For-Profit Grand Canyon University Nixes Nonprofit Shift
Grand Canyon Education Inc. abandoned plans to convert to nonprofit status after the move was rejected by its accrediting body, The Chronicle of Higher Education and The Wall Street Journal report.
Florida Congresswoman Linked to Fraudulent Nonprofit
Representative Corrine Brown hosted a 2013 charity golf tournament that benefitted a supposed education charity whose leader pleaded guilty last week to fraud, the Orlando Sentinel reports.
Fight Over Finance and Priorities Splits Alzheimer’s Charity
Stat, a Boston Globe online affiliate that reports on health-care issues, examines the rupture at the Alzheimer’s Association, which is seeing prominent regional chapters defect in a dispute over the national organization’s push to centralize control of programs and revenue.
Chicago Media Mogul Donates Sun-Times Stake to Charity
Michael Ferro, who earlier month became the largest shareholder in the company that owns the Chicago Tribune, has given his ownership stake in the rival Chicago Sun-Times to an as-yet-unidentified charitable trust, the Sun-Times and Crain’s Chicago Business report.
Experts Question Tax Handling of Gifts to Clinton and Trump Charities
Tax experts tell The Huffington Post that some speaking fees Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton passed on to family charities should have been reported by the presidential candidates as personal income because they were donations given in return for a service.
Veterans-Charity Watchdog Downgrades Wounded Warrior Project
A nonprofit that evaluates veterans and military-related charities for the public has removed the controversial Wounded Warrior Project from its list of accredited organizations, The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Met Museum Will Reword Signs in Deal on Admission Donations
Signs at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art will change to say that a $25 donation for admission is “suggested,” not “recommended,” as was previously the case, The New York Times and Hyperallergic report. The museum was sued in 2013 by a member and two tourists who said the vague signage misled visitors about the museum’s pay-what-you-wish admissions policy.
A Bike-athon Looks at the ‘True Cost’ of Raising Money
Pelotonia takes a hard look at what is really bringing in the money and expands its merchandise line.
By Drew Lindsay
Contributor
A Tool to Measure the Real Success of a Fundraising Event
How to calculate the true value of your event — after deducting expenses from money raised, and accounting for new donors, major gifts, increased awareness of a cause, and more.
By Drew Lindsay
Contributor
3rd Generation of Walton Family Makes Sharp Turn in Giving
The grandchildren of Walmart’s founder are taking a deeper interest in the specifics of their philanthropy than their parents did — and they have some new approaches in mind for the environment, education, and other causes.
By Alex Daniels
Senior Editor, Foundations
Better Ratings Help Small Charities but Not Big Ones
Larger charities struggling to cut administrative costs to get a coveted third or fourth star from Charity Navigator may be wasting their time, a four-year study suggests.
By Alex Daniels
Senior Editor, Foundations
Minn. Orchestra Regains Financial and Artistic Stride
The New York Times reports on the Minnesota Orchestra’s recovery from the devastating labor strife that the organization’s president called a “near-death experience.”
Diversity-Focused Tech Nonprofit Gets Y Combinator Boost
A nonprofit start-up promoting diversity in the overwhelmingly white and male technology industry has been accepted into influential business incubator Y Combinator, USA Today writes.
Tiny Colleges Catching Up to Elites on Endowment Returns
New York Times financial columnist James Stewart writes about small institutions such as Radford and Southern Virginia University that are outperforming heavyweights like Harvard and Yale in investment gains.
Opinion: Public Pays Price for Knight’s Stanford Largesse
Phil Knight’s $400 million gift to fund Stanford University graduate-school scholarships “should reignite a dormant debate” over the cost to taxpayers of elite colleges’ burgeoning endowments and massive philanthropic support, a Los Angeles Times columnist writes.
N.J. Towns Line Up to Challenge Hospitals’ Tax Exemptions
A dozen municipalities across New Jersey are seeking to collect taxes from nonprofit hospitals in the wake of a court ruling last year that resulted in one town securing a $15.5 million tax payment, NJ Advance Media reports.