Opinion: Yale Economist Urges ‘Impact Audits’ to Guide Giving
A Yale University professor who established a new organization to assess the efficacy of nonprofits through analysis modeled on financial audits describes the endeavor in The Wall Street Journal.
Median Pay for Private-College Leaders Rose 5.6% in 2013
Thirty-two presidents of private colleges and universities were paid more than $1 million in 2013, with median pay for campus leaders increasing by 5.6 percent to about $436,000, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education’s annual compensation survey.
Senate Obamacare Repeal Also Strips Planned Parenthood Money
The 52-47 vote Thursday sends to the House legislation that would accomplish long-sought conservative goals to eliminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood and roll back most of the Affordable Care Act, CNN and The Washington Post report.
U. of Massachusetts Fund Manager to Divest Coal Holdings
The foundation that oversees the state university system’s $770 million endowment said Thursday that it will cease direct investment in coal companies to send a message about climate change, public radio station WBUR and The Boston Globe report.
Deal to Rescue Strapped Calif. Hospital Chain Gets State OK
California Attorney General Kamala Harris gave her approval Thursday to a deal that would infuse $280 million in private capital into the financially struggling nonprofit medical network Daughters of Charity, the San Francisco Chronicle writes.
Bidder to Revive N.Y. City Opera Cedes Battle to Rival
One of the two groups mounting rival efforts to resurrect the New York City Opera has dropped its bid, ending a tangled court battle over a moribund company, reports The New York Times.
A Roundup of Views on the Zuckerberg Pledge
A Wall Street Journal column says the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative takes “a new approach to the kinds of problems with which philanthropy has long struggled.” Fast Company, The New York Times, and Politico, among others, have also weighed in.
Head of NYC Schools Fundraising Group Abruptly Resigns
Iris Chen stepped down this week as executive director of the Fund for Public Schools after a 16-month tenure that saw a decline in donations and heavy staff turnover, Politico and The New York Times report.
Using For-Profits to Funnel Big Sums to Charities Raises Transparency Concerns
Critics say that by setting up a limited-liability company to oversee their philanthropy, Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife can avoid disclosure rules and engage in activities that stretch the definition of charity.
By Alex Daniels and NICOLE WALLACE
10% of Big Nonprofits Seek Birth-Control Accommodation, Study Finds
A tenth of nonprofits with 1,000 or more employees elected for the compromise on contraceptive coverage carved out by the Obama administration for faith-affiliated organizations, The Washington Post reports, citing research by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Gates and JPMorgan Back White House Outreach to ‘Unbanked’
The Obama administration announced a set of programs Tuesday to expand financial services to the millions of low-income people in America and around the world who lack access to credit, savings accounts, and other fiscal essentials, reports The New York Times.
Calif. Attorney General Sues to Close Vehicle-Donation Charities
State Attorney General Kamala Harris filed civil lawsuits Tuesday seeking the shutdown of two Los Angeles-area nonprofits that solicit car donations, claiming they illegally profit from the practice and have underreported how much they passed on to partner charities, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Fidelity Charitable’s Executive Pay Strategy Shows Arrogance — and an IRS Flaw
Paying a third party to compensate its top leaders is a blatantly transparent attempt by the nonprofit to avoid disclosure and a sign of the organization’s Wall Street culture.
By Alan M. Cantor
Reporter
NYC Alzheimer’s Association Chapter Leaving National Group
The New York City affiliate is splitting off from the national disease charity after rejecting a proposal to formally consolidate the association’s independent chapters into a single legal and financial entity, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Boom Time for Endowment Giving
Big charities aren’t the only ones bouncing back. The Chronicle’s survey of endowments shows that this is a great time for smaller groups as well.
By Peter Olsen-Phillips and Ben Gose
College Endowments Are Flourishing Again — and Critics Are Taking Note
Some in Congress want more money to go to scholarships and less to private-equity managers. But nonprofits worry that restrictions could have a spillover effect on other groups.
By Ben Gose
Senior Editor