Colleges Step Up Efforts to Court Sports Stars as Donors
Major universities are increasingly soliciting financial support from former student-athletes who have gone on to lucrative professional basketball, football, and baseball careers, writes The New York Times.
Regulators Shuttering Nonprofit N.Y. Health-Insurance Co-op
Health Republic Insurance of New York, the largest of 23 nonprofit health insurers launched two years ago under the Affordable Care Act, has been ordered to close by state and federal officials after losing some $130 million since the start of 2014, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal report.
Gates Foundation Sues Brazilian Oil Company and Auditor Over Fraud
On Thursday the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation filed a lawsuit against the state-run oil company Petróleo Brasileiro SA and its auditor, claiming that corruption at the company caused the philanthropy to lose tens of millions of dollars, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Boston Public Station WGBH Buys Global Digital-News Service
The nonprofit broadcast station WGBH announced plans Thursday to acquire GlobalPost, a for-profit digital-journalism outlet that focuses on international news and has struggled financially since it was started in 2009, reports The Boston Globe.
Yale Endowment Reports 11.5% Return for Fiscal 2015
The university’s fund, which relies strongly on hedge funds and private equity, posted an 11.5-percent gain for the year ending June 30, outpacing Harvard’s investment performance for the fifth straight year, writes The Wall Street Journal.
Senate Turns Back Bill to Cut Funding for Planned Parenthood
With eight Republican senators joining almost all of their Democratic peers, the Senate voted 52-47 Thursday against a bill to impose a one-year moratorium on federal money for Planned Parenthood, USA Today and Bloomberg report.
Senate Measure Would Cut Some Planned Parenthood Funds
The Senate is slated to vote Thursday on a bill that would divert $235 million of Planned Parenthood’s federal funding, about half the annual total, to other women’s health organizations in a bid to avert a government shutdown, The Wall Street Journal reports.
L.A. to Spend $100 Million to Stem Homelessness ‘Emergency’
Amid a double-digit spike in the city’s homeless population, Los Angeles leaders said Tuesday they would declare the situation a “state of emergency” and steer $100 million toward tackling the issue, a move supporters said could ease limits on churches and charities providing shelters, the Los Angeles Times writes.
Harvard Endowment Gains 5.8% in New Chief’s First Year
The return for the year ending June 30 beat internal goals and the median for similar funds but is still likely to trail some of Harvard’s rivals among elite institutions, writes The Wall Street Journal.
Pledging Transparency, Coke Reveals Research, Health Grants
Coca-Cola has spent almost $120 million since 2010 to fund academic health studies, medical organizations, and community fitness programs aimed at tackling obesity, The New York Times writes. The soft-drink giant published the grant list on its website Tuesday after CEO Muhtar Kent promised greater openness about the company’s spending on obesity-related programs and research.
Leonardo DiCaprio’s Foundation Joins Fossil-Fuel Divestment Push
The actor said Tuesday that he and his namesake foundation will drop all investments in fossil fuels, the Thomson Reuters Foundation and The New York Times report.
L.A. Utility’s Nonprofits Keep $11 Million ‘Rainy Day’ Fund
The Los Angeles controller criticized what he termed “hoarding” by two publicly funded affiliates of the city Department of Water and Power that have been at the center of a two-year political feud over their spending and lack of transparency, writes the Los Angeles Times.
In Case of Federal Shutdown, Many Charities Hope Pain Will Be Short-Term
The spigot wouldn’t be turned off immediately, but nonprofits on tight budgets are on edge.
By Alex Daniels
Contributor
Nonprofit Regains Rights to TB Drug After Huge Price Spike
The Purdue Research Foundation bought back the rights to cycloserine, a medication for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, following an outcry over a commercial firm’s more than twentyfold increase in the pill’s price, The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg report.
Firm Sues Calif. Attorney General Over Scotched Sale of Catholic Hospitals
For-profit hospital operator Prime Healthcare Services has filed suit against California Attorney General Kamala Harris for imposing conditions that led the company to pull out of an $843-million deal to buy six Catholic medical centers, the Los Angeles Times writes.
Big Aid Groups ‘Misleading’ Donors on Nepal Work, Says Watchdog
Major global aid charities surveyed about their Nepal earthquake response have spent up to one-sixth of funds raised in disaster appeals on overhead, even though many are doing little direct work on the ground in hard-hit areas but rather “regranting” money to local organizations, the Thomson Reuters Foundation reports.