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Category Archives: Managing
February 7, 2012, 6:36 pm
IRS Makes Finding Charity Status Easier
The Internal Revenue Service has developed an online database of 400,000 nonprofits that have lost their tax-exempt status for failing to file tax returns.
Previously, the IRS released information about groups that had lost their tax-exempt status only by state, which made it difficult to find groups by other criteria. The new Exempt Organizations Select Check is updated monthly and is on the same Web page as the agency’s main database of all nonprofits that can accept tax-deductible donations.
The tax agency in June unveiled a list of 275,000 organizations that had lost their tax-exempt status for failing to file tax returns for three consecutive years. Since then, about 125,000 more have been added to the list.
Most of the groups—63 percent—were charities. Eleven percent were nonprofit advocacy groups, and 7 percent were social and recreational clubs.
Groups can apply…
January 24, 2012, 10:36 am
Romneys Gave 16% of Their Income to Charity
Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann, gave more than 16 percent of their income to charity in 2010 and 2011, according to tax returns made public Tuesday
Mr. Romney, the Republican candidate for President, had been facing mounting public pressure to release his tax returns. Newt Gingrich, who is challenging Mr. Romney and others for the Republican nomination, disclosed recently that he had donated 2.6-percent of his income to charity in 2010.
According to the records released by the Romney campaign, the couple reported $21.6-million in income in 2010 and gave $3-million to charity. In 2011, they reported $20.9 million in income and made $4-million in charitable gifts.
Most of the Romneys charitable contributions over the two years were cash donations that totaled $4.1 million to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They also gave $500,000 to their family foundation, the
January 19, 2012, 8:38 am
Does Charity Advocacy Pay Off?
A study released today from a foundation watchdog group says that advocacy efforts by charities can pay off, to the tune of billions of dollars to communities.
The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy study examined 110 charities in 13 states and found that work such as pushing for more aid to schools and housing for the poor resulted in $26.6-billion in benefits to communities over five years. Money for the campaigns came from foundations and other donors.
The study comes as the watchdog group is urging foundations to step up their spending on efforts to influence public policy and running a campaign called Philanthropy’s Promise, which asks grant makers to commit to devoting at least 25 percent of their grants each year to advocacy.
Altogether, the report said, the charities spent $231-million on efforts to influence policy makers and the public, meaning every $1…
November 3, 2011, 10:41 am
New Group to Endorse Politicians Who Pledge to Strengthen Nonprofits
A new organization is set to debut tomorrow with a mission that is unusual in the nonprofit world—to endorse political candidates who have solid plans for strengthening nonprofits in their communities. Next year, it will set up a political-action committee to start funneling money to their campaigns.
CForward—the brainchild of Robert Egger, president of D.C. Central Kitchen—seeks to turn the tens of millions of people who work or volunteer at nonprofits into a “powerful political force” that can reward politicians who include nonprofits in their economic strategies.
“It will allow candidates to see there’s an army being activated” that gives priority to that issue, Mr. Egger says.
For now, CForward is focusing on local elections, not the presidential campaign. It is asking supporters to identify candidates for governor or mayor who agree to appoint a person to…
October 13, 2011, 9:44 am
Senate Hearing Puts Focus on Charitable Deduction
President Obama’s effort to limit deductions for wealthy people, including those for charitable gifts, in his jobs bill may have died last week, but charitable deductions will be front and center in a Capitol Hill hearing next week.
The Senate’s powerful Finance Committee will host a hearing next week that will discuss how some key proposals to change the federal tax code would affect nonprofits.
Testifying at the hearing will be Brian Gallagher, president of United Way Worldwide, and Dallin H. Oaks, a leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Other witnesses include government and college scholars who have examined the charitable deduction.
The hearing will take place Tuesday at 10 a.m. Eastern time and will be broadcast online.
To see more about the charitable deduction, go to this special section of The Chronicle’s Web site.
