News Briefs for February 13, 2014

College Endowments Rose Nearly 12% in 2013 After Barely Growing in 2012

College endowments rebounded in the 2013 fiscal year, returning an average of 11.7 percent, according to a benchmark survey. The figure was in stark contrast with 2012, when investment returns were minus-0.3 percent. The annual survey by the National Association of College and University Business Officers and the Commonfund Institute looks at data from more than 800 North American educational institutions with endowment assets totaling $448.6-billion.

Giving by Donor-Advised Funds Grew Fast

Three big donor-advised funds increased giving sharply last year. Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund gave $2.1-billion, 29 percent more than in 2012. Schwab Charitable Fund gave $742-million, or 36 percent more, the largest increase in more than five years. Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program gave $540-million, a 15-percent increase. Contributions from donors to the funds last year grew 35 percent at the Schwab fund, were flat at Fidelity, and decreased at Vanguard.

Taxpayer Advocate Criticizes IRS for Nonprofit Application Backlog

The Internal Revenue Service’s internal monitor has criticized the agency for failing to add more resources to the “seriously understaffed” division that oversees nonprofits and to correct technical problems that led to the erroneous revocation of the tax-exempt status of thousands of organizations. The IRS faces a backlog of about 66,000 applications from organizations seeking tax-exempt status or reinstatement of exemptions that were automatically pulled under an IRS drive to weed out groups that had not filed proper paperwork, the national taxpayer advocate, Nina Olson, said in her annual report to Congress.

News Outlets Build Online Tool to Aggregate Charity Ratings

The Tampa Bay Tribune and the Center for Investigative Reporting, which shook up the nonprofit world with their “America’s Worst Charities” investigation, has built an online tool that for the first time aggregates multiple charity watchdog and review sites. Charity Checker allows people to see information on more than 11,000 charities from the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, Charity Navigator, GreatNonprofits, and GuideStar.

Medical Research Institute Receives $275-Million Anonymous Gift

An anonymous donor has pledged $275-million over 10 years to the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, the largest gift in its history. The donation will help the institute achieve its goal of raising $500-million over the next decade to speed up the development of discoveries to cure or prevent disease, the organization said.

Bill and Melinda Gates Decry Pessimism About Global Poverty

Three damaging myths are fostering undue pessimism about the fight against global poverty, Bill and Melinda Gates wrote in their foundation’s annual letter. Citing statistics on wealth, mortality, family size, and other measures, the couple disputes that poor countries are doomed to stay poor, foreign aid is a big waste, and saving lives leads to overpopulation. “By almost any measure, the world is better than it has ever been,” the letter says.