July 27, 2000 | Read Time: 1 minute
Building Strong Foundations: Creating Community Responsive Philanthropy in Nonprofit Conversions, edited by Harry Snyder and Deborah Cowan, is a guide intended for community groups, regulators, news media, courts, and other organizations that want to keep watch over foundations created as the result of non-profit health conversions. Under law, when a for-profit entity buys a non-profit health-care organization or hospital, the assets of that non-profit organization must continue to be used for charitable purposes. The book, produced by Consumers Union, in San Francisco, and Community Catalyst, in Boston, seeks to educate people about such health-organization restructuring, which has become a significant force in philanthropy. A recent study from Grantmakers in Health reported 122 foundations created as a result of conversions, collectively holding some $16-billion in assets. The guide suggests standards for such funds, identifies potential conflicts of interest involving board and staff members, and offers ways to hold foundations accountable if they neglect services or squander their assets.
Publisher: Consumers Union, 1535 Mission Street, San Francisco, Calif. 94103; (415) 431-6747; fax (415) 431-0906; http://www.consumersunion.org; 34 pages; free.
