GENERAL
“The New York Times Nonprofit Excellence Awards 2009 Winners.” The New York Times Community Affairs Department. June 18, 2009. On June 18, 2009, the third annual New York Times Nonprofit Excellence Awards were presented to four nonprofit organizations: New York Cares (recognized for Overall Management Excellence), which meets pressing community needs by mobilizing caring New Yorkers in volunteer service; Groundwork, Inc. (Excellent Management), which empowers youth and communities by educating and supporting children and families in an around public housing; the Vera Institute of Justice (Excellent Management), which Vera uses research, practice and innovation to help improve justice and safety across the United States and around the world; and the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project (Excellent Communications) which promotes community economic justice and the elimination of discriminatory economic practices that harm communities and perpetuate inequality and poverty. The awards were established In 2007 by the New York Nonprofit Coordinating Committee, Philanthropy New York, and the New York Times Company.
ARTS & CULTURE
“OCMA sells paintings to private collector, prompting criticism.” By Mike Boehm. Los Angeles Times. June 14, 2009. The Orange County Museum of Art in Newport Beach has quietly sold 18 of its 20 California Impressionist paintings to an undisclosed private collector, sparking criticism from two local museum directors who say the secrecy violated the public interest by preventing them from bidding to keep the works in collections open to the public. The sale comes as sensitivities about selling from museum collections are at a high pitch, with several recent, nationally debated cases of economically pressed nonprofit institutions selling or resolving to sell works to pay general expenses. Two major professional organizations, the American Assn. of Museums and the Assn. of Art Museum Directors, condemn selling from collections unless it’s to raise money to buy other artworks. In keeping with museum-world standards, the museum’s director said money will be used only to buy art for the collection.
“Studies Show Art Audience Decline.” By Jacqueline Trescott. Washington Post. June 16, 2009. Two separate national surveys gauging youth and adult participation in the arts reported yesterday that visits to art museums are declining. The percentage of eighth-graders who reported that they visited an art museum or gallery with their classes dropped from 22 percent in 1997 to 16 percent in 2008. The National Endowment for the Arts also released new data yesterday showing that fewer adults were choosing an art museum or a visual arts festival as a leisure-time destination. From 1992 to 2001, 26 percent of adults reported that they visited such attractions, but the number for 2008 dropped to 23 percent. The agency noted sizable declines between 1982 (when it first started documenting arts participation) and 2008 in almost every performing arts field, reporting double-digit rates of decline for classical music, jazz, opera, musical theater, ballet and dramatic plays. According the NEA report, the findings underscore the need for more arts education to foster the next generation of both artists and arts enthusiasts.
“Final curtain falls on North Shore.” By Geoff Edgers. Boston Globe. June 17, 2009. North Shore Music Theatre, which during its heyday was the largest nonprofit theater in the region, announced yesterday that it failed to raise enough money to reopen this summer and will close for good. The closing leaves a huge hole in the arts scene on the North Shore, where as many as 350,000 people a year attended the theater’s slate of lavishly produced musicals staged in the round. North Shore has tried to stay alive for months after being forced to shut down earlier this year. In January, it laid off 57 workers and, with a skeleton staff, began working to raise $4 million to stage a season. In April, organizers cut that goal and said they could start productions for $2 million. They never got close. Donors had pledged just $500,000, even after fund-raisers in New York and at the theater. In December, when North Shore suspended ticket sales, the number of subscribers had fallen to 4,400. At its peak, the theater had 10,000 subscribers.
“Education secretary receives arts petitions.” By Jessica Nwokocha. Washington Post/Associated Press. June 18, 2009. One of America’s favorite TV moms teamed up with an NBA legend and an elementary school band on Thursday to press the Obama administration to ensure that arts and music programs don’t fall victim to the sour economy. Henderson presented Education Secretary Arne Duncan with petitions bearing more than 120,000 signatures during a rally outside the Education Department. The boxes of petitions were stacked high off the ground and towered over 7-foot-2 inch Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the former Los Angeles Lakers center who said he appreciates what music does for children because his father was a jazz musician. The rally was sponsored by the non-profit group MENC: The National Association of Music Education as part of its effort to urge federal lawmakers to provide the funds needed to make music and arts mandatory core subjects for all public school students.
“Oregon Ballet Theatre lives to dance another day.” By Blaine Truitt Covert.” Oregonian. June 18, 2009. The Boston Ballet was one of the many national companies that contributed dancers to Oregon Ballet Theatre’s Dance United gala.The pas de deux that Oregon Ballet Theatre and the city of Portland have been dancing the past 20 years will continue after all. After a furious three-week fundraising effort that included a spectacular gala performance last week, the ballet announced that it has surpassed its $750,000 needed to guarantee that it could continue beyond June 30. “It was a close call,” said Portland Mayor Sam Adams, who himself raised $25,000 in private donations for the ballet. “I hope it’s a wake-up call to arts and culture advocates and people who love the arts that we cannot continue like this.” Adams and the Creative Advocacy Network are working on a plan to find dedicated funding for the arts in the Portland area that would raise levels closer to those of Denver, Seattle and other cities.
“City Opera Tries to Hold Off the Ultimate Finale.” By Robin Pogrebin. New York Times. June 18, 2009. New York City’s City Opera has raided its endowment — which now stands at $16 million in 2003 to pay off debts and cover operating expenses. The practice, known as endowment invasion, requires approval from the state attorney general’s office and the State Supreme Court, and is widely considered a last resort for any arts institution. Recently, the opera sought a payout from a large fund dedicated to the renovation of the theater it shares with New York City Ballet. Most of the money in the fund comes from a $100 million gift that the oil-and-gas billionaire David H. Koch made last July. The opera, arguing that its lost revenue during that period qualifies as a renovation expense, has asked for $9 million as reimbursement — although the donor, in an interview, said that “it’s out of the question that any of my money would go to City Opera for lost revenue.” During the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2008 the company’s revenue from ticket sales, donations and investments fell 23 percent to $32.9 million, while expenses increased 11 percent to $44.2 million, amounting to total losses of $11.3 million. The Company is also hoping to enlarge its board, a common strategy among nonprofits for increasing financial stability. Currently 36 of the board’s 44 members are expected to give or get a minimum of $50,000 a year, according to one trustee. (The other eight are ex officio members.) Some arts experts say that figure is relatively low for an organization of City Opera’s size and ambitions. Some opera buffs question whether the company can attract the kind of wealthy, prominent trustees it needs to secure its future. “Who would go on the board who is anybody?” a former chair of the Opera said. “I can’t imagine who you get to go on the board of a sinking ship.” People in the opera world say the company’s survival is important, since it has a history of doing repertory that the Met will never do and that New Yorkers deserve to see.
“Theater fell to a medley of misfortune; Debt, fire, dissension dogged North Shore.” By Geoff Edgers. Boston Globe. June 21, 2009. The closing of the North Sore Music Theater has led to finger-pointing and recriminations. A close look at the theater’s financial health in its tumultuous final years, which included a devastating 2005 fire and a staff revolt, reveals that myriad factors played into the collapse.
EDUCATION
“GI Bill Causes Glitch In D.C.; Private School Coverage Lower.” By Susan Kinzie. Washington Post. June 15, 2009. Under the new GI Bill, the federal government will cover the cost of state universities and share the cost of more-expensive private colleges if the schools choose to fund scholarships to close that gap. But in Washington, the sweeping program brings an unintended glitch — and a higher cost. The city’s only public institution, the University of the District of Columbia, is one of the least-expensive colleges in the country for local students, and its tuition is the basis for the VA reimbursement rate for private colleges in the District. Meanwhile, some of the city’s private universities, including Georgetown and George Washington, are among the priciest in the country, with total costs of more than $50,000 a year. That makes for a bigger gap to fill. School officials must decide whether to take part in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ “Yellow Ribbon” program to close, or minimize, the gap.
“Harvard classrooms, labs feel pinch of budget cuts; Teaching ranks to get thinner.” By Tracy Jan. Boston Globe. June 17, 2009. . Once untouchable classrooms and laboratories are about to be hit with cuts that some on campus worry will diminish Harvard’s academic ambitions. Facing the largest endowment decline in its history, Harvard officials said they can no longer afford to fully replenish the faculty ranks when star professors retire or are wooed away by other universities. Cuts to the number of graduate teaching fellows will mean larger class sizes next fall and, some professors warn, possibly lowered expectations. The university has also rescinded its funding of some research activities and lab equipment, a blow to Harvard’s goal of ramping up the sciences. Despite Harvard officials’ stated intentions to avoid hurting the university’s fundamental purpose, many faculty fear that the cuts, which the officials say will deepen, will leave Harvard a weakened institution in the coming years. While the dismal economy has pummeled university endowments everywhere, Harvard – the world’s wealthiest college – is in a particularly precarious position because it relies heavily on proceeds from the endowment for day-to-day needs. The endowment supports a third of the university’s $3.5 billion operating costs, and more than half of the $1.1 billion operating budget of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the largest of Harvard’s 10 schools. Harvard’s $36.9 billion endowment, as of last June, is expected to drop by at least 30 percent by the end of this month. That would still leave Harvard with about $26 billion, close to 2005 levels. But the university, along with its ambitions and budget, has grown substantially since then as it added faculty, overhauled buildings, and embarked on a groundbreaking – and expensive – financial aid initiative. Further exacerbating Harvard’s financial crisis, some professors said, are the risky financing decisions stretching back to the early part of the decade. The university borrowed money on a large scale for construction while its endowment soared. Those debts now must be repaid, and Harvard is struggling because so many of its investments have lost value.
“Georgia’s first charter commission schools win approval.” By D. Aileen Dodd. Atlanta Journal-Constitution. June 18, 2009. Two cash-strapped campuses showing success at educating diverse and low income students were approved as Georgia’s first charter commission schools, a title that comes with a budget windfall in matching local funds.
The historic vote of the Charter Schools Commission opened the door to charter schools operators struggling financially statewide and innovators with viable ideas for new campuses to compete for a chance at being funded like any other public school across the state. As state-chartered special schools, Ivy Prep and CCAT pinched pennies educating students without access to local funding. As commission charter schools, the pair will be fully funded with federal and state dollars — plus a share of matching local funds carved from the state allocations of the local districts that denied their charters.
“For Colleges, Small Cutbacks Add Up to Big Savings.” By Tamar Lewin. New York Times. June 19, 2009. While colleges and universities slashed their spending this year with wrenching layoffs, hiring freezes and halts in construction projects, they whittled away at costs with smaller, quirkier economies, too. Across the country, colleges have come up with a host of ideas that, taken together, stand as higher education’s household hints for living on a budget. Campus life is getting a bit dirtier as housekeeping standards are relaxed. Most widespread, most proudly announced — and, it seems, most likely to have nicknames — are cost-cutting programs that help sustainability. Hundreds of colleges and universities are turning down their thermostats to save on heating. Cafeterias, too, are saving money, cutting food waste and reducing hot-water and detergent costs by eliminating trays. When Whittier began “Trayless Tuesdays” last fall, lunchtime food waste dropped to 4.6 ounces per student from 7.4 ounces — and the college saved almost $30,000 a semester after going fully trayless in the spring. Many colleges are reducing their use of paper by putting admissions brochures, course catalogs and phone directories online instead of on paper. Colleges are also installing low-flow shower heads and energy-saving light bulbs and holding contests to see which dorm can most reduce its electricity costs.
HEALTH CARE
“Many watching as Caritas talks with R.I. hospital.” By Robert Weisman.
Boston Globe. June 18, 2009. The financially strapped Caritas Christi Health Care hospital system is negotiating to buy the Landmark Medical Center, a 214-bed community hospital in Woonsocket, R.I. Although it is not known how Caritas Christi would finance a merger, the six-hospital chain is hoping to build “critical mass,’’ boosting its clout with insurers and bondholders, said the healthcare professionals, who declined to be named because they are not authorized to speak about the system’s finances. By expanding, Caritas Christi also might become more attractive to a potential buyer. Caritas Christi has been cutting costs and working to stabilize its financial footing since 2008. But while the system has positive cash flow, healthcare industry observers say it lacks the capital to address mounting needs for buildings and equipment at its hospitals across Eastern Massachusetts.
“Neighborhood rivals: Boston hospitals’ suburban expansion sets up a showdown between dueling outpatient centers.” By Scott Allen. Boston Globe. June 21, 2009. Dr. Angus McIntyre had been treating cancer patients alongside doctors from Partners HealthCare in Peabody ever since Massachusetts General Hospital founded the company in 1994. But when Partners opened a new cancer center in Danvers, officials told McIntyre that they would no longer allow oncologists like him who were there only one day a week. McIntyre and a second cancer specialist from Beverly Hospital would not be able to keep an office in the place where most of their patients went for radiation treatment. That would have been fine with McIntyre except for one thing: Partners also has formed a grass-roots group to prevent Beverly Hospital from opening a radiation treatment center of its own. Partners executives are arguing that Beverly’s $10 million project would lead to “unnecessary duplication of a very expensive service,’’ in part because it would be located only 5 miles from Partners’ new facility. Throughout the greater Boston area, downtown hospitals are expanding into the suburbs and waging fierce competitive battles for patients with for-profits and with other nonprofits.
HUMAN SERVICES
“Garden benefiting food bank planned at old Multnomah County Poor Farm.” By Benjamin Brink. Oregonian. June 18, 2009. On a two acre lot that was once part of the Multnomah County (Oregon) Poor Farm, the county is creating a garden to help supply the Oregon Food Bank with organic fruits and vegetables in response to a growing need in the county. Produce will go to the Oregon Food Bank and will feed what food resource manager Mike Moran calls a desperate need. The demand for emergency food has increased 15.5 percent in Oregon — locally that translates to about 22,000 more food boxes given out from July of last year through March. But just 16 percent of the food that the food bank distributes statewide is fresh produce. The Multnomah County initiative is part of a national movement to create community gardens.
