Report Blasts British Charities on Mission Spending
Nearly one in five major British nonprofits spends less than half of its annual fundraising take on direct charitable activities, according to new research cited by The Telegraph.
Senator Aims to Block IRS Proposal on Optional Donor Data
Kansas Republican Pat Roberts has introduced legislation to block a planned Internal Revenue Service regulation that would allow charities to submit contributors’ Social Security numbers to substantiate donations for tax purposes, Accounting Today reports.
Finance Controversy Hits Giving to State Charity Drive in Fla.
Florida state employees rescinded donations totaling more than $172,000 to the workplace charity campaign amid media reports that more than half the money raised goes to a for-profit management company, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.
More Religious Colleges Get Waivers From Discrimination Law
A growing number of faith-affiliated colleges and universities are seeking exemptions from Title IX, the 1972 federal law barring discrimination on the basis of sex in education, as a result of changing legal and social mores on sexuality and gender identity, reports The New York Times.
Ex-Head of Jared Fogle Charity Gets 27 Years for Child Porn
Russell Taylor, former executive director of the Jared Foundation, was sentenced Thursday to 27 years in federal prison for producing sexual images of minors that he shared with Jared Fogle, the former pitchman for Subway who founded the nonprofit, reports the Associated Press.
Amnesty International and United Way Diverge on Prostitution Stance
One group calls for decriminalization, and the other opens a center dedicated to fighting human slavery. Guess which one provoked howls of protest?
By Michael Anft
Contributor
Mich. Senate Backs Bill to Shift Charity Gaming Oversight
State senators approved legislation Wednesday that would create statutory regulations for charity poker fundraisers, transferring oversight for the so-called “millionaire’s parties” from a state agency that has drawn controversy for cracking down on the events, MLive reports.
Failure of Health-Care Co-ops Traced to Rubio-Backed Measure
Language inserted by Sen. Marco Rubio into a major spending bill last year has significantly undermined a key aspect of the Affordable Care Act, setting the stage for this year’s collapse of more than half of the nonprofit insurance providers established under the health law, writes The New York Times.
Hospital Giant Ordered to Pay Health Foundation $434 Million
A Missouri judge has awarded the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City nearly $434 million in its long-running legal battle with the for-profit hospital network HCA over the firm’s 2003 purchase of several medical centers in the region, the public radio station KCUR reports.
N.J. Lawmakers Mull ‘Community’ Levy on Nonprofit Hospitals
A bipartisan bill before New Jersey legislators would require the state’s 63 nonprofit hospitals to make millions of dollars in “Community Service Contributions” to local governments to offset the cost of police, fire, and other services, Healthcare Finance News reports.
Bill Gates Taps Global Influence to Push Clean-Energy Agenda
The New York Times details the Microsoft leader-turned philanthropist’s linchpin role in forging a global, $20 billion public-private partnership to research and develop new technologies to wean the world off fossil fuels.
Microsoft Co-Founder Backs Contest to Find Traffic Solutions
The tech billionaire Paul Allen is supporting a multimillion-dollar prize announced by the U.S. government to encourage innovative solutions to traffic and transportation problems, reports Seattle TV station KOMO.
Del. Nonprofit Sues State Over Use of Bank-Settlement Money
A suit filed on Monday accuses Gov. Jack Markell and other top officials in Delaware of misusing tens of millions of dollars from a settlement with big financial institutions by using the money to balance the budget rather than for programs to help victims of the financial crisis, the Associated Press and The News Journal of Wilmington report.
Poll Finds Strong Support for Disclosure in Political Giving
More than three-quarters of Americans favor requiring groups that work to elect candidates, including nonprofits, to publicly identify their financial contributors, according to a new Associated Press survey.
Israeli Newspaper Says U.S. Donors Gave $220 Million for Settlements
American nonprofits raised more than $220 million over five years to support Jewish settlements in the West Bank, in effect subsidizing an Israeli policy the U.S. government has long opposed, writes the Associated Press, citing an investigation by Haaretz.
Zuckerberg-Chan Plan: ‘The Prize’ Author and Others Weigh In
Journalist Dale Russakoff, whose book dissected the missteps that followed Mark Zuckerberg’s $100 million donation to the Newark, N.J., school district, writes in The Washington Post that the Facebook chief executive’s new $45 billion philanthropic plan shows he learned important lessons from that controversial earlier project.