Bishop Estate to Pay IRS $9-Million but Retain Its Tax-Exempt Status
Hawaii’s wealthiest charity has agreed to pay more than $9-million to settle its tax-liability dispute with the Internal Revenue Service. Under an agreement approved this month by a probate court in Honolulu, the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate will be permitted to retain its tax-exempt status. But…
By Stephen G. Greene
Contributor
Red Cross Taps Surplus Holiday Helpers to Generate Revenue
Like countless charities this time of year, the 1,300 chapters of the American Red Cross are deluged with phone calls from ALSO SEE:When Good Will Overflows individuals moved by the holiday spirit and looking for opportunities to volunteer. But unlike many groups that are forced to turn people away…
By DOMENICA MARCHETTI
Contributor
Charities work to turn holiday volunteers into year-round help A few days before Thanksgiving, Chicagoan David Cook decided that he wanted to spend the holiday helping to feed the homeless. ALSO SEE:Red Cross Taps Surplus Holiday Helpers to Generate Revenue But Mr. Cook, a management consultant,…
By Meg Sommerfeld
Contributor
Following are summaries of recent reports by the Council of Better Business Bureaus’ Philanthropic Advisory Service. The service reports on whether charities meet standards for fund raising, governance, financial management, and public information. The service cautions that it does not approve or…
AARP (Washington): Appointed William D. Novelli, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (Washington), to be associate executive director for public affairs. Alzheimer’s Association-Northern Connecticut Chapter (Hartford): Appointed Joseph O. Ierna, a senior consultant at Decision…
Virtual Sidewalk Santas Carry On Charity’s Tradition
In 1902, Volunteers of America sent out its first Sidewalk Santas to walk through midtown Manhattan ringing bells, carrying miniature red-brick chimneys and asking pedestrians if they could spare a few coins to help feed hungry children. Sidewalk Santas still parade the streets of New York, but…
By Marilyn Dickey
Senior Editor, Copy
Site Arranges Gifts Made to Honor Others
A new Web site designed to let donors make on-line charitable contributions to honor friends, relatives, and business clients is quickly becoming a big hit. Since Charitygift started operating November 17, it has sold 10,000 cards to people making donations in honor of others. The company began to…
By Marilyn Dickey
Senior Editor, Copy
IRS Appoints Top Official for Tax-Exempt Groups
The I.R.S. has named Steve Miller as the first director of its new Exempt Organizations office. The office will be part of the agency’s Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division, which the I.R.S. is creating this month. Mr. Miller, who has been Acting Assistant Commissioner for Employee Plans and…
By GRANT WILLIAMS
Contributor
‘Split-Dollar’ Legislation Passed by Congress
The House and Senate have approved legislation that will effectively abolish a controversial giving technique in which charities and donors divide the proceeds of life-insurance policies purchased with tax-deductible contributions. President Clinton was expected to sign the legislation, which was…
By GRANT WILLIAMS
Contributor
$83-Million in Fines for Excessive Compensation
The Internal Revenue Service has assessed more than $83-million in fines on companies and people with close ties to non-profit organizations because they received what the I.R.S. calls excessive compensation. What’s more, the revenue service has revoked the tax exemptions of three charities…
By GRANT WILLIAMS
Contributor
The following awards have been presented for work in philanthropy, fund raising, volunteerism, and non-profit management: Associations. The American Society of Association Executives (Washington) has announced the recipients of its 1999 Keystone Awards for Excellence in Membership, which recognize…
‘Vanity Fair’: Cashing Out Early and Giving Back
A “new subculture” of entrepreneurial philanthropy has sprung up on the West Coast as thousands of Microsoft and other high-technology workers have cashed out their stock options while still in their 30s and 40s, says Vanity Fair (December). Unlike in New York, where the wealthy from Wall Street…
By Jennifer Moore
Contributor
Heading the Gates Funds: Profiles of 2 Leaders
As Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda, promise to continue pouring billions of dollars into their foundation -- now the largest in the nation with over $17-billion -- two magazines focus their attention on the people responsible for overseeing that money. * In an article titled…
By MARINA DUNDJERSKI
Contributor
‘Worth’: Rankings of Corporate Donors
Bank of America gives more than any other company in the country, says Worth magazine (December-January) in a new set of rankings of the most-generous corporations. Champion International -- the paper and forest-product company -- gave the largest percentage of its profits to charity, the magazine…
By Marina Dundjerski
Contributor
Bishops Cite Government’s Duty to Poor
While praising the work of Catholic humanitarian organizations, the nation’s Roman Catholic bishops declared in a new document that governments have a responsibility to protect the neediest citizens, in part because charities may lack the resources to do so. In a pastoral letter issued last month…
By Thomas J. Billitteri
Contributor
Hawaii’s Charitable Giving finds that 88 per cent of households in the state made gifts to charities in 1998, compared with 69 per cent on the U.S. mainland, and that the average value of their gifts was $883, compared with $696 for non-islanders. The study notes the cash value of gifts from…
By C. Quinn Hanchette
Contributor