INTERNATIONAL
AFRICA
“Africa pioneers mobile bank push.” BBC News. June 15, 2009. Mobile financial services in the developing world could be worth $5bn by 2012, say analysts. CGAP – a consortium that works to expand financial services in developing countries – said the growth in mobile coverage was helping to fuel growth. More than one billion people in the developing world have access to a mobile phone, but no bank account. In February 2009, Bill Gates pledged $12.5m (£8.6m) to help the world’s poor access banking services. The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) said it thought the number of people with access to a mobile phone, but no bank account, would to rise to 1.7 billion in 2012. It also expected more than one in five to use their mobile to access banking services, creating a market worth up to $5bn (£3.05bn).” There’s a lot of excitement, but very little understanding what’s going on,” said Mark Pickens, microfinance analyst at CGAP. He said that mobile operators were ideally placed to launch mobile banking services in the developing world as banks were unlikely to put in the huge investment required to set up branches across a country. One of Africa’s first mobile banking system, M-Pesa, launched in Kenya in March 2007. A network of more than 7,000 agents – mostly shopkeepers – was set up to take deposits and issue cash, with users authorizing payments on their mobile phone using a Pin code. That service has now expanded to include Tanzania and Afghanistan with plans to launch in India, Egypt and South Africa.
AUSTRALIA
“Wealthy schools win cash bonanza from grants.” By Anna Patty. Sydney Morning Herald. June 20, 2009. SYDNEY’S wealthiest private schools are being given as much as $3 million each from the Federal Government’s school building program while making annual surpluses of up to $3.6 million. The bonus is on top of the $13 million in government funding some already receive. Grants to primary schools from the Prime Minister’s $14.7 billion stimulus package take no account of wealth but are based on the number of students. Secondary schools receive bonuses under the Building the Education Revolution program based on need.
JAPAN
“Ministry director-general arrested in postal discount scandal.” No by-line. Asahi Shimbum (Japan). June 15, 2009. Authorities have arrested a “rising star” at the welfare ministry who allegedly issued a document that led to systematic abuse of a postage discount system for disability support organizations. Atsuko Muraki, 53, director-general of the ministry’s Equal Employment, Children and Families Bureau, is suspected of conspiring to falsify the document to certify Rin no Kai as a disability support group even though the group was not involved in such activities. Muraki is the first director-general at the ministry ever to be arrested, officials said. She is also the highest-ranking individual arrested in connection with the scandal, in which private companies, in cooperation with disability support groups and other organizations, saved billions of yen in postage over several years by having their direct mail delivered under the discount system. Authorities have also arrested a section chief at the Policy Planning Division of the ministry’s Department of Health and Welfare for Persons with Disabilities and three senior officials of Rin no Kai.
“Shibuya University’s free study inspires copycats.” By Akiko Okazaki. Asahi Shimbum (Japan). June 16, 2009. Tokyo’s Shibuya University is serving as a model for new community-based learning centers throughout urban Japan. It is the brain-child of a former trading company executive, 30 year old Yasuaki Sakyo, who realized that many people still retain a wish to study even after they enter the workforce. Shibuya University has an annual budget of 40 million yen. A quarter of that comes from the ward, while the rest is contributed by companies and individuals. Plans are in the works for similar free study schools: Sapporo Odori University, Tachikawa Akishima University in western Tokyo, Matsumoto Alps University in Nagano Prefecture, Hiroshima Jakee University and Fukuoka Tenjin University.
“Tax bureau targets executive of NGO that helps North Korea.” No by-line. Asahi Shimbum (Japan). June 16, 2009. Tokyo regional tax authorities plan to order an executive of Rainbow Bridge, a nongovernmental organization that offers humanitarian assistance to North Korea, to pay back taxes on “fees” he collected from his side businesses. Authorities suspect that the NGO concealed about 240 million yen in income over a period of years. Rainbow Bridge offers rice, medicine and other assistance to North Korea and serves as a middleman for Japanese companies planning to make advanced investments in the reclusive country. Tax authorities view commissions earned by the NGO as taxable income. The authorities informed a Rainbow Bridge official that he could face taxes and penalties of between 100 million yen and 200 million yen. As Japanese businesses look to North Korea as a potentially lucrative market, they are increasingly using dummy firms to explore opportunities there.
“Manga museum draws derision.” By Yuki Ogawa and Hajime Ueno. Asahi Shimbum (Japan). June 16, 2009. Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs’s plan to spend 11.7 billion yen to build a new national media arts center, dubbed a manga museum or an “anime hall of fame,” is drawing a torrent of controversy. The center will be managed by a private-sector entity and is projected to be sustained by earned revenues. In Japan, no national museums have ever been able to fully finance their operations; they rely on grants and subsidies. According to agency estimates, annual operations of the center will cost 350 million yen. It expects 600,000 visitors a year, who will each pay 250 yen in admission, reaping some 150 million yen in fees. The agency says additional money can be made through sales of souvenirs at the museum and by other means.
