Charities

Massachusetts charities may soon be limited in how they are able to compensate their board members following legislation approved by the state Senate late Thursday. Senator Mark Montigny, a New Bedford Democrat, said yesterday that an amendment attached to the state budget would prohibit public charities from paying their directors without first gaining approval from the attorney general’s public charities division. The legislation would also allow the attorney general’s office to override that approval if the compensation were deemed unreasonable.

Nick Flanagan won the Nationwide Tour's BMW Charity Pro-Am for the second time in six years, beating fellow Australian Cameron Percy on Sunday with a par on the third hole of a playoff. Flanagan, a three-time winner on the tour in 2007, closed with a 4-under 67 on the Thornblade Club course to match Percy at 15-under 271. Percy finished with a 66. Flanagan birdied the final hole in regulation, while Percy closed with a bogey. Percy, leading at 16 under in the group ahead of Flanagan, missed a 10-foot par putt on the 72nd hole.

The Holly Club of Wrentham will hold its annual fashion show March 28 at the Lake View Pavilion in Foxborough. Cocktails will be served at 6 p.m., with dinner beginning at 7 p.m. The cost is $40 per person, with all proceeds going to local scholarships and charities. To reserve tickets and for more details, contact Pat Connolly at 508-699-4851. - Rachel Lebeaux

The biannual fund-raiser for the Mayor's Charity Fund has raised $50,000, according to preliminary figures provided by the mayor's office Monday. Part of the proceeds from the event, held May 5 at the Western Royal Plaza Hotel, will be used to help residents of the Lake Williams condominium complex, where more than 80 families were displaced by a fire. The fund-raiser featured a silent auction and also honored local lawyer Doug Rowe with the 2012 Humanitarian of the Year award, citing his volunteer work with the Evening of Giving, the Heritage Fair, the Shamrocks football team, and the Marlborough Regional...

The owner of Suffolk Downs has donated thousands of dollars to charities closely associated with two Boston politicians whose support for its plans to build a full-scale casino has been crucial. The combined $16,000 donations from the Fields Family Foundation to charities affiliated with Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino and state Senator Anthony Petruccelli far exceed what the racetrack's owner would be allowed to give as campaign donations under state law. The Fields Foundation, controlled by Suffolk owner Richard Fields, donated $10,000 to Menino's charity in 2008 and 2009, according...

She's married into the royal family, and now the former Kate Middleton is moving to take on her new role by choosing the charities she will support. St. James's Palace said Thursday that the Duchess of Cambridge has accepted honorary positions with charities that deal with a range of issues, including tackling drug addiction and helping young people. The royal, who married Prince William last year, has become a patron of Action on Addiction and the National Portrait Gallery.

ERIE, Pa. - Mike Batchelor invited the heads of 46 charities into his downtown office for one-on-one meetings to personally deliver the news. Nearby, on a small table, sat a box of tissues. And then he proceeded: A donor had given a staggering $100 million to the Erie Community Foundation, and all of the charities would receive a share. That was when the tears began to flow - and the mystery began - in this struggling old industrial city of 102,000 on Lake Erie, where the donor is known only as "Anonymous Friend.

NEWARK -- The US government rejected a request yesterday from Muslim groups to draw up a list of Islamic charities to which they could donate without being suspected of terrorist ties. Muslim groups said they fear giving to a charity that might make them look suspicious to the FBI. The holy month of Ramadan began last week, and Muslims are required to give to the poor during that period. "If the government knows there are charities that are misleading the American Muslim community, it's their obligation to help protect these innocent Americans,"...

CHICAGO -- A federal judge yesterday found two US-based Islamic charities and an alleged fund-raiser for the Palestinian militant group Hamas liable for damages in the 1996 shooting death of an American teenager in Israel. A jury trial is set to start Dec. 1 to determine the amount of damages in the $300 million lawsuit filed by the parents of David Boim, 17, who was gunned down while waiting for a bus in the West Bank. In a 107-page opinion, Magistrate Judge Arlander Keys held Texas-based Holy Land Foundation and another charity, the Islamic Association for...

The NFL and the players' union are donating $1 million to memorials and charities to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. The first Sunday of the regular season is Sept. 11, and includes games matching the Dallas Cowboys at the New York Jets and the New York Giants at the Washington Redskins. The NFL and NFL Players Association will contribute $500,000 to the 9/11 Museum & Memorial in Lower Manhattan, and $250,000 to be divided between the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pa., and the Pentagon Memorial Fund in Washington.

When Nahant's Tara Butler crosses home plate at Fenway Park on Sunday, her hometown can take credit for doing a good thing for area veterans. Butler plans to be one of 2,000 participants in today's Run-Walk to Home Base, a fund-raising run/walk to benefit the Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Home Base Program. Funds raised will provide clinical care and support services for returning veterans with combat stress or traumatic brain injury and their families.

Plan B is going to start his own charity, to stop kids from experiencing the bleak London life portrayed in his directorial debut. The musician and rapper launched "Ill Manors" in Cannes, a story about how easily teens can get trapped in a world of crime and drugs. He wants to show them the way out. Many of the cast were non-actors who he threw a lifeline to — two members of his band were also taken off the street. Plan B, or Ben Drew, is now in the process of setting up an organization.

A charity that takes care of more than 1,000 retired racehorses told a court Monday that its herd is doing well, its finances are sound and that a lawsuit by New York's attorney general should be dismissed. The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation filed court papers that included statements from veterinarians and managers at the 25 farms around the U.S. that board its horses, saying the animals are healthy. It also said its audited financial statement shows total net assets of almost $7.8 million at the end of 2010.

The annual Duxbury Spring House Tour, a self-guided tour featuring a number of private homes throughout town, will take place Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The tour begins at the Duxbury Rural Historical Society's Nathaniel Winsor Jr. House, at 479 Washington St. This year the Sisters of St. Margaret's Convent have agreed to open their historic farmhouse and chapel to ticket holders for the tour. Organized by the Duxbury Newcomers Club, the event raises money for charities selected by the participating homeowners.

Staff reports The Brookline Community Mental Health Center Kids' Fund will host an event for youngsters at Fenway Park on May 19 from 1-4 p.m. Explore Fenway with a behind-the-scenes tour, take some swings in the batting cages, snap photos with the World Series trophies, and enjoy your favorite Fenway food (free). You also can get a photo with Wally The Green Monster. " Tickets are still available and at a reduced rate thanks to a new sponsor. You can buy tickets online at BelieveinBrooklineKids.org or by calling Nicole Reiner at the Brookline Center at (617)

The 10th annual Christopher's Walk/Run for Diabetes is scheduled for Memorial Day, May 28, beginning and ending at the West Bridgewater Council on Aging, 97 West Center St. The event was begun in 2003 by the family of Christopher Nelson, of Bridgewater, who has Type 1 diabetes. The Council on Aging hosts the event, with assistance from other town departments. Christopher Nelson's grandparents, West Bridgewater residents Frank and Pearl Nelson, are longtime volunteers at the council, and Frank is a member and past chairman of the agency's board.

CONCORD, N.H. -- The directors of several charities knew for nearly a decade that Evelyn Arell planned to donate money to their organizations when she died. But they had no idea just how generous the donations would be. Arell, 96, who died in September of liver cancer, left more than $5 million to 24 charities and organizations. The groups received letters this week detailing their share. "It's a huge gift," said Bob Larsen, director of the Friends Program, which will receive about $250,000.

The annual Duxbury Spring House Tour, a self-guided tour featuring a number of private homes throughout town, will take place Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The tour begins at the Duxbury Rural Historical Society's Nathaniel Winsor Jr. House, at 479 Washington St. This year the Sisters of St. Margaret's Convent have agreed to open their historic farmhouse and chapel to ticket holders for the tour. Organized by the Duxbury Newcomers Club, the event raises money for charities selected by the participating homeowners.

CLEVELAND - A fugitive was arrested on accusations that he ran a scam that collected millions of dollars in donations from people who believed they were helping Navy veterans, Ohio's attorney general and the US Marshal's office in Cleveland announced Tuesday. The man uses the false identify of Bobby Thompson and was indicted in Ohio in 2010 on theft, money laundering, and other charges related to the Florida-based charity. He disappeared in June 2010. Little, if any, of the money collected by the charity was used to benefit veterans, authorities have said.

Tony Stewart stalked Virginia short-track racer Greg Edwards for several laps before passing him, and the three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champ never gave up the lead again to win the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown at Richmond International Raceway. Along the way, he gave Edwards the thrill of a lifetime. "My gosh," Edwards, who races at Langley Speedway in Hampton, said, beaming, after finishing second. "To get beat by Tony Stewart. How bad is that?" Stewart took off on a restart with 11 laps to go in the 75-lap event while Jeff Burton, running second, failed to keep pace...