‘Bloomberg’: A List of ‘Masters of the Loophole’
Two trusts-and-estates lawyers who specialize in helping charity donors hold the dubious distinction of being included in Bloomberg Personal Finance magazine’s “Loophole Hall of Fame” (November). The lawyers, Conrad Teitell and Douglas K. Freeman, were featured along with nine other prominent…
By Debra E. Blum
Contributor
Telemarketers Keep Most of the Money They Raise for Charity, 2 States Report
Two new reports by state regulators show the share of proceeds that charities receive when they hire professional solicitors to seek donations in their behalf: * In Connecticut, telemarketers that ran fund-raising campaigns in behalf of Connecticut charities last year kept two out of every three…
By Debra E. Blum
Contributor
Moving Away From Donor Designation
As general funds drop, United Ways try to curb gifts to specific charities Baltimore’s United Way raised $39-million in its 1998-99 campaign -- more than it had ever collected before. But the 68 local health and human-services charities that the United Way supports annually didn’t benefit from the…
By Debra E. Blum
Contributor
Charities Fail to Tap Internet’s Potential to Spur Action and Giving, Study Finds
Charities are not yet using the Internet to its full potential to spur activism and giving, according to the results of a new survey. Two-thirds of donors and volunteers who are active users of the Internet had not heard much ALSO SEE:On-Line Giving and Activism: What Donors Want -- if anything --…
By Debra E. Blum
Contributor
Baptist Charity Under Scrutiny in Arizona for Deals It Offered to Thousands of Investors
The Baptist Foundation of Arizona, the fund-raising and endowment arm of the state’s Southern Baptist Convention, is under investigation for allegedly misrepresenting its financial condition in the sale of up to $500-million in investment products to more than 13,000 investors. State authorities…
By Debra E. Blum
Contributor
Few Charities Likely to Get Tobacco-Settlement Funds
Non-profit groups may not benefit as much from a $206-billion deal between states ALSO SEE:4-H Defends Anti-Smoking Program Financed by Tobacco Company and companies that sell tobacco as once thought, if a new report detailing state lawmakers’ plans to spend the money holds true. The report,…
By Debra E. Blum
Contributor
4-H Defends Anti-Smoking Program Financed by Tobacco Company
Anti-smoking advocates, health charities, and leaders of 4-H groups around the country are troubled ALSO SEE:Few Charities Likely to Get Tobacco-Settlement Funds by the National 4-H Council’s plans to use a $4.3-million grant from the nation’s biggest cigarette maker to pay for a new effort to…
By Debra E. Blum
Contributor
In Canada, Gaming Revenue Keeps Charity Coffers Flush
Many Canadian charities receive a big chunk of their budgets from government-run or charity-run gambling operations, according to a new study. The study, sponsored by the Canada West Foundation, in Calgary, Alberta, found that nearly seven out of 10 charities say that gambling revenue is an…
By Debra E. Blum
Contributor
For Charities, a New Twist in Raising Money: Corporate Investors in Life-Insurance Policies
The Christian Medical & Dental Society, in Bristol, Tenn., expects to earn $1-million a year for the next 30 years by participating in an unusual and intricate new life-insurance program. In the program -- which its promoters say is risk-free for charities and easy for them to participate in -- the…
By Debra E. Blum
Contributor
SEC Issues Feasibility Report on Company-Giving Disclosure
The Securities and Exchange Commission has weighed in on a controversial legislative proposal that would require public companies to tell shareholders what charities the corporations support and to name the largest recipients. In a 39-page report sent privately to Rep. Paul Gillmor, who introduced…
By Debra E. Blum
Contributor