3 Leading Met Museum Officials Exit Amid Budget Crunch
The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s first chief digital officer is among those departing as the institution begins a staff winnowing to tackle persistent red ink, reports to The New York Times.
IRS Toothless When It Comes to Policing Nonprofits, Report Says
An independent study released by the agency says a lack of funding, loss of institutional knowledge, and change in strategy are eroding the IRS’s ability to regulate charities.
By Alex Daniels
Contributor
Ex-Twin Cities Charity Head Pleads Guilty to Theft and Fraud
Bill Davis admitted to misusing hundreds of thousands of dollars while serving as chief executive of social-service nonprofit Community Action of Minneapolis, reports the Star Tribune.
Grassley Study Blasts Red Cross on Haiti Spending and Openness
Senator Charles Grassley issued a scathing report Wednesday on the charity’s earthquake response, saying it spent tens of millions of dollars more on internal expenses than it has acknowledged and misled his office about its cooperation with investigators, ProPublica and NPR report.
African Tech Firm Draws Chan-Zuckerberg Fund’s 1st Big Investment
The philanthropic entity established by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, is leading a $24 million financing round for Andela, a Nigerian company that trains software engineers and places them with major technology firms, according to Quartz.
House Approves Bill to End IRS Donor-Disclosure Mandate
The House of Representatives voted along party lines Tuesday for a Republican-backed proposal to bar the Internal Revenue Service from requiring that nonprofits list $5,000-plus contributors in their annual tax filings, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today report.
Wall St. Scion in Charity-Fraud Case Lays Blame on Gambling
A lawyer for Andrew Caspersen, the former finance executive accused of cheating a Wall Street peer’s foundation of nearly $25 million as part of a larger fraud scheme, said in court Tuesday that his client was driven by a “pathological” gambling addiction, The New York Times reports.
How 3 Groups Are Navigating the Giving Seas
Charities are using creative events, extra hands, and tighter bonds with donors and their advisers to stay strong even if times get tough.
By Eden Stiffman
Senior Editor
Panama Papers Show Nonprofit at Heart of Tax-Haven Debate
The trove of leaked documents detailing a massive network of shell companies used by the world’s wealthy to shield assets also reveals the role of an obscure Washington-area nonprofit in lobbying to protect offshore tax havens from regulation, The Washington Post writes.
Shelters Take Hit as Government Changes Strategy on Homeless
Organizations offering temporary and transitional services for the homeless face the loss of millions of dollars in federal aid as the government shifts grant money to programs that focus on permanent housing solutions, the Associated Press reports.
Charity Highlighted by John Oliver Plans to Forgive $1 Billion in Debt
The nonprofit that teamed with the comedian to retire nearly $15 million in Texas patients’ hospital debt aims to erase at least $1 billion owed by low-income people for medical care, health-news site Stat writes.
Rutgers Drafts Alumni ‘Captains’ to Boost Sluggish Fundraising
Looking to raise $100 million for sports facilities and bolster its last-place ranking among Big Ten schools in alumni giving, Rutgers University is drafting successful former students to spearhead a drive to enlist 10,000 donors, the Asbury Park Press writes.
Impact Investing: 5 Lessons for Putting Your Money Where Your Mission Is
To make sure their investments don’t conflict with their grant-making goals, foundations need to challenge their own assumptions and those of their advisers.
By Alex Haber
Contributor
John Oliver and Charity Team to Undo Millions in Medical Debt
In connection with a segment on his satire show Last Week Tonight that skewered debt-acquisition companies, the comedian partnered with nonprofit group RIP Medical Debt to buy and forgive nearly $15 million owed by patients for hospital treatment, The Guardian and the Associated Press write.
N.Y. Contests Company’s Plan to Buy Nonprofit Nursing Homes
The state attorney general’s office is seeking to block the purchase by a commercial firm that is already under investigation over a transaction that led to another nonprofit health-care facility being turned into luxury apartments, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Financial Woes Beset ‘Panama Papers’ Journalism Nonprofit
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which dramatically raised its profile this year by shepherding the release of documents showing how the world’s wealthy and powerful conceal their assets, is cutting back in the face of a financial pinch that is escalating tensions with its nonprofit parent, the Center for Public Integrity, writes The New York Times.