Philanthropy Today - Philanthropy.com

November 20, 2009

San Francisco Charity Sues Over Bad Investments

The St. Anthony Foundation, in San Francisco, is seeking legal redress from its longtime financial adviser over $2-million in investment losses, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Officials at the charity, which provides food, clothes, and other aid to the hungry and homeless, said they were not aware that SCM Advisors had invested the foundation’s money in risky auction-rate securities from Citigroup Global Markets, which is also named in the lawsuit.

Citigroup agreed in a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission and New York State to buy back the securities from some clients, but St. Anthony was not among them.

Diane Spirandelli, the SCM manager who handled St. Anthony’s investments and is named in the lawsuit, did not respond to the newspaper’s request for a comment on the legal action.

Conservative Activist Releases New Acorn Tape

The conservative activist James O’Keefe has posted a new hidden-camera video purportedly showing a staff member at a Los Angeles office of the Acorn community-organizing group assisting a would-be prostitution operation, says the Los Angeles Times.

Similar videos shot by Mr. O’Keefe at Washington and Baltimore Acorn offices, which were released two months ago, fueled Republican ire at the antipoverty and housing-advocacy group, which has lost federal money and started an internal investigation as the result of the controversy.

Acorn officials disputed the validity of the latest tape, calling it “clearly doctored.” They said the L.A. staff member, who left the organization last month for unrelated reasons, offered no help in setting up a brothel and instead attempted to steer Mr. O’Keefe and a female colleague (who was posing as an abused sex worker) to another nonprofit organization that deals with abuse cases.

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U. of California Regents Back Deal to Reopen Troubled L.A. Hospital

Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital, in South Los Angeles, will reopen by 2013 under a plan unanimously approved Thursday by the University of California’s board, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The board’s vote came after county officials pledged to seek a $100-million letter of credit to underwrite the hospital for up to six years. The pharmaceuticals billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong has also promised a $100-million guaranty.

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In the Arts: Indianapolis Symphony's Shortfall Climbs, University Scales Back Museum Plans

The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra ended the 2009 fiscal year with a budget deficit of $2.8-million, a nearly tenfold increase from the previous year, according to The Indianapolis Star.

Declines in ticket sales, donations, and contributions from the symphony’s foundation, which manages the orchestra’s endowment, contributed to the flow of red ink. The 79-year-old symphony last month cut musicians’ salaries by 12 percent.

In other arts news, the University of California has abandoned plans for a $143-million new home for the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, says the San Francisco Chronicle. University officials said they remain committed to replacing the current structure, which is not safe for earthquakes, but that in the wake of the economic downturn, the current design is too expensive.

Also, the Boston classical music station WCRB will seek support from private sources following the federal government’s approval of its merger with the public broadcaster WGBH, writes The Boston Globe.

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From The Chronicle: Food Charities Get Attention From Congress

Charity and foundation leaders Thursday urged Congress to take action to help the nonprofit organizations that are on the front lines of the mounting demand for food aid as the economic recession cuts a wide swath, reports The Chronicle’s Government and Politics Watch column.

From The Chronicle: Americans and Holiday Giving Plans

A new poll suggests that many Americans plan to cut back spending so they can maintain or increase their charitable contributions during the holiday season, reports Prospecting, The Chronicle’s fund-raising column.

Give and Take: Are Trustees Ready to Handle Financial Challenges?

A nonprofit lawyer worries that boards are unprepared to handle the demands of today’s economy, notes Give and Take in its daily digest of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

Plus:

Continuing debate over Goldman Sachs’s philanthropy

A beacon for charities that want to create social-media guidelines for workers

People: Community Foundation of South Jersey Names New Executive Director

Among the latest appointments and other personnel changes in the nonprofit world: Sidney R. Hargro has been named the new executive director of the Community Foundation of South Jersey, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports. Subscribers have access to a list of all the new appointments the newspaper has posted in the past week.

Correction: Investment Advice From President of Tufts

Thursday’s Philanthropy Today misstated the views of Lawrence Bacow, president of Tufts University. He said colleges should look to reduce the level of risk in their investments by putting less money into hedge funds and private equity. Also, the item included an incorrect figure for the decline in value for the Tufts endowment. The fund dropped by 25 percent for the year that ended June 30.

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