Bernard Marcus thinks big. Arthur M. Blank plans carefully. Together, they revolutionized an ALSO SEE:Rolling Up His SleevesGiving Kids the Right Tools industry with Home Depot, the $70-billion home-improvement chain they founded in 1978, and became billionaires. Both of them stepped down from…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Hardware magnate takes a do-it-yourself approach to givingWhen it comes to philanthropy, Bernard Marcus wants to be in control of everything he can. His foundation, ALSO SEE: The Marcus Foundation: A Sampling of Grants Made In 2000 Master Plans for Giving Giving Kids the Right Tools which last year…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Accounting Measure Omits Charity-Disclosure Clause
A measure signed by President Bush last week that toughens corporate accounting laws left out a controversial proposal that would have required companies to increase disclosure of their charitable contributions. The measure was a compromise between the two different bills passed by the House and…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
IRS Issues Guidelines for Religious Groups
In time for this November’s elections, the Internal Revenue Service has published guidelines on how leaders of churches, mosques, synagogues, and other religious organizations may conduct political activities without causing their groups to lose tax-exempt status. The information is contained in a…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Automobile Donations Are High Priority for IRS
The IRS’s Exempt Organizations Division has announced its priorities for enforcing laws affecting charities in fiscal 2003, which begins October 1. Among the new items is a plan to issue guidelines on the charitable deductions that donors are allowed to take on the automobiles they donate to…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Turnover among fund raisers presents challenges for charitiesWhen Thomas J. Moore agreed to run the development office at the Kinkaid School, in Houston, he knew that taking over for Phyllis H. Selber -- a 22-year veteran -- would prove no small challenge. So at his first staff meeting, Mr. Moore…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Senate Defeats Plan to Repeal Estate Tax
Donors and fund raisers will continue to face uncertainty over the fate of the estate tax for some time to come, even though the Senate has defeated a plan to repeal the tax permanently on estates worth $1-million or more. The Senate voted 54 to 44 against considering a measure that would have…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Court Reverses IRS on Hospital Joint Venture
A nonprofit hospital will not lose its tax exemption as a result of a partnership with a for-profit hospital chain, a district court has ruled. St. David’s Health Care System, in Austin, Tex., may retain its nonprofit status even though half of the directors on its governing board were appointed by…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Court Denies Deductions Due to Charity’s Error
The U.S. Tax Court, in a pair of rulings, has disallowed donors’ charitable deductions because the receipts the nonprofit group gave the donors were incorrect. The rulings, charity experts say, could have broad implications, causing some donors to become wary about making gifts. In the first case…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Donors to Religious Groups Give More Than Others, Study Finds
Households that donate to a church, temple, mosque, or other religious organization ALSO SEE:The Influence of Religion: New Data on Giving and Volunteering tend to give far more to charity overall -- including to nonreligious groups -- than those that do not, according to a new report. The report,…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor