Charities Must Give Kids the Chance to Serve Others
Until the most recent generations, the development of philanthropy was a natural and necessary part of life. Children were expected to take active roles in caring for the sick, the elderly, and the very young. Through family example and religious training, the spirit of charity was transmitted…
By Deborah Spaide
Contributor
Arizona Court Upholds Scholarship Tax Credit
The Arizona Supreme Court has let stand a 1997 state law that permits its residents to claim a tax credit for donations to non-profit scholarship organizations that help poor families pay for private-school tuition. Critics had argued that the credit -- which allows people to subtract a dollar from…
By Jennifer Moore and GRANT WILLIAMS
Politics and Charities: New Publications
Playing by the Rules: Handbook on Voter Participation and Education Work for 501(c)(3) Organizations, by Thomas A. Troyer, Albert G. Lauber, Jr., and Milton Cerny, and Power, Politics, & Nonprofits: A Primer on Tax-Exempt Organizations, Campaign Finance, and the Law, by Bob Boisture and Beth…
By C. Quinn Hanchette
Contributor
More to Group Than After-School Program
To the Editor: While your article on the non-profit group Life Pieces to Masterpieces is accurate (“Drawing Out Confidence,” The Face of Philanthropy, December 3), there is so much more to them than simply their after-school program. The group takes its show on the road to agencies, foundations,…
Dolphin-Aided Therapy Has Serious Drawbacks
To the Editor: I am writing in response to your November 5 “Face of Philanthropy” feature entitled “Dancing With Dolphins.” While there is little dispute that certain disabled children respond positively to dolphin-assisted therapy, there is also little or no evidence that such therapy has any…
Sometimes a Cartoon Is Just a Cartoon
To the Editor: To those who wrote to complain about the December 3 cartoon by Mark Litzler (“Cartoon of Female Scientists Was Sexist and Offensive,” Letters to the Editor, January 14), I would say, “Lighten up!” I notice that neither of the two writers is a female scientist. When we saw the cartoon…
The ‘New Philanthropy’ Isn’t New — or Better
Various publications recently have been touting “the new philanthropy,” which, they say, promises to make grant making more effective and accountable. The new philanthropy, according to those accounts, includes two types of grant making. The first is the emergence of new large donors, many of them…
By Pablo Eisenberg
Contributor
United Way Concept Has Deep Roots
To the Editor: Duncan Laidlaw’s letter in the December 17 issue of The Chronicle (“Aramony’s Pension Is an Undeserved Benefit”) was a very caring reminder to all of us that the roots of the United Way system are very strong and deep. When the U.S. District Court ruled that William Aramony,…
Americans’ Health Is Closely Tied to Corporate Behavior
To the Editor: I was glad to read that the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will devote one of its units to improving the overall health of Americans (“Instilling Healthy Competition,” December 3). I especially applaud the question that President Steven Schroeder is asking: How can the foundation,…
Charity Evaluation: a Necessity, Not a Luxury
The need for charities to evaluate and measure the effects that their services have on clients and communities has become an increasingly accepted principle in the non-profit world. Over the last five years, a movement that started as a whisper has built into a crescendo of action, winning the…
By ALLISON FINE
Contributor