In the aftermath of the deadly earthquake-tsunami that struck South Asia on December 26, 2004, Law School alumnus Jack B. Siegel ?81 has been a source of expertise for people around the world who are seeking to determine which relief organizations will allow them to earmark donations specifically for victims of this disaster.
Siegel, who lives in Chicago, is an attorney and CPA who has advised numerous non-profit organizations on tax-related issues. He has also developed software to help charities improve their governance.
On December 28, The New York Times published a list of fourteen major relief organizations where people could send donations. Siegel made a study to determine which organizations on the Times list had a clear method for allowing donors to earmark their funds for tsunami relief. He posted his findings on his Web site, http://charitygovernance.blogs.com/, under the title "If You Want to Earmark Your Dollars for Southeast Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Be Sure to Review the Online Donation Form Carefully."
"For me it was just another day's post," he recalls.
He did not anticipate what came next: He received a call from a reporter at the Times itself, who included information about him and his study in an article titled "Giving for a Cause, and That Cause Only," in the January 5, 2005 edition. Reporter Stephanie Strom wrote that "Four of the fourteen charities [Siegel] surveyed offered a clear method for earmarking gifts for tsunami relief efforts. The rest were more ambiguous, and Mr. Siegel's Web log advised donors to take care in making their choices."
As soon as the article appeared, Siegel was surprised to find himself a focus of worldwide attention, with phone calls from reporters in France and Italy, and e-mails from around the world. "This was my first exposure to being in The New York Times," he says. "Things really happen when you are in The New York Times."
Siegel explains that the reason he decided to investigate the issue of earmarking contributions was that he was already making a study of the Red Cross response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The Red Cross encountered great criticism when reports revealed that the donations it received after the 9/11 disaster had not all been used to help the victims. "So when the tsunami hit," Siegel explains, "I wanted to examine how relief organizations were responding to the lessons of the Red Cross."
He also had a personal reason to analyze the organizations: he and his wife were planning to make a donation themselves, and, like countless others worldwide, they were wondering which relief organization to contact.
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Siegel is currently CEO of Auto Didactix LLC, which specializes in interactive guides and tutorials for lawyers, accountants, financial professionals, and students. Before founding the firm in 1995, he practiced law with Foley & Lardner in Milwaukee, where he was a partner in the Corporate Tax Department.
He recalls that he had no trouble deciding what area of law to focus on during his UW Law School years. "I came to law school wanting to be a tax lawyer," he says.
After receiving his J.D. in 1981, he earned an LL.M. in Taxation from New York University Law School, and a Master of Management degree from the Kellogg Graduate School of Business at Northwestern University.
His interest in non-profit organizations is partially due to the fact that his wife, Evelyn Brody, a law professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law, focuses her research on non-profits. "We talk about these issues all the time," he says. Brody was a lecturer at the UW Law School from 1985 to 1988, teaching partnership tax.
Siegel advises non-profits on a wide array of issues, from property taxes to pubic to governance in general: how directors make decisions. "There is a real need for training in the non-profit area," he says. His software especially designed for administrators of non-profits works to accomplish this kind of training.
Siegel has served on the boards of several non-profit organizations, advising them on matters including hospital system conversion and restructuring, sales of major assets, joint ventures, private foundation status, and low-income housing credits.
He says that after the Times article generated unprecedented interest in his Web log, he posted other stories relating to non-profits for his newfound audience. Titles include "Don't Be Misled by Administrative and Fundraising Ratios ? These Are Largely Irrelevant Numbers" and "What Exactly Are the Relief Organizations Doing?"
Submitted by on January 12, 2005
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