April 2009
April 29, 2009
Nonprofit Groups in 19 States Report Late Government Payments
Nonprofit social-services groups in 19 states said in a recent survey that payments from state or local governments have been received later than they were due, in some cases forcing charities to cut jobs or services.
“Agencies experiencing delayed payments all reported negative impacts on their organizational cash flow,” says a report on the survey, which was conducted by the Alliance for Children and Families and United Neighborhood Centers of America, two national social-services umbrella groups.
Ninety-six nonprofit groups from 30 states responded to the survey distributed this month, which asked whether they had received late payments from government agencies for work done under grants or contracts.
“Delayed payments have forced many of these nonprofit agencies to tap existing lines of credit,” the report says. “However, many report that these lines of credit have been cut back, or that it has become more expensive to borrow against them.”
The report, which is available online, lists survey results by state. Among those reporting problems:
- Four groups in California said payments from the state and some high-school districts were delayed from two-and-a-half months to almost 18 months, affecting programs in areas including child development, education, and mental health. The problem is aggravated because the state suspends contract payments when lawmakers cannot agree on a budget.
- Three groups in Florida said payments from the state and the city of Clearwater were delayed from four months to more than a year, with Medicaid payments a particular problem. The delays affected programs in areas including family counseling, sexual assault, and children’s mental health.
- Four groups in Michigan said payments from the state and some counties were delayed from 45 days to six months, affecting domestic-violence, mental-health, and housing programs.
Foundation Seeks Words and Video About Obama's First 100 Days
It’s a gray, rainy Wednesday in Washington but for President Obama it’s a milestone: his 100th day in the White House.
As throngs of pundits, op-ed writers, and others in the media examine and analyze the 44th president’s early efforts and outcomes, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, in Baltimore, is giving citizen y a chance to chime in—particularly those with an interest in child welfare and poverty issues.
The foundation’s 100 Days 100 Voices project asks people to answer two questions: What is the most important thing that the Obama administration has done for children and families during this first 100 days? And what should be next on the agenda?
Responses can be written (100 words or less) or in the form of a video of no more than two minutes in length. Photos can also be included as well. The foundation will begin sharing some of the responses later today. Officials there hope word about their project will spread among social networking sites, such as Twitter and Facebook.
“The campaign is designed as the start of a national conversation; we hope the discussion on progress made for kids and families will continue and remain part of the national agenda,” the Casey Foundation says on its site.
New Report Shows Nonprofit Groups Where to Apply for Federal Stimulus Money
A report released this week by Giving USA and the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University gives nonprofit leaders crucial information on how nonprofit organizations can apply for money in the new federal economic-stimulus law.
The report provides nonprofit groups with directions on how to seek different types of stimulus money, both to finance programs now in operation and start new ones.
The Center and Giving USA are urging nonprofit groups to act fast since the deadlines for applying for stimulus money are coming up quickly.
IRS Pledges to Continue to Step Up Oversight of Charities
The Internal Revenue Service has released an updated plan for the next several years that pledges a continuation of “focused oversight of the tax-exempt sector.”
“More than $15-trillion in assets are currently controlled by tax-exempt organizations or held in tax-exempt retirement programs and financial instruments,” the IRS said in its Strategic Plan 2009-2013. “The massive size of this sector requires us to provide more careful oversight and advisory support than ever before.”
The revenue service said that tax-exempt groups “often find it difficult to navigate the complicated, specialized, and changing tax rules that apply to them.” The government said it “will provide guidance and information” to help nonprofit organizations “understand their responsibilities and comply with the law.”
The IRS said it “will also discourage those who abuse tax-exempt status by actively seeking them out and addressing wrongdoing, making it clear that violations carry a high risk of meaningful punishment.”
The revenue service noted that “certain segments of the tax-exempt sector, such as hospitals and universities, are especially large, complex, and growing.” Because of their “size and complexity, and consequent risk to the tax base,” the IRS said it “will continue to monitor compliance and enforce the rules applicable to universities, hospitals, and other major segments of the tax-exempt community.”
The IRS listed three specific approaches it plans to take:
- “Provide outreach and guidance to ensure widespread adherence to the requirements for tax-exempt status.”
- “Proactively address misuse of tax-exempt organizations and/or tax-exempt status.”
- “Maintain focus on universities, hospitals, and other major segments of the tax-exempt community.”
Bill to Overhaul Foreign Aid Proposed
Two members of the House — one Democrat and one Republican — introduced a bill last night that would revamp how the U.S. government provides assistance overseas, a change many charities have sought.
The legislation, proposed by Rep. Howard Berman, Democrat of California who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Mark Kirk, Republican of Illinois, would focus on three areas: developing a U.S. strategy for providing overseas aid, changing how the U.S. government tracks and evaluates its work, and providing more information on how aid dollars are spent.
Many charities have been critical of how the United States delivers assistance abroad, saying it is poorly coordinated among many agencies and doesn’t always take into account the needs of people in poor countries.
David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, a charity that has worked with the One Campaign, InterAction, and other groups to press for new legislation and other changes, applauded the bill and said he was optimistic it would win approval.
“We think it’s great,” he said. “We think all the actors, Republican and Democrats on both sides and those in the administration, know foreign aid could be more effective but it’s a lot of work to get it right. This bill really launches the process.”
Leaders of charities that provide assistance overseas said poorer countries have faced difficulties planning long-term development projects because of how little information and clarity exists around U.S. aid. They said the legislation could help change that.
Aid workers also said they welcomed the bill’s emphasis on finding ways to measure the success of programs that go beyond what they called “bean counting.”
“We need to be looking at how many girls are getting an education because of U.S. foreign assistance, and how their lives are improved, not just at how pencils are sharpened or textbooks are bought,” Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America, said in a statement.
Mr. Beckmann of Bread for the World said he expected the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations to introduce similar legislation shortly.
April 28, 2009
Congress Moves Toward a Vote to Keep Estate Tax at Current Levels
Members of a House and Senate negotiating committee have worked out a budget outline that would permanently keep the estate tax at levels that are already in effect this year. That’s the approach charities have been seeking, because they said that will help them appeal to donors.
Members of the full House and Senate are expected to vote on the budget blueprint on Wednesday.
In 2001, Congress passed the current estate-tax law, which gradually phases out the tax through 2009 and repeals it for 2010. In 2011, however, the current law is set to expire and estate-tax levels that applied years earlier go back into effect unless Congress takes action.
The House had passed a budget outline that would keep the estate tax at 2009 levels and do away with the 2010 repeal. Heirs could exempt $3.5-million from taxes ($7-million for couples), with amounts above that taxed at 45 percent.
But a budget outline passed by the Senate would have cut the estate tax, a move that alarmed many charitable organizations. The Senate would have raised the exemption for individuals to $5-million ($10-million for couples) and lowered the tax rate to 35 percent.
A House-Senate conference committee that met to work out differences between the two budget outlines settled on the House version of the estate-tax provision.
White House Calls Lobbying Rules "Tough But Fair"
The White House has told critics of its restrictions on contacts between lobbyists and federal officials on the economic-stimulus package — including two nonprofit groups — that it believes the rules are “tough but fair,” says Norm Eisen, the White House ethics adviser.
Writing on a White House blog, Mr. Eisen reported on a meeting he held with representatives of the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, and the American League of Lobbyists.
Mr. Eisen says he told them the rules — which say registered lobbyists may communicate with administration officials about specific stimulus projects only in writing — seek to “make sure that lobbyist communications are as transparent as possible, and that stimulus decisions are based on the merits.”
While the representatives agreed with the objectives, he said, “They took exception to some of the specifics of the restrictions and we had an honest exchange about our differences.” He added that the White House had also heard from supporters of the restrictions during a 60-day comment period.
The three groups that met with Mr. Eisen argue that the rules discriminate against lobbyists since they don’t apply to other people who may have enormous pull in Washington — thanks to campaign contributions, for example.
“The right to petition the government is a constitutionally protected activity,” says a letter the groups sent to Gregory B. Craig, the White House counsel. “To state that one class of individuals may not participate in the same manner as all others is clearly a violation and discriminates against an entire group.”
See The Chronicle‘s coverage of the conflict over the stimulus rules and separate rules limiting the ability of lobbyists to get administration jobs.
April 24, 2009
IRS Provides Tips for Filing Redesigned Informational Tax Return
The Internal Revenue Service has released the first in a series of filing tips to help nonprofit organizations prepare their Form 990 informational tax return, the primary tax document that groups file each year.
The first tips offer a “preparation checklist of important considerations” that nonprofit organizations should take into account.
The IRS redesigned the Form 990 for the 2008 tax year. The changes were the most significant made to the form in nearly 30 years.
IRS Co-Sponsors Conference to Examine Nonprofit Governance
The Internal Revenue Service will be a co-sponsor of a one-day meeting on “Issues in Nonprofit Governance” to be held June 23 in Washington, D.C.
Also sponsoring the event: Independent Sector, a national coalition of about 600 charities and foundations, and Georgetown University Law Center’s Continuing Legal Education program.
U.S. Rep. Xavier Becerra, a California Democrat, is scheduled to give the keynote speech. Mr. Becerra is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees tax matters.
“Government stakeholders, including state charity officials, Congress, and the Internal Revenue Service, have made clear their expectations for better governance in the sector,” says a conference brochure.
Details are available on the Web site of Georgetown University Law Center.
Charitable-Deduction Plan Remains Under Discussion, But Faces Competition
Sen. Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said today that President Obama’s proposal to curb tax breaks for charitable deductions remains on the table as one way to pay for changes to the health-care system, but it will compete with other ideas for raising money.
“Everything’s on the table,” he told reporters at a breakfast briefing. That includes the president’s plan, he said. “But a lot of other revenue ideas are on the table, too.”
He added: “We’re going to have to work our way through it, talk to senators, the White House, and see what works here.”
The president has proposed limiting to 28 percent the tax break that the wealthiest Americans get on their itemized deductions, including donations to charity, to help finance a 10-year “down payment” on a plan to bring down health-care costs and extend health insurance to more people. It would take effect in 2011.
“That’s run into a little bit of headwind,” said Senator Baucus, who is shepherding through the Senate his own proposals for revamping the health-care system. “But most tax increases do.”
Many Republicans, and some Democrats, have criticized Mr. Obama’s proposal, saying it would harm charities at a time when they are already under strain because of the recession. Many charities agree, although some have decided not to oppose the plan because they believe bringing down health-care costs would greatly benefit charities and the people they serve.
The Senate and House both adopted budget resolutions earlier this month that proposed creating a deficit-neutral reserve fund for health-care changes but did not specify where the money would come from.
Senator Baucus, Democrat of Montana, has said he favors finding the money within the health-care system itself, for example by taxing employer-paid health benefits above a certain dollar amount. The Senate Finance Committee is now holding a series of discussions on different aspects of health-care policy. It will hold one on “financing comprehensive health-care reform” on May 14.
The senator said the finance committee aims to produce a bill by June, then work to forge a joint text with the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee by mid-July.
He said he has been asking people to “suspend judgment if only for a nanosecond” if there is a proposal on the table they don’t like. “This is so complicated that your initial reaction might be ameliorated by something else you see in this plan.”
April 23, 2009
White House Official Discusses Goal of Social-Innovation Office
While the plans for the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation are still being worked out by the Obama administration, its newly appointed head, Sonal Shah, gave some details about them during the Global Philanthropy Forum, a meeting of donors that started Wednesday in Washington.
See more details in our conference notebook.
April 22, 2009
Nonprofit Leaders and Experts Examine Lobbying and Advocacy
While supporting a particular cause may be central to most nonprofit organizations, a lack of resources is forcing lobbying and advocacy efforts to the sidelines at most nonprofit groups, according to the findings of a meeting held by the Nonprofit Listening Post Project.
