In a typical year, 60 percent of fund raisers in the survey report being able to raise more money.

And only 28 percent of the 481 fund raisers surveyed believe their organizations will raise more money this year, the lowest level of optimism found in the history of the survey. One-third of the organizations predicted they will raise less money in 2009.

Recruiting Trustees: a New Approach

Charitable organizations in Great Britain often use executive recruiters to help them find qualified trustees to serve on their boards, said a speaker at today’s sessions. Though the costs are something that may worry nonprofit groups, she said that getting good board members pays so many dividends that it is worthwhile — and that many groups have suffered from the damage done by bad trustees.

How Small Charities Can Spur Donors to Give Monthly

Greg Gorman, development director at St. Mary’s Catholic Center in College Station, Tex., says roughly one-sixth of his budget — about $300,000 — comes from monthly gifts from donors who pay with debit and credit cards.

Those donors have become a source of consistent, predictable income for his organization — and he believes they are likely candidates for more significant gifts in the future, Mr. Gorman told participants at the Association of Fundraising Professionals meeting today.

Most efforts to attract monthly gifts are undertaken by big charities, but Mr. Gorman explains how small groups can do it in an audio interview with The Chronicle.

Running Fund-Raising Events on a Shoestring

Traditional fund-raising events like galas are expensive and labor-intensive for small groups to organize. In these belt-tightening times, it’s even more important to look for novel special-events ideas that make fund-raising dollars go further, said a speaker who offered tips on how to do just that at the annual meeting of the Association Fundraising Professionals.

What Makes a Gift Catalog Succeed?

A successful fund-raising catalog combines a wide range of specific products with higher-priced appeals for money that can be used for a broad range of needs, said a speaker at a session today at the Association of Fundraising Professionals meeting.

Gift catalogs offer a way to attract donors who will be very generous, she said. First-time donors who give through a catalog usually give far larger amounts than people a charity recruits through direct mail or the Internet.

Fund Raisers Pitch In to Help Rebuild New Orleans

Participants at the Association of Fundraising Professionals annual conference in New Orleans had an opportunity to help rebuild a city that is still attempting to recover from Hurricane Katrina. You can see pictures of the fund raisers from around the country at work.

Downturn Takes Toll on Billion-Dollar Capital Campaigns

The universities engaged in the most ambitious fund-raising campaigns have seen collections drop 32 percent over the past year as economic volatility prompts donors to postpone or rethink gifts, according to a Chronicle of Higher Education analysis.

The dozen universities conducting billion-dollar campaigns raised $2.71-billion from February 2008 through January 2009, compared with nearly $4-billion for the previous 12 months. Cornell University suffered the biggest drop, with donations falling 55 percent.

(A paid subscription or temporary pass is required to view the Post article.)

National Public Radio Mulls On-Air Appeal for Funds

Some prominent National Public Radio personalities are urging the nonprofit organization to stage its first national on-air fund drive since 1983, reports The Washington Post.

Despite robust audience growth, NPR is facing cutbacks due to a projected $8-million budget deficit. Susan Stamberg, a longtime reporter and program host, and Melissa Bloch, host of “All Things Considered,” raised the issue of a pledge drive in employee meetings last week with new NPR President Vivian Schiller. (See a Chronicle profile of Ms. Schiller.)

Such a drive is prohibited by NPR’s by-laws and would probably raise hackles among member stations, which would not like to compete for pledges with the parent organization.

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

Lung Association Settles Court Fight With Seattle Arm

The American Lung Association will regain control of its regional headquarters in Seattle as part of a settlement in its eight-month legal dispute with its Northwest chapter, reports the Associated Press.

The national organization sued after Mike Anderson, head of the association’s chapter, persuaded its board of directors to turn over its offices, assessed at $3.2-million, for $10 to a new charity he had formed with two colleagues. The board also voted to give Mr. Anderson’s Pacific Northwest Lung Cancer Foundation $1.2-million in start-up money.

The settlement requires the Northwest chapter to replace its board and Anderson’s foundation to return the building deed and $500,000 to the Lung association.

Charity Offers Ticket Out for California Town's Homeless

A local charity is providing bus fare to send homeless people from the Southern California city of Lancaster back to their home state or another place where they might have support, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Grace Resource Center, which provides food, clothing, and other help to the needy in Lancaster, has spent about $2,500 so far to transport more than a dozen people out of the Antelope Valley town. The effort is supported by Lancaster’s mayor, who claims Los Angeles officials have used the town as a “dumping ground” for homeless people.

Busing programs have been criticized by advocates for the homeless, but Steve Baker, director of Grace Resource Center, said the Lancaster effort is about helping the homeless get a new start, not “shipping people out of here.”

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

U.K. Financial Executives Offering Free Advice to Charities

A British organization that links charities with corporate chiefs for free advice on financial issues is attracting more executive volunteers as the recession deepens, the Financial Times reports.

Pilotlight reports a jump in interest from both working executives and those who have recently lost their jobs, reflecting an overall surge in volunteering in Britain. The agency manages teams of executives who spend two to three hours a month advising a participating charity

“We’ve all benefited from financial leverage over the past two decades; the next era will be about intellectual leverage,” said Sam Berwick, chief executive of Mizuho International and a Pilotlight adviser.

Rower Completes Trans-Atlantic Trip for Cancer Research

A 25-year-old financial consultant on Sunday completed a nearly three-month rowing trip across the Atlantic Ocean that he started 88 days earlier with a goal of raising $500,000 for skin-cancer research, Forbes reports.

Paul Ridley landed in Antigua after 88 days at sea in one of the highest-profile examples of “extreme fund-raising,” which mixes endurance sports, charity, and online tools such as blogs and electronic payments.

Mr. Ridley, a former university rower who lost his mother to skin cancer in 2001, has collected $75,000 so far and hopes to raise the rest with a speaking tour and book about his journey.

From The Chronicle: Sluggish Fund-Raising Returns

Only 46 percent of fund raisers said they raised more money last year than they did in 2007, according to a survey released today at the annual meeting of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

You can read all about news and fund-raising tips from the meeting in our conference notebook.

Government and Politics Watch: Estate Tax

Sen. Max Baucus, the Montana Democrat who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, has introduced legislation that would make the estate tax permanent and at levels that are already in effect this year, reports Government and Politics Watch, The Chronicle’s online column.

Plus:

Independent Sector, a coalition of charities and foundations, has issued a statement saying that President Obama’s proposal to limit some charitable deductions to help finance a plan to reshape the country’s health-care system presents a “Solomon’s choice” for the charitable world.

The national-service bill passed by the Senate last week relaxed restrictions on lobbying and other political activities that were adopted by the House of Representatives, easing the concerns of nonprofit advocacy groups.

More than a quarter of the grant money awarded last year by donor-advised funds held at community foundations supported basic social services, such as hunger-relief and health-care programs, according to a new survey. The survey was designed to strengthen support for the funds among members of Congress.

Give and Take: Homelessness Study Under Attack

A homelessness study by a nonprofit group has come under attack after it was mentioned at President Obama’s press conference last week, according a new post in Give & Take, The Chronicle’s round-up of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

Plus: Does America need a new call to public service?

Online Discussion Tomorrow: Keeping Your Most-Loyal Donors

Join us on tomorrow, March 31, at noon U.S. Eastern time for an online discussion about strategies for improving relationships with donors.

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

March 29, 2009

Greetings From New Orleans

Good morning!

This special extra edition of Philanthropy Today will be sent to you for the next few days to offer you highlights from the annual meeting of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Thousands of fund raisers descended on New Orleans on Sunday as the biggest fund-raising meeting in the country held its opening session.

We’ll keep our special conference notebook filled with information to help you do a better job of seeking money for your own cause. Be sure to check it out regularly to see our latest update or rely on this e-mail message for a quick summary of what matters most.

We’ll be back in your mailbox this afternoon with our wrap-up of all the other news of the day.

— The Editors of The Chronicle of Philanthropy

State of Fund Raising

Sixty percent of nonprofit groups are expecting gifts to their organizations to either increase or remain about the same in 2009 when compared with 2008, according to a survey conducted by the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

That number suggests the recession, while painful, is not going to be a crippling blow to many organizations, said Paulette Maehara, president of the association, in an interview in New Orleans just before the association’s annual meeting opened there.

The fund-raisers group plans to release detailed findings from the survey at a press conference on Monday. The Chronicle will provide full details as soon as they are available.

Why Some Organizations Succeed and Others Fail in the Bad Economy

After a bad last quarter of the year, many charities may be seeing an uptick in both the number of donations made and the amount pledged, according to veteran fund-raising consultants who discussed trends in a special meeting before the Association of Fundraising Professionals meeting opened on Sunday.

The consultants offered their views on what works, what mistakes charities are making, and how fund-raising careers and compensation are changing because of the downturn.

Learning From Fund Raisers in China

American fund raisers may have a few things to learn from their counterparts in Chinese nonprofit groups about cultivating corporate philanthropy, said presenters at a session of the annual conference of the Association of Fundraising Professionals in New Orleans.

Signs of the Recession: Attendance Falls at Fund-Raisers Meeting

The number of fund raisers attending the annual meeting of the Association of Fundraising Professionals has dropped by about 20 percent from 2008 — a drop that organizers attribute to the recession.

Other signs of the pressure organizations face from the economy: Social-service groups outnumber those from other causes — a first for the annual meeting — and many more participants than ever are attending the meeting for the first time.

How a Hospice Fund Raiser Keeps Donations Flowing

The Association of Fundraising Professionals today will honor Kenneth C. Frisch, a fund raiser at an Ohio hospice.

Mr. Frisch says he has succeeded in part with the help of a dedicated board — and also by relying on multiple fund-raising approaches.

March 27, 2009

In the Arts: Seattle, Minnesota, and Milwaukee Groups Announce Cuts

One of the country’s most respected nonprofit repertory groups, the Seattle Repertory Theater, is cutting its upcoming budget by one-third and going to a four-day workweek because of declining subscription ticket sales and an endowment it can’t dip into, The Seattle Times reports.

The theater is planning fewer productions, doing more co-productions with other theater companies, presenting smaller-cast plays, and cutting a day from performance weeks. Officials say the cuts will bring the group’s budget down from $10-million to about $6.5-million.

Meanwhile, two Minnesota arts groups have announced cuts. The Minnesota Orchestra is scaling back its summer program, and its Day of Music program has been canceled following Macy’s withdrawal as sponsor, reports the Star Tribune. The orchestra is expected to announce other cost-saving measures later this week. And the Guthrie Theater will cut its next fiscal-year budget by 14 percent, the Star Tribune reports.

In Milwaukee, the United Performing Arts Fund, an organization that raises money for local arts groups, has reduced its fund-raising goal to $9-million this year, 15 percent less than last year’s target of $10.6-million, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Nonprofit Pay May Face New Scrutiny

Anger over huge bonuses at American International Group and other Wall Street firms may carry over to the nonprofit world, as some tax-exempt organizations could face further scrutiny of their executive-compensation practices, The Wall Street Journal reports.

“The train of greater focus on nonprofit executive-compensation has left the station, and charity boards better get on, or they’re going to suffer greatly for noncompliance,” says Michael Peregrine, a partner at McDermott Will & Emery LLP, who advises nonprofits.

And as The Chronicle of Philanthropy reported in February, an Internal Revenue Service report about tax-exempt hospitals has triggered questions about compensation of all nonprofit executives and may embolden investigations by federal and state regulators who already are taking a hard look at how charities compensate their top officials.

(A paid subscription or temporary pass is required to view the Chronicle article.)

New Nonprofit Group Encourages Executives to Donate More Than Money

The newly formed Social Venture Philanthropy of Sacramento is hoping to get business executives to donate their expertise in accounting, marketing, and other business skills to help charities run more efficiently, The Sacramento Bee reports.

The organization, founded by Jack Crawford Jr., a venture capitalist, had its first meeting last week and attracted about 50 potential donors who agreed to raise $500,000 to $1-million this year for about six education and health-care groups and to donate their business skills to help those charities.

Charity Board Member Withdraws as EPA Nominee

Jonathan Z. Cannon, who was nominated as deputy director of the Environmental Protection Agency, has withdrawn his name, citing questions about the now-defunct America’s Clean Water Foundation, for which he had been a board member, reports the Los Angeles Times.

In 2007 auditors from the Environmental Protection Agency accused the organization of mismanaging $25-million in taxpayer money. The group had won that much in federal grants to identify environmental risks at beef, poultry, and pork plants and to help states and Native American tribes comply with the Clean Water Act.

The auditors’ report did not mention Mr. Cannon, who is a professor of environmental law at the University of Virginia and a former EPA lawyer. His confirmation hearing had been scheduled for today.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Textile Museum’s Director Resigns

The Textile Museum, in Washington, announced yesterday that Daniel Walker, its director of the past four years, is resigning his position at the museum this week, reports The Washington Post.

Mr. Walker cited the country’s financial crisis as one factor for his resignation. Mr. Walker previously worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York, where he was director of the department of Islamic art.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

From The Chronicle: Senate Passes National-Service Bill

A move to greatly increase the number of Americans who participate in national-service programs cleared its final major hurdle yesterday, when the Senate adopted the Serve America Act, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

Government and Politics Watch: Grants by Congressional District

The Foundation Center, in New York, has developed new tools to help identify how foundation and corporate support is distributed throughout U.S. Congressional districts, notes Government and Politics Watch, the Chronicle’s online column.

Plus:

Congress may cut some foreign-aid money from the proposed budget.

The Senate rejected a measure to oppose Obama’s charitable-deduction limits.

Foundation leaders visit lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Give and Take: Are Foundations Failing to Be Ambitious Abroad?

While foundations are able to do more than the World Bank or governments to support human rights and innovative development projects abroad, they are failing to do so, writes a senior research fellow at Harvard University’s Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, notes Give and Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

Prospecting: Finding Fakery in Marketing Messages

Charities need to do a “gut check” before they sign off on marketing messages, advises Jeff Brooks on his Donor Power Blog, according to Prospecting, The Chronicle’s online fund-raising column.

Plus: Tips for maintaining donor e-mail addresses.

Online Discussion Next Week: Keeping Your Best Donors

Join us on Tuesday, March 31, at noon U.S. Eastern time for an online discussion about strategies for improving relationships with donors.

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

Correction: Survey on Financial Issues

Due to an editing mistake, an article on a survey by the Nonprofit Finance Fund incorrectly described the groups that were covered. One-third of all types of charities, not just social-service groups, ended the year with a deficit last year.

March 26, 2009

Calif. Senator Proposes Bill to Encourage Caterers to Donate Leftovers

A California state senator is trying to get a bill passed that would make it easier for catering companies to donate leftovers to food pantries that serve the poor, the Los Angeles Times reports.

California caterers, hotels, and restaurants throw out about 1.5 million tons of still-usable food every year, according to the state Integrated Waste Management Board. Critics say that such businesses simply do not want to bother with the logistics of donating leftovers to food banks.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

In the Arts: Orlando Opera and Cleveland Orchestra Make Cuts

Officials at the Orlando Opera, in Fla., say the 51-year-old company may not be able to produce operas after the current season if a new $500,000 fund-raising campaign fails, reports the Orlando Sentinel.

Reeling from a huge deficit that has forced it to deplete the organization’s once-healthy endowment, the Orlando Opera’s president, Jim Ireland, says the group has been “hit by a hurricane” of recession-related factors. 

Meanwhile, the Cleveland Orchestra said this week that its music director, Franz Welser-Most, and executive director, Gary Hanson, have volunteered to take pay cuts of 20 percent and 15 percent, respectively, in response to the financial crisis. Other senior staff managers will accept cuts of 10 percent. The orchestra also plans to reduce the number of concerts and is asking for concessions from its musicians and other unionized workers, The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

But some arts leaders are pointing to some positive developments, such as the $50-million in stimulus money going to the National Endowment for the Arts and the additional $10-million for the Endowment in the recent omnibus spending bill. The decision to give a White House official responsibility for arts and culture is also causing some to be cautiously hopeful, The New York Times reports.

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

Church Closings Alarm Those Who Help Poor People

Echoing a national trend, Catholic churches in the Cleveland area are seeing a flood of church closings, leaving many who serve the poor worrying how the closings will affect social-service programs, reports CNN.

A combination of population shifts to outlying areas, financial strains that have left 42 percent of parishes “operating in the red,” and priest shortages have prompted the decision to close parishes in Cleveland.

But the announcement has many wondering what happens to the struggling neighborhoods that have come to rely on aid from the churches. “Too many bishops are treating parishes as if they were Starbucks franchises,” said Sister Christine Schenk, a Cleveland-area nun who’s been fighting for nearly two decades to institute change in the church through her organization, FutureChurch. “It’s about more than money. It’s about mission to the people.”

Pa. Hospital Serving Poor People Set to Close

Officials at Temple University Health System, in Philadelphia, said yesterday they are closing Northeastern Hospital in the city’s Port Richmond section because of financial problems, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Temple officials said jobs will be eliminated but did not specify how many. The closing also leaves only six city hospitals capable of delivering babies. The announced closing caused alarm among employees and local leaders, who worry about whether other hospitals can handle the influx of pregnant women, most of whom receive Medicaid, and about the closure’s economic impact.

Government and Politics Watch: Senator Criticizes Charitable-Deduction Cap

Sen. John Thune, Republican of South Dakota, has proposed that the Senate amend a national-service bill to express its opposition to President Obama’s proposal to curb charitable deductions for the wealthiest taxpayers, notes Government and Politics Watch, the Chronicle’s online column.

Plus:

Senate approves plan to offer management help to small charities.

Rep. John Lewis, an influential Democratic lawmaker, says he will seek out ways to support the work of charities and foundations during the economic downturn.

The head of Independent Sector shares her thoughts about the White House Office of Social Innovation.

Give and Take: Should Gifts to Overseas Charities Be Deductible?

Two prominent University of Chicago professors are debating whether donors should be able to claim deductions for contributions they make to charities located outside the United States, notes Give and Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world. And a column about charities that support the building of Israeli settlements in the West Bank is stirring debate about whether deductions should be allowed for gifts that conflict with U.S. policies.

Plus: How do leading Democrats view taxes and giving?

Making Tough Choices: Advice From Experts

Nonprofit leaders should careful to avoid the mistakes of the last recession — cutting staff members and reducing spending that is crucial to a charity’s mission, said Scott Spreier, a management consultant, in a live discussion held Tuesday by The Chronicle. But, he said, “you can do more with less.”

In particular, he said, staff members need “clarity, trust, vision, and an energizing, engaging climate in which to work — not an easy task during tough times.”

You can read the full transcript free on our Web site.

Plus, please join us next week for a discussion on the best ways to ensure that your most-loyal donors keep giving during the recession.

From The Chronicle: $750-Million for Social-Enterprise Efforts

A group of foundations, social-venture funds, and international-development organizations has formed a new network to try to increase investment in and business assistance available to small- and medium-size businesses in developing countries, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

From The Chronicle: How the Financial Crunch Is Hitting Social-Service Groups

A new study finds that nearly a third of social-service groups ended the past year with a deficit, a new survey finds. And most of the groups expect a bleak situation in coming months, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

From The Chronicle: Foundation Legislation

Legislation has been introduced in the U.S. Senate that its sponsors say would simplify the tax code for private foundations and encourage them to give more grants to charity, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

A NOTE FROM THE CHRONICLE'S EDITORS

We have resolved the technical problems that prevented us from sending you a full version of Philanthropy Today on Wednesday afternoon.

In today’s version, you’ll find all the news summaries and other information we planned to send you Wednesday as well as all of today’s latest news and opinion.

We apologize again for this lapse in service to our readers.

— The Editors of The Chronicle of Philanthropy

March 25, 2009

Opinion: Major Dailies Debate Case on Conservative Group's Clinton Film

A Los Angeles Times editorial argues that the Supreme Court should rule on First Amendment grounds for a conservative advocacy group that sought to release a documentary critical of then-candidate Hillary Clinton during last year’s presidential race.

The court heard oral arguments Tuesday in nonprofit Citizens United’s suit over a Federal Election Commission ruling that its film “Hillary: The Movie” violated rules against corporate-paid “electioneering communications” in the weeks leading up to an election. Citizens United receives some corporate donations.

In its editorial on the case, The New York Times opines that the court should reject Citizens United’s claims, saying the film made “express arguments” against electing Clinton and thus should be governed by regulations on attack ads.

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AIDS Advocates Question Group's Fund-Raising Campaign

California’s AIDS organizations are raising questions about a fund-raising effort by a Beverly Hills charity with apparent ties to a for-profit firm that sold herbal AIDS remedies, according to investigative news site ProPublica.

The Center for AIDS Prevention has advertised for donors prominently on The New York Times Web site. The organization’s own site features what AIDS activists characterize as misinformation about treatment, including the suggestion that birth-control pills prevent the spread of HIV. It also shares an address and a now-deceased corporate agent with a defunct company, Herbal Hope, that sold nonpharmaceutical AIDS treatments.

Steve Neely, the center’s director, said that “90 percent” of the information posted on the site is “accurate and correct.”

U.S. Lawmaker Proposes Tax-Exempt Option for Newspapers

Struggling newspapers would be allowed to operate as nonprofit organizations in the manner of public radio and television stations under legislation introduced Tuesday by Sen. Benjamin Cardin, reports the Associated Press.

The Maryland Democrat said the measure is aimed at preserving local papers, not large media companies. He said the traditional circulation — and advertising-based business model for newspapers — “is broken” and that tax exemption “should be an option” for strapped publications. “As local papers are closing, we’re losing a valuable tradition in America,” Mr. Cardin said, “critically important to our communities, critically important to our democracy.”

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City University of N.Y. Beats Target on Ambitious Fund Drive

The City University of New York’s first fund-raising campaign, which began in 2004 with a goal of raising $1.2-billion by 2012, has reached its target three years ahead of schedule, The New York Times reports.

The university has expanded the campaign — with a new goal of $3-billion by 2015. Chancellor Matthew Goldstein said the money would be used to add full-time faculty, scholarships, and academic programs but not to cover operating costs.

Roger Benjamin, president of the nonprofit Council for AID to Education, said the fund-raising figures are “really quite dramatic” for an urban public university system that has historically attracted immigrant and working-class students.

Also: Bernard and Anne Spitzer are donating $25-million to City College of New York’s School of Architecture, the college has announced. The money will go toward a new building for the architecture school and toward undergraduate scholarships, graduate fellowships, and other programs. Mr. Spitzer graduated from City College in 1943.

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March 24, 2009

Foundations Rethink Mission in Struggling Detroit

Detroit’s long economic decline has forced local grant makers to change how they operate, becoming choosier about which causes to support and recommending that charities share resources, says The New York Times.

With resources declining and needs exploding, the Hudson-Webber Foundation, the Skillman Foundation, and other local grant makers are being forced to do what Larry M. Gant, a social-work professor at the University of Michigan, called “triage,” picking winners and losers among the charities seeking support.

“Insolvent organizations need to be dissolved, weak ones need to be merged and acquired, and only the strongest should receive the stimulus they need to become more financially sound,” Mr. Gant said.

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NPR Listeners Grow by 9 Percent

National Public Radio is recording robust audience growth in listener numbers even as other traditional news outlets such as daily newspapers and television are seeing their audiences decline, reports The Washington Post.

According to figures to be released to member stations today, the cumulative audience for NPR’s daily news shows, including Morning Edition and All Things Considered, reached 20.9 million a week, up 9 percent from 2007. The audience for all the nonprofit broadcasters’ programs rose 8.7 percent to 23.6 million a week.

Despite the audience gains, the network is facing an economic pinch, cutting staff members and other costs to close an $8-million shortfall in its $160-million budget.

See a Chronicle interview with NPR’s new leader, Vivian Schiller.

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N.J. Arts Groups Decry Planned State Spending Cut

New Jersey cultural nonprofit groups fear cutbacks and closures if legislators approve Gov. Jon Corzine’s proposed budget, which reduces arts spending by 25 percent, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Governor Corzine’s proposed cut “is devastating because it’s layered on top of the larger economic situation,” which has cut deeply into grants and other private revenue sources, said Mark Packer, president of advocacy group ArtPride.

The New York Times reports on the downturn’s impact on the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, which has laid off administrative staff, canceled concerts, and reduced fees to guest soloists.

Read more on the impact of the recession on arts groups nationwide in The Chronicle.

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U.K. Regulator Investigating Politician's Gaza Charity

Britain’s top charity regulator has started an inquiry into a Gaza relief fund-raising appeal, The Scotsman reports.

The U.K. Charity Commission said investigators want to be satisfied that the more than $1.45-million raised by Viva Palestina was being used for charitable purposes and that the organization had not responded to contact by the regulator.

The charity, which has sent a convoy across Europe to deliver aid to Gaza, is backed by George Galloway, a member of Parliament who has been an outspoken opponent of Britain’s Middle East policies. He said the commission had acted “prematurely” in starting an investigation.

In the Arts: Indiana Museum Demystifies 'Deaccessioning'

The Indianapolis Museum of Art has posted an online catalog of items from its collection that are up for sale and their respective values, according to the Courier-Journal, in Louisville, Ky.

