NONPROFIT NEWS FROM ELSEWHERE
The leader of the venerable Washington, D.C., nonprofit Martha’s Table has resigned after three years, citing abusive behavior by the organization’s Board of Directors. Kim Ford, a former Obama administration official with a background in education and community development, wrote in a letter to supporters that board members had repeatedly “publicly threatened and humiliated” her and “sabotaged the organization.” Ford did not name names or cite specific instances of abuse. In a statement, board chairman Ellis Carr said, “We are grateful to Kim Ford for her contributions to our community and our organization” but did not address Ford’s accusations. Martha’s Table , which began 42 years ago as an after-school feeding program for children, took in $23 million in contributions and grants in 2019. During the pandemic, it expanded programs to include cash assistance to poor families, and the D.C. government has enlisted it in a direct-cash program for poor mothers. (Washington City Paper)
Plus: See a Chronicle article about Martha’s Table and one of its former leaders.
Taxpayer funding for anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers has skyrocketed from about $17 million to nearly $89 million in the past decade, according to an Associated Press tally. The nonprofit centers, which are typically religiously affiliated and generally do not offer medical services, receive funding in about a dozen states. Subsidies have grown as states erect more barriers to abortion. For example, in the wake of Texas’s new law outlawing the procedure at a point before most women know they are pregnant, the legislature recently put $100 million into an abortion-alternatives program over the next two years. Critics of the centers accuse it of misleading clients about abortion and falsely claiming to provide medical care. Defenders liken the money to grants for Planned Parenthood clinics, some of which provide abortion services, albeit not with public funding. (Associated Press)
More News
- GoFundMe Ends Fundraiser for Canada Convoy Protesters (Associated Press)
- Open Society Foundations Announces Grants to Help Black Activists Make Their Work More Sustainable (Washington Post)
- Ore. Church Sues City That Limited Soup Kitchen Hours (New York Times)
- Lawsuit Appealed Over Mormon Church Use of Donations (Associated Press)
- Fresh Questions Over Gates Foundation Governance (Lancet)
- Smithsonian Museums Struggle to Keep National Treasure Above Water (Georgetown Voice)
- Best Practices to Negotiate Salary in the Nonprofit Sector (NYN Media)
Big Donors
- Jeff Bezos Suggests Naming MLK Library Auditorium After Toni Morrison Instead of Himself (Washington Post)
- Britain’s Cultural Institutions Are Quietly Cutting Their Ties to the Sackler family (Times)
