Fraud Concerns Prompt U.S. to Freeze Some Syria Aid Contracts
The government has put more than $200 million in contracts for humanitarian aid to Syria on hold amid fears that corruption is draining money from relief efforts, reports The Washington Post.
Obituary: Mollie Lowery, Pioneering Advocate for Homeless
Ms. Lowery, a nonprofit leader who spent decades serving people living on the streets of Los Angeles and helped develop the “housing first” strategy now at the heart of nationwide efforts to tackle homelessness, died Monday at age 70, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Podcast: When Nonprofit Size Matters in Fundraising Careers
Veteran fundraiser Roger Craver dissects the differences between working for large and small nonprofits and assesses what personality types and professional aspirations suit each setting.
By TONY MARTIGNETTI
Contributor
Charges Against Activists Behind Planned Parenthood Videos Dropped
Prosecutors in Houston dismissed all charges Tuesday against anti-abortion campaigners who targeted the organization in a series of guerrilla videos released last summer, the Houston Chronicle reports.
Michael Jordan Gives $2 Million to Police and Civil-Rights Groups
Speaking out for the first time on the killings of unarmed black men by police and retaliatory targeting of officers, the basketball great made a pair of $1 million donations to groups working to bridge the racial divide, according to the Charlotte Observer and sports-news site The Undefeated.
Tumblr Key in Planned Parenthood Arm’s Centenary Campaign
The reproductive-health group’s New York chapter is putting the microblogging site at the center of a 100th-anniversary advertising campaign that does not shy away from the abortion issue, writes The New York Times.
Magazine Features 8 Philanthropic Leaders on Future of Giving
In essays for The Nation, Craigslist founder Craig Newmark, Ford Foundation President Darren Walker, and six other nonprofit leaders and activists write about how philanthropy can work to address the effects of income inequality and social injustice.
Chicago Students Mete Out Grants From Laurene Powell Jobs Group
The Silicon Valley billionaire’s philanthropic organization turned over $350,000 to six college students to award to charities focused on making children’s lives safer in the city, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.
Detroit Museum Launches Push to Acquire African-American Art
The Detroit Institute of Arts kicked off a three-year, multimillion-dollar program to acquire and spotlight works by black artists, reflecting the new director’s focus on diversifying the museum’s offerings, writes the Detroit Free Press.
Elton John’s $10 Million LGBT Fund Makes 1st Grants
Groups taking on AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean are the inaugural beneficiaries of a $10 million fund established last year by the singer and activist to fight discrimination and violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, the Thomson Reuters Foundation reports.
Seeking NFL Return, Ray Rice Pledges His Full Pay to Anti-Violence Work
The former star running back, who has been out of the NFL since video surfaced two years ago of him beating his then-fiancée, tells USA Today he will donate his entire salary to domestic-violence charities if given a chance to play again.
Jacki Zehner of donor network Women Moving Millions discusses how she defines and helps develop female leadership in the philanthropic world.
By Maria Di Mento and Nidhi Singh
Correction: Funding for Nonprofit’s Google ‘Transparency’ Campaign
An official with the Campaign for Accountability, which has issued highly critical reports on Google’s ties to federal agencies and influence on internet-privacy policy, told SiliconBeat that the campaign is not a project of a fund that has received significant financial support from the Gates and Hewlett foundations, as the tech-news site had previously reported.
Mass. Bill Would Tax Nonprofits on Newly Acquired Property
Massachusetts nonprofit leaders are protesting the proposal to keep some real estate purchased by tax-exempt groups on the property-tax rolls for four years after the deal, State House News Service reports.
A Roadmap to Making Nonprofit Databases Work Better
Advice for keeping better track of constituents and handling record keeping and gift processing more efficiently.
By Margie Fleming Glennon
Chief Content Officer
Google Critic Reportedly Linked to Gates- and Hewlett-Funded Nonprofit
Click here for a correction and update of this post based on new reporting by SiliconBeat. The Campaign for Accountability, a watchdog nonprofit that has issued harsh reports on Google’s ties to federal agencies and policy making, is affiliated with a charitable fund that receives significant financial backing from the two big grant makers, according to tech-news site SiliconBeat.