Weighing the Best Strategies for Handling Problem Board Members
IN THE TRENCHES By Tom Chalkley At some charities, all it takes is one board member to damage an organization’s ability to operate effectively. Take three examples: The board of a group that lobbies for the elderly elected Mr. M, a retired labor-union activist, to be its chairman. (In this and…
By Tom Chalkley
Contributor
Foundations Getting the Efficiency Message
To the Editor: If there was ever any doubt that the field of philanthropy is changing, this month’s conference of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations should have ended the debate. There were 550 participants, double the number at the prior conference, which was itself double the attendance the…
A Disagreement on Hunger Policy
To the Editor: In her My View column titled “World Hunger Demands Attention -- Now” (February 7), Susan Sechler implies that we should all make an effort to feed the world. Ms. Sechler further says that the “outpouring of anti-American bile . . . surely owes much to the problems of poverty and…
Young People Should Spend a Year in Public Service
To the Editor: Your My View column by Susan J. Ellis, “The Wrong Way to Encourage Volunteerism” (February 21), along with enlightened editorial comments in the local and national media of late, are fueling a lively and hugely important public debate on the critical issues of volunteerism and…
Corporate Gifts Should Be Disclosed
Enron’s charitable donations raise disturbing questions about corporate governance and the purposes of corporate philanthropy. Enron was well known in the Houston area for contributing to local charities, some of whose officials had close ties to the energy company. To take one example, Enron…
By David M. Phillips
Contributor
Borderless Giving Crucial to Solving Global Strife, Experts Say
Palo Alto, Calif. The world’s most crucial problems require a strong international response from philanthropic institutions, several speakers suggested at a conference here this month. And last September’s deadly attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center highlighted the potential stakes if…
By Stephen G. Greene
Contributor
What Enron’s Fall Teaches Trustees
To the Editor: Henry Goldstein’s thoughtful article on lessons from Enron’s downfall (“Enron’s Downfall Offers Many Lessons for Charities,” February 7) makes the case that governance counts; that charity boards must set the tone and serve as stewards of the funds and other assets entrusted to them.…
A Tax Deduction for Donors Who Don’t Itemize?
Current proposal no longer works To The Editor: As you noted in your February 21 issue (“Charities Offer Mixed Reviews of Bipartisan Plan to Help Religious Groups”), many charity leaders may support a Senate proposal that would give people who do not itemize on their tax returns a tax break for…
Discussions of Minority Philanthropy Require Many Perspectives
To the Editor: We would like to extend our appreciation and congratulations for your series of articles on racial and ethnic communities and philanthropy (“A Changing Palette,” January 10). Your balanced representation of all four major American racial and ethnic communities was particularly…
Remembering John Gardner, an Idealist Who Knew How to Lead
The death last month of John Gardner, the founder of Common Cause and Independent Sector, has cast a shadow over the nonprofit world, leaving it with no leaders of comparable vision, integrity, and moral stature. A mentor to thousands, a hero to many, Mr. Gardner, who was 89, set the standard for…
By PABLO EISENBERG
Contributor