New Rules for Child-Sponsorship Programs Aim to Curb Abusive Practices
New ethical standards that took effect this month are intended to curb misleading and abusive practices among non-profit groups that focus on poor children. ALSO SEE:The full text of the guidelines on child sponsorship The standards govern the marketing and program operations conducted by charities…
By Stephen G. Greene
Contributor
Elizabeth Dole departs the American Red Cross after 7 years at the helm and hints at a possible bid for the U.S. Presidency The American Red Cross, one of the country’s largest charities, is seeking a new top executive after its high-profile leader, Elizabeth Hanford Dole, announced her departure…
By GRANT WILLIAMS
Contributor
More Than a Third of Americans Increase Gifts Over the Holidays
More than a third of all Americans give more money to charities during the month of December than throughout the rest of the year, a new survey has found. The research, commissioned by the Lutheran Brotherhood, in Minneapolis, was based on a nationally representative poll of 1,047 adult Americans…
By Holly Hall
Contributor
Internal Revenue Service Explains Rules on Charitable Remainder Trusts
Following are excerpts from the text of the explanation the Internal Revenue Service released to explain new rules governing certain types of charitable remainder trusts. The new rules appeared in the Federal Register on December 10, Pages 68,188-194. In its explanation, the service compares the…
Paid Charitable Solicitors in 3 States Take 60% or More of Donations They Collect, Say New Reports
Telemarketers and other paid solicitation companies take more than 60 cents of every dollar they raise for charity in Vermont, Washington, and California, according to new studies. * In Vermont, the Attorney General said that over the past five years charities received only 29.4 per cent of the…
By Holly Hall
Contributor
New rules issued by the IRS on charitable remainder trusts are likely to bring more money to charities and donors alike Some charities are urging donors to move quickly to take advantage of new Internal Revenue Service rules that are likely to make certain types of planned gifts more lucrative for…
By Holly Hall
Contributor
Court Shields Names of Group’s Donors
Forcing a Texas non-profit organization to disclose the names of its contributors would violate its freedom-of-association rights under the U.S. Constitution, the state’s Supreme Court has ruled unanimously. It said making an organization reveal its members or donors could have a “chilling effect”…
Studies Assess Giving in Kansas City, Los Angeles
Kansas City and Los Angeles outpace the national average for per-household giving, according to new metropolitan-area studies of giving released by community foundations in those cities. Seventy-five per cent of Kansas City households gave to charity last year, while 73 per cent of Los Angeles…
Report Presents Mixed Picture of Giving by Protestants
Protestant church members are donating slightly more after-tax income to activities that directly benefit their local congregations than in the recent past, a new report says. However, they continue to hold back when it comes to giving money for soup kitchens, overseas missions, and other external…
By Thomas J. Billitteri
Contributor
Grant Makers Giving More, Report Says
As the assets of the nation’s biggest foundations have increased significantly, so too have the number and size of grants awarded by those foundations, a new study has found. ALSO SEE:Grants From Large Foundations, 1997Foundation Grants of $8-Million and OverState-by-State Distribution of Grants…
By Debra E. Blum
Contributor