tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51322812012-02-16T22:07:26.241-05:00News and insights for aspiring, emerging and established philanthropistsAndrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.comBlogger521100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-7005540332656452472007-09-20T08:07:00.000-05:002007-09-20T08:17:53.896-05:00

A group of wealthy philanthropists is establishing a nonprofit organization to advise donors on how to attach legally enforceable conditions on gifts to their alma maters.The new Indianapolis-based Center for Excellence in Higher Education is backed by three foundations, those of Bernard Marcus (Home Depot's founder), the Sir John Templeton Foundation, and the John William Pope Foundation.

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com242tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-1158675316543879912006-09-19T09:11:00.000-05:002006-09-19T09:15:17.693-05:00

Public confidence in U.S. charities has risen slightly since Sept. 11, 2001, but still has not returned to the level of trust experienced before that day, according to a new survey.Confidence in Charitable Organizations, 2006, conducted by the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University. 69 percent of Americans expressed a great deal or a fair amount of confidence

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-1152901228472812262006-07-14T13:12:00.000-05:002006-07-14T13:20:29.393-05:00

An estate plan will help you create a coordinated strategy for conserving the assets you accumulate during your lifetime, distribute them according to your wishes at the time of your death, and provide for any needed funding to meet family needs and other special considerations -- such as philanthropic interests.To avoid some common pitfalls, Morningstar reviews the top 10 estate planning

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com49tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-1151346829259504122006-06-26T13:14:00.000-05:002006-06-26T13:33:49.850-05:00

Is it hyperbolic to consider that this past week has probably been among the most significant in the philanthropic world? Not since 1913 when John D. Rockefeller established his foundation has such an important series of events taken place in such a short span of time:Bill Gates announces that he will step down from day-to-day operations at Microsoft to devote his attention to his private

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-1138730788749232782006-01-31T13:00:00.000-05:002006-01-31T13:06:29.046-05:00

The Rockefeller family has sustained a prominent and creative presence in philanthropy for more than 120 years and six generations. A new monograph, based on a series of discussions and presentations by family members and associates explains how they have been able to nurture the family's charitable pursuits across decades. Entitled, An Entrepreneurial Spirit: Three Centuries of Rockefeller

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-1137162455225049972006-01-13T09:22:00.000-05:002006-01-13T09:28:41.460-05:00

In the capitalist world of bare-knuckled competion, a growing number of CEOs believe that baring their corporate soul can bolster the bottom line. Time magazine profiles several executives that are testing the notion that corporations ought to exist for more than the pursuit of profit.

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-1135904620932052212005-12-29T20:01:00.000-05:002005-12-29T20:06:22.490-05:00

The current issue of Fast Company provides its annual ranking of social capitalists (aka really creative and cutting edge nonprofit organizations). While many of those recognized are past winners, it is always an instructive and inspiring group of institutions doing some fantastic work.

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-1133890056357787382005-12-06T12:25:00.000-05:002005-12-06T12:27:50.020-05:00

The Senate's recently passed tax bill includes a section that aims to encourage charitable giving. The bill, S. 2020, contains incentives for charitable giving such as allowing tax-free charitable gifts from individual retirement accounts and new deductions for people who can't deduct their donations, because they don't itemize on their tax returns. Among the bill's other provisions are stricter

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-1132756668107964832005-11-23T09:17:00.000-05:002005-11-23T09:40:34.453-05:00

According to the latest issue of Kiplinger's Personal Finance, if you plan to endow a scholarship at your alma mater, prepare to dig a little deeper. For example, Duke raised the amount needed to fund a restricted scholarship (the kind that gives you some say over who receives the award, such as specifiying the student's field of study) from $100,000 to $250,000. Johns Hopkins raised their

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-1132668750809230202005-11-22T09:11:00.000-05:002005-11-22T09:19:06.430-05:00

A variety of options are available to create legacy -- from private foundations to donor advised funds and supporting organizations. Each vehicle for donor-advised giving has its strengths and limitations, as well as a minimum investment threshold that may help you quickly narrow your options. But all of them have one thing in common: They help the 1.2 million charities in the United States.

