American Ballet Theatre (New York): Elizabeth Kehler, interim executive director, has resigned. American Cancer Society (Atlanta): Appointed Robert D. Mitchell, national vice president for income development, to be chief development officer and president of the American Cancer Society Foundation.…
Foundations Don’t Need Eternal Life
To the Editor: Pablo Eisenberg has it exactly right in his opinion piece on foundations (“Don’t Cry for Thee, Foundations,” May 29), and might have gone even further. The real question isn’t whether foundations have to shell out 5 percent or 6 percent, but why, with a tax subsidy from the American…
With Money Tight, New Grant-Making Approaches Needed
To the Editor: The rising conversation about new standards of accountability and giving for foundations is a welcome one. The national recession is rapidly sharpening cash-flow-management skills among nonprofit executives, but the current scarcity of grants is exacerbating trends that were already…
The Real Reason to Keep Financing the Arts
These are troubling times for advocates of government support for the arts. Over the past year, ALSO SEE:Performance Anxiety 42 states have either cut their arts financing or proposed doing so. If all the cuts under consideration are made, a total of $100-million in state spending would be…
By Daniel Grant
Contributor
Nature Conservancy Revises Several Policies in Wake of Criticism
The Nature Conservancy is altering several of its policies that have drawn criticism recently on Capitol Hill and in the news media, and is enlisting a group of outside advisers to recommend additional changes. A series of articles last month in The Washington Post focused attention on several…
By Stephen G. Greene
Contributor
Drop in support and stalled economy have many arts organizations scrambling to stay afloatIn January, the Utica Symphony Orchestra, in New York, raised $91,000 in an emergency telethon it held ALSO SEE:Special Report: Charities and the EconomyOpinion: The Real Reason to Keep Financing the…
By nicole lewis
Contributor
How Charities Learn from Evaluating Themselves, and Tips for Measuring Results
IN THE TRENCHES By Kimberlee Roth When Lisa Brakebill became program director of the Greater Maryland Chapter of the ALSO SEE:A List of Resources to Help Nonprofit Groups Assess Their Programs Alzheimer’s Association, in Timonium, eight years ago, she says, program evaluation meant figuring out…
By Kimberlee Roth
Contributor
Telemarketing Case Wasted Charity Money
To the Editor: Now that the high-profile case Madigan v. Telemarketing Associates (formerly titled Ryan v. Telemarketing Associates) has been decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, one can step back and consider what was at issue in the case (“Prosecuting Fraudulent Appeals,” May 15). Mr. Ryan, the…
Religious Institutions Deserve Support
To the Editor: As an active church member and development professional, I was disappointed with Patrick Rooney’s comments about “compulsory” giving to churches and other religious organizations (“How Americans Give,” May 1). Do some churches pressure their members to give? Probably, as do many…
McKinsey’s Knee-Jerk Fund-Raising Stance
To the Editor: The recent McKinsey study on the nonprofit world (“A $100-Billion Debate Erupts,” May 29) says that average fund-raising costs of 18 percent are too high because too many organizations are spending too much money seeking “large volumes of tiny contributions.” This knee-jerk position…