The life of Sir Allen Stanford, the cricket and polo-loving financier who is being investigated for a potential Ponzi scheme, is a case study in how to buy respectability and influence.
Charities are just as vulnerable, if not more so, to economic weakness as are corporations.
"Voluntourism is not about martyrdom," says Christopher Hill, CEO of Hands Up Holidays, a London-based company that arranges high-end excursions that incorporate volunteering. "It's about making a difference, even if you're staying at a luxury hotel."
As the economic downturn takes out Wall Street's power brokers, it may also collapse the charities depending on their largesse
Making donations to charity is becoming an integral part of business travel. Airlines are bringing in vast sums through onboard donation schemes that gather unwanted foreign currency from travelers. And frequent fliers are even handing over their precious air miles to charities.
Who'd be a chugger? It's a thankless task -- standing on the High Street often in the rain, wearing a fluorescent vest, hold in a clipboard and trying to get someone, anyone, to stop and talk to you -- and maybe even donate some money.
Psychedelic album covers. Break-dancing music videos. Rockers with mullet haircuts.
Despite the credit crunch, Americans will donate more than $100 billion to charities. Here are the best ways you can make sure your donation is going to the right place.
Like most donors, you probably spread your charitable contributions among several groups that you know or that your friends ask you to support. But when the request for help goes beyond the routine $50 or $100 check or if you decide on your own that you'd like to do something a little more significant, how do you know your money is going to the right cause?
When entrepreneur Tom Pirelli sold the medical software company he founded, Enterprise Systems, for $250 million in stock in 1997, the 59-year-old decided to devote his time and capital to helping the needy. He started a foundation but soon found that philanthropy wasn't as enjoyable as he'd anticipated. "I started by writing checks, which was incredibly unsatisfying," he says. So like many of the new breed of philanthropist, Pirelli applied the skills that had served him as a business owner and got his hands dirty launching, running, and benchmarking his own projects. He funded and ran robotics programs in the Chicago public schools and outfitted a voice-controlled home for a quadriplegic veteran wounded in Iraq. Now Pirelli is rethinking housing for the poor: In December his Arial Foundation (arialhome.org) built the first of a planned one million modular homes. "Our goal is to build houses like Toyota builds cars," Pirelli says.
The life of Sir Allen Stanford, the cricket and polo-loving financier who is being investigated for a potential Ponzi scheme, is a case study in how to buy respectability and influence.
Charities are just as vulnerable, if not more so, to economic weakness as are corporations.
"Voluntourism is not about martyrdom," says Christopher Hill, CEO of Hands Up Holidays, a London-based company that arranges high-end excursions that incorporate volunteering. "It's about making a difference, even if you're staying at a luxury hotel."
As the economic downturn takes out Wall Street's power brokers, it may also collapse the charities depending on their largesse
Making donations to charity is becoming an integral part of business travel. Airlines are bringing in vast sums through onboard donation schemes that gather unwanted foreign currency from travelers. And frequent fliers are even handing over their precious air miles to charities.
Who'd be a chugger? It's a thankless task -- standing on the High Street often in the rain, wearing a fluorescent vest, hold in a clipboard and trying to get someone, anyone, to stop and talk to you -- and maybe even donate some money.
Psychedelic album covers. Break-dancing music videos. Rockers with mullet haircuts.
Despite the credit crunch, Americans will donate more than $100 billion to charities. Here are the best ways you can make sure your donation is going to the right place.
Like most donors, you probably spread your charitable contributions among several groups that you know or that your friends ask you to support. But when the request for help goes beyond the routine $50 or $100 check or if you decide on your own that you'd like to do something a little more significant, how do you know your money is going to the right cause?
When entrepreneur Tom Pirelli sold the medical software company he founded, Enterprise Systems, for $250 million in stock in 1997, the 59-year-old decided to devote his time and capital to helping the needy. He started a foundation but soon found that philanthropy wasn't as enjoyable as he'd anticipated. "I started by writing checks, which was incredibly unsatisfying," he says. So like many of the new breed of philanthropist, Pirelli applied the skills that had served him as a business owner and got his hands dirty launching, running, and benchmarking his own projects. He funded and ran robotics programs in the Chicago public schools and outfitted a voice-controlled home for a quadriplegic veteran wounded in Iraq. Now Pirelli is rethinking housing for the poor: In December his Arial Foundation (arialhome.org) built the first of a planned one million modular homes. "Our goal is to build houses like Toyota builds cars," Pirelli says.
