Charity Governance

A MEDIA SURGE WHEN THE WHIP COMES DOWN: MORE LESSONS IN SETTING COMPENSATION

DATELINE: July 22, 2008

Yeah, baby, when the whip comes down
When the whip comes down
(I'll be running this town, I'll tell you)

Rolling Stones, When the Whip Comes Down from Some Girls

Talk about a surge.  It seems like the entire staff of the San Diego Union-Tribune has been covering what is a clear crisis for the Southeastern Economic Development Corp (SEDC).  For the last six days, the newspaper has posted at least one article each day, with graphs, charts, and supporting documentation also posted on the newspaper’s Web site.  Reporters Helen Gao, Matthew T. Hall, Jeff McDonald, and Jeanette Steele have all contributed to the overall story.

So here are the facts:  SEDC is charged with handling redevelopment of a 7.2 square mile area east of downtown San Diego.  Government officials have raised a series of questions about...

LEGISLATIVE EXTORTION IN CALIFORNIA: FOUNDATIONS SHOULD HAVE MOVED OUT OF THE STATE RATHER THAN SUBMIT

DATELINE: June 25, 2008, Chicago

Several California-based foundations just set a bad precedent. The California legislature was considering legislation—Assembly Bill 624—that would have required foundations with assets of $250 million or more to make certain disclosures regarding diversity. The focus of the disclosures was on board and staff diversity, as well on grant recipients. It had been established that the required disclosures would impose significant and costly compliance burdens on the affected foundations. See our previous post: The California Legislature Should Pass Assembly Bill 624: Then Private Entities Might Finally Teach Overzealous Regulators A Lesson or Two, Feb. 2, 2008.

In order to head off the legislation, ten foundations have agreed to make multiyear grants to charitable organizations that provide services to...

SHOULD GRANTMAKERS SET UP WHISTLEBLOWER HOTLINES?

DATELINE, December 18, 2007, Chicago

Several times each month we receive e-mails from nonprofit employees who believes that something is not right in their organization. Inevitably, the e-mails includes some documents, as well as requests that we help them by publishing a post disclosing the wrongdoing. We always...

T. BOONE PICKENS SHOULD DO WHAT HE WANTS, BUT WHAT HE DID HAS SOME INTERESTING IMPLICATIONS

Dateline, May 21, 2007, Chicago

Debra Blum of the Chronicle of Philanthropy reported last week that T. Boone Pickens gave Texas Southwestern Medical Center and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center each $50 million. Oil Tycoon Gives $100 Million—With Strings Attached, May 16, 2007. Hard to argue with his generosity, but it is worth noting that the each gift carried some unusual restrictions. Had we been either of these institutions, we would have...

MILWAUKEE PUBLIC MUSEUM: COMPASSIONATE CONSERVATISM COMES TO THE RESCUE

Dateline, March 30, 2007, New York City

Congratulations to the Milwaukee Public Museum—finally some good news.  Milwaukee’s conservative-leaning Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation and another unnamed source have pledged $5 million to the museum’s recovery effort, according to Steve Schultze in today’s Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel—Gift May Spare Museum: $5 Million Donation Meant to Spur Fund-raising Drive to Avoid Bankruptcy.  The gift was announced by museum president Dan Finley at a Milwaukee County Board meeting on Thursday.  As is typical, the pledge...

FOLLOW-UP POST--UNITED WAY FUNDS RELEASED TO BOY SCOUTS

Last year, there was a great deal of controversy involving allegations that at least two Boy Scout chapters were inflating their membership numbers, apparently to obtain larger amounts of grant money.  In the case of the Atlanta Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America, an investigation indicated that the allegations were correct.  The membership roles included phantom names attributed to low-income neighborhoods.

In response to the allegations, the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta withheld $250,000 of funding from the Council.  On January 12, 2006, the United Way issued a press release indicating that the $250,000 in withheld funding had been released to the Boy Scouts.  According to the press release,

“The Council has shown us a commitment and a detailed plan to better serve low-income boys across our region, and to be accountable to the community for its efforts,” said Paula Rosput Reynolds, United Way board chair. “The challenge of delivering the benefits of scouting to disadvantaged boys is not insignificant, but the Atlanta Area Council has shown thoughtfulness in its plan. The interaction between United Way and the Council has been collaborative and reaffirms the quality of our community investment process,” she stated.