In April 2010, upstate residents and business owners were moved by the story of Jessica Vega, a young woman who was getting ready for her wedding day while facing terminal leukemia. Together, the community donated a wedding gown, flowers, rings, a honeymoon and even cash for Vega and her groom Michael O'Connell. The couple, with their baby daughter at their side, married on May 2...and then in September 2010, O'Connell revealed that Vega never had cancer. Now Vega has been indicted on grand larceny and fraud charges. more ›

Do you need a late Tuesday afternoon LOL? Then read Ryan Holiday's post on Forbes about how Planned Parenthood turned down a $500,000 donation from the infamous Tucker Max. The donation was contingent on naming a clinic in Texas after Max, who recently Tweeted (and deleted), "In South Florida. This place is awful. Shitty design, slutty whores & no culture, like a giant Planned Parenthood waiting room." And for some reason Max and his media consultant Holiday are shocked about the turn of events. Maybe they were shocked in a Captain Renault way. more ›

After making parents insane from the admissions process, it seems that more and more private schools are then putting the screws to parents by asking them how much they'll donate. And don't think $200 or even $1,000 will cut it: The NY Times begins its story by describing how one woman, whose three-year-old son was at a $21,000/year private school, was approached:

[Rachael Combe] received an invitation from the head of the school to come by for a visit. She assumed the meeting was to discuss how her son was adapting to the school’s curriculum. more ›

This is hardly surprising, because while Lenox Hill Hospital denies they received money from Beyoncé and Jay-Z to create a personalized VIP section for the birth of their daughter, Blue Ivy... those suites certainly weren't built on love alone. The famous couple were the first to utilize the $800/night private suits (what coincidental timing!), and now Radar reports that they made a six figure donation to the hospital prior to the birth. more ›

Ah, now that the federal authorities are investigating some questionable donations made to his mayoral campaign, NYC Comptroller John Liu has started to return some of those possibly shady funds. A spokesman for Liu told the NY Times that about $20,000 has been refunded; the Times adds, "Much of that has been sent back to people connected to companies highlighted in an investigation by The New York Times in October into Mr. Liu’s campaign disclosure reports. The inquiry found that some people listed as his campaign donors insisted that they had never given money." more ›

A breast cancer survivor isn't letting a double mastectomy prohibit her from giving her new baby breast milk: Over two dozen moms have happily donated their breast milk to Brooklyn resident Eva van Dok Pinkley, according to the Daily News. She says, "What they are doing, it's not easy to do. I'm just stunned at the amount of trouble that they are going through for me. I think of them and what they have done and give thanks." more ›

A girl in Montgomery, Alabama is currently saving up to move to Brooklyn, New York... and she could use a few bucks. Laura Zamora is an art-school grad and printmaker, and has decided to accelerate her stalled plans by setting up an Etsy page asking for donations so she can get out of dodge (specifically, her dad's place). more ›

Whoever stole this money is going to hell: $8,000 in cash and checks were stolen at a fundraiser for a Putnam County boy who has Hemifacial microsoma, a congential disorder that results in an underdeveloped face. Aidan Sullivan has no right ear, and this money was going towards creating one from rib cartilage. Aidan's family has insurance, but, since their doctors don't take it, they rely raffles to raise money for surgeries. Aidan's father, a FDNY lieutenant told the Journal News, "People were reaching out to help our son," and his mother said, "I don't understand how someone can take money from a kid who doesn't have an ear." Here's the family's Facebook page with info on how to donate. more ›

Newark Mayor Cory Booker's Twitter status reads, "'No man stands so straight as when he stoops to help a child.' Knights of Pythagorus." And whether this is how education funding donor and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg intended and wanted to be viewed, or whether he really did want to make an anonymous donation, it can't be denied that the money is the first step to a huge boost in the city's education system. At a press conference today in Newark (video below), Zuckerberg, Booker and Governor Chris Christie tried to explain how they'd take the next step. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg had to wade into the messy world of Illinois pay-for-play politics when it was revealed that he donated money to disgraced former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich's 2006 re-election campaign. According to City Room, Bloomberg told reporters that he and Blago had "similar views on abortion rights, gun control laws and the importation of prescription drugs from Canada," and the mayor explained, "I made lots of campaign donations at that time. His was less than some of the others. There was never any scandal about him in those days and so I supported him." (In other words, when you're as rich as me, who can count all the politicians I donate to?) more ›

