Reform mixed for nonprofit insurers...

December 22, 2009

While the latest version of the health-care reform plan includes a compromise that would provide tax exemptions for nonprofit insurance companies that meet certain requirements, few insurers actually would qualify, The Wall Street Journal reported Dec. 22 (see health reform story).

With millions of Americans out of work and operating on less income this year, holiday gift-giving is likely to look different, with 93 percent of people polled saying they plan to spend less this year than last, ABC News reported Dec. 19 (see charity gifts story). Some families are getting creative by spending family time volunteering for a favorite charity in lieu of exchanging expensive gifts.

As the recession drives excess out of fashion, charity gift cards are growing in popularity, allowing the recipient to decide which charity will receive the donation, MSNBC reported Dec. 18 (see charity gift cards story). One card provider, TisBest, sold 15,000 cards last year and expects to sell twice as many this year.

Given that the charitable sector in Britain is worth billions annually, more money should be invested in fundraising research, says Peter Maple of London South Bank University, ResearchForums reported Dec. 21 (see fundraising research story). Charities spend less than a quarter of the percentage corporations do on marketing research, he says.

While federal law forbids excessive salaries for nonprofit CEOs, some charities are finding ways around the law, paying their leaders hundreds of thousands of dollars a year and receiving little oversight, The Charlotte Observer reported Dec. 20 (see nonprofit salaries story). In one example, the head of LC Industries, a nonprofit in Durham, N.C., that employs the blind, is paid $700,000 a year.

Hit by high unemployment, more Minnesotans are looking for help from state's nonprofits, which in turn are having trouble meeting the increased needs because of dwindling revenue, says a survey by the Minnesota Council on Nonprofits, MinnPost reported Dec. 18 (see Minnesota nonprofits story).

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