Philanthropy Today

In arguments this week, the Supreme Court appeared poised to rule that a Catholic charity in Wisconsin is primarily a religious organization and therefore exempt from the state’s unemployment taxes. A chapter of Catholic Charities had sued the state over a determination that it operated essentially as a secular charity because it did not engage in specifically religious activity while providing services. Two courts in Wisconsin sided with the state, but some justices on the Supreme Court said the state’s decision seemed to require an implied test of religiosity, a notion that appeared to make them uncomfortable. (New York Times)

Federally funded services to older adults and people with disabilities, including senior centers and Meals on Wheels, could be cut as the agency that administers them is disbanded. Some programs run by the Administration for Community Living, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, will be eliminated, while others will be transferred to other agencies. Officials have not said which programs will survive. Elimination of the ACL is part of a major contraction of the department. The agency provided “more than 261 million meals to older adults, assistance such as respite care to more than 1.5 million family caregivers, and independent-living services to nearly 250,000 people with disabilities” in fiscal 2022, a former administrator said. (MarketWatch)

More Cuts and Closures

• Will Trump Kill Programs That Help Drug Users? L.A. Harm Reduction Groups Await Fate (Los Angeles Times)
  
  • Background from the Chronicle: Safe Injection Sites for Drug Users Are a Tough Sell to Foundations
• As Children Are Pulled Into Immigration Court, Many Must Fend for Themselves (Los Angeles Times)
  
  • Background from the Chronicle: Foundations and Government Team Up to Pay for Legal Help for Immigrants Facing Deportation
• Trump Administration Moves to Shutter Library Agency (New York Times)
  
  • Background from the Chronicle: Carnegie Returns to Its Roots With Millions in Grants to Public Libraries
  • Background from the Chronicle: Nonprofits and the Trump Agenda

More News and Opinion

• Their Kids Died at Sandy Hook. Their Tip Line Prevents School Shootings. (Washington Post)
  
  • Background from the Chronicle: Ten Years After Sandy Hook: A Movement Reborn
• University of Iowa Foundation No Longer Accepting Gifts to UI Diversity Fund (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
  
  • Background from the Chronicle on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
• What We Know About the Dispute at Prince Harry’s Charity (New York Times)
• Opinion: As Trump Rewrites Even America’s History, Institutions Have Two Choices – Submit or Find Ways to Resist (Guardian)
• Week in Insights: Nonprofits Shouldn’t Define Charity Too Loosely (Bloomberg Tax)
• With NPR Under Threat, a Colorful New History Shows Why It Matters (Washington Post)
• A Quarter-Billion Dollars for Defamation: Inside Greenpeace’s Huge Loss (New York Times)
• Bill Gates Says His Children Will Get Less Than 1 Percent of His Wealth (Fortune— subscription)

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