Many schoolchildren in Vermont and New Hampshire are learning all about animal behavior -- and not by taking the occasional field trip to a farm or the zoo. Thanks to a five-year, $225,000 grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to the Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich, Vt., students in…
Lilly Now No. 1 Among Foundations
Soaring assets bump Ford to second; Packard to be third The Lilly Endowment in Indianapolis, which saw its assets soar to $12.7-billion last year, has surpassed the Ford Foundation to become the nation’s largest private foundation. Ford, which had held the No. 1 ranking for more than 30 years, is…
By Holly Hall
Contributor
Following are summaries of recent reports by the Council of Better Business Bureaus’ Philanthropic Advisory Service. The service reports on whether charities meet standards for fund raising, governance, financial management, and public information. The service cautions that it does not approve or…
American Arts Alliance (New York): Appointed Jan Denton, a vice-president at Chambers Associates (Washington), to be executive director. She succeeds Lee Kessler, who resigned January 5. American Association of Fund-Raising Counsel (New York): Gabriel G. Rudney, a trustee of the AAFRC Trust for…
The Community of the Future Edited by Frances Hesselbein, Marshall Goldsmith, Richard Beckhard, and Richard F. Schubert This third book in the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management’s “Future” series begins with a call to non-profit groups to focus their efforts on urban areas. “What…
By C. Quinn Hanchette
Contributor
The Biggest Gifts Announced by Individuals in 1997
Who AmountPurpose Ted Turner, founder of Cable News Network $1-Billion To create a foundation to support United Nations programs dealing with humanitarian causes, the environment, and international-relief efforts Kathryn Albertson, widow of the supermarket-chain founder Joe Albertson $660-million…
By C. Quinn Hanchette
Contributor
IRS Reverses Position, Recognizes Kemp Group
The I.R.S. has changed its mind and given tax-exempt status to Empower America, an advocacy group headed by Jack Kemp, the former Republican Vice-Presidential candidate, and other prominent Republicans. In a ruling last year, the I.R.S. decided that the policy group did not qualify for a tax…
Scientology Agreement With IRS Comes to Light
Newly disclosed details of a 1993 settlement in which the Internal Revenue Service granted tax-exempt status to the Church of Scientology show that the church paid the federal government $12.5-million. The payment extinguished all liability for estate, income, and payroll taxes that the church may…
Organizations Fight IRS on Mailing-List Income
Common Cause and Planned Parenthood Federation of America have taken the I.R.S. to U.S. Tax Court. The organizations are fighting the government’s determination that they must pay income tax on proceeds generated by renting donor mailing lists. Both cases will be heard in court at the same time:…