The database on the museum’s Web site resulted from a systematic evaluation of its collection started in 2007 to identify candidates for “deaccessioning” — meaning art it wants to sell or trade. Income from the sale of items ranging from pieces of lace to French paintings and Asian art will be used to purchase new works.

In other arts news, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the St. Louis Art Museum is going ahead with a planned expansion that was halted last year due to the recession. The museum has raised $60-million, plus a like amount in pledges, for the $125-million capital campaign, and the board of commissioners has requested a plan to break ground late this year.

Also: The Master Chorale of Washington, one of the city’s largest choruses, announced it will shut down in May, citing substantial investment losses, The Washington Post reports.

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From The Chronicle: Anti-Lobbying Provision Approved in House Volunteerism Measure

In approving a bill last week to expand national-service programs, the House of Representatives adopted a last-minute amendment that would bar participants in the programs from attempting to influence legislation or taking part in various other political activities, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

Government and Politics Watch: New Guidance on Business Activities

The Internal Revenue Service has issued a revised publication on how charities can handle tax issues on business activities that aren’t related to their missions, reports Government and Politics Watch, an online column from The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

From The Chronicle: IRS Counts 1.2 Million Charities and Foundations

The number of charities and private foundations registered with the Internal Revenue Service has increased by more than 5 percent in each of the past two years, according to figures released by the tax agency, and reached a total of nearly 1.2 million last year, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

Transcript: Making Good Management Decisions in the Downturn

Read the transcript of our live discussion today with experts on how nonprofit managers should deal with the tough choices they face.

March 23, 2009

Downturn Thinning Ranks for Charity Walkathons and Other Events

Popular fund-raising events like walkathons are having a harder time attracting participants this year as walkers, runners, and bikers fear they won’t be able to meet pledge-collection commitments, The Boston Globe reports.

Registration for the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge, a two-day bike trip that requires a $4,200 fund-raising commitment, has dropped by 10 percent from the same time last year.

Eloise Caggiano, program director at the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, said potential walkers this year “ask a lot of questions about ‘what happens if I don’t raise the money?’”

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British Companies Expect Big Cuts in Giving

Charitable giving by British businesses is likely to fall by more than a third over the next year, according to a new survey of corporate leaders, reports the Financial Times.

The poll of 450 business leaders, carried out for the philanthropic advisory firm Social Investment Consultancy, says companies are planning to reduce donations 34 percent as a result of the financial crisis. Based on current giving patterns, this equates to a drop of $723.4-million.

Despite the downturn, the British public is largely maintaining giving habits, Third Sector Online reports. A February survey of British consumers found that 79 percent donate regularly, and 58 percent have not changed their giving.

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Spike in Financial-Aid Requests Hits Religious Schools

Boston-area religious schools are facing a squeeze as requests for financial aid from recession-hit families rise, The Boston Globe reports.

The region’s Jewish schools will receive $2-million from the Jim Joseph Foundation as part of its national effort to provide emergency scholarship aid to families with children at local Jewish day schools, preschools, and summer camps. The Catholic Schools Foundation says donations have dropped by 15 percent as it struggles with spikes in aid requests from parents who have been laid off or furloughed.

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Obama's Tax Proposal Probably Won't Hurt Religious Charities Much

Religious charities are less likely than secular organizations to suffer from the Obama administration’s plan to cut charitable deductions for high earners, the Religion News Service reports.

Noting that wealthy Americans donate the most to education, the arts, and health care, Roberton Williams of the Tax Policy Center predicted that “religious groups will not see nearly the drop” that other charities will suffer. Sylvia Ronsvalle of the research organization Empty Tomb said it has found “no direct relationship between recession years and church member giving.”

Still, some religious groups, like the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, are mobilizing against the deduction plan, saying it would further hurt charities already facing a downturn in donations and increasing public needs.

(To learn more about the status of President Obama’s plan, see a new update from The Chronicle of Philanthropy. A paid subscription or temporary pass is required to view the Chronicle article.)

Las Vegas Plans to Start Building $475-Million Arts Complex

Amid hard times for Las Vegas cultural institutions, the city plans to break ground in a few months on a new, $475-million arts complex, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Almost a third of the money for the Smith Center for the Performing Arts came from gifts from the local Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. Due to open in 2012, the center will be home to the Nevada Ballet and the Las Vegas Philharmonic, both of which have recently cut staff members.

Las Vegas, which relies heavily on the tourism and gambling industries, has been slammed by the economic downturn, and the recent closure of the Las Vegas Art Museum has raised questions about the city’s ability to support high culture.

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Twin Cities United Way Sees Small Increase in Donations

The Greater Twin Cities United Way’s year-end 2008 fund drive raised $88.9-million, $500,000 more than last year, the Star Tribune of Minneapolis reports.

United Way officials say that even though the results were good in the most-recent campaign, the continuing downturn will probably cause changing needs among the 200 organizations it supports and dampen prospects for its 2009 fall campaign.

Nonprofit Newspaper Replaces Defunct Weekly in Colorado Town

A mostly volunteer staff has started a nonprofit newspaper in a Colorado mountain town following the demise of the community’s 34-year-old weekly, reports the Los Angeles Times.

The Sopris Sun, started by the founder of the defunct Carbondale Valley Journal and run by a community board, started last month with a single paid employee and services like editing and ad sales donated by local residents.

“There was a void,” said Colin Laird, head of the local community-development corporation and a member of the paper’s board. “Every town should have a park, a library, and a newspaper.”

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The Chronicle's Latest Issue is Now Online

The latest issue of The Chronicle is now online. You can read our special report examining how nonprofit mergers and collaborations work and much more.

To see the full table of contents, go to http://philanthropy.com/summary/.

From the Chronicle: Employee Benefits

Nonprofit employers in Massachusetts are more likely to provide health insurance to their full-time employees than are business employers nationwide, according to a new survey whose results are reported in The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

March 20, 2009

Gates to Give Up to $60-Million to Help the Homeless

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will give up to $60-million over the next decade to a Washington state partnership of governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations to help the state’s growing homeless population, The Seattle Times reports.

The Washington Families Fund has set a goal of reducing the number of homeless families in the state by half within 10 years. The fund, which has raised $8.3-million from corporations, foundations, and charities since its creation by the state legislature in 2004, has yet to announce any other commitments to the new campaign.

Red Cross Expects to Erase Deficit; Salvation Army Stretched Thin

Spending cuts and strong fund-raising have put the American Red Cross on track to erase its $210-million shortfall by next year, reports the Associated Press.

President Gail McGovern said the charity faced high costs last year with disaster-relief efforts for the Midwest floods and six major coastal storms. But it has since collected more than $85-million as part of a $100-million fund drive started in September. The Red Cross also laid off a third of the 3,000 employees at its Washington headquarters and is looking to reduce other operational costs, she said.

Meanwhile, many local Salvation Army branches are stretched thin despite the charity’s national fund-raising success, the Associated Press reports.

The organization’s annual holiday Red Kettle campaign brought in a record $130-million last year, but the money must be spent where it is collected. Salvation Army spokeswoman Melissa Temme said many cities most in need of assistance, including Detroit and Las Vegas, are having trouble raising money locally.

Update: U.N. Says Sudan Rules Out More Charity Expulsions

Sudan has assured the United Nations that it will not expel any more aid agencies from Darfur, Reuters reports.

“We have received assurances that there are no more expulsions in the pipeline,” John Holmes, U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, told the news service.

Sudan booted 13 foreign-aid organizations and three local groups from strife-torn Darfur earlier this month, deepening the humanitarian crisis in the region. The government claims the groups collaborated with the International Criminal Court’s effort to arrest President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on war-crimes charges.

Troubled Philadelphia Orchestra Names New Chairman

Richard B. Worley, a wealthy financier and active arts patron, has been elected chairman of the Philadelphia Orchestra Association, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Orchestra officials said Mr. Worley has been active with the organization for a decade. He will face several challenges when he takes office in September, including erasing a large budget deficit and hiring a new president and music director.

N.D. Nonprofit Spent U.S. Disaster-Planning Funds on Meals, Phones

Nearly a quarter of the federal money the North Dakota EMS Association received for disaster planning was spent on “unallowable or questionable” items, including alcohol, a state emergency-preparedness official told the Associated Press.

The organization, which represents ambulance and emergency workers, received $810,000 in federal funds from 2004 to 2008 to produce plans on dealing with bioterrorism and other mass disasters. According to an internal audit and other records, nearly $200,000 was spent on lobbying, cell phones, meals with drinks, and other questionable items.

Association President Mark Weber said the group would repay the money.

Editorial: Defending Obama's Proposed Charitable-Deduction Cut

In an editorial, The New York Times defends the Obama proposal to reduce the charitable tax deduction for the wealthiest Americans, saying it would have little impact on overall giving and would raise needed funds for health-care improvements. “Philanthropy is a good thing, but it is driven by the donors’ tastes. It cannot replace the socially necessary investments that government needs to make,” the paper wrote.

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From The Chronicle: Foundation Rescinds Grant to Watchdog Group

Upset by a recent report by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy that urged grant makers to give at least 50 percent of their grant dollars to the poor and other disadvantaged people, the California Wellness Foundation has taken the unusual step of canceling its membership in the committee and asking it to return a $10,000 grant, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

Government and Politics Watch: Senator Criticizes Charitable-Deduction Cap

Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate Republican leader, has criticized the Obama administration’s proposal to limit federal tax breaks that wealthy people can get for their itemized deductions for donations to charity, notes Government and Politics Watch, The Chronicle’s online column.

Plus: First lady Michelle Obama participates in YouthBuild’s service project on the National Mall.

Give and Take: New Zealand Leader Applauds U.S. Philanthropy Model

The prime minister of New Zealand has stirred up a bit of controversy this week by encouraging people in his country to donate the money they will have thanks to recent tax cuts his administration enacted, notes Give and Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

Plus: Lessons learned from Trader Joe’s unauthorized commercial.

March 19, 2009

McKnight Foundation Pledges $100-Million to Climate Fight

The McKnight Foundation announced today that it will spend $100-million over the next five years as part of a campaign to fight global warming that involves several large philanthropies, the Star Tribune, in Minneapolis, reports.

McKnight’s president, Kate Wolford, said the coordinated strategy among foundations is necessary to face the “extraordinary challenge” posed by climate change. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the David and Lucille Packard Foundation are among the grant makers who have pledged a combined $1-billion-plus to the effort.

Ms. Wolford said McKnight will match its 2008 grant total of $99-million, much of it focused on the foundation’s Minnesota base, but some recipients will get smaller grants due to the focus on climate change, an issue she said “will put at risk all those served by our programs.”

Downturn Spurs New Offerings at Museums

Lean economic times have museums experimenting with creative strategies for getting people through the doors, The New York Times reports as part of a special section of museum stories.

Yoga nights at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a get-together for cyclists at UCLA’s Hammer Museum are among the nontraditional offerings as major museums seek new audiences amid declining endowments, donations, and sales.

“We can’t just be about art anymore,” the Hammer Museum’s director, Ann Philbin, said. “Museums are the new community centers.”

Elsewhere in the special package, the Times explores the unique challenges faced by zoos making tough budget decisions; profiles Neal Benezra, who guided the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art back to fiscal health after the dot-com bubble burst; and reports on the emphasis among museums nationally on attracting more families with kids.

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Audubon Society Employees Dig Deep to Maintain Projects

Workers at the National Audubon Society have pledged about $800,000 through voluntary payroll deductions to help see the national environmental and conservation group through the recession, reports Reuters.

More than one-fifth of the nonprofit group’s approximately 700 employees have made the anonymous donations, despite “knowing that there will likely be layoffs and/or furloughs soon,” Audubon spokesman Phil Kavits said.

The group saw its revenue rise from $82.4-million to $104.2-million in fiscal year 2008, which ended June 30, but is expecting to take a significant hit next year, “when the impact of decimated donor portfolios will take a toll on their giving,” Mr. Kavits said.

In the Arts: Queens Museum Plans Sale of Little Pieces of New York

The Queens Museum of Art is capitalizing on its most famous asset to help weather the economic downturn, “selling” pieces of its 9,335-square-foot scale model of New York City — reports The New York Times.

The model was created for the 1964 World’s Fair and last updated in 1992. But starting next week, the museum’s Adopt-a-Building program will offer buyers an apartment in the miniature Big Apple for $50 and a house for $250. For $10,000 developers can add their recently built towers to the model.

In other arts news: Stung by the closure in January of a local musical theater, Boston’s small stage companies are carefully considering economic issues in plotting upcoming productions, The Boston Globe reports. “Every show we do has to be profitable,” said Sue Griffin, a board member with the Marblehead Little Theater. “It’s a little pressure-cooker situation.”

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Christian Leaders Plan Updated Antipoverty Campaign

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference announced plans for a June antipoverty effort echoing the Poor People’s Campaign that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was planning just before his death, the Associated Press reports.

