Christine Tempesta—Director of Strategic Initiatives
Massachusetts Institute of Technology—Cambridge, Mass.
United States
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IRF Update - Sept 17, 2010

Nominate a Foundation Leader for the CASE Commonfund Awards

Recognize the leadership of your foundation colleagues by nominating them for the 2011 CASE Commonfund Institutionally Related Foundation Awards.

The awards recognize individuals who have made valuable contributions through best practices, distinguished service and/or volunteer leadership to the foundation field. Senior leaders responsible for the day-to-day management of institutionally related foundations (CEOs, COOs, CFOs, counsels, etc.) are eligible to receive the award. View a list of past winners.

The deadline for nominations is Friday, Oct. 29. Nomination instructions are available on the CASE website. The awards will be presented at the 19th annual CASE Conference for Institutionally Related Foundations, April 13-15, 2011, in Phoenix, Ariz.

The CASE Commonfund Institutionally Related Foundation Awards are supported by a gift from Commonfund.

CASE Urges HHS to Ensure New Privacy Regulations Do Not Discourage Grateful Patient Fundraising

In comments submitted on Sept. 13, CASE President John Lippincott urges the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that new patient privacy regulations enacted under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act do not negatively impact grateful patient fundraising. View CASE Comments to HHS (pdf).

HITECH, enacted in 2009 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, includes a requirement that covered entities (health care providers, their institutionally related foundations and business associates) provide the recipient of any fundraising communication with a clear and conspicuous opportunity to opt out from receiving further fundraising communications. In addition, the law states that covered entities must make sure that individuals who opt out of fundraising communications do not receive additional communications.

To help in the implementation of these requirements, HHS solicited comments from the public on proposed regulations (pdf). In his comments, Lippincott urges HHS to clarify that an individual's decision to opt out of future fundraising communications related to service or treatment by a campus health care provider would not impact the ability of colleges, foundations or alumni associations to send out fundraising communications to the individual related to the academic enterprise. Lippincott also urges HHS to maintain the current rules which require covered entities to make "reasonable efforts" to ensure that individuals who decide to opt out do not receive future fundraising communications.
Survey Indicates Wealthy Donors May Give More to Offset Higher Taxes

Nearly 90 percent of financial advisers expect income taxes to increase for most of their clients in the next 12 to 18 months, and one in four predicts clients will increase charitable giving to offset these tax hikes, according to new survey findings.

The 2010 Advice & Giving survey by Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund also indicates that nearly 50 percent of surveyed advisers expect their clients to maintain giving levels despite ongoing market uncertainty and an overall decline in charitable giving in the United States in 2009.

Other findings:

  • Nearly 40 percent of advisers believe the use of donor-advised funds is on the rise compared to 20 percent who say the use of private foundations is growing.
  • The ability to help simplify giving was the top reason advisers thought the use of donor-advised funds would increase.
  • Only 52 percent of financial advisers proactively offer charitable planning advice, although 63 percent believe clients would be interested in it.

The survey gathered responses from more than 500 financial advisers.

Congress Likely to Consider Estate Tax, IRA Charitable Rollover After Midterm Elections

With a short work period planned for September and midterm elections on the horizon, lawmakers will likely delay action on the estate tax and an extension of the IRA charitable rollover until after voters go to the polls in November.

Currently, the estate tax is temporarily repealed but, without congressional action, will reappear at its pre-2001 levels ($1 million exemption, 55 percent tax rate) on Jan. 1, 2011. While the House has passed a bill (H.R. 4154) that would permanently extend the estate tax at its 2009 levels ($3.5 million exemption, 45 percent tax rate), Senate Democratic leaders do not have the 60 votes necessary to pass H.R. 4154 in their chamber. It is also unclear if an alternative estate tax proposal that would be more generous to heirs, introduced by Sens. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), can get the necessary 60 votes in the Senate. The Lincoln-Kyl proposal would set the exemption level at $5 million while the remainder of the estate would be taxed at a 35 percent rate.

Action on an IRA charitable rollover extension has also stalled. Prior to its expiration on Dec. 31, 2009, the IRA charitable rollover allowed taxpayers age 70 ½ or older to direct up to $100,000 annually from their individual retirement accounts to eligible charities, including colleges, universities and independent schools, without having to count the distribution as income for tax purposes. Multiple attempts to pass legislation that includes a one-year retroactive IRA charitable rollover extension have failed in the Senate.

Lawmakers may attach the estate tax and IRA charitable rollover extension to a larger tax bill during an expected lame duck session of Congress after the November elections. Any extensions would likely be short-term (one or two years).

CASE will continue to urge lawmakers to permanently extend the estate tax and IRA charitable rollover as soon as possible.

Stay up to date on this issue as well as the latest legislative and regulatory developments affecting advancement by subscribing to the CASE Legislative Update RSS Feed.
Headlines

"All Campus" Approach to Black College Fund Raising
Inside Higher Ed, September 15, 2010
Every person on campus can contribute to fundraising efforts at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, according to speakers at the annual meeting of the White House Initiative on HBCUs. This "all campus" approach can help counter HBCU fundraising disadvantages, including the lack of large development operations and the reality that HBCU's educate many students from low-income families and communities.
Full Article

Harvard Endowment Reports 11% Return for Year
New York Times, September 9, 2010
After a 27 percent decline in value in fiscal year 2009, the Harvard Endowment rebounded in fiscal year 2010 with an 11 percent return. Though positive, Harvard's return lagged stock market averages for the year. While not changing the endowment's overall investment approach, Jane Mendillo, president and chief executive of Harvard Management Company, has increased the endowment's liquidity.
Full Article

Public Colleges Turn to Tuition Increases to Offset Budget Squeezes
Chronicle of Higher Education, August 31, 2010
Most public colleges and universities will increase tuition and fees to offset cuts in state support, weakened endowment returns, increased expenses and higher debt loads, according to a report released by Moody's Investors Service. Moody's also predicts that public institutions will continue to face financial difficulties in the coming years.
Full Article (subscription required)

CSU Must Reveal Sarah Palin Speech Contract, Judge Rules
Christian Science Monitor, August 26, 2010
A Stanislaus County Superior Court judge ruled that California State University, Stanislaus, and its foundation violated California's Public Records Act when they withheld the speaking contract for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. In his ruling, the judge stated that CSU Stanislaus should have made the contract public because the university used the contract "in the conduct of the public's business." The judge also clarified that the CSU, Stanislaus Foundation was not a state agency for purposes of public records. The suit was filed by State Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) and Californians Aware, a nonprofit advocacy group. Sen. Yee is the sponsor of S.B. 330, a bill that would make all IRFs in California subject to the Public Records Act.
Full Article 

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