Joan Roberts Consulting

GENERAL

“Good is.Transparency.” New Huffington Post feature offers interactive graphic presentations of issues relating to giving and volunteering. GOOD is describes itself as “a collaboration of individuals, businesses, and nonprofits pushing the world forward” by helping “people to live well and do good.” Recent presentations include the following:

“Transparency: Who Has Given the Most to Haiti.” January 26, 2010.

“Transparency: Where We Volunteer.” February 2, 2010.

“Transparency: America’s Wealthiest Religions.” February 23, 2010.

ARTS & CULTURE

“Cuno illustrates museums’ role.” By Juliana Biondo. Yale Daily News. February 23, 2010. James Cuno,, president of the Art Institute of Chicago, spoke Monday at the Yale University Art Gallery about the evolving role of museums. Students and elderly museum-goers, many with note pads and pencils in hand, listened to Cuno talk about the meaning and role of antiquity, nationalization and globalization in today’s art world.

“Museum attendance up, income down, survey says.” No by-line. Los Angeles Times. February 26, 2010. Most of the nation’s museums reported better attendance during 2009, but that didn’t necessarily salvage the bottom line, says the American Assn. of Museums, which conducted an online survey last month and released its results on Friday. About 57% of the responding museums reported better attendance than in 2008; about a seventh of the respondents said they’d seen an increase of 20% or more, and 25% said attendance was up by 5% to 20%. But the bad economy took a toll. The money museums earn from admission fees and other visitor spending typically covers only a third of overall costs, according to the association, a Washington-based nonprofit service and advocacy group. Attendance gains notwithstanding, 67% of the 481 museums in the survey said they had felt financial stress during 2009, and 26% characterized that stress as severe (bad, but not the worst since 2004) or very severe (the worst since 2004). About half the museums (49%) said their revenues had dropped from 2008, and only 27% said income had increased. “The overall picture … is better than we expected, given the general state of the economy,” said Philip Katz, the assistant research director who wrote the report.

“Bon Jovi Visits Homeless Shelters For Nonprofit Research.” By Gene Johnson. Huffington Post. February 27, 2010. Jon Bon Jovi’s new tour is bringing the veteran rock star to venues he doesn’t usually visit on the road. A shelter for hardcore alcoholics in Seattle. A tour of Skid Row in Los Angeles. Perhaps a squatters village in Sacramento. That’s because this tour in support of Bon Jovi’s latest release, “The Circle,” is also a fact-finding mission. The singer plans on visiting as many homeless shelters and programs as time allows in hopes of getting ideas and inspiration to shape his own work with the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, a Philadelphia-based charity that fights homelessness by building affordable housing, establishing community kitchens and cleaning up vacant lots in blighted neighborhoods.

EDUCATION

“National study dubs 12 Portland-area schools ‘private public schools’.” By Betsy Hammond. Oregonian. February 22, 2010. A new report by the non-profit pro-school-choice Fordham Institute says “more than 1.7 million American children attend what we’ve dubbed ‘private public schools’ — public schools that serve virtually no poor students.” And it names names. Like these: Riverdale High, Forest Park Elementary, Findley Elementary of Beaverton, Palisades and Westridge elementaries in Lake Oswego and the Multi-Sensory charter school in Tigard. (All 12 Portland-area schools the group deems “private publics.) Of course, the study’s authors are wrong. These are public schools, paid for by taxpayer funds, that children attend without having to meet admission requirements or pay tuition. But in its report, the institute argues that “by exclusively serving well-off children, they are arguably more private — certainly more exclusive — than many elite private schools, which… generally offer at least some scholarships to low-income students.”

PRIVATE SCHOOLS

“More Catholic schools reaching out to special-needs students.” By Michael Alison Chandler. Washington Post. February 23, 2010. Federal law requires that public schools offer a free, appropriate education for students with disabilities, and federal and state governments subsidize the higher costs of smaller classes and extra resources. Catholic schools have no such legal mandate, and financial constraints have historically made it difficult for them to offer similar specialized services. That is starting to change. Forty-two percent of Catholic elementary schools in the United States had a resource teacher to help students with special needs in 2008-09, up from 28 percent in 2001-02, according to the National Catholic Educational Association. The Arlington County-based group hosts conferences to help schools establish relevant programs and offers scholarships to teachers pursuing special-education degrees. “Children with disabilities have a right to a faith-based education,” said Bernadette McManigal, superintendent of Arlington Diocese Catholic schools. “We want to provide that as best we can.”

CHARTER SCHOOLS

“McDonnell’s charter school plan faces resistance from local officials.” By Anita Kumar. Washington Post. February 24, 2010. Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell often talks about his long-standing belief that government closest to the people governs best — a philosophy rooted in his conservative principles. But when McDonnell (R) began searching for a way to expand the number of charter schools in the state — one of his top goals — he turned not to local government but to the state for a solution. McDonnell proposed this month that those seeking permission to open charter schools — a publicly funded, privately run education alternative — be allowed to appeal to the state Board of Education if they are rejected by local school boards now charged with approving or denying their applications. That appears to contradict philosophical comments made frequently on the campaign trail and in his inaugural address last month.

“As U.S. Aid Grows, Oversight Is Urged for Charter Schools.” By Sam Dillon. New York Times. February 24, 2010. The Obama administration plans to significantly expand the flow of federal aid to charter schools, money that has driven a 15-year expansion of their numbers, from just a few dozen in the early 1990s to some 5,000 today. But in the first Congressional hearing on rewriting the No Child Left Behind law, lawmakers on Wednesday heard experts, all of them charter school advocates, testify that Washington should also make sure charter schools are properly monitored for their admissions procedures, academic standards and financial stewardship. The president of one influential charter group told the House Education and Labor Committee that the federal government had spent $2 billion since the mid-1990s to finance new charter schools but less than $2 million, about one-tenth of 1 percent, to ensure that they were held to high standards. “It’s as if the federal government had spent billions for new highway construction, but nothing to put up guardrails along the sides of those highways,” said Greg Richmond, president of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers.

HIGHER EDUCATION

“In report, a peek at Yale’s stocks.” By Vivian Yee. Yale Daily News. February 25, 2010. The Yale Investments Office’s most recent quarterly report, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this month, provides a rare peek into the University’s closely guarded investment holdings — but only a peek. The report, which the University is legally required to file four times a year, shows Yale’s stake in companies ranging from a pharmaceuticals manufacturer to the maker of Hush Puppies. Still, given that most of Yale’s assets are not held under its own name but under other managers, the filing offers no window into the bulk of Yale’s $16.3 billion endowment. If Yale wants to fix the proportion of its assets invested in the stock market, selling or buying index funds offers an easy and safe way to make sure the University’s portfolio does not drop too low or climb too high, Anderson said. In the third quarter of 2009, Yale owned just $3.6 million of index funds in its own name, compared to just under $27 million in the quarter covered by the report. That may be because Yale’s allocation targets were disturbed during the economic meltdown last year, prompting Yale to stockpile index funds to rebalance, Jarvis said. The SEC does not require the Investments Office to divulge any of its mutual funds or any so-called “alternative assets,” such as venture capital, private equity and real estate. And the billions in assets Yale owns indirectly through its investment managers do not appear in the report either.

“Yalies create economy of giving.” By Lindsey Raymond. Yale Daily News. February 25, 2010. Four Yale students are launching TheGiftEconomy.org, an online economy with just one rule: no money allowed. On the Web site each user will have a profile that will list what they want to give away and what they need. Since money is banned, users can barter, share or give away goods on the site. Additionally, each user’s profile will contain a record of the user’s transactions and comments that other users post. David “Hans” Schoenburg ’10 said he got the idea for TheGiftEconomy.com after using couchsurfing.com, which connects people interested in traveling around the world with users willing to host them for free. Schoenburg said in the past year he has hosted over 12 people staying in New Haven through couchsurfing.com. TheGiftEconomy.com is a similar form of social networking and Schoenburg said it will give strangers, who may pass each other on the street without a glance, a chance to connect over the exchange of goods and services. Schoenburg said the hardest part about launching the site is getting people to think outside “the money box.” Items on TheGiftEconomy.com may have a different value for each user and “currency is in the eye of the beholder,” Schoenburg said. As a result, a good on the site will “go to the user who values it the most,” Schoenburg said.

