Endowments Produced Returns of 11.4% in 2004
Foundations and other nonprofit organizations produced an average return of 11.4 percent on their investments last year, according to preliminary results of a new study by the Commonfund Institute. In fiscal 2003, the institutions gained an average of 17 percent. Foundations and other organizations…
By Erin Strout
Contributor
Baby Boomers Want Public-Service Jobs
By Brennen Jensen Nearly half of people age 50 to 70 hope that after they retire they will be able to take jobs that improve the quality of life in their communities, a new survey says. Fewer than 15 percent of people in that age group, however, think it will be very easy to find such jobs, and a…
By BRENNEN JENSEN
Contributor
Boards Urged to Do More to Focus on Charity Missions
Some nonprofit boards may be focusing too much energy on their legal responsibilities as board members and too little time on making sure a charity is a doing a good job of fulfilling its charitable mission, says the leader of the major national organization that advises charity and foundation…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Conservation Charities Come Under Questioning by the Senate
Washington Laying the groundwork for broad legislation that could affect all types of nonprofit groups, key senators took aim this month at one of the country’s best-known charities, while calling into question improper practices at many organizations. During three hours of intense questioning into…
By Brad Wolverton
Contributor
Paralyzing Fall Sets Woman on Quest to Help Others Get Better Care
I have no memory of the fall that nearly took my life, left me unable to walk -- and ultimately set me on a path to leading an organization dedicated to giving people with disabilities more control over their care and their lives. It happened in 1984, about three
Communications Help: a Sampling of Resources
Communications Tool kit: A Guide to Navigating Communications for the Nonprofit World. A guidebook ALSO SEE:Marketing the Message to help organizations apply lessons from the corporate world on topics such as conducting market research, communicating with constituents during a public-relations…
The following awards have been presented for work in advocacy, fund raising, nonprofit leadership, philanthropy, and other areas. Arts. Americans for the Arts (Washington) has presented its 2005 Selina Roberts Ottum Award, which recognizes exemplary local arts leadership, to Jill McGuire, executive…
Business-Plan Competition Draws 460 Applications, Awards 4 Top Prizes
Jersey City, N.J. Two technology services aimed at nonprofit groups, a finance institution that makes low-cost loans to overseas agricultural cooperatives, ALSO SEE:Winners of Yale Business-Plan Contest for Charities and a venture that sells new books to children’s charities took top honors in the…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Closing Charities: Groups Shut Down Over Terror Allegations
Action taken by U.S. government Allegations against the organization What group says about the charges Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (Richardson, Tex.) Assets were frozen in December 2001. A federal grand jury in Dallas last year issued a 42-count indictment against the…
Scrutiny of Muslim charities raises knotty questionsRichardson, Tex. A document on a bulletin board at KinderUSA, a Muslim charity here, outlines what employees should do if police or ALSO SEE:Closing Charities: Groups Shut Down Over Terror Allegations federal investigators knock on the door. If…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor