RSS
Follow Government & Politics Watch through your favorite RSS reader.
November 21, 2012, 3:11 pm
Second Social Innovation Fund Director Resigns
After less than two months as director of the Social Innovation Fund, Idara Nickelson is leaving the job to work for an international nonprofit, the Corporation for National and Community Service announced Wednesday.
Ms. Nickelson took over as the fund’s director when Paul Carttar left the post in late September after a two-and-a-half-year tenure. She was also working as the corporation’s chief investment officer. Ms. Nickelson joined the corporation in 2008 and also served as director of budget and performance and chief of program operations.
Her last day will be Dec. 14. Lois Nembhard, deputy director of operations for the Social Innovation Fund, will serve as acting director.
“We are all going to miss Idara’s sharp intellect, warm sense of humor, and amazing energy,” the corporation’s chief executive, Wendy Spencer, said in a written statement.
Ms. Nickelson …
November 13, 2012, 8:48 am
Charitable-Deduction Limit Would Hurt Poor, Say Nonprofit Leaders
Nonprofits need to alter their approach to protecting the charitable deduction, said nonprofit leaders from across the country gathered in San Francisco over the holiday weekend. Instead of talking about the effects on wealthy donors, they said they must demonstrate they are seeking to protect their services to the poor.
As the lame-duck Congress prepares to convene Tuesday, charity and foundation officials at Independent Sector’s annual meeting discussed the charitable deduction as well as the impact of federal spending cuts that Congress could approve to avert falling off the so-called fiscal cliff.
Lawmakers have discussed many ways to raise money, including capping the tax deduction that taxpayers get for gifts to charities and eliminating the tax deductions that homeowners get for mortgage payments.
Nonprofit leaders say that federal spending cuts of any size will decrease …
November 8, 2012, 9:33 am
5 Candidates Endorsed for Nonprofit-Friendly Agendas Win Election
While many people were glued to their television sets this week waiting to learn who the country’s next president would be, Robert Egger and Douglas Knight were closely monitoring the results of some less-publicized races.
The two nonprofit leaders run CForward, an organization that Mr. Egger founded last year to promote candidates who have strong agendas for strengthening nonprofits in their communities. The group endorsed eight candidates, all but one for a state or local office, and five of them won.
“I can’t tell you how fun it was to look at all the returns,” says Mr. Knight, who was following city council, state legislative, and other races in eight states.
CForward made its endorsements after scrutinizing the records of 60 candidates across the country who were nominated by nonprofit workers, eight interns who worked for CForward last summer, and others.
The group gave…
November 8, 2012, 9:22 am
Most Key Lawmakers for Nonprofits Win Re-Election
Several Congressional candidates with key positions on committees that influence nonprofit policy won re-election Tuesday. They include:
• Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees tax-exempt organizations.
• Rep. Dave Camp of Michigan, the Republican chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, which also oversees tax-exempt organization.
• Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, senior Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee’s oversight subcommittee, the panel that investigates alleged charity abuses.
But the oversight subcommittee’s chairman, Charles Boustany of Louisiana—who has been holding a series of hearings about charity regulation—faces a runoff election next month as required by state law because no candidate won a majority of votes. He will face Rep. Jeff Landry, also a Republican congressman. They are…
October 25, 2012, 5:27 pm
Nonprofit Leaders Urge Obama and Romney to Protect Tax Break
Leaders of big nationwide nonprofits sent letters to President Obama and Mitt Romney on Thursday urging the presidential candidates to reconsider their proposals to cut the charitable tax deduction. (See the letter to Mr. Obama and the one to Mr. Romney.)
The leaders also announced that they have scheduled a gathering on December 4 and 5 to bring hundreds of its members to Washington to tell members of Congress that any tax changes that led to decline in private giving would devastate nonprofits and the people they serve.
Among the organizations that sent the letters were the Salvation Army and United Way Worldwide and nonprofit coalitions like the Association of Fundraising Professionals and Independent Sector.
“Any proposed cap would have long-lasting negative consequences on the charitable organizations upon which millions of Americans rely for vital programs and services,…
October 18, 2012, 3:09 pm
Council on Foundations Plans to Step Up Advocacy
In an e-mail last night to her group’s membership, Vikki Spruill, the new leader of the Council on Foundations, announced a campaign to convey the value of philanthropy to lawmakers.
She painted a picture of philanthropy under threat from politicians who are looking for new ways to increase revenue.
“Both President Obama and Governor Romney have put forth plans that will affect giving, and Congress is eyeing all tax deductions as potential revenue raisers,” she wrote. “This would be a grave mistake and would negatively affect significant numbers of Americans.”
Since joining the Council in July, Ms. Spruill said, she has assembled a team of “seasoned political strategists, communications tacticians, and tax-policy experts with deep ties to federal policy makers.” The campaign will focus on educating lawmakers at the local, state, and federal levels, she said, showing them how…
September 26, 2012, 10:23 am
Senators Quiz Fundraising Firm About Work for Veterans Group
The Senate Finance Committee has asked Quadriga Art, a direct-marketing firm, to provide financial records about its ties to the Disabled Veterans National Foundation, a charity the committee is investigating because it has spent little money on services that directly help veterans.
Most of the money the veterans’ group has raised from an extensive direct-mail operation has gone to pay bills at Quadriga and its subsidiary Brickmill Marketing Services. It owes about $17-million to the two companies, a Quadriga spokeswoman said last month.
The finance committee’s letter asks Mark Schulhof, Quadriga Art’s chief executive, to provide details about business dealings among Quadriga, its related entities, and the veterans’ charity from 2008 to 2011. It requests information about the goods and services the companies have offered, their cost, the revenue they have earned, and the money…
September 21, 2012, 5:16 pm
Romney Limits His Charitable Deduction to Increase Tax Bill
Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann, contributed $4-million to charity last year but claimed a tax deduction for only $2.25-million, according to their 2011 tax return and other financial information released today.
They limited their deduction because their income was less than the amount they reported last January on an estimated tax return, and their donations “would have significantly reduced their tax obligation for the year,” according to a letter from Brad Malt, a family trustee.
Mr. Romney wanted to increase his tax bill to conform to his statement in August—based on the January estimate—that “he paid at least 13 percent in income taxes in each of the last 10 years,” Mr. Malt said.
In the 2011 return issued today, Mr. Romney reports adjusted gross income of almost $13.7-million, down from $20.9-million in the estimated return. After limiting the charitable deduction, his…
September 21, 2012, 3:07 pm
White House Philanthropy Event Was a Closed-Door Affair
People who promote innovative approaches to social problems usually stress the importance of sharing knowledge so that everyone can learn about the most effective strategies.
But organizers of Thursday’s closed-door White House Forum on Philanthropy Innovation must not have gotten the memo.
The event—hosted by the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation and attended by philanthropists, nonprofit leaders, government officials, and others—was not announced publicly and was closed to the news media.
There were no news releases, White House blog mentions, or Webcasts.
A few participants blew the event’s cover, however. One nonprofit group sent out a news release about its founder’s plans to attend. Several attendees tweeted throughout the day at #WHInnovation. And some discussed it with The Chronicle afterward.
When asked about the…
September 21, 2012, 10:00 am
White House Hosts Innovation Forum for Philanthropists
More than 150 leaders in philanthropy and finance gathered at the White House on Thursday for a private meeting on “innovation in philanthropy” that featured Jean Case, chief executive of the Case Foundation, as a keynote speaker.
Ms. Case appeared with U.S. Treasurer Rosie Rios to discuss “impact investing” and strategies for getting more donors to channel their money into for-profit businesses that are advancing social missions. Ms. Case said more people would participate in impact investing if foundations could unite to devise uniform standards for tracking and measuring success.
“People with unbelievable track records of investing are sitting on the sidelines of impact investments,” Ms. Case said in an interview.
She announced at the meeting that Sonal Shah, the first director of the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation, was joining the…
E-mail a Friend
