Nonprofit Issues - Advocacy Blog

Advocacy Blog:

Advocacy Blog

Tuesday, November 23, 2004

Great analysis of Chairman Bond's speech at NAACP dinner
The Washington Post has a great article analyzing whether Chairman Bond's speech at the NAACP dinner violated the IRS nonprofit electioneering provision. Under IRS rules, nonprofits cannot advocate either way regarding the election of a candidate. To put it simply, the NAACP could not say, "vote for John Kerry". Because nonprofits are tax-exempt, they should not use tax-deductible (i.e. government subsidized) donations behalf of one candidate or another. However, this does not preclude nonprofits from engaging in election activiites, and they are most certainly allowed to criticize government officals - even when they are running for re-election. Click here to read the article...

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 04:05:04 PM

Monday, November 22, 2004

Ashcroft and his replacement
Outgoing Atty General John Ashcroft has been actively decimating the civil liberties of nonprofits and individuals, but has little success to show for the efforts. It is hard to imagine that his successor, Bush crony Alberto Gonzales, will be any different. Read this Salon article for the full scoop.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 02:18:10 PM

Thursday, November 18, 2004

Former IRS'er Contemplates Audit of NAACP
A former IRS worker wonders about the political motivations and consequences of the Internal Revenue Service investigation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Click here for the full story...

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 04:13:23 PM

Friday, November 12, 2004

TAKE ACTION: Stop the punitive audit of the NAACP
IRS 'Examination' of NAACP Exempt Status Based on Criticism of Bush Policies On Oct. 28 the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) announced that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is investigating their tax-exempt status because Chairman Julian Bond criticized the Bush administration's policies in his speech to the group's July convention. The NAACP is a 501(c)(3) organization, and as such is barred from intervening in elections. The nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization questioned the timing of the IRS action, calling it a politically motivated attempt to silence the organization and discourage blacks from voting. The IRS denied political motivation.

Click here to send a letter to Mark Iverson, head of the IRS

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 02:08:31 PM

Wednesday, November 10, 2004

OMB Watch's Thousand Cuts II Detailed in Chronicle
OMB Watch's latest report, Death by a Thousand Cuts II, was the subject of an article today in the Chronicle of Philanthropy. For the full article, click here.

To read Death by a Thousand Cuts II, click here.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 11:28:06 AM

Islamic charity seeks release of some frozen assets
An Islamic charity, shut down by the Treasury Department earlier last month, is requesting the release of frozen assets to pay their mounting legal bills. The charity, IARA-USA, is claiming innocence - and no formal charges have been filed. Unfortunately, it seems to be another instance of the Treasury Department shutting down a Muslim charity and providing no formal charges or ability to examine the search warrant. For more, check out the Columbia Tribune article

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 11:07:25 AM