Tzedakah, Inc.
Supporting More Effective Jewish Giving
Web address:www.just-tzedakah.org

MEMO:

FROM: Ira Kaminow, President
TO: Friends of Tzedakah, Inc.
DATE: June 20, 2007;
RE: What's new in the world of nonprofits.

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New profile for Jewish National Fund. We recently uploaded the profile for the Jewish National Fund (JNF). Click here to learn more about the JNF.

Makeover: IRS proposes changes in the annual charity disclosure form Form 990 is the annual disclosure form that most US charities must file with the IRS. The Form 990 includes information about charities' finances, salaries, and activities. The IRS is asking for comments on proposed revisions in the form. The proposed form includes several innovations which Tzedakah, Inc. supports. In particular, if the new form is adopted, charities will have to answer a number of questions regarding their governance policies. New questions relate to such areas as: (1) The process for determining compensation of senior staff; (2) The conflict of interest policy, and (3) Whether the governing board reviews financial documents. We think the new form is a step in the right direction, but could go farther. In the meantime, we remind you that even the best designed forms will add little value if the data provided are incorrect. So far the IRS has shown little inclination to monitor the quality of information on Forms 990.>>more>>

The Federal Grants Game: How Do Jewish Organizations Fare? The charity-oriented blog "Where Most Needed" posted a spreadsheet showing government grants for religiously-affiliated organizations. The spreadsheet is based on a data collected by New York Times reporters Diana B. Henriques and Andrew W. Lehren. We've used the spreadsheet to develop the following table which suggests how Jewish organizations made out in recent years. We caution the reader, however, that "religious affiliation" is far from a precisely defined term. Many organizations that appear to have religious affiliation actually are only loosely connected, if at all, to the religious group in question. For example, according to the "Where Most Needed" designations, the Jewish organization that received the largest amount in federal grants in recent years is the National Jewish Medical Center in Denver. National Jewish, which received 15% of all federal grants made to organizations with Jewish names, serves the entire community and its beneficiaries, benefactors, and staff are highly diverse across the entire ethnic and religious spectrum.>>more>>

Federal Grants to Religiously Affiliated Organizations

Congressional Session (Years)	Grants to Jewish Organizations	Total grants	Grants to Jewish Organizations as a Percent of Total
105th ('97-'99)	$10,150,000	$19,280,000	53
106th ('99-'01)	5,703,000	31,792,400	18
107th ('01-'03)	4,110,000	44,592,000	9
108th ('03-'05)	39,062,750	193,181,350	20
109th ('05-'07)	5,925,000	19,468,000	28
Total, all congressional sessions	$64,950,750	$316,113,750	21

Why we give: warm glow or pure altruism? Do we give to charity because it makes us feel good (warm glow) or because we want to help the needy (altruism) or both? Researchers William T. Harbaugh, Ulrich Mayr, Daniel R. Burghart used MRI technology to check activity in pleasure centers of the brain under differing scenarios. Conclusion: subjects felt good whenever the poor got more to eat, but they tended to be happier when the poor were helped by the subjects' own voluntarily contributions. The study was published in the journal Science on June 15.>>more>> (requires subscription or fee).

Sports figures and their foundations: Peyton, Payton and payouts. The Wall Street Journal recently ran a story on the finances of athletes' charitable foundations. According to the article and an accompanying table, the ratio of administrative expenses to charitable spending ranged over the whole field. For the most part, however, athletes' foundations kept administrative expenses low. Peyton Manning's (Indianapolis Colts) Peyback Foundation paid 92% of $546,316 in spending for charitable purposes; the rest went for administrative expenses. At the other end, the Journal article reports that Gary Payton's (Miami Heat) foundation, took in about $110,000 in 2005. "Just under $11,000 went to charitable programs, while $101,549 went to administrative expenses." The Journal article did not indicate whether there were any special circumstances to explain the high administrative expenses. >>more>>(requires subscription).

Tizku L'mitzvos