<p>Op-Ed</a> Contributor - Enjoy the Reunion. Skip the Check. - Op-Ed - NYTimes.com</p>
<p>Bit of rebellion by a Harvard alum against donating in the face of $33-plus billion endowment.
Have to admit, I'm thinking twice about giving to my alma mater where D#2
is headed come September (not Harvard).</p>
<p>I empathize with the writer -- our tiny donation to Hs school seems invisible compared to its giant endowment. We'll probably give more to my much-less-well-off alma mater. Our S starts college in the fall, and that will be our donation to his school.</p>
<p>I haven't read the article yet.</p>
<p>If you feel that your small donation is unimportant in the face of a large endowment, how about directing your money toward a specific program or department?</p>
<p>I earmark my donations for financial aid.</p>
<p>There have been some recent court ruling challenging the blind granting of tax exemptions for some educational, religious and "non-profit" organizations. If a university like Harvard has an endowment which is so large that it is in essence a profit center for the university, why should its income and donations to it be tax exempt?? if a tele-evangelism ministry or non-profit organization exists to provide a lavish lifestyle for its minister and staff, why should it be tax exempt?</p>
<p>I know our church is very careful in renting out its facilities to non church orgs in order to ensure that we do not make a profit on the transaction. Most times the space offerred for free to groups like AA, scouts, school groups. In renting out space to Gymboree for several years, we charged an amount to cover utilities, general maintenance, insurance and some depreciation of the space. The rent was a less than 25% of the rental they would have been charged for commercial space.</p>