Transforming How the Nation Fights Crime
When he went to the nation’s capital, John A. Calhoun thought he would spend two or three years there, just long enough to do some work for President Jimmy Carter. He ended up spending nearly three decades in Washington. Now Mr. Calhoun, 64, is getting ready to leave his job as head of the National…
By Jeffrey Klineman
Contributor
Campaign-Finance Rules Might Be Applied to Charities
The Federal Election Commission is weighing whether to apply new campaign-finance limits to nonprofit groups -- a proposal an FEC spokesman said has drawn more than 30,000 letters from supporters and opponents. Supporters of the idea say new rules are needed to prevent abuses. But many nonprofit…
By Harvy Lipman
Contributor
Technology Conference Highlights Internet Tools and Spam Headaches
Philadelphia The Internet has transformed the way that political candidates raise money and mobilize supporters, and charities can draw some important lessons from those changes, Mike McCurry told 650 participants here at the Nonprofit Technology Conference. With technology, “you can ask people to…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Charities Urged to Follow Disclosure Rules Proposed at Land Group
If the Nature Conservancy wants to improve its management practices and operations, it should make its finances and programs more transparent, enforce new conflict-of-interest policies, and strengthen board governance at the national and local levels, a new report urges. While the report was…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
IRS Plans Workshopsfor Tax-Exempt Groups
By Elizabeth Schwinn The IRS is offering free one-day workshops in six cities to small and midsize tax-exempt organizations. The workshops will cover the procedures nonprofit organizations must follow to maintain their tax exemptions and comply with other tax laws. They are designed for board…
Congress to Investigate Statue of Liberty Group
By Elizabeth Schwinn The heads of the Senate Finance Committee are seeking information on the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, a mark of the lawmakers’ continued interest in the way charities govern themselves. Sen. Charles Grassley, chairman of the Finance Committee, and Sen. Max Baucus,…
IRS Warns Charities to Avoid Tax Shelters
By Elizabeth Schwinn The Internal Revenue Service has declared illegal a tax scheme under which charities and other tax-exempt groups helped companies avoid taxes through fraudulent charitable donations. At the same time, Congress has announced that it will take a closer look at the charities that…
A Bruising Board Fight: Campaign Statements by Sierra Trustee Candidates
To see just how contentious the fight over the future leadership of the 114-year-old Sierra Club ALSO SEE:Hostile Takeover or Rescue? has become, one need only look at the official statements offered by this year’s slate of board candidates that were mailed to club members. Seventeen candidates are…
Sierra Club’s board candidates fight to shape the group’s futureThe bruising battle over the election of new board members to the Sierra Club has exposed deep fault lines ALSO SEE:A Bruising Board Fight: Campaign Statements by Sierra Trustee Candidates in the nation’s largest environmental advocacy…
By Stephen G. Greene
Contributor
How Whistle-Blower Policies Protect Charity Workers Who Report Ethics Lapses
IN THE TRENCHES By Alison Stein Wellner Trying to decide whether to report something suspicious that they have observed on the job can fill employees with anxiety. Speak up about the maintenance contract awarded to the boss’s father-in-law, for example, or about inappropriate use of a charity’s…
By Alison Stein Wellner
Contributor
ALS Association (Calabasas Hills, Calif.): Appointed Gary A. Leo, senior vice president for development at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles), to be president and chief executive officer. The association supports research and services related to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as…
American Cancer Society-Illinois Division (Chicago): Appointed Rita Castonguay-Forden, vice president for major and planned gifts at United Way of Metropolitan Chicago, to be vice president of distinguished giving, and Mavis Laing, vice president of sales operations at the Xerox Corporation, based…
By Elizabeth Schwinn Evelyn Petschek, commissioner of the Tax-Exempt and Government Entities Division of the IRS, is changing jobs. She will become chief of staff to Mark Everson, the IRS commissioner. A replacement for Ms. Petschek has not yet been named. The IRS is seeking comment on its rule…
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…
By Cassie J. Moore
Contributor
Challenges and Opportunities Facing Nonprofit Groups
The Resilient Sector, by Lester M. Salamon, is an updated summary of The State of Nonprofit America, published in December 2002 (both versions are co-published by the Brookings Institution and the Aspen Institute). Mr. Salamon, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies, in…
By Jessica Kronstadt
Contributor
Overview of California Foundations
California Foundations: 2000-2001 Update, by James M. Ferris, provides information about grant makers throughout the state. Mr. Ferris, director of the Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy at the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles, writes that after significant growth in…
By Jessica Kronstadt
Contributor