Opinion: Red Cross Faces ‘Trust Deficit’ on Disaster Work
In the wake of a blistering Congressional report on its relief efforts in Haiti, the American Red Cross must improve internal oversight and transparency to retain public confidence in its frontline role in disaster response, The New York Times asserts in an editorial.
Trump Pledges to Lift Ban on Politicking by Churches
Speaking Tuesday to a gathering of conservative evangelicals, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said that if elected he will end the decades-old bar on churches and other tax-exempt groups making political endorsements, The Washington Post reports.
Opinion: Donor-Advised Funds a ‘Bad Deal’ for Society
Two prominent critics of donor-advised funds lay out their case against the fast-growing giving vehicles in an essay for The New York Review of Books, saying they represent “a major flaw in the financing of charities today.”
Clinton Foundation Reportedly Targeted by Russian Hackers
The organization’s computer network was breached as part of what authorities suspect is a concerted pre-election attack by Kremlin-allied hackers on U.S. entities with political ties, Bloomberg writes, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.
Pa. Congressman Convicted in Charity-Tied Corruption Case
Rep. Chaka Fattah, who has represented Philadelphia in the House for more than two decades, was found guilty of racketeering-conspiracy charges stemming in part from his use of nonprofit funds to repay a political loan, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Limos and Luxury Hotels on Hershey Trust Board’s Expense Tab
Since agreeing in 2013 to a state demand to curb spending, directors of the Milton Hershey School for impoverished children in Pennsylvania have collectively been paid $6.9 million and charged hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel costs to the organization, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Calif. Legislators Craft $2 Billion Plan to House Homeless
Facing a rising tide of homelessness in otherwise booming regions, state lawmakers are putting the finishing touches on a proposal to channel $2 billion into building permanent housing for the homeless, writes the Associated Press.
Legal Filings Show Conservative Groups Got Most IRS Scrutiny
Right-leaning organizations made up a sizable majority of more than 400 politically active organizations whose applications for nonprofit status received special scrutiny by the Internal Revenue Service, NPR reports, citing recent court filings in a federal suit against the agency.
Orlando to Give $7 Million Directly to Shooting Victims
Orlando officials announced Friday that money contributed to a city-led fund to assist those affected by the Pulse nightclub shooting will go straight to victims and families instead of being distributed through charities, The New York Times reports.
Liberal Group Files IRS Complaint Against Trump Foundation
A pro-Hillary Clinton organization filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service Friday accusing Donald Trump of violating tax laws by turning his charitable foundation into a “political tool,” writes The Washington Post.
IRS Toothless When It Comes to Policing Nonprofits, Report Says
An independent study released by the agency says a lack of funding, loss of institutional knowledge, and change in strategy are eroding the IRS’s ability to regulate charities.
By Alex Daniels
Contributor
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.