Opinion: Sunshine Laws Should Cover University Foundations
The Columbia Journalism Review examines press-freedom controversies involving public universities’ foundations, which often maintain that they are distinct nonprofit entities exempt from states’ open-records laws.
Nonprofits Get Hurt by IRS Inaction on Political Groups
Charities should be pressing for the IRS to do more to clamp down on abuses and lack of disclosure rules for political donors.
By PABLO EISENBERG
Contributor
House GOP to Investigate Planned Parenthood on Fetal Tissue
Republican leaders announced plans Wednesday for a congressional inquiry into Planned Parenthood’s handling of tissue from aborted fetuses following an anti-abortion group’s release of a video in which an official with the women’s health group discusses providing fetal organs for medical research, reports The New York Times.
Global Leaders Reach Deal on Funding U.N. Development Goals
Following three days of contentious talks, leaders from rich and poor countries struck a deal Thursday on a new framework to finance U.N. goals to end poverty and hunger and meet other ambitious development targets by 2030, reports the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
NASCAR Star’s Ex Quits Veterans Charity Amid Fiscal Scrutiny
Patricia Driscoll, the former girlfriend of NASCAR driver Kurt Busch, resigned Tuesday as executive director of the Armed Services Foundation amid investigations of alleged fiscal mismanagement, according to ESPN.
Ore. Alleges Misconduct by Defunct Veterans Group’s Lawyer
The attorney for a veterans charity that was shut down by the Oregon Department of Justice last year is now facing an ethics complaint for allegedly collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars from the group for his own political and business activities, The Oregonian reports.
White House Wins Another Round in Birth-Control Battle
A Denver-based U.S. appeals court found Tuesday that the Affordable Care Act’s mandate that employees’ health coverage include contraceptive care does not impinge on faith nonprofits’ religious freedom, giving the Obama administration another victory in the legal fight over the rule, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal write.
Detentions Interrupt Religious Charity’s Tour of China
A South African relief charity inspired by Sufi Islam said 20 of it associates were taken into custody by Chinese officials last week and accused of terrorism ties, Agence France-Presse reports.
Ford Freezes $4 Million in India Funding Amid Clampdown
The Ford Foundation is holding up aid to organizations in India as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government scrutinizes foreign donors viewed as meddling in domestic affairs, Reuters reports.
Opinion: Investment, Not Aid, Key to Ending Poverty
As government, corporate, and nonprofit leaders gather in Ethiopia at a major meeting on funding global development efforts, a top United Nations official writes in The Wall Street Journal that investment is supplanting direct aid as the driver in eradicating poverty and building equitable societies in developing countries.
British Government Plans Curbs on Cold-Call Solicitations
Britain is set to enact new regulations by the end of the year to restrict high-pressure charity fundraising tactics that have drawn widespread condemnation in recent weeks, the Daily Mail writes.
Proposed Overtime Changes May Strain Some Nonprofit Budgets
The federal rule would extend overtime benefits to employees who make up to $50,440 a year — more than double the current income threshold.
By Rebecca Koenig
Contributor
Aid Charities Balk at U.S. Anti-Terror Vetting of Workers
A U.S. Agency for International Development program aimed at screening federally supported aid nonprofits for terrorist ties is drawing fire from relief groups, which say the vetting is overly intrusive and could endanger their workers, The New York Times reports.
New N.Y. Grant Criteria Imperil Funding for Youth Charities
Changes in a New York State agency’s process for awarding substance-abuse prevention contracts could mean hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses for youth organizations that have long received state support, writes The New York Times.
Calif. Couple Convicted of Embezzling From Veterans Charity
A San Diego husband and wife who founded a nonprofit to train wounded veterans for careers in filmmaking were found guilty Friday of draining hundreds of thousands of dollars from the taxpayer-funded organization’s coffers, The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Sen. Grassley Seeks Details From Red Cross on Haiti Spending
In a letter this week to American Red Cross CEO Gail McGovern, Sen. Charles Grassley demanded greater disclosure of the charity’s spending in post-earthquake Haiti and set a two-week deadline for a response to his questions, ProPublica writes.