Private equity firms have a reputation for being rich and ruthless - and for good reason.
Makeup entrepreneur Bobbi Brown wasn't looking for another charity to support when she was invited to a breakfast for Dress for Success, a group that provides professional clothing for disadvantaged women so they can go on job interviews. She went because she figured it would be early and quick enough "not to take a chunk out of my day." Then she heard DFS founder Nancy Lublin speak about how she'd started the charity with the $5,000 her great-grandfather Poppy Max had left her. "She said she wanted to do something to make him proud," Brown remembers. "Well, I had a Papa Max too."
Makeup entrepreneur Bobbi Brown wasn't looking for another charity to support when she was invited to a breakfast for Dress for Success, a group that provides professional clothing for disadvantaged women so they can go on job interviews.
Last summer Warren Buffett stunned the business world when he told FORTUNE that he would give away the bulk of his $44 billion Berkshire Hathaway fortune to charity.
The C.A.T.C.H. 84 Foundation was supposed to be Miami Dolphins wide receiver Chris Chambers' way of giving back. He intended it to help inner city children develop self-esteem, healthy habits, and life skills through sports. But his C.A.T.C.H. 84 quickly spiraled into a catch 22 for the altruistic athlete.
This essay is adapted from a speech that Microsoft chairman Bill Gates delivered recently at the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose. Gates received that museum's James C. Morgan Global Humanitarian Award for his philanthropic work through the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation.
Giving a present that also benefits charities may seem like the perfect holiday gift, but in most cause-related marketing, less than 10 percent of proceeds go to charities.
So you're not Warren Buffett or Bill Gates. There's no reason you still can't give like a billionaire. Donor-advised funds - investment accounts that let you deposit assets for an upfront tax deduc...
Attention, would-be philanthropists: Ken Ramberg knows you're busy. He knows that you mean to write checks to help hurricane victims and you want to raise money for your kid's school. He also knows...
This year some important changes are likely to tax the patience of any charitable giver. Buried in the Pension Protection Act of 2006, passed in August, are some new limits to the deduction you can claim for your clothing and household items. To be eligible for donation, the item has be in "good used or better condition," which has not been further defined by the IRS.
At the time I realized that American companies weren't doing enough for their communities, I was spending about $100 million on corporate philanthropic programs.
We were sitting in a Manhattan living room on a spring afternoon, and Warren Buffett had a Cherry Coke in his hand as usual. But this unremarkable scene was about to take a surprising turn.
Coming from you, this plan is pretty startling. Up to now you haven't been famous for giving away money. In fact, you've been roundly criticized now and then for not giving it away. So let's cut to the obvious question: Are you ill?
This November a movie called The Ultimate Gift will hit theaters. It's an adaptation of the best-selling book about a billionaire, to be played by James Garner, who forces his grandson to learn the...
(MONEY Magazine) - This November a movie called The Ultimate Gift will hit theaters. It's an adaptation of the best-selling book about a billionaire, to be played by James Garner, who forces his gr...
As the scandal involving Red Cross workers and Katrina donations shows, you can never be completely sure your money is safe when making donations to charity.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Talk about too much choice.
Charities are anxious this holiday season. After an extraordinary year that began with a catastrophic tsunami followed by hurricanes Katrina and Wilma and ended with an earthquake in South Asia that killed thousands, charities worry that donors may not have much left to give.
There are now some 4,600 Web sites advertising Hurricane Katrina relief services, and most of them are under suspicion of being bogus, FBI assistant director Louis Reigel said Friday.
In the weeks following the last great domestic disaster, 9/11, the American Red Cross stockpiled blood for those who didn't need it, refused to share critical victim information with other charities, and was dressed down before Congress for planning to use relief funds to improve its internal operations.
There are now some 2,300 Web sites advertising Hurricane Katrina relief services, and most of them are presumed to be bogus, the FBI said Friday.
Even before Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, scammers were hard at work trying to get your charity dollars.
Ever since Hurricane Katrina slammed into the region on last week hundreds of thousands of Louisiana and Mississippi residents have been forced to leave their homes.
Whenever a disaster like Hurricane Katrina strikes and brings widespread anguish to so many Americans, their fellow citizens rush to help.
Tens of thousands of children are going to starve to death in the West African Nation of Niger unless they get aid. In fact, 1.2 million people are starving. It's a crisis that could have been avoided, according to the United Nations. But it seems no one was listening to the warnings last year.
