Congress weighs deduction for Haiti donors...

January 22, 2010

A bill that passed in the U.S. House and is headed for the Senate would allow taxpayers to claim deductions on their 2009 tax returns for charitable contributions made before March 1 for relief efforts in Haiti, The Miami Herald reported Jan. 21 (see Haiti tax deduction story).

New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has filed lawsuits against four professional fundraising firms, alleging they engaged in "lying, manipulating and deceiving" in order to get charitable contributions, The New York Daily News reported Jan. 21 (see Andrew Cuomo story).

While the number of arts organizations in the U.S. has increased significantly over the past decade, the percentage of Americans attending arts events has dropped, says a new study from Americans for the Arts, The Washington Post reported Jan. 21 (see arts index story).

Jewish funder Areivim Philanthropic Group is seeking $4.8 million from the estate of Bill Davidson, the deceased founder of Guardian Industries, claiming representatives of the estate reneged on a $5 million pledge Davidson made in 2006, Crain's Detroit Business reported Jan. 20 (see Areivim Philanthropic story).

Despite a loss on its investments of $254.1 million in fiscal 2009, Boston University spent a record $113 million on academic programs, faculty, research and student services, The Boston Business Journal reported Jan. 21 (see Boston University story).

After sinking to $5 billion during the economic downturn from a peak of $7.2 billion, Northwestern University's endowment has climbed to about $6 billion, The Daily Northwestern reported Jan. 21 (see Northwestern University story).

• Email this page