After Madoff, Donors Grow Wary of Giving

Ever since news reports began surfacing last week that a number of charities appeared to have lost millions of dollars invested with Bernard Madoff, Bill White has been fielding phone calls and emails from nervous donors to the two New York nonprofits he runs.

Full-text article by Elizabeth Bernstein is available via the Wall Street Journal, 12.23.08.

Congress Targets Philanthropy

Like divining rods, Members of Congress are always alert to fresh sources of money, which once discovered they will spend. California Democratic Congressman Xavier Becerra thinks he's discovered a new source of political treasure: the money inside private and community foundations.

Full-text article is available via the Wall Street Journal, 12.24.08.

The New Way to Give: Be Your Own Charity

The seeds of a philanthropic revolution are sprouting. Smaller donors are using the Web to pick and choose — and evaluate and criticize — the charities that matter to them.

Granted, online philanthropy is still a drop in the bucket: Web donations made up just 3% of all charitable gifts in the U.S. last year. That still amounts to $10 billion, though, and a tenfold increase from 1999, says Ted Hart, an author and founder of consultancy ePhilanthropy. Going forward, the stakes are even higher: Baby boomers and their kids are set to inherit some $15 trillion by 2017. More than a third of that is expected to go to charities, according to Boston College’s Center on Wealth and Philanthropy.

Full-text article by Reshma Kapadia is available by SmartMoney, 12.24.08.

Pinched Colleges Squeezing Their Alumni

As the economic downturn shrinks endowments, big institutions may be affected more than smaller schools that rely more on fees. Officials try to strike a balance in the messages sent to graduates.

Full-text article by Gale Holland is available via the Los Angeles Times, 12.25.08.

Executive Pay

After years of watching the top echelons of corporate management take home billions, shareholders want to know: Will inflated pay packages get slashed?

Full-text article by David S. Hilzenrath is available via the Washington Post, 12.21.08.

Madoff Collapse Closes Second-Largest Foundation in Florida

The Picower Foundation, one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the nation and a major contributor to a host of local causes, has announced that its assets once totaling nearly $1 billion were wiped out in the alleged investment scheme run by Bernard Madoff.

Full-text article by Kathleen Chapman is available via the Palm Beach Post, 12.20.08.

Jewish Leaders Bracing for Madoff Fallout

The amount of money lost by Jewish charities in the Bernard L. Madoff scandal is staggering - $90 million by Hadassah, $110 million by Yeshiva University, and smaller amounts that have forced the closings of several foundations, including one on Boston's North Shore.

Full-text article by Michael Paulson is available via the Boston Globe, 12.22.08.

Private Colleges Worry About a Dip in Enrollment

Decreased enrollment, especially at small colleges with tuition-driven budgets, could mean significant cutbacks to programs and faculty.

Full-text article by Tamar Lewin is available via the New York Times, 12.22.08.

Survey: Fundraising Confidence Reaches New Low

Confidence in the fundraising climate declined 22 percent in the last six months, reaching its lowest level in a decade, according to a survey of nonprofit professionals.

Full-text article by Mark Hrywna is available by the NonProfit Times, 12.18.08.

Recession Rattles Nerves in Fund-Raising Offices

After years of growth and earlier predictions that higher-education fund raising would escape the brunt of the economic crash, the recession has started to affect colleges' efforts in that area, according to results of a Chronicle of Higher Education–Moody's Investors Service survey.

Full-text article by Kathryn Masterson is available via the Chronicle of Philanthropy, 12.19.08. [Subscription requuired.]

Small Gains in Corporate Giving

Giving by U.S. companies increased only slightly between 2006 and 2007, to just under $11-billion in 2007, compared with $10.2-billion the previous year, according to a new report by the Conference Board, in New York.

Full-text article by Caroline Preston is available via the Chronicle of Philanthropy, 12.18.08.

Nonprofit Hospitals Could Face New Rules in 2009

Aides to Sen. Charles E. Grassley say that the Iowa politician is considering proposing legislation early in 2009 that would require nonprofit hospitals to spend a minimum amount on free care for the needy and set restrictions on executive compensation and conflicts of interest.