A new Web search engine gives users the opportunity to generate cash for their favorite charities every time they browse the Internet.
Despite their own economic concerns, Americans reached deep into their pockets and gave an estimated total of $249 billion to charitable causes in 2004, up five percent over the previous year and setting a new record, according to a new report from the Giving USA Foundation.
They're the Gates that keep on giving.
At a time of unprecedented giving, the FBI warns that Internet scams are emerging.
If you're giving money to charity, make sure every dollar counts.
Giving, say, $100 to a worthy cause is good. Turning that hundred bucks into a $150 or $200 donation without contributing more from your own pocket is even better.
Once you've identified the causes that matter most to you, find the specific charities that best fit your giving goals.
Most people give to charity for a very simple reason: They are asked. More than 60 percent of households that donate money have received a request on behalf of the cause, according to Independent Sector, a coalition of philanthropic organizations.
For Michael and Martha Hogan, giving to charity is not just a tradition -- it's a passion. The St. Louis couple, both 51, donate regularly to some two dozen nonprofits, ranging from major groups like the United Way and the National Kidney Foundation to the lesser-known Small World Adoption Foundation, which helped them adopt the youngest of their four children.
Charities looking to fill their stockings this year over the Internet are encountering a new generation of donors promising to change the face of philanthropy.
For Michael and Martha Hogan, giving to charity is not just a tradition—it's a passion. The St. Louis couple, both 51, donate regularly to some two dozen nonprofits, ranging from major groups like ...
'Tis the season for giving. And, for many people that means more than just buying presents for friends and family -- it means giving to charity.
The image on the oversized screen behind the podium was of a giant malignant tumor. The discussion was about prognostic indicators--doctorspeak for how much longer people with such tumors had to li...
Saudi Arabia announced Wednesday that it will dissolve all Saudi international charities and fold them into a single government-sponsored entity, in an effort to stop the flow of money to terrorist organizations.
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Whenever someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I often would joke and say, "Philanthropist."
Each year Darren Ewaska would write some 60 two- or three-figure checks to charities--to everything from the Ronald McDonald House to historic-preservation causes. But the experience left him diss...
Ask Tanya Jones what motivated her to help found a giving circle, and you'll likely find yourself listening to a story about her mother. "She's who I admire most," says the 31-year-old director of ...
When people in the nonprofit world want advice on how to deal with the economy's devastating impact on their finances, it's no surprise that they turn to Susan Packard Orr. With her ultra-straight...
When Liza Prior Lucy, a quiltmaker and author in New Hope, Pa., writes checks to charities every December, three groups are top of mind: Beyond Pesticides, an organization that monitors pesticide m...
The best places on the Web to check out a charity before you write a check. --Rhett Butler
When Liza Prior Lucy, a quiltmaker and author in New Hope, Pa., writes checks to charities every December, three groups are top on her mind.
For all the bad news about investment losses and a market that's moving sideways, Americans still give away billions of dollars to causes they care about--more than $150 billion a year at last coun...
Dan Pallotta should have a lot to smile about right now. His company, Pallotta TeamWorks, runs big, complicated fundraisers like the Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day walks and the AIDSRides-USA, in which e...
In the later parts of their mostly brief careers, many Internet entrepreneurs decided they were ready to revolutionize more than mere business. Having utterly transformed whole industries--nay, the...
It was one of the few heartening events of the past several weeks--even before the smoke cleared from the Sept. 11 attacks, charitable donations began pouring in. And the money keeps coming. As of ...
Want a painless way to give more? Shop through a Web portal that funnels a small portion of what you spend at major e-commerce sites to a charity of your choice. At least half a dozen sites do so, ...
If you'd like to complement your gift buying with some charitable giving this holiday season, the Web can lend a hand in two ways.
Not long ago, Peter deCourcy Hero, the 57-year-old president of Community Foundation Silicon Valley, sat down with a young dot-com mogul who had resolved to direct some of his newly minted millions...
The Hyatt Regency Hotel at Chicago's O'Hare airport seems an unlikely place for a revolt. But when a few hundred leaders of United Way chapters gathered in a large meeting room there this past Marc...
Charity. Philanthropy. Noblesse oblige. Giving back. You can feel the difference. The first three phrases are rooted in old European traditions: wealthy folks, from the privacy of their estates, gi...
In the fall of 1988, Jordan Kassalow staggered into the lobby of the luxurious Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong with a knapsack on his back and a parasite he'd picked up God-knew-where in his stomach. ...
