Charitable Deductions Rose in 1995, IRS Says
Statistics released by the Internal Revenue Service show that deductions claimed for charitable contributions increased from $70.5-billion in 1994 to $75-billion in 1995, a rise of 6.3 per cent . The jump was in line with previous increases registered in most years since 1990. The I.R.S. statistics…
By GRANT WILLIAMS
Contributor
The following awards have been presented for work in philanthropy, fund raising, volunteerism, and non-profit management: Children and families. The National Association of Social Workers (Washington) has presented its National Lifetime Achievement Award to David S. Liederman, executive director of…
New Discussion Groups for Fund Raisers
A handful of new Internet discussion groups for non-profit officials have been started. American Philanthropy Review, a company in Rancho Santa Margarita, Cal., that sells and reviews non-profit publications, is moderating four new forums aimed at arts fund raising, grant seeking, health-care…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
E-Mail Newsletter Offered to Charities
A free monthly newsletter is intended to help charities use e-mail and the World-Wide Web effectively in their work. Net Results is published by Lipman Hearne, a company in Chicago that provides marketing and communications services to non-profit organizations, and is delivered via e-mail. The…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Government Grants Available for Technology
The Commerce Department is giving out $17-million this year through its Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program. The goal of the project is to improve education, health care, libraries, and other such services by using technology. The National Urban League in New York,…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Grant Maker Showcases Islamic Art on the Web
The Rockefeller Foundation is hoping its Web site will broaden understanding of Islamic art. The New York grant maker is displaying “Modernities & Memories,” a collection of works by 13 different Islamic artists from nine countries, on the Internet. The original exhibit, which the Rockefeller…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
‘Motley Fool’: Serious Fund Raising
Share Our Strength is thankful to be associated with a group of on-line Fools. The Washington antipoverty organization is $120,000 wealthier after an on-line fund-raising drive conducted in its behalf by The Motley Fool, an Internet investment publication that reaches about 750,000 people each…
By NICOLE WALLACE and Paul Demko
‘Harvard Business Review’: Entrepreneurial Pitfalls
Many pitfalls await the growing number of non-profit organizations now seeking commercial revenue, warns an article in the Harvard Business Review (January-February). Rising costs and increased competition for philanthropic support are prompting many such groups to behave more like for-profit…
‘The New Republic’: Turner’s Problematic Gift
Ted Turner’s gift to the United Nations will finance many worthy causes but also sets a disturbing precedent, says The New Republic (January 26). Under the United Nations Charter, the 185 member nations of the U.N. General Assembly should bear the full cost of U.N. activities to maintain world…
‘Fortune’: a Ranking of 1997’s Top Donors
With his $1-billion pledge to the United Nations, Ted Turner topped Fortune magazine’s (February 2) list of the country’s most-generous philanthropists in 1997. The second annual ranking includes 40 donors, up from the 25 it named a year ago. The magazine said it decided to increase the size of its…
Charity Not Bound by Disclosure Act
A social-services charity in Connecticut that receives substantial government financing does not have to release its administrative records under the state’s Freedom of Information Act, a state Appellate Court has ruled. The ruling made clear that Domestic Violence Services of Greater New Haven is…
Charities Prevail in Utah Ruling
The Salt Lake County Commission may continue to award contracts to charities that provide social services to indigent residents, a judge has ruled. Third District Judge Robert Hilder rejected arguments by County Attorney Doug Short that the contracts were tantamount to gifts of taxpayer funds to…
San Francisco Considers Disclosure Law for Charities That Receive City Funds
San Francisco charities that receive city funds would be required to open all their meetings to the public and take numerous other steps to disclose information about their finances and operations, under a plan being pushed by a city legislator. The controversial proposal, which was created in…
By Susan Gray
Contributor
A Cause That’s Lost Its Appeal
Lawyers for death-row inmates form charities to continue work after federal funds are eliminated From a locked and sterile concrete room on Missouri’s death row, Joe Amrine calmly recalls the crime that landed him here -- murdering a man with an ice pick. As he speaks, he taps his long fingernails…
By John Shiffman
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…
American Arts Alliance (New York): Appointed Jan Denton, a vice-president at Chambers Associates (Washington), to be executive director. She succeeds Lee Kessler, who resigned January 5. American Association of Fund-Raising Counsel (New York): Gabriel G. Rudney, a trustee of the AAFRC Trust for…