Forbes ranks 200 charities by three measures (December 9): how much of its budget comes from donors versus how much comes from sales of goods and services and the performance of its investments, what share was spent on charitable programs, and what percentage was spent to raise money. In addition,…
By Brad Wolverton
Contributor
Stock Market, Interest Rates Force Nonprofit Groups to Rethink Charitable Trusts
The potential for payout problems with charitable remainder trusts is forcing charitable groups, donors, and financial institutions to rethink their giving approaches, and causing some donors to be more cautious in how they set up charitable gifts that fluctuate with interest rates or the stock…
By Brad Wolverton
Contributor
New Institute Will Study Faith and Philanthropy
A $5-million gift to Indiana University by the family of a former Lilly Endowment chairman will be used to create an institute that will explore the connection between faith and charitable giving. The Lake Family Institute on Faith and Giving, established by the children of the late Thomas H. and…
By Brad Wolverton
Contributor
New Support Extends Life of United Nations Fund
The United Nations Foundation, which Ted Turner founded in 1997 by pledging $1-billion, has attracted $150-million in additional private donations in the past five years and plans to continue to operate until at least 2012 -- five years longer than Mr. Turner says he originally intended. A recent…
By Brad Wolverton
Contributor
Salvation Army’s Top Commander Views Job as a ‘Holy Calling’
Clutching a well-worn Bible, W. Todd Bassett strides to the front of a small chapel inside the Salvation Army’s national headquarters during a service to welcome him as the charity’s new top U.S. executive. “I come to this position as national commander with a little fear and trepidation,” he tells…
By Brad Wolverton
Contributor
Nonprofit Groups Urged to Trim Rates Paid on Gift Annuities
Charities should trim the rates they pay donors of gift annuities, according to a national planned-giving organization. The American ALSO SEE: New Gift-Annuity Rates for One Individual Council on Gift Annuities has recommended that, starting in January, charities reduce rates for donors of all ages…
By Brad Wolverton
Contributor
Oklahoma Town and Community Fund Rally Together to Survive Tough Times
When one of Tulsa’s largest employers, Williams Companies, was facing possible bankruptcy this summer, ALSO SEE:DATABASE: Philanthropy 400 results from 1998-2002The Tide TurnsDoing the Numbers: How The Chronicle’s Philanthropy 400 Was CompiledLutheran Services Seeks to Raise Profile, QuietlyHabitat…
By Brad Wolverton
Contributor
Some charities find surveys help them better understand and retain supporters, but others say they don’t payA year ago, Food for the Hungry spent $15,000 on a telephone survey of donors and those who might give to the charity. As Matthew Panos, vice president of ministry partnerships and resources,…
By Brad Wolverton
Contributor
Community Funds See Drop in Value of Assets, Study Finds
For the first time since 1994, community foundations lost money on their investments last year, largely because of declines in stock prices, according to a study by the Council on Foundations. The median return on investment for 2001 was minus 3.9 percent, meaning that half of the foundations…
By Brad Wolverton
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Making Sure Female Artists Have a Place of Their Own
When Judy L. Larson was taking art-history courses at the University of California at Los Angeles in the late 1970s, she remembers raising a question in class: Where are all the women artists? “Sure, there was Georgia O’Keeffe and Mary Cassatt, but after that there was -- well, no one,” recalls Ms.…
By Brad Wolverton
Contributor