Charities Must Heed the Lessons From Hurricane Katrina
In the days after Hurricane Katrina savaged New Orleans and its outlying areas, it became de rigueur to criticize everyone in the disaster-relief business, including America’s charities, for their inability to literally deliver the goods. But after speaking with donors, charities, and recipients…
By TRENT STAMP
Contributor
Gates and Buffett Should Fight Human-Rights Abuses
LETTERS TO THE EDITORTo the Editor: Warren Buffett has had a moment of revelation, leading him to decide, contrary to his long-held position, not to wait until he dies to be charitable, but instead to give $31-billion to Bill Gates for him to be charitable with (“Contribution to History,” July 20).…
In Disaster Planning, Focus on Local Charities
It has been only a year since Hurricane Katrina unleashed her deadly force, but already we are forgetting one of the most important lessons of that harrowing experience: Where governments and national charities failed, local churches and community organizations stepped in. Soup kitchens, community…
By TONY PIPA
Contributor
Charities continue to help displaced Katrina victims secure homes and jobs as the city struggles to adjust From makeshift office space in Houston’s East End, 22 caseworkers — all of whom fled to this ALSO SEE:Special Report: Rebuilding the World a Storm DestroyedArticle: Programs Respond to Needs…
By Ben Gose
Senior Editor
Let’s Collaborate With Commercial Funds, Not Compete
During this time of rapid growth of private philanthropy, it is appropriate that the Council on Foundations — the organization that represents 2,000 of the nation’s grant makers — is taking steps to encourage giving, establish standards of practice, and ensure that foundations can operate in a…
By Thomas Peters
Contributor
Charities Need More Investment Capital
Most people think of charities as fundamentally labor-intensive organizations that have little need for investment capital, the resource required to finance facilities, acquire equipment, and do long-range planning. Universities, hospitals, and large cultural institutions have long recognized the…
By Lester M. Salamon
Contributor
Court Rules Against IRS in Health-Charity Case
TAX WATCH A federal appeals court has dealt a significant blow to the Internal Revenue Service in its efforts to crack down on charity officials and companies that receive improper financial benefits from their connections to a tax-exempt organization. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
When it comes to giving, musicians look toward homeAfter Hurricane Katrina swept through the Gulf Coast last summer, scores of New Orleans musicians raised money to help victims of the ALSO SEE:ARTICLE: Citizen WyntonARTICLE: From Raising Cain to Raising MoneyARTICLE: Performers Use Their Star…
By Michael Anft and Ian Wilhelm
Opinion: Offer ‘Money-Back Guarantees’
Charities can give major donors more confidence that their gifts will be spent wisely if they offer “money-back guarantees,” says Arthur C. Brooks, a professor at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School for Public Affairs, in an opinion article in The Wall Street Journal. “For donations that are spent…