Accountability, the presidential race, and globalization are among topics at major nonprofit meetingSan Francisco Concerns about nonprofit accountability colored many of the sessions at a conference here last week that drew more than 800 nonprofit leaders from around the country. “The era of…
By Stephen G. Greene
Contributor
Donors Give $8.5-Million to Aid California Fire Victims
Disaster-relief charities and other nonprofit organizations have raised more than $8.5-million for the victims of the Southern California wildfires. The American Red Cross has received by far the largest amount, with $5.9-million in donations and pledges. The organization has stopped soliciting for…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
Direct-Marketing Firm Settles Federal Postal-Fraud Charges
A Boston direct-marketing company and its subsidiaries have agreed to pay $4.5-million to settle federal postal-fraud charges over the company’s fund-raising mailings for dozens of charities. The government accused the Vantage Group of illegally using cheaper nonprofit bulk mailing rates while it…
By Harvy Lipman
Contributor
New Method Proposed to Place Value on Gifts
Cincinnati In an effort to help fund raisers determine the value of charitable annuities and other planned gifts more accurately than in the past, the National Committee on Planned Giving proposed new gift-valuation standards at its annual conference here. The recommended standards are intended to…
By Brad Wolverton
Contributor
Decade of transformation pays off for preservation charityTen years ago the National Trust for Historic Preservation was itself in need of restoration. Chartered by Congress in 1949 to preserve historic buildings, the trust was far better at fixing aging facades than at fund raising. It had never…
By Brad Wolverton
Contributor
Three Nonprofit Groups Get $300-Million; Other Gifts
Joan B. Kroc, the widow of the founder of McDonald’s, has left three major bequests to nonprofit organizations: National Public Radio, in Washington, received $200-million. The University of Notre Dame, in South Bend, Ind., and the University of San Diego have each received $50-million.The gifts…
By Julia Green
Contributor
Staff members at PeninsulaWorks-Daly City, a nonprofit organization in Northern California that provides services to the unemployed, understand that their clients often face multiple challenges. So the group provides any assistance it can to help clients become self-sufficient -- whether it’s…
By Darlene M. Siska
Contributor
Affluent Americans Feel Compelled to Give to Charity, but Not to Give More Money, New Poll Finds
Wealthy Americans say they feel more compelled to give to charities than they did three years ago, but most ALSO SEE: How the Affluent Give Giving By The Wealthy of them don’t plan to increase the amount they give to charity in 2003, according to the results of a new poll. More than 80 percent of…
By Michael Anft
Contributor
Big Change Afoot at Pew Trusts
The Philadelphia foundation transforms its legal structurePhiladelphia The Pew Charitable Trusts, one of America’s richest private foundations, has gained approval from the Internal Revenue Service and two Pennsylvania courts to transform itself into a charity. The move, a change in legal and tax…
By Debra E. Blum
Contributor
Franchises Can Offer Benefits, but Charity-Enterprise Experts Advise Caution
Nonprofit groups interested in starting a business as a way to provide job training, stimulate a local ALSO SEE:Building the Charity FranchiseCharity’s Ice-Cream Franchise Hits a Rocky Road During its First Year economy, or earn extra revenue are now starting to consider franchises as an attractive…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor