Wall Street Still Sees Promise in Social-Impact Bonds
Major banks remain interested in so-called “pay-for-performance” financing to test new social programs, despite the plug being pulled on the first such effort in the United States, Reuters writes.
Russia Bars National Endowment for Democracy as ‘Threat’
Russian law-enforcement officials, acting for the first time on new powers to ban foreign nonprofits, declared the congressionally funded organization “undesirable” on Tuesday and barred it from operating in the country, Bloomberg and The Guardian report.
Mormon Church to Consider Severing Ties With Boy Scouts
Senior officials with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are expected to meet in August to consider severing a century-long tie with the Boy Scouts of America over the youth organization’s decision to allow openly gay employees and troop leaders, The New York Times writes.
GOP Senators Plan Vote to Bar Funding for Planned Parenthood
As an anti-abortion group released a third video on Tuesday of Planned Parenthood officials discussing the use of fetal tissue for medical research, Republican leaders said Tuesday that the Senate will vote before its August recess on ending federal funding for the women’s health organization, the Associated Press reports.
Boy Scouts Ends Ban on Gay Adults; Mormon Church Protests
The policy change, approved as expected on Monday by the Boy Scouts of America’s executive board, includes an exemption for religiously affiliated troops, but the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the biggest sponsor of scouting units, said it was nevertheless “deeply troubled” by the move, Reuters and The New York Times report.
Ex-Intel Chief Gives Unrestricted $100 Million to Caltech
The donation from Gordon Moore, co-founder of the Silicon Valley giant, and his wife, Betty, establishes a permanent endowment that California Institute of Technology officials plan to use to fund graduate-student fellowships, the university announced Monday.
Foundations Get Behind Push for Higher Learning in Prisons
A number of prominent philanthropies are putting money into college courses behind bars as policy makers take a fresh look at links between education and reduced recidivism, The Wall Street Journal writes
Judge Rejects Citizens United Bid to Shield Donor Information
A federal court in Manhattan declined Monday to grant the conservative nonprofit an injunction against New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s demand that it give officials data on big donors before fundraising in the state, Reuters reports.
House Committee Head Calls for Ouster of IRS Commissioner
Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz asked President Obama to fire John Koskinen over the Internal Revenue Service chief’s handling of congressional inquiries into alleged IRS targeting of conservative groups, writes The Wall Street Journal.
Nonprofit Running Big U.S. Program for Disabled Faces Inquiries
Multiple federal agencies are investigating AbilityOne, the U.S. government’s major employment effort for people with severe disabilities, and SourceAmerica, a nonprofit that manages the multibillion-dollar program, according to CNN.