The project is dedicated to examining how nonprofit organizations are responding to pressures and challenges unique to this era, and is part of the Center for Civil Society Studies at the Johns Hopkins University Institute for Policy Studies, in Baltimore.
Last summer a group of nonprofit leaders and experts gathered at the institute to explore ways to increase support for nonprofit advocacy, and what they found revealed that although nonprofit leaders are seeking increased support for advocacy, most worry that taking a strong stance on an issue will offend donors and board members.
The university has published a report of the group’s many findings on the Institute’s Web site.
April 21, 2009
Audio: The Meaning of the Serve America Act
The signing of the Serve America Act today by President Obama is seen as a watershed event by many people in the nonprofit world, particularly officials of charities involved in large-scale volunteer efforts.
Alan Khazei, a leader of ServiceNation, a coalition of nonprofit groups that promotes community service, talked today with Suzanne Perry, a Chronicle senior editor, about the significance of the legislation.
Click on the audio link below to hear what Mr. Khazei had to say.
April 20, 2009
IRS Names New Regulator to Lead Division That Oversees Charities
The Internal Revenue Service has announced a change in leadership in the office of its top charity regulator.
Steven T. Miller, who has served as commissioner of the IRS’s Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division since 2004, will now become commissioner of the tax agency’s Large and Mid-Size Business Division.
Mr. Miller will be replaced by Sarah Hall Ingram, whose IRS experience includes service from 2004 to 2006 as deputy commissioner of the Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division.
The Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division oversees the administration of tax law for nonprofit organizations, retirement plans, and federal, state, and local governments.
Gates Official Named To U.S. Department of Agriculture
Rajiv J. Shah, director of agricultural development for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has been nominated to lead the Obama administration’s agriculture research and education efforts.
If approved by the Senate, Mr. Shah would serve as an under secretary for research, education, and economics, in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
This would not be the first time Mr. Shah has been involved in government. Before joining the foundation, Mr. Shah was a health-care adviser to former Vice President Al Gore during his 2000 bid for the presidency and was a transition aide on health for Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania.
According to his biography on the foundation’s Web site and a press release from the White house, Mr. Shah joined the Gates foundation in 2001 and was director of strategic opportunities and deputy director of policy and finance for global health. In these roles, he helped create an immunization effort that raised more than $5-billion to immunize children around the world.
As head of agricultural efforts for Gates, Mr. Shah has focused on helping small farmers in developing nations increase how much food they produce and increase their ability to sell their crops in world markets.
In February, for example, Gates awarded $48-million to help poor cocoa and cashew farmers in Africa develop farmer associations, new low-cost harvesting methods, and community centers where farmers can buy fertilizer and equipment.
The grant maker’s agricultural work has also drawn fire from some who argue the foundation works too closely with corporations and is not public enough about its operations.
April 16, 2009
White House Appoints Head of Social Innovation Office
It’s now official: Sonal Shah, former head of global development at Google.org, the search-engine company’s philanthropic arm, is head of the new White House Office of Social Innovation.
Shin Inouye, a White House spokesman, today confirmed Ms. Shah’s appointment—which has not been formally announced, although it is an open secret in nonprofit circles. (See The Chronicle’s background article about the new office.)
Mr. Inouye said the new office will fall under the Domestic Policy Council, a body that coordinates domestic policymaking in the White House and is headed by Melody Barnes. He said he could not give further details as the office “has not been rolled out yet.”
Members of President Obama’s transition team proposed creating an Office of Social Innovation to promote government efforts to help innovative nonprofit groups and social entrepreneurs expand successful approaches to tackling pressing social problems.
The office will no doubt be involved in the Social Innovation Funds pilot program that was just created by the Serve America Act, a national-service bill that will be signed by the president next week. The funds, which will be administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, will provide money for groups that are “developing innovative and effective solutions to national and local challenges.”
Ms. Shah was a member of the Obama transition project’s advisory board and co-chair of a transition group that made recommendations about technology and innovation, including “innovation and civil society.” She is co-founder of Indicorps, a nonprofit group that offers fellowships to Indian-Americans working on development projects in India.
She has also held positions at Goldman, Sachs & Company, the Treasury Department, the Center for Global Development, and the Center for American Progress.
Jane Wales, director of the Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation at the Aspen Institute, praised the new White House office today in a Chronicle online discussion.
“First and foremost it has the opportunity to encourage public-private partnerships aimed at addressing some of the toughest problems we face at home and abroad,” she said. In addition, “the office can take a careful look at U.S. government policies, including tax and regulatory policies, and determine which policies spur innovation, and whether others might needlessly impede innovation.
“This is not an easy task,” she said. “But the office is led by a remarkably talented person, Sonal Shah. If anyone can do it, she can.”
April 15, 2009
Abuse of Charitable Deduction Listed in IRS's "Dirty Dozen" Schemes
The Internal Revenue Service’s annual list of the “dirty dozen” tax schemes that Americans must avoid includes the abuse of the charitable-tax deduction and of charities themselves.
The IRS said it “continues to investigate various schemes involving the donation of noncash assets, including easements on property, closely held corporate stock, and real property.”
Often, the tax agency said, “the donations are highly overvalued or the organization receiving the donation promises that the donor can purchase the item back at a later date at a price the donor sets.”
The IRS said it continues to see the misuse of tax-exempt organizations. “Abuse includes arrangements to improperly shield income or assets from taxation and attempts by donors to maintain control over donated assets or income from donated property,” the IRS said.
April 14, 2009
Many Charities Avoid Tax on Business Income, IRS Figures Show
Only 40 percent of the nearly 13,200 charities that reported receiving business income not related to their missions wound up paying tax on those earnings for the 2005 tax year, according to new statistics released by the Internal Revenue Service.
These charities reported a collective gross income of more than $6-billion yet paid just $260-million in tax. (Both figures were the highest since the IRS began to keep track in the 1992 tax year.)
Under federal law, nonprofit organizations must pay tax on income generated from business activities that are not “substantially related” to their charitable mission.
Last year, a Chronicle study of the business practices of 91 of the nation’s largest charities found that many organizations take advantage of vague rules and specific exemptions built into statutes to legally avoid paying tax. Fifty-one percent of the charities in the study listed zero taxable income or a loss for activities after they took deductions and made other calculations.
The new IRS figures show that nearly 60 percent of charities that reported unrelated-business income in 2005 listed zero or negative taxable income.
Some tax experts have questioned whether Congress needs to revisit the laws governing the collection of the unrelated-business income tax, which was created to put charities and businesses on a more level playing field.
Business activities of charities include the sale of products, services, and advertising.
The IRS figures are estimates based on samples.
National Arts Agency Announces Stimulus-Package Grants
The National Endowment for the Arts announced that it has awarded $19.8-million in grants with money it received under the economic-stimulus package.
The grants will go to state arts agencies in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, five regional arts organizations, and the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies.
Some money will also go to arts agencies in American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Marianas Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
The National Endowment for the Arts received $50-million under the stimulus plan. The agency said it would announce a second round of grants in July. Those will go directly to nonprofit arts organizations, including local arts agencies, statewide assemblies of the local agencies, and arts service organizations.
April 13, 2009
Government Investment Should Focus on Established Groups, Not Startups: A View From Abroad
Gerry Higgins has some simple advice to government leaders who want to invest money in groups that use business models to advance social causes, or “social enterprises” — place your bets on existing groups rather than on startups.
The chief executive of CEIS, a Scottish group that provides money and services to more than 100 socially oriented businesses in the United Kingdom, said in an interview with The Chronicle that start-up efforts that rely on government money are significantly less likely to succeed when compared with existing groups that have already proven that they can make money.
Mr. Higgins, whose group organized the first Social Enterprise World Forum last fall in Edinburgh, is in the country to attend this week’s Social Enterprise Summit in New Orleans. In his interview, he discussed his organization and what lessons United States lawmakers can learn from his work in the United Kingdom:
Education Department Appoints Head of Its Faith-Based Effort
Peter Groff, a state legislator from Colorado, has been appointed to be director for the U.S. Education Department’s Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Center, which helps small religious groups and others receive education grants.
The Bush administration set up faith-based centers in several federal agencies, and President Obama has promised to continue such efforts.
Mr. Groff, a Democrat, has served in the Colorado Senate since 2003. He also co-hosts a weekly radio talk show about politics and government policy on satellite radio.
According to The Denver Post, Mr. Groff “has long been a champion of education reform, sometimes to the chagrin of teachers’ unions.”
April 10, 2009
Nonprofit Lobbyists Want Exemption From Some Ethics Rules
A coalition of nonprofit groups is pressing the White House to relax rules that limit the ability of lobbyists to get appointed to jobs in the Obama administration, saying they should not apply to people who are working for the public welfare.
The rules, which also restrict appointees from working on certain issues if they are former lobbyists, are “causing serious, unintended harms to nonprofit organizations who want and need to participate in our democracy,” says a memorandum submitted on Thursday to White House lawyers.
The groups ask the White House to amend or clarify a January 21 executive order on ethics and make a public statement underlining the difference between “lobbying undertaken on broad public policy issues in the public interest and lobbying undertaken in order to pursue private pecuniary gain.”
The memorandum was written by Larry Ottinger, president of the Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest, and Stephen Rickard, executive director of the Open Society Policy Center, the advocacy arm of the Open Society Institute, the grant maker — as a followup to a March meeting with White House officials on the issue.
The proposals were drawn up in consultation with a group of advocacy and watchdog organizations including Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, OMB Watch, and the Project on Government Oversight.
Gary Bass, executive director of OMB Watch, says the ethics rules are preventing highly skilled nonprofit leaders from joining the administration and participating in some meetings with administration officials.
We think that the president should take aim at the real problem, which is the corrupting influence of money,” he says.
The executive order, which applies to appointments made by the president or vice president, says that former lobbyists may not work on “any particular matter” that they lobbied on during the previous two years, including any “specific issue area” that that matter falls under.
The nonprofit groups argue that barring someone from working on entire “issue areas” is too broad. The order also says that registered lobbyists may not take jobs with any agency that they lobbied during the previous two years.
In their memorandum, Mr. Ottinger and Mr. Rickard say they support the general goal of the executive order, which aims to reduce the influence of special interests on government. But they want the White House to exempt nonprofit groups falling under sections 501©3 and 501©4 of the tax code — charities and advocacy groups — from the rules on hiring and “issue areas.”
They suggest the president could amend the order, issue a clarifying statement, or expand an existing provision that allows some lobbyists to get waivers when it is deemed in the public interest. (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington however, said in a followup letter to the White House that it does not believe the rules should allow any waivers.)
The document also suggests ways that President Obama could explain the difference between public-interest and other lobbyists, for example by drawing on his experience as a community organizer and adding, “Citizen participation is a priority for my administration.”
However, David Wenhold, president of the American League of Lobbyists, is not happy about that idea.
“That’s very subjective,” he said. “You’re putting lobbyists in classes of people; these people are good and those are not.”
The White House press office has not yet responded to The Chronicle’s questions about the issue.
April 07, 2009
IRS Seeks Advice on Tax Form, Academic Proposal, and Web Site
The Internal Revenue Service is asking charities to weigh in on the tax agency’s revised Form 990 informational tax return, the primary tax document that nonprofit organizations file each year.
The revamped form, which includes new schedules, is being used for the first time by tax-exempt groups for the 2008 tax year.
The IRS would like comments sent by e-mail to Form990Revision@irs.gov. “We will review these comments as we consider making future revisions to the Form 990, schedules, and instructions,” the tax agency said.
Meanwhile, the IRS is seeking ideas on a program it is developing to work with academic institutions that offer degrees on nonprofit management and related topics. The program’s goal: “to promote the education of exempt organization tax law.”
“The student populations of these academic institutions may one day be the leaders and managers of the exempt organizations that make up the nonprofit sector,” the IRS said. Hence, the IRS said it believes these students “are an important audience to reach with education and outreach programs.”
Suggestions for shaping the program may be sent to academic.initiative@irs.gov.
The IRS also would like recommendations from charities on how to improve the Web site used by the division that oversees tax-exempt groups.
“As the charities and nonprofits Web site has grown, displaying information in a logical and easy-to-use manner has become a challenge,” the IRS said. “So we are looking for ideas for improving this site.”
Comments should be sent by e-mail to EO.Web.Comments@irs.gov.
April 06, 2009
New York's Bloomberg Announces Measures to Help Nonprofit Groups
Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York, today announced a package of measures to help the city’s nonprofit groups weather the recession, including efforts to streamline government procedures, expand loan programs, and help groups save energy costs.
“As nonprofits face increasing challenges due to the economic downturn, it’s critical that the city take concrete steps to strengthen the sector and help it thrive,” Mr. Bloomberg said in a news release.
The mayor announced at a public forum at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service that the city would:
- Set up a program to help nonprofit groups save money by “group purchasing” goods and services, starting with information technology next summer, followed by insurance by the end of the year.
- Lead an evaluation of energy use by nonprofit groups and use the findings to develop energy-efficiency strategies.
- Speed up the process under which nonprofit groups demonstrate that they comply with charities regulation.
- Propose increasing a bridge-loan fund that helps charities under contract with the city cover short-term cash-flow problems — from $8-million to $20-million during the next two fiscal years.
- Introduce a standard human-services contract for multiple city agencies to reduce red tape.
- Offer referrals to nonprofit groups that contact the city’s “311” online and phone service on issues like where to get help developing a strategic plan or managing financial resources.
- Create an “executive director hotline” to allow nonprofit leaders to get strategic advice from senior members of Community Resource Exchange, a nonprofit consulting firm.
- Create a program through the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York that will pair business executives with nonprofit executive directors for two years to work on innovative solutions to nonprofit business challenges. The program, Greater NY, is available to any group that receives money from the city. The philanthropists Blair and Cheryl Cohen Effron and Gretchen and Jamie Rubin are helping to pay for the program.
The mayor noted that almost 500,000 people work at nonprofit groups in New York. “Whether by training people for jobs, providing access to arts and culture or building affordable housing, the nonprofit sector is a vital part of the city and our economy,” he said.
Obama Names New Members to Faith-Based Council
President Obama has named nine new members to the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
The council is part of a White House office the president set up in February to serve as a resource for religious and grass-roots nonprofit groups that are fighting poverty and other social problems.
The new members, who join 16 people who were appointed earlier to the 25-member advisory council:
- Anju Bhargava, founder, Asian Indian Women of America, New Jersey.
- Bishop Charles Blake, presiding bishop, Church of God in Christ, Los Angeles.
- The Rev. Peg Chemberlin, president-elect, National Council of Churches USA, Minneapolis.
- Nathan Diament, director of public policy, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations, Washington.
- Harry Knox, director, religion and faith program, Human Rights Campaign, Washington.
- Dalia Mogahed, executive director, Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, Washington.
- Anthony Picarello, general counsel, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington.
- Nancy Ratzan, president, National Council of Jewish Women, Miami.
- Sharon Watkins, president, Disciples of Christ, Indianapolis.
Council members serve one-year terms.
Federal Agency Postpones Controversial Rule on Screening Workers Again
The U.S. Agency for International Development has again postponed an important step in the start of a controversial security program that would screen charities and their employees for possible ties to terrorists.
In the April 2 Federal Register, the agency said it would delay until May 4 a rule that would exempt the program, known as the Partner Vetting System, from some privacy laws.
