Federal Officials Allege Tax Scam
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed civil lawsuits in eight states to stop what it said is the nationwide promotion of a tax-avoidance scheme in which people are allegedly advised to claim bogus church status by creating a certain type of organization. The lawsuits take aim at abuse of what…
By GRANT WILLIAMS
Contributor
White House Candidates Release Giving Records
President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry have released information about their contributions to charity last year. President Bush and the first lady, Laura Bush, gave $68,360 to churches and charities in 2003, 9.4 percent of their taxable income of…
By GRANT WILLIAMS
Contributor
Head of Social-Services Group Embraces Fun –Â and Creative Fund Raising
Farmington Hills, Mich. Joyce Keller smiles sheepishly as she recalls her old teaching days. Although she loved the students she served as a special-education instructor in Michigan schools in the mid-1970s, she grew unhappy with the rigidity of her schedule. It got to the point, she says, that she…
By Kimberlee Roth
Contributor
Volunteers Say Charity Work Helps Them in Their Careers
Fifty-seven percent of Americans who volunteer believe that volunteering has helped their careers by providing them with opportunities to learn new skills and meet other professionals, according to a new survey. Thirteen percent of respondents reported finding a job or making a career change as a…
By Cassie J. Moore
Contributor
Some charities turn clients into eager volunteersWhen Doreen Wohl came to work one winter afternoon, she had 25 people to feed, almost 1,000 pounds of groceries to move, and no coworkers to assist her. Ms. Wohl, executive director of the West Side Campaign Against Hunger, in New York, was in a…
By Cassie J. Moore
Contributor
Efforts to Persuade Athletes to Give Take Off
Andre Agassi has given about $20-million of his tennis fortune to support charitable causes, but many ALSO SEE:Lobbing Millions to Charity professional athletes give very little money to charity, according to experts in sports philanthropy. “There’s great untapped wealth out there among…
By Brad Wolverton
Contributor
The tennis star Andre Agassi is now a champion fund raiserLas Vegas As a teenager, Andre Agassi bleached his hair, painted his fingernails, and dropped out of school in 10th ALSO SEE:Efforts to Persuade Athletes to Give Take OffThe Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation grade to pursue his dream of…
By Brad Wolverton
Contributor
American Generosity: How Giving Differs by Income Group
Average gross income Number of filers Average adjusted gross income Average start-of-year investment assets Average total gifts Total gifts as a percentage of adjusted gross income Total gifts as a percentage of investment assets $10,000,000 or more 6,836 $25,598,155 $152,208,409 $1,834,274 7.17%…
‘Middle Rich’ Give Away Smaller Share of Income Than Others, Study Finds
Wealthy Americans -- those who earn $200,000 to $10-million a year -- give less generously to charity than both people who are richer and those who are poorer than they are, according to a new report. And, the report says, if those wealthy Americans had donated to charity the same share of their…
By Debra E. Blum
Contributor
Grant Seekers Say They Value Foundation Expertise
Charity officials give the highest marks to foundations that have approachable and responsive staff members, clearly articulated goals, and demonstrated expertise in the causes they support, according to a new report. Less important to nonprofit leaders in gauging their satisfaction with grant…
By Debra E. Blum
Contributor