PEPFAR, HOW FAR?

This from a Soros Open Society Institute Public Health Program officer on the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, who reports the Obama Administration is notifying the health providers it funds that they can only put new people on AIDS treatment if some of the patients they are already treating die: “Well, we just got our hands on a letter the U.S. government sent to (AIDS) treatment providers in Uganda in October, 2009. It says:

“PEPFAR Implementing partners who directly provide antiretroviral treatment should only enroll new ART patients if they are sure that these new patients can continue to be supported without a future increase in funding...

“In filling treatment slots that are made empty through attrition – i.e. deaths and loss to follow-up estimated at 12-30% annually – priority should be given to the sickest patients, eligible pregnant women, children, TB/HIV patients, and family members of persons on ART. Partners should provide support as needed to ensure that patient information records are up to date and an equitable system of triage for total ART slots is worked out within their sites before enrolling any new patients.”

Yoohoo, Boston Globe, follow up here, please.

*President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)

BE AWARE

Adweek reported that a Facebook Fan is worth $3.60 of media value. The reason for quantifying how much a “fan” or “follower” is worth in dollars and cents is so companies and organizations can have some clue of ROI to justify being in social media. As Adweek said, “…the most powerful incentive for brands building fan bases: social customer-relationship management. Marketers often use their Facebook hubs to inform fans of new products, services and promotions.” A company called Vitrue did the “study” Adweek cited. They are in the business of selling technology solutions for social media management – a fact I didn’t see in the AdWeek piece. Vitrue investors are Comcast Interactive Capital and Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company. How much is that research worth?

WAKE UP CALL

Many small nonprofit organizations could lose their tax-exempt status this year. Why? Because 2009 is the third year that the IRS has required the filing of Form 990-N for nonprofits with under $25,000 in annual revenue. Before 2007, filing wasn't necessary. IRS regulations now require that any 501(c)(3) public charity that fails to file a required Form 990 for three consecutive years will automatically lose their tax-exemption. Don’t let your status be revoked. Like the bunnies in my yard, hop on it!

NOBLE NOBEL GIVING

As is customary, President Obama donated his $1.4 million in Nobel Peace Prize money to qualified not-for-profit organizations. He split it among 10 charities, supporting veterans and higher education, as well as Haiti relief and global outreach programs. Two of the organizations had previously received contributions from the Obamas: The United Negro College Fund and the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund. This is a fine example of private funding for the public good.

AccountingWeb.com reminds us that former Pres. Jimmy Carter and Vice President Al Gore “took advantage of a subsection of the Tax Code that allows prize winners, under certain circumstances, to funnel the money directly to their chosen charities, rather than receiving the money into their own taxable incomes.” Carter gave his prize money to the Carter Center and the Rosalyn Carter Institute for Caregiving; Gore donated all of his to the Alliance for Climate Change. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. donated his prize to the civil rights movement. By directing donations directly to the organizations, the money did not become taxable income. (They also forfeited any charitable deduction.)

The “Yes We Can” message, development version: President Obama’s philanthropic support could have served an additional purpose. In the press coverage of the President’s charitable gifts there was no mention of the decisive factors he used to select the organizations. Doing so might have influenced how other Americans make charitable choices. And, it would have “stimulated” the call for charitable foundations to specify the logic behind the grants they make. The charitable funding ecosystem would have been enriched with this information.