Charity Governance

THREE CUPS OF TEA AND A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT: DRINK THE TEA, DISMISS THE LAWSUIT

DATELINE: May 11, 2011, Chicago

Two Montana residents, Michele Reinhart and Jean Price have filed a lawsuit against Greg Mortenson, the author of Three Cups of Tea, and the Central Asia Institute alleging fraud on the part of both defendants and requesting that the lawsuit be certified as a class action.  Our initial reaction to the filing was that the claimed injury is a bunch of nonsense, but as we read the complaint, we realized the complaint raises some important issues.  Those issues don't change our initial reaction.

The federal district court judge who is assigned this lawsuit should...

UNDOUBTEDLY

DATELINE: May 1, 2011, Chicago

"Changing the tax treatment of charitable gifts in ways that make it more costly to give those gifts will undoubtedly cause many higher-income Americans to reconsider the amount of their gifts."

So writes Robert F. Sharpe Jr. in an April 29, 2011 opinion piece in the Chronicle of Philanthropy.  Changing the Charitable Deduction Could Discourage the Most-Generous Donors.  Mr. Sharpe is the president of the Sharpe Group, a fund-raising consulting company with offices in Memphis and Washington.

One thing that I have learned over the years is that I need to reconsider my thinking whenever the words "clearly," "undoubtedly," or "obviously" appear in the sentence I just wrote.  What is obvious or irrefutable rarely is.  Mr. Sharpe's article is a well-written piece of advocacy, but it suffers from the lack of a reference to a statistical or empirical studies supporting his assertions. 

I will be upfront about it:  As a tax lawyer with some 30 years mucking around in the tax code, I am in favor of...

A TEXTBOOK CASE FOR EVERY DEVELOPMENT OFFICER AND FUNDRAISER IN THE COUNTRY

DATELINE: January 27, 2011, 2011, Chicago

Robert G. Burton, a major donor to the University of Connecticut, has demanded the return of $3 million that was used to build the Burton Family Football Complex.  After reading a letter from Mr. Burton to Jeffrey Hathaway, the UConn Athletic Director, that was posted on the Connecticut Day’s website and marked “PERSONAL & CONFIDENTIAL,” we can only ask one question:  What would it be like to...

WHY THE SPORTS LEAGUES SHOULD CREATE A DONOR-ADVISED FUND FOR THEIR CHARITABLY-INCLINDED ATHLETES

DATELINE:  January 19, 2011, Chicago

Dallas Morning News reporter Scott Farwell has an excellent article in yesterday’s newspaper on athlete-sponsored charities.  Some Dallas Sports Stars’ Charities Waste Money, Inefficient.  The storyline, however, is...

A SERIOUS DEFICIT REDUCTION PROPOSAL: LET’S GO FOR IT

DATELINE: November 10, 2010, Chicago

Today the Co-Chairs of the President Obama’s Deficit Commission issued a 50-page draft proposal for addressing the fiscal problems facing the United States. One can make the case that the proposal is dead on arrival. It gores way too many oxen, but tabling this proposal would be unfortunate. The U.S. faces serious budgetary issues, and this proposal is a good faith attempt to address them by spreading the pain around.

Co-chairs Allan Simpson and Erskine Bowels ask virtually everyone to...

SEX, DRUGS, ROCK & ROLL, AND CHARITY?

DATELINE: November 7, 2010, Chicago

In his just-released autobiography, Rolling Stone lead guitarist and co-founder Keith Richards writes about some of the early soul singers, pointing out that many were church preachers before making records.  In a comment that could come from the more stately Senator Charles Grassley, Richards writes:

The Reverend Richard Penniman.  Never forget he comes from the gospel church, like most of them do.  We all sang Hallelujah at one time or another.  Al Green, Little Richard, Solomon Burke, they all got ordained. Preaching is tax free.  Very little to do with God, a lot to do with money.

It's been some time since we last read a music biography or autobiography. The Richards story is proving to be a fascinating one, unlike many other stories of debauchery on the road.  Even though he has been off drugs for 30 years, Richards nevertheless carries the aura of the ultimate druggie in the public mind. Yet, Richards writes with great intelligence and insight. What is most striking is his warmth toward those he remembers from long ago.  Richards proves to be a loyal friend to many.

Even those who despise Rock & Roll might enjoy the journey.  Clearly there is lots of analysis that will appeal to musicians, but overall the book is proving to be a fascinating and important social history.  Justin Bieber might want read this one and long live LeRoy Carr.

 

 

WHAT DARTMOUTH AND CORNELL STUDENTS CAN TEACH ALL CHARITIES

DATELINE: November 1, 2010, Chicago

Recent grads at Dartmouth College and Cornell University have a lot to learn even though they attended supposedly fine schools.  Their recent boorish behavior also may be instructive for those charities that use high-pressure tactics to raise money.

Last week, Stephanie Strom dropped a bombshell on the pages of the New York Times.  Student Feel Peer Pressure to Donate  (October 27, 2010).  Colleges and universities like to get their students in the habit of giving even before they have left the campus.  Enter the...

FISK UNIVERSITY: CHANCELLOR ELLEN HOBBS LYLE CHECKS THE NASHVILLE POWERS THAT BE; IT’S NOW UP TO THE CRYSTAL BRIDGES MUSEUM TO CALL CHECKMATE

DATELINE: September 15, 2010, Chicago

On Monday of this week, Tennessee Attorney General Robert Cooper filed his plan addressing the Fisk University art collection with the Davidson County Chancery Court.  Yesterday, Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle rejected that plan in a  31-page opinion. 

Under General Cooper's  proposal, physical possession of the collection would have been transferred to the Frist Center for the Visual Arts in Nashville for what would most have been the permanent display at that Frist Center--Fisk could reclaim the collection if it had the financial wherewithal to maintain it, which strikes as unlikely in the absence of a major capital infusion.  The Frist Center would have paid the insurance and maintenance costs, but would not have paid Fisk University one cent for the  right to display the O’Keeffe/Stieglitz collection, which is valued at $74 million.  That certainly would have been... 

SEATTLE FOUNDATION’S NEW WEBSITE PUTS DONORS IN TOUCH WITH A WIDE VARIETY OF CHARITIES, BUT WOULD THE DISCLOSURES STAND THE TEST OF 10b5?

DATELINE: September 9, 2010, Chicago 

The Seattle Foundation, a community foundation, has created quite the stir with its new database containing information about 700 local nonprofits. It caught Stephanie Strom's attention in today's New York Times. Data on Seattle Nonprofits is Now Public (Sept. 8, 2010). In principle, the site is a good thing. If we lived in Seattle and were interested in charities assisting the homeless, we could easily identify a number of charities that would be of interest. 

Given the accolades from those quoted in Stom’s article and another one in the Seattle Times, we decided to examine the website to see whether it lives up to the hype. To a certain extent it does. The site is well-organized, attractive, and inviting. It makes for good eye-candy. And therein lies...

SENATOR GRASSLEY IS OVERSTEPPING HIS BOUNDS BY REQUESTING DISCLOSURE OF DONORS

DATELINE:  August 13, 2010, Chicago

Senator Grassley may not like the fact that Section 501(c)(3) organizations are not required to disclose the names of their donors as part of the public disclosure portion of the Form 990.  However, the law couldn’t be clearer:  Public disclosure is...