Foundations Hoard Assets, Philanthropist Tells Senate
The billionaire investor Warren Buffett told a key Senate committee that he believes private foundations are stockpiling money instead of giving it to charities because of a federal law that requires foundations to spend at least 5 percent of their assets annually. Mr. Buffett, speaking at a…
By PETER PANEPENTO
Contributor
House Bill Extends Charitable Incentives
When the House of Representatives passed its controversial Responsible Tax Relief Bill this month, it also voted to extend a tax incentive that allows older donors to deduct money contributed to charities through their individual retirement accounts. The incentive, which allows taxpayers age 70 1/2…
By PETER PANEPENTO
Contributor
Lawmakers Call Proposed Hospital Rules Too Strict
More than 300 lawmakers are asking the Internal Revenue Service to scale back the reporting requirements for nonprofit hospitals when the tax agency adopts a new version of the Form 990 informational tax form. The new form, which would take effect in 2009, includes a schedule that would require…
By PETER PANEPENTO
Contributor
IRS Considers Monitoring Charity Efficiency
The Internal Revenue Service may take aggressive steps to help the public identify inefficient and ineffective nonprofit organizations, says Steven T. Miller, the commissioner of the agency’s tax-exempt and government-entities division. “Efficiency and effectiveness have obvious implications when…
By Ben Gose
Senior Editor
Think Tank Drops Lawsuit Alleging Theft of Information
A conservative think tank in Delaware has dropped a lawsuit that had accused one of its major donors and three former executives of stealing confidential information. A spokesman for the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, in Wilmington, said the institute had withdrawn the lawsuit, but would not…
By PETER PANEPENTO
Contributor
Federal Government Accuses Charity of Terrorist Links
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has announced that it has taken steps to crack down on a Sri Lankan charity it accuses of supporting terrorism. The Treasury Department said in a statement that the group, Tamils Rehabilitation Organization, funneled donations and purchased equipment on behalf of…
By Caroline Preston
Contributor
Colonial Williamsburg Creates Digital Map
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is working hard to bring 18th-century Virginia to the Internet. The charity has embarked on an ambitious two-year project to create an online interactive map that will allow users to examine how the town changed during the 1700s and to learn about the people…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Giving Site Offers Donors a Satisfaction Guarantee
GlobalGiving — an online-donation site that matches donors with grass-roots social and economic-development projects in the developing world — is guaranteeing donations of up to $10,000. The Washington organization describes the move as a way to be more accountable to people who make contributions…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Critical Blog Entries Prompt Board Member’s Suspension
Should a charity board member write a blog? That question is being raised after the trustees of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board suspended one of its members for writing critical comments about the organization on his personal blog. The Richmond, Va., group, which oversees the…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
Therapist Feels Strains of Hurricane Victims’ Traumas in Her Own Life
Antoinette Q. Bankston spent 20 years as a therapist in private practice before she became director of mental-health services ALSO SEE: ARTICLE: Getting a Grip ARTICLE: Easing Their Burdens ARTICLE: Caring for Caregivers LIST: Resources to Help Charity Workers Cope With Stress at the Baton Rouge…
A showcase of charities that are trying new ways to help nonprofit workers overcome work stress.
By Caroline Preston
Contributor
It’s not often that the chief executive officer of a nonprofit organization fields the kind of ALSO SEE:ARTICLE: Getting a GripARTICLE: Caring for CaregiversARTICLE: Therapist Feels Strains of Hurricane Victims’ Traumas in Her Own Life call that Josh Sherfey received one summer day. An elderly…
By Eric Frazier
Contributor
Stress is certainly nothing new for charity workers: too much to do, too little time, not enough ALSO SEE:ARTICLE: Easing Their BurdensARTICLE: Caring for CaregiversARTICLE: Therapist Feels Strains of Hurricane Victims’ Traumas in Her Own Life money — and the knowledge that falling short of their…
By Caroline Preston
Contributor
A California Grant Maker Offers Local Charities Free Consulting Help
Door of Hope, a nonprofit group that serves homeless families in Pasadena, Calif., needed help: Its donations had declined and the charity was in financial jeopardy. So a year ago its executive director, Tim Peters, began meeting with a management consultant who has, so far, ALSO SEE:ARTICLE: Five…
By Darlene M. Siska
Contributor
Cultivating Fields of Fire in New Mexico
By Brennen Jensen This southwestern state is called the Land of Enchantment, but it could well carry another name: the Land of Chile Peppers. Folks here are fanatics for the fiery fruits (and keen on using the Spanish spelling for the potent peppers while looking askance at those who write…
By BRENNEN JENSEN
Contributor
Charity Leader Seeks to Fill His Predecessor’s Size 14 Boots
As the new executive director of the Northcoast Environmental Center, in Arcata, Calif., Greg King knows he has big shoes to fill. Mr. King, 46, has taken over the job that was held for more than 35 years by Tim McKay — ALSO SEE: BIO: About Greg King, Executive Director of The Northcoast…
By Scott Westcott
Contributor