Executive Issues

June 6, 2009, New Haven, Conn., The Wall Street Journal — Richard Levin, the longest serving president in the Ivy League, had enjoyed a charmed run at Yale. In his first 15 years Yale's endowment notched up the best returns of any university's, and its innovative investment strategy became a model for many others. Mr. Levin rode the bull market to restore morale, launch a building spree, and strengthen the school in sciences and internationally. Yale dollars even spruced up shabby New Haven.

June 8, 2009, CTV.ca — Canadians gave $1.1 billion more to charitable and non-profit organizations in 2007 than they did in 2004, Statistics Canada reported Monday.

June 7, 2009, NEW YORK, JTA — Whoever thought you’d see a former U.S. poet laureate singing a kitschy jingle on YouTube asking for funds for a small nonprofit that most of his readers have never heard of?

June 8, 2009, BRADENTON, Bradenton Herald — The charitable giving of wealthy Americans like Warren Buffett and Bill Gates has called attention to philanthropy as a way to give back to the community while you are still living.

June 1, 2009, Wealth Bulletin — UK philanthropists are giving just as much, or even more, during the recession, according to a survey by Coutts of more than 100 of its clients. The survey found that nearly 90% of clients are planning to maintain or increare donation levels this year.

June 2, 2009, The Philadelphia Inquirer — Less.

In a country where General Motors declares bankruptcy, Americans are learning to deal with less of everything.

Our region has less, too, including a dwindling pool of generous benefactors and civic leaders.

May 28, 2009, Thomson Reuters Foundation — Aid funds are running short for worsening humanitarian emergencies in Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the Horn of Africa, as political complexities and the global economic crisis dampen the generosity of governments and individual donors.

SAN FRANCISCO, May 28, 2009 — One third of Bay Area nonprofits are concerned they may cease operations within the next year, according to United Way of the Bay Area’s 2009 Nonprofit Pulse Survey. Correspondingly, 34% report they have two or fewer months of operating expenses in reserves.

May 28, 2009, The Chronicle of Philanthropy — Community foundations increased their giving in 2008, bucking the belt tightening that swept nearly all quarters of the philanthropic world, according to a new report by the Foundation Center.

May 24, 2009, The Wall Street Journal — When wallets get lean, checkbooks tend to stay closed -- and checks to charity become rarer.