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-1132170929945245322005-11-16T14:45:00.000-05:002005-11-16T15:49:31.540-05:00

The National Philanthropic Trust, in partnership with Concord Equity Group Advisors, have launched a new donor advised fund offered exclusively to independent financial advisors, brokers, estate planners, accountants, trust officers, wealth managers and other professionals. The new program, the Independent Charitable Gift Fund, is also the first donor advised fund to invest in exchange-traded

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-1131567173014127692005-11-09T15:12:00.000-05:002005-11-09T15:12:53.096-05:00

Calculate your payout from a charitable gift annuity for one or two lives with this simple charitable gift calculator from PGCalc.

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-1104350694240101272005-11-09T14:38:00.000-05:002005-11-09T15:09:33.046-05:00

Make your reservations now and chase away the winter blues by attending these conferences:40th Annual Heckerling Institute on Estate PlanningJanuary 9-13Fountainbleu Hilton ResortMiami Beach, FLSponsored by the University of Miami Law School(305) 284-47622006 Mid-Winter Tax & Estate Planning ConferenceJanuary 15-22St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands;Sponsored by the National Law Foundation(302) 656-

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-1104197495350436582004-12-27T20:28:00.000-05:002004-12-27T20:31:35.350-05:00

The following organizations have the proven expertise to mitigate the damage from this disaster in both the near and long term. All have a long-term presence in the region, and currently have emergency teams on the ground to provide needed relief assistance to victims: Save the ChildrenAsia Earthquake/Tidal Wave Relief Fund 54 Wilton Road Westport, CT 06880 (800) 728-3843 Mercy Corps PO Box

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-1104173344680303862004-12-27T13:38:00.000-05:002004-12-27T13:58:27.246-05:00

According to the Wall Street Journal a multibillion-dollar disaster-recovery package is going to be needed for the countries worst affected by a tsunami that hit southern Asia from India to Thailand, killing thousands of people. While the World Bank, United Nations, and others will provide aid, Americans looking to make a charitable donation to help should contact the American Red Cross

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-1103640314635650802004-12-21T09:18:00.000-05:002004-12-21T09:45:14.636-05:00

The Catalog for Philanthropy has released its 2004 Generosity Index (GI), a state-by-state analysis of individual tax returns and charitable giving patterns. The 2004 index (based on 2002 tax returns) ranks Mississippi, Arkansas and Oklahoma as the most generous, and Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire as the least. The GI is based on the philosophy that philanthropic generosity is

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-1101828294823516322004-11-30T10:09:00.000-05:002004-11-30T10:24:54.823-05:00

While overall giving may be growing only slightly, the largest donors in the United States are increasing their gifts by tremendous amounts, according to BusinessWeek’s third annual rankings of the Top 50 U.S. Philanthropists. For instance, Bill and Melinda Gates donated their entire stock dividend worth $3 billion! That's more than the entire Walton family of Wal-Mart fame have given in their

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com74tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-1101827347869867482004-11-30T10:07:00.000-05:002004-11-30T10:09:07.870-05:00

The number of households with more than one million dollars in net worth (excluding primary residence) has risen to a record high as well as at a record rate, according to new research released today by TNS Financial Services. According to the latest Affluent Market Research Program (AMRP), TNS’ annual survey of wealthy U.S. households, the number has shot to 8.2 million as of mid-2004, a 33

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-1100112448434308132004-11-10T13:41:00.000-05:002004-11-10T13:47:28.433-05:00

For married couples with estates valued at more than the federal estate-tax exemption, a bypass trust can sharply reduce the potential burden. Bypass trusts also offer a few other important benefits. (Source: The Houston Chronicle)

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-1099582252558890072004-11-04T10:15:00.000-05:002004-11-04T10:30:52.560-05:00

Based on hearings that took place last June, and its own research, the US Senate Finance Committee’s staff has proposed a number of recommendations to more closely regulate donor advised funds. The Non-Profit Times reports that these reforms are being welcomed by a number of leaders in the field. The National Philanthropic Trust, along with other leading providers of donor advised funds, has

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-1099581290520683562004-11-04T09:51:00.000-05:002004-11-04T10:14:50.520-05:00

According to a new report from the IRS, the number of Americans who left large fortunes increased, but the overall amount of estate taxes declined. A major factor was the decline in the estate tax rate, and increases to the exclusion rate that were passed as part of President Bush's tax overhaul in 2001. Estate taxes only apply to estates greater than $1 million, up from $675,000, and double

