News Briefs for May 8, 2014

DOZENS OF ORGANIZATIONS PLEDGE $170-MILLION TO SUPPORT VETERANS AND MILITARY FAMILIES

More than 30 foundations and corporations last week announced a pledge of more than $170-million over five years to aid veterans and military families, the Council on Foundations announced. The Philanthropy-Joining Forces Impact Pledge was started by Blue Shield of California Foundation, the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, the Lincoln Community Foundation, and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

UCLA REJECTS $3-MILLION FROM OWNER OF NBA CLIPPERS AFTER RACIST REMARKS

The University of California at Los Angeles last week announced it would not accept $3-million pledged by the Donald T. Sterling Charitable Foundation for kidney research. The move came shortly after news reports that Mr. Sterling had made racist comments. The foundation had contributed $425,000 already, which the university said it will return.

DONATIONS BY GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES DECLINE

The share of U.S. government employees who made donations in last year’s federal workplace charity campaign fell sharply to 16.2 percent—down from 21 percent in 2012. Total donations declined by 19 percent, to $209.7-million, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

CHARTER OF BOY SCOUT TROOP IN SEATTLE IS REVOKED AFTER LEADER DECLARES HE IS GAY

The Boy Scouts of America has pulled a Seattle church’s charter to sponsor a Scout troop led by a gay man. Rainier Beach United Methodist Church, which insists that its programs be inclusive to all, planned to keep Geoffrey McGrath as scoutmaster despite the Scouts policy adopted last year that allows gay youths to participate but bars openly homosexual adults from leading troops.

PRIVACY WORRIES CLOSE EDUCATION-DATA GROUP SUPPORTED BY GATES AND CARNEGIE FUNDS

InBloom, a nonprofit software company that collected and stored data about public-school students, has announced it will close because of parental concerns about privacy. The company, which got $16.8-million in support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and $3-million from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, aimed to help school districts use data on student activities such as homework and test-taking to develop personalized instruction for pupils.

CHARITY COALITION URGES NONPROFITS TO PAY LIVING WAGES TO ALL EMPLOYEES

In response to a growing national movement to raise the minimum wage, Independent Sector, a coalition of charities and grant makers, last week urged nonprofits to pledge to pay workers a “living wage.” In a statement, Diana Aviv, the group’s leader, encouraged donors to increase their gifts and governments to increase their reimbursement rates for the services charities provide, to help nonprofits pay their low-wage workers more.

IRS REVOKES CHARITY STATUS OF GROUP THAT PROMOTED CONSERVATIVE POLITICAL IDEAS

The Internal Revenue Service has revoked the charity status of a nonprofit for engaging in what the agency called “a pattern of deliberate and consistent intervention in political campaigns.” The Patrick Henry Center for Individual Liberty, in Manassas, Va., was founded by Gary Aldrich, and the IRS noted that the center’s website featured an article Mr. Aldrich wrote as part of the “Swift Boat” campaign against presidential candidate John Kerry and a piece in which he called on “Clinton haters” to tell voters about Hillary Clinton’s “atrocious conduct.”