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Philanthropy News Digest invites opinion and commentary on topics of importance to the philanthropic sector. For more information on this feature, contact Mitch Nauffts, PND's publisher/editorial director, at mfn@foundationcenter.org.
Let's Think Smarter About the Charitable Tax Deduction
by
Jan
Masaoka,
CEO,
California Association of Nonprofits
On New Year's Day, lawmakers in Washington finally agreed to disagree and passed a bill to avert the so-called fiscal cliff. But with the federal government looking at another trillion-dollar deficit and record levels of debt, no idea for balancing federal expenditures and revenue will be off the table for long....
Posted on January 16, 2013
Putting a Home at the Center of Efforts to End Homelessness
by
Janice
Elliott,
Executive Director,
Melville Charitable Trust
The Melville Charitable Trust began its work on homelessness in 1990 with two simple thoughts: first, the persistence of homelessness in the wealthiest democracy in the world was scandalous; and second, it was a solvable problem. Two decades later, we have seen the difference that investments in proven, lasting, and cost-effective solutions have made and are more convinced than ever that the problem of homelessness can be solved. Moreover, these solutions go beyond providing emergency, palliative responses to improving people's lives. Here are some of the things we've learned....
Posted on December 19, 2012
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Commentary & Opinion From Other Sources
Opinion: Meaningful Philanthropy, Indeed (Boston Globe 01/07/13)
I read an interesting editorial recently in the Denver Post, “Meaningful philanthropy can be the legacy you leave,” by Bruce DeBoskey, a Colorado-based philanthropic advisor who helps families, businesses and foundations with philanthropic initiatives.
In the column, DeBoskey wonders how many of the 314 million Americans or seven billion planetarians will be remembered one hundred years from now. He points out that very few will be famously remembered like a Pablo Picasso or Thomas Edison, but most of us still seek meaning in our lives and hope to be remembered after we’re gone. The way many people who aren't famous outside their own communities do this is through philanthropic endeavors....
Op-Ed: Help for the High School Dropout Rate (Boston Globe 01/06/13)
Equal opportunity for education has been a social and moral imperative of our society. In the looming budget battles, it is now an economic imperative. The secondary education system annually produces one million dropouts nationally — ten thousand in Massachusetts alone — at a staggering cost to society.
The cost of a dropout over a lifetime has been estimated at up to $500,000 in lost wages, increased entitlements, and criminal justice spending. If the dropout rate can be reduced by one-half to five hundred thousand annually, savings will approach $250 billion over the lifetime of each graduating class. Over a ten-year period this would represent lifetime savings of almost $2.5 trillion. In the context of our budget challenges, this is real money....
Opinion: Five Myths About Charitable Giving (Washington Post 12/26/12)
The last few days of the year may be a time of celebration and indulgence, but it is also when many people think about helping others. Though much of the roughly $240 billion in individual charitable contributions comes in December, these donations are often made hastily, based on poor information.
Before writing those end-of-the-year checks, here are some things to remember about how charities work and how to evaluate them....
Op-Ed: We Can’t Pass Up This Chance To End Violence (Chronicle of Philanthropy 12/26/12)
After the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007 and the tragic 2011 Tucson shootings that wounded Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and eighteen others, I hoped philanthropy would join forces with other Americans to finally take meaningful action to protect Americans from gun violence.
Both times we failed to make change happen. This time is different. And we must demand a different outcome....
Op-Ed: Can Greater Global Funding Decrease Gender Violence, HIV/AIDS? (Women's News Network 12/20/12)
I have emerged from three inspiring days volunteering at a workshop discussing how to advance gender equity and human rights to reduce gender-based violence in the context of HIV. Yet the question still uppermost in all our minds is “but where is the funding to do this?”
UN staff talk of 20 percent cuts to their budgets. Delegates from three southern African countries speak of the deeply inequitable funding available for work on gender equity and gender-based violence in their governments’ budgets. NGO (Non-Governmental Organisations) staff spoke of working from kitchen tables because of the on-going passion for this work, despite the funding desert. One clear theme emerges: there is no funding for women’s rights work....
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