Technology Bits: Foundation Center Adds Online Bookshelf
* The Foundation Center has added a new section to its Web site, the “Online Bookshelf,” which features abridged versions of some of the center’s books on non-profit management and foundations. The bookshelf also includes on-line quizzes that visitors can use to test their understanding of the…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Charity Lobbying Guide Available On Line
Non-profit workers can now download a 158-page lobbying manual from the Internet. Charity Lobbying in the Public Interest, a project of Independent Sector, in Washington, is making The Nonprofit Lobbying Guide available free on its Web site, as well as selling a print version. Written by the…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Charities Receive Awards for Innovative Ideas
The first annual Ericsson Internet Community Awards have recognized three non-profit organizations for their innovative technology ideas. The winners will each receive data-base software and tools from the Oracle Corporation and share $250,000 worth of technology assistance to carry out the…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
New Grants Offered to Fight Millennium Bug
The Center for Y2K and Society plans to award between $200,000 and $500,000 in grants to non-profit organizations that are preparing for the social disruptions that may result from the year-2000 computer problem. The problem arises because much of the computer hardware and software still in use…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Charity Closes Its Warehouse in Tennessee
The director of Feed the Children’s distribution warehouse in Nashville has resigned in the wake of a scandal that has forced the temporary closing of the facility. The actions came after local television station WTVF broadcast a report that showed the director, Steve Highfill, and other senior…
By Stephen G. Greene
Contributor
High Court Won’t Consider Appeal in United Way Case
The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to consider an appeal by former United Way of America President William Aramony, who was convicted in 1995 and imprisoned for defrauding the non-profit organization. Mr. Aramony had challenged his seven-year prison sentence, arguing that it exceeds federal…
By Thomas J. Billitteri
Contributor
New Philanthropic Organizations Created By Student-Loan Groups
ALSO SEE:Another Conversion Bonanza? MASSACHUSETTS
As student-loan groups shift status to for-profit, questions are raised Just as health causes have seen an infusion of grant dollars as a result of the conversion of non-profit hospitals ALSO SEE:New Philanthropic Organizations Created By Student-Loan Groups and health-insurance plans to for-profit…
By GRANT WILLIAMS
Contributor
* The YMCA of the USA and a group of for-profit health clubs have each weighed in with their differing opinions of how the I.R.S. should view the intersection of charities and businesses. Last year Congress ordered the revenue service to review its standards to make sure that charities that run…
By Grant Williams
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…
Adelphi U. (Garden City, N.Y.): Appointed Nan Gerson, director of government relations at Long Island U. (Brookville, N.Y.), to be vice-president for university advancement. Alliance Healthcare Foundation (San Diego): Appointed Olga de la Cruz-Canon, prevention-programs director at the Centro de la…
Senate Committee Passes ‘Split-Dollar’ Provision
The Senate Finance Committee has approved legislation that would effectively abolish a controversial giving technique in which charities and donors divide the proceeds of life-insurance policies purchased with tax-deductible contributions. The provision is included in the Affordable Education Act,…
By GRANT WILLIAMS
Contributor
Government Gives Donors Extra Year to ‘Flip’ Trusts
The Internal Revenue Service is giving donors more time to take advantage of rules issued in December that make certain types of planned gifts more lucrative for contributors and charities. The regulations clarified how the I.R.S. treats “flip” trusts, in which a donor converts one type of…
By GRANT WILLIAMS
Contributor
New On-Line Effort to Improve Race Relations
A California non-profit group has announced a new effort to use the Internet to promote racial harmony. The Western Justice Center, in Pasadena, and America Online have started “Dialogues Online: Healing Racism in Your Hometown.” The on-line forums are aimed at dealing with race relations in four…
By Kristen R. Batch
Contributor
Company, Web Sites Unite in Campaign to Aid Refugees
A company that processes Internet transactions and 12 large Web sites that use its technology have joined together to raise money for UNICEF-USA’s efforts to help Kosovar refugees. Anderson Consulting (http://www.ac.com), E Online (http://www.eonline.com), and Sony Online (http://www.sony.com) are…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
On-Line Project Assists Advocates for Poor
The Low Income Networking and Communications Project helps groups that provide advocacy for welfare recipients use technology to communicate with one another and bolster their efforts. The project’s Web site now features a directory of more than 185 groups in 44 states formed by poor people to…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor