‘Vanity Fair’: A Major Philanthropist
Eli Broad, who made his fortune in real-estate development and insurance, has spent the past year adding to his art collection and to his reputation as one of America’s most generous philanthropists, according to a profile in Vanity Fair (December). Mr. Broad, who together with his wife, Edythe,…
By Heather Joslyn
Contributor
An annual ranking of the 50 most-generous donors, published by BusinessWeek (November 27), included 11 people who had not previously made the list. The list also reflected some trends: More philanthropists than in years past came from the worlds of energy and hedge funds. Also, the article says,…
By Heather Joslyn
Contributor
‘Business Review’: Social Responsibility
Corporate executives need to change the way they think about their companies’ social responsibility, according to two articles in the Harvard Business Review (December). In “Strategy & Society,” Michael E. Porter and Mark R. Kramer say that executives should stop viewing corporate philanthropic…
By Harvy Lipman
Contributor
Russia Charity Law Snarls a Dutch Human-Rights Organization
The Russian government has refused to allow a Dutch nonprofit organization to resume providing legal assistance here to victims of human-rights abuses. The decision not to re-register the Stichting Russian Justice Initiative has been described as spurious by the head of the Utrecht organization,…
By Bryon MacWilliams
Contributor
Bits: TechMission Website Matches Volunteers with Christian Opportunities
TechMission of Boston has created a Web site that works to match volunteers with Christian opportunities in urban areas. Users can type their ZIP codes into a search engine and find a list of volunteer openings at Christian organizations. Christian nonprofit groups may post their volunteer needs…
By PETER PANEPENTO
Contributor
Two Charities Win Innovation Awards
The Tech Museum of Innovation, in San Jose, Calif., honored two nonprofit organizations with its annual awards recognizing creative use of technology to benefit societies around the world. The nonprofit winners, which each received $50,000: The Centre for Development of Disadvantaged People, in…
By Noelle Barton
Contributor
New Orleans Site Hopes Shoppers Will Donate
Holiday shoppers in search of a way to do more than just add clutter to the homes of family and friends may find a new site known as Shopnola.org a helpful source of ideas. The site, started in October, promotes New Orleans businesses and charities as a way to help the city recover from Hurricane…
By Noelle Barton
Contributor
Senator Questions Charity’s Election-Related Activity
Sen. Charles E. Grassley, an Iowa Republican, has asked the IRS to look into a charity that registers low-income voters. Mr. Grassley, who is just finishing his term as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, sent the IRS a letter asking it to investigate the Association of Community…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
IRS Offers Refund on Telephone Tax
The IRS has issued instructions to help charities claim a refund of taxes they paid on long-distance telephone calls in years past. The tax agency said in May that it will no longer tax long-distance calls and will return taxes it collected on such calls going back to 2003. The IRS expects to…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Tax Agency Announces Top 2007 Priorities
The Internal Revenue Service office that oversees charities says its plans for 2007 include efforts to help nonprofit organizations comply with a new federal law. In addition, the office plans to investigate community foundations to make sure they are complying with the law and to examine so-called…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Recruiting business executives for top jobs at charities
Q. Are charities more inclined to fill their upper-level management jobs from the corporate world or from the nonprofit world? A. Most nonprofit employers are more interested in finding the right person for a job than they are concerned about whether a candidate comes from the for-profit or…
By Rebecca Gardyn
Contributor
An American Charity’s Atlantic Crossing Faces Glitches, Financial Woes
Until a few years ago, scarcely any financial reports from British charities were available online. And ALSO SEE:Article: Britain’s New Rules with a long backlog, it took the government’s Charity Commission days to dig up paper documents about the organizations it monitors. At the same time that…
By Sam Kean
Contributor
After 400 years, laws governing nonprofit groups get a long-anticipated overhaulBritish nonprofit leaders have griped for years, without great exaggeration, that they are hemmed ALSO SEE: Article: An American Charity’s Atlantic Crossing Faces Glitches, Financial Woes Info: Britain’s Charity World:…
By Sam Kean
Contributor
Charity Blogs: Excerpts From Recent Postings
Following are some excerpts from charity blog postings in recent weeks: “Conservatives are concerned that, under the leadership of liberals like Gates, Buffett, and ALSO SEE:Article: Blogs on the RiseArticle: ‘Barroom’ Banter and Cyber-Appeal: Tips on Creating a Successful BlogArticle: 10 Nonprofit…
10 Nonprofit Blogs That Get Attention
Following are several ALSO SEE:Article: Blogs on the RiseArticle: ‘Barroom’ Banter and Cyber-Appeal: Tips on Creating a Successful BlogArticle: Charity Blogs: Excerpts From Recent Postings blogs about the nonprofit world recommended by experienced bloggers and charity officials: The blog: The…
By PETER PANEPENTO
Contributor
‘Barroom’ Banter and Cyber-Appeal: Tips on Creating a Successful Blog
The first rule for writing a successful blog is to forget all the rules of professional writing. That doesn’t exempt bloggers from using proper grammar and punctuation. But those who blog about ALSO SEE:Article: Blogs on the RiseArticle: 10 Nonprofit Blogs That Get AttentionArticle: Charity Blogs:…
By PETER PANEPENTO
Contributor