MEXICO
“Humanitarian Aid Criminalised at the Border.” By Valeria Fernández. Inter Press Service News Agency (Latin America). June 21, 2009. Humanitarian aid groups trying to avert migrant deaths on the U.S- Mexico border are facing increased roadblocks in their mission. The hazards are not connected to a spike in drug cartels’ violence, but rather restrictions from the federal government. Transporting a migrant in despair to a hospital could mean a volunteer is charged with human smuggling. A simple act of kindness like leaving water in the desert can be subject to penalties as well. Arizona, the main gateway for undocumented migration into the U.S., is ground zero to a human rights crisis, according to border activists. In the summer, triple-digit temperatures in the remote Sonoran desert have caused a deadly toll. Over the past decade, it is estimated that at least 5,000 men, women and children have lost their lives attempting to cross the U.S-Mexico border.
“Scientists and Communities Forge Eco-Alliances.” By Verónica Díaz Favela. Inter Press Service News Agency (Latin America). June 21, 2009. Last year, around a hundred citizen groups formed the Asamblea de Afectados Ambientales (AAA), which is active in 12 of the 32 states in this country of more than 107 million people. So far the umbrella group has met four times to share experiences and plan joint strategies to call attention to their efforts. In 2006, academics and researchers from across Mexico critical of the national scientific policies of the last 30 years founded the Union of Scientists Committed to Society (UCCS), which today has some 400 active members from fields like biology, physics, mathematics, economics, sociology, anthropology, political science and law. Now, the two worlds have joined forces. “Citizens need information, they need someone from a public, educational, or scientific institution, an informed local person who will support and advise them in organising the information and making it meaningful,” Espinoza said. That is why “we invited the network of UCCS researchers to generate or share studies to provide scientific support for the arguments in defence of the environment and health,” he added. The cooperation between the UCCS and the AAA is perhaps the most prolific, but there are many partnerships between scientists and concerned citizens in Mexico. If everything goes as UCCS plans, in a few years there will be a scientific tribunal in place, “of an ethical nature, that will judge the authorities for each one of the cases, based on the technical and scientific information gathered. Something like the Latin American Water Tribunal,” according to Espinoza.
Meanwhile, the AAA strategy is to maintain unity among its groups in calling public attention to the environmental problems they face. The focus now is to publicise the coalition’s next meeting.
PERU
“RIGHTS-PERU: Activists Urge Obama to Use Trade Pact as Leverage.” By Haider Rizvi. Inter Press Service News Agency (Latin America). June 17, 2009. The United States government is coming under intense pressure from rights organisations and environmental groups to redefine its trade pact with Peru, a tool that they charge the government in Lima is using to justify oppression against the indigenous population.
Amazon Watch has joined a broad coalition of 14 other organizations in sending a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other high-level officials calling for immediate U.S. action regarding the ongoing political conflict in Peru between the state authorities and indigenous rights movement. Over the past month, indigenous groups protesting the loss of ownership rights to traditional lands have been involved in bloody confrontations with Peruvian government troops. According to critics, the growth of foreign direct investment, fostered by free trade policies, has forced Latin American governments to choose between the rights of native peoples and economic development.
“Calls for Justice for Peru’s Native Peoples.” By Franz Chávez. Inter Press Service News Agency (Latin Amrica). June 17, 2009. Social organisations in South America are backing the struggle against opening up Peru’s Amazon jungle to mining and oil companies, which resulted in clashes in which at least nine indigenous people and 25 police officers died. The violence is seen by indigenous organisations in Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador as an attack on people who are defending life, nature, human rights and the rational use of natural resources. In an open letter to the region’s presidents, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) called on them to defend native peoples and confirm their commitment to peace and justice in South America. A congress of the Indigenous Confederation of Indigenous People of Bolivia (CIDOB) urged the United Nations and the Organisation of American States to send a team of investigators to Bagua to verify what happened there on Jun. 5.
RUSSIA
“Civic Groups Wary as Russia May Ease Curbs.” By Michael Schwirtz. New York Times. June 19, 2009. President Dmitri A. Medvedev introduced legislation this week that he said would partly relax restrictions on civic organizations. The new measures were tentatively welcomed by human rights groups, which have long criticized the government for hampering civic development. Rights groups warned, however, that the proposed changes, which the Russian Parliament must pass before they become law, will only begin to loosen the legal and bureaucratic constraints imposed in large part by Mr. Medvedev’s predecessor, Vladimir V. Putin. Under Mr. Putin, now prime minister, officials often vilified these groups as fronts for foreign intelligence agencies or terrorist groups, especially after the so-called colored revolutions, in which pro-democracy groups — some backed by Western donors — helped topple Kremlin-friendly governments in neighboring countries. In recent years, the Russian government has deliberately sought to undercut the work of civic groups by subjecting them to intense bureaucratic oversight and harassment by law enforcement and tax agencies, as well as to a concerted public campaign meant to sow suspicions about their activities, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Thursday.
“Kremlin Creates Panel to Improve Russia’s Image.” By Andrew Osborn. Wall Street Journal. June 18, 2009. The Kremlin has created a high-level commission to overhaul its image on the world stage as the first anniversary of Russia’s war with Georgia approaches. Mr. Medvedev, who has styled himself a liberal, also announced new legislation intended to make it easier for human-rights groups and other nongovernmental organizations to operate in Russia. Mr. Medvedev said the legislation would reduce the number of documents such organizations need to register. Human-rights advocates said the change amounted to a minor improvement of repressive laws.
VENEZUELA
“Grassroots Empowerment for Women.” By Humberto Márquez. Inter Press Service News Agency. (Latin America). June 17, 2009. Over the past decade, more than 10,000 community councils have been established to deal with water, health, energy, communications, and other neighborhood needs. Under its 1999 constitution, Venezuela extended the three traditional branches of government to include two more – the electoral branch, and the moral or citizen branch. The aim of the councils is to enable communities to be self-sufficient and not have to depend on any institution. The councils often lock horns with government, which people see as unresponsive and bogged down by red tape. Women have passionately embraced community activism, taking on a more committed and active role. Sixty percent of all community councils are chaired by women.
LAW & REGULATION
“A.C.L.U. Report Says Antiterror Fight Undercuts Liberty of Muslim Donors.” By Stephanie Strom. New York Times. June 16, 2009. An ACLU report based on interviews with Muslim community leaders as well as experts on antiterrorism laws and regulations charges overly broad anti-terrorism statutes, lack of due process and discriminatory enforcement have starved Islamic charities of money and impeded Muslims’ ability to fulfill zakat, their religious requirement to make charitable donations. Although nine Islamic charities have closed as a result of government action against them since the Sept. 11 attacks, two of the largest mainstream Arab-American charities — Access and Islamic Relief USA — say they have benefited from aggressive enforcement of antiterrorism laws. Islamic Relief USA, an aid organization with affiliates around the globe, has seen annual donations rise to about $25 million last year from roughly $7 million at the time of the Sept. 11 attacks, with an additional $50 million in in-kind gifts,
PHILANTHROPY
“Plan for Dozens of Salvation Army Centers Falters.” By Stephanie Strom. New York Times. June 15, 2009. At her death in 2003, Joan B. Kroc, the widow of the founder of the McDonald’s Corporation, left $1.8 billion the Salvation Army to build some 30 lavish community centers around the nation, But more than five years later, her plan is faltering. Some Salvation Army officials have had a hard time reconciling the elaborate centers with the Army’s image as a frugal church that serves the needy. And now, with the Kroc fortune battered by the economic downturn, the Salvation Army is faced with the challenge of raising additional money to make sure the centers can sustain themselves in the future.
“Foundations Trim Staffs After Assets Slide Lower.” By Stephanie Strom. New York Times. June 21, 2009. Racked by steep declines in the value of their assets, the nation’s foundations are paring their staffs in large numbers. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation was the latest to announce a voluntary severance plan, offered this month to 42 percent of its 250 employees. In May, the Ford Foundation offered a similar plan to 140 of its 550 staff members. The Foundation Center and other analysts expect foundation giving to dive, and foundations are hoping that reducing staff now will help offset the impact of that decline.
“Best advice: Gates on Gates; The father-and-son duo talk about what it was like growing up Gates as they reflect on the advice that has influenced their careers and their relationship.” By Andy Serwer. CNNmoney. June 21, 2009. It’s certainly a unique father-son relationship. The man who created one of the largest fortunes in history, now in his second career as a philanthropist, has his dad working for him as co-chair of the world’s largest charitable organization — the $27.5 billion Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Actually, this is a second act for both men. Bill Gates, 53, stepped down from day-to-day work at Microsoft last June, while his father, Bill Gates Sr., 83, retired from the prominent Seattle law firm Preston Gates & Ellis (now known as K&L Gates), in 1998. These days both men give counsel to each other, but for years, of course, Dad doled out indispensable advice to his son. I recently sat down with this unlikely buddy act in the famed Leonard Bernstein suite at the Hotel de Crillon on Paris’s Place de la Concorde to ask them about the best advice they ever got.
RELIGION
“PBS Blesses Old Religious Shows, But Bans the New.” By Paul Farhi. Washington Post. June 17, 2009. The Public Broadcasting Service agreed yesterday to ban its member stations from airing new religious TV programs, but permitted the handful of stations that already carry “sectarian” shows to continue doing so. The vote was a compromise from a proposed ban on all religious programming which would have forced a few stations around the country to give up their PBS affiliation if they continued to broadcast local church services and religious lectures. Until now, PBS stations have been required to present programming that is noncommercial, nonpartisan and nonsectarian. But the definition of “nonsectarian” programming was always loosely interpreted, and the rule had never been strictly enforced. PBS began reviewing the definition and application of those rules last year in light of the transition to digital TV and with many stations streaming programs over their Web sites. The definition doesn’t cover journalistic programs about religion or discussion programs that don’t favor a particular religious point of view.
“Conservatives Push For Rival U.S. Anglican Church.” by Barbara Bradley Hagerty. Weekend Edition. Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). June 21, 2009. Episcopal church leaders representing more than 700 congregations, four dioceses and up to 100,000 churchgoers are meeting in Bedford, Texas hoping to form a new Anglican province in the U.S. — one that would rival the Episcopal Church. In the past, a number of conservative groups have left the worldwide communion over things like women’s ordination or the prayer book. And they’ve shrunk into virtual irrelevance. But this time, it might be different, says religion historian David L. Holmes at the College of William and Mary. He says the American conservatives have the backing of many leaders in Africa and South America, who represent more than half of all Anglicans worldwide. Moreover, Holmes says, the Episcopal Church has shrunk 40 percent in little more than a generation, whereas these conservative churches are growing.
“Islamic Society reaches out to other faiths; D.C. convention to feature popular pastor; area group hopes Obama will attend.” By Robert King. Indianapolis Star. June 21, 2009. The Plainfield-based Islamic Society of North America is holding out hope President Barack Obama might make an appearance at its convention this year in Washington, D.C., over the Fourth of July weekend. But even if Obama doesn’t show, the nation’s largest Muslim organization already landed a high-profile guest: Saddleback Church pastor Rick Warren will join a panel discussion that is the main session of a four-day convention expected to attract 40,000 Muslims from across the country. Warren will be joined on the panel by Islamic Society President Ingrid Mattson and noted Muslim scholar Hamza Yusuf, among others. While an appearance by the nation’s most prominent evangelical pastor at a gathering of its oldest Muslim organization might seem an unlikely pairing, scholars and observers from various perspectives say it makes sense. “ISNA is very interested in extending their connections with Protestant groups,” said Rafia Zakaria, an Indiana lawyer and associate editor at altmuslim.com, a Web site that looks at Muslim issues. “Having a figure as high profile as him gives them legitimacy to extend those kinds of alliances with church groups that have a significant amount of power in the United States.” In the past two years, the Islamic Society has forged friendships with the Union of Reform Judaism and the American Baptist Churches, USA.
SCANDAL
“Lobbyists unlimited in honoring lawmakers.” By Fredreka Schouten and Paul Overberg. USA Today. June 7, 2009. Despite a ban on gifts to lawmakers and limits on campaign contributions, lobbyists and groups that employ them can spend unlimited money to honor members of Congress or donate to non-profits connected to them or their relatives. The public — until now — had little insight into the scope of this largely hidden world of special-interest influence. Under ethics rules passed in 2007, lobbyists for the first time last year had to report any payment made for an event or to a group connected to a lawmaker and other top federal officials. USA TODAY undertook the first comprehensive analysis of the lobbying reports and found 2,759 payments, totaling $35.8 million, were made in 2008. The money went to honor 534 current and former lawmakers, almost 250 other federal officials and more than 100 groups, many of which count lawmakers among their members.
“The White House Fires a Watchdog; The curious case of the inspector general and a Presidential ally.” Editorial. Wall Street Journal. June 17, 2009. Journal editorial defends Corporation for National and Community Service Inspector General, Gerald Walpin, who was fired by President Obama for his investigation of fiscal improprieties in apolitically-connected California nonprofit funded by Americorps. According to the Journal, the President’s actions are in violation of the Inspectors General Reform Act, which requires the President to give Congress 30 days notice, plus a reason, before firing an inspector general.
“White House Defends Inspector General’s Firing.” By Neil A. Lewis. New York Times. June 18, 2009. The White House said Wednesday that President Obama had dismissed a government agency’s internal watchdog because he was incompetent and had behaved bizarrely, disputing accusations that he was fired because he had uncovered embarrassing problems in the AmeriCorps program. Last week, Mr. Obama abruptly fired the watchdog, Gerald Walpin, the inspector general of the Corporation for National and Community Service, who was a holdover from the Bush administration, saying little except that he had lost confidence in Mr. Walpin. But the president quickly encountered resistance from the Senate, including from a fellow Democrat, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, who said Mr. Obama had not provided sufficient reason for the dismissal, as required under a recent law intended to protect the independence of the corps of inspectors general.
“Connecticut Student Loan Foundation Can No Longer Act As Lender.” By Grace E. Merritt. Hartford Courant. June 17, 2009. The financially struggling Connecticut Student Loan Foundation will stop offering new federal loans because of its uncertain future. The foundation, which had been issuing about $130 million in loans a year, has been notifying colleges and guidance counselors that it can no longer act as a lender. The decision will have no effect on those who already have loans through the foundation.
The struggling foundation is dealing with harsh criticism from state auditors, the resignation of most of its board of directors, and financial problems that have put its Rocky Hill headquarters in foreclosure and prompted it to pare its staff of 162 to about 45. Nine employees were laid off Friday.
“Angel Food Ministries officials head to court.” By Christopher Quinn. Atlanta Journal-Constitution. June 18, 2009. Angel Food Ministries returned to court in a struggle for control of the nonprofit that annually sells $140 million worth of food at low cost. Board members Craig Atnip and David Prather alleged in a February lawsuit that founder Joe Wingo and his family enriched themselves and mismanaged Angel Food. The suit asks a judge to remove the Wingos to protect the nonprofit, which is located near Monroe. Wingo started the low-cost food sales program to help the poor. It now sells through a network of churches, including more than 200 in metro Atlanta.
“Student Loan Foundation’s Chief Ousted.” By Rick Green. Hartford Courant. June 20, 2009. The board overseeing the troubled Connecticut Student Loan Foundation has removed Executive Director Mark Valenti after allegations that he was trying to make unapproved severance payments to himself. In recent months, the foundation — chartered by the legislature but not a state agency — has been slammed by state auditors, and nine of its 12 board members have resigned. Market conditions have forced it to cut staff by 75 percent and put its Rocky Hill headquarters in foreclosure. The loan foundation has been enveloped by controversy since a preliminary state auditors’ report found instances of extravagant spending on parties, limousines, golf outings, sports tickets and automobiles.
“2 former Tufts administrators admit big thefts from university.” By Marc Larocque. Boston Globe. June 21, 2009. Two former administrators for Tufts University have pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $1 million from the school and spending it on items such as gourmet steaks, high-end fashion, and foreign travel, Middlesex prosecutors said yesterday. The director of the university’s Office of Student Activities from 1996 to 2007 stole $372,576 and faced three counts of larceny over $250. The budget and fiscal coordinator for the Office of Student Activities from 2001 to 2007, stole $604,873 and faced two counts of larceny over $250. Prosecutors said the two acted separately, even though they worked in the same office.
VOLUNTEERING
“American Album: Finding Purpose in Serving the Needy, Not Just Haute Cuisine.” By Patricia Leigh Brown. New York Times. June 14, 2009. In an era in which food politics are increasingly part of the national conversation and organic chefs are lauded in glossy magazines, trained chefs are applying their creativity and commitment to serving the lost and needy. They are working at food banks and shelters in places like Winston-Salem, N.C., and Richmond’s so-called Iron Triangle, a neighborhood synonymous with poverty, bounded by railroad tracks. About 40 trained chefs now work at 28 food banks affiliated with Feeding America, a nonprofit network based in Chicago, double the number a decade ago. At the D.C. Central Kitchen in Washington, the estimated 11,000 volunteers include acclaimed chefs like Ris Lacoste. “Food is really the base level of our humanity, our culture, our spirituality,” said Michael F. Curtin Jr., the chief executive of the kitchen and a former restaurateur.
“Service initiative aimed at aiding economy.” By Andrea Stone. USAToday. June 18, 2009. First lady Michelle Obama will launch a summer of service Monday that the White House hopes will help the economy recover through the work of individuals. The announcement will be made at a volunteer conference in San Francisco, where Obama will join California first lady Maria Shriver to work on a playground. The initiative, United We Serve, comes as new graduates face an unwelcoming economy and millions of workers have lost jobs and may be more likely to have time to help others. Increasing volunteerism has been a perennial White House project. The first President Bush spoke of “a thousand points of light” — programs he said were working on the nation’s problems. President Clinton founded the AmeriCorps service program. What makes this effort different “is the strong grass-roots element and the use of technology to engage volunteers,” said Roger Lowe of the American Red Cross, which is seeking help through social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. A website, serve.gov, will be a clearinghouse for volunteer opportunities. It offers “tool kits” for do-it-yourself projects and will enable volunteers to share stories and idea