The final rule was issued in January and was scheduled to go into effect a month later. In February it was postponed and now has been postponed again.
Under the system, nonprofit groups that apply for agency grants and contracts must provide the names of “key individuals” overseeing their projects, including board members, executives, and other employees. The federal government would then check the names against a classified intelligence database that contains information on terrorists.
Agency officials say that the system is needed to make sure foreign aid distributed in politically unstable regions and war zones is not diverted — intentionally or unintentionally — to terrorists or violent militant groups.
But charity leaders argue it violates the civil rights of their employees and could place aid workers in danger overseas because they would appear to be working as an arm of American security agencies or the military. The nonprofit groups say that there is no substantial evidence that aid money has gone to support terrorists.
Read The Chronicle’s article about the Partner Vetting System.
April 03, 2009
Meaning of Senate Language on Charitable Deductions in Eye of Beholder
In adopting its 2010 budget resolution on Thursday, the Senate included some language on charitable deductions — a hot topic since President Obama proposed limiting them as a way to raise money to help reshape the health-care system.
However, what the Senate language means is in the eye of the beholder.
Sen. Bob Bennett, Republican of Utah — who said Mr. Obama’s proposal would deprive charities of much-needed donations — proposed an amendment he said would prohibit Congress from reducing charitable deductions to pay for the health-care plan.
Specifically, it said legislation to set up a health-care fund should “not result in diminishing a taxpayers’ ability to deduct charitable contributions as an offset to pay for such purposes.”
The Senate approved his proposal by “unanimous consent,” a procedure that allows a measure to go forward if no one objects.
“The Senate sent a clear message to the president that we do not support increasing taxes on charitable contributions to try to cover the costs of health care reform,” Senator Bennett said in a press release.
However, Sen. Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, seemed to view it differently when he urged his colleagues to adopt the amendment, portraying it simply as a way to record support for charitable deductions.
“The Bennett amendment would express the importance of taxpayers’ ability to take deductions for contributions to charity,” he said on the floor. He said the amendment was “not inconsistent” with the president’s budget and was consistent with a vote the Senate took last week on tax breaks for charitable gifts.
But that vote came after the Senate narrowly rejected a resolution offered by Sen. John Thune, Republican of South Dakota, that was designed to criticize President Obama’s deduction plan.
Senator Thune, in a proposed amendment to a national-service bill, asked lawmakers to state that Congress should preserve the “full” federal income-tax deduction “and look for additional ways to encourage charitable giving.”
But after Senator Baucus argued that language was too broad, senators adopted an alternative text removing the word “full” and just saying that Congress should preserve the deduction.
Senator Thune was more successful this time around. During the budget debate, senators adopted an amendment he introduced that would require a “supermajority” of 60 votes to approve legislation to raise certain revenues, which he said would apply to limits on charitable deductions.
The Senate budget outline now goes to a conference committee that will iron out differences with the House’s budget blueprint, adopted this week.
Nick Giordano, a legislative consultant who advises Independent Sector, a coalition of charities and foundations, noted that the budget outlines, or resolutions, are nonbinding and that Senate amendments are often dropped when the two houses reconcile their differences on bills.
April 01, 2009
Senate Passes Amendment to Restore International-Aid Money
The Senate approved today an amendment that would provide all the money to foreign aid that President Obama requested.
Charities such as the One Campaign and InterAction, an umbrella group of international charities, had lobbied for the amendment, which would restore $4-billion the Senate Budget Committee had sought to cut from Mr. Obama’s foreign-aid budget.
The Obama administration had initially proposed spending $53.8-billion on foreign assistance in 2010, an increase of roughly 8 percent over the previous year.
International charities were thrilled by the Senate’s move.
Following the vote, the One Campaign posted a blog item entitled “Victory.” International charities were also corresponding with each other on the social-networking site Twitter about the vote. “Are you dancing in your office?” someone from InterAction wrote to the charity Refugees International. The group’s reply: “Break dancing, really!”