Charities in New York state have collectively raised more than $400 million for Hurricane Sandy relief efforts, the state’s attorney general said Thursday.

A survey of 88 nonprofit groups by Eric Schneiderman’s office found that as of mid-December, the fundraising for storm victims had been dominated by five charities, led by the American Red Cross, which had raised $188 million, the Robin Hood Foundation, which had taken in $67 million and The Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, which collected $45 million.

Read the full story here.

Justin Timberlake reportedly plans to donate his $3 million Super Bowl party appearance fee to charity.

The actor-and-singer is currently making his music comeback following the release of Suit & Tie, his first new single in several years. Justin has a series of high-profile performances coming up, and returned to the stage over the weekend for an hour-long concert. He was accompanied by a ten-piece band and welcomed guest appearances from Jay-Z and Timbaland for his live concert at the star-studded DirectTV Super Bowl party.

According to New York Post, Justin was paid $3 million to perform and he will reportedly give that sum away to charity.

The American Red Cross, which bills itself as “the world’s largest humanitarian network,” is pushing back against critics of its response to superstorm Sandy, with the head of the organization saying its relief effort has been “near flawless” despite criticism from stranded storm victims and elected officials.

Two weeks after the storm slammed the East Coast, leaving millions of residents without power and in need of food, warmth and shelter, the venerable nonprofit has taken a public battering over what many victims and some officials saw as a lackluster and unfocused response.

Read the full article here.

She ain’t just a pretty blond! International socialite Paris Hilton, who was in Goa to spin the disc at India Resort Fashion Week (IRFW), gears up for some charity work in Mumbai.

Paris landed in Mumbai from Goa on Monday morning. She will visit an orphanage in Bandra and plans to spend some time interacting with the children there.

Read the full story here.

Since it was founded in 1983, the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix has grown from a series of races held on the roads of Pittsburg’s Schenley Park to a roughly 10-day marathon of galas, vintage racing, and car culture events. PVGP celebrated its 30th year in July 2012—and organizers estimate that as many as 250,000 attendees showed up for the party.

That figure is impressive, but it’s matched by the PVGP’s contributions to its charitable partners: the Autism Society of Pittsburgh and the Allegheny Valley School. At a ceremony last week, the PVGP donated a record-setting $250,000 to the two organizations. That makes for a total of $3.2 million in charitable donations since 1983.
Read the full story here.

Well written article from the Wetherby News.

In a time when charities are crying out for money with ever greater persistence I have both an expectation and perhaps a hope that the donors, the general public, will become even more thoughtful and deliberate in their giving both of their time and their money.

Over the last decade or so charities have become much more effective in explaining the need for their existence and the difference they make. This has come about largely because those funding the charities have asked the questions, ‘Why do you exist?’ And ‘What difference do you make?’

Indiscriminate giving is rapidly disappearing.

Read the full article here.

Some of the wealthiest Americans have started to contend that paying taxes and making charitable gifts are just about the same thing. Their failure to grasp the profound difference between the two presents a very real problem for nonprofit organizations and our democracy.

Mitt Romney epitomized this thinking last January when he tacked charitable contributions onto his taxes while discussing the percentage of income reported and paid on his 2010 return. He used the same calculus again a few weeks ago while defending his record and his refusal.

Read the full article here.

Chris Brown and Drake have been offered $1 million each to fight three rounds in a boxing ring in the name of charity, the New York Times reports.

What’s more, promoter Damon Feldman is hoping to pay Rhianna, whose links to both stars are well documented, the same amount to be the ring girl.

Well-wishers for Robin Gibb are being asked to donate to a Manx charity instead of sending funeral flowers.

The Bee Gees singer, who died aged 62 after a lengthy battle with cancer, was born in the Isle of Man in 1949.

His family have requested donations to children’s hospice Rebecca House in Douglas.

The facility, which provides care for children with life-threatening conditions, was officially opened by Gibb and his wife, Dwina, in 2008.

Speaking of the arrangements, hospice chairman Sir Miles Walker said: “You never really think people as famous as Robin would remember a hospice in the Isle of Man.

Read the full article here.

The state of Iowa has suspended payments to a taxpayer-funded Des Moines charity that provides counseling for children and families.

The charity, A New Beginning, was the subject of a March 29 Des Moines Register report that said the organization was the subject of examinations by the Iowa Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the U.S. attorney’s office.

Last week, the Iowa Department of Human Services notified the charity’s chief executive officer, Kenneth Cameron, that it was suspending all Medicaid payments to A New Beginning because of credible allegations that it was billing taxpayers for services it never delivered. The notice indicates that the dollar value at issue is the $226,000 the charity receives from Medicaid each year.

I understand the USA is going though some tough times but it is sad to see people stooping so low as to commit fraud at charities, especially important ones like this.

Read the full article.