Relief Groups Must Prepare Workers for New Realities
Humanitarians in this new century face tough assignments. What was once perceived as a relatively simple challenge -- provide food, medicine, and shelter to people in need -- is no longer so simple. Famine, at one time nearly always attributable to drought, is today caused primarily by war --…
By Sue Lautze
Contributor
United Way: Flirting With Disaster Again
To the Editor: As a professional employed by a small United Way, your article “Software Deal Goes Sour for United Way” (December 16) has me greatly concerned for a number of reasons. First, I am greatly concerned by the apparent fact that the Board of Directors at United Way of America would allow…
Perpetuity: the Real Issue in Payout Debate
Economists, foundation officials, and charity observers have been spending a tremendous amount of time recently talking up reports that arrive at an exact percentage of assets that foundations should be required to give away each year. Some studies, citing market performance over the course of many…
By Mark R. Kramer
Contributor
Obstacles to Business-Charity Partnerships: Lessons From Both Coasts
To the Editor: In their recent opinion piece in The Chronicle, Shirley Sagawa and Eli Segal advocate the fostering of partnerships between the business and charitable communities (“Break Down Barriers to Business-Charity Partnerships,” My View, December 16). Such partnerships, they say, will…
Grant Makers Mustn’t Hide Behind Trendy Strategies
In the search for a way to make a more lasting difference, grant makers are looking to new concepts to guide their grant-making strategies. Three concepts more than any others -- the asset model, outcome evaluation, and venture-capital investing -- have advanced discussion on how foundations and…
By Emmett D. Carson
Contributor
Non-Profit Groups Win, Lose Property-Tax Rulings
State courts in Maryland and Nebraska have dealt non-profit organizations a victory and a defeat, respectively, in cases involving property taxes. The Court of Special Appeals of Maryland ruled that the North Baltimore Center, which provides outpatient mental-health care to poor people, deserves a…
By GRANT WILLIAMS
Contributor
Appeals Court Hands Down Mixed Ruling on Charitable-Solicitations Laws in Utah
In what is being viewed as a decision with national implications, a federal appeals court has ruled that several provisions of Utah’s charitable-solicitations act are unconstitutional, including a requirement that paid solicitors secure a $25,000 bond before their charity clients can seek…
By Jennifer Moore
Contributor
More-Effective Foundations: Making the Dream a Reality
To the Editor: I like to dream, and that’s one reason I liked Michael E. Porter and Mark R. Kramer’s “Philanthropy’s New Agenda: Creating Value” (“Two Publications Question Foundation Benefits,” Press Clippings, November 4). They thoroughly explore how foundations fall short of their potential and…
The Key to Internet Deals: Protecting a Charity’s ‘Brand’
To the Editor: Your article “Ringing Up a New Way to Give” (December 16) raised many interesting issues for non-profit groups entering the world of charitable giving through for-profit Internet sites. However, the big issue was only touched on and is the one that non-profits should be most…
Global ‘Civil Society’: Not Inevitable
As the third millennium dawns, the prospects for the growth of “civil society” have never seemed brighter. ALSO SEE:A SPECIAL REPORT on philanthropy at the millennium: looking ahead and looking back. Throughout the world, nations are looking increasingly to non-profit organizations rather than to…
By Leslie Lenkowsky
Contributor