Charities Urged to Follow Disclosure Rules Proposed at Land Group
If the Nature Conservancy wants to improve its management practices and operations, it should make its finances and programs more transparent, enforce new conflict-of-interest policies, and strengthen board governance at the national and local levels, a new report urges. While the report was…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
Report Scores Nonprofit Credit Counselors
Congress should consider new legislation to curb abuses by some nonprofit credit-counseling organizations and require the federal government to increase its scrutiny of the industry, recommended a report from an influential Senate panel. Some of the nation’s 872 tax-exempt credit-counseling…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
Volatile Market and Terrorism Dampen Optimism Among Fund Raisers
Seattle Concern about the fluctuating stock market and the terrorist attack in Spain prompted many of the participants gathered here for the annual meeting of the Association of Fundraising Professionals to temper their enthusiasm for 2004’s fund-raising potential. Some fund raisers expressed…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
U.S. Supreme Court Won’t Consider Scout Case
The U.S. Supreme Court last week refused to consider an appeal from the Boy Scouts of America, which unsuccessfully sued the State of Connecticut for excluding it from a state-run fund-raising campaign. The state’s action came after a 2000 Supreme Court ruling recognized the Boy Scouts of America’s…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
D.C. United Way Leader Pleads Guilty toFraud
Alexandria, Va. Oral Suer, former chief executive of the United Way of the National Capital Area, in Washington, pleaded guilty in federal court this month to two felony charges that he stole nearly $500,000 from the organization during his 27-year tenure. The felony counts carry a maximum prison…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
President Bush Makes Changes in Operations of National-Service Agency
Washington President Bush has made changes to AmeriCorps and other national-service programs by signing an executive order that requires the programs to work more closely with religious groups and urges recipients of federal aid to step up their fund raising from private sources. Executive orders…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
Conservative Foundations Promote Ideas More Effectively, Report Says
Politically conservative foundations are more effective than their liberal or moderate counterparts at promoting their ideologies, says a new report by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, a liberal organization in Washington that seeks to hold foundations accountable to the public.…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
High Court Ruling May Affect Religious Aid
The U.S. Supreme Court last week ruled that states could withhold government-financed scholarships from students studying religion, a decision that could have implications for efforts to funnel federal and state money to religious groups that provide job training, education, and other services. By…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
Many grant makers don’t plan to increase awards, despite gainsBuoyed by stock-market gains, assets at most of the nation’s largest private foundations rose last year, ALSO SEE:DATABASE: Giving Trends at Big FoundationsHow The Chronicle Compiled Its Survey of Giving and Assets at Big FoundationsHow…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
Slow economic recovery keeps charities’ hopes in checkThe Rev. Joseph J. Sicari, diocesan director of Catholic Charities of Buffalo, sees a brighter future for his group’s finances. “We’re confident we’ll reach our fund-raising goal,” he says. “It seems like the economy is turning around.” But…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor