Fund Raising

About 1,800 people are attending the National Society of Fund Raising Executives international conference, which opened Sunday at the Disneyland Hotel and continues through Wednesday. Robert Seiple, president of World Vision of Monrovia, is scheduled to speak to the delegates at today's noon luncheon. On Tuesday, the society will present its 1989 Awards for Philanthropy. The award for outstanding fund-raising executive will go to Ernest W. Wood, vice president for development of the Russ Reid Co. of Pasadena.

WASHINGTON - In its few months of existence, the nonprofit advocacy group launched to promote President Obama's legislative agenda raised a little more than $4.8 million, a modest debut for an entity built on the infrastructure and grass-roots organization of Obama's behemoth reelection campaign. Organizing for Action shared its fund-raising information in an email to supporters that stressed the number of small donors, noting that 109,582 people contributed an average of $44 each.

Atty. Gen. Janet Reno, reacting to indications that President Clinton may have solicited campaign contributions by phone from the White House, is overseeing an initial review to determine whether an independent counsel is needed to investigate Clinton's conduct. Justice Department spokesman Myron Marlin acknowledged Saturday that Reno has authorized a 30-day review of the president's conduct.

The mayoral candidates met Thursday night in their first debate in the runoff election. Despite Eric Garcetti's and Wendy Greuel's acrimony in recent days, the two Democrats largely struck a sunny tone in the hourlong face-off televised by KABC-TV. To boost their bids, Garcetti cited his work on district revitalization and balancing the city's budget, while Greuel highlighted her resume, including her work at her family's business, at DreamWorks and as an elected official. Thursday also brought the first financial disclosure requirement in the runoff.

While critics have blamed recent programming changes for a drop in fund-raising at KPFK-FM (90.7), management at the politically progressive station attributes the shortfall in last week's fund drive to myriad factors, ranging from local union strikes to the poor national economy. The station had been shooting for $900,000 in pledges from the drive, which ended Friday, but reached only $750,000, with about $10,000 more promised by online donors, said station general manager Eva Georgia.

A group of religious broadcasters Tuesday developed a code of ethics for its members that would make public an annual audit and include a device to expel ministries that do not follow responsible conduct. The proposal will be presented to a special meeting of the 90-member board of directors of the National Assn. of Religious Broadcasters in Chicago on Sept. 11, said NRB President Robert A. Cook.

KCET Channel 28 raised $946,420 in pledges during the 10-day fund-raising drive that ended Sunday, the public TV station reported Tuesday. That was about $80,000 less than last year, when the December drive lasted 11 days. Channel 28's campaign, which began Nov. 27, attracted 200 more pledges than last year but on average each person "gave a little less," said KCET spokesman Greg Krizman. With the uncertain economic climate, he said, "people are a little tighter on the pocketbooks this year."

A month ago, when she was sure that state budget cuts had brought her teaching career to a standstill, Yolanda Rosenberg applied for unemployment. Today, though, Rosenberg is not only due back in her classroom at Canyon Vista Elementary in Aliso Viejo, but is expecting to be happily handing out nametags and crayons to just 20 third-graders instead of a more difficult-to-manage 30 or more.

In one of California's largest charity fraud cases, the state on Thursday sued three Orange County groups that claimed to fight drug abuse, help homeless veterans and assist abused children but were allegedly funneling more than 95% of their $8.6 million in contributions into organizers' hands.

Displaying early financial strength, Laura Chick, 48, has raised $50,000 for her campaign to unseat her ex-boss, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Joy Picus, in this spring's election. Chick made the disclosure in a report filed Monday with the city's Ethics Commission. She is the first of six candidates for the District 3 seat, including the 62-year-old Picus, to report reaching this financial benchmark.

Los Angeles mayoral candidate Eric Garcetti has edged ahead of opponent Wendy Greuel in fund-raising for the May 21 runoff contest, raising $1.27 million during the 4 1/2 weeks that followed the March 5 primary election. The haul means that Garcetti has more than $2 million on hand for his campaign, according to reports filed Thursday. Greuel took in $1.12 million during the same fund-raising period, which ended Saturday, and has nearly $1.5 million available for the campaign. Greuel called the pace of her fund-raising "explosive" and portrayed it as a sign that voters are frustrated with the status quo. Her campaign strategist, John Shallman, struck a similar theme, describing Greuel's take as evidence that residents want someone to "break the gridlock at City Hall.

