How Foundations Can Stop Gun Violence
As the recent high-school shootings in Colorado and Georgia vividly illustrate, guns in the hands of children pose a direct threat to many of the social causes that philanthropy cares deeply about. Not only have gun wounds become the second-leading cause of death among young people in America, but…
By David L. Rosenbloom
Contributor
Incumbency Often Outdraws Ideology
To the Editor: I think Leslie Lenkowsky’s comments in his column “Seeing Through the Left’s False Lament” (Opinion, April 8) are exactly correct. However, I do disagree on one point. My experience in politics shows me that corporations support incumbents, not ideologies and not necessarily…
IRS Disclosure Rule Should Be Amended
To the Editor: I strongly encourage all 501(c) or (d) organizations exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code to read the full text of the new disclosure rules discussed in The Chronicle’s April 22 issue (“I.R.S. Issues Final Rules for Charities on Making Tax Forms…
Charity Evaluation: Just Good Management
To the Editor: In Rose Meissner’s March 11 letter to the editor (“Charity Evaluation: More of a Luxury Than Many People Care to Admit”), she appears to be trapped in the old ways of conceiving how evaluation can work in and for non-profits. Independent Sector, in the pioneering work that it did on…
A Broad Approach to Leadership Development Is the Secret to Success
To the Editor: While Pablo Eisenberg and I agree on the characteristics necessary for successful non-profit leadership, I must take exception to his view that academic centers are not the best training ground on which to develop those characteristics (“Academic Centers Don’t Develop Charity…
The Courage to Profit From Failure
Community-development corporations have made a huge difference in the lives of people in economically distressed urban and rural areas. Yet in recent years, more than a dozen established -- and seemingly successful -- organizations in cities from New York to Chicago have either gone out of business…
By PABLO EISENBERG
Contributor
Misguided Good-Faith Efforts Will Lead to Bad Consequences
To the Editor: I read with interest the cover story on “charitable choice” (“Good-Faith Effort Off to Slow Start,” April 8), which cites the valuable research by Professor Mark Chaves on the policy’s early impact, as well as public attitudes toward the policy. Among the several controversies raging…
It’s Time for Boards to Rethink How They Govern
Non-profit boards are not known for their capacity to change the way they operate. With the organizations they govern isolated from both electoral politics and market forces -- and with the boards themselves held to varying standards of accountability -- trustees can become ossified in their…
By Judith O’Connor
Contributor
Survey on Women Points to Their Potential as Donors and Their Need for Aid
Americans underestimate both the potential that women have to become major donors and the degree to which poor women need charitable aid, according to a new survey released by a coalition of women’s groups. At a press conference here, the women’s groups acknowledged that it might seem contradictory…
By Holly Hall
Contributor
‘Branding’: a Hot Trend for Charities
Groups try to stay ahead of rivals by adopting a marketable identity After Daniel Aukin became artistic director of New York’s Soho Repertory Theatre last September, a member of ALSO SEE:United Ways Hope to Enhance Their Profiles With New Marketing Technique the board gave him some advice about how…
By Thomas J. Billitteri
Contributor