The organization aims to mobilize 50,000 people in the Mississippi Delta to draw attention to living conditions that Oxfam America recently said mirror those in the world’s poorest countries. Byron Clay, the conference’s interim president, said the campaign would run from June 19 to June 21 and focus on Delta locations.

Conservation Groups Unveil Bid to Restore Historic Prairies

Four conservation groups are joining forces in an effort to restore some of the original grasslands in the United States and to preserve their native wildlife, reports the Associated Press.

Prairie Grouse Partners, composed of the Mule Deer Foundation, Pheasants Forever, the North American Grouse Partnership, and the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, set a goal of improving 60 million acres of habitat in an area stretching from the Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado plains east as far as Ohio and south to the Gulf of Mexico.

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Michigan Habitat Chapter Takes Up Demolition

The Saginaw, Mich., chapter of the housing charity Habitat for Humanity has added demolition of vacant homes to its mission, The New York Times reports.

Saginaw, which lost tens of thousands of residents as the U.S. auto industry declined, reached a two-year agreement with the international nonprofit group to tear down two vacant, dilapidated properties a week.

Leaders of Habitat, which is best known for building homes for the poor, say that as foreclosures empty neighborhoods in some cities, they are shifting focus to meet changing economic demands. Money earned from the demolitions will be used to place low-income families in new or rehabilitated homes.

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From The Chronicle: House Passes National-Service Bill

The move to expand the country’s national-service programs got a significant boost on Wednesday, when the House of Representatives adopted legislation to create an array of new volunteer projects and a Senate committee approved a similar measure, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

March 18, 2009

N.Y. Legislators Mull Bill Restricting Museum Art Sales

New York State museums would be barred from selling off artworks to cover regular operating expenses under a measure introduced yesterday in the state legislature, The New York Times reports.

The bill was prompted by the December sale of two Hudson River School paintings by New York’s National Academy Museum and the furor over Brandeis University’s proposal to sell some works from its Rose Art Museum to counter a steep drop in its endowment.

“The two notions of deaccessioning and debt have to be de-coupled,” said Anne W. Ackerson, director of the Museum Association of New York, which assisted Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky in drafting the bill.

Catholics Protest Former D.C. Mayor's Nomination to Elite Church Charity

Former mayor of Washington, D.C., Anthony Williams’s candidacy to join the millennium-old Order of Malta has kicked up a firestorm among traditional Catholics due to his support for abortion rights and legal protections for same-sex couples, reports The Washington Post.

Mr. Williams’s nomination has sparked anger in the Catholic blogosphere and prompted petitions to the Rome headquarters of the order, which runs charitable organizations worldwide and counts numerous high-profile political figures among its members.

Prospecting: Salvation Army's Kettle Campaign Sets Record

Despite a dismal economy, the Salvation Army managed to set a new record with its year-end red-kettle campaign, which in 2008 raised $130-million, or 10 percent more than last year’s national total, reports Prospecting, The Chronicle’s online fund-raising column.

Give & Take: Should AIG Bonuses Go to Charity?

As public outrage grows for the $165-million in bonuses handed out to some American International Group employees, one person has a novel suggestion: Give the money to charity, notes Give and Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

Opinion: Gates Foundation Suffers From Feedback Gap

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation needs to interact more with the larger nonprofit world and open itself to independent voices, a Georgetown University senior fellow writes in The Seattle Times.

Pablo Eisenberg, of Georgetown’s Public Policy Institute and a Chronicle columnist, says the foundation relies on small panels of well-known individuals and a limited number of experts for grant and program recommendations. Garnering feedback, he says, “seems ceremonial.” Mr. Eisenberg argues that the Gateses should expand the foundation’s boards to include those outside their family and close circle of advisers.

Banker Offers Matching Funds for Latino Student Savers

A Boston-area investment banker and immigrant-rights activist is offering to set aside $50 a month for students in his college-prep program for local Hispanic teens — if they or their parents do the same, The Boston Globe reports.

Bob Hildreth, who founded La Vida Scholars, in Lynn, Mass., said he wants to encourage the habit of saving for college among Hispanic families, many of which he said have the means to set aside funds and persuade their kids to earn a degree but are more likely to send money to relatives in their home countries.

In the Arts: Cultural Institutions Take Hit in Fight for Funds

Museums, theaters, and operas, already reeling from plunging ticket and merchandise sales, are taking a further hit as donors cut back or prioritize giving for human-services groups, such as soup kitchens and homeless shelters, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Some 10,000 arts organizations, 10 percent of the U.S. total, are in danger of folding, according to the lobbying group Americans for the Arts. Lester Salomon, director of Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Civil Society Studies, said arts groups rely more heavily than other nonprofit institutions on private donors and face a “double whammy” from givers’ tendency to shift focus during a recession.

In other arts news: The Los Angeles Times reports that the Museum of Latin American Art, in Long Beach, Calif., has hired Richard P. Townsend, former Miami Art Museum deputy director, as its new president, filling a year-old vacancy. And Minneapolis’s Walker Art Center will cut $2-million in spending, nearly a tenth of its budget, over the current and next fiscal years, the Star Tribune reports.

From The Chronicle: Muslim Coalition Criticizes FBI Activities

Several large Islamic groups announced this week they are considering ending their cooperation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, saying the government agency has taken several steps recently to undermine their trust, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

From The Chronicle: Online Giving Survey Shows Mixed Results

While the Internet has become an increasingly significant source for recruiting new donors, online givers appear to be somewhat less loyal than more traditional mail donors, according to a new study, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

March 17, 2009

Prospecting: Fannie Mae's Walkathon Results

The embattled mortgage giant Fannie Mae’s annual walkathon for the homeless raised $5.6-million in 2008 — but that’s down from the more than $7-million raised the year before, notes Prospecting, the Chronicle’s online fund-raising column.

Annenberg Foundation Will Leave Longtime Philadelphia Base

The Annenberg Foundation will relocate from suburban Philadelphia to new headquarters in Los Angeles, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The announcement came hours after Leonore Annenberg’s death Thursday at age 91. Control of the multibillion-dollar foundation, which under Ms. Annenberg’s leadership had maintained strong support for Philadelphia-area causes, will pass to her stepdaughter, Wallis, and three grandchildren living in Los Angeles and Paris.

Give and Take: Gates Foundation Plans London Office

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is opening a new office in London to work more closely with European governments and nonprofit groups, notes Give and Take, the Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

Foundation CEO Discusses Dealing With Economic Downturn

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will increase payout rates in 2009, although overall grant dollars will probably decline slightly, Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, chief executive of the foundation, says in an interview with The McKinsey Quarterly, the journal of the management-consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

Dr. Lavizzo-Mourey said that well before the economic downturn, the $8-billion, health-focused philanthropy had begun sharpening its mission, paring it strategic objectives to seven areas, and cutting the number of grantees by more than half. In the interview, she outlined the progress on one of its major grant-making programs, a $500-million effort to combat child obesity.

Entrepreneur Turns Online Winnings Into Nonprofit Training Corps

The Washington Post’s Value Added blog profiles a social entrepreneur who used his winnings from online contests for new ideas to finance a training organization for international nonprofit workers.

Steve Beale parlayed $100,000 in winnings from Web sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Craigslist into Atlas Corps, which sponsors nonprofit organizers from India and Columbia for a year of U.S. training in management skills.

Charities' Ouster Leaves Big Gaps in Darfur Aid Effort

International aid agencies and the United Nations are scrambling to fill the gaps left by the expulsion of 13 humanitarian charities from displacement camps in Sudan’s Darfur region, reports the Los Angeles Times.

The ousted groups were among the largest providers of food, clean water, education, and medical care to refugees as part of the $1-billion international aid effort in Darfur. They were expelled earlier this month by Sudan’s government over the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.

In the Arts: A Record Gift for L.A. Dance Program

Arts patron Glorya Kaufman has donated $20-million to the Los Angeles Dance at the Music Center program, a gift the organization’s president said might be a record for dance in America, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Ms. Kaufman, the widow of the home-construction magnate Donald Bruce Kaufman, has given millions in the past to support the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and dance programs at UCLA and Juilliard.

In other arts news, the Times reports that attendance at the Getty Trust’s two Los Angeles museums is running ahead of last year’s record pace, despite reduced hours and a hike in parking fees. The trust has announced a plan to cut its budget by 25 percent.

Rose Family Blasts Brandeis Over Art-Museum Plan

The family of the benefactors of Brandeis University’s Rose Art Museum sharply criticized school officials Monday, insisting that the museum remain open and that its collection be kept intact, says The New York Times.

Speaking publicly for the first time about the controversy, 50 Rose family members said in a statement that “‘re-purposing’ the museum is ‘closing’ by another name,” a reference to Brandeis officials’ proposal to turn the museum into an arts center used primarily by those on campus.

In January school officials announced plans to close the Rose outright and sell off its collection, but they have since backtracked. A committee convened by the university to help determine the museum’s fate holds its first meeting Thursday.

Dozens of N.Y. Charities Made Political Donations

A New York Times review of campaign and tax records shows that at least 81 charities have given contributions to New York State legislative candidates since 2005, an apparent violation of federal law.

The donations by museums, churches, hospitals, and other tax-exempt groups generally flowed to incumbents who helped the charities secure state money, the Times reports.

Officials with several nonprofit groups said the donations came in the form of tickets to political fund-raising events that they did not realize counted as campaign contributions. Others said the contributions were in recognition of general good work, not specific help for their charity.

From The Chronicle: Online Financial Disclosures

Most nonprofit groups do not offer enough detailed information about their finances, programs, and leadership on their Web sites, according to a new report that documents how much information charities disclose beyond what is required by law, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

From The Chronicle: Board-Member Scrutiny in Madoff Senate Hearing

The Commissioner of the Internal Revenue told a Senate Finance Committee hearing today that one tool the Internal Revenue Service is considering is imposing taxes on board members of private foundations who placed all or some of their organizations’ assets with Bernard L. Madoff, the investor who ran a $65-billion pyramid scheme, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

March 16, 2009

Billion-Plus Losses Force Big Cuts at Getty Trust

Facing investment losses of $1.5-billion since mid-2008, the J. Paul Getty Trust is slashing operating costs by a quarter, says the Los Angeles Times.

The $72-million in spending cuts could mean reductions in the number of temporary exhibits at the trust’s Getty Museum and Getty Villa, which now number more than 20 a year, and deferring purchases of new works. James Wood, the trust’s president, said the organization’s board would make final decisions in May.

The trust, which relies primarily on income from its endowment for more than 90 percent of its museum, research, grant making and other costs, has seen assets decline from $6-billion to $4.5-billion since last July.

See a Chronicle article about the challenges facing nonprofit endowments, including the Getty’s.

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Ruling on Donor's Will Aids Boston Museum's Expansion Plan

A court decision has cleared the way for an expansion of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum that officials hope will help the Boston institution shed its old-fashioned image and heal wounds left over from the 1990 theft of several masterpieces, The New York Times reports.

The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruling this month allows the Gardner to depart from the strict parameters of its patron’s will, which effectively barred any changes in the museum’s collections. The museum is planning a 65,000-square-foot addition that it says is crucial to the 106-year-old museum’s survival, given the wear and tear on its original buildings, which hosts as many as 200,000 visitors a year.

Also: the Los Angeles Times praises the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s purchase of a major work by the 20th-century Mexican muralist Jose Clemente Orozco, with money raised by selling other pieces in its collection, calling the move a positive example of the controversial practice of “deaccessioning.”

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Newly Jobless Swell Volunteer Ranks at Charities

Nonprofit organizations are seeing a tide of new volunteers from the ranks of recently laid-off white-collar workers, reports The New York Times.

A Web site called VolunteerNYC.org had 30 percent more visitors last month than in February 2008, and San Francisco’s Taproot Foundation, which places skilled professionals in volunteer positions, had more sign-ups on one recent day than in an entire month a year ago.

Some nonprofit officials say the flood of interest has been a mixed blessing as organizations that have cut back on projects amid declining grants and donations struggle to absorb and find work for the new arrivals.

See The Chronicle’s article on the wave of new volunteers.

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French Physicist Wins Templeton Foundation Prize

Bernard d’Espagnat, a French physicist and philosopher who played a key role in the development of quantum mechanics, was today awarded the John Templeton Foundation’s annual ₤1-million ($1.4-million) prize for work exploring scientific and spiritual issues, the Associated Press reports.

The Templeton Prize, established in 1972, is widely thought to be world’s richest award to an individual for intellectual achievement. Mr. D’Espagnat, 87, was honored for a body of work that acknowledges that science cannot fully explain “the nature of being,” the foundation said.

