Free Republic

<p>At a time when efforts to reform the corporate world are getting all of the attention, there is another group of chief executives who remain insulated from the effects of scandals at Tyco, WorldCom and the like. They are America's not-for-profit profiteers: the executives who cash in at universities, foundations and other tax-exempt organizations.</p>

The nonprofit's activities are being well-received by the people in an area south of most of the violence 11/23/03 JEFFREY KOSSEFF Mercy Corps aid workers in Iraq have survived explosions near their homes and gunshot warnings as they drove between cities. They know the nation contains Iraqi insurgents eager to stop reconstruction and return control to the Baathists. They see other nonprofit humanitarian groups pulling out quickly as bombings and violence continue throughout the nation. But Portland-based Mercy Corps is staying put in southern Iraq, helping communities rebuild their schools, sewage systems and hospitals. The 25 workers, from the United...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 — In an effort to counter the influence of conservative Christian organizations, a coalition of moderate and liberal religious leaders is starting a political advocacy organization to mobilize voters in opposition to Bush administration policies. The nonprofit organization, the Clergy Leadership Network, plans to formally announce its formation on Friday and will operate from an expressly religious, expressly partisan point of view. The group cannot, under Internal Revenue Service guidelines, endorse political candidates, and it will have no official ties to the Democratic Party. But the driving purpose of the organization, according to its mission statement, is...

HUD cites poor quality work and overpayment to contractors The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has ordered Houston to immediately suspend one of its major housing-assistance programs for what it says are widespread problems, including poor-quality work and overpayment to contractors. The blunt enforcement letter, issued last week, follows a detailed audit of the city's $5 million Emergency Home Repair Program, which fixes unsafe houses owned by elderly or disabled city residents. The program is entirely funded by federal grants. "Due to the very serious nature of this finding, the fact that it is a repeat finding, and...

Non-profit groups to pay for advertising in Washington DC Metro A non-profit organisation that advocates making gay people straight has been told to pay if it wants to advertise on Metro stations in Washington DC.Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays are among a group of non-profit groups that have been told they may no longer get free advertising space.The Metro's Operations Committee wants to eliminate free public service announcements by non-governmental agencies and force organisations requesting extra service to pay a deposit up front.The changes follow a financial dispute with the National Football League.Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays...

The Bush administration is actively seeking to gag or punish social service organizations that challenge the party line on such matters as health care for poor children and HIV prevention, according to a new report. Nonprofits that disagree with the president's own solutions, or go further and blame him for problems in the first place, have come to expect unpleasant consequences. Those might include audits of federal-funds spending and reviews of content, such as workshop literature. "If you disagree with the administration on ideological grounds, they're going to come down with a hammer. This has huge implications for the free...

<p>The Ford Foundation is the proverbial "fat boy in the canoe" of the philanthropic shipyard. And it seldom has encountered a liberal cause it hasn't embraced. As if that's not enough to call into question its judgment, it now has chosen to wrap its arms around one of the latest poster boys for the current era of corporate skulduggery.</p>

<p>NEW YORK - The U.S. House is considering a bill that could force the nation's foundations to give away more of their money to charity each year, creating a potential windfall of billions of dollars for nonprofit groups.</p> <p>The bill has created a furor in the philanthropic world, with foundations warning that they could be forced to squander their assets and spend themselves out of existence.</p>