Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan are giving billions to charity through their donor-advised fund instead of a traditional foundation.
Jeff Chiu/AP Photo
As these tax-exempt vehicles transform philanthropy, they’re drawing more scrutiny. Will Congress or the Trump administration tinker with the rules that encouraged their rapid growth?
It is an attractive proposition to say we would gain significant efficiencies if there were a limited number of major providers of government-funded human services.
shutterstock
If we continue to base our views of the charity sector on incorrect assumptions and perceptions we run the risk of doing considerable damage to a national asset.
Should government perform any tasks listed in the Yellow Pages?
shutterstock
Governments have come to realise that no one sector acting alone has the capacity or capability to solve complex social policy problems.
The vast majority of donations Australians make are on the spur of the moment.
shutterstock
Donors feel doubly let down when a charity they have supported falls short of the high standards of conduct expected of them.
Yemenis are staring at impending famine.
Yahya Arhab/EPA
Constant staff rotations makes it difficult to pass on knowledge about an emergency situation.
Charities that fundraise across Australia – even if just through a website – are burdened with complying with red tape.
shutterstock
Australians’ confidence in charities would be strengthened if any compliance action taken against them was made public.
via shutterstock.com
Charities’ victory in inheritance case a relief for legacy fundraisers, but raises wider questions about individuals’ motives.
In a world where educational opportunity is unjustly distributed, why should private schools be exempt from paying income tax?
AAP/Tracey Nearmy
In a world where educational opportunity is unjustly distributed, there are questions as to whether private schools should be exempt from paying income tax.
Only about one-third of all registered charities are eligible for tax-deductible donations.
AAP/Joel Carrett
The current system of determining which organisations can receive tax-deductible donations and which cannot is overly complex and ad hoc.
Roughly 60% of donors to Australian charities give on the spur of the moment.
AAP/Joel Carrett
Giving is changing, moving more into the online realm and taking on different forms – and some charities are struggling to keep up.
We’ve put together an infographic snapshot of the key numbers and trends regarding Australian charities and giving.
shutterstock
Does sport really improve young people’s development?
Lyndon Johnson, who was friends with evangelist Billy Graham, wasn’t targeting religious groups when he pushed his eponymous amendment in 1954.
AP Photo
President Trump recently repeated his pledge to eliminate the 63-year-old law, which bans charities from engaging in political activities, at the National Prayer Breakfast.
A medium-sized Australian charity will share more of its donors with the Salvation Army or the Red Cross than with Parkinson’s Australia.
AAP/Joel Carrett
Charities, like all brands, are in a constant battle for attention – and they must win eyeballs more than hearts.
Danny Nalliah leads both the Rise Up Australia political party and the Catch the Fire Ministries church.
AAP/Joe Castro
Charities in Australia can be political. They can advocate and lobby to further their charitable purposes. But they can’t be party-political.
May Wong, Great Hall of the People, Tian'anmen Square via Flickr
A new Chinese law giving police powers over foreign NGOs is indicative of a global trend to restrict the political space available for civil society.
Time for closer inspection.
KODAKovic / Shutterstock.com
There’s a huge divide in thinking between academia and international development on the role of the internet in economic growth.
Give a little?
Wad of cash via www.shutterstock.com
Research suggests the answer, surprisingly, may be no, but behavioral science offers a few ways to encourage the wealthy to open their wallets a little wider.
Not if it’s self-dealing.
J. David Ake/AP Photo
Given Trump’s substantial conflicts of interest, the foundation’s admission of self-dealing should sound a warning to both the president-elect and voters as he takes the oath of office.
Last year 35 UK universities received donations of a million pounds or more.
Pexels
Why higher education is a worthy cause for the rich and famous.