In 1947, William Larimer Mellon, Jr., heir to the Mellon oil and banking fortune, read an article in Life magazine about a hospital in Africa founded by Albert Schweitzer. It changed his life. Then 37, Mr. Mellon, a cattle rancher, sold his Arizona property, enrolled in medical school, and, less…
Medical charities merge affiliates to cut costs, but some chapters rebel Mississippi is the nation’s poorest state and one full of people in desperate need of medical care, a predicament that binds charity executives Teresa Humphrey and Mary D. Fortune in a common cause. Ms. Humphrey is executive…
By Thomas J. Billitteri
Contributor
Charitable Deductions Up Sharply, IRS Says
Preliminary statistics released by the Internal Revenue Service show that the deductions Americans claimed for charitable contributions rose from $75-billion in 1995 to an estimated $84.3-billion in 1996, a rise of 12.4 per cent (see chart at right). The jump was nearly twice as high as the 6.3 per…
Following are summaries of recent reports by the Council of Better Business Bureaus’ Philanthropic Advisory Service and the National Charities Information Bureau. Those two private organizations report on whether charities meet standards for fund raising, governance, financial management, and…
Following is a summary of bills introduced in Congress that are of interest to non-profit organizations. Copies of bills may be obtained from members of the House of Representatives (Washington 20515) or from senators (Washington 20510). They may also be obtained through the Internet. The…
Abilene Christian U. (Tex.): Appointed Dan Garrett, vice-chancellor, to be president and executive director of the ACU Foundation. Albright College (Reading, Pa.): Appointed Jessica L. Shue, assistant director of the annual fund at Elizabethtown College (Pa.), to be assistant director of alumni…
Write-Offs: Clintons’ and Gores’ Giving; Sleeping at the Office
* President Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton gave a total of $270,725 to charity in 1997, according to their federal tax return. About $250,000 of that sum came from earnings from Mrs. Clinton’s book, It Takes a Village, and went to children’s hospitals and other groups. Vice-President Gore and…
By GRANT WILLIAMS
Contributor
Revenue Service Questions Charity’s Loans, Tax Status
The I.R.S. has ruled that a charity has put its tax exemption in jeopardy because it gave an affiliated, non-profit labor union too sweet of a financial deal through the loans it made. The revenue service also ruled that the charity owes taxes for conducting improper political activities. The…
By GRANT WILLIAMS
Contributor
Idea to Change Filing Rules Draws Fire from Regulators
State charity regulators are opposed to an idea recently floated by the Internal Revenue Service: allowing many more small tax-exempt groups to avoid filing informational tax returns that detail their finances. Non-profit organizations must provide such a return -- known as the Form 990 -- if their…
By GRANT WILLIAMS
Contributor