October 6, 2011, 6:14 pm
Price Tag for Charity Tax Break Loss: at Least $2.9-Billion
President Obama’s plan to limit the value of charitable deductions for wealthy people would cost nonprofits at least $2.9-billion and perhaps as much as $5.6-billion, according to a study to be unveiled Friday.
Economists examined how people would be affected by Mr. Obama’s plan to limit to 28 percent the amount affluent people could write off in all itemized deductions. People in the highest income bracket now can write off 35 percent of their deductions, including those for gifts to charity.
Charities have been strongly opposed to Mr. Obama’s effort to limit the incentive to give, especially at a time when giving has dropped because of the bad economy.
The new research will be presented Friday at a conference by the Urban Institute’s Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy and was one of several forthcoming projects paid for by a $1-million research grant from the Bill &…
September 22, 2011, 10:23 am
How Nonprofits Can Avoid Politicking Online
As the presidential election season heats up, a Washington advocacy group has outlined how charities can ensure their Web sites don’t violate IRS rules banning organizations from politicking.
Charities should be careful to not endorse political candidates on any part of their Web sites, separate their sites from those of affiliated advocacy organizations, and almost never link to a page with political content, according to a new paper from the Alliance for Justice, a Washington nonprofit.
The 34-page paper, “Influencing Public Policy in the Digital Age: The Law of Online Lobbying and Election-Related Activities,” includes a question-and-answer section with rules governing social-media interactions.
“No one had ever heard of—or even imagined—things like Facebook or Twitter when the rules were written that govern advocacy and political activity for nonprofit…
September 15, 2011, 9:32 am
Nonprofits Fight Proposal to Curb Charity Tax Breaks
Nonprofits are gearing up to fight President Obama’s plan to pay for his jobs bill in part by limiting charitable deductions. Mr. Obama wants to limit the amount all wealthy people can write off for charitable gifts as well as housing, medical expenses, and other items.
Nonprofit leaders say that a curb on deductions will stifle giving and that charity write-offs make up only a small percentage of the money the federal treasury loses in deductions by the wealthy.
In 2009, 46.4 million taxpayers claimed the itemized deduction, with the deduction for charitable donations totaling an estimated $158-billion, according to the Internal Revenue Service. That total accounts for 13 percent of all of the itemized deductions claimed that year. By comparison, taxpayers claimed an estimated $442-billion in deductions for mortgage interest and $432 billion for state and local taxes and…
September 2, 2011, 3:09 pm
Campaign Urges Obama to Include Nonprofits in Jobs Plan
Many people will be listening next Thursday when President Obama presents a plan to Congress aimed at creating new jobs. But some will be listening for one word in particular: “nonprofit.”
Independent Sector, a coalition of nonprofits and foundations, has started a petition campaign to persuade the president to include measures that would increase nonprofit employment as part of his proposal to boost the economy.
The campaign encourages supporters to post messages on Twitter using the hashtag “#nonprofits.” The goal is to persuade the White House to make sure that nonprofit groups receive the same federal incentives as businesses for creating new jobs.
“Ask that any provisions that encourage job creation by for-profit companies be made available to nonprofit employers—including new-hire tax credits, tax credits for hiring veterans, government-backed loans, subsidies for…
August 31, 2011, 5:05 pm
State Regulators Shine Spotlight on Social Media
As charities increasingly use social-networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to raise money, state regulators are looking for ways to make sure that con artists aren’t using these sites to prey on unsuspecting donors.
At this year’s annual meeting of the National Association of State Charity Officials, social media will be a hot topic.
While most of the conference, to be held in a Washington suburb, will be conducted behind closed doors, social media will be discussed in two sessions on October 3 in an all-day event open to the public.
During one session, Bob Carlson, assistant attorney general in Missouri and the president of the charity regulators’ group, will to discuss legal implications of charity efforts on social networks, along with Jeremy Sher, president of Grassroots Giving Group, a company that advises charities on social-network fund raising.
In addition,…
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