Court Denies Charity Status to Donor-Advised Fund
TAX WATCHA donor-advised fund does not deserve tax-exempt status because it improperly shielded donors’ wealth from taxation, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims has ruled. The court case is among the first involving a donor-advised fund, which allows people to set aside money in a special fund, claim…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
IRS Rejects Tax Exemptions to Some Housing Groups
TAX WATCHGroups that give down-payment assistance to home buyers do not qualify for tax-exempt status if the down payments are provided by the sellers of the homes, the IRS said in a revenue ruling. In its ruling, the IRS said that when homeowners and builders give money to down-payment assistance…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Charity Provisions Dropped From Tax Legislation
TAX WATCHAs members of the House and Senate worked out a compromise tax measure last week, they dropped nearly every provision that charities and lawmakers had sought to cut down on abuses of charity tax laws and encourage charitable giving. The negotiators said the charity provisions may be…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Oxfam Uncovers Fraud in Tsunami-Relief Work
Oxfam International, a London relief organization, has uncovered fraudulent expenditures of $22,000 related to its humanitarian efforts in Aceh, Indonesia, which was devastated by the 2004 tsunamis in South Asia. Following a seven-week internal investigation, the charity reports that $20,000 has…
By BRENNEN JENSEN
Contributor
National YWCA Votes to Allow Male Trustees
By Ian WilhelmThe YWCA USA last month approved a controversial proposal that would allow men to assume board positions, a decision that ends the group’s 148-year history of requiring that all of its trustees be women. During the organization’s annual meeting in April, YWCA agreed to allow its…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
Running Office Centers Poses Big Challenge for Charities
When Washington Parks & People decided to buy a building to house itself and other local charities, it took an ALSO SEE:A Space of Their Own approach befitting its mission as a grass-roots organization that has revitalized parks and neighborhoods across the nation’s capital. It found a historic…
By EMAN QUOTAH
Contributor
Centers for nonprofit groups offer low-cost rent and other perksIn the late 1990s, Third Sector New England, a nonprofit group in Boston, learned just how much the volatile real-estate market can shake up a charity’s budget. Third Sector, which offers management ALSO SEE:Running Office Centers…
By EMAN QUOTAH
Contributor
Alliance for Regional Stewardship (Denver): Appointed David Thornburgh, executive director of the Pennsylvania Economy League (Philadelphia), to be president and chief executive director. The organization will move its headquarters to Philadelphia, effective in June. American Red Cross, Rhode…
Tips on finding jobs in public-interest work, focusing on international or child advocacy
Q. I am gearing up for a career in public-interest work, focusing on international or child advocacy, and being deeply involved in crafting policy. I am having trouble deciding whether to seek a graduate degree in psychology, social work, or go to law school. Can you give me an idea of what jobs…
By Rebecca Gardyn
Contributor
Why aren’t more charities outsourcing their work?
Tasks like making calls for an annual fund drive or recording gifts receipts can be easily handed off.
By Rebecca Gardyn
Contributor
Get George Lewis started talking about the Catoctin Aqueduct and chances are good that he’ll tell you a lot more than you bargained for, with a lot more enthusiasm than you expected. He’ll talk about George Washington’s dream of taming the Potomac River to use as a route to the interior of the…
By LAWRENCE BIEMILLER
Contributor
The following awards have been presented for work in advocacy, fund raising, nonprofit leadership, philanthropy, and other areas. Community service. USA Today (Arlington, Va.) has named Zina Bethune as its inaugural Hollywood Hero for her work with Infinite Dreams, a program of her Bethune…
Hate Crime Is a Life-Changing Event for Young Charity Director
Gregory Lewis never met Matthew Shepard. But when Mr. Shepard was murdered in October 1998 in an anti-gay hate crime, his death profoundly changed the course of Mr. Lewis’s life. At the time, Mr. Lewis was 23 and looking for direction. As a teenager, he graduated from a high school on Long Island,…
By PETER PANEPENTO
Contributor
New Prize Honors Software for Social-Change Groups
By Nicole WallaceA new prize will honor public-interest software development. The Florence and Frances Family Fund, a donor-advised fund at the Tides Foundation, in San Francisco, is sponsoring what will be an annual competition to honor software programmers who develop open-source software that…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
African Health Charity Wages Online Battle
By Nicole WallaceThe African Medical and Research Foundation is waging war on malaria and turning to the Internet for new recruits. Visitors to the Nairobi health organization’s new SWAT Malaria Web site can learn about the disease’s human toll in sub-Saharan Africa, the obstacles it poses to…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Online Forum Explores Fees in E-Mail’s Future
By Nicole WallaceLater this month, the Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network will broadcast a panel discussion online entitled “Is Paying for E-Mail Delivery Inevitable?” Nonprofit leaders and business executives will discuss America Online’s recently announced plans to allow marketers who send…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor