‘Affinity Card’ Revenue Isn’t Taxable, Court Rules
A federal appellate court has dealt a blow to the Internal Revenue Service’s long-standing effort to make non-profit organizations pay income tax on revenue from “affinity” credit-card programs. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, rejected the I.R.S.'s argument that…
By GRANT WILLIAMS
Contributor
Big Gifts Do Little to Change National Giving Averages
Gates Pours $6-Billion More Into Foundation ... ALSO SEE:Moving Giving off the DimePhilanthropy Takes the Bully PulpitGrowing Ranks of Fund Raisers Haven’t Increased a Key Measure of GivingGiving by Americans, 1968-1998 Gates Foundation to Give $1-Billion for Scholarships ... Microsoft Founder to…
By Thomas J. Billitteri
Contributor
Doctors Without Borders Wins Nobel Peace Prize
The international medical-relief organization Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) was named today as the winner of the 1999 Nobel Peace Price. The organization each year arranges for 2,000 medical professionals from around the world to volunteer to work in more than 80 countries. It…
U.N. Should Seek Funds Wherever It Can
To the Editor: I’ve lived long enough in developing countries (Asia, Africa, and Latin America) to know that it makes not a whit of difference to the hungry child in the Sahel or in Indonesia whether the United Nations’ relief aid she or he enjoys originally came from money donated by a suspect…
Don’t Underestimate a Case Statement’s Value
To the Editor: I read with interest the letter from Susan C. Shea about the relative worth of “glossy case statements” (“It’s Time to Tailor Campaign Brochures,” Letters to the Editor, August 26). Perhaps taken for granted, but certainly not spoken, were two strong reasons for the exercise of…
Land Trusts Reap Big Dividends
To the Editor: Contrary to the assertions made by Bonner R. Cohen of the Lexington Institute in his letter to the editor (“The ‘Fatal Conceit’ of the Land-Trust Movement,” August 26), there is overwhelming evidence that the growing number of private non-profit land trusts are benefiting both the…
The Tax Bill’s Fundamental Flaws
To the Editor: As someone who has spent the last four years raising over $15-million and thousands of pounds of food to benefit the 250 foodshelves in the state of Minnesota, I am concerned about the way in which our lawmakers are trying to create the civil society of today and tomorrow (“Tax Bill…
Is It Time to End the Promise?
America’s Promise, the crusade led by retired General Colin Powell to mobilize money, volunteers, and new programs to support youngsters in poor neighborhoods, has won some battles but may be losing the war. Indeed, the time may have come for the organization to fade away. Begun in 1997 at the…
By PABLO EISENBERG
Contributor
Corporate Welfare in the Name of Charity
To the Editor: Elizabeth Jackson’s response notwithstanding (“Business Districts Deserve Praise, not Scorn,” September 23), Mark Rosenman’s recent opinion piece on non-profit business districts (“A Class of Charity That’s Bad for the Public Good,” My View, August 12) raised some very valid…
Turn the Census Into a Big Lottery to Benefit Charities
To the Editor: It is disconcerting to read about the problems facing the U.S. Census Bureau, including the lack of funds to support non-profit efforts to encourage households to mail in the census forms (“Counting on Charities,” September 9). It is disconcerting because there is an approach that…