Arts Report: Right Picture, Wrong Remedy
Although the National Endowment for the Arts appears to have beaten back another effort to abolish it, art in the United States in general -- and non-profit arts groups in particular -- remain in perilous condition, a new N.E.A. report argues. The reason, the report contends, is that elite artistic…
By LESLIE LENKOWSKY
Contributor
Leadership Is Key in Raising Money
To the Editor: It was fascinating to read Richard L. Moyers’s insightful piece (“‘Non-Profit’ Label Limits Charities’ Effectiveness,” My View, October 16) only to read two pages further Gil Mangels’s letter reviling big salaries for non-profit C.E.O.'s (“Big Non-Profit Salaries Are Demoralizing,”…
We Should Give Ted Turner the Credit He’s Due
To the Editor: Your recent article on Ted Turner (“Ted Turner’s Headline Pledge,” October 2) pointed out the pettiness of some within our ranks by their pointing out the possibility that he might not fulfill his pledge (“If Ted Turner fulfills . . .”), questioning his motives (" . . . Mr. Turner…
Tax-Exempt ‘Shells’ and Campaign-Finance Reform
The recently suspended Senate probe into the financing of political campaigns showed how tax-exempt organizations were used as cogs in the money machine that fueled the partisan political wars of 1996. Although the committee’s chairman, Fred Thompson of Tennessee, cut short the proceedings, it is…
By Frances R. Hill
Contributor
‘The New Republic’: Problems at UNICEF
‘The New Republic': Problems at UNICEF Donors should think twice before contributing to UNICEF, writes Nicholas Eberstadt in The New Republic (November 10). “There are good reasons not to drop your change into the UNICEF box,” says Mr. Eberstadt, a researcher at the American Enterprise Institute…
By Vince Stehle
Contributor
‘San Francisco Bay Guardian’: Foundations Under Scrutiny
Foundations are “genteel, high-society do-gooder institutions that are becoming self-perpetuating entities that amass more and more wealth and share less and less of it,” concludes the San Francisco Bay Guardian (October 8) in a series of nine articles on philanthropy it entitled “Pulling the…
By Vince Stehle
Contributor
Alumni Fault Yale in Loss of Bass Gift
In an attempt to mend fences between Yale University and Lee Bass, members of the class of 1937 have sent a letter to Mr. Bass’s father absolving the younger Mr. Bass and blaming the university for errors that resulted in the Texas oil heir reneging on a $20-million pledge. But the missive may only…
Warren Buffett Holds Firm Opinions on How-and When-to Donate
No matter how much Warren E. Buffett has been criticized for not giving away more of his billions, he is unlikely to waver from his belief that the best thing he can do is leave all his money to charity after he’s dead. That way, he reasons, he can keep using his investment magic to keep…
Corporate Giving, the Buffett Way
Billionaire financier’s approach, in which shareholders pick charities, is the model for proposed legislation Warren E. Buffett, the Omaha billionaire, has long been a role model for anybody who wants to build a successful investment strategy. But now Congress is eyeing him as a model for the…
By GRANT WILLIAMS
Contributor
Boards Don’t Need an 800-Pound Gorilla
To the Editor: Your article “When Board Members Aren’t Rich” (October 2) discussed a number of creative fund-raising techniques. However, all too often non-profits limit their goals to the perceived ability of their board as “big hitters.” Such limitations are unwise. Take, for example, a…