N.Y. Regents OK Gift-Driven Name Change for Upstate College
The board that oversees higher education in New York State voted Monday to approve a plan by Paul Smith’s College to add philanthropic patron Joan Weill to its name in honor of a $20-million donation, the Albany Times Union reports.
Opinion: Art Museums Succumbing to the Lure of Commerce
Citing a growing number of collaborations among museums, for-profit galleries, art dealers, and corporations, a Los Angeles Times art critic laments what he terms the “relentless” commercialization of nonprofit cultural institutions.
Smithsonian Meets Kickstarter on Armstrong Space-Suit Effort
The Smithsonian has launched its first crowdfunding campaign, seeking to raise $500,000 to preserve and once again exhibit the space suit Neil Armstrong wore while taking humankind’s first steps on the moon, reports CollectSpace, an online news service on space history.
U. of Miami Proves the Power of Hispanic Donors
Departing President Donna Shalala and her outside-the-box choice to be her top fundraiser secured 28 gifts of at least $1 million from Hispanics, totaling $61.5 million.
By Megan O’Neil
Contributor
Board-Game Fundraising Event Triples Its Goal and Raises $91,000
Dedicated gamers using stories and blogging raised enough money to pay for 30,000 meals for homeless and low-income families.
By Nidhi Singh
Contributor
Strapped Calif. Hospital Chain Gets $250-Million Lifeline
A New York investment firm would take over management of California’s financially struggling Daughters of Charity Health System and get an option to buy the six-hospital network if state authorities approve the proffered cash infusion, the Los Angeles Times writes.
Big Clinton Foundation Donors Also ‘Bundling’ for Hillary
Twenty of Hillary Clinton’s “Hillblazers" — supporters who have pledged to raise $100,000 for her presidential campaign — have collectively given at least $54 million to her family’s charity, writes The Wall Street Journal.
Paul Newman’s Children Feuding With Head of Late Actor’s Charity
The late Hollywood icon’s children are at odds with a longtime friend of the actor’s who now heads the Newman’s Own food company and the foundation that gives away the firm’s proceeds, according to an article in the August issue of Vanity Fair magazine.
Unicef Creates Researcher-in-Residence Role With Support From Bloomberg
The scholar will help the charity build its ability to analyze big data and help data scientists learn how they can help humanitarian groups.
By Rebecca Koenig
Contributor
Legendary NYU Fundraiser Pushes Higher Standards for Nonprofits
As Naomi Levine leaves her position at the university’s center for philanthropy, she wants to see better oversight and more professional practices.
By Holly Hall
Contributor
Planned Parenthood Head Defends Group’s Use of Fetal Tissue
The group’s president, Cecile Richards, apologized Thursday for the “tone” of a Planned Parenthood executive’s videotaped remarks on utilizing the organs of aborted fetuses but said the nonprofit is closely observing legal and ethical rules in donating the tissue for medical research, The Washington Post and CNN report.
Opinion: Sunshine Laws Should Cover University Foundations
The Columbia Journalism Review examines press-freedom controversies involving public universities’ foundations, which often maintain that they are distinct nonprofit entities exempt from states’ open-records laws.
$20 Million Weill Gift Could Rename Upstate N.Y. College
Paul Smith’s College, a small, private institution in the Adirondacks, is seeking state and judicial permission to change its name to Joan Weill-Paul Smith’s College in exchange for the pledge by Ms. Weill and her husband, former Citigroup chief Sanford Weill, reports the Adirondack Daily Enterprise.
Report: Afghanistan Most Dangerous Country for Aid Workers
Afghanistan remains the most perilous place in the world for relief charities to operate, with more than quarter of attacks on aid workers last year taking place there, the Thomson Reuters Foundation writes, citing a study by consulting group Humanitarian Outcomes.
New Leaders at Project HOPE and Philadelphia Foundation
Among other nonprofits with notable personnel changes: Achieving the Dream and the Cherokee Preservation Foundation.
By ANAIS STRICKLAND
Contributor
House GOP to Investigate Planned Parenthood on Fetal Tissue
Republican leaders announced plans Wednesday for a congressional inquiry into Planned Parenthood’s handling of tissue from aborted fetuses following an anti-abortion group’s release of a video in which an official with the women’s health group discusses providing fetal organs for medical research, reports The New York Times.