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-1098891482029528022004-10-27T10:20:00.000-05:002004-10-27T10:38:02.030-05:00

The Wall Street Journal reports today that the growth, and increased competition in the high-net-worth marketplace has spawned a number of programs to train and certify advisors in the field of wealth managment. According to the article the programs seem to fall into two camps: "certificate courses that run for a matter of hours or days, and graduate programs that last a semester or two." The

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-1098296359335765352004-10-20T13:08:00.000-05:002004-10-20T13:19:19.336-05:00

Forbes.com has a posted an insightful article on donor managed investment accounts (requires registration). This new charitable giving vehicle has received some press lately -- recently profiled in the Wall Street Journal -- but it has a number of shortcomings, and its long-term viability is uncertain. We have also provided a side-by-side comparison between donor managed investment accounts,

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-1097853230716115852004-10-15T10:04:00.000-05:002004-10-15T10:13:50.716-05:00

It has been a year since we updated our Weblog, and that is for many and varied reasons. This is not for a lack of commitment. We have gone through a number of changes, and in the future, you should see regular posts online. In addition, we will be integrating our Weblog onto our host website - National Philanthropic Trust (www.nptrust.org). We are rebuilding that entire site form the

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-1066744428315063782003-10-21T08:53:00.000-05:002003-10-21T09:09:46.463-05:00

Interesting Fact: Wal-Mart Equals Philanthropy For those of you looking to add an interesting statistic in your keynote address or cocktail party conversation, some stats I read in a recent New York Times article about Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the world, combined with my sources in the nonprofit sector are quite intriguing. Wal-Mart (1) 1.4 million employees $245 billion in sales $10-14

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-1059408041850672662003-07-28T10:55:00.000-05:002003-07-28T11:00:41.890-05:00

Death & Taxes: How to Talk About Them Without Undue Angst Estate planning is a hard topic for most clients to come to terms with. So some advisers gently ease their way into the subject. In the most recent edition of Bloomberg Wealth Manager, advisors share the many approaches they take to ease the stress and emotional toll estate planning can place on their clients.

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-1059406684648274232003-07-28T10:36:00.000-05:002004-10-15T10:27:22.330-05:00

Soros Pulling Out of Russia to Focus on U.S. George Soros has announced an official end to his direct philanthropic work in Russia, shifting the focus of his New York City-based Open Society Institute to what he considers more pressing problems to be tackled in the United States, the Moscow Times reports. "This is an emotional moment for me," Soros told a press conference at Moscow's Higher

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-1059406329572408142003-07-28T10:31:00.000-05:002003-07-28T10:32:09.626-05:00

New York BBB Releases Final Report on September 11 Charities The Better Business Bureau Serving Metropolitan New York has released the results of its final survey of charities and funds related to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. According to the report, 88 percent of reported 9/11-related contributions were received by only eleven organizations. The survey also revealed that as of

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-1056933894928356582003-06-29T19:44:00.000-05:002003-06-29T19:44:54.933-05:00

New Tax Bill May Make Donations Less Appealing As a result of the new tax law passed last month, investors donating stock to charities and charitable trusts may find they're getting less back in return. Instead, it may make more sense to give stocks that have risen in value to their kids or donate non-stock gifts, like collectibles, to charities according to this news article from Dow Jones.

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-1056391327719086942003-06-23T13:02:00.000-05:002003-06-24T09:26:41.283-05:00

The New York Times Gets it One-Third Correct The top story making the rounds in the world of philanthropy is the latest report from the American Association of Fund Raising Counsel, which showed only a 0.5% decrease in giving among individuals, corporations and foundations in 2002. The New York Times article which gave an analysis of the report was helpful, but incomplete. While the $241-

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-2003917572003-06-05T20:46:00.000-05:002003-06-05T20:48:15.000-05:00

PipeVine Shuts Down Pipeline to Charities: Well rumors are flying all over about the demise of Pipevine, which handled over $100 million in donations for organizations including the United Way of the Bay Area and NetworkforGood, the online joint venture of AOL, Yahoo and Cisco (poor AOL can't catch a break!). With California's attorney general looking into this matter, an internal accounting

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-2003219212003-05-21T09:40:00.000-05:002003-05-21T09:48:35.000-05:00

SARS Fund to Be Launched: Give2Asia, a provider of philanthropic and grant making services for Asian-based charitable organizations is in the process of establishing a fund to address SARS. We had the opportunity to meet with Mike Rea, Managing Director, who stated that his group is responding to a number of requests to establish a specific fund to provide medical services, educational support,

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-2002841082003-05-13T09:35:00.000-05:002003-07-11T08:57:55.846-05:00

More Donor Advised Funds than Foundations: A significant event in philanthropy went unnoticed in 2001. It's official...and you heard it here first, there are now more donor advised funds than foundations in the United States. The May 15, 2003, edition of The Chronicle of Philanthropy reported that donors had set-up 62,245 donor advised fund accounts by 2001, while the Foundation Center

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-2002565692003-05-07T12:50:00.000-05:002003-05-07T12:53:46.000-05:00

"[The perfect inheritance is] enough money so that they would feel they could do anything, but not so much that they could do nothing." -- Warren Buffet Classic Issues in Family Succession Planning: In this era of tax avoidance it often seems that the guiding goal of estate planning has become to pass as much wealth to the next generation as tax-free as possible. But clients are increasingly

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-2002329922003-05-02T10:39:00.000-05:002003-05-02T11:14:56.000-05:00

The Kindness of Strangers: Two studies were recently that focused on the relative generosity of various cities. The first, by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, found that residents of Detroit give more of their discretionary income to charity than do residents of the nation's other 49 biggest cities. Here's the top five: Detroit (12.1%) New York (10.9%) Fort-Worth (10.9%) Denver (10.1%) Wichita

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-2002235462003-04-30T14:52:00.000-05:002003-04-30T14:58:35.000-05:00

7% of Web Users Donate to Charity:Everday more than 109 million Americans go online. The Pew Internet and American Life Project summarized its findings of what they actually spend their time doing online. Not surprisingly, email tops the list (93%). While "make a donation to charity" was done only 7% of the time (equal to taking a class online for college credit, but less than "making a phone

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-934782602003-04-29T12:58:00.000-05:002003-04-29T13:00:39.000-05:00

Irvine Gives Ex-CEO a Gold Mine: The talk of California's nonprofit sector is the compensation package the Irvine Foundation's board of trustees gave to its Dennis Collins retiring CEO. The compensation package reached $717,000 one year to lavish retirement fetes, a trip around the world for he and his wife and other gifts. This came all in the midst of the foundation losing a quarter of its

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-931966332003-04-24T15:08:00.000-05:002003-04-24T15:09:12.000-05:00

Ever hear of the Generosity Index? Compiled every year by the Catalogue for Philanthropy, the index ranks charitable giving, state by state, by U.S. citizens and companies. The index accounts for the amount of wealth that citizens and corporations in all 50 states can give, and how much they actually do give, to charities on an annual basis. The good news is that, overall, the Catalogue for

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-927713742003-04-17T06:11:00.000-05:002003-04-17T06:12:11.000-05:00

Taxes or a Tax Deduction: There are times when you read about an idea that is so brilliant and yet so simple you say to yourself "why didn't I think of that?" In Sunday's New York Times in an article entitled "Charity Begins at Schedule A" Ian Ayres and Barry Nalebuff propose two small changes in tax law could encourage people to be more generous. First, extend the deadline for deducting

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-922206022003-04-08T08:53:00.000-05:002003-04-08T09:24:38.000-05:00

Philanthropy as an Export: The annual Transatlantic Community Foundation Network plenary meeting took place in Newcastle (England) March 28 - April 2, 2003, despite the Iraq-war. Community Foundation experts from the USA, Canada, Mexico and 10 European Countries came together, hosted by the Community Foundation serving Tyne & Wear and Northumberland, Europe's most successful Community Foundation

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-914292692003-03-26T14:42:00.000-05:002003-03-26T14:42:29.170-05:00

America's Most Prestigious Boards: Make no mistake, serving on the board of directors of a charitable institution is special. But what if you also had the opportunity to serve with the likes of actor Denzel Washington, American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault, or FedEx Founder and CEO Fred Smith? Worth magazine interviewed dozens of experts in the 20 largest metropolitan areas to compile a list of

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-914274962003-03-26T14:09:00.000-05:002003-03-26T14:09:08.450-05:00

GuideStar Expands Horizons: Buzz Schmidt, and his new executive team at GuideStar have been very busy as of late, offering a new high-tech charity screening service, and a British version of their service.