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

Recession a Boon for School-Supplies Charity

A Boston charity that redistributes castoff office supplies for use in classrooms and day-care centers is finding a silver lining in the economic downturn, reports The New York Times.

Donations to Extras for Creative Learning are booming as businesses shed workers and move to smaller offices, said Jodi Schmidt, the organization’s director. Members of the organization pay a set fee, discounted for Boston public-school teachers, to collect free and low-cost supplies from the organization’s warehouse-style shop.

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Give and Take: Questions About Prize Philanthropy

A foundation executive raises questions about the effectiveness of foundations offering prizes, notes Give and Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

From The Chronicle: How the Recession Affects Donors' Decisions on Giving

More than 52 percent of people who support charities say they will give the same amount this year as they did in 2008, while just 17.5 percent planned to give less, according to a new study of 17,000 donors, reports The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

But many Americans are still undecided about their plans for giving this year: Thirty percent of donors said it was too soon for them to know how much they would give, the report noted.

Online Discussion Tomorrow: Making Wise Giving Decisions

Join us tomorrow (March 17) at noon Eastern time for an online discussion about steps donors can take to help them make wise giving decisions. Philanthropists and fund raisers alike will learn valuable lessons about giving in today’s troubled times.

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

Update: Aid Workers Released, Charity Rethinks Darfur Mission

Four workers from Doctors Without Borders who were kidnapped last week in Sudan’s Darfur region were freed Saturday, Reuters reports.

Local officials said the humanitarian workers, one from Sudan and the rest from other countries, had been seized by a group protesting the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for the country’s president, Omar Hussan al-Bashir, who is charged with crimes against humanity.

Doctors Without Borders officials said they are reconsidering the medical charity’s operations in Darfur in light of the worsening security situation.

March 13, 2009

Aid Workers Taken Hostage in Darfur

An Italian doctor, a Canadian nurse, and a French coordinator with the humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders have been kidnapped in Sudan’s strife-torn Darfur region, according to CNN.

Two Sudanese nationals abducted along with the Westerners from the organization’s Darfur compound have been released. Bloomberg says that the Sudanese government is negotiating with an armed group holding the aid workers.

The incident follows Sudan’s expulsion last week of Doctors Without Borders and more than a dozen other humanitarian agencies.

Downturn Puts Strain on Community Health Operations

Community health centers on the front lines of the U.S. care system are operating on razor-thin margins as donations drop and newly jobless and uninsured patients fill their waiting rooms, the Associated Press reports.

Strapped community clinics and public hospitals are eagerly awaiting federal decisions on how to spend health-care money approved in the new federal stimulus law, which includes $87-billion for government health insurance for children and the poor, plus $3.5-billion to bolster public health services and care for the needy.

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Largest U.S. Jewish Federation Lays Off 52 People

The country’s largest Jewish federation will eliminate more than a tenth of its staff to counter sinking donations and a shrinking endowment, news service JTA reports.

UJA-Federation of New York will lay off 52 employees, about 11 percent of staff members, and eliminate 20 vacant positions as part of a $7.4-million cost-cutting plan. The federation, which raised $153-million last year, has seen pledges drop by 10 percent and fulfillment of pledges drop 12 percent so far in 2009. Its endowment has lost 25 percent of its value, the news service says.

In the Arts: Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Museum Cut Staff Members, Baltimore Opera to Close

The Philadelphia Orchestra Association eliminated 18 administrative jobs, cutting management to its lowest level since the mid-1990s, and reduced top officials’ pay as first steps toward averting a potential $2.2-million deficit, says The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The cutbacks come as the orchestra is undergoing institutional turmoil and smarting from a perceived slip from the ranks of the world’s top symphonies, according to the Inquirer and The New York Times.

In other arts news, the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced another round of layoffs, eliminating 74 jobs amounting to more than a quarter of its merchandising employees, The New York Times reports. The move brings the number of staff layoffs there to 127, and the museum said the worsening economy will probably raise the total as high as 250 by summer, including curatorial positions.

Also: The Baltimore Opera’s trustees voted Thursday to dissolve the 58-year-old company and sell its assets, The Baltimore Sun reports. The decision to seek Chapter 7 liquidation comes three months after the opera filed for bankruptcy protection and canceled the remainder of its current season.

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Foundation Pledges $125-Million to S.F. Hospital

The foundation created by the billionaire philanthropist Charles F. Feeney has pledged $125-million toward construction of a new complex for the University of California San Francisco Medical Center, The New York Times reports.

The donation — the largest ever by Mr. Feeney’s Atlantic Philanthropies — is contingent on the medical center raising money to match the pledge. The new facility would provide care to women, children, and cancer patients.

Read more about Mr. Feeney, the so-called “billionaire who wasn’t” who for years gave away hundreds of millions of dollars anonymously, in The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

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AARP Appoints New Chief Executive

The American Association of Retired Persons named A. Barry Rand, a former Avis and Xerox executive, as its new chief executive, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Mr. Rand will be the first black leader of the organization, which has a membership of 40 million and is a major player in the national health-care debate. He pledged to keep up efforts to expand the group’s membership, adding, “People of color will be an opportunity for us.”

Prospecting: How Charities Fail the Gratitude Test

Few charities acknowledged online gifts in a test a consultant recently conducted, notes Prospecting, The Chronicle’s online fund-raising column.

Plus:

The lessons that public-radio on-air campaigns offer to other nonprofit groups.

Talking to donors about the Obama proposal to limit deductions of wealthy people.

Government and Politics Watch: Obama's Tax Plan

Timothy Geithner, the Treasury Secretary, told lawmakers on Thursday that the administration’s proposal to limit the value of charitable deductions would not hurt charities too much if the economy improves, notes Government and Politics Watch, The Chronicle’s online column.

Plus: A group that represents foundations has opposed the tax plan.

Online Discussion Next Week: Making Wise Giving Decisions

Join us Tuesday, March 17, at noon Eastern time for an online discussion about steps donors can take to help them make wise giving decisions. Philanthropists and fund raisers alike will learn valuable lessons about giving in today’s troubled times.

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

From The Chronicle: The Hidden Effects of the Recession

Charities that serve addicts, prisoners, the mentally ill, and other vulnerable people are facing the same increase in requests for help as food pantries and homeless shelters but not the same outpouring of support from donors, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

March 12, 2009

Demand Could Capsize Government's Grant Portal

A stimulus-inspired surge in traffic could put Grants.gov, the Web site where nonprofit groups and local governments search and apply for hundreds of federal grants, in danger of breaking down, reports The Washington Post.

Peter Orszag, director of the Office of Management and Budget, warned federal agency heads this week that a review of Grant.gov capacity showed the site to be at “significant risk of failure.”

Volume at the site is expected to increase 60 percent as funds from the $787-billion stimulus bill become available. The system is already slowing down, with would-be recipients who are trying to meet grant deadlines regularly getting error messages.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Tufts Deems $100-Million Microfinance Project a Success

Tufts University officials say they are reaping benefits from a microfinance fund started in 2005 with a $100-million gift from eBay founder and alumnus Pierre Omidyar, The Chronicle of Higher Education reports.

Last year the Boston-area university earned $6.6-million in dividends from the fund, which offers small-business loans and other financial services to poor people worldwide. The money helped counter a decline in the school’s endowment and supported faculty research, student aid, and a program to help Tufts graduates working in government and nonprofit jobs repay student loans.

(A paid subscription or temporary day pass is required to view this article.)

Google Co-Founder Brin Donates for Parkinson's Study

Sergey Brin, one of the founders of online giant Google, will contribute an undisclosed amount of money and a sample of his DNA to research aimed at finding the genetic basis of Parkinson’s disease, The New York Times reports.

Mr. Brin, who revealed last year that he has a genetic mutation that raises his risk for the condition, will pay for a study to be conducted by 23andMe, a company co-founded by his wife, Anne Wojcicki, that scans customers’ DNA and provides information on their ancestry and health risks. The firm hopes to recruit 10,000 Parkinson’s sufferers for the program and will charge them $25 for the DNA analysis rather than its usual $399 fee.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

In the Arts: Corporate Giving Plunges, Recession Hits Sesame Street

A new study on arts giving in the Puget Sound region shows donations from corporations dropping at a faster clip than those from other sources, reports The Seattle Times.

Corporate contributions have fallen 20 to 50 percent, compared to 10 to 25 percent for gifts from foundations and individuals, according to the report, which was based on interviews with leaders of 28 local cultural organizations.

In other arts news: the Associated Press reports that Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit producer of “Sesame Street” and other educational children’s TV shows, is laying off nearly a fifth of its 355 employees.

Also: The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra has let nine administrative employees go as part of a management restructuring, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. And the Los Angeles Times reports that the Louvre has accepted an approximately $1.3-million grant from the Annenberg Foundation for hands-on exhibits and school-outreach programs in the style of those offered at U.S. museums.

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Nonprofit Groups Feel Strain in Struggling South Carolina

The Washington Post reports on besieged charities in Columbia, S.C., capital of a state with the nation’s second-highest unemployment rate and a conservative governor who wants to eschew federal stimulus funds.

South Carolina’s budget has been cut 13 percent since last summer, and the Department of Social Services has reduced contracts with nonprofit groups by an average of 10 percent. At the same time, the Salvation Army, United Way, and other service agencies have been deluged with calls as joblessness has topped 14 percent.

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Obituary: Leonore Annenberg, Philanthropist

Leonore Annenberg, who had overseen the Annenberg Foundation, in Radnor, Pa., since late 2002, died today at the age of 91, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Ms. Annenberg served as the U.S. chief of protocol under President Reagan and was the widow of the former publisher and U.S. Ambassador to Britain Walter H. Annenberg. Forbes magazine estimated her personal fortune at $1.7-billion.

Obituary: Michael Calhoun, 61, AIDS Campaigner

Michael Calhoun, a ranking health official in the first Bush administration who became a leader in the global battle against AIDS, died of cancer at his northern California home last month, the San Francisco Chronicle reported yesterday.

Mr. Calhoun was the chief operating officer of the San Francisco-based Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation. As chief of staff to Health and Human Services Secretary Louis Sullivan under the first President Bush, he organized the first cabinet-level visit to Africa to study the impact of AIDS there and subsequently helped develop anti-AIDS programs in Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.

From The Chronicle: Fund Raisers' Ranks Expected to Grow

Among nonprofit organizations in the Washington and New York metropolitan areas, staff members who run programs are most likely to be laid off this year, while fund raisers at those charities are most likely to see their ranks increase, according to a pair of new surveys on nonprofit salaries, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

Give and Take: Eli Broad discusses education philanthropy

The philanthropist Eli Broad this week discussed his role in helping to reshape public schools in New York and elsewhere, notes Give & Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

Online Discussion Next Week: Making Good Giving Decisions

Also, read the free transcript of our recent discussion about how President Obama’s proposal to change the charitable tax deduction will affect nonprofit groups.

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

March 11, 2009

Emory U. Puts Brakes on $1.5-Billion Hospital Expansion

Emory University, in Atlanta, is suspending a planned $1.5-billion expansion of its medical facilities, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

The project, which would add 300 beds and new outpatient clinics to the college’s medical complex and add new research money, is likely to be on hold through this year, Emory Healthcare’s chief executive officer, John Fox, said.

Gates Leads $9-Million Gift for Seattle Schools

Four philanthropies — led by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation — will give a combined $9-million to Seattle public schools over the next three years, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports.

The Gates Foundation has earmarked $7.2-million to efforts to strengthen college-prep courses, establish a new computerized testing system, and improve teacher hiring. The remaining $1.8-million will come from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, the Boeing Company, and the Stuart Foundation.

Also: In an opinion column for the online magazine Salon, Joseph Romm, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, criticizes Gates for ignoring global warming in his philanthropy. The developing world, a focus of the Gates Foundation, will “suffer horribly” as a result of climate change, Mr. Romm writes.

Obama Order Could Curb Private Giving for Stem-Cell Research

President Barack Obama’s lifting of restrictions on federal financing of embryonic stem-cell research could be a double-edged sword for scientists active in such work, The New York Times reports.

State government and philanthropies rushed in to fill the gap when President George W. Bush imposed the restrictions in 2001, but the Obama decision, as well as the financial crisis, are raising concerns that fewer dollars will flow from those sources.

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In the Arts: Eisner Gives to CalArts; Ballet Theater Cuts Back

The former head of the Walt Disney Company, Michael Eisner, has through his family foundation donated $1.25-million to the California Institute of Arts to finance a program for Los Angeles schools, reports the Los Angeles Times.

The gift, the Eisner Foundation’s first to an arts organization and the largest ever for the California Institute’s Community Arts Partnership, will pay for music, dance, and other arts instruction in local schools by institute faculty, students, and alumni.

In other arts news, The New York Times reports that the American Ballet Theater’s 86 dancers have accepted a management proposal to eliminate vacation pay and company pension contributions in order to avoid staff and salary cuts.

