Focus May Be the Most Important Skill in Fund Raising
“Hey, sexy,” my new executive assistant’s voice blared into the phone to Sandy Cardin, executive director of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation. “Are you ready to speak with Yossi?” Barbara Burg’s unrepentant chutzpah didn’t bother Mr. Cardin at all -- in fact, he knew her well, as…
By Yosef I. Abramowitz
Contributor
$60-Million Pledge to Va. School; Other Gifts
Fork Union Military Academy, in Virginia, has received a trust valued at $60-million from Guy E. Beatty, a trustee of the academy, and his wife, Betty. The trust will make a payment of $2-million to the academy each year for 30 years after Mr. Beatty dies. A retired entrepreneur, Mr. Beatty, a…
Prominent Performing-Arts Patron Misses Payments to Several Groups
Alberto Vilar, a financier who has pledged some of the biggest amounts of money ever to opera and classical-music groups, is late in fulfilling commitments to the Washington Opera, and news reports say he is behind in making good on pledges to several other organizations. Mr. Vilar, an investor who…
By Elizabeth Greene
Contributor
MacArthur Foundation Names 24 New Fellows
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, in Chicago, has announced 24 new MacArthur Fellows. Recipients of the prestigious fellowships, often dubbed “the genius awards,” are free to use the money as they wish. The foundation does not require them to produce any reports or other works or…
How ‘Charter’ Schools Are Run: a Primer
Charter schools are public schools that are free of many local and state regulations that govern traditional ALSO SEE:Nonprofit Lesson PlansCharter Program Aims to Teach Success to Hispanic Youngsters public institutions. But charter schools are held more accountable than conventional ones for…
By Meg Sommerfeld
Contributor
Charter Program Aims to Teach Success to Hispanic Youngsters
Washington When leaders of the National Council of La Raza, a nonprofit group in Washington, were looking for ALSO SEE:Nonprofit Lesson PlansHow ‘Charter’ Schools Are Run: a Primer ways to improve education for poor Hispanic children, they agreed that the stakes were so high that a big gamble was…
By Meg Sommerfeld
Contributor
More charitable groups are starting charter schoolsDetroit Three years ago, when officials of the YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit were thinking of opening an ALSO SEE:Charter Program Aims to Teach Success to Hispanic YoungstersHow ‘Charter’ Schools Are Run: a Primer elementary school that could serve…
By Meg Sommerfeld
Contributor
Photograph by Frank HaxtonEvery day, two helicopters loaded with medical equipment -- a virtual intensive-care unit -- are ready to race through the skies to the remote and rugged areas of northern Nevada and northeastern California. The pilots and crews provide 24-hour emergency air-ambulance…
Following are summaries of recent reports by the BBB Wise Giving Alliance. This private group reports on whether charities meet standards for fund raising, governance, financial management, and public information. The alliance does not approve or disapprove of charities, and urges potential donors…
The Admiral (Chicago): Appointed Glenn Brichacek, director at Mather Place (Evanston, Ill.), ALSO SEE:One-Time Educator Now Teaches About Hospice Care to be president and chief executive officer of this nonprofit retirement community. Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (Frederick, Md.):…