Making the Case for Split-Dollar Plans
To the Editor: As the C.E.O. of the largest promoter of charitable split-dollar plans, I would like to respond to your August 13 article “Brilliant Deduction?” Keep in mind that since InsMark’s Charitable Legacy Plan is the most prevalent of these plans, when you speak of the “typical plan” you are…
Salary-Tax Proposal Should Be Written Off
To the Editor: Pablo Eisenberg argues that the Internal Revenue Service should tax as excessive non-profit executive salaries above $250,000 or $300,000 (“I.R.S. Must Slam the Door on High Salaries,” Opinion, August 13). One would hope that the myriad of problems associated with this proposal will…
Emergency Food: Moving Beyond the Hunger Trap
Poverty and economic inequality in the United States are more pronounced now than at any time since the start of World War II. Meanwhile, charity is flourishing, and fighting hunger has become a national pastime. Over the course of the last two decades, tens of thousands of charitable…
By Janet Poppendieck
Contributor
Utah Charities Received $3-Billion in Revenue in 1996
Non-profit organizations in Utah received revenue of about $3-billion in 1996, according to a new study commissioned by the Utah Nonprofits Association. The study, which was meant to show the economic impact of charities in the state, counted more than 2,100 charitable organizations operating in…
By Vince Stehle
Contributor
Study: Americans Confident in Charities’ Integrity
Americans have confidence in charities, particularly the causes with which they themselves have been involved, according to new study findings published by the Hudson Institute, an Indianapolis think tank. Sixty-four per cent of respondents agreed that “most charitable organizations are honest and…
By Vince Stehle
Contributor
Some Misimpressions About Public-Radio Deal
To the Editor: We at Minnesota Public Radio were enthusiastic about Jed Emerson’s recent Opinion piece (“Non-Profit Pay Scales: Getting What We Deserve,” My View, July 30) and his thoughtful perspective. In referencing Minnesota Public Radio, however, Mr. Emerson seems to have created two…
Charity Workers Must Realize Their Value
To the Editor: Jed Emerson is correct when he writes that in order to justify higher salaries, workers in the non-profit world “must be prepared to be accountable and hold ourselves to stricter measures of our value” (“Non-Profit Pay Scales: Getting What We Deserve,” My View, July 30). If we’re…
Tips on Ties to Corporate Sponsors
When the International League for Human Rights announced that the chief executive of Philip Morris would chair the league’s annual dinner this year -- and had contributed $50,000 to the event -- the decision caused quite a stir. So outraged was one organization, the Interfaith Center for Corporate…
By William F. Schulz
Contributor
AIDS Activist Is ‘a Rebel Without a Clue’
To the Editor: Michael Petrelis is not so much a menace as he is a rebel without a clue (“Michael the Menace,” July 30). He rubs elbows with rabidly anti-gay, anti-AIDS-group bigots to find someone -- anyone -- who will listen to his claim that AIDS charities are making their managers rich and…
Grant Makers: Put Your Assets Where Your Values Are
Few foundation trustees carefully monitor the contents or performance of the funds in their trust. That is because most trustees regard themselves primarily as program advisers whose main role is to formulate broad grant-making policy and philanthropic mission. They have little interest or…
By Mark Dowie
Contributor