100,000 People May Have Cheated on Charity Tax Breaks
More than 100,000 taxpayers may have cheated the government of as much as $1.8-billion worth of revenue last year by claiming improper deductions on their income-tax returns for donations of goods and property to charity, according to a report released last month by the Treasury Department’s…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
A Health Charity’s Leader Serves Poor People in the Shadow of Wealth
It’s 8:15 on a breezy South Florida morning and Yolette Bonnet-Pierre is circulating among the 40 people attending a breakfast at the opulent City Club of the Palm Beaches, several stories above a glittering marina lined by million-dollar-plus homes. Ethel Isaacs Williams, a lawyer, has gathered…
By MARTY MICHAELS
Contributor
Smithsonian Undertakes Review of Its Governance
A committee that includes several nonprofit leaders has begun reviewing the Smithsonian Institution’s governance practices in the wake of the messy departure of the organization’s top executive, Lawrence M. Small. Mr. Small, who had been Smithsonian secretary since 2000, resigned last week after…
By SUZANNE PERRY
Contributor
Bits: Accenture Foundations Awards $1.5-million to the Aidmatrix Foundation
By Nicole Wallace The second annual NetSquared Conference, scheduled for May 29-30 in San Jose, Calif., will focus on improving and promoting 20 projects that use social-networking sites and other technologies to promote social change. Organizers are accepting project nominations through April 6.…
AT&T Gives $1-Million for Computer Training
By Sam KeanTo help older people become more savvy with Amazon and eBay (or simply learn how to turn on a computer monitor), the AT&T Foundation has donated $1-million to the Oasis Institute. Oasis — which offers arts, health, and technology classes to elderly people — will use the money to update…
Survey Tracks Sources of Charity Technology Help
By Nicole WallaceMost organizations that provide technology assistance to charities are small, for-profit enterprises, according to a new survey. Of the 149 technology-assistance groups surveyed, 65 were for-profit businesses and 54 were self-employed consultants. The remaining 20 respondents were…
Researchers to Develop Medical Tools for Patients
By Nicole WallaceProject HealthDesign, a partnership between two foundations, has awarded $300,000 in research grants to encourage the development of new tools to help patients. The grants, which have been distributed to nine teams of researchers, will build on technology that has been devised by…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Sponsorships Could Cut Waste in Charity World
The number of charities that start and fail, or that duplicate services already offered by more-established groups, could be ALSO SEE:ARTICLE: Getting a Head Start reduced considerably if more organizations got their start under fiscal-sponsorship arrangements, say some nonprofit leaders and…
By EMAN QUOTAH
Contributor
Fiscal sponsorship helps fledgling charitable programs flyChris Baty never planned to start a nonprofit organization. It sneaked up on him. In 1999, buzzed on caffeine ALSO SEE:ARTICLE: Sponsorships Could Cut Waste in Charity World in a San Francisco-area coffee shop, he and a group of his friends…
By EMAN QUOTAH
Contributor
Adventures for Wish Kids, Cincinnati Chapter: Appointed Hap Durkin, director of annual giving at the U. of Cincinnati Foundation, to be executive director. America on the Move (Boston): Appointed Arlin Wasserman, founder and principal of Changing Tastes (St. Paul), to be executive director. This…
Tax-Exempt Organizations Registered With the IRS
More than a million charities and private foundations were registered with the Internal Revenue Service as ALSO SEE: TABLE: Tax-Exempt Organizations Registered With the IRS of September 30, 2006, according to figures released by the tax agency. The number of groups classified under Section…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Alliance for Children and Families and United Neigborhood Centers of America (Milwaukee): Appointed Patrick Lester, director of public policy at United Way of America (Alexandria, Va.), to be senior vice president for public policy, based in Washington. Alzheimer’s Association, California Southland…
Following are summaries of recent reports by the BBB Wise Giving Alliance. This private group reports on whether charities meet standards for fund raising, governance, financial management, and public information. The alliance does not approve or disapprove of charities, and urges potential donors…
The Internal Revenue Service is seeking comment from the charitable world on donor-advised funds and supporting organizations as part of a study it is conducting at the request of Congress. The tax agency wants to know the advantages and disadvantages of the two types of organizations, compared…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Interim Leaders Bring Skills but No Personal Agendas to Their Tasks
Two years ago, a nonprofit group asked Pat Nichols to take over as its interim executive director. Contributions to the organization had been dropping for more than a decade. ALSO SEE:ARTICLE: More Than a Temporary Fix Employee turnover in its financial department was rapid, so the organization…
By Marilyn Dickey
Senior Editor, Copy
$2.5-billion campaign by U. of Michigan nears its goal, thanks to the tenacious efforts of its leaders Five years ago, the University of Michigan faced some potentially devastating problems at the start of its campaign to raise $2.5-billion: The president, Lee C. Bollinger, suddenly decided to…
By Marilyn Dickey
Senior Editor, Copy