Are Taxpayers Subsidizing Rich Collectors’ Private Museums?
A growing number of wealthy art collectors are opening small, private museums, some with strictly limited visitor access, raising questions about whether the public is in effect subsidizing patrons’ multimillion-dollar art troves through tax deductions, The New York Times writes.
Survey of Art Museums Finds Little Spending by Visitors
A new report by the Association of Art Museum Directors finds that member institutions spend far more per guest than they receive back in admission and purchases, writes The New York Times.
Tech Investor Conway Gives $40-Million to New S.F. Hospital
The University of California at San Francisco’s soon-to-open Mission Bay medical complex announced a $40-million donation Saturday from venture capitalist Ron Conway to support its outpatient center, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Big Gifts for Wash. Nursing Program, N.J. Prep School
Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland, Wash., has donated $18-million to expand nursing education at Washington State University Tri-Cities, the Tri-City Herald reports, and Doane Academy in Burlington City, N.J., announced a $17-million gift Friday from industrialist Henry Rowan and his wife, writes The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Muslim Charity Loses U.K. Funds Over Alleged Extremist Ties
The British government terminated a contract of approximately $210,000 with the Muslim Charities Forum, an umbrella group for Islamic aid charities that officials say has links to an organization that supports Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, The Telegraph reports.
More eye-popping gifts like Gerald Chan’s $350-million donation to Harvard, a chance for Generation Xers to shine as leaders, a focus on nonprofit privacy issues, and more are in store this year.
Developer Gives MIT $118-Million for Sustainability Lab
Hong Kong property mogul Samuel Tak Lee has donated $118-million to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to establish a laboratory for the study of sustainable real-estate development, Bloomberg and The Boston Globe write.
IRS Says New ‘Dark Money’ Rules Still Months Away
The Internal Revenue Service is unlikely to propose new regulations on political activity by nonprofit groups before late spring, decreasing the chance that any changes will affect the 2016 elections, ProPublica reports.
N.Y. Festival Nonprofit Beefs Up Giving
The organization that runs the Feast of San Gennaro in New York’s Little Italy announced Wednesday that it gave $149,500 to charity last year, a hefty boost from recent years when little or no proceeds from the popular street festival were donated, writes the New York Daily News.
Mission Statements Can Lend Focus to Haphazard Giving
Financial advisers tout the benefits of philanthropic mission statements to help clients focus their charity choices and stop giving in to every “ask” in a The Wall Street Journal “Wealth Adviser” feature.