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Wednesday, March 30, 2005

More Details on Sen. Finance Accountability Hearing
Senate Finance Committee To Hold Hearing On Charities On Tuesday, April 5, 2005 On Tuesday, April 5, 2005 at 10:00 am EST, the Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing titled, “Charities and Charitable Giving: Proposals for Reform.” The hearing will take place in Room 628 Dirksen Senate Office Building. The following witnesses are scheduled to testify:

The Honorable Mark Everson, Commissioner, Internal Revenue Service
George K. Yin, Chief of Staff, Joint Committee on Taxation
Leon Panetta, Director, Panetta Institute for Public Policy
Dr. Jane Gravelle, Senior Specialist in Economic Policy, Congressional Research Service
Richard Johnson, Member, Waller Lansden Dortch and Davis, PLLC
Ms. Lori Swanson, Solicitor General, Office of Minnesota Attorney General
David Kuo, Former Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director, White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives
Brian Gallagher, President, United Way of America
Diana Aviv, President and CEO, Independent Sector

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 12:36:53 PM

Wednesday, March 23, 2005

IS' Nonprofit Panel to Hold Field Mtg in San Diego
On Sunday, April 10, 2005 at 4:00 pm PST, the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector will hold a Field Meeting at the Council's 56th Annual Conference in San Diego, California. One of a dozen such meetings being held across the country, the San Diego Field Meeting will allow members of the Panel to hear comments and suggestions from the nonprofit community. The meeting is open to conference attendees and the general public.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 10:43:13 AM

Monday, March 21, 2005

Representation on the Nonprofit Panel Questioned by Some
"If this is the nonprofit sector's version of boldness, I'd hate to see when they're being cautious," said Trent Stamp, executive director of Charity Navigator, a charity watchdog group in Mahwah, N.J.

A great Chronicle of Philanthropy (subscription required) article about the Recommendations the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector recently submitted to the Senate Finance Committee.

Interestingly enough, as the Panel moves forward with "Phase II" of the Recommendations, word has it that there will be a hearing in early April to discuss potential legislation policing the nonprofit sector and legislation will be introduced shortly thereafter.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 09:50:04 AM

Thursday, March 17, 2005

The Costs of Congressional Scrutiny
There is an article in the Miami Herald about how nonprofits have stopped raising money for the tsunami reconstruction and have even begun returning money - not because there isn't reconstruction to be done - but because of all the scrutiny surrounding nonprofit accountability.

Check out the article.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 12:51:46 PM

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Senate Finance Cmte Plans Hearing on Nonprof Accountability
On the heels of the release of the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector's Interim Report, the Senate Finance Committee plans to hold a hearing on April 5 on the Panel's initial recommendations. An agenda and witness list for the hearing has not been released. Senate Finance Committee staff also has indicated that a bill might be introduced soon after the hearing.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 04:39:19 PM

Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Administration Says Spending for Propaganda Legal
The Bush administation reportedly has rejected a finding by the General Accountability Office that is illegally used federal funds to promote the Medicare drug benefit, without identifying the information as coming from the government. See the full story in the March 15 edition of the Washington Post here.

Friday, March 11, 2005

United Way Begins to Monitor Beneficiaries
With all the talk about the need for legislation to improve nonprofit accountability, organizations are begininning to set benchmarks for their grantees.

The United Way of Greater Plymouth County is three years into a new process it describes as a "community impact." Modeled after programs started by several other United Way chapters around the country, the local chapter, based in Brockton, is now holding its beneficiaries more accountable for the money it awards them.

For the full scoop...

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 11:42:56 AM

Thursday, March 10, 2005

Charities Opening Doors to Outside Inspectors
Some major international charities are opening their doors for the first time to outside inspectors, allowing them to certify that donations are spent as advertised. The charities, Kansas City-based Children International among them, say they hope that thorough inspections and a new industry seal of approval will assuage public fears of donations being misused. The nonprofits are also trying to keep ahead of a movement in Congress to impose regulations on the fast-growing but largely unsupervised world of nongovernmental organizations.

Click here for the scoop...

Wednesday, March 09, 2005

High Cost of Independent Sector Panel on Accountability
The Nonprofit Times has published an article on the costs of the IS panel on accountability.

Thursday, March 03, 2005

CoF Quick Summary of IS Interim Report
The Council on Foundations did a quick summary of Independent Sector's Interim Report.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 05:17:17 PM

Tuesday, March 01, 2005

The Panel on the Nonprofit Sector Releases Interim Report To
Today I attended a press conference at the Dirksen Building to announce the release of Independent Sector's Panel on the Nonprofit Sector Interim Report.

The Interim Report contains 21 recommendations to the Senate Finance Committee on measures to regulate the nonprofit sector. The recommendations are the product of the Panel's 5 Working Groups and, supposedly, public recommendations on the first draft.

The recommendations are based largely in reponse to the Senate Finance Cmte's discussion draft.

For the Panel's Interim Report. Also, don't forget to sign up for the Panel's Conference Call on Friday, March 4, from 2:00 to 3:30 pm. Visit the Panels website for more information or to register for the call.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 07:17:23 PM

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