Rethinking How Foundations Invest
To the Editor: Jed Emerson and Mark Kramer appropriately point out that the historic wall between foundations’ grant making and their investment management unnecessarily constrains their ability to meet their missions (“Maximizing Our Missions,” January 25). One reason for this divide is the…
Endowment Investments Shouldn’t Be Based on Social Goals
A century ago, Washington Gladden, a prominent Congregational minister from Columbus, Ohio, earned himself an enduring place in the history of philanthropy by denouncing a gift to his denomination from John D. Rockefeller as “tainted money.” In Pastor Gladden’s eyes, since Mr. Rockefeller had…
By LESLIE LENKOWSKY
Contributor
Who Cares What Charity Leaders Think About the Iraq War?
To the Editor: Mark Rosenman (“Charities Are Paying the Terrible Price of War,” January 25) is a little confused when he makes his call for charities to become more partisan in the national-security debate. For starters, it isn’t very smart. A recent study indicates that political conservatives…
How Good Governance Really Works
Governance is a hot topic among nonprofit organizations these days, and the discussion often focuses on what boards themselves need to do to be more effective, higher performing, and more accountable. While this focus is commendable, an equally important consideration often missing from the…
By James Canales
Contributor
OPINION: Foundations Need to Be More Accountable
Researcher blasts foundations for lack of accountability
Opinion: Congress Was Right to Limit Tax Break for Art Gifts
Opinion: Tax breaks for art gifts
Skyrocketing CEO Pay Raises Questions for Charities
The New York Public Library gave hefty salary increases to its president, Paul LeClerc, and several other top officers last year. At the same time, financial troubles necessitated other budget-saving moves, including cutbacks in its tuition-assistance program for employees. Although the library…
By PABLO EISENBERG
Contributor
What Is an Effective Foundation?
Assessing and achieving effectiveness is a topic of much discussion among foundations. Increasing attention from lawmakers and the news media, Warren Buffett’s high-profile contribution to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the arrival on the philanthropic scene of a new cast of more…
By KATHLEEN ENRIGHT and PHIL BUCHANAN
N.H. Supreme Court Issues Property-Tax Ruling
New Hampshire’s Supreme Court has ruled that a nursing-home operator meets the standards of being a nonprofit organization and should not be required to pay property taxes. In doing so, the court offered nonprofit groups in the Granite State a look at what they must be able to prove to maintain…
By PETER PANEPENTO
Contributor
This month’s publication of a series of Los Angeles Times articles detailing how the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s investments often contradict its social goals should not have surprised anyone in philanthropy. In fact, the vast majority of foundations in the United States are active investors…
By Mark Kramer and Mark R. Kramer