Donors Must Stop Ignoring Plight of Refugees
The actress Angelina Jolie presented an Oscar at the 76th Annual Academy Awards around the time she was announcing a personal award to provide $50,000 to rescue a forgotten group of people along the Chad-Sudan border. “It stuns me that such a dramatic emergency is nowhere to be found in the…
By Molly Raiser
Contributor
How to Find the Best Instruction in Writing Grant Proposals
The faxed advertisement that arrived at Citizens Who Care, a nonprofit group in Davis, Calif., that provides services for the elderly, promised grant-proposal-writing training that would result in thousands of dollars in revenue for charities. But Julie Bornhoeft, the group’s executive director,…
By Cassie J. Moore
Contributor
New Standards Won’t Confuse Fund Raisers
To the Editor: I agree with much of your April 15 article on the National Committee on Planned Giving’s new valuation standards (“New Standards Issued on Calculating Worth of Planned Gifts”). However, I’d like to relieve the minds of readers on one point, expressed by two planned-giving experts…
Article on Poverty Missed Key Points
To the Editor: In “An Idea to Help the Poor Runs Into Snags” (April 15), Michael Anft makes some sweeping statements about the experience to date of individual development accounts. Unfortunately, he does not base his statements on research data that are readily available. Studies show that the…
Why Should Charities Emulate Businesses?
To the Editor: In the April 15 article about Pierre Omidyar (“Founder of eBay Announces New Approach to His Giving”), the foundation’s chief executive officer, Iqbal Paroo, says: “People in the nonprofit field are used to getting money without any expectations attached.” My first question to Mr.…
Foundations Must Stop Passive Approach
Imagine this: You are a leader in a multibillion-dollar industry that has experienced several years of unprecedented growth. Over the course of the last three years, however, the news media has taken every opportunity to expose scandal in your ranks, the pace of growth has slowed significantly,…
By Lucy Bernholz
Contributor
Foundation Giving in Hard Times
To the Editor: The article, “A Slow Thaw,” in the March 4 issue of The Chronicle gives some information about the California Wellness Foundation that I would like to clarify. The article indicates that the foundation is not adding new programs despite the increase in our assets during 2003. But the…
Grant Makers Must Serve Charities Well
To the Editor: We agree with Vartan Gregorian’s statement that foundations “must demand that adherence to the highest ethical standards be an integral part of the day-to-day operation of all our institutions” (“Philanthropy Should Have Glass Pockets,” My View, April 1). However, to take it a step…
Excessive Executive Compensation Needs to Be Stemmed
Fast-spiraling salaries have become the norm for top officials of large foundations -- and a growing number of executives seem to see fat paychecks as an entitlement. This corporatelike pay structure is beginning to undermine the integrity of major foundations and public confidence in them, as well…
By PABLO EISENBERG
Contributor
Foundations Should Not Pay Their Trustees
To the Editor: Investigative journalism has discovered the foundation world big time, with The Boston Globe leading the effort. We believe there were more newspaper stories concerning alleged questionable and possibly illegal behavior by foundations in 2003 than in the previous five years in toto.…