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-909916632003-03-19T09:28:00.000-05:002003-03-19T09:36:55.000-05:00

The Barnes Fails While Peers Thrive: Millionaire art collectors Albert C. Barnes, Isabella Stewart Gardner, and Henry Clay Frick had this in common: Each formed a world-class collection that subsequently became a public museum. All three are world-renowned, and each is distinctive and compelling in a way that reflects the personality and taste of its founder. The Gardner and the Frick,

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-905998022003-03-12T13:33:00.000-05:002003-03-13T15:15:51.000-05:00

Giving Benefits Corporate Bottom Line: Companies have a symbiotic relationship with their communities that extends well beyond the factory floors and board rooms. Unfortunately the trend has been to reduce their corporate philanthropy. I have always believed that if you went to a shareholder's meeting, and polled the audience as to what percentage of pre-tax profits should go to charity (5%,

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-904607142003-03-10T10:40:00.000-05:002003-03-10T10:43:17.000-05:00

Help for International Grantmakers: The newly redesigned and augmented U.S. International Grantmaking (USIG) Web site is now available for grantmakers who fund projects across international borders. The USIG Web site is designed to assist international grantmakers as they confront a host of challenges, from communicating across cultures to complying with government counter-terrorism regulations

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-2002233702003-03-07T10:55:00.000-05:002003-03-07T10:55:41.920-05:00

Rating Charities...Is It Possible?: While the Better Business Bureau released a revised set of accountability standards Monday, along with a new "seal of approval" to help donors decide which organizations should get their money, this raises the question of accurately rating charities. The limitations of services such as BBB, GuideStar, and Charity Navigator, are glaringly apparent simply

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-2002233692003-03-06T20:30:00.000-05:002003-03-06T20:32:56.000-05:00

Is 5% The Floor or The Ceiling?: With foundation assets falling and cutting back their funding, one relatively small family foundation in the Midwest believes increased giving honors the founders' legacy. Some critics have argued that it is more important than ever for foundations to increase their grantmaking and exceed their 5% payout requirement.

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-2002233682003-03-06T15:26:00.000-05:002003-03-06T19:51:57.000-05:00

Required Reading: Aside from our scintillating prose, we highly recommend these magazines and trade publications for that regularly cover and provide cogent analysis of the philanthropic and nonprofits sectors: The Chronicle of Philanthropy, NonProfit Times, Foundation News & Commentary.

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-2002233672003-03-06T13:33:00.000-05:002003-03-06T19:51:26.000-05:00

Wealthy & Wise: Interesting that Forbes releases its list of wealthiest individuals at about the same time The Chronicle of Philanthropy lists the biggest donors. While we are at it, we might as well include the Slate Magazine 60 biggest givers as well.

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-2002233662003-03-05T22:25:00.000-05:002003-03-05T22:27:54.000-05:00

Sites We Recommend: If you want to quickly find out a charitable organization and its financials look no further. The definitive reference with listings of more than 800,000 charitable organizations and foundations can be found at GuideStar.

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-2002233652003-03-05T22:06:00.000-05:002003-03-05T22:06:06.576-05:00

Permanent Estate Tax Repeal is Unlikely: Despite a big Republican win in the recent elections, the permanent repeal of the estate tax does not appear likely when the issue is taken up again, possibly this year. This prediction comes from author and estate tax expert E. Michael Kilbourn.

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132281.post-2002233642003-03-05T22:03:00.000-05:002003-03-07T09:28:06.000-05:00

Welcome! It is surprising that with over 1-million blogs this is one of the first about philanthropy. We will take our work very seriously, and hope that you will look to our postings for guidance that will both inspire and illuminate your philanthropic endeavors. We hope that you visit regularly and share your comments and your ideas. Andrew W. Hastings, Vice President, National

Andrew Hastingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00320813459028259030noreply@blogger.com0