Securing the Security of Aid Workers
It is hard to exaggerate the impact of the bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad in which more than 20 people died and scores were injured. As the worst single attack on the United Nations in its history, with the loss of the U.N. envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello and other leading…
By Nick Cater
Contributor
A Challenge for Liberal Foundations
As the Democratic presidential debate heats up this fall, the backdrop is startling: America’s political center of gravity has moved sharply to the right. Need proof? No serious Democratic contender is offering a health plan today that would cover as great a percentage of the uninsured as did the…
By MATTHEW MILLER
Contributor
‘Inc.’: How an Actor Spurred Innovation
Robert Redford’s Sundance Village, a nonprofit organization that operates an artist’s colony, a laboratory for independent filmmakers, and the Sundance Film Festival, is the nucleus of a sprawling international enterprise, writes Stephen H. Zades, in Inc. magazine (September). Mr. Zades, who runs…
Text of Article on Public Trust That Nonprofit Coalition Refused to Publish
Emmett D. Carson, president of the Minneapolis Foundation, wrote the following article at the invitation of Independent Sector, which he said refused to publish it unless he removed references to the James Irvine Foundation and four charities or verified that published allegations involving the…
Foundation Perpetuity Is a Misguided Goal
To the Editor: The central problem behind Vincent Stehle’s argument (“Payout Proposal Doesn’t Consider the Long Haul,” Opinion, August 7) is the view that the longevity of foundations is a desirable goal. Over 70 years ago, Julius Rosenwald, one of the 20th century’s greatest philanthropists,…
Foundations Should Turn the Evaluation Spotlight on Themselves
In recent years, foundations have been falling all over themselves trying to measure the work and effectiveness of their grant recipients. Yet, by and large, those same foundations have ignored the need to evaluate their own performance using the same standards they set for the charities they…
By PABLO EISENBERG
Contributor
Government Regulations Pose Huge Challenge for Charities
To the Editor: The recent article discussing the issue of charity fraud was very timely (“Fighting Charity Fraud,” August 7). The issues of financial controls and the lack thereof were central to the story. The report was wonderful in reminding nonprofit managers of the need for these controls.…
America’s Next Problem: a Worker Shortage
Work occupies a central place among American values. We believe work is more than a means to an end: It also teaches discipline, rewards determination, provides structure to our lives, and creates a sense of self-worth. International studies consistently find that Americans work more hours than do…
By mark Elliott
Contributor
Board’s actions at issue at troubled D.C. United WayWashington In 1998, Oral Suer, then chief executive of the United Way of the National Capital Area, in Washington, told The Chronicle ALSO SEE:Excerpts of the Audit of the D.C.-Area United Way that he sought no raise in pay, declaring that his…
By Brad Wolverton
Contributor
Concerns About Ending a Giving Program
To the Editor: Two points must be made about the article “Boycott Dooms Novel Giving Program” (July 24). First, it is sad news that Berkshire Hathaway has terminated its charitable-giving program, which allowed shareholders to designate the charities that benefit from it. The decision is a blow not…