‘Wired’: Giving With a Bottom Line
A new breed of donors is trying to reinvent the art of philanthropy, matching generosity with the no-nonsense rules of business, Wired magazine writes in its September issue. The new donors, called “venture philanthropists,” believe “that simply giving money away is too passive and uninvolved,”…
By Thomas J. Billitteri
Contributor
But efforts to win private funds spur fears of competition, commercialism The booklet’s front cover reads “Catalogue,” but this is no showcase for designer jeans or gleaming kitchenware. ALSO SEE:Top 30 Donors to U.N. Refugee Agency Mailed to 2,500 Americans, the pamphlet lists dozens of former…
By Thomas J. Billitteri
Contributor
‘Chronicle’: a Call for Accountability
The $10-billion William H. Gates Foundation should help lead the way in making grant makers more accountable to the public about their practices and the impact of their work, a scholar argues in The Chronicle of Higher Education (July 23). The Gates Foundation should “devote some attention, and a…
By Thomas J. Billitteri
Contributor
‘Art & Antiques’: A New Breed of Donor
Art benefactors like the late Paul Mellon and the publishing magnate Walter Annenberg represent a passing generation of donors who saw the world of collecting evolve from a “genteel domain of a privileged few to a competitive business” dominated by a new kind of wealthy patron, Art & Antiques…
By Thomas J. Billitteri
Contributor
Value of Planned Gifts Estimated at $73-Billion
Americans reported to the Internal Revenue Service that they held more than 82,000 charitable remainder trusts in 1997, with a total fair market value of $60.5-billion, according to newly compiled data from the tax agency. The figures, which are the latest available, point to significant growth in…
By Thomas J. Billitteri
Contributor
Brazen Giving Strategies Spark New Debate Over Tax-Code Abuse
In fund raising, a little chutzpah is often what it takes to produce big gifts for good causes. But in April, a prominent organization of fund raisers voted to take a stand against what it said was too much chutzpah. ALSO SEE:All in the Family The National Committee on Planned Giving passed a…
By Thomas J. Billitteri
Contributor
Planned-giving scheme lets donors and their heirs shelter huge assets and control the funds; critics call it a tax dodge Financial advisers are promoting a controversial planned-giving tool as a boon both to wealthy people and to charities, one that rewards non-profit groups far better than do…
By Thomas J. Billitteri
Contributor
‘Town & Country’: Nine Pet Projects
Nine women whose philanthropic interests run to sheltering cats, dogs, and grizzly bears are profiled in a cover story in Town & Country magazine (June). Among those singled out as “animal angels” are Elizabeth R. Cooke, president of the board of Bide-A-Wee Home Association, a New York-area…
By Thomas J. Billitteri
Contributor
‘The American Prospect’: Civic Disengagement
America’s civic and political associations are governed by a far more elite group of well-educated upper-middle-class leaders than was the case 30 years ago, and big foundations, pollsters, and lobbying groups play a much bigger role in shaping the civic agenda than in the past, says a Harvard…
By Thomas J. Billitteri
Contributor
High Court Won’t Consider Appeal in United Way Case
The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to consider an appeal by former United Way of America President William Aramony, who was convicted in 1995 and imprisoned for defrauding the non-profit organization. Mr. Aramony had challenged his seven-year prison sentence, arguing that it exceeds federal…
By Thomas J. Billitteri
Contributor