Nonprofit News and Comment

ARTS & CULTURE

“Milwaukee Theater Has Drama of Its Own.” By Daniel J. Wakin. New York Times. August 4, 2009. In the half century since its foundsing, Milwaukee’s Skylight Opera Theater grew into a beloved local institution. Its mix of less frequently heard and classic operas, musicals and revues has drawn a devoted audience and a core of loyal performers. But now the company is facing a meltdown. It has suffered demonstrations, petitions, mass resignations of performers, subscriber revolt and Facebook vitriol interpreted by management as violent threats.

“The Guggenheim At 50: A Legacy Spirals On Fifth.” By Edward Lifson. NPR. August 5, 2009.

“New Endowment Chairman Sees Arts as Economic Engine.” By Robin Pogrebin. New York Times. August 8, 2009. In his first sit-down interview since his nomination to head the National Endowment for the Arts, Broadway producer Rocco Landesman said that as chairman he will focus on the potential of the arts to help in the country’s economic recovery. Given the agency’s “almost invisible” budget, he said, goals like these would require public-private partnerships that enlist developers, corporations and individual investors — largely by getting them “to understand the critical role of art in urban revitalization.”

CHARITY

“Group will help ‘pick up the tab’ for charity.” By RaShawn Mitchner. Indianapolis Star. August 7, 2009. Founded in 2007, Jerry Paul’s Kokomo-based charity group, Veterans for a Better Community, collects tabs for other groups that then recycle the tabs and keep the cash. Last year, his group collected 903,000 pop tabs, donating the proceeds to a local veterans group. This year, Paul’s group will help the Ronald McDonald House of Indiana by donating an estimated 1.2 million tabs today at the nonprofit’s annual Pop Tab Drop on Monument Circle in Downtown Indianapolis. So just how much are pop tabs worth in recycling dollars? About $78,000 if you have 108 million of them. That’s what the Ronald McDonald House collected last year through its program, bringing in 8 million during the event on the Circle.

“‘Cash-for-clunkers’ program worries charities.” By Trevor Hughes. USA Today. August 9, 2009. Charities across the country are concerned that the popular “cash-for-clunkers” program will entice people to junk old cars for credit toward new ones rather than donate them. Many charities depend on reselling donated cars to fund programs. Goodwill Industries International earned $14.5 million last year from donated cars, which it used to fund job training for disabled workers, spokeswoman Lauren Lawson says. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki says the program, which got a $2 billion boost Friday, will have a “negligible” effect on charities. Psaki says the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) was created to provide a “timely, temporary and targeted” economic stimulus and was not intended to divert vehicles from charities.

EDUCATION

“Boston to get school athletics boost; Foundation created to funnel millions to underfunded programs, hire coaches.” By Bob Hohler. Boston Globe. August 3, 2009. Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino will announceS the creation of a multimillion-dollar charitable foundation and consortium of professional sports teams, colleges and universities, and corporations to enhance opportunities for Boston student-athletes – a potential breakthrough for Boston’s chronically underfunded high school athletic system.

Charter Schools

“Backers seek end to charter school cap; Ballot item wider than Patrick’s plan.” By James Vaznis. Boston Globe. August 5, 2009. The number of charter schools in Massachusetts could increase without limit under a ballot question that proponents will file today, putting a reticent Legislature on notice that inaction on expansion proposals could place the issue in voters’ hands. Charter school supporters intend to file the necessary paperwork by today’s deadline to officially launch the effort to repeal the state-imposed cap, which has left more than 20,000 students on waiting lists for available slots. The ballot question, if it meets legal criteria and gains the necessary signatures, would go before voters in the next statewide election in November 2010.