Full-text John Carreyrou and Barbara Martinez is available via the Wall Street Journal, 12.18.08.

Junior College Squeeze

Community colleges across the country are seeing enrollment climb just as local governments scale back funding. Community-college administrators are thrilled to attract top performers, but they also worry that the influx of students who can afford other options is squeezing out the disadvantaged students such schools were built to serve.

Full-text article by Caitlin McDevitt is available via Newsweek, 12.15.08.

U of Michigan Expects $2 Billion Loss By December 31

Fresh off a record-breaking fundraising campaign, the University of Michigan may lose more than $2 billion from its endowment by the end of the year -- another sign that the tightening economy is choking even the most robust funds.

Full-text article by Robin Erp is available via Freep.com, 12.18.08.

Year-End Giving Survey Results

Charity Navigator recently surveyed the charities in our database to see if the recession is having an impact on year-end giving. The majority of those that responded anticipate a decline in holiday giving this year versus last. Read our survey results to find out what types of charities have little confidence in their ability to meet year-end giving goals and if charities in certain regions are more hopeful than those in other parts of the country.

Survey results are available via Charity Navigator's website, 12.17.08.

Charities Calculate Losses in Alleged Ponzi Scheme

Charities continued to assess their potential losses in the alleged fraud perpetrated by Bernard L. Madoff on Tuesday, amid fears that the one-two punch of a brutal economy and the giant Ponzi scheme could force sharp retrenchments or even closures at some organizations.

Full-text article by Ben Gose is available via the Chronicle of Philanthropy, 12.16.08.

Princeton Settles Lawsuit Over $900 Million Endowment

Princeton University settled a lawsuit over an endowment valued in June at more than $900 million, ending a six-year dispute about how the money is spent.

Full-text article by Oliver Staley and Janet Frankston Lorin is available via Bloomberg, 12.10.08.

Best Buy Founder Gives U $40 Million

Best Buy founder Richard Schulze and his family foundation will give $40 million to University of Minnesota researchers who are intent on finding a cure for Type 1 diabetes.

Full-text article by Jospehine Marcotty is available via the Star Tribune, 12.11.08.

Colleges Learn to Navigate the College Crunch

This fall nearly all U.S. colleges and universities are grappling with how to survive the ongoing credit crunch. Beloit College isn't the only school searching high and low for ways to trim expenses while preserving academic quality. Stanford, for instance, is reducing top administrators' salaries to help cut as much as 12% from its budget, while Cornell and Brown have stopped hiring. At South Carolina's Clemson University, all faculty and staff must take an unpaid five-day leave.

Full-text article by Kathleen Kingsbury and Laura Fitzpatrick is available via Time.com, 12.11.08.

Close of a Tumultuous Year

The Financial Times reviews this shocking year in finance and forecasts the challenges and difficult questions that remain for 2009 and beyond.

Visit the Financial Times website for more information, 12.11.08.

Food Pantries Adopt New Approaches as Demand Grows

As demand for their services continues to rise, food pantries are taking new approaches to provide more people with food and other resources, reports The New York Times.

Full-text article available via The Chronicle of Philanthropy, 12.10.08.

Gas Demand and Cost Decline

Pump prices headed toward five-year lows nationally and in California, the Energy Department said Monday. And despite a bump in crude prices, some analysts say the slide might not end until oil hits $25 a barrel and gasoline drops to $1 a gallon or below.

Full-text article by Ronald D. White is available via the Los Angeles Times, 12.9.08.

Boston May Seek More Money From Nonprofit Institutions

Boston’s mayor is forming a task force to study how the city might increase the payments it receives from nonprofit institutions in lieu of taxes — especially the city’s numerous education and health-care organizations, reports The Boston Globe.

The universities and hospitals, which are exempt from property taxes because of their nonprofit status, pay voluntary fees to the city in varying amounts, the paper reports. If such Boston organizations were required to pay property tax, they would pay a combined $350-million to $400-million each year, city officials tell the paper. Instead, they give the city a combined $32.4-million, the Globe reports.

Full-text article by Donovan Slack is available via the Boston Globe, 12.9.08.

Alternative futures for health care philanthropy - Are you ready?

As we cope with the current economic crisis, it is important not to lose sight of what lays upon the horizon. The Association for Healthcare Philanthropy and its membership face the task of navigating the confluence of two sectors undergoing profound change within the coming years: health care and philanthropy. AHP has embarked on a project to determine the future of these two sectors using scenario analysis which is leading to interesting possible conclusions and action-items.

Full-text article by William C. McGinley is availabe via the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, 12.9.08.

Economic Downturn Is a Boon for For-Profit Colleges

The for-profit college industry, unlike the rest of higher education, is enjoying a financial tailwind that is only likely to improve in the next couple of years.

Full-text article by Goldie Blumenstyk is available via the Chronicle of Higher Education, 12.10.08.

Education Endowment Studies Merge

Two top studies analyzing the performance and management of the endowments of U.S. colleges and universities will be combined.

The National Association of College and University Business Officers and the Commonfund Institute will publish the first combined study in January 2010, reflecting results for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009.

The merger will create an improved tool for the higher-education community by providing more complete reporting and more accurate results, and will include data from nearly 1,000 institutions, says John Walda, president and CEO of NACUBO.

Full-text article available via Philanthropy Journal, 11.25.08.

Paul Volcker Is Back, and He Warns of Tough Times Ahead

A generation ago, Paul A. Volcker was a household name, the Federal Reserve chief who waged a hard-nosed but successful battle against virulent inflation that clouded the nation's economic future. He did it by engineering a horrific recession, clamping on the financial brakes and sending the economy into a tailspin in 1981.

Volcker has been chosen by President-elect Barack Obama as a special economic advisor. His 'no pain, no gain' fiscal strategy worked in the '80s, and there's no sign he's softened that philosophy.

Full-text article by Ralph Vartabedian is available via the Los Angeles Times, 12.8.08.

In String of Bad News, Omens of a Long Recession

Despite months of rescue efforts, hundreds of billions of dollars in government spending and an avant-garde apparatus of financial tools, the American economy has only worsened, and at a faster rate than nearly anyone predicted.

Full-text article by Michael M. Grynbaum is available via the New York Times, 12.7.08.

The Biggest Givers: Feeling Pinched, Some U.S. Philanthropists Give More

Meanwhile, nonprofits, from women's shelters to community theaters, are scrambling to find innovative ways to attract donations as they anticipate that 2009 will be the most difficult fundraising climate in years.

Full-text article by Ali McConnon and Lawrence Delevingne is available via BusinessWeek, 11.29.08.

Why Leading Entrepreneurs Give

Today, entrepreneurs are redefining what it means to be charitable. BusinessWeek compiled a slide show to see how a dozen top entrepreneurs are applying their business acumen to a host of social and environmental issues. For them, philanthropy and profitability aren't mutually exclusive.

Full-text article by Stacy Perman is available via BusinessWeek, 12.5.08.

Businessmen Match Donors With Fast-Growth Charities

Two former businessmen plan to establish a "marketplace" that will bring together already-successful charities with donors willing to give them money to help them grow.

Full-text article by Ben Gose is available via the Chronicle of Philanthropy, 12.8.08. [Subscription required.]

Economy Has Harmed Finances of Many Charities

Many charities have already seen decreases in private donations and government grants because of the recession, a new survey finds.

Full-text article by Debra E. Blum is available via the Chronicle of Philanthropy, 12.8.08. [Subscription required.]

Teaching Hospitals Warily Await Details of Obama's Health-Care Plan

Many hospital executives support the concept of universal health care but worry that lawmakers might raid other funds that teaching hospitals receive for treating the uninsured to pay for broader coverage.

Full-text article by Kelly Ware is available via the Chronicle of Higher Education, 12.8.08. [Subscription required.]

Higher-Ed Leaders Discuss Ways to Survive Downturn

Colleges should consider long-term changes to weather the recession and thrive afterward, higher-education leaders and economists said at a conference in Boston.

Full-text article by Kathryn Masterson is available via the Chronicle of Higher Education, 12.8.08. [Subscription required.]

Companies Increased Giving Last Year, Survey Finds

Despite a mixed economic climate, corporations increased their giving last year, according to a new report from the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy.

Full-text article by Debra E. Blum available via The Chronicle of Philanthropy, 12.4.08.

Harvard Hit by Loss as Crisis Spreads to Colleges

Harvard University's endowment suffered investment losses of at least 22% in the first four months of the school's fiscal year, the latest evidence of the financial woes facing higher education.

Full-text article by John Hechinger and Craig Karmin is available via the Wall Street Journal, 12.4.08.

The Noblis Center for Health Innovation Forecasts 2009 Trends In Provider Health Care Delivery

With access to capital becoming more restricted accompanied by a significant decline in philanthropic giving, dwindling investment income, increasing bad debt and growing charity care, many hospitals and health systems are extremely vulnerable.

Full-text press release is available via MarketWatch.com, 12.3.08.

Charities, Foundations, Elected Officials Launch New Collaborative to Ensure Philanthropy Can Address Growing, Unmet Needs of U.S. Communities

With severe economic pressure mounting on all sectors of the economy, a broad-cross section of interests announced today they have formed The Philanthropic Collaborative (TPC). The organization's mission is to educate federal and state policymakers about the critical benefits of philanthropic dollars in communities across the nation, and to work with policymakers to ensure this much-needed source of funding is not restricted by new federal economic policies.

TPC released a study prepared by economist Robert Shapiro, a former top Clinton Administration economic official. The study demonstrates that, for every dollar foundations spend, more than $8 is generated in local and national economic benefits.

For more information please visit TPC's website, The Philanthropy Collaborative.

Bill Gates Prods Washington on Foreign Aid, Education

Philanthropist Bill Gates urged lawmakers and the coming Obama administration to maintain U.S. investments in foreign-aid and education initiatives despite the financial crisis.

Full-text article by Robert A. Guth is available via the Wall Street Journal, 12.4.08.

College May Become Unaffordable for Most in U.S.

The rising cost of college — even before the recession — threatens to put higher education out of reach for most Americans, according to the biennial report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.

Full-text article by Tamar Lewin is available via the New York Times, 12.3.08.

Small Towns with Big Money

Businessweek.com worked with Zillow.com to come up with a list of the 32 smallest towns with the highest home values. They set a cap on population of 10,000 people, although most of the towns populations fall well below that. In fact, many have fewer than 1,000 residents. They also only selected one property per Metropolitan Statistical Area, a geographical designation used by the U.S. Census, because otherwise the list would have nearly entirely dominated by towns near New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. (They did, however, include more than one home from the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA MSA because, frankly, it covers so much space.)

Full-text article by Prashant Gopal is available via BusinessWeek, 12.1.08.

Arizona Corporations, Individuals Find Ways to Help the Needy

The average household in Arizona gave $2,018 in 2006-07, according to a study by the Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation at Arizona State University.

Full-text article by Kerry Fehr-Snyder is available via AZCentral.com, 12.1.08.

Next-Gen Givers

THE STORY IN PHILANTHROPY THIS HOLIDAY SEASON is becoming all too familiar. Individuals, foundations and corporations are all scaling back their giving, often leaving nonprofit beneficiaries in the lurch. Just last week, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the world's largest philanthropic concern, said it would slow its donations next year because of the hobbled economy and turbulent financial markets.

Behind the headlines, however, a surprisingly encouraging trend is taking hold: A new generation of donors is moving into place -- an energetic and highly creative crowd that eventually could reshape philanthropy.

Full-text article by Suzanne McGee is available via Barrons.com, 12.1.08.

Bargain Hunting on Bleak Friday

There were no Christmas miracles for retailers yesterday as the holiday shopping season officially got underway.

Full-text article by Ylan Q. Mui is available via the Washington Post, 11.29.08.