National-Service Effort Receives $441-Million
Washington President Bush has signed into law a massive spending bill for the 2004 fiscal year that includes $441-million for the AmeriCorps national-service program -- a 62-percent increase in support, the largest in AmeriCorps’s 11-year history. The measure covers spending in the fiscal year that…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
Charities try new efforts to persuade homosexuals to giveWhen Greg Baldwin and his male partner showed up to have their picture taken for the United Way of Miami-Dade’s donor-recognition book five years ago, the couple caught the charity by surprise. “I was sitting there with my partner in a lobby,…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
Packard’s Worldwide Search for New CEO Leads Home
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation conducted a five-month, worldwide search for a new chief executive, vetting dozens and dozens of candidates, only to discover that the person with the qualities the board members sought already worked for them. Last month, the foundation appointed Carol S.…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
Number of Americans who volunteer is on the riseThe number of Americans who volunteered last year rose 6 percent, to 63.8 million, according to a new ALSO SEE: Who Volunteers: Changes from 2002-2003 government study of people age 16 and older. An estimated four million more people volunteered at…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
Charities Brace for State Cuts
Nonprofit groups told to expect hard times until 2006As states continue to grapple with a fiscal crisis that some economists have described as the worst in 50 years, ALSO SEE:Tough Times for State Budgets budget experts and charities in many locales are concerned that nonprofit groups could be big…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
Catholic Giving in 2002 Rose 4.9 Percent
Giving by Americans to the Roman Catholic Church rose last year despite a clergy sexual-abuse scandal that rocked its congregations, according to a new study. Giving at church services and other general collections grew 4.9 percent, or $273-million, to $5.8-billion last year for the country’s 194…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
Gay-Rights Group Settles Dispute With State of Georgia
The Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, a gay-rights group in New York, has reached an out-of-court settlement with a Georgia state agency, after challenging the employment practices of a Methodist social-service charity that received state money. Under the terms of the settlement, which were…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
Secular, Religious Groups Compared in Study
A new study that compares the effectiveness of religious and secular charities has found that nonsectarian job-training groups in Indiana were more successful at helping clients obtain full-time employment and jobs with health benefits than similar organizations that had religious affiliations. The…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
Donors Give $8.5-Million to Aid California Fire Victims
Disaster-relief charities and other nonprofit organizations have raised more than $8.5-million for the victims of the Southern California wildfires. The American Red Cross has received by far the largest amount, with $5.9-million in donations and pledges. The organization has stopped soliciting for…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
YWCA Fires Embattled CEO After Six-Month Tenure
The YWCA of the U.S.A. this month fired its chief executive officer, Patricia Ireland, after only six months on the job. During her tenure, Ms. Ireland faced strong objections from socially conservative groups that did not approve of her ties to abortion rights and gay causes. “We have the deepest…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor