Daily News Roundup: Responses to Bezos Giving Tweet at 42,000 and Counting

Jeff Bezos’s Giving Appeal Bears Silicon Valley Hallmarks: The Amazon founder has drawn more than 42,000 responses with his Twitter call last week for ideas on how to best use his $86 billion fortune to help people “right now,” turning heads with a philanthropic approach akin to his disruption of the retail industry, Bloomberg writes. Read a Chronicle column offering Mr. Bezos giving advice and see what nonprofit leaders are recommending.

Susan G. Komen Arizona to Close as Giving Drops: The state affiliate of the national breast-cancer charity cited dwindling participation in its signature annual Race for the Cure and an overall decline in donations in announcing plans to wind up operations on July 31, The Arizona Republic reports.

Ex-VA Lawyer Admits Embezzling $150,000 From Charity: Prosecutors said John Thomas Burch, 75, spent donations to the now-defunct National Vietnam Veterans Foundation on his own travel and personal affairs, writes The Washington Post. Mr. Burch, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud, headed the nonprofit while also working as a staff lawyer at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Opinion: GuideStar Errs in Giving Credence to Nonprofit’s “Hate” Tag: A Wall Street Journal (subscription) column criticizes the charity watchdog for expanding the “insidious influence” of the Southern Poverty Law Center by flagging GuideStar profile pages of nonprofits the center deems hate groups. Author Jeryl Bier contends the organization tars mainstream conservative groups as extremist and plays down the radical left. Read a Chronicle article on nonprofits the organization has tagged as hate groups.

Girl Scouts Adding Cybersecurity to Badge Achievements: The national youth nonprofit best known for outdoor activities and cookie sales is partnering with security company Palo Alto Networks to outfit girls with “a valuable 21st-century skill set” and overcome gender and geographic barriers to jobs fighting identity theft and other computer crime, Reuters reports.

U.S. Ranks in “Second Tier” on Social Progress, Study Says: The United States ranks 18th — and in the second group of nations — in the nonprofit Social Progress Imperative’s annual survey rating 126 countries on social barometers such as health, environmental protection, tolerance and inclusion, and access to education, Bloomberg writes.