Also: The PNC Foundation, the philanthropic arm of PNC Financial Services, announced a five-year, $5-million program of regional arts grants that doubles the philanthropy’s commitment to cultural activities, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.

(Free registration is required to view the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times articles.)

Hundreds Queue for Donated Food in Hard-Hit Indiana Town

Cars in the hundreds lined up outside an Elkhart, Ind., shopping mall Tuesday as $2.1-million worth of food was shipped in to aid the recession-ravaged city whose plight was recently spotlighted by President Barack Obama, the Associated Press reports.

The president visited Elkhart, which has an 18.3 percent unemployment rate, last month during the debate over his economic stimulus package.

Some 1,600 families picked up boxes of food and basic household supplies. Anti-hunger charity Feed the Children, which arranged the deliveries, plans to ship goods to another 3,600 families in northern Indiana.

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

Scandal-Tinged Union Scrutinizes Officer's Charity

The California-based Service Employees International Union, whose former president is the subject of a federal criminal probe, is looking into the nonprofit activities of one of its Bay Area officers, reports the Los Angeles Times.

James Bryant, an executive board member of the union’s Local 1021, is also president of the San Francisco chapter of the A. Philip Randolph Institute, a labor and civil-rights organization that gets much of its income from the union and from corporate interests.

The Times reports that the institute paid Bryant $117,000 in 2007 — nearly twice his regular salary as a transit-station agent — and contributed $16,000 to the rent on his home. The organization also employs Mr. Bryant’s son, Joseph, as associate director.

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Government and Politics Watch: National Service Needs

Witnesses at a Senate hearing Tuesday said legislation before Congress to expand national-service programs is critical because applications from potential volunteers are soaring at a time when they are needed to help Americans weather the economic downturn, reports Government and Politics Watch, The Chronicle’s online column.

Plus: White House chooses nonprofit founder to lead ‘green jobs’ effort.

Give and Take: Analyzing the Princeton U. Donor Dispute

To dissect the nuances of the battle between Princeton University and the Robertson family, the Hudson Institute’s Bradley Center for Philanthropy and Civic Renewal has collected a variety of opinions on it, reports Give & Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

Prospecting: Raising Money With Wishing Wells

Charity: water, a nonprofit group that provides clean drinking water in developing countries, is giving New Yorkers an easy way to part with their spare change: by tossing it into a wishing well in one of Manhattan’s shopping markets, notes Prospecting, The Chronicle’s online fund-raising column.

FUND-RAISING IN THE RECESSION: A CHRONICLE WEBINAR

As the recession deepens, charity executives face growing challenges as they seek to raise money.

Much of the advice that is available to nonprofit leaders is too general to make a difference, so The Chronicle is bringing together three veteran fund-raising experts to talk about what has worked in past downturns — and how to think in new ways about a financial crisis unlike any other in recent history.

The Webinar, to be held on Wednesday, March 25, at 2 p.m. Eastern time, offers a chance for everyone in your office to gather together for one low price to get expert advice. Sign up today to take advantage of special rates for early sign-ups.

March 10, 2009

Upscale Orange County Sees Surge at Food Banks

Food banks in Orange County, Calif., home of Disneyland and the setting for television programs showcasing affluent people, are reporting a 40- to 60-percent increase in demand since last June, reports Reuters.

Swamped facilities are struggling to feed the hungry as the economic crisis hits the state’s third-biggest county, and rising need swiftly outpaces donations, food bank officials said.

“We’ve always had a hunger issue here, it’s just been very well hidden. The scary part is that it can happen to anyone now,” said Monica Horner, development manager at Second Harvest Food Bank.

GM Cuts Donation to a PBS Filmmaker

Facing a severe cash crunch, General Motors has ended a 22-year underwriting relationship with the documentary maker Ken Burns, a partnership that helped produce sprawling, acclaimed PBS films on the Civil War, baseball, and jazz, The Detroit News reports.

The automaker has spent millions on Mr. Burns’s films. Under a 10-year deal signed in 1999, the company covered 35 percent of each production’s budget and supported educational programs tied to the broadcasts. The last film made under the deal, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, will air in six parts this fall.

Kelly Cusinato, a spokeswoman for General Motors, called Mr. Burns the “gold standard” of documentary filmmaking, but said the company’s financial crisis has forced it “to rein in such spending.” The company has lost $82-billion in recent years and is seeking up to $30-billion in federal aid.

Foundations Should Buy L.A. Times, Major Philanthropist Says

Eli Broad, the noted philanthropist, told an audience in New York Monday night that he would like to see his foundation and others join together to operate the troubled Los Angeles Times, according to Reuters.

Mr. Broad, a billionaire who made his fortune in homebuilding and financial services, once expressed interest in buying the Times outright but told a lecture audience at the 92nd Street Y that “I’ve regained my sanity since then.” The Tribune Company, which owns the Los Angeles Times, filed for bankruptcy last year.

Expressing concern that investigative journalism be preserved despite the newspaper industry’s struggles, Mr. Broad said ownership by more than one grant maker could help the Times stay viable. “If several foundations are involved, there is likely to be journalistic freedom,” he said.

British Fund Raisers Warn Against Changing Gift Tax Break

British fund-raising experts consulted by Third Sector Online warn against adapting the Obama administration’s plan to curb tax breaks for upper-income donors to the comparable British program, known as Gift Aid.

The British tax-collection authority, HM Revenue & Customs, is conducting research on how much tax breaks motivate giving.

In an editorial, The Wall Street Journal blasts the Obama plan, noting appeals by “the true-blue liberals,” which the paper says dominate the nonprofit world, against trimming the charitable deduction for households earning more than $250,000 a year.

(Free registration is required to view the Third Sector article.)

Nonprofit Groups Becoming Major Campaign Players

Nonprofit groups from across the political spectrum spent nearly $200-million on campaign activities during the 2008 election cycle, Congressional Quarterly reports.

Political spending by nonprofit organizations registered under Sections 501(c)(4) and 501(c)(6) of the federal tax code more than tripled last year compared to the 2004 presidential election, according to a study by the Campaign Finance Institute, a research group affiliated with George Washington University. Those groups’ spending soared as the Federal Election Commission cracked down on Section 527 organizations, which played a major campaign role in 2004.

Charitable organizations, which are exempt under 501(c)(3), are prohibited from getting involved in partisan politics.

Obituary: Schuyler Chapin, 86, Arts Champion

Schuyler Chapin, a long-time champion of the arts who served stints as general manager of the Metropolitan Opera and cultural affairs commissioner for the city of New York, died on Saturday, according to The New York Times. He was 86.

Mr. Chapin created Lincoln Center’s “Mostly Mozart” program and led Columbia’s University’s School of the Arts during a varied half-century career. Though known as a consummate behind-the-scenes operator, the Times notes that he was widely criticized by arts groups in his last public role as New York’s culture czar from 1994 to 2001 for failing to act forcefully against Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s denunciation of controversial art exhibits.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

From The Chronicle: MacArthur Fund Names a Former Diplomat as President

Robert L. Gallucci, a former American diplomat and weapons inspector, has been chosen to be the next president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, reports The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Government and Politics Watch: National Service

Bills to expand national service and finance innovative work at charities are getting attention this week from key Congressional committees, reports Government and Politics Watch, The Chronicle’s online column.

Prospecting: Are Long Appeals Better Than Short Ones?

Charities often make the mistake of thinking short direct-mail letters work better than long ones, says a veteran fund raiser cited on Prospecting, The Chronicle’s online fund-raising column.

Give and Take: Is Amazon.com Stingy?

Amazon.com is either very quiet about its giving — or not very generous, suggests a commentator in a new post on Give & Take, The Chronicle’s round-up of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

Online Discussion Tomorrow: Charitable Deductions

Join us tomorrow at noon Eastern time for an online discussion about President Obama’s plan to reduce the charitable tax deduction for the country’s wealthiest donors. Participants will be able to ask experts about the probable effects of the plan, who is likely to be affected, and the plan’s prospects for passage, among other topics.

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

Plus, see a transcript of today’s discussion about online videos.

March 09, 2009

L.A. Philanthropist Charged With Investment Fraud

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Bruce Alan Friedman, a Los Angeles businessman, with diverting millions of dollars in investors’ money to support a lavish way of life and his personal charity, the Los Angeles Times reports.

A federal judge froze the assets of Friedman’s Diversified Lending Group and Applied Equities, which federal investigators say have sold some $216-million in “secured investment notes” since 2004, with promises to plow the money into real estate and mortgage lending.

The commission contends that Mr. Friedman spent $17-million of his clients’ money on himself and put another $1.8-million into his Friedman Charitable Foundation. He has gained a name in Los Angeles in recent years for his philanthropic activity, donating $10-million to build a children’s museum and partnering with the Dodgers baseball team on charity projects.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Update: Settlement in Angel Food Ministries Suit

The family that runs Angel Food Ministries has settled a lawsuit filed by two disgruntled board members over management and spending at the Georgia charity, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Under an agreement approved Friday in Walton County Superior Court, the nonprofit organization, which distributes low-cost groceries through a national network of churches, will undergo a forensic financial audit, and company credit cards held by the founding Wingo family will be canceled. The board members will leave Angel Food, which they said was damaged by the Wingos’ profligate spending.

Parents Challenge Trustees Over Private School's Endowment

The sudden near-closure of a nonprofit private school financed by a late steel magnate’s trust has sparked a bitter court battle in Wisconsin, The New York Times reports.

Parents sued after trustees of the Conserve School announced this year that due to the dire economic climate, its four-year program would be reduced to a single semester of nature-focused study. Critics of the move contend that Conserve trustees, all officials of the Central Wire and Steel Company, in Chicago, were acting in the firm’s interest rather than the school’s.

More than two-thirds of the school’s $181-million endowment is invested in Central Wire and Steel, whose former CEO, James R. Lowenstine, established the trust that largely supports the 143-student institution.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

N.J. Eyes Repeal of Endowment Restrictions

The New Jersey legislature is considering a bill to allow recession-hit charities in the state to draw funds from their shrinking endowments, reports the Associated Press.

The measure would repeal a state law barring nonprofits from tapping endowments that fall below their original value, a fate that has befallen many charities due to the stock-market plunge and other investment losses. “This is about [nonprofits’] survival,” said Richard Codey, the bill’s co-sponsor and president of the Senate.

Twenty-seven other states and Washington, D.C., have enacted similar measures in recent years.

Philadelphia Mayor Pledges to Maintain Support for Arts

In contrast to past Philadelphia city administrations, Mayor Michael Nutter is pledging not to single out the arts for budget cuts in tough times, according to the Associated Press.

In an interview with the news service, Mayor Nutter said the arts and culture not only enhance the city’s quality of life but also “helps us to cope and to deal with” the economic crisis. The city has pared support for arts institutions in its fiscal 2009 budget but no more than for other types of organizations, the newspaper said.

Muckraking Magazine Offers a Recession Test for Nonprofit Journalism

With the notion of nonprofit, endowed newspapers a topic of much attention, The New York Times looks at the recession’s impact on left-leaning investigative magazine Mother Jones, which has been supported largely by grants and donations since its founding in 1976.

The magazine lost 23 percent of its ad revenue last year, and “some big donors pulled back,” Clara Jeffery, a co-editor said, but so far it has avoided deep staff and spending cuts.

“We’ve been hearing from more and more people, ‘How does that work? What’s it like being a nonprofit,’” Monika Bauerlein, her fellow co-editor, told the newspaper.

The Chronicle published two new opinion pieces on journalism and philanthropy in its current issue. One is by Vince Stehle, of the Surdna Foundation, while the other is by Chuck Lewis, founder of the Center for Public Integrity, and Bruce Sievers, a longtime grant maker.

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

From The Chronicle: Humanitarian Crisis in Sudan Worsens

Relief workers say the well being of hundreds of thousands of people in Sudan is at risk because of a decision by the government to oust 13 aid groups, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

Plus: Were aid groups partly responsible for the crisis because they did not speak out enough? That’s the view of a blog post cited by Give and Take, The Chronicle’s round-up of opinions about the nonprofit world.

From The Chronicle: Prizes Grow in Popularity Among Foundations

The use of prizes — and the money and glory that come with them — is undergoing a “renaissance” in the nonprofit world, helping spark innovative approaches to solving social problems, says a new report whose highlights are summarized by The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

From The Chronicle: College Credit Ratings

College investment officers are worried that their institutions’ tight finances put them at risk for a credit-ratings downgrade, according to a new survey whose results are summarized by The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Give and Take: The Morality of Fighting Global Poverty

Aid experts are debating a new book that argues that Americans and others have an ethical obligation to give money to fight global poverty, notes a post in Give and Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

Online Discussions This Week: Online Video on Tuesday, Charitable Deductions on Wednesday

Join us tomorrow at noon Eastern time, when we will host a live discussion on how to use video to promote a cause.