INTERNATIONAL

GENERAL

“Democracy’s Faith-Based Troubles; Religion and rationality have been clashing for centuries. Is it possible to talk about this conflict without going nuts?” By Peter Steinfels. American Prospect. February 19, 2010. Review of Taming the Gods: Religion and Democracy on Three Continents by Ian Buruma, Princeton University Press.

AUSTRALIA

“Australia’s richest not big givers to charity.” By Adele Horin. Sydney Morning Herald. February 24, 2010. Australia’s dozen or so billionaires fail to rate as serious philanthropists but 20 rich individuals together donated $40 million to a Sydney medical research institute, with one person contributing $25 million, a forum was told yesterday. Bill Ferris, the chairman of CHAMP Private Equity and a companion of the Order of Australia for services to the community, said the future of philanthropy lay with rich individuals not corporations. ”Just as Bill Gates, not Microsoft, and Warren Buffet, not Berkshire Hathaway, have continued the North American private wealth-driven model of philanthropy, we need to see a similar model develop here over time,” he said.

“Hospital venture collapses as receivers brought in.” By Kate Benson Health. Sydney Morning Herald. February 26, 2010. OWEN FERGUSON HEALTH, the company that ran Canada Bay Private Hospital, has collapsed less than a week after the state government expressed confidence in working with it on a $51 million hospital at Homebush Bay. ANZ Bank appointed the receivers Ferrier Hodgson late on Wednesday to take over three of the group’s hospitals, in Lismore, Mackay and Melbourne. The same day the directors Kerry Ferguson and Daniel Owen called in voluntary administrators, who will take control of the closed Canada Bay hospital. The collapse comes a day after Ms Ferguson and Mr Owen appointed an independent consultant to calculate redundancy for staff at the Canada Bay hospital. Some nurses had not been paid since the doors were closed before Christmas. Others have not been paid superannuation for more than 14 months. The pair had been given until Monday to pay overdue rent at Cliveden Hill Private Hospital in Melbourne. They were issued with eviction notices for rent arrears last year by Australian Public Trustees, which owns their buildings in Canada Bay, Lismore and Mackay.

“Fighting dirty against a cultbuster.” By Tim Elliott. Sydney Morning Herald. February 27, 2010. The tactics of the Kenja movement and its slurs against a crusading politician have been laid bare by people close to the case. Kenja is a self-empowerment group that many consider to be a cult. The organization stands accused of attacks on legislators who urged inquiries into its activities.

CHINA

“China tells colleges to cut ties with Oxfam; Education ministry accuses British charity’s Hong Kong branch of having hidden political agenda.” By Tania Branigan. Guardian (UK). February 23, 2010. China’s education ministry has ordered colleges to cut ties with Oxfam and prevent it from recruiting on campuses, accusing its Hong Kong branch of a hidden political agenda. While Beijing is often anxious about NGOs, the British-founded agency has been working on the mainland for more than two decades in co-operation with the government. It is unclear what prompted the surprise decision. A notice attributed to the education ministry said the Hong Kong branch of Oxfam, which oversees operations on the mainland, was a “non-governmental organisation seeking to infiltrate” the mainland. Oxfam has five offices on the mainland and its work has ranged from education projects and advocacy on climate change to helping communities in Sichuan province recover from the 2008 earthquake.

GERMANY

“Germans investigate Catholic school sex abuse.” No by-line. USA Today. February 26, 2010. German prosecutors have opened investigations into allegations of sexual abuse at two Roman Catholic schools — the first legal action since reports of priests abusing students surfaced in January. Senior prosecutor Andrea Titz in Munich is investigating claims of abuse against a member of a Benedictine-run boarding school in Ettal, Bavaria, her office said in a statement Thursday. Barnabas Boegle, the abbot of the Ettal Monastery, which runs the school, stepped down Wednesday after eight former students said they had been abused by school priests in the 1950s, 70s and 80s.

“RIGHTS-GERMANY: ‘Catholic Church Protects Paedophile Priests’.” By Julio Godoy. Interpress Service (IPS). February 28, 2010. The Catholic Church has for decades protected paedophile priests and clerics who sexually abused children from judiciary prosecution, according to German theologians, law experts, and internal church documents. The church hierarchy’s complicity was confirmed recently through thousands of denouncements against numerous priests in Germany. In practically all the cases, the abusers were only transferred from one jurisdiction to another and never legally prosecuted. Similar cases of sexual abuse of children within Catholic schools and other institutions, with impunity for the abusers, have been documented in such countries as Austria, Australia, France, Italy, the Philippines, Spain, and the United States.

HAITI RELIEF

“Aid Groups Fret As Haiti Giving Slows Down.” By Greg Allen. All Things Considered. National Public Radio. February 23, 2010. Just 10 days after the Jan. 12 earthquake, the peak of the public’s outpouring of support came through the Hope for Haiti telethon. It aired on dozens of networks and cable channels nationwide, and raised more than $65 million. The first installment of funds went out to six groups, including the disaster relief powerhouse the American Red Cross. The Red Cross received $6 million from Hope for Haiti to add to the more than $255 million it has raised on its own since the earthquake. After a record January, aid groups say donations for Haiti have slowed to a trickle. Rich Stearns, president of World Vision, a Christian charity in the U.S., says the group is approaching $100 million in contributions from around the world. That’s far less than the $360 million it raised after the Asian tsunami. Stearns says this is a worrisome sign that could hamper plans to rebuild Haiti.
Related Stories:
“The Missionary Impulse.” Opinionator Blog. nytimes.com. February 24, 2010.
“Haiti’s ‘Orphan’ Crisis.” Wall Street Journal. February 27, 2010.
“The Best Charity Singles For Haiti.” Huffington Post. February 26, 2010.

UK

“Arts funding ’significantly safer under Tories’, says shadow minister; Jeremy Hunt outlines proposals at launch of party’s ‘radical’ arts manifesto.” By Charlotte Higgins. Guardian (UK). February 22, 2010. Jeremy Hunt, the shadow culture secretary, says the arts will be “significantly” safer under the Tories than Labour. The claim comes as the Tories launch their arts manifesto, laying out what Hunt in an interview with the Guardian calls a set of “extraordinarily radical” policies “that could mean that the arts are getting substantially more funding at the end of a first term of a future Conservative government than they are at the moment”. Hunt argued that increases to arts funding would come from the National Lottery, which the Conservatives intend to return to its original “good causes”, and from private philanthropy. Gift aid would be reformed, and the scheme under which works of art can be offered in lieu of inheritance tax would be extended to include life-time giving. Arts organisations would also be offered longer-term public funding deals in return for fundraising to build up endowment funds.

“Tuition-free, online education? Try University of the People.” By Steve Kolowich. USA Today. February 22, 2010. It is a grand vision: a global college with no tuition, accessible to anyone with an Internet connection. When higher education entrepreneur Shai Reshef laid out his ambitious plan to build a free university that would use modern technology to spread the promise of a college degree to all corners of the earth, he got an enthusiastic reaction from some high-profile institutions. The United Nations has backed the venture. So has Yale Law School’s Information Society Project. Reshef and his lieutenants also like to mention the many letters of support and offers to pitch in from professors worldwide. But the project drew skepticism as well. Higher education has seen more than one ambitious distance education efforts fail in recent years, including the internationally focused U21 Global, and those projects had the benefit of tuition revenue.

“National Bullying Helpline under fire as patrons resign; Founder of anti-bullying charity pilloried for revealing charity had received calls from Downing Street.” By Steven Morris and Helen Pidd. Guardian (UK). February 22, 2010. The founder of a bullying helpline was roundly pilloried today for revealing that her charity had received calls from people working within Downing Street and was accused of being part of a politically motivated plot to destabilise Gordon Brown. Three patrons of the National Bullying Helpline – Tory MP Ann Widdecombe, TV presenter Sarah Cawood and workplace stress expert Cary Cooper – quit today at the behaviour of Christine Pratt. There were also reports tonight that a fourth patron, Tory councillor for Hillingdon Mary O’Connor, had resigned – which would leave the charity without any patrons. The charity commission also said it was launching an investigation into the helpline because of complaints it had received in the last 24 hours. But despite the criticisms, Pratt insisted she had been right to speak up and hinted that further complaints had been made from employees at the heart of government.
Related Stories:
“Downing Street rules out inquiry into Brown bullying claims; PM’s spokesman says Gordon Brown sees no need for investigation called for by David Cameron and Nick Clegg.” Guardian (UK). February 22, 2010.
“Profile: Christine Pratt and the National Bullying Helpline; Charity boss who claimed Downing Street staff called bullying hotline faces uncomfortable questions about her past and business interests.” Guardian (UK). February 22, 2010.
“Bullying helpline patron quits over claims of Downing Street calls; Professor says helpline founder was unwise to disclose information about confidential calls from prime minister’s office.” Guardian (UK). February 22, 2010.
“Gordon Brown: Brought to book; The root of the PM’s anger may be insecurity, but it inhibits him in the core tasks of delegating and deciding.” Editorial. Guardian (UK). February 22, 2010.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/feb/22/gordon-brown-bullying-inquiry-questions
“Gordon Brown bullying claims: five questions an inquiry could ask; The key questions an investigation into the prime minister’s treatment of staff should ask.” Guardian (UK). February 22, 2010.
‘We all watched Mandy bully on the subject of bullying’.” By Ann Treneman. Times of London. February 23, 2010.

“Charity Commission opens inquiry into National Bullying Helpline; Christine Pratt, the charity’s founder, came under fire for claiming Downing Street employees had called to complain of mistreatment.” Guardian (UK). February 26, 2010.

“Sure Start staff could opt out and be in a co-operative, say Tories; The child care scheme is ripe for reform, says David Willetts, saying it is not truly helping the poor.” By Randeep Ramesh. Guardian (UK). February 22, 2010. Staff at government Sure Start centres will be the first in the public sector to be able to opt out of their current employment and sell their services back to the taxpayer through co-operatives or as partners with a charity if the Conservatives win the next election. David Willetts, the shadow minister for universities and skills – with special responsibility for families – outlined the plan today, claiming public sector employees had failed to help the poor. The Conservatives say that Sure Start was meant to focus money, nursery staff and health visitors on pre-school children in poor areas. Labour has, however, pumped around £1bn a year into the programme, whichby March will see 3,500 centres covering all under-fives in England. “There’s evidence that [we] have lost the focus on the families who most need the help,” Willetts said.

“Charities Q&A: Elections.” By Rosamund McCarthy. Guardian (UK). February 22, 2010. In the latest in a series of pieces giving legal advice to the voluntary sector, Rosamund McCarthy, partner at Bates Wells and Braithwaite solicitors, answers questions on charities and elections.

“Series: Citizen ethics: Citizen ethics; Islam’s role in an ethical society; Muslim teachings have a lot to offer when it comes to bringing personal values into public life and how best to live together.” By Tariq Ramadan. Guardian (UK). February 23, 2010.

“Achievements of Voluntary Organizations.” Guardian (UK). February 23, 2010.
The achievements of voluntary organizations are celebrated in a nationwide photography competition organised by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO). Take a look at what we can achieve, say voluntary organisations (8 pictures).

“A new generation of civil society? The recession will have a dramatic impact on the third sector but will also create gaps charities could fill.” No by-line. Joe Public blog. guardian.co.uk. February 24, 2010. Public service cuts will ­create a new kind of outsourcing boom, says Nick Seddon. The news that the NSPCC is cutting jobs and restructuring needs signify nothing more than prudent financial management and an emphasis on value and ­impact by the children’s charity. Still, the recession has exposed vulnerability in parts of the third sector, such as a pensions deficit in the largest fundraising charities so severe that a tenth of ­donations could be used to fund pensions in some cases. Ben Hall, of actuary Alexander Forbes, has said charities have been hit by a “recession double whammy” – falling donations and the stock market crash. A third – loss of state funding – is around the corner. Three-quarters of charities take no state funding, either in grants or contracts. Like the NSPCC, they depend on public giving, though the record from the last recession suggests this should remain robust. But as public spending has risen, so spending on the charitable sector has also risen, now up to £12bn a year. Becoming a service deliverer for the state has many consequences. One is the risk that charities’ fortunes closely follow those of government. If things are tough now, they will get a lot worse before they get better. The Treasury estimates that the deficit will amount to around £178bn this financial year, or nearly 13% of national income. Getting back to black is possible. Politicians seem unsure about when to start, but public service cuts will certainly be at the centre of any recovery. This will have a considerable impact on the third sector, though the opportunities, risks and outcomes are hard to predict. Cuts will ­create a new kind of outsourcing boom. Commissioners will want more bang for their buck, and independent agencies will have a chance to explain how their knowledge and techniques can improve service quality and performance, while cutting costs.

“Tories would ask charities and private companies to compete for patients; Hospitals could be forced to offer treatment at same price as more ‘efficient’ competitors under Conservative plans.” By Hélène Mulholland. Guardian (UK). February 26, 2010. Charities and private companies would be encouraged to compete with hospitals for NHS patients under a Tory government, the shadow health secretary, Andrew Lansley, has said. Hospitals could be forced to offer treatment at the same price as more “efficient” competitors in an attempt to drive down costs and ensure only efficient hospitals provide care.

“More than 100,000 children to miss out on first-choice secondary school
“Despite flight from private schools and closed comprehensives, national offer day will satisfy majority of England’s parents.” By Jessica Shepherd. Guardian (UK). February 26, 2010. More than 100,000 children across England are expected to discover that they have missed out on a place at their family’s preferred secondary school next week. Monday is national offer day, when parents find out which school their 10- or 11-year-old will attend from September. This year, with applications for 540,000 children, competition for places is likely to be even tougher than usual. Some parents hit by redundancy and the recession will have decided against sending their child to a private school and applied for a state secondary. The dwindling number of secondary schools will compound the problem – at least 85 comprehensives have closed in the last two years. About a fifth of all applicants – or 108,000 children – are likely to miss out on their first-choice school, said Ian Craig, head of the school admissions watchdog. At least 2,000 parents desperate for a place at their top-choice school would have resorted to trying to cheat the system, some successfully, he said.
Parents in cities and in some of the most deprived parts of the country are least likely to be given their first-choice school. Meanwhile, those living in the countryside are most likely to be allocated their favoured school because a decline in the population of 11-year-olds has eased pressure on places.

LAW & POLICY

“University combs gifts for new uses.” By Vivian Yee. Yale Daily News. February 23, 2010. Over the summer, a group of University administrators and staff dug into Yale’s $16 billion endowment, which is essentially a pool of some 9,300 separate funds, in search of any loose change that could be used to close a $300 million budget gap. As it turned out, the SWAT team, as its members nicknamed themselves, found hundreds of gifts established to fund specific purposes — some of them as old as Yale itself — whose income had lain untouched in Yale’s coffers for years. Administrators from the offices of Development, the Provost, Finance and Administration, and the General Counsel swept the 150 funds with the largest unused balances, which amounted to more than $1 million in some cases, cataloged them in a database and started to see if the funds could be put to better use. Then they turned their attention to the funds with less leftover money. From prize money for Latin compositions to student scholarship funds to an endowed professorship in railroad engineering, many of the gifts Yale has received have become obsolete or forgotten, and have accumulated untouched or can be used for purposes broader than their original intents. To help departments and programs make the deep budget cuts forced by the endowment’s 24.6 percent plunge, administrators are asking departments to depend less on funding from the general operating budget and more on gift money. “We are religious about honoring explicit intentions,” said Provost Peter Salovey. Though the University has occasionally tried to repurpose gifts in recent years, this effort has intensified over the past year as Yale has faced a budget shortfall.

“Dueling preschools: Neighbors object to second Montessori school on Mountain View street.” By Diana Samuels. San Jose Mercury-News. February 23, 2010. Two preschools on one street is one preschool too many, a group of Mountain View residents says. Plans to open a Montessori preschool at 1050 El Monte Ave. in Mountain View — essentially across the street from another Montessori preschool, the Child Development Center at St. Paul Lutheran Church — have riled neighbors who say the new school will cause traffic and parking problems. The neighbors filed an appeal in December against zoning decisions allowing the preschool, and the city council will take up the issue today.

“Clergy Dispute C Street Group’s Tax-Exempt Status.” By Peter Overby. Morning Edition. National Public Radio. February 24, 2010. The C Street Center is a religious organization based in a townhouse on Capitol Hill. The townhouse has been home to several members of Congress. But a group of ministers has filed a complaint with the IRS alleging that the organization is falsely labeling itself a tax-exempt religious establishment.

“Manifesto From the Battle for the Barnes Collection.” By Manohla Dargis. Movie Review. New York Times. February 26, 2010. Money, power, race, a mansion stuffed with treasure, a city plagued by scandal — about all that’s missing from “The Art of the Steal,” a hard-hitting documentary about a high-cultural brawl, is a hot woman with a warm gun. At the heart of the movie, energetically directed and argued by Don Argott, is the celebrated Barnes Foundation, which houses a private collection in suburban Philadelphia (here, a city of brotherly love and loathing) groaning with European masterworks, African sculptures, Asian prints, American Indian ceramics, among other items. The foundation even owns a farmhouse furnished with decorative arts, and its surrounding 12-acre arboretum is filled with rare flora from around the globe. It isn’t the Chilean monkey puzzle tree, though, that has had curators, academics, journalists and politicians pointing fingers and crying foul in recent years: it’s the art, especially the post-Impressionist and early Modernist paintings signed by the likes of Cézanne, Picasso, Renoir, Degas, Manet, Monet and Van Gogh. Amassed by a working-class striver turned collector named Dr. Albert C. Barnes (1872-1951), these paintings are the glittering prizes in the foundation that bears his name and that in total has been valued at more than $25 billion, though the collection is sometimes breathlessly described as priceless. In his will Barnes stipulated that the collection was to remain in its original locale, far from the reach of the Philadelphia elite he despised. But contracts can be broken, wills challenged, legacies dismantled.

RELIGION

“Transparency: America’s Wealthiest Religions.” No by-line. February 23, 2010. It’s no secret that the distribution of wealth is inequitable in the United States across racial, regional, and socio-economic groups. But there is a distinct variance among and within America’s faiths as well. This transparency takes a look at the income levels of America’s major religious groups, as compared to the average U.S. income distribution.

SCANDAL

“State investigates Texas trucking company, Oregon nonprofit over energy tax credits.” By Harry Esteve. Oregonian. February 22, 2010. State officials are investigating a Texas trucking company that received millions of dollars in green energy tax credits in recent years while providing few Oregon jobs or environmental benefits. The investigation by the state Justice Department also is targeting a Coburg nonprofit that helped the Texas company get the Oregon tax credits. Mesilla Valley Transportation, based in El Paso, Texas, and Las Cruces, N.M., received 752 separate tax credits worth $4.5 million to outfit its truck fleet with the latest fuel-saving technology under Oregon’s Business Energy Tax Credit program, records show. But an investigation by The Oregonian found that the company’s long-haul rigs are running less than 1 percent of their miles on Oregon roads. Its main Oregon operation is a trailer in a truck lot in Northeast Portland. The office, with a single unused computer in view, was unoccupied Monday. The tax credits are supposed to go to trucking companies that provide jobs in Oregon, generate “substantial energy savings” and drive on state roads. The newspaper also found a close connection between the trucking company and Cascade Sierra Solutions, a nonprofit that served as a broker between Mesilla Valley and Oregon’s energy tax incentive program. In addition to helping the Texas truckers snare Oregon tax dollars, Cascade Sierra Solutions has claimed energy tax credits worth $1.5 million for leasing energy-saving equipment to other truckers.

“ACORN ‘dissolved as a national structure’.” no by-line. Politico.com. February 22, 2010.
The embattled liberal group ACORN is in the process of dissolving its national structure, with state and local-chapters splitting off from the underfunded, controversial national group, an official close to the group confirmed. “ACORN has dissolved as a national structure of state organizations,” said a senior official close to the group, who declined to be identified by name because of the fierce conservative attacks on the group that began when a conservative filmmaker caught some staffers of its tax advisory arms on tape appearing to offer advice on incorporating a prostitution business.
Related Stories:
“ACORN Affiliates Spin Off From National Group.” By Pam Fessler. All Things Considered. National Public Radio. February 23, 2010.
“Why Conservatives Will Miss ACORN: The news that the embattled community-organizing group will restructure has the right in mourning — after all, the organization provided the perfect locus for conservative panic.” American Prospect. February 25, 2010.

“Police: Lodi Boy Scout treasurer stole from group.” No by-line. San Francisco Chronicle. February 23, 2010. Lodi police say the treasurer of a local Boy Scout troop stole up to $25,000 from the group. Forty-eight-year-old Cindy Castle of Lockeford was arrested Tuesday after she turned herself in. Officials say she was booked into Lodi City Jail on charges of embezzlement and forgery. Lee said the 20-member troop is now broke. The money was supposed to pay for scholarships, merit badges and to sent the Scouts to camp.

“Marion Barry ally at nonprofit resigns after misconduct alleged.” By Nikita Stewart. Washington Post. February 25, 2010. The Rev. Anthony J. Motley, a confidant of council member Marion Barry, stepped down Wednesday as head of a nonprofit group in the wake of an investigation that concluded Motley mishandled funds and “manufactured” documents in response to a subpoena, among other allegations. Motley’s resignation as president and executive director of the JOBS Coalition, which he also co-founded, is the latest fallout from Barry’s contract controversy. Last week, attorney Robert S. Bennett, retained last year by the D.C. Council to investigate its contracts and earmark grants, delivered a report alleging that Barry (D-Ward misused city funds and received a cut of a $15,000 contract he awarded to on-again, off-again girlfriend Donna Watts-Brighthaupt. Barry, who apologized Tuesday for his poor judgment on the matter, faces possible censure and a referral of the case to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Motley, who is running for an at-large council seat, dismissed the investigation for not understanding how nonprofits operate and for what he called its “prosecutorial tone.”

VOLUNTEERING

“The ‘Mother Teresa’ of Lincoln County, Senitila McKinley, devotes herself to helping others.” By Lori Tobias. Oregonian. February 23, 2010. Profile of Senitila McKinley, a native of Tonga, who is Lincoln County, Oregon’s outstanding volunteer.

YOUTH SERVING ORGANIZATIONS

“Boy, the Scout Handbook Keeps Changing.” By Tony Woodlief. Wall Street Journal. February 26, 2010. While the Boy Scout Law (”A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful . . .”) has scarcely changed, the Boy Scout handbook has seen numerous revisions since that first volume made its way into eager young hands. In addition to the 1910 original (it was a temporary guide until the 1911 “first” edition could be produced), there are 12 handbook editions. Nearly 40 million copies of the handbook have been sold since its inception.

GENERAL

“Haiti and the rules of generosity; Why do people give generously to earthquake victims, but not to prevent the much larger number of deaths caused by poverty?” By Peter Singer. Guardian (UK). February 16, 2010. All over the world, people have responded generously to the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti. In just three days, more than a million Americans had donated $10 with the aid of text messages from their cellphones. People with very little themselves, like Maria Pacheco, an unemployed single mother from Chicago, donated food and clothes. Others did whatever they could – from pedicures to washing cars – to raise money. On current indications, the amount Americans will give to relief efforts in Haiti could surpass the $1.9bn they gave to assist victims of the 2004 Asian tsunami, which until now has stood as a record for donations to a disaster outside the United States. Given that the US is undergoing economic hard times, the size of the response has surprised many. All of this raises many questions about how we respond – and how we should respond – to such tragedies. The earthquake killed up to 200,000 people. Terrible as that is, it is fewer than the number of children who, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund, Unicef, die every 10 days from avoidable, poverty-related causes. Moreover, as Elie Hassenfeld has argued on GiveWell.net, there are good grounds for thinking that disaster relief is less cost-effective than aid aimed at saving the lives of those who are risk from extreme poverty. Why do people give generously to earthquake victims, but not to prevent the much larger number of deaths brought about by extreme poverty, insufficient food, unsafe water, lack of sanitation, and the absence of even the most basic healthcare?
Related Story:
“Hitting close to home: Even if they knew little about Haiti before the earthquake, Bostonians want to help their newfound neighbors there.” By Joseph P. Kahn. Boston Globe. February 16, 2010.

ANIMAL WELFARE

“Pelicans eat through bird-rescue group’s budget; The San Pedro nonprofit is shoveling out $11,000 a month to feed hundreds of ravenous birds that turned up sick last month along the West Coast.” By Jill Leovy. Los Angeles Times. February 20, 2010. The San Pedro nonprofit group charged with treating sick pelicans is suffering an affliction of its own: strapped finances. That’s because a cold and starving pelican eats a whopping 6 pounds of fish a day — half its body weight. Hundreds of brown pelicans turned up dead or ailing along the West Coast in January after what researchers said was a miscalculation: They strayed to the far northern edge of their range, stayed too long and ran out of food. When they came south, they found food scant here too. So they turned up listless on beaches or begging for food in parking lots, and were rescued by San Pedro’s Oiled Bird Care and Education Center. The facility is run by the International Bird Rescue Research Center, which has a $1.1-million annual budget and is one of the largest in the state’s network of groups that rescue birds affected by oil spills. The group was able to save about two-thirds of the 435 pelicans it has treated so far at its two coastal centers, but the effort has meant shoveling out $11,000 a month for pelican all-you-can-eat seafood dinners.

ARTS & CULTURE

“Banker Waits Out Global Crisis, Auction Slump to Test Art Fund.” By Katya Kazakina. Bloomberg.com. February 17, 2010. Investment banker Massimiliano Subba wondered why he’d never worked with art in his 10 years of dealing in a variety of assets ranging from bonds to wind-farm profits and the advertising rights of a soccer club. “Banks buy art for their collections,” Subba, 37, said in a telephone interview. In 10 years at Credit Suisse, Bank of America and Commerzbank AG, he said, “I never came upon an investment structure that involved art.” He quit Commerzbank in 2007 to pursue such a vehicle, and started Anthea Art Investments AG in Zug, Switzerland, with art adviser Nicolai Frahm. While they laid the groundwork for a fund, the global economy and the art markets were battered by the subprime-mortgage crisis and credit crunch. After rescheduling plans to start the fund in 2008, Subba is poised to open the Anthea I Contemporary Art Investment Fund to investors in May, seeking to raise 80 million euros ($110.1 million). It will invest in major works by postwar and contemporary artists, including Frank Stella, Jeff Koons and Anish Kapoor. Anthea I will be overseen by the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority. By contrast, most art funds aren’t regulated, and that has put off investors.

“In crisis, Boston libraries need better board, more private funds.” Editorial. Boston Globe. February 19, 2010. The Boston Public Library system is in crisis. Before drastic cuts are made, the library’s trustees must do all they can to raise private money and make their best case for restoration of state aid on Beacon Hill. The trustees warn that as many as 10 of the system’s 26 branches could be closed due to budget shortfalls in the next fiscal year. But some library supporters would rather see the heads of the trustees on the chopping block. “I suggest this board should resign,’’ said Marleen Nienhuis, president of the Friends of the South End Library, during Wednesday’s packed meeting of the trustees. “We need better people than you to protect this institution.’’

“Mount Vernon gets $38 million gift to build a research library.” By Jacqueline Trescott. Washington Post. February 20, 2010. Mount Vernon has a thorny problem: Not enough about George Washington is being taught in schools and many students know just bare facts about the first president. In recent years, officials at Mount Vernon have mounted an aggressive campaign to counter this obstacle. On Friday, they received an enormous boost when it was announced that Washington’s historic estate received a record-breaking gift of $38 million to construct a research library on its grounds. The library will bring together materials from the president’s estate and other archives. It is expected to attract scholars for primary research, which would filter into new scholarships, making its way to schools and elsewhere.

CORPORATE PHILANTHROPY & SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

“How Sustainable Is ‘Socially Responsible’ Mining?” By Matt Kennard. The Nation. February 17, 2010. In the ten years since the mining industry has gone “responsible,” have things really improved for local communities–or has the industry’s PR just gotten better? These stories will bring back bad memories for an industry that has spent the last decade lavishing considerable amounts of money and time on trying to clean up its image. In a 2007 article in the Multinational Business Review, Hevina Dashwood explains that mining companies “were caught in the mid-1990s with a significant gap between societal expectations and their institutionalized practices…. For the industry as a whole, the gap had widened so much that companies experienced a legitimacy crisis.”
This crisis was averted by a slew of new organizations dedicated to promoting corporate social responsibility (CSR) and improving the image of the industry.

EDUCATION

CHARTER SCHOOLS

“They’re graduating to traditional digs; Charter schools aim for normalcy.” By James Vaznis. Boston Globe. February 15, 2010. Charter schools across the state are investing millions of dollars in new facilities to better accommodate their educational needs. In many cases, charter schools are moving out of less-than-ideal classroom settings: storefronts, church basements, or community centers. Their ascendancy to sparkling new locations represents an evolution from high-flying entrepreneurial start-ups to established institutions of success, the sort of Wall Street darlings of the education sector. The pace of construction in the charter school sector should quicken even more with last month’s enactment of a state law that calls for a dramatic increase in the number of charter schools in Boston and other cities.

HIGHER EDUCATION

“Expecting a Surge in U.S. Medical Schools.” By Anemona Hartocollis. New York Times. February 15, 2010. Across the country, nearly two dozen medical schools have recently opened or may be opening, the most at any time since the 1960s and ’70s. These new schools are seeking to address an imbalance in American medicine that has been growing for a quarter century. Many bright students were fleeing to offshore medical schools, or giving up hope entirely, when they could not get into domestic schools. Meanwhile, American hospitals were using foreign-trained and foreign-born physicians to fill medical residencies. During the 1980s and ’90s only one new medical school was established. The proliferation of new schools is also a market response to a rare convergence of forces: a growing population; the aging of the health-conscious baby-boom generation; the impending retirement of, by some counts, as many as a third of current doctors; and the expectation that, the present political climate notwithstanding, changes in health care policy will eventually bring a tide of newly insured patients into the American health care system.

“Black churches spread gospel of higher education.” By Nanette Asimov. San Francisco Chronicle. February 15, 2010. Pulpits at many black churches has become a place to pray to a higher power – and praise higher learning. “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of the dream of reaching the promised land- with education!” cried the man addressing the congregation Sunday at Greater St. John Missionary Baptist Church in West Oakland. The words came not from the pastor, but from the president of California State University East Bay, Mo Qayoumi, whose remarks were also carried live on KDYA the Light, a gospel radio station. On Sundays throughout February, Qayoumi and other university leaders are fanning out to more than 100 black churches across the state to spread the gospel of higher education in a program they call Super Sunday.
Related Story:
“Cal State campus leaders take to pulpits in diversity initiative; Under the Super Sunday program, officials collaborate with churches to increase the college readiness and enrollment of African Americans.“ Los Angeles Times. February 15, 2010.

“Harvard Continues Trend of Increasing Stock Holdings.” By Elias J. Groll and William N. White. Harvard Crimson. February 16, 2010. Harvard University’s U.S. stock holdings expanded last quarter, indicating that the University is continuing its buying trend that began last spring after it had sold off the majority of those publicly-traded assets during the financial crisis of 2008. According to a disclosure form filed quarterly with the Securities and Exchange Commission and released last Friday, the value of Harvard’s publicly-traded stock portfolio grew from $1.8 billion in late September to $2.26 billion at the end of 2009. The increase in Harvard’s stock holdings is part of a broader reinvestment in the market by the University after it slashed its holdings in late 2008. As the stock market plummeted and Harvard reportedly scrambled for liquidity, the University’s stock holdings dwindled from $2.8 billion in Sept. 2008 to only $571 million three months later. But since then, Harvard has steadily increased its holdings is part of a broader reinvestment in the market by the University after it slashed its portfolio in late 2008.

“Dartmouth Reintroduces Loans in Financial Aid Program.” By Elias J. Groll and William N. White. Harvard Crimson. February 16, 2010. Dartmouth College, whose endowment fell by 23 percent last year, announced yesterday that it will alter its no-loan financial aid program due to financial difficulties and will reintroduce loans for families whose income is between $75,000 and $200,000. Financial aid for families within that income bracket will consist of scholarships, work-study, and a loan requirement ranging from $2,500 to $5,500 annually. But Dartmouth also said that it would increase its financial aid budget by 10 percent next year and noted that its tuition waiver and no-loan expectation will remain in effect for families who make under $75,000 a year. The total cost of attending Dartmouth for the 2010-2011 school year—including tuition, mandatory fees, and room and board—will increase by 4.6 percent.

“University’s gifts dropped more than peers’.” By Vivian Yee. Yale Daily News. February 17, 2010. Though Yale saw the greatest decline in donations last year out of the nation’s top 20 fundraising universities, administrators said the numbers are no cause for alarm. Yale is in the fourth year of a five-year capital campaign, the stage when many donations often plateau, they said. In addition, the rankings — from a survey released by an educational nonprofit — only count cash received and not money pledged, which Vice President for Development Inge Reichenbach said skews the numbers. According to the Council for Aid to Education survey, gifts to colleges and universities nationwide dropped 11.9 percent on average last year — the steepest fall ever recorded — as alumni and other donors hurt by the recession stopped writing checks as frequently as they normally do, the survey director said Tuesday. Among the top 20 institutions, Yale ranked ninth in total donations with $358.2 million raised last year, while Stanford, Harvard and Cornell universities took the top three spots.

“Harvard Tests Market for Its Property Bets.” By Shayndi Raice, Craig Karmin, and Shelly Banjo. Wall Street Journal. February 17, 2010. Harvard University’s $26 billion endowment is looking to unload a chunk of its $5 billion real-estate portfolio as it seeks better investment opportunities and to reduce its exposure to the troubled property market. The university’s endowment is willing to sell any part of its $5 billion of real-estate assets and accompanying future capital commitments, say people familiar with the matter. That figure represents $2 billion in property holdings and an additional $3 billion in future commitments to those assets.

“How well are U.S. colleges run?” By Mary Beth Marklein. USA Today. February 17, 2010. Even as Americans increasingly view a college education as essential for success, they are growing more skeptical of how higher-education institutions are being run, a report says. Sixty percent of Americans, for example, believe colleges care more about their bottom line than they do educating students, up from 55% last year and 52% in 2007, says the report, based on a series of surveys launched in 1993. And 60% agree that colleges could enroll a lot more students without lowering quality or raising prices. “People aren’t convinced that colleges are spending their money wisely and well,” says John Immerwahr, senior research fellow for Public Agenda, a non- partisan public opinion research organization. The most recent findings, based on a December survey of 1,031 Americans, were released today by Public Agenda and the non-profit National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, which studies state and federal policies.
Related Story:
“Study Finds Public Discontent With Colleges.” New York Times. February 17, 2010.

“Liberty University enrollment tops 50,000.” By Daniel de Vise. Voices Blog. Washington Post.com. February 20, 2010. When the late Rev. Jerry Falwell founded Liberty University in 1971, he set a goal of enrolling 50,000 students and building “the greatest Christian school in the world.” Twenty-nine years later, that goal has been met, although not perhaps in the way Falwell envisioned. At the start of the spring semester last month, enrollment totaled 57,371 at the

FUNDRAISING

“Who’s Raising Money For Tea Party Movement?” By Peter Overby. Morning Edition. National Public Radio. February 19, 2010. A nagging question in the Tea Party movement has surfaced again: Who’s actually paying the bills? Some Tea Party leaders announced earlier this month that they’re forming a fundraising corporation. Its goal is to raise money from other corporations and rich individuals. But they set it up so it doesn’t have to disclose who those donors are. At a press conference at the Tea Party convention in Nashville, Tenn., spokesmen described the new fundraising operation: the Ensuring Liberty Corp., a tax-exempt 501(c)(4), which would be followed by the establishment of the Ensuring Liberty Political Action Committee. The PAC would be a normal political committee, following the contribution limits and full disclosure requirements of federal election law. The 501(c)(4) is another story. Election law allows 501(c)(4)s to raise and recruit funds that allow us to go ahead and encourage people to participate in the PAC. It allows greater latitude to execute the party’s strategy.

INTERNATIONAL

AUSTRALIA

“Disability worker shortage to worsen.” By Kelsey Munro. Sydney Morning Herald. February 15, 2010. NSW is facing a vast shortfall of workers in disability services and community care facilities, as demand for carers is set to rise dramatically over the next five years. The National Disability Services association says there will be more job vacancies opening up by 2014 than there are currently employees in the sector, potentially leaving many people in need of disability support languishing on waiting lists, and the burden of their care borne by their families. The government and the opposition acknowledge the the association figures provide a realistic estimate of the growth in demand for disability services, which is being driven by the aging population.

GERMANY

“Jesuit-run German schools hard hit by high number of abuse claims.” By Roger Boyes. Times of London. February 16, 2010. The sexual abuse scandal in Jesuit-run German schools is spreading rapidly and is likely to involve more than a hundred former pupils, according to the head of one of the affected colleges. The impact on the Catholic order, the Society of Jesus, has been devastating, since the Jesuits have always boasted: “Give us the child for seven years and we will give you the man.” Now it seems the order may lose some of its credibility, in Germany at least, as a pillar of Catholic education.

HAITI RELIEF

“Home is sweet after Haiti duty.” No by-line. Indianapolis Star. February 15, 2010. To date, more than 2 million meals and 500,000 gallons of water have been distributed in Haiti by the Salvation Army has had a presence in Haiti since 1950. More than 16,000 patients have received medical care from doctors at the Army compound.

“Legal adviser for Americans in Haiti facing his own charges.” By Karl Penhaul. CNN. Febraury 15, 2010. Jorge Torres Puello acting as legal adviser to 10 Americans charged with kidnapping faces allegations of human trafficking in El Salvador and human smuggling charges in U.S. An international arrest warrant was issued Saturday for the legal adviser for Puello, who acknowledges he’s wanted by Salvadoran authorities, but denies the charges.
Related Story:
“Cops hunt U.S. missionaries’ ex-adviser; El Salvador alleges involvement in human smuggling and prostitution ring.” No by-line. MSNBC.com/Associated Press. February 16, 2010.

“Missionaries Go to Haiti, Followed by Scrutiny.” By Marc Lacey and Ian Urbina. New York Times. February 16, 2010. Their holy books vary widely and so does their disaster apparel. Devotees of Supreme Master Ching Hai, a Vietnamese spiritual leader, wore fluorescent yellow vests on their way into quake-damaged Haiti. Mormons wore their trademark white shirts and ties. And an array of others — Scientologists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Jews and Muslims — each printed T-shirts of a different hue declaring which faith had inspired them to help save Haiti. Moved by awful images of the Jan. 12 earthquake, a broad band of religious groups has swept down here in recent weeks. But rather than fostering a universal spirit of interfaith cooperation, the hasty assemblage of religious organizations has sometimes created tensions among them. Theology aside, what seems to divide the missionaries most is how long they have been working here. Some of the missions have operated here for decades, converting generations of Haitians and helping to develop the country, and that has made for some skepticism of the newcomers’ motives and methods.

“Haiti Benefit Concert Raises $37,000.” By Meredith C. Baker. Harvard Crimson. February 16, 2010. Over 1,000 students and members of the Harvard community congregated in Sanders Theatre on Friday for the Harvard for Haiti Benefit Concert, which raised roughly $37,000 for relief efforts and advocated for long-term assistance to the earthquake-devastated Caribbean nation. The event—which was organized by students and supported by the Office for the Arts at Harvard—will donate all proceeds from the concert to Partners in Health. Partners, co-founded in 1987 by then-Harvard Medical School student and now-Harvard professor Paul Farmer, has been operating community health clinics in Haiti for over two decades.

“Haiti and the rules of generosity; Why do people give generously to earthquake victims, but not to prevent the much larger number of deaths caused by poverty?” By Peter Singer. Guardian (UK). February 16, 2010.
Related Story:
“Hitting close to home: Even if they knew little about Haiti before the earthquake, Bostonians want to help their newfound neighbors there.” By Joseph P. Kahn. Boston Globe. February 16, 2010.

“Tax tip: Donate to Haiti by March, deduct in 2009.” By Brent Hunsberger. Oregonian. February 17, 2010. Roger Graham and Jared Moore, professors of accounting at Oregon State University, remind us that certain cash contributions for Haiti earthquake relief can be deducted on your 2009 return, even though you gave them in 2010. The new law requires the contributions be made after January 11, 2010, and before March 1, 2010, for the relief of victims in areas affected by the recent earthquake in Haiti. You must itemize deductions to claim the credit.

“Haiti’s top corporate donors.” No by-line. Oregonian. February 18, 2010. More than 350 companies donated over $146.8 million to help with Haiti earthquake relief, according to a report by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which tracks corporate donations to disaster relief. Here are 8 companies that gave the most.

“Fairfield Univ. audit finds Haiti gifts unaccounted for; Former chaplain handled funds.” By Stephen Singer. Boston Globe/Associated Press. February 19, 2010. Fairfield University said it cannot account for more than $120,000 intended to go to a Haitian school where a former Connecticut man is accused of sexually abusing boys. The money is part of nearly $776,000 raised at the Jesuit university from 1997 to 2008 for Project Pierre Toussaint. The Haitian school was cofounded and directed by Douglas Perlitz, a 1992 Fairfield graduate who was charged in September with sexual abuse.

INDIA

“You cannot keep the poor out.if you could,they would have been kicked out long back.” By Rema Nagarajan. Times of India. February 20, 2010. Hernando de Soto,currently president of the Institute for Liberty and Democracy (ILD) located in Lima,Peru,is known for his work on the informal economy and the importance of property rights to ensure inclusive growth.De Soto is credited with reforming Peru’s property system which resulted in over a million farmers getting property titles and in bringing thousands of firms that operated in the black market into the formal economy.De Soto,hailed by Bill Clinton as the “world’s greatest living economist”,was in India on invitation from FICCI and met senior political leaders including prime minister Manmohan Singh,Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.He spoke in an exclusive interview to Rema Nagarajan You say that enforcement of property rights and protection of assets is the way to ensuring inclusive growth in the economy.What about the poor and the landless who have nothing to sell except their labour?

IRELAND

“Pope meets Irish bishops on abuse.” BBC News. February 15, 2010. Ireland’s Roman Catholic bishops are holding a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican to discuss their response to a child sex abuse scandal. In a report issued last year the Church admitted covering up abuse for decades. At a Mass in Rome before the meeting one of the Vatican’s top cardinals called the abuse “abominable.” Four bishops criticised for failing to address concerns about abuse have already resigned. But victims say more must be done to restore public trust. Last year, a report was highly critical of the Dublin Archdiocese’s handling of priests who were suspected sex abusers. The Pope has said he is “disturbed and distressed” by the report and shares the “outrage, betrayal and shame” felt by Irish people.
Related Stories:
“Vatican decries abuse in Ireland; Bishops are urged to accept blame.” Boston Globe/Associated Press. February 16, 2010.
“Pope tells Irish bishops to show courage.” Washington Post/Associated Press. February 16, 2010.
“Pope Rebukes Irish Bishops Over Abuse Scandal.” All Things Considered. National Public Radio. February 16, 2010.
“Pope Urges Irish Bishops to Confront Sex Abuse.” New York Times. February 17, 2010.

MALAWI

“Madonna’s charity head blasts land dispute reports.” By Nekesa Mumbi Moody. San Francisco Chronicle/Associated Press. February 15, 2010. The director of Madonna’s Raising Malawi foundation is denying that there is a land dispute over the charity’s planned $15 million girls academy, calling reports that some villagers feel the project is displacing them “erroneous.” The Associated Press has reported that the village headman took the villagers’ complaints to the local government, and that local officials have visited the area several times. Raising Malawi is building the school for girls on approximately a 117-acre plot of government land near the capital, Lilongwe. The land had been used by villagers for farming when it was not utilized by the government, but Malawi reclaimed the land when the educational project emerged.

NEPAL

“EDUCATION-NEPAL: Unique School Aims to Be a Ticket to Equality.” By Damakant Jayshi. Interpress Service (IPS). February 15, 2010. Filmaker Uttam Sanjel returned to Nepal a decade ago to establish an alphabet-introduction programme for poor children – including some orphans living off the streets of Kathmandu. Beginning with 850 students in the first year and teaching up to Grade 3, the school now has over 3,500 students – from nursery to Standard 12. The Samata schools, also called ‘bamboo schools’ because their structures are made mainly of bamboo, now make up the largest chain of non-public educational institutions with more than 18,000 students in 10 districts in Nepal.

UK

“Independent schools start to get tough with parents over unpaid fees.” By Nicola Woolcock. Times of London. February 15, 2010. Independent schools are getting tough with parents over unpaid fees and using unusual tactics such as hosting weddings in an attempt to make ends meet. Bankers and lawyers who advise independent schools are telling them to merge, cut out perks, sell or rent spare land, make staff part-time and pursue unsettled debts. Schools are hiring lawyers to chase fees as the effects of the downturn are felt, and sneaking added extras on to parents’ bills. While leading public schools have coped so far, some even charging record fees, several smaller schools have had to close because of parents removing their children. Experts predict that worse is to come.

“Young, smart, homeless and bewildered.” Lindsay McIntosh. Times of London. February 15, 2010. The Eva Burrows Centre in Cambuslang, Glasgow serves a new generation of homeless, made so by the recession. Despite winning national accolades at college many young people have been unable to find work in a market where employers “only want to hire 16 or 17-year-olds and pay them buttons”. . Run in partnership with South Lanarkshire Council and the Salvation Army it opened officially this month but has been operating since January 5, with 26 of its 32 en suite bedrooms occupied. Each group of eight rooms has a kitchen.

“Prince to save historic pottery from closure: Charles’s charity to turn Victorian site into tourist attraction, protecting 40 jobs.” By Jonathan Brown. Independent (UK). February 15, 2010. A charity led by the Prince of Wales has stepped in to try and save the UK’s last working Victorian pottery from closure. For more than 100 years artisans have been turning out sought-after Burleigh earthenware from the kilns of Middleport. But like other potteries in North Staffordshire, which was once the centre of the world’s ceramic industry, it has been hit by the economic downturn and competition from overseas. This week creditors will consider an innovative rescue plan which it is hoped could safeguard the future of the works. The Prince’s Regeneration Trust, with the help of a substantial grant from English Heritage, has made an undisclosed offer to rescue the business and its Grade II-listed building.

“Charities face pensions crisis with shortfall of £1bn; Unions say they will fight pay freezes and ending of final salary schemes.” By Randeep Ramesh. Guardian (UK). February 15, 2010. Britain’s largest fundraising charities have a pensions deficit of more than £1bn, prompting many to close final salary schemes and increase contributions from employees, which has sparked outrage from unions. The shortfalls from the very biggest charities have risen from £500m in July last year to almost £800m at the end of last year, according to actuarial services company Alexander Forbes, which says that some organisations now have liabilities of more than £100m in their funds. It says charity schemes have only three-quarters of the assets needed to meet their obligations. Ben Hall of Alexander Forbes said that charities had been hit by a “recession double whammy”. The first was that their income had been affected by a fall in donations, retail sales and investments left in wills. The second was the fall in the stock market and a drop in income from government securities.

“From Whitehall insider to charity chief executive; As a Cabinet Office insider, Campbell Robb created a legacy of lasting support from government for the third sector – but now that he is head of Shelter, he tells Randeep Ramesh, he won’t be afraid to bite the hand that feeds him.” By Randeep Ramesh. Guardian (UK). February 17, 2010. Profile of Campbell Robb, former Labour Party cabinet minister of and director general of the newly-established Office of the Third Sector (OTS), who now heads Shelter, one of the UK’s best-known charities.

“Series: Public manager: Braving the new world of a merged charity; My advice for those considering a merger is ‘think mission’, says Craig Dearden-Phillips.” By Craig Dearden-Phillips. Guardian (UK). February 17, 2010.

“As a general election approaches, the voluntary sector must set out its role; Politicians are talking about us, rather than listening to us, says Stuart Etherington.” Joe Public blog. Guardian (UK). February 17, 2010. The head of the National Council for Voluntary Organisation’s (NCVO), Britain’s most influential nonprofits trade association, urges politicians to listen to Third Sector leaders.

“Charities ‘in crisis’ as spending cuts bite; Competition from private firms; squeezing sector; Struggling workers leaving for jobs in supermarkets.” By Randeep Ramesh. Guardian (UK). February 19, 2010. Charities have become partners of government under New Labour, funded to the tune of £12bn a year by the taxpayer, but voluntary sector workers now face lower salaries, less annual leave and longer working hours as spending cuts loom, a new report says. The analysis, by Steve Davis of Cardiff University’s school of social sciences for the public services union Unison, says that the huge shift in the relationship between charities and government since 1997 was “a revolution every bit as far reaching as the privatisation of nationalised industries under Margaret Thatcher”. More than half of charities’ income now comes from government contracts to deliver public services, the report says. The sector is a big employer with 464,000 full-time staff. However, the twin demands of the recession and increased competition for contracts means that there is growing pressure to cut staff costs. The report says the pressures are so great that staff have been leaving the sector for jobs in supermarkets.

“Charities back government plans to pay for care of elderly with inheritance levy; Proposal for £20,000 flat rate tax rejected; Health secretary praised for ‘building consensus’.” By Randeep Ramesh. Guardian (UK). February 19, 2010. Andy Burnham, the secretary of state for health, favours a “progressive” estate levy to pay for a new social care system for the elderly, the Guardian has learned. The development came as a conference of charities, local authorities and experts today backed government plans for the need for a comprehensive system that would take into account people’s ability to make a contribution. It is understood that the health secretary has seen off proposals to force people to pay a compulsory £20,000 inheritance tax, saying it was not “progressive enough”, and is more in favour of a traditional inheritance levy. This would be deducted from the estates of older people when they die, replacing a system that forces many to sell their home to fund nursing home bills. At a rate of 4% this would yield £7bn, enough to pay for personal care at home and residential care for the general population. The issue remains stuck in cabinet with Labour’s high command aware of the political minefield that lies ahead, and wary after being attacked by the Conservatives as favouring a “death tax”.

MUTUAL BENEFIT ORGANIZATIONS

“Clubs served as advocacy groups.” By Chris Sims. Indianapolis Star. February 17, 2010. The Indiana State Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs was founded in 1904, with the goal of improving education, living standards, health and interracial understanding. The National Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs was founded in 1896, and Indianapolis journalist Lillian Thomas Fox founded the Woman’s Improvement Club in 1903. “These clubs served as advocacy groups for social, political, economical and health concerns,” said Wilma Moore, Indiana Historical Society senior archivist of African-American history.

“Sisters of Charity: group aided migrants in need.” By Chris Sims. Indianapolis Star. February 19, 2010. After the Civil War, many African-Americans migrated to Indiana in search of a better life, but they often had few or no resources with which to begin anew. In 1876, the Grand Body of the Sisters of Charity, a network of clubs and lodges, came together to offer basic assistance to migrants in need. Membership in the organization was already diminishing in the 1920s. In an interview in 1989, its president, the Rev. Rubie Potter, said remaining lodges were consolidated into one about 1980.

RELIGION

“Crystal Cathedral keeps optimism amid declining revenue; There’s no separation of church and economy, so church leaders are trimming budgets, laying off workers and finding new ways to serve: ‘You don’t have to have money to do great things for God.‘” By Nicole Santa Cruz. Los Angeles Times. February 15, 2010. California megachurch, the Crystal Cathedral, , announced in late January that it is laying off dozens of employees, selling a 170-acre retreat, pulling its “Hour of Power” television show from seven stations and canceling its annual Glory of Easter pageant. Crystal Cathedral officials said the church suffered a 27% drop in revenue in the last two years. In anticipation of a further decline, church leaders decided to cut $4.9 million from its $20-million annual budget. The church attributes its struggles to the recession, as well as declining television viewership and a drop in contributions from its aging congregation.

“Young adults ‘less religious,’ not necessarily ‘more secular’.” By Cathy Lynn Grossman. USA Today. February 17, 2010. Young adults today are less church-connected than prior generations were when they were in their 20s. But a new study finds they’re just about as spiritual as their parents and grandparents were at those ages. Members of today’s Millennial generation, ages 18 to 29, are as likely to pray and believe in God as their elders were when they were young, says the report from Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. “They may be less religious, but they’re not necessarily more secular” than the Generation Xers or Baby Boomers who preceded them, says Alan Cooperman, associate director of research.

SCANDAL

“San Jose nonprofit under fire after elderly Chinese, Vietnamese say funeral fund dried up.” By Sandra Gonzales. San Jose Mercury-News. February 15, 2010. For years, hundreds of Chinese and Vietnamese immigrants contributed thousands of dollars to a San Jose nonprofit, with the assurance that when the time came, they would have the money to provide burials for their loved ones, a final honor and spiritual rite of passage, regarded sacred to many. Suddenly, amid a potential state inquiry, contributors to the Chinese-American Mutual Assistance Association funeral fund say the organization has stopped paying benefits, leaving members frantically worrying over what happened to their contributions.

“Parish wants to know how Ponzi scheme could happen.” By James Tinley. New Haven Register. February 16, 2010. Leaders of St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church in Orange told parishioners they have hired a forensic accountant to investigate how the man put in charge of the church’s investments managed to possibly defraud them of millions of dollars, sources within the church confirmed. Church officials held a meeting last week during which they told parishioners that the national accounting firm Dempsey Partners was retained to determine how Gregory P. Loles, 50, of Easton, came to have control over and allegedly embezzle the parish’s money, according to parishioners and a church-issued memo. Loles was arrested by federal authorities on mail and wire fraud charges in December for allegedly running a Ponzi scheme that could exceed $8 million in investor losses.

“Fairfield Univ. audit finds Haiti gifts unaccounted for; Former chaplain handled funds.” By Stephen Singer. Boston Globe/Associated Press. February 19, 2010. Fairfield University said it cannot account for more than $120,000 intended to go to a Haitian school where a former Connecticut man is accused of sexually abusing boys. The money is part of nearly $776,000 raised at the Jesuit university from 1997 to 2008 for Project Pierre Toussaint. The Haitian school was cofounded and directed by Douglas Perlitz, a 1992 Fairfield graduate who was charged in September with sexual abuse.

GENERAL

“Book Review: ‘The Empathic Civilization’: The Young Pioneers Of The Empathic Generation.” By Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Huffington Post. February 9, 2010. Today’s emerging adults see themselves as international citizens to an extent rarely experienced before. Coming of age in the era of the Internet, cheap travel, and surging study abroad programs, they’re drawn to global music, sports, fashion, and service. Almost a quarter of the emerging adults Zogby polled expect to work abroad. They could also be called the Empathic Generation. Their international experiences and education have made them more aware than any previous generation of how interconnected the world is.
Related Story:
“Book Review: ‘The Empathic Civilization’: The Young Pioneers Of The Empathic Generation.” By Jean M. Twenge. Huffington Post. February 10, 2010.