$50-Million Gift to ACLU Provides Jolt for Criminal-Justice Overhaul
The donation from the Open Society Foundations boosts what has become a bipartisan effort to reduce the number of Americans behind bars.
By Avi Wolfman-Arent
Contributor
Foundation Giving Reaches Record $54.7-Billion, Report Says
The surging stock market boosted assets of many foundations and spurred creation of new charitable trusts, according to the Foundation Center.
By Drew Lindsay
Senior Editor, Special Projects
Ala. Nonprofit’s Ex-CFO Charged in Alleged $11-Million Fraud
A former executive at an Alabama charity that provides medical services to the poor and homeless was arrested Wednesday on charges that she took part in a scheme to divert federal grant funds, assets, and properties from two community health centers, reports The Birmingham News.
New Study Examines Giving for One vs. Giving for Many
University of Oregon research that gauged people’s responses to different pleas to address hunger—one focused solely on a starving girl, the other combining that appeal with statistics about millions of other sufferers—could shed light on the relatively limited charitable response to the Ebola outbreak, according to NPR.
W.Va. Voters OK Tax Break for Boy Scouts-Owned Property
The Boy Scouts of America will be able to rent out its Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve in West Virginia for commercial events without losing its tax exemption under a state constitutional amendment approved by voters Tuesday, reports the Associated Press.
After a Few Bumps, Foundations Buy Pittsburgh Arts Center
Two days after being purchased at a sheriff’s auction by a bank for less than $2,000, Pittsburgh’s August Wilson Center for African American Culture was sold Wednesday to a philanthropic consortium for $7.9-million, seemingly securing its future as an arts venue, writes the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
$20-Million Donation Boosts U. of Chicago Policy School
The University of Chicago has received $32.5-million in gifts to support expansion of its Harris School of Public Policy, including a $20-million contribution from Dennis Keller, co-founder of for-profit education firm DeVry, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Protesters at Dozens of Colleges Question Koch Donations
Demonstrating under the slogan “UnKoch My Campus,” students at nearly 30 colleges across the country held protests Monday calling on schools to reveal more about what Charles and David Koch have donated to schools and whether the billionaire industrialists wield academic influence, Forbes writes.
College Endowments See Nearly 16% Return, Report Says
College and university endowment funds gained an average of 15.8 percent on their investments in the 2013-14 fiscal year, The Chronicle of Higher Education and Pensions & Investments report, citing preliminary data from the Commonfund Institute and the National Association of College and University Business Officers.
Kansas Voters OK Amendment Legalizing Charity Raffles
Churches, schools, and other nonprofits sought the change in the state’s constitution after Gov. Sam Brownback vetoed legislation to allow charity raffles last year, reports the Associated Press.