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Source: GuideStar, June 2010

A survey of public charity and private foundation employees was conducted online from June 14, 2010, until June 28, 2010. Te purposes of the survey were to explore how charitable organizations fared during the first five months of 2010 and to try to gauge the effect of the downturn in the economy on the American nonprofit sector. There were 7,014 usable responses, 6,434 (92 percent) from public charities and 580 (8 percent) from private foundations.

It has been, and continues to be, a difficult financial environment for nonprofits. About 40 percent of respondents have seen further declines in contributions in the first five months of 2010 at the same time that a majority (63 percent) have seen an increase in demand for their services. Even organizations that have stopped the bleeding are concerned.
Related:
- 2010 State of the Sector Survey Full Results
Source: Nonprofit Finance Fund, 2010
- In Their Own Words: Voices from the 2010 State of the Sector Survey
Source: Nonprofit Finance Fund, 2010

Source: Delta Cost Project, July 2010

From the press release:
A national trends report and cost-comparison tool released today by the Delta Project on Postsecondary Costs, Productivity, and Accountability provide significant insight into how thousands of the nation's colleges and universities are spending their resources, with implications for what that means for ―the new normal in college spending.

The report - Trends in College Spending 1998-2008: Where Does the Money Come From? Where Does It Go? What Does It Buy? - examines national college spending and resource trends in the years leading up to the current recession. Focusing on the period from 1998 to 2008 (the most recent year for which data is available), the report highlights several ongoing patterns in how institutions get and spend their money. TCS Online, a new web-based application of the Delta project database, complements the national trends report with easy access to institution and state-level details.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor and Securities and Exchange Commission, 2010

The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today announced guidance to help investors and plan participants better understand the operations and risks of target date fund investments.

Target date funds, also known as life cycle funds, are designed to provide a convenient way to invest for retirement by automatically changing their mix of investments in a way that is intended to become more conservative as the fund's target date approaches. There can be significant differences among target date funds in how they invest and how they reallocate assets between equity and fixed income investments up to and after the target date of the fund. The guidance will assist investors and participants in assessing the benefits and risks associated with target date funds and the appropriateness of including such an investment as part of their retirement portfolios.

The guidance describes some basics features of target date funds, including the investment mix of such funds, the risks associated with the investments, how target date funds operate, and ways to evaluate a target date retirement fund that will help increase awareness of both the value and risks associated with these types of investments.

Source: Evelina Moulder and Ron Carlee, Public Management, Vol. 92 no. 4, May 2010

The January 15, 2010, headline in Bloomberg's news and data information said, "Municipal Market Handles Biggest Week of Bond Sales in a Month." During the past two years, volatility in the bond market and downgraded ratings for both the bond insurers and the bond issuers have had an impact on the municipal bond market. Although the majority of local governments responding to ICMA's 2009 "State of the Profession" survey indicated that the bond market had not affected them, what does the future hold?

ICMA's 2009 survey indicated that local governments across a wide spectrum are suffering from the economic crisis, with impacts varying for a wide variety of reasons. Of significance are the different approaches used to deal with the downturn. Local governments with Aaa bond ratings are managing the economic crisis differently from other local governments, survey data show.

This article examines the differences between the responding local governments with a Moody's Aaa bond rating and other respondents. Moody's has given Aaa ratings to 133 municipalities and counties, 45 of which responded to the "State of the Profession" survey. The responses of the 45 Aaa communities are compared with the 2,169 local governments that responded to the survey and do not have a Moody's Aaa rating.

Source: Dean Baker, Robert Pollin,Travis McArthur, Matt Sherman, Political Economy Research Institute and Center for Economic and Policy Research, Working Paper Series, no. 212, December 2009

From the abstract:
The economic crisis of the last two years has led to serious concerns about the sharp growth in the federal government's fiscal deficit as well as the government's overall debt burden as a share of total U.S. GDP. Many analysts also believe that an excessive share of the economy's resources is being consumed by the financial sector. A financial transactions or trading tax is a policy tool that can address both issues: raising a substantial amount of revenue and reducing the size of financial trading in the U.S. economy relative to the economy's level of productive activity. This paper calculates the revenue potential from a set of financial trading taxes. It updates an earlier set of calculations, using a similar methodology.