Private Schools

“Private school tuition loophole exploited; Taxpayers help cover private school costs.” By James Salzer and Nancy Badertscher. Atlanta Journal-Constitution. August 9, 2009. A loophole in Georgia law is letting some kids in private schools get taxpayer-subsidized scholarships that were created to help children in struggling public schools. Some public school systems are reporting that private-school parents are showing up to fill out paperwork to enroll their kids in public schools solely to qualify for the scholarships. They say parents have told them their children have no intention of actually attending classes in the public school. But enrolling makes them eligible for the scholarship. Officials at two local private schools contacted by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution acknowledged that some of their students are using the loophole to get scholarship money to cut their tuition costs.

Higher Education

“Harvard Reduces Sports Travel as Ivys Cut Athletics to ‘Core’.” By Curtis Eichelberger. Bloomberg.com. August 5, 2009. The deepest recession in five decades may leave the Ivy League behind on the field. The economy is choking donations, battering endowments and threatening to eliminate some sports programs. The eight schools, which have educated 14 U.S. presidents and half of the 110 justices in Supreme Court history, have estimated endowment losses of as much as 35 percent this year. At Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, sports travel budgets were reduced and the school closed the Malkin Athletic Center during most of the summer, according to a May 11 news release. The sports budget at Columbia University in New York was cut too. Yale within the past year started requiring the athletic department to raise 100 percent of the funding on any new projects before they will be approved.

INTERNATIONAL

GENERAL

“Leadership Vacancy Raises Fears About USAID’s Future.” By Mary Beth Sheridan.
Washington Post. August 5, 2009. USAID, the main U.S. foreign aid agency and a major funder of development-related NGOs, is entering its seventh month without a permanent director despite pledges by the Obama administration to expand development assistance and improve its effectiveness in poor countries. The Obama administration inherited a foreign aid system starved of civilian experts and burdened by a bewildering array of mandates. USAID’s full-time staff shrank by 40 percent over the past two decades, but the assistance it oversees doubled, to $13.2 billion in 2008. The agency has a skeleton crew of technical experts, with four engineers for the entire world, Clinton noted recently. Increasingly, USAID has become a conduit for money flowing to contractors, who have limited supervision from the agency. As USAID has weakened, foreign assistance programs have proliferated across government agencies, especially the military, causing duplication and confusion. During his presidential campaign, Obama promised to double overall U.S. foreign assistance to $50 billion and build a “modern development agency.” His campaign literature said that “no single person . . . (is) responsible for directing and managing what should be one of our most powerful foreign policy tools.”

AUSTRALIA

“Record runners step up for charity; Celebrity starters…Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore and Olympic swimmer Eamonn Sullivan.” By Heather Quinlan. Sydney Morning Herald. August 9, 2009. A record 75,000 people are taking part in today’s Sun-Herald City2Surf community run from Hyde Park to Bondi Beach. The huge field cements it as the world’s biggest foot race, eclipsing the New York and London marathons combined and putting it well ahead of the JPMorgan Corporate Challenge in Frankfurt, with 69,042 entries. The size of this year’s race has been matched by the generosity of participants and supporters, who have already helped raise almost $2 million for charity.

CHINA

“Chinese cultural industry maintains growth via government-supported loans.” By Chen Yuxin and Li Huizi. Xinhua.net. August 4, 2009. A list of 15 cultural enterprises has been submitted to the Export-Import Bank of China (China Exim) via the Ministry of Culture for a huge amount of bank loans to support development of China’s cultural industry. The programs include an acrobatic interpretation of the classic ballet “Swan Lake” by a Shanghai dancing company, a Shaolin martial arts drama by a film production group and a dance drama called “Dunhuang My Dreamland” by a troupe in northwestern Gansu Province’s Lanzhou which will be staged in Europe. The 15 enterprises are expected to receive China Exim’s first batch of loans totaling more than 4 billion yuan (588 million U.S. dollars). Cultural industries in China include production and distribution of cultural products and services such as publishing, music, television and film production as well as crafts and design.

“Confucianism at large in Africa.” By Bright B. Simons. Asia Times. August 7, 2009. Under the sponsorship of The Hanban, the Chinese National Office for teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, “Confucius institutes” are being established around the world, including 19 in Africa, with four of these classified as “classrooms” in existing African universities, and another three in the offing. The plan is to have 500 Confucius institutes in operation by 2010. The Chinese government is currently spending $300 million annual on cultural cooperation initiatives.

INDIA

“Schools can hike fee only with Govt consent.” By Dhananjay Mahapatra. Times of India. August 8, 2009. : In a major victory for parents resisting `arbitrary’ fee hikes by private unaided schools in the capital and a partial relief for the schools, the Supreme Court on Friday allowed school managements to increase fee but only with prior approval of Delhi government’s Director of Education. By tying the school fee structure, which has seen massive increase in the recent past, to DoE’s consent at the commencement of an academic year, the apex court said it wanted to protect parents from being fleeced in the name of capitation charges by greedy managements.

ISRAEL

“Homeless Holocaust survivor leaves $100,000 gift.” By Jen Thomas. The Huffington Post. August 9, 2009. Hebrew University has received a surprise donation of more than $100,000 from an unexpected benefactor – a woman who survived the Nazi Holocaust and appeared to be destitute, a university official said Sunday. Upon her death two years ago, a homeless Holocaust survivor living on the streets of New York City willed the gift to the university. The 92 year old Jewish woman lived out of a shopping cart in Manhattan and had no known relatives.

UK

“Social enterprise could bring in new era of public services.” By Allison Ogden-Newton. Guardian (UK). 8-3-09. In the face of government austerity, social enterprises are ready to offer a compelling alternative to public provision, heralding a new era of tailored, locally responsive public services in health, education, and social welfare.

“Equality row reveals a deeper rift for Labour; The meltdown at the human rights quango is more than a bureaucratic squabble. It is about the future of the Centre Left.” By Rachel Sylvester. London Times. August 4, 2009. The Equality and Human Rights Commission, the quango responsible for promoting equality in the UK, is in meltdown after a mass exodus of senior figures complaining about the leadership of its chief executive, Trevor Phillips. The conflict within the agency is symbolic of a wider battle over the future of the Labour Party. There is profound disagreement within the commission about what is the correct strategy for trying to achieve greater equality. Traditional campaigners think that their job is to stand up to the Establishment on behalf of the oppressed group they represent. The modernisers — led by Mr Phillips — think that it is time to take a more positive approach. The first group wants the State to enforce a level playing field, with quotas for representation and fines for bodies that fail to achieve equality. They do not understand how their chief executive, Britain’s most prominent black campaigner, could say that multiculturalism has gone too far, claim that institutional racism is a meaningless phrase or oppose all-black shortlists for political parties. As one insider puts it: “The real battle is over world view, not leadership. It’s about whether you should be inculcating a sense of permanent victimhood or encouraging people to have aspiration instead.”

“Oxfam shops set the pace in selling second-hand books; Charity is accused of taking away trade from professional booksellers.” By Steven Morris. Guardian (UK). August 4, 2009. Second-hand booksellers in the UK complain that the stores operated by the international charity Oxfam compete unfairly with their for-profit counterparts. They allege that the charity sells donated stock, receives 80% business rate reductions – as do other charities – and largely employs volunteers. The smaller running costs, they argue, allow it to undercut rivals. They say it is no surprise that Oxfam, which now has 130 specialist bookshops across the country, has become the biggest retailer of second-hand books in Europe.

“Majority of privately educated applicants accepted into medical schools, study finds.”
By Jessica Shepherd. Guardian (UK). August 5 2009. Medical students are far more likely to have gone to a private school than they were five years ago, statistics reveal. In 2004, 57% of applicants from private schools were accepted into medical schools in the UK, while 49% of applicants from state schools were accepted, according to the university admissions service Ucas. The figures come less than a month after a cross-party government report argued that family wealth and a private education remain the key to well-paid professions. Alan Milburn’s report, Unleashing Aspiration, accused the professional classes of a “closed-shop mentality”, which the former cabinet minister said made Britain one of the least socially mobile countries in Europe.

“Secret mission to expose L. Ron Hubbard as a fake.” By Dominic Kennedy. London Times. August 6, 2009. The founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, was exposed as a fraud 30 years ago by British diplomats who were investigating his qualifications. Hubbard, who invented a religion now followed by celebrities such as Tom Cruise, awarded himself a PhD from a sham “diploma mill” college that he had acquired, the diplomats found. Such was the climate of fear and paranoia surrounding Scientology that the US believed the sect had sent bogus doctors to declare a high-ranking legal investigator mad and then taken his papers relating to the case. When Scientologists threatened to sue the British Government for libel after it acted in 1968 to ban followers from entering the country to visit the sect’s world headquarters, to defend itself, Britain needed to establish whether Lafayette Ron Hubbard was a charlatan — an allegation that was confirmed by an investigation of the California diploma mill that had issued Hubbard’s bogus academic credentials.
Related Story:
“The battle for East Grinstead.” London Times. August 6, 2009.

“Evangelical Christianity: It’s Glastonbury for God.” No by-line. The Independent (UK). August 6, 2009. Church of England pews may be empty, but the fields of Somerset are rocking with a series of evangelical festivals this summer. As the leaders of Britain’s more mainstream denominations scratch their heads and debate how to revitalise their congregations, evangelical Christianity in Britain is going from strength to strength. The number of evangelical churches in Britain has risen from 2047 to 2,719 since 1998 and their followers now make up 34 per cent of Anglicans, figures show. Nowhere is the strength of British evangelism more apparent than at the numerous summer festivals that have sprung up and attract tens of thousands of people every year.

“Carers being denied access to funding; £150m allocated for breaks is not reaching carers, say charities.” By Anna Bawden. Guardian (UK). August 7, 2009. Carers are being denied access to tens of millions of pounds of funding, according to new research out today. Last year, the government announced £150m for primary care trusts (PCTS) in England to finance breaks for those caring for friends and family members. But many trusts are either unaware of the funding or claimed they had not received any money. Others said since respite care funding was not ring-fenced, it would be used for other priorities. Some trusts cited budget restrictions for not being able to make any funds available. Of 100 PCTs surveyed, 35 said they were not spending any money on carers’ services and 16 said they were spending only part of the funding on carers’ services. 26 said they were still deciding. Only six said they were spending the entire amount on respite care. Charities called on the government to issue more information and guidance to trusts and for PCTs to report on what they have done with their allocation and what services they are providing to meet the needs of carers.

“Charities beg BBC to let George Alagiah stay as Fairtrade patron.” By Patrick Foster. London Times. August 8, 2009. Britain’s leading overseas aid charities have called on the BBC to reconsider its decision to order a leading newsreader to step down as patron of the Fairtrade Foundation. The corporation has been roundly criticised for its position, particularly as it coincided with a decision to allow Jay Hunt, the controller of BBC One, to continue as company secretary of her husband’s business, which is paid by the BBC to train presenters. One senior newsreader told The Times: “There’s been a lot of disquiet about it. Jay Hunt can stay on as a director of her husband’s company, which takes money from the BBC, but we can’t lend our support for free to a charity. It’s madness. There’s a degree of chaos about what’s going on.”

“Quangos blow millions on ‘irrelevant’ celebs; Taxpayers are unknowingly footing the bill for countless ‘vanity projects’ with stars like Mylene Klass and Midge Ure; Myleene Klass has graced government campaigns at the taxpayers’ expense.” By Chris Hastings and Steven Swinford. London Times. August 9, 2009. Quangos have forked out millions of pounds to hire celebrities to host prize-giving ceremonies and make after-dinner speeches, even if they have no connection with the cause. Figures obtained by The Sunday Times under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that over the past three years some 40 quangos and government departments have hired more than 200 personalities to boost their profiles. In many cases the celebrities, paid up to £30,000 each, have little or nothing in common with the quangos or campaigns they represent. Some are BBC presenters who already receive a large salary from licence fee payers.

ZAMBIA

“NGO Bill Still Inspires No Confidence.” By Kelvin Kachingwe. Inter Press Service News Agency. August 6, 2009. Civil society organizations (CSOs) have come out strongly to oppose the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) Bill, which seeks to regulate their operations. The 2007 NGO Bill was withdrawn from Parliament by the government after civil society protested against it on the grounds that it was a draconian piece of legislature that could not facilitate any meaningful growth of the NGOs in the country. Among the controversial provisions of the bill is the proposal to give the minister discretionary powers to accept or reject nominations for NGO boards, empowering the government-dominated NGO Registration Board with far-reaching powers to approve the area of work for NGOs, issue policy guidelines on “harmonising” their efforts with the national development plan, and “advise” on strategies for efficient planning of activities, compulsory registration (which can be denied under a vague “public interest” standard), and compulsory submission of information regarding their activities, accounts and administration.

LAW & PUBLIC POLICY

“Disturbing the Dead: Nation’s Cemeteries Desperate for Oversight, Experts Say Burr Oak Scandal Just the Latest Case of Burial Ground-Related Fraud.” By Justin Grant. ABC News. August 3, 2009. Consumer advocates are calling for stronger federal oversight of the U.S. cemetery industry after Illinois cemetery workers were accused last month of digging up hundreds of graves and dumping the remains so the burial plots could be resold. Members of the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection met in Chicago last week and said they would likely propose new legislation to prevent similar cases from happening in the future.

“‘Minor hero,’ major questions; A defunct charity with nearly $1 million in forgotten assets. A handyman who says he wants to revive the organization and continue its good works. Volunteers who question his motives.” By Jeff Long. Chicago Tribune. August 4, 2009. When the last board member of the Lake County Humane Society died in 2003, the influence of the century-old organization that once fought poverty had long since faded. All that remained was its fortune. Few suspected that the defunct charity had an aging safe-deposit box in a Waukegan bank vault crammed with stocks or that there were other assets, totaling in all more than $1 million. Now, the Illinois attorney general’s office is investigating how a man who once mowed the lawn at the society’s ramshackle headquarters gained access to those assets. The society originally was incorporated in 1939 but has roots that go back decades earlier. In its heyday, the group distributed food, furniture and clothing to the needy of Waukegan and Lake County.

MUTUAL BENEFIT ORGANIZATIONS

“Military officers’ clubs near extinction.” By Larry Copeland. USA Today. August 2, 2009. Just seven officers’ clubs remain on Army installations in the USA — down from about 100 in the late 1970s. The Marine Corps, which boasted dozens of officers’ clubs in the mid-1980s, has 10 left. The Air Force has nine, down from 27 in 2003, and the Navy is down to 20. Clubs are nearing extinction because of changing demographics of today’s armed forces; what the military calls the “deglamorization” of alcohol; economic realities; cultural shifts; and the availability of wider dining choices nearby.

PHILANTHROPY

“NBC’s Philandering Philanthropist: Where Is the Rest of the Story?” By Deborah Richardson. The Huffington Post. August 5, 2009. NBC’s “The Philanthropist,” modeled loosely after the real-life experiences of American entrepreneur Bobby Sager, who retired from a successful business to use his philanthropic resources and business acumen to change communities and lives of those around the world, chronicles the adventures of a wealthy, philandering businessman who jets around the world closing business deals while ministering to the “misfortunate” on the side. According to the reviewer, who is Chief Program Officer of the Women’s Funding Network, the show
“suffers from a misunderstanding of philanthropy and perpetuates the Global North’s stereotypes.”

RELIGION

“Southern Baptists talk leadership change.” By Christopher Quinn. Atlanta Journal-Constitution. August 3, 2009. Southern Baptist leaders could remove the president of their North American Mission Board. In 2007, they hired Geoff Hammond to run the evangelism arm of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. He is overseen by a board of 57 members, including 21 executive committee members and 36 trustees. An e-mail from one trustee says some of the executive committee believe Hammond has not responded to direction from them, and morale at the agency is low. At the same time, conversions have dipped in recent years and the denomination has stopped growing.
Related Story:
“Southern Baptist missions chief’s job reviewed; ‘cronyism’ a concern.” USA Today. August 6, 2009.

“U.S. Catholic sisters probed on doctrine, fidelity.” By Eric Gorski. USA Today/Associated Press. August 5, 2009. A Vatican-ordered investigation into Roman Catholic sisters in the U.S., shrouded in mystery when it was announced seven months ago, is shaping up to be a tough examination of whether women’s religious communities have strayed too far from church teaching. The study, called an apostolic visitation, casts a net beyond fidelity to church teaching, with questions also covering efforts to promote vocations and management of finances. The investigation is focused on members of women’s religious communities, or sisters. These are women who do social work, teach, work in hospitals and do other humanitarian work of the church. The investigation is not looking at cloistered communities, or nuns. Conservative Catholics, have long complained that the majority of sisters in the U.S. have grown too liberal and flout church teaching, taking provocative stands including advocating for female priests and challenging church teaching against abortion rights or gay marriage.

“Cross purposes: Who are the Rosicrucians?” By Paul Vallely. The Independent (UK). August 6, 2009. This summer, two of the main Rosicrucian sects are celebrating their 100th anniversary. The Ancient and Mystical Order Rosae Crucis (AMORC) and The Rosicrucian Fellowship, both headquartered in California, claim more than 100,000 members worldwide.

“LA priest’s mission: Saving flock from foreclosure.” By Christina Hoag. San Francisco Chronicle/Associated Press. August 6, 2009. A priest’s typical mission is saving souls, but the Rev. John Lasseigne has a more down-to-earth goal — saving homes. That’s like trying to work a miracle in Lasseigne’s Roman Catholic parish of Pacoima, a blue-collar corner of the San Fernando Valley where bank sale signs sprout faster than weeds. One in nine homes is in default, making it one of the nation’s hardest hit towns in the foreclosure crisis.

“At Home in the Houses of the Lord; Church Missions, Portfolios Embrace Residential Real Estate.” By Ovetta Wiggins. Washington Post. August 8, 2009. Washington area churches are purchasing properties and partnering with developers or builders to construct communities that can include subsidized units, full-price residences and even commercial space. Churches have a steady income from weekly donations to spend in a depressed real estate market and to qualify for financing. The churches say their goal is to diversify revenue streams so that, among other things, they can expand their community service projects to support growing congregations. And the developers can get tax benefits.

SCANDAL

“Conn. priest: Bishop wanted to send me to the nuns.” By John Christofferson. Washington Post/Associated Press. August 3, 2009.” A former priest claims a bishop who played a leading national role in responding to the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal threatened to send him to live with nuns after he hired a private investigator to look into his pastor. The pastor, the Rev. Michael Jude Fay, later pleaded guilty to a federal fraud charge and was sentenced to three years in prison for stealing more than $1 million from St. John Roman Catholic Church in Darien to support a luxurious lifestyle.

“City Hall Broke Rules Funneling Money to Groups.” By Michael BArbaro and Ray Rivera. New York Times. August 4, 2009. For years, aides to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg routed hundreds of thousands of dollars in city money to at least two politically connected nonprofit groups in violation of government contracting rules. By law, the mayor’s office can give the money only if it has been requested by a City Council member or borough president, but in these two instances, records and interviews show, the money was given by the Bloomberg administration, then later attributed to a council member without his knowledge. Agudath Israel and Ohel provide services including career counseling and mental health care and are powerful institutions in the city’s Orthodox Jewish communities — political forces long courted by the mayor. The organizations have substantial ties to the Bloomberg administration: Mr. Bloomberg, since becoming mayor, has personally donated $200,000 to Agudath Israel, and a former top aide to the mayor is a lobbyist for Ohel.

