WHAT’S NEW
http://philanthropy.com
News Briefing
Highlights Inside
a guide to key developments
UNITED WAYS STRUGGLE
@ philanthropy.com
SUPPORTING ONLINE MOVEMENTS
Learn how grant makers can advance their
missions by relying on social networks,
in Social Good, a Chronicle podcast.
WIll CROCkER
AFTER A DISASTER STRIKES
Albert Ruesga (above), chief executive of the
Greater New Orleans Foundation, explains how
to stimulate community action long after citizens have faced a catastrophe, in the Making
Change podcast.
SMART MANAGEMENT
Read the transcript of our online discussion
last week with Margaret Donohoe and Susan
Egmont, two veteran management consultants
who offered their advice to nonprofit leaders.
THE IMPORTANCE OF EXPERIENCE
The president of a community-college system
with 14 fund raisers describes what he looks
for as he hires new people for the development
office.
For details, go to http://philanthropy.com/extras
Opinion
Environmental groups would be more
effective with scaled-down missions, writes
Russell Max Simon, formerly of the Worldwatch
Institute. Page 43
Revelations about a grant maker’s role in a
medical school’s murky past hold lessons for today’s philanthropists, says William Schambra,
a Chronicle columnist. Page 43
Slipshod governance was the culprit in the
Milton Hershey School’s very public woes,
argues Pablo Eisenberg, a Chronicle columnist.
Page 44
Feedback from grantees could help more
foundations better serve charities and society,
suggests Sean Stannard-Stockton, a Chronicle
columnist. Page 45
BOSTON MAYOR OFFERS CREDITS TO NONPROFITS
FOR HIRING LOCAL JOBLESS
Boston hospitals, universities, and other nonprofit
groups would get the equivalent of a tax break for
hiring out-of-work city residents under a jobs plan by
Mayor Thomas M. Menino. Charities would receive
credits of $1,000 to $1,500 per hire on the payments
they are asked to make annually to help subsidize
city services. The payments charities make are intended to make up for some of the money the city loses by giving the organizations tax exemptions.
NONPROFIT JOB GROWTH NEARLY FLAT IN 2010
The number of nonprofit jobs grew by just under 1
percent from 2009 to 2010, according to the Johns
Hopkins University’s Center for Civil Society Studies. Year-to-year nonprofit job totals increased by
1. 2 percent in 2009 and 2. 6 percent in 2008. However, nonprofits fared better in 2010 than companies,
which cut jobs by 0.9 percent.
CHARITY ORDERED TO REINSTATE WORKERS FIRED
OVER FACEBOOK POSTS
A National Labor Relations Board judge has ordered
a Buffalo, N. Y., social-services group to rehire five
employees who were fired for posting complaints on
Facebook about working conditions. The judge ruled
that Hispanics United of Buffalo illegally dismissed
the workers and must reinstate them with back pay,
and said the online discussion of staffing and workload issues at Hispanics United was covered by federal labor law protecting conversation among cowork-ers about their employment conditions. The charity
said it would appeal the ruling.
RECORD NUMBERS OF AMERICANS LIVE IN POVERTY
The U.S. Census Bureau reported last week that 46. 2
million Americans live below the poverty line, the
highest number in the 52 years the agency has been
publishing the numbers. In 2010, some 2. 6 million
people slipped below the line—defined as an income
of $22,314 for a family of four—bringing the nation’s
poverty rate to 15. 1 percent, the highest since 1993.
NONPROFIT IN D.C. SUES CITY FOLLOWING CHARGES
THAT IT DIVERTED MONEY TO STRIP CLUB
Miracle Hands, a nonprofit in Washington that provides services to AIDS patients, and its executive
director, Cornell Jones, have sued the city for $2-mil-
lion, saying officials were guilty of racial discrimination and defamation for accusing the charity of
diverting money to help open a strip club. The Dis-
INSIDE
Directory of Services .............................................. Page 30
Philanthropy Careers .............................................. Page 47
Newly announced grants ....................................... Page 39
Deadlines for grants and awards .......................... Page 31
New CEO’s................................................................ Page 26
Technology............................................................... Page 22
Book Briefing ........................................................... Page 29
Notable Gifts .......................................................... Page 38
Awards ................................................................... Page 28
Worth Reading ........................................................ Page 29
The latest fund-raising figures from United
Ways nationwide show flat support as the economy’s uncertainty continues. Page 8
A CHARITY RIFT
The Heifer Foundation’s departing leader filed
a $5-million lawsuit against four of the group’s
board members. He says he was ousted for blowing the whistle on a possible conflict of interest
involving its board, while the charity says it has
policies in place to avoid such conflicts. Page 23
PLAIN TALK
With more pressure than
ever on charity CEO’s to
speak up for their missions
in public, experts, like
Melany Brown (right), offer
tips for conquering fears at
the podium. Page 25
FUND-RAISING
CHALLENGE
Nonprofits are losing donors at such a fast rate they can’t make up for
them by asking repeat contributors to give
more or recruiting new supporters, a new study
finds. Page 8
trict of Columbia’s attorney general last month went
to court to obtain more than $1-million in penalties
and damages from Miracle Hands for misusing city
money. The charity’s lawsuit denies the charges and
says the city discriminates against businesses operated by black people. Ariel Levinson-Waldman, senior counsel to the attorney general, said that statements made in the charity’s complaint “will help us
prove our case.”
RESTRICTIONS ON LOBBYISTS SAID TO HARM
NONPROFIT ADVOCACY
The Obama administration’s rules limiting the hiring of lobbyists for certain federal jobs have harmed
nonprofit advocacy while doing little to curb the influence of special interests, according to a new report by
the Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest, an advocacy group. The rules bar registered lobbyists from
political appointments to any agency they contacted
more than once in the previous two years. The survey of nonprofit advocates found that the rules are
prompting some advocates to stop lobbying on behalf
of nonprofits and are “harmful to the public interest.”
Corrections
In The Chronicle’s annual survey of corporate
philanthropy (July 28), the figures for the follow-
ing companies were incorrect:
n Morgan Stanley, in New York, gave
$46,695,798 in 2010, 3.2 percent more than in
2009. It gave 0.5 percent of its 2009 pre-tax prof-
its in total donations.
n The Home Depot Foundation, in Atlanta,
gave $37-million in 2010, the same as in 2009.
An updated version of the survey results is
available at http://philanthropy.com.
The Chronicle strives for accuracy. If you see an error,
please send a message to editor@philanthropy.com.
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