WASHINGTON - The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are in an unusual position in today's era of Washington austerity: They could soon receive more federal money. A bill sent to the Senate by a committee chaired by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) seeks to address a long-standing California gripe: Its ports receive pennies back for every dollar raised by a tax on cargo. The measure would nearly double, to about $1.6 billion a year, funding for harbor maintenance nationwide, give priority to the busiest ports and expand the use of the money to include work that the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports are eager to undertake.

LONDON - In 2011, the London riots created chaos across the capital as disgruntled youth burned down buildings, looted shops and rampaged in the streets. A recent exhibition in Tottenham, the epicenter of the riots, looked at the reasons why. However, it was not the government that raised funds to set up the exhibit but a couple of dozen ordinary people whose lives had been caught up in the mayhem. "After the Riots - Happiness in Tottenham" is one of more than a hundred projects hosted on an innovative crowd-funding website that is starting to make waves across the United Kingdom.

The top two contenders in the L.A. mayor's race remain in close fundraising contention as they enter the final 5 1/2 weeks before the primary, but two outside groups also posted significant sums, demonstrating their potential to upend the race. City Controller Wendy Greuel edged Councilman Eric Garcetti by collecting $130,644 to his $84,188 during the fundraising period from Jan. 1 to 19. But Garcetti, who served as council president between 2006 and 2012, holds a considerable lead over Greuel in cash on hand, with $3.55 million to Greuel's $2.94 million.

Many colleges seek donations for new construction or scholarships. Pasadena City College, however, has an additional goal that was unthinkable before California's budget crisis forced community colleges to slash course offerings. The school is seeking donations from alumni and others to restore some of the 570 classes it planned to cut this academic year. The campaign, launched in April, has received about $89,400 in donations, and the school is also devoting $106,000 from savings resulting from some cost cuts, officials said.

George Zimmerman, who was forced to return to jail after his bail was revoked by a Florida judge, will get a new hearing to determine if he will be released while awaiting legal proceedings in the death of Trayvon Martin. Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester will preside over the bond hearing scheduled for June 29, the court said in a statement released Thursday. Zimmerman's lawyers have yet to file a motion, but have indicated they will seek a new bond. Zimmerman, 28, is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting of Martin, 17, during a February confrontation at a gated community in Sanford, Fla. Zimmerman lives in the community and often patrolled it as a neighborhood watch volunteer; Martin was returning to the home of his father's girlfriend after a visit to a convenience store.

Senate leader John L. Burton's long career in the Legislature is winding down, but his skills as a premier fund-raiser show no sign of letting up. They may even be getting better. In campaign finance documents filed with the secretary of state this week, the veteran Democrat from San Francisco reported raising more than $1.

Mayoral candidate and state Assemblyman Richard Katz's campaign fund-raising chief is part of a team competing to build a multibillion-dollar, 71-mile rail project--a decision Katz could significantly influence if elected mayor of Los Angeles. Attorney Peter D. Kelly, a former state Democratic Party chairman, is one of Katz's top campaign strategists who, among other tasks, is coordinating a major fund-raiser for the assemblyman next month.

The numbers are in -- and Mitt Romney won, but not by a landslide. When it came to fund-raising in February, the former Massachusetts governor stayed ahead of his GOP presidential rivals. Romney raised $11.5 million and spent $12.4 million, dramatically slowing down his burn rate from January, when his campaign spent three times more than it raised. Heading into March, he had $7.3 million in the bank. Rick Santorum got $8.9 million in contributions and spent $7.8 million, ending the month with $2.6 million on hand, along with $922,000 in debt.

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney and a "super PAC" working on his behalf spent more than twice as much as they raised in January, underscoring how persistent challenges by rivals Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have taxed the former Massachusetts governor's financial operation. In a month when Romney lost two of the four GOP primary contests, his campaign raced through $18.7 million while raising just $6.4 million, according to finance records filed Monday with the Federal Election Commission.