Millions in Pledges to Toronto Museum Still Unpaid
The Royal Ontario Museum has yet to collect tens of millions of dollars in years-old pledges for a major renovation project for which the institution was plunged into debt, The Globe and Mail writes.
London Theater Pioneering Social-Impact Bonds for Culture
Shakespeare’s Globe is preparing a $7.5 million social-impact bond, introducing this growing form of nonprofit financing to the realm of the arts, according to the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Can Social-Impact Bonds Really Have Big Impact?
Nonprofits often take too much risk and investors too little in this fast-spreading approach to solving big problems.
By Clara Miller
Contributor
Judge Tosses Suit Seeking Harvard Fossil-Fuel Divestment
A Massachusetts judge ruled that a group of Harvard students did not have legal standing to force the university to end its investment of endowment funds in fossil-fuel companies, student newspaper The Harvard Crimson reports.
Financial Firm Rolls Out Packet of Cause-Related Stock Funds
Putting a charitable twist on the “robo-investing” trend, a California insurance and financial-services firm is offering a new batch of stock portfolios for online trading that are tied to particular social causes, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Nonprofit Tax-Exemption Approvals Double, Thanks to Simplified Form
The new 1023-EZ made it possible for the Internal Revenue Service to approve nearly 95,000 applications from organizations seeking 501(c)(3) designations last year.
By Megan O’Neil
Contributor
Cooper Union Faces N.Y. Inquiry After Introducing Tuition
State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is looking into how the venerable Manhattan private college Cooper Union ran into the financial trouble that led it to begin charging undergraduate tuition for the first time in its 150-year history, The Wall Street Journal reports.
N.Y. Dance Troupe Launched by Walmart Heiress to Close
Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, an avant-garde dance group founded and shepherded by a niece of Walmart founder Sam Walton, announced plans last week to shut down, the New York Observer and The New York Times report.
Hospitals Saved $7.4 Billion on Charity Care in 2014
The Department of Health and Human Services study issued Tuesday estimated that hospitals spent $27.3 billion on uncompensated care last year, $7.4 billion less than what the cost would be if the rate of uninsured Americans had stayed at its 2013 level, Reuters writes.
Ill. Charity Official Pleads Guilty in $500,000 Theft Case
The former finance director of a Chicago-area Muslim school and foundation faces up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to stealing from the organization, the Chicago Tribune writes.
Nonprofit Mailers Scramble, Again, to Fight Postal-Rate Increases
The Postal Regulatory Commission gave nonprofit magazine publishers extra time to lobby by twice rejecting a proposed new pricing structure.
By Holly Hall
Contributor
Suitors Line Up for Newly Available Nonprofit Hospital Chain
Several potential buyers are interested in purchasing some or all of the six Daughters of Charity hospitals following the collapse of for-profit Prime Healthcare Services’ bid to take over the entire California chain, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
Gates Fund Held $1.4 Billion in Fossil-Fuel Stock in 2013
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has identified climate change as a major global threat, had hundreds of millions of dollars invested in large oil, gas, and coal companies in 2013, The Guardian writes, citing an analysis of the $43 billion fund’s most recent available tax return.
Floundering N.Y. Human-Service Charity Files for Bankruptcy
New York’s Federation and Employment Guidance Services, which announced plans in late January to shut down in the face of a $19 million budget shortfall, filed for Chapter 11 protection Wednesday, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Capital New York report.
Tenn. Charity Heads Charged After Audit Flags Big Bonuses
The chief executive of the ABC Nutrition Program in Camden, Tenn., and her two daughters were charged with theft for allegedly steering hundreds of thousands of dollars from the federally funded nonprofit to themselves and other employees, according to the Associated Press.
Red Cross Case Raises Questions About How Nonprofits Handle Complaints
A growing number of nonprofits have hired ombudsmen to settle disputes fairly and confidentially, but critics say these officials often lack teeth and even help suppress dissent.
By Rebecca Koenig
Contributor