The NY Times looks at the war chest of Steve Levy, who shed his Democratic allegiance in a bid to run for NY Governor as a Republican. Specifically, how much of Levy's $4 million was accumulated from Democratic donors (Levy's GOP rival Rick Lazio has about $640,000). While there are no rules about returning money, Democratic political consultant Hank Sheinkopf "playfully" suggested Levy give it back, "These are cases of consumer fraud. The label said ‘Democrat’ or it said ‘Republican.’ But when you opened up the package, you got the exact opposite." There's even a Levy Pay Us Back website. more ›

Billionaire David Koch is donating at least $10 million to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to spiff up the fountains outside its entrance and for "a dramatic upgrade to the museum's exterior lighting, and a full refurbishment of the entire plaza," the Wall Street Journal reports. more ›

A generous donor has taken big steps to close the Metropolitan Opera’s $4 million budget gap, cutting the operahouse a check for $30 million. The donation—which sets a record as the most generous in the Met’s history—comes from Ann Ziff, widow of publishing exec William Ziff and daughter to soprano Harriet Henders. It couldn’t come a at a better time, since the concert hall was beginning to look a bit desperate—implementing high-tech, though questionably appealing, measures like beaming its performances into movie theaters worldwide. Ziff told the Times she’ll forgive the Met its little experiments. “Whether I like a new production or not, I don’t feel is important,” she said. “To get these new audiences, we need to try new things.” Now if only someone would extend the same generosity towards the MTA. more ›

Gov. Paterson should be investigated for possibly misusing $1,800 in campaign funds at a Florida Ritz Carlton, a good government group alleges. According to the Daily News, the New York Public Interest Research Group wants the Board of Elections to study campaign credit card charges made at the resort in 2008 and determine if they were "personal in nature and not appropriately expensed to the campaign." In a long-awaited Times story on Paterson's purported laziness, the Governor said he went to Florida to meet with possible campaign donors, but added: "I have a cousin who's ill in Sarasota. I went down to see my cousin." He also said he spent time poolside, and noted it "was kind of vacation-oriented." more ›

Bloomberg made so many donations last year he can't even keep track of them all. Something shady is allegedly going on with one of them, a $750,000 contribution to the Independence Party, prompting Manhattan DA Cy Vance to investigate how the money was handled by a top aide and what exactly it was spent on. "We handed the money over to the Independence Party, and they have the full accounting, presumably, of how the money was spent," said Bloomberg's campaign lawyer Ken Gross. "The understanding was that the money was helping go to the party to pay for Election Day expenses such as poll watchers." more ›

In a year when charitable giving dropped among the nation's wealthiest people, Mayor Bloomberg handed out $254 million in donations—making him not only richest man in New York City but also the country's fourth biggest giver. According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Bloomberg—who is worth an estimated $17.5 billion—donated money to 1,358 different nonprofits and dedicated $125 million to help six charities devise a plan to help reduce traffic accidents in developing countries. more ›

In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on Tuesday, former Fugees star Wyclef Jean has emerged as one of the most prominent advocates for charitable giving in his home country. His nonprofit, Yele Haiti Foundation, has already netted more than $2 million in contributions via text messages. But that charity has a "lackluster history of accounting for its finances," and it has paid at least $410,000 to businesses tied to Jean in past years, The Smoking Gun reports. more ›

To deflect criticism from the massive bonuses it will soon pay out to employees, Goldman Sachs is considering expanding a program forcing top earners to give a percentage of their salaries to charity, the Times reports. more ›

Further proof that this whole internship thing is totally out of hand: the Italian designer Versace has put one of its mad exclusive and totally unpaid internships up for auction, and the bidding is climbing through the thousands. With a week left to go, some misguided parent may pay over ten thousand dollars to get their nineteen-year-old cleaning up fabric scraps. more ›

The holidays are upon us and here's a feelgood story to go along with all the Christmas cheer. 1010Wins reports that a New York City businessman and philanthropist gave one of their listeners an early present this year in the form of $10,000. more ›

If you were saving that $.14 in your pocket for 1/30th of a Pumpkin Spice Latte, you're in luck: the Salvation Army Santas will soon be taking credit cards! These new "plastic kettles" will start popping up around the city in the next two weeks, says the Daily News, and have already been introduced in 120 other cities. Last year these machines were tested in cities like Dallas and L.A., and seemed to be profitable for the charity. Spokeswoman Jennifer Byrd says the average credit card donation was $15, way over the average $2 cash donation. Sounds good, just as long as you don't donate to those sketchy UHO people. more ›

