Penn State Rescinds Honor for Ex-Sandusky Charity Trustee
Following complaints from football fans and alumni, the university pulled an invitation to a former board member of a youth charity founded by convicted child molester Jerry Sandusky to take part in an honorary coin toss at a weekend game, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
N.Y. Charities Subpoenaed in Inquiry Into Foundation Spending
Charities headed by two politically prominent Long Islanders have been subpoenaed by New York State’s attorney general in connection with an investigation of a trust administrator’s disbursement of donations, according to Newsday.
Chicago Parks Group Renews Legal Fight Against Lucas Museum
The nonprofit seeking to block movie mogul George Lucas’s planned $300-million lakefront museum in Chicago filed an amended lawsuit Friday, three weeks after a judge warned that a project redesign could render the organization’s previous legal complaint invalid, the Chicago Tribune reports.
How Nonprofits Can Gain the Public’s Trust
An exclusive Chronicle survey finds that one in three Americans lacks faith in charities. Experts blame a lack of oversight and poor press coverage — but mostly charities’ failure to promote trust.
Chronicle Survey Says 35% of Americans Lack Confidence in Charities
Reports of fraud have soured many people on nonprofits, and sizable percentages criticize charity spending and say leaders are paid too much. Nonprofit experts suggest how to gain the public’s trust.
By Suzanne Perry
Contributor
Poll Rates Public Confidence in Charities, Their Programs, and Spending
Almost two-thirds of Americans have a great deal or fair amount of confidence in charities, according to a new Chronicle poll — the first to measure public views on that question since 2008. But, a sizable percentage say charities don’t spend money wisely.
By Suzanne Perry
Contributor
1 in 3 Americans Lacks Faith in Charities, Chronicle Poll Finds
A third were concerned about how charities spend money, and many said nonprofit leaders are paid too much.
By SUZANNE PERRY
Contributor
Overall Skepticism of Institutions Can Make It Harder for Charities to Gain Trust
Americans’ confidence in many parts of society have been declining for four decades.
By SUZANNE PERRY
Contributor
Borrowed From Business: Nonprofits Try Their Own Version of Wall Street-Style Earnings Reports
Some charity leaders are bullish on quarterly updates like those that businesses are required to do but acknowledge the risks involved with flinging open the books.
By Megan O’Neil
Contributor
Changing Minds: 4 Ways to Help People See the Good in Nonprofits
Experts interviewed by The Chronicle reveal strategies charities can use to improve their public image, especially through better communication and more transparency.
A Senate Critic of Charity Abuse Says Most Nonprofits Do a Good Job
Sen. Charles Grassley urges nonprofits to become more transparent as a way to bolster confidence.
By Rebecca Koenig
Contributor
Surviving Rough Waters: How the Nature Conservancy Bounced Back From Scandal
A decade ago, the group was rocked by investigations by Congress, the IRS, and the EPA, and donations withered. A structural overhaul — and a big dose of transparency — helped restore the public’s trust.
By Rebecca Koenig
Contributor
Teaching Small Charities to Use Volunteers Well
New York Cares, which mobilizes more than 62,000 unpaid workers each year, teaches small groups what it has learned — and how to avoid the pitfalls that come from poor planning.
By Michelle Gienow
Contributor
Spillover Effect From Red Cross Scandals Stirs Concerns
As the charity comes under a new round of federal scrutiny, some worry about growing cynicism toward charities in general.
By Rebecca Koenig
Contributor
Male Board Members Must Step Up to Fight Gender Bias in Pay at Nonprofits
Hostile questions House members posed to the head of Planned Parenthood this week were a sign of the persistent bias female leaders face.
By David Cay Johnston
Contributor
$100 Million Pledged for Brain Studies
The science-focused Kavli Foundation and seven institutions of higher education are together supporting the effort to advance research into traumatic injury and brain diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, Agence France-Presse reports.