Stories related to: nonprofit

San Francisco’s got a new plan to address panhandling: The city is installing old parking meters in popular begging areas where passers-by can drop their spare change rather than giving it to panhandlers. The money will go to local non-profits to help the homeless, the Chronicle reports. “We're not helping these individuals by handing out cash” directly, says the city’s mayor. More »

Cops might look cool on TV, but they do a lot of paperwork off screen. Most chefs churn out the same dishes nightly in assembly-line fashion. Before hopping onto the latest career fad, see US News & World Report 's list of most overrated lines of work:  A great commercial idea shouldn’t attract you to ad executive jobs, which are more about selling than creating. More »

Tech companies that blend social missions with business ambitions are all the rage in Silicon Valley. Called “social enterprises,” they often generate sizable revenue (unlike most nonprofits), that’s then retained and reinvested (unlike most for-profits). Now, an ecosystem of related organizations is emerging, such as specialized legal services and independent Internet providers, reports the New York Times . More »

Looking for volunteer opportunities? The nonprofit Porn for the Blind is making free porn preview sites accessible to the blind, Wired reports. "We imagine that visually impaired people benefit from this service in many of the same ways that non-visually impaired people benefit from the hard-core pornography that's being described," said the group's co-founder. More »

Nonprofit hospitals are making more money than for-profit hospitals, and that has many critics wondering why they get such sweet tax breaks, the Wall Street Journal reports. Seventy-seven percent of nonprofits are making money, with at least 25 pulling in more than $250 million a year. Many are spending that money on new facilities and executive pay, rather than charity care. More »

Jimmy Wales has been hit with allegations that he abused his position as founder of Wikipedia, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. A former Wikipedia employee, Danny Wool, has claimed on his blog that Wales used his Wikimedia Foundation credit card for personal expenses. Meanwhile, a former girlfriend released chat transcripts between her and Wales that indicate he edited her Wikipedia entry to remove unfavorable information. More »

The president and CEO of the Red Cross was forced to resign yesterday for having an inappropriate "personal relationship with a subordinate employee" just six months after he was hired. "This is a huge punch in the stomach," said an organization official. Mark Everson was the Red Cross's third president in eight years. More »

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger travels on private jets and racks up six-figure trip expenses, thanks to the largesse of a shady nonprofit group whose secret donors get tax breaks, the LA Times reports. Watchdogs claim the 501(c)(3) is an abuse of a system intended to reward donations to needy causes. More »

After the Kerry-Edwards loss in 2004, John Edwards launched two nonprofits, ostensibly to fight poverty—but one of  them was devoted primarily to keeping Edwards himself in the public eye. The New York Times asks whether Edwards crossed a legal line, using the foundation, the Center for Promise and Opportunity, as a financial platform on which to build an '08 run. More »