Eric Schmidt, chief executive of Google, will become the chairman of the New America Foundation’s Board of Directors on June 1, the group announced. He plans to mark his new role by making an an unrestricted $1-million donation ti the group.

Mr. Schmidt has served on the foundation’s board since its founding in 1999, but he has not been as actively involved in philanthropy as many of his fellow billionaires.

He says he was attracted to the group from the beginning because “they would try to do things that were unconventional. They were like Google, but before Google existed.”

Even when he disagreed with work produced by the scholars and journalist at the foundation, he says, he still found the work worthwhile and provocative.

Mr. Schmidt adds that he plans to work more with nonprofit groups over time, though he declined to say how. “My number one and really only goal is Google,”...

The Internal Revenue Service has released its Form 990-N, also known as an “e-Postcard,” a new tax document required of all groups whose gross receipts normally total less than $25,000 per year.

Previously only groups that earned more than $25,000 yearly had to file with the IRS, but the agency stated it wanted to get an accurate count of how many nonprofit groups exist and to provide more and better information about small groups. (Churches and organizations that file as part of a group do not have to fill out a 990-N.)

Groups must file the form starting this calendar year for fiscal years ending on or after December 31, 2007. The e-Postcard is due by the fifteenth day of the fifth month after the end of a fiscal year.

Among other items, groups must provide their employee identification number, the name of a principal officer, a mailing address, and confirmation that their gross...

The Internal Revenue Service will release the new informational tax return, known as Form 990 tax, on a staggered schedule, the agency announced last week at a meeting of tax lawyers.

The final draft of the revised 990 will be unveiled in the middle of the year, but the agency will release instructions for certain parts of it and a glossary of terms within the next few months.

The composition of the redesigned form has been pretty clear since a version was released in December, but tax agency officials continue to revise it. The overhaul of the tax form is the first significant change the IRS has made in a quarter of a century.

Instructions for Schedule H, which nonprofit hospitals must fill out, will probably be released first, and the agency will also clarify what qualifies as a hospital. The schedule for tax-exempt bonds, Schedule K, is also likely to come out soon. In addition...

Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a watchdog group, has sent a letter to the Internal Revenue Service asking the agency to investigate a preacher’s apparent endorsement of a presidential candidate. Under federal law, nonprofit organizations are not allowed to engage in partisan political activity and could lose tax-exempt status for violations.

Sen. Barack Obama, a Democrat from Illinois, made an appearance at the Pentecostal Temple Church of God in Christ, in Las Vegas, on Sunday, six days before Nevada’s political caucus on the 19th. According to The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that the church’s pastor, Leon Smith, then made a number of political comments, including, “I want to see this man in office.”

The Review-Journal also quotes Mr. Smith as saying, “The more he [Obama] speaks, the more he wins my confidence, and … if the polls were open today, I would ...

Yale University has announced it will spend significantly more of its endowment each year, a decision prompted by “exceptionally strong investment returns.” The change comes amid questions from Congress about the large size and relatively small payouts of university endowments.

In the current fiscal year, the university plans to spend $843-million of its endowment, which had a market value of $22.5-billion on June 30. The following year, Yale will spend 37 percent more than that, approximately $1.15-billion.

The university also announced that from now on it will spend at least 4.5 percent of its endowment annually, with a cap on spending of 6 percent.

The increased payments will support financial aid for low- and middle-income students and scientific research, especially biomedical research. The university is also considering expanding its undergraduate body from 5,300 students to...