Museum freezes salaries, trims benefits...

December 9, 2009

The Museum of Modern Art in New York City has frozen salaries and trimmed benefits for employees after the organization's endowment declined by 17.6 percent last year, Bloomberg reported Dec. 8 (see Museum of Modern Art story). While the museum has avoided layoffs, employees now must pay more for health coverage and pension-plan contributions have been altered.

Arts advocates have high hopes that President Obama's interest in the arts will positively impact cultural funding, policy and education over the long term, The New York Times reported Dec. 8 (see arts policy story). Obama has featured a variety of performances at the White House since taking office, and has funneled an additional $100 million into the arts.

The board of Feed the Children now is saying the group's ousted president, Larry Jones, sought "kickbacks," The Associated Press reported Dec. 8 (see Feed the Children story). Jones, who was fired in part for bugging offices, denies he solicited kickbacks.

Wells Fargo has donated a total of $6 million to nonprofits in the Charlotte area in an effort to help the charities weather the economic downturn, The Charlotte Observer reported Dec. 7 (see Wells Fargo donations story). The unexpected donations were welcomed by the region's nonprofit sector, which also had been hurt by recent bank failures, and were seen as a sign of commitment by Wells Fargo, which recently bought Charlotte-based Wachovia.

Lindsay Boswell, chief executive of the U.K.'s Institute of Fundraising, has stepped down as a member of the Centre for Charitable Giving and Philanthropy and plans to create a think tank within the Institute to explore donor behavior and motivations, Third Sector reported Dec. 8 (see Lindsay Boswell story). Boswell says he left the centre because of its lack of emphasis on fundraising research.

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