“Cemetery owner pleads guilty in trust fund case; Terms for owner’s repayment of more than $20M still undecided.” By Jon Murray. Indianapolis Star. August 4, 2009. Operators of the Indianapolis-based Memory Gardens Management Corp., which controls six Indiana cemeteries, stand accused of misappropriating $27 million in trusts funds intended for pre-paid burials and maintenance.

“Sorority Mum On President’s Alleged Wrongdoings; Alpha Kappa Alpha President Barbara McKinzie is accused of grossly misspending money belonging to the nation’s oldest black sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Inc.” By Natalie Moore. NPR. August 4, 2009. Members of the nation’s oldest black sorority have filed a lawsuit alleging the national leadership of Alpha Kappa Alpha is grossly misspending the organization’s money. Among the allegations in the lawsuit are that President Barbara McKinzie solicited a $375,000 salary for what has historically been an unpaid position; that she used an AKA credit card for jewelry, lingerie and designer clothing; and that she took out a $1 million life insurance policy. Founded in 1908 at Howard University and now has more than 250,000 members around the world.

“Labor nonprofit’s consulting fees to officials investigated; Payments of $30,000 each to former L.A. Unified Board of Education members David Tokofsky and Jose Huizar, now an L.A. city councilman, are the focus of the federal probe.” By Howard Blume, Scott Glover and David Zahniser. Los Angeles Times. August 6, 2009. Federal investigators are examining whether a labor-affiliated nonprofit improperly funneled consulting fees to Los Angeles city officials. The inquiry is looking into payments of about $30,000 by Voter Improvement Program Inc., a nonprofit headed by former local labor leader Miguel Contreras, who died in 2005. Investigators want to determine if Contreras was, in effect, using the nonprofit as a slush fund to reward allies.

“A little too cozy in Carmel? Complaint filed over panel’s ties to Performing Arts Foundation.” By Robert Annis, Heather Gillers and Tim Evans. Indianapolis Star. August 9, 2009. The Carmel Redevelopment Commission recently approved giving the Performing Arts Foundation $400,000 in taxpayer money so it can pay for, among other things, the salary of a new artistic director for the Performing Arts Center. But how much will he be paid? According to foundation Director Nancy Heck, it’s none of the public’s business — even though it’s public money paying that salary — because The Performing Arts Foundation is a nonprofit agency, and thus, Heck asserts, doesn’t have to immediately disclose how it’s spending public money. Using nonprofits as an extension of government has been an increasingly popular tactic since President Lyndon B. Johnson made them a staple of his war on poverty in the 1960s, said Leslie Lenkowsky, a clinical professor at IUPUI’s Center on Philanthropy. Even if a nonprofit is formed by city officials and funded by city money, Lenkowsky said, it typically isn’t constrained by the rules that govern cities. “It’s not the most open process,” he said, “but that doesn’t mean there’s something wrong.”

VOLUNTEERING

“Faith groups more likely to attract volunteers, report says.” By Lindsay Perna. USA Today. August 3, 2009. Faith-based organizations attract more volunteers than any other type of organization, according to a survey by the Corporation for National and Community Service. More than one-third of the country’s almost 62 million volunteers served through religious organizations last year. “Religious organizations are a key source of potential volunteers for nonprofit organizations,” said Nicola Goren, the corporation’s chief executive officer. “Nonprofits looking to expand their reach and impact may find it beneficial to work more closely with religious organizations in their communities, especially in these tough economic times.”

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 9th, 2009 at 9:54 pm and is filed under Arts & Culture, Charity, General, Mutual Benefit Organizations, Philanthropy, Religion, Scandal, Volunteering, Weekly Summaries. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.