Slain British Lawmaker Had Charity Career
Jo Cox, a Labour member of Parliament who was murdered Thursday, had worked for Oxfam, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Freedom Fund, The Wall Street Journal writes.
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.
Bill Gates’s Chicken Offer Ruffles Feathers in Bolivia
Citing its thriving poultry industry, the South American country declined to be part of the philanthropist’s project to donate tens of thousands of fowl to help poor families build economic self-sufficiency, according to Reuters.
Official With Media Foundation Accused of Sedition in Iran
Tehran claims Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian program coordinator for the Thomson Reuters Foundation who was arrested in Iran two months ago, plotted to overthrow the government, an allegation her husband termed “preposterous,” The New York Times reports.
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.
IRS Unleashes Flood of Searchable Charity Data
The public will have quicker and more in-depth access to Form 990s, the main source of public information on nonprofits.
By Peter Olsen-Phillips
Contributor
Foundation Posts Donor-Advised-Fund Data to Quell Criticism
In an effort to be more transparent, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation has created a searchable catalog of nearly $500 million in DAF grants made in 2015.
By Rebecca Koenig
Contributor
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.
Bill Clinton Will Weigh Foundation Change if Hillary Is Elected
Speaking at a Clinton Global Initiative gathering in Atlanta Tuesday, the former president said for the first time that he will rethink his role at the Clinton Foundation if his wife enters the White House, writes The Wall Street Journal.
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.
Pope Nixes Argentine Leader’s Gift That Includes Figure ‘666’
Pope Francis turned down a pledge of approximately $1.2 million from President Mauricio Macri to a Vatican-backed charity, in part because the gift amount in Argentine pesos includes the number many Christians associate with the Antichrist, writes The Washington Post.
White House Women’s Summit Draws $50 Million in Pledges
The Obama administration and a collection of companies, foundations, and other organizations will announce $50 million in commitments Tuesday to support efforts to advance gender equality, according to United Press International.
Trump Says Clinton Foundation Should Return Money From Saudis
The presidential nominee demanded in a Facebook post Monday that the Clinton Foundation return millions of dollars in donations it has reportedly received from the government of Saudi Arabia, Politico writes.
Review Clears Flint Mayor Accused of Diverting Donations
A former municipal employee alleged Mayor Karen Weaver steered contributions to a fund to aid people affected by the Michigan city’s water crisis to a political-action committee, but a lawyer commissioned to look into the claim found no ethical violations, Reuters reports.
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.
Pittsburgh Developer Hands Over Prime Real Estate for Huge Park
Charles Betters is turning over 660 acres that was once slated to host a racetrack and casino to Pittsburgh officials, who aim to create the city’s largest swath of green space, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.