August 27, 1998 | Read Time: 5 minutes
Federal Grants Management Handbook, Volumes 1 and 2
These volumes explain how to apply for a federal grant, develop an accounting system for the funds, comply with federal rules, and keep records that government auditors require.
The handbook, available only through a yearly subscription, also provides full texts of government directives — circulars from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, for example — that affect the administration of federal grants.
A subscription includes a monthly newsletter that offers updates on government policy changes that affect non-profit groups, such as Congressional bills, announcements from the O.M.B. and the U.S. Treasury Department, and decisions from courts and grants-appeal boards.
Readers may also purchase supplements to the handbook that explain the ins and outs of federal grant making at 24 different agencies. The supplements explain how grant applications are handled and provide information on whom to contact for more information.
The handbook includes guidance on OMB Circular A-133, which has modified accounting requirements for charities, and it also explains what types of non-profit organizations must have procedures in place by 1999 to receive federal money electronically.
Publisher: Thompson Publishing Group, Subscription Service Center, P.O. Box 26185, Tampa, Fla. 33623-6185; (800) 677-3789; fax (800) 999-5661; World-Wide Web http://www.thompson.com/tpg/fed_gts; approximately 1,000 pages; $269 for a one-year subscription; $35 for each of the 24 agency chapters.
Foundation Giving: Yearbook of Facts and Figures on Private, Corporate and Community Foundations, 1998 Edition
Edited by Loren Renz, CrystalMandler, and Rikard Treiber
In 1996, the nation’s 41,588 grant-making foundations distributed $1.6-billion more than they did the previous year — an increase of 10 per cent when adjusted for inflation, according to this report.
Those foundations also enjoyed a $41-billion jump in assets and a 60-per-cent increase in gifts from donors — the latter due mostly to a $4.7-billion bequest from the technology pioneer David Packard to the foundation he established with his wife, Lucile.
This eighth edition of the center’s annual roundup on giving focuses on numbers from 1996. The numbers are culled from informational tax returns and from the Foundation Center’s own research on grant-making foundations.
Though exact figures for 1997 are not yet available, the center estimates that the amount of paid grants increased last year by 12 per cent. That estimate was made from information provided by 1,200 large and mid-sized foundations.
The book offers analysis of recent trends in giving, such as a modest increase in support for the arts and a slight drop in giving to health-related causes.
Tables provide rankings of foundations and their grant recipients in several categories, such as by largest grants given and largest grants received. Pie charts break down the percentage of grant dollars and the number of grants awarded in areas such as education, health, and the arts. Graphs track the effects of inflation and other influences on giving over recent years.
Appendixes include an explanation of the center’s methodology, the national taxonomy of fields of support for tax-exempt organizations, and a list of the Foundation Center’s libraries nationwide.
Publisher: Foundation Center, 79 Fifth Avenue, New York 10003-3076; (212) 807-3690 or (800) 424-9836; fax (212) 807-3677; World Wide-Web http://fdncenter.org; 142 pages; $24.95; I.S.B.N. 0-87954-805-3; I.S.S.N. 1066-0445.
The Handbook of International Philanthropy: Policies and Procedures for Planned Giving Beyond Our Borders
By Jane Peebles
This book is designed to help tax specialists advise people who wish to give to foreign causes, either directly or through charities in the United States.
Section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code generally prohibits taxpayers from writing off their gifts to foreign charities, foundations, or governments. But, writes Ms. Peebles, a lawyer in Los Angeles, there are many ways that a person can give overseas and still claim a deduction.
Chapters elaborate on treaty exceptions (such as income-tax deductions that are allowed for gifts to Canadian charities), on special income-tax considerations that the I.R.S. applies to giving abroad (such as donating through groups in the United States set up for the express purpose of supporting a charity overseas), and on rules that govern estate and gift-tax planning for international causes.
Appendixes include summaries of U.S. treatment of income, estate, and gift taxation for citi zens, residents, and non-resident aliens.
Publisher: Bonus Books, 160 East Illinois Street, Chicago 60611; (312) 467-0424 or (800) 225-3775; fax (312) 467-9271; World-Wide Web http://www.bonus-books.com; 125 pages; $49; I.S.B.N. 1-56625-096-x.
The Perfect Legacy: How to Establish Your Own Private Foundation
By Russ Alan Prince, Gary L. Rathbun, and Karen Maru File
Nine out of 10 rich people consider the creation of a legacy to be an “extremely important” function of their wealth, and 85 per cent desire more information about starting a private foundation, report the authors of this book.
What’s more, 95 per cent of affluent individuals who recently established funds said they didn’t think it possible to create a foundation until a financial adviser showed them how.
Those statements are based on surveys conducted by Prince & Associates, the firm headed by Mr. Prince. He and his colleagues — Mr. Rathbun, a financial planner, and Ms. File, a professor of marketing at the University of Connecticut — lay out a step-by-step approach to starting a foundation.
Chapters focus on narrowing a donor’s giving priorities to figure out what he or she wants the foundation to support, deciding the extent to which one’s family should participate, conducting a feasibility study, creating the necessary legal documents, putting together a board of directors, selecting an investment adviser, transferring assets, and making sure all the mechanisms are in place for effective grant making.
Publisher: HNW Press, 76 Penfield Road, Fairfield, Conn. 06430; (203) 255-8772; fax (203) 256-9147; 80 pages; $19.95; I.S.B.N. 0-9658391-1-7.
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
Finding Funds for AIDS Projects in New York City, Third Edition, 1998 lists nearly 200 foundations, corporations, government agencies, and civic, religious, federated, and community-based groups that award grants for AIDS programs in New York City. Each entry provides contact information, a summary of the grant maker’s giving priorities, recent grants made to AIDS-related projects, restrictions, guidelines on eligibility, and information on the application process. This edition of the directory includes 59 new entries, a list of resources for grant seekers, and a glossary of terms. Publisher: Welfare Research Inc., Publications Office, 112 State Street, Albany, N.Y. 12207; (518) 432-2563; fax (518) 432-2564; e-mail 103353.003@compuserve.com; 100 pages; $5.