Among the questions to be discussed: What’s the best way to use video storytelling to get your group’s message across to current and potential supporters? What technologies work best for public-service announcements? What’s the difference between direct-response and viral video?

Also: We’ll hold another discussion on Wednesday, March 11, at noon Eastern time about President Obama’s plan to reduce the charitable tax deduction for the country’s wealthiest donors. Participants will be able to ask experts about the probable effects of the plan, who is likely to be affected, and the plan’s prospects for passage, among other topics.

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

For an archive of transcripts of past discussions, go to: http://philanthropy.com/live.

New Issue of The Chronicle Now Online

The latest issue of The Chronicle is now online. You can read extensive coverage and analysis of President Obama’s tax plan and much more. To see the full table of contents, go to http://philanthropy.com/summary/.

March 06, 2009

Many Philadelphia Foundations Maintain Grant Spending Despite Losses

Nearly half of the respondents to a survey of Philadelphia-area foundations say they will maintain their grant budgets this year despite substantial endowment losses, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

About three-quarters of foundations polled by the Delaware Valley Grantmakers, a group that represents institutional donors, said they have lost more than 20 percent of their assets in the last six months. However, 42 percent said their grant budgets would remain the same in 2009.

Supreme Court to Review Conservative Group's Clinton Film

The Supreme Court will hear arguments later this month on whether a nonprofit conservative advocacy group’s documentary about then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton violated campaign laws, The New York Times reports.

Citizens United was blocked from airing advertisements for “Hillary: The Movie” during last year’s primary campaign under the 2002 McCain-Feingold law, which bans broadcasting “electioneering communications” funded by corporations in the 30 days before a presidential primary. A federal district court ruled that the film’s purpose was to dissuade viewers from voting for Clinton.

Former U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olsen, who is representing Citizens United, characterized the film as a “critical historical biography,” and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed a brief defending the film.

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More and More Businesses Created to Tackle Social Problems

The growing number of entrepreneurs tackling social ills gets attention in The New York Times.

Experts say the for-profit approach does not suit all social problems, but the story cites successful examples such as D.light, which supplies solar-powered lamps to replace the dangerous kerosene lamps widely used in poor, rural communities and has raised $65-million from investors in less than two years.

David Bornstein, author of How to Change the World, an influential manual on social entrepreneurship, said the key is to determine whether the economics of the business work for or against the social mission. For a firm like D.light, he said, “the bigger you get, the cheaper your product will be, so the economies of scale make sense.”

Read The Chronicle’s article on D.Light.

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

Human-Rights Advocates Killed in Kenya

Two leaders of the Oscar Foundation, a Kenyan legal-aid and human-rights organization, were gunned down in Nairobi Thursday, hours after leading protests against alleged police killings, Reuters reports.

The officials — director Kamau Kingara and program coordinator Paul Oulo — were shot after their car was blocked in Nairobi. The local police denied any involvement. Before the killings, the Kenyan government had denounced the organization as a front for Mungiki, a criminal gang. The Oscar Foundation and other rights groups accuse police of killing hundreds of youths suspected of Mungiki ties.

Museum News: $25-Million Bequest and a New Web Site

The late founder of the Museum of Latin American Art, the managed-care pioneer Robert Gumbiner, helped ensure the institution’s long-term health with the bequest of a $25-million endowment, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Mr. Gumbiner, who died in January at age 85, established the museum in 1996 to house the large collection of Latin American art he built traveling in the region. The bequest and an as-yet-undetermined gift from the Robert Gumbiner Foundation will cover 35 to 40 percent of the museum’s annual operating costs, which now total $3.6-million.

In other museum news, New York’s Museum of Modern Art today unveils a new Web site, more than a year in the making, that includes enhanced video and images, interactive tools and social-media features, The New York Times reports.

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Brandeis Committee to Consider Art Museum's Future

Brandeis University will form a committee to consider the future of the school’s Rose Art Museum, reports The New York Times.

The panel will include an employee and a trustee from the museum, a university trustee and an unspecified number of faculty, and students and alumni. The university has been roiled by controversy over its announcement in January that it would close the Rose and sell part of its collection, a proposal university officials have since withdrawn.

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Obituary: Terrance Keenan, Longtime Health Foundation Executive

Terrance Keenan, an executive and consultant with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for more than 35 years, died February 25 of heart failure, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported yesterday. He was 85.

Mr. Keenan, a native Pennsylvanian, became vice president of the Princeton foundation in 1972, a few years after it was started with a bequest from the leader of Johnson and Johnson, Robert Wood Johnson. Under his direction it grew into the nation’s second-largest philanthropy (it now ranks third) and the biggest devoted to health care.

Mr. Keenan oversaw distribution of more than 900 grants and pioneered partnership between health and religious organizations to improve care for the chronically ill.

Podcast: How Is National Public Radio Using Online Networking Tools?

How is National Public Radio using online social-networking tools to spread its message and connect with its audience?

In the latest installment of Social Good, The Chronicle’s free monthly podcast about online networks, our host Allison Fine talks with Andy Carvin, the network’s social-media chief, about its strategy and about how smaller nonprofit groups can incorporate online tools into their outreach efforts.

Online Discussions Next Week: Using Video and Obama's Tax Plan

Join us on Tuesday, March 10, at noon Eastern time, when we will host a live discussion on how to use video to promote a cause.

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

For an archive of transcripts of past discussions, go to: http://philanthropy.com/live.

Government and Politics Watch: Coordinating Efforts in Iraq

More than 40 charities have called on President Obama to develop a plan for alleviating the humanitarian crisis in Iraq and helping Iraqis who have fled their country because of violence.

Plus: The National Endowment for the Arts has posted grant guidelines for the $50-million it will distribute as part of the recently passed stimulus bill.

Give and Take: Watchdog Group's Demands on Foundations Called 'Arrogant'

Paul Brest, head of the Hewlett Foundation, says he wants foundations to do more for minorities and other vulnerable people, but a recent set of suggestions from a watchdog group went much too far in prescribing what foundations should do.

Plus: As American fund raisers debate the Obama administration’s plan to limit the charitable tax deductions for the wealthy, a vastly different tax proposal is roiling the United Kingdom.

Correction: International Women's Day

Philanthropy Today incorrectly referred to the date when International Women’s Day is celebrated. It will be celebrated on Sunday.

March 05, 2009

White House Reconsiders Plan to Lower Charitable Deduction

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Wednesday suggested that the White House might drop or modify its proposal to lower the charitable tax deduction for the wealthiest donors, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The article says complaints by Democratic lawmakers may be prompting the shift in thinking. President Barack Obama included the idea in his plan to strengthen health care in the United States.

For more on Mr. Obama’s proposal, which would cap deductions for taxpayers in the highest tax brackets at 28 percent, down from 33 or 35 percent, read The Chronicle’s coverage.

Sudan Expels Aid Groups After President Charged

At least 10 international aid organizations were kicked out of Darfur Wednesday after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant charging Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir with war crimes and crimes against humanity, the Associated Press reports.

Among the affected groups were CARE, Oxfam, and branches of Doctors Without Borders and Save the Children. Sudan’s vice president said the organizations were using humanitarian efforts “as a cover to achieve a political agenda.”

While several dozen aid agencies remain in Darfur, United Nations officials said the ousted groups did most of the work. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Sudan’s move deals “a serious setback” to lifesaving operations in the region.

College Endowments Shrank by a Quarter in Second Half of 2008

U.S. colleges and universities saw their endowments plunge an average of 24.1 percent from July to December last year, according to a nonprofit group’s survey of 629 institutions, Reuters and The Chronicle of Higher Education report.

Institutions with endowments under $10-million were hardest hit, with their funds losing 30.2 percent, according to the Commonfund Institute study, which is being released today. Commonfund’s executive director, John Griswold, called the showing “the worst-ever half-year results that educational endowments have seen.”

(Free registration is required to view the Reuters article on the Boston Globe site, and a paid subscription or temporary pass is required to view the Chronicle article.)

Charities' 'Action Agenda' Calls for More Political Support

Nonprofit leaders representing thousands of U.S. charities have signed an online manifesto saying the government has not done enough to help them weather the economic meltdown, The New York Times reports.

Lester M. Salamon, director of Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Civil Society Studies and author of the manifesto, entitled “Forward Together: Empowering America’s Citizen Sector for the Change We Need,” said its message is that “the partnership between us and the government isn’t working, and that’s not good for the country.”

For more on “Forward Together,” read The Chronicle’s coverage.

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

Crisis Slams Arts Groups, but New Institutions Defy Downturn

The worst effects of the economic crisis that has sparked cutbacks and closures among museums, theaters, symphonies, and opera and ballet companies might still be to come, USA Today reports.

In an article detailing the woes arts groups nationwide are already facing, Jesse Rosen of the League of American Orchestras says the full impact has been masked because many groups sell performance subscriptions up to a year in advance. “It’s the second year when it catches up,” Mr. Rosen says.

The New York Times reports that the Metropolitan Opera, which has already cut salaries and scaled back its next season, will put up its celebrated Marc Chagall murals as loan collateral. General Manager Peter Gelb downplayed the step, saying the Met has “no intention of giving up” the paintings.

The downturn is not deterring all artistic enterprises. The Times reports on the start of the Opera Manhattan Repertory Company, which will showcase emerging talents. And the D.C. Philharmonic opens next month with hopes of attracting the region’s affluent African-American residents, according to The Washington Post.

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

Update: Settlement Possible in Feed the Children Fight

An Oklahoma judge postponed a scheduled hearing yesterday in the legal battle for control of the national antipoverty charity Feed the Children and hinted that a settlement might be in the works, reports The Oklahoman.

Lawyers in the case were “exploring ways to resolve some or all of the issues,” District Court Judge Patricia Parrish said in calling off the hearing. Last month, the judge reinstated five Feed the Children board members who had sued after being ousted in December by founder Larry Jones.

For more on the leadership struggle at Feed the Children, read The Chronicle’s coverage.

Give and Take: Private Money in Public Schools

A closely watched fight about the future of the public school system in the District of Columbia continues to raise questions about the role foundations should play in assisting education, notes Give and Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of opinions about the nonprofit world.

Plus: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s agricultural program comes under fire.

Prospecting: Tonight's Film and Twitter Promotion

Today is International Women’s Day, and it could provide a big opportunity for the charity CARE to raise money and awareness about its work empowering people around the world through a film and Twitter promotion, notes a new item in Prospecting, The Chronicle’s online fund-raising column.

Plus:

Planned changes on Facebook will make it easier for nonprofit organizations to use the social-networking site to communicate with their supporters.

Penn State students dance their way through the recession.

A critique of the Six Degrees social networking site created by the actor Kevin Bacon.

Online Discussions Next Week: Using Video and Obama's Tax Plan

Join us on Tuesday, March 10, at noon Eastern time, when we will host a live discussion on how to use video to promote a cause. Among the questions to be discussed: What’s the best way to use video storytelling to get your group’s message across to current and potential supporters? What technologies work best for public-service announcements? What’s the difference between direct-response and viral video?

Also: Join us on Wednesday, March 11, at noon Eastern time for an online discussion about President Obama’s plan to reduce the charitable tax deduction for the country’s wealthiest donors. Participants will be able to ask experts about the probable effects of the plan, who is likely to be affected, and the plan’s prospects for passage, among other topics.

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 information about the discussions will be posted soon. For an archive of transcripts of past discussions, go to: http://philanthropy.com/live.

Transcript: Advice for Stressful Times

See a transcript of today’s online discussion about how veteran fund raiser Cass Wheeler, of the American Heart Association, built a successful organization during stressful times.

March 04, 2009

Sexual Harassment Suit Adds to Food Charity's Woes

The son of the founder of Angel Food Ministries, a $100-million Georgia nonprofit group that sells discount food to the needy through a national church network, has been sued by a former employee of the charity who says she was fired after refusing his sexual advances, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

The case was filed Friday, the same day two members of the Angel Food board sued to oust the founding Wingo family from the organization’s business, claiming they used its funds to enrich themselves. FBI and IRS agents searched the charity’s Atlanta-area offices last month but did not disclose the reasons for the raid.

An Angel Food spokesman told the newspaper he was unaware of the former employee’s lawsuit.

Update: Student-Loan Charity Faces Federal Probes Over Interest and Perks

Congress and the IRS are investigating student-loan provider EduCap for allegedly abusing its nonprofit status by charging high interest on loans and bestowing high pay and lavish perks on its top executive and her husband, reports CBS News.

