Big Grants Are Easier, but They Aren’t Better
To the Editor: As some foundations look to increase the amount of money that they grant without increasing the number of employees who review proposals and manage the process (“Foundations’ Asset Growth Brings Staff Expansion,” February 26), I hope they will keep in mind a lesson that the World…
Reader’s Digest Story Left Out Some Key Data
To the Editor: Your article on Reader’s Digest and its related funds (“Falling Price of Reader’s Digest Stock Is Big Blow to Wallace Funds,” February 26) omits some important information that might have helped your readers better understand how well the nine Wallace-related foundations have fared…
Endowment Growth Is Just Part of the Bounty
To the Editor: Your article “Foundations’ Endowment Explosion” (February 26) is insightful and appreciated. There are two other factors, among an array of fund-raising activities, which are substantially affecting the revenue of many non-profit charities: the enormous growth of endowments held by…
Foundations Must Work With Business on Job Training
Despite the importance of business to society, foundation support for business organizations has been rare. But as the economy continues to evolve and as government shrinks in size and scope, the nation can no longer afford estrangement be tween foundations and business. A rapprochement is in…
By Basil J. Whiting
Contributor
‘Chicago Tribune’: Failures of Child Sponsorships
International-relief charities often raise money by broadcasting heart-rending appeals that urge donors to transform the lives of poor children by sending a donation and becoming a child’s “sponsor.” But those contributions often fail to reach the children whom donors were told they were helping,…
By Vince Stehle and Paul Demko
New bookkeeping standards intended to stop charities from understating fund-raising expenses are drawing sharp criticism In an effort to stop non-profit groups from overstating the percentage of their budgets that they spend on good works, an influential accounting organization has revised the…
By Debra E. Blum
Contributor
What the IRS Says About How Taxpayers Should Value Gifts of Property
How to Value a Gift of Property Donors of cars, used clothing, and household goods -- not the charities that receive them -- are supposed to calculate the fair market value of their contributions by following federal law and publications that explain the law issued by the Internal Revenue Service.…
Church Fund Defends Its Financial Plans
To the Editor: It was disappointing to read Tom Cullinan’s recent letter to the editor (“Church Fund’s Commercial Plans Are Disturbing and Mutinous,” February 26). The Chronicle’s coverage of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Foundation’s response to an increasingly complex environment (“Putting…
Directors Must Have a Sense of Mission
To the Editor: It is important that Marilyn Dickey included “reinforce a sense of mission” among her tips for improving boards of directors’ fund-raising skills (“Strategies That Charities Can Use to Improve Board Fund-Raising Skills,” February 12). The sad fact is that too many people of means…
The Left Doesn’t Have It Right on Grant Making
In recent years, mainstream foundations have come under increased scrutiny on a wide set of issues, from the inflexibility of their grant making to their limited accountability. Although the criticisms come from across the political spectrum, people generally are more familiar with those from the…
By PABLO EISENBERG
Contributor