Microsoft Site Offers Donation Guidelines
NGO Connection, a new Web site created by the Microsoft Corporation, brings together information about the company’s grant making and software-donation program with case studies that show how nonprofit organizations have used technology to improve their operations. The site is scheduled to be…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Baseball Appeals Test Donations by Text Message
Baseball fans with mobile phones who watched the Washington Nationals play the Houston Astros last week were invited to support Children’s National Medical Center’s work to fight pediatric diabetes by sending a text message to make an instant $5 donation, which was then charged to their…
By CANDIE JONES
Contributor
Effort Links Charities With News-Media Sites
A new Internet service, Good2gether, seeks to connect people and causes by distributing nonprofit information to high-traffic Web sites, such as those run by newspapers and television stations. Information from the service currently appears on The Boston Globe’s Web site, Boston.com. Nonprofit…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Housing Charity Settles Lawsuit With Texas Affiliate
The San Antonio chapter of Habitat for Humanity has resolved its legal dispute with Habitat for Humanity International over the terms of membership in the organization. The San Antonio branch was upset by a new agreement that the parent organization asked American affiliates to sign. In January, it…
By BRENNEN JENSEN
Contributor
Obama Would Continue Federal Grants for Religious Charities, With Changes
Sen. Barack Obama this month said he would continue President Bush’s efforts to help religious charities get federal money for social-service projects if he is elected president, but he would provide more training to groups that seek the grants and insist on evaluating their effectiveness. Saying…
By SUZANNE PERRY
Contributor
Christine Brown recently called her local United Way with an urgent request: Do you provide emergency grants to charities that are facing hard times because of state budget cuts? Ms. Brown co-chairs the board of A New Leaf, a small nonprofit florist and garden shop in Providence, R.I., that hires…
By SUZANNE PERRY
Contributor
Congress Continues to Scrutinize Spending by Wealthy Groups
With the stock market sinking rapidly, will Congress lose its zeal for scrutinizing the largest endowments? Some members of Congress, including Sen. Charles E. Grassley, the senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, have raised the idea of requiring nonprofit groups with an endowment or…
By Ben Gose
Senior Editor
Ford Foundation Official Warns About Dangers of Alternative Investments
As endowments increase their allocations to alternative assets, skeptics have generally focused on two risks of such investments: their high fees, which eat into returns, and their tendency to use lots of debt, which can spell disaster when investments drop sharply. Now an investing expert at the…
By Ben Gose
Senior Editor
Nonprofit Endowments Achieved a Return of 15.7% Last Year
By Maria Di MentoMore than $468.2-billion is held in the endowments of 253 of the nation’s major foundations, universities, and other nonprofit organizations, according to the fifth annual study of endowments conducted by The Chronicle of Philanthropy. The organizations in the study achieved a…
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Increasing Number of Smaller Charities Seek Outsiders to Manage Their Endowments
Some small and midsize charities, disappointed by the investing results produced by managers hired by their boards, have decided to hire experts to take over all the duties of managing an endowment. Commonfund, which helps colleges and other charities manage their endowments, has in recent years…
By Ben Gose
Senior Editor
The 253 endowments in The Chronicle’s annual survey enjoyed their fifth straight year of strong investment returns in 2007, but that streak may come to a halt in 2008. The endowments in the survey earned a median return of 15.7 percent in 2007 — meaning that half of the endowments achieved higher…
By Ben Gose and Maria Di Mento
American Brain Tumor Association (Des Plaines, Ill.): Appointed Elizabeth Wilson, executive director for communications and public affairs at the National Safety Council (Itasca, Ill.), to be executive director. She succeeds Naomi Berkowitz, who has retired. American Enterprise Institute…
Bill Would Raise Rate for Volunteers’ Car Use
Congress is considering legislation that would increase the tax deduction for people who use their automobiles as part of their volunteer work for charities. Under federal law, volunteers who drive their cars for charitable purposes may deduct 14 cents a mile for their car costs (or be reimbursed…
By Peter Panepento and Grant Williams
American Red Cross, Southwestern Pennsylvania Chapter (Pittsburgh): Appointed Patricia M. Waldinger, chief administrative officer and senior vice president for the Global Institutional Clients Department at Mellon Financial Corporation (Pittsburgh), to be chief executive officer. Benedictine Life…
Tax Agency Adjusts Rules on Charitable Deductions
The Internal Revenue Service has announced several changes affecting charitable donations for the 2008 tax year, updating tax rules to take inflation into account. One change affects the way donors calculate their charitable deductions. Federal law allows donors to take deductions only for the…
By Grant Williams
Contributor
Tax-Exempt Organizations Registered With the IRS
More than 1.1 million charities and private foundations were registered with the Internal Revenue Service as of September 30, 2007, according to figures released by the agency. ALSO SEE: TABLE: Types of Groups Registered The IRS reported that the number of groups classified under Section 501(c)(3)…
By Grant Williams
Contributor