Source: LegiStorm, March 2010

We currently have earmark data for fiscal years 2008-2010. By viewing earmark spending data in a variety of ways, you can learn details about the locations receiving funds for special projects and which legislators are securing those funds.

Source: R. Sam Garrett, Congressional Research Service, R41054, February 1, 2010

From the summary:
Following the Supreme Court's January 21, 2010, ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, questions have emerged about which policy options could be available to Congress. This report provides an overview of selected campaign finance policy options that may be relevant. It also briefly comments on how Citizens United might affect political advertising. A complete understanding of how Citizens United will affect the campaign and policy environments is likely to be unavailable until at least the conclusion of the 2010 election cycle.

If Congress pursues additional legislation, at least two broad choices could be relevant. First, Congress could provide candidates or parties with additional access to funds to combat corporate influence in elections. Second, Congress could restrict spending under certain conditions or require those making expenditures post-Citizens United to provide additional information to voters or regulators. Options within both approaches could generate substantial debate. Some may contend that the only way to provide Congress with the power to directly affect the content of the ruling would be to amend the Constitution.

Bills introduced as of this writing that may be relevant for legislative responses to Citizens United include, but are not necessarily limited to H.J.Res. 13, H.J.Res. 68, H.R. 158, H.R. 1826, H.R. 2056, H.R. 3859, H.R. 4487,H.R. 4511, H.R. 4517, H.R. 4522, H.R. 4523, H.R. 4527, H.R. 4537, H.R. 4540, S. 752, S. 2954, and S. 2959. Given the pace of developments since the ruling, this report is not intended to be exhaustive. Relevant legislation that has been introduced thus far is reflected through selected examples. Additional legislation will be included in future updates. This report is not intended to provide a legal analysis of Citizens United or of legal issues that might affect the policy options discussed here. CRS Report R41045, The Constitutionality of Regulating Corporate Expenditures: A Brief Analysis of the Supreme Court Ruling in Citizens United v. FEC, by L. Paige Whitaker discusses legal aspects of the decision.
See also:
Life After Citizens United
Source: National Conference of State Legislatures, February 18, 2010

Source: Katherine Baicker, David Cutler and Zirui Song, Health Affairs, published online January 14, 2010
(subscription required)

From the abstract:
Amid soaring health spending, there is growing interest in workplace disease prevention and wellness programs to improve health and lower costs. In a critical meta-analysis of the literature on costs and savings associated with such programs, we found that medical costs fall by about $3.27 for every dollar spent on wellness programs and that absenteeism costs fall by about $2.73 for every dollar spent. Although further exploration of the mechanisms at work and broader applicability of the findings is needed, this return on investment suggests that the wider adoption of such programs could prove beneficial for budgets and productivity as well as health outcomes.

Source: Connie Clem, American Jails, November/December 2009

The author contacted jail administrators across the U.S. asking what their agencies were doing to cope with decreased funding amidst economic troubles. This article shares their thoughts. Strategies for cutting costs are provided for the physical plant, operations, inmate programs and services, personnel, and population management. Ideas are also given for revenue options, making a plan to address cost savings, and the importance of public stewardship.

Source: Monika Bauerlein and Clara Jeffery, Mother Jones, Vol. 35 no. 1, January-February 2010

More than a year later, has anybody been brought to account for crashing our economy? Don't be silly.
See also:
Moral Bankruptcy, By Joseph E. Stiglitz
Moguls without morals: Time for a market correction.

Thank You, Sir. May We Have Another?, By David Corn
The bailout made Americans hopping mad. So why aren't we furious at the fat cats who caused it?

Always Be Foreclosing, By Andy Kroll
Homeowners' pain is shady mortgage middlemen's gain.

Capital City, By Kevin Drum
It's hard to kick the finance lobby off the Hill when they own the place.

Faces of Greed: Meet the Madoff Minions, By Erin Arvedlund
Bernie Madoff claims he acted alone. Riiiiight.