Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Charity Watchdog group BLASTS Barbara Bush Katrina "donation"

Houston -- In a city housing thousands of Katrina evacuees, Barbara Bush's donation to a local hurricane relief fund would not seem controversial.

But more than a few eyebrows were raised when the former first lady stipulated that part of her contribution was to be spent on educational software purchased from her son Neil's company, Ignite Learning of Austin, Texas.

"I would think if she wants to do something beneficial for Katrina victims, she shouldn't be making the decision that the vendor is her son," said Daniel Borochoff, president of the American Institute of Philanthropy, a charity watchdog group....

"If everybody started doing that, it would ruin our whole system for tax-exempt organizations because people would be using them to benefit their business rather than for the public benefit," he said. "That's not why our government gives tax deductions for donations."

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