We've got a lot to celebrate this month. Not only does this issue complete our first full year as Fortune Small Business (FSB), it also enables us to make a sizable donation to charity and to bring...
What's the biggest charity in the U.S. after the Salvation Army (No. 1) and the YMCA (No. 2)? Would you believe it's Fidelity's Charitable Gift Fund, one of a growing number of so-called donor-advi...
Before the year ends, many Americans will make charitable contributions, secure in the knowledge that their generosity will be accompanied by the deep joy of reaping tax deductions that equal the g...
As you do some damage with your credit cards this holiday shopping season, keep in mind that there's an easy way to do some good at the same time. Shop online at one of the growing number of giving...
A holiday-inspired burst of generosity is a popular way to cut your taxes, since you can deduct gifts to charity as long as you itemize. But don't wait for year-end if you have assets other than ca...
The rich folks who belong to a socially liberal group called Responsible Wealth want you to know they think it's wrong for the government to give special tax relief to individuals like themselves. ...
On the eastern shore of Lake Washington, halfway between Seattle and Microsoft's sprawl over in Redmond, sits a modest, three-story office building inhabited by some pretty remarkable characters. T...
The road to tax hell just might be paved with charitable deductions. Consider: It has long been the law in this country that life insurance premiums are not income tax deductible, but gifts to char...
What could be easier than taking care of your charitable obligations through a workplace giving program? Having your employer pull a few dollars from every paycheck is a pretty painless way to avoi...
Charity purists, beware. Anyone who thinks of Mother Teresa as the true embodiment of the virtue is hopelessly old-fashioned. Forget self-sacrifice (or Wasp noblesse oblige). Nowadays, giving money...
Faced with such tragedies as poverty in America, Hurricanes Bertha (below) and Fran, the TWA and ValuJet crashes, the Olympic bombing and the war in Bosnia, many Americans share the same impulse: T...
'TIS THE SEASON TO GIVE TO YOUR FAVORITE charity. Problem is, 'tis also the season to give to the mail carrier, your nieces and nephews and perhaps your doorman--which might mean you're a little sh...
THIS MONTH: How to avoid NASDAQ rip-offs The safest life insurers Rating new investing software
This is the time of year most Americans think seriously about contributing to one or more charitable organizations. The holidays are a reminder that others could use a hand. December is also the la...
Nightly TV news images of needy people including the 2 million Rwandan refugees may leave you wanting to help but unsure of how to do that effectively. Each year Money helps readers to size up char...
Although virtually every one of Bill and Hillary Clinton's moves has been recorded, analyzed and debated, there is one facet of their lives that hasn't gotten the same level of scrutiny until now. ...
THE CAMPAIGN against AIDS may be simultaneously the most visible charity in search of private donations and the noisiest lobby in search of government funding. In major cities like Los Angeles and ...
When retired Army Lt. Col. Chuck Luce, 62, became executive director of the South Carolina Association for Retarded Citizens in January 1990, he was confident that the group's high-stakes bingo gam...
BROTHER, can you spare a billion? Since the time of the Medici, great philanthropists have answered ''Sure,'' and spared it or its equivalent. Not content merely to pile up assets, they have sought...
Once you might have reasonably assumed that money you gave to a highly respected charity would be well spent. No longer. In February, the United Way of America, whose 2,100 chapters raised $3.1 bil...
Before giving money to a charity, you surely want to feel confident that the group will put your dollars to good use. The exclusive MONEY honor roll of the 10 best-managed large U.S. charities (pre...
When it comes to helping others, Americans are undeniably generous. Last year, according to the Independent Sector, a nonprofit group that studies Wtrends in philanthropy, the average household gav...
Tis the season to help others -- and with the homeless crisis, Hurricane Hugo and the California earthquake fresh in their minds, Americans are expected to contribute a record $22.5 billion to char...
Say what you want about Michael R. Milken, but he sure knows how to spread the jelly. In 1987, Drexel Burnham Lambert's alchemist of junk bonds and his wife, Lori, 42, donated over $93 million to t...
IT'S STRANGE but true: about seven of 10 adults have life insurance, but only a third have wills. The most plausible explanation for such faulty forward planning is that insurance is sold and wills...
Come September, futures trader Paul Tudor Jones II will be looking out for the futures of 85 seventh graders in Brooklyn's rough Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. He recently told the kids that if t...
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