Investigators say the group’s chief executive, Catherine Reynolds, used an EduCap-owned luxury jet for dozens of trips — often accompanied by political figures such as former Sens. Tom Daschle and Ted Stevens and new CIA Director Leon Panetta — that had little to do with the charity’s mission.

Ms. Reynolds declined to speak with CBS about its story.

Hadassah Head Plots Course to Rely More on Membership

Facing an economic world “turned upside down” and some $90-million in losses from investing with Bernard Madoff, the Jewish women’s charity Hadassah will rely more heavily on its roughly 300,000 members, the organization’s president, Nancy Falchuk, tells The Jerusalem Post.

Hadassah, the largest U.S. volunteer women’s organization, is following through on its centerpiece project, a $318-million addition to the Hadassah-University Medical Center just outside Jerusalem. But it has also cut staff and is encouraging volunteers “to go back to ‘stuffing envelopes,’” Ms. Falchuk said.

European Hedge Funds Scale Back Glitzy Fund-Raising Events

Europe’s biggest charity fund-raising event and other luxury balls mounted by hedge funds will lose a little luster this year, reports The Financial Times.

The annual ball for Absolute Return for Kids, a champagne-soaked affair that raised about $35.9-million last year, will be smaller and less lavish, reflecting “the times we’re in,” said Arki Busson, founder of the British children’s charity and chairman of the hedge-fund group EIM. Similar trimming is in the works at other hedge-fund charity events.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Mass. Foundation Losses Hit Local Charities

In line with the national trend, most of the largest grant makers in Massachusetts plan to give less in 2009 after suffering deep losses on investments last year, reports The Boston Globe.

Major foundations such as the John Merck Fund, the George I. Alden Trust, and the Boston Foundation are cutting donations by as much as 27 percent. The article cites a recent Chronicle of Philanthropy survey that found that more than half of 73 large foundations nationwide will scale back grants this year due to investment losses.

Some Boston-area groups, including the Barr and Yawkey Foundations, vowed to maintain giving levels despite endowment losses.

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

Sales Up, Donations Down at Charity Thrift Stores

The economic downturn has been a double-edged sword for charity-run thrift stores, with shoppers flocking to them for cheap goods but supplies down as donations tumble, McClatchy Newspapers reports.

Sales are up 3 percent over last year at Salvation Army stores in the western United States, but “we’re seeing a decrease in large-item donations,” said Dawn Marks, the charity’s regional spokeswoman. Families are increasingly selling used clothes and other items for cash or trade at for-profit secondhand shops rather than donating, according to store owners.

Opinion: Top Universities' Endowment 'Hoard' Hurts Students

Elite American universities are “addicted to multibillion-dollar endowments” that tie their fortunes too closely to the vagaries of the financial markets, BusinessWeek economics editor Peter Coy argues in the magazine’s current issue.

Colleges better serve their students if they “act more like companies” and spend revenue on current needs rather than building huge endowments and becoming reliant on the earnings for operating costs, as do Harvard, Princeton, and other top-tier institutions, Mr. Coy writes.

From The Chronicle: Power Struggle Erupts at Big Antipoverty Charity

A bitter court battle over control of Feed the Children, one of the nation’s biggest antipoverty charities, reveals an organization in turmoil, reports The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

From The Chronicle: A Look at Giving by the Wealthiest Donors in 2007

A new study of 700 wealthy households found that affluent donors gave an average of $80,249, roughly 9 percent of their income in 2007, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

Government and Politics Watch: NEA Economic-Recovery Grants

The National Endowment for the Arts has posted grant guidelines for the $50-million it will distribute as part of the recently passed stimulus bill, according to an update in Government and Politics Watch, The Chronicle’s online column.

Give and Take: Chinese and Russian Philanthropy

While both Russia and China want to promote philanthropy within their borders, Russian efforts are hampered by unethical charities and a testy relationship between the government and nonprofit groups, writes Ken Berger, president of Charity Navigator, as noted in Give and Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of opinions about the nonprofit world.

Online Discussion Tomorrow: Career and Fund-Raising Advice

Join us on Thursday, March 5, at noon Eastern time, when we will host a live discussion for readers to pose questions directly to the veteran fund raiser Cass Wheeler, who has navigated the American Heart Association through recessions, the fallout from the 2001 terrorist attacks, and a major national reorganization — all while doubling the organization’s revenue between 1997 and 2008.

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

For an archive of past discussions, go to: http://philanthropy.com/live.

March 03, 2009

Charity Shifts $1-Million in Assets Just Before Bankruptcy Filing

The nonprofit National Heritage Foundation wired $1-million to an affiliate charity just two days before it filed for bankruptcy last month, Forbes.com reports.

The Falls Church, Va., organization, which helps establish donor-advised funds through which donors can disburse gifts, sought Chapter 11 protection January 24, saying it was “unable to meet obligations.” According to court documents, the group had sent $1-million two days earlier to a subsidiary, Congressional District Programs, leaving it with $6-million in assets against $7.5-million in bank loans.

For more on the National Heritage Foundation’s plight, read The Chronicle’s coverage.

Researcher Studies Nostalgia as Trigger for Giving

Tugging at potential donors’ memories can prompt them to open their wallets for a cause, according to research by an Old Dominion University professor who is now taking his study to England, reports Third Sector, an online news source.

John Ford, who teaches marketing and international business at the Virginia school, will develop a scale for British charities to measure how the evoking of certain emotions and memories affects the tendency to give. “We think nostalgia might get through to people when other things don’t,” Mr. Ford said.

Buffalo Foundations Increasingly Count Expenses as Giving

Foundations in the Buffalo, N.Y., area are increasingly counting expenses as charity, in some cases relying on administrative costs to meet the federal requirement to give at least 5 percent of net assets, The Buffalo News reports.

The newspaper reviewed spending reports from 2003 to 2007 for 220 local grant makers and found that they increased the level of administrative expenses they counted as charity by 58 percent over that period. About 7 percent of the groups relied on such costs to meet the 5-percent threshold, and one-third failed to reach that standard even after counting expenses.

Opinion: Activists Aim to Politicize Philanthropy

A column in today’s Wall Street Journal blasts the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy and other advocacy groups that author Naomi Schaefer Riley says aim to introduce racial quotas and other political considerations into charitable giving.

Ms. Riley, deputy editor of the newspaper’s Taste section, cites a report released today by the committee that calls on foundations to direct at least half of their grant dollars “to benefit lower-income communities, communities of color, and other marginalized groups.” She also notes efforts by groups such as the Greenlining Institute and the Council on Foundations to promote diversity in foundations’ giving and on their boards.

“Philanthropists give money to foundations with a particular cause in mind,” Ms. Riley writes. Organizations that redirect funding to match the activist groups’ criteria “may have to violate donor intent in order to do so.”

From The Chronicle: Half of Wealthy Americans Say Taxes Don't Affect Their Giving

A new study has found that half of affluent Americans say the availability of tax breaks doesn’t affect their giving, reports The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

From The Chronicle: Pushing Foundations to Adopt New Standards

Foundations should spend at least half of their grant dollars to help poor neighborhoods and minorities, a foundation watchdog group said today as part of a series of recommendations on how grant makers should improve their giving and management, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

From The Chronicle: Corporate Giving Suffers as Recession Deepens

Many big companies are cutting back their giving because of the recession, according to a new study summarized by The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

From The Chronicle: Charitable Solutions to America's Economic Woes

Reversing the “quiet crisis” affecting the nation’s charities as their resources and donations dwindle could best be accomplished by creating concerted local and national service opportunities, says a new report by Civic Enterprises and the Democratic Leadership Council, both in Washington, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

Government and Politics Watch: Obama's Tax Plan

Giving by the affluent would drop 1.3 percent a year under President Obama’s plan, according to a Washington research center’s analysis summarized in Government and Politics Watch, The Chronicle’s online column.

Prospecting: Humorous Beyoncé Dance Pledge Raises $10,000

Using a Web 2.0 brand of humor –- along with e-mail, video, and outreach to social networks — the Nonprofit Technology Network raised more than $10,000 for scholarships to its annual technology conference in San Francisco, according to a report in Prospecting, The Chronicle’s online fund-raising column.

Transcript: Nurturing the Careers of Young Nonprofit Employees

See a transcript of today’s online discussion about how young nonprofit employees can move up the ladder during tough economic times.

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 March 12 issue.

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

March 02, 2009

Bay Area Nonprofit Groups Brace for 2010 Shakeup

Nonprofit groups in one of the country’s major centers of charitable activity foresee a major restructuring in the next year, with many organizations likely to close or merge, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Declining donations and rising demand for services are hitting especially hard in the San Francisco Bay Area, home to 25,000 nonprofit groups that account for 14 percent of the region’s gross national product, double the national average.

“Although nonprofits will be OK this year, the next two years will be difficult” as the impact of state budget cuts is felt, said Denise Gammal, a vice president at United Way of the Bay Area and co-author of a Stanford University study on the region’s charities.

Girl Scouts Modernize to Reverse Membership Drop

Facing a sharp decline in enrollment, the Girl Scouts of the USA is embarked on a makeover that de-emphasizes traditional pursuits such as earning badges in favor of blogging and environmental projects, The Washington Post reports.

The 97-year-old organization, which has seen membership decline 8 percent to 2.5 million, has stepped up its online activities and last year hired a former partner at the advertising firm Ogilvy & Mather as its first brand manager.

The Girl Scouts also introduced a program called Journeys that largely replaces the old system of earning badges on specific topics with a focus on broader themes such as healthy living and environmental awareness.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)

Charities Chafe as State Laws Keep Endowments Off-Limits

Cash-strapped nonprofit groups in many states face a frustrating quandary as local laws prevent them from tapping endowments hit by the Wall Street slump, the Associated Press reports.

Two dozen states retain circa-1970s laws that prohibit charities from withdrawing from endowments that fall below the level of the gifts put into them, as has happened widely due to the stock-market plunge. The statutes were designed to keep nonprofit groups from exhausting the principal in their endowments.

“I don’t imagine the donors anticipated a situation where the market would fall so dramatically that the money would be held hostage,” said David Chambless, chief executive of the North Carolina Symphony, which is unable to touch its nearly $6.9-million endowment because of state laws.

Court Rules for Defunct Islamic Charity in Wiretap Case

The Justice Department’s request for a delay in a lawsuit brought by the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation over warrantless wiretapping was denied Friday by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, reports The Oregonian.

The ruling sets the stage for the case to proceed. The Obama administration had sought a stay, citing the so-called state secrets privilege in a bid to prevent the now-defunct charity’s lawyers from seeing a document they say shows Al-Haramain was subjected to illegal surveillance.

The Oregon branch of the Saudi-based foundation disbanded after it was branded a terrorist front group by the Treasury Department in 2004. It filed suit in 2006 over the alleged wiretapping.

Donors Consider Legal Options in Brandeis Museum Controversy

The former U.S. poet laureate Robert Pinsky will be among the panel members discussing art museums and their collections in a time of financial crisis in a discussion to be aired online tonight at Brandeis University, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Brandeis’s controversial plan to close its Rose Art Museum and possibly sell its collection is the spur for the symposium, titled “Preserving Trust.” It will be streamed live on the university’s Web site at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time and subsequently posted on YouTube.

The university appears to be scaling back its plan to sell its collection, worth an estimated $350-million, reports The Wall Street Journal.

A letter the university sent to alumni suggested that no pieces would be sold until a need arises, but critics say they believe the institution still seems intent on selling the works. An heir to the family that gave money for the museum, plus a major donor to the museum, are investigating legal options to oppose the plan, the newspaper says.

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

From The Chronicle: Obama's Charity-Tax Plan Divides Charity World

President Obama’s tax plan has divided charities and already aroused concern among some donors, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports. Some experts say the plan could cause giving to surge this year — even if it never passes — because donors want to lock in tax breaks for their donations.

Give and Take: Putting Pressure on Foundations

The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, a foundation watchdog group, will push grant makers to give more money to help poor neighborhoods and minorities as part of a series of recommendations to improve philanthropy it plans to announce tomorrow, notes Give and Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of opinions about the nonprofit world.

Plus: The victims of the Madoff scandal should have given more to charity, says one commentator.

Government and Politics Watch: Congressman to Oppose Obama's Charitable-Giving Plan

A Missouri Congressman intends to lead an effort to oppose President Obama’s plan to limit tax deductions on giving by the wealthy, reports Government and Politics Watch, The Chronicle’s online column.

Plus: The IRS has ruled that a charity violated the prohibition against politicking by including the political-campaign materials of an affiliated advocacy group on its Web site.

Prospecting: The State of Corporate Philanthropy

Corporate executives say they are trying to keep giving strong during the recession, according to an audio report in Prospecting, The Chronicle’s online fund-raising column.

Plus: Asking donors for advice is a good way to also get them to open their checkbooks.