Last year around this time we got word that the East River State Park in Williamsburg would be shutting down for the winter months to save up some money. This year shows less signs of a stalled waterfront park, as the Daily News reports that a playground is being constructed and will open in Spring. more ›

Last year residents of a Perry Street townhouse, one that is home to Carrie Bradshaw in a fictional world, put up a chain and a sign threatening away any fans taking photos on the stoop. Since fans allegedly are ignoring the sign, they have added a new one. This time around it's attached to a money drop box, and asks if you take a photo, to donate to a charity for orphaned animals. Hear that Carrie fans? For every photo you take, and dollar you don't donate, you are killing kittens and puppies. VanishingNY spotted the new system, and calls for a new tax in the city: a Tourist & Yunnie Nuisance Tax. more ›

It's not just us city folk who appreciate the art institutes here. The New Yorker reports that Glenn Lowry, director of the Museum of Modern Art, has received quite a generous donation from a neighbor of his Vermont house who passed away. They say, "Two years ago, when Lowry heard that a man named Michael H. Dunn, from the town of Derby, just across the lake from him, had dropped dead of a heart attack, and that his estate, in excess of ten million dollars, had been left to MOMA, he was flabbergasted." more ›

With the Met Museum announcing a series of layoffs, it's not surprising to hear that visitors of the establishment aren't paying the full recommended admission fee. The NY Post reports that folks aren't willing to fork over the dough during the tough economic times, and many are just giving $1 (of the suggested $20) for their visit. For the Met and other NYC museums that have long shunned a set admission price, there's probably nothing they can do if they don't want to see a decrease in visitors. One recently laid off art lover told the paper, "If they didn't do it, I'm not sure I would come. I really appreciate that they allow me to pay on a sliding scale." There is one museum that hasn't taken a hit yet, the Museum of Natural History is still getting their $15 suggested price from visitors. A spokesman confirmed, "For the time being...people are paying the suggested donation." Survival of the fittest? more ›

Politicker NY noticed how a $500,000 check, from the coffers of one Michael R. Bloomberg, arrived at the state Independence Party a day after upstate billionaire Tom Golisano announced he'd fund an effort against the term limits extension. more ›

In 2007 Gotham Book Mart shut its doors after 87 years of being in business, and owner Andreas Brown held a court-mandated auction, selling the entire contents of the shop for $400K (though it was reportedly worth several million). CityRoom is reporting that now, nearly two years later, "about 200,000 items have been donated to the University of Pennsylvania" by an anonymous donor (the same who purchased the entire contents of the store's inventory). The lot includes “proofs, advance copies, pamphlets, photographs, posters, reference works, catalogs, broadsides, prints and postcards,” as well as books "from the personal libraries of Truman Capote and Anaïs Nin," and signed items from Arthur Miller, John Updike, Woody Allen and Tennessee Williams (who was a clerk at the store at one point). The site wonders if Leonard A. Lauder, former chairman of Estée Lauder, previous benefactor of the bookstore, and graduate of Penn (class of 1954) was the donor. more ›

Solar One, the non-profit Community Environmental Center here in New York, is raising some funds for the new year. Their latest $100 donation plan is dubbed Environmental Health on a Half Shell. It's simple...if you donate 100 bucks, they'll plant 100 oysters in the East River for you. They explain: "The lowly oyster provides a natural filtering system - they eat algae, and well, raw sewage. They purify our waters. When the Dutch arrived, the lower Hudson River Estuary contained 350 square miles of oyster beds. These many millions of bi-valve beauties cleaned the lower Estuary in a single day. They contributed mightily to the wealth of New York as well - pickled oysters became important trade with the British West Indies. Oysters were produced in all 5 boroughs...sold on every corner. Sadly, sewage and pollution exhausted the last beds in 1927." Last year they planted 3,000 oysters, and this year they have a goal of 10,000 (you can help). Just imagine a swimmable East River! And quick, someone dump some oysters in the Gowanus. more ›

The annual NY Cares Coat Drive has been extended past this month and into January because there have been fewer donations this season. The organization usually collected 80,000-90,000 coats a year, but this year, they are off that mark by about 10%--which means 8,000 or more people could be without coats. There's increased demand this year and NY Cares executive director Gary Bagley tells NY1, "We're guessing it's probably the economic situation, maybe people are holding to their coats a little longer, they're a little concerned. We're really asking people to dig deep into their closets and come out." Here are details on where you can donate your gently used coats--and NY Cares has receipts so you can get a tax deduction. more ›