Friday Current Event

Friday, January 20th


Current Event


For this week's current event I have chosen an article from the New York Times article titled "To Advance Their Cause, Foundations Buy Stock." This article from late 2011 revolves around the idea of non-profit organizations buying stocks to help fund their organization's cause. Recently the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has invested $10 million in stock to help fund their desires in global health, global development, and US education. Many organizations are using this same approach to help fund their organizations in an economy where funds are hard to come by, especially when it involves not-for-profit organizations. The question is where does the idea of non-profit end and the desire to acquire money start. Critics argue that the idea of non-profit organizations using these program-related investments (PRIs) are acting unethically and should not be allowed.

This idea comes into play with the Walter & Connie Payton Foundation. The foundation has been facing hardships in their financial department and this is a valid option for an organization such as this. With the current state of the economy, companies must search for new ways to acquire the funds they so need to accomplish their goals. The Walter and Connie Payton Foundation may come to a point where such an investment may be viable and worth the start up cost to keep the foundation running for years to come. Walter's likeness and vision for a brighter future for the underprivileged children should be continued and going into the stock market may be necessary to keep the foundation going in the future.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/25/business/foundations-come-to-the-aid-of-companies.html?ref=nonprofitorganizations