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Wednesday, April 23, 2008

The Chronicle of Philanthropy has put together a new section of their website that has information about the presidential candidates and where they stand on the issues that matter to nonprofit causes. The Chronicle also invites readers to send in suggestions and additional information. Click here to go to the Chronicle's Special Report on the Campaign 2008.

Posted by Amanda Adams, 12:55:48 PM

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

IRS Releases Draft Instructions for Redesigned Form 990

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released draft instructions for the redesigned Form 990 and is requesting public comments through June 1. In its announcement, the IRS notes that the instructions include "highlights lists indicating certain items in the instructions on which the IRS would especially like to receive public comments. As with comments received on the draft Form 990, the IRS plans to post comments on the instructions on its Web site." The IRS also included some resources to make filling out the 990 easier, including a glossary of terms, a list to help determine the order in which to fill out the form, and some examples.

These instructions, available on the IRS Web site, are important for understanding how to fill out the new form.

Posted by Amanda Adams, 03:10:15 PM

Thursday, March 27, 2008

TIGTA Advises Increased Examination of Exempt Organizations

A report released by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), found that the Tax Exempt/Government Entities Division of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) examines fewer than 1 percent of the 70,000 applications from groups applying for tax-exempt status each year.

BNA Money and Politics ($$) reports that; "One of the solutions discussed has been to periodically check on whether the organizations are still meeting their tax-exempt purposes and filing requirements. For instance, Congress has discussed the possibility of requiring informal filings by some charities on their fifth anniversary of being recognized as tax-exempt. The advisory committee to the Tax-Exempt and Government Entities unit at IRS recommended an operational review at three years, five years, or some other interval after tax exemption to focus on actual operations, charitable accomplishments, relationships with insiders, and lobbying and political activity."

Could these recommendations be a slippery slope, leading to the IRS assessing a charities' performance?

Posted by Amanda Adams, 02:38:37 PM

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

ChangeCongress Helps Empower Citizens

Last week a new effort began which uses technology to promote a transparent and open government. ChangeCongress wants legislators to make four commitments, which they can do by filling out a form indicating which of the pledges they support. In the end, it provides a graphic that the candidates can then place on their election campaign web sites. Citizens can also fill out pledges to put on their own website. ChangeCongress is an innovative way to organize citizens, encourage them to be politically active, and in doing so demands accountability in political campaigns.

Founder Lawrence Lessig writes on HuffingtonPost.com; "Change-Congress.org will be a bi-partisan, web-based effort to leverage and amplify the important reform work being done by others. […] Change-Congress.org will develop in three stages. The first layer will give candidates and Members of Congress a simple way to signal their support for any mix of four fundamental planks of reform: (1) a promise not to accept PAC or lobbyist contributions, (2) a commitment to abolish "earmarks" permanently, (3) a commitment to support public financing of public elections, and (4) a commitment to compel transparency in the functioning of Congress. Once a candidate or Member selects the planks he or she supports, the site will give the candidate code to embed that pledge on the campaign website. Citizens too will be able to take a similar pledge, promising to support candidates who match their own vision of reform. When they do, they will be linked back to reform organizations that support each plank.

Video of the launch of ChangeCongress is available from the Sunlight Foundation.

Posted by Amanda Adams, 06:10:21 PM

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Treasury Wins Award for Worst FOIA Agency

The LCCR was not the only one to notice Treasury's leisurely response to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) blog reports; "In the spirit of Sunshine Week, today the National Security Archive announced the winner of its annual Rosemary Award, named after President Nixon's secretary Rose Mary Woods, infamous for 'accidentally' erasing 18 ½ minutes of an important Watergate tape. And the winner is... The Treasury Department, for its mishandling of and all around unresponsiveness to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests!"

Read the National Security Archive's press release here.

Posted by Amanda Adams, 02:30:04 PM

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Baucus Supports Grassley's Investigation of Ministries' Spending

In November Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) began investigating six evangelistic ministries for the possible illegal use of donations to finance lavish lifestyles. Four of the six have not responded to Grassley's inquiries and now, Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) the Senate Finance committee chair has joined the effort. Baucus and Grassley sent letters to the groups with a March 31 deadline urging them to cooperate. Some of the targeted ministries argue that their financial information is private and of no concern to the Senator. Importantly, Baucus has subpoena power, which may be the only way to get the information. Their letter states; "One of the roles of the Finance Committee . . . [is] the exercise of oversight over . . . the Internal Revenue Service to make sure that its rules and procedures meet the purpose and intent of the revenue code, including those rules applicable to non-profit organizations. In order to do this effectively, the Committee needs to understand clearly and specifically how non-profit organizations are structured and operate."

Posted by Amanda Adams, 05:59:39 PM

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Form 990 Instructions Should be Released by April

Instructions for the redesigned Form 990 are expected in April. BNA Money and Politics ($$) reports that there will likely be a 30 to 45 day public comment period. "A summary of one to two pages will accompany each schedule, highlighting the controversial items for which practitioners should look in making their comments, . . . [t]his includes governance and compensation questions that have become high priorities for IRS."

The issue of governance has quickly emerged as a major focal point for the agency, and the final Form 990 asks new questions about the composition of charities boards or governing bodies, its governance policies and practices, and the means by which it is held accountable to the public by making governance and financial information publicly available.

In addition, on February 14, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released a new educational governance component in its "Life Cycle." For an analysis from OMB Watch on the redesigned Form 990, click here.

Posted by Amanda Adams, 05:22:40 PM

Friday, February 29, 2008

Leap Day Laugh: Don't Miss This!

Laughter is the key to survival in advocacy or politics, so don't miss this video "news" on The Onion website: Diebold Accidentally Leaks Results of 2008 Election Early.

See it here: War for the White House

Maybe it would be funnier if it was posted on April 1….

Posted by Kay Guinane, 12:26:22 PM

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

PEPFAR Reauthorization Bill Includes Pledge Requirement for HIV/AIDS Grantees

A mark up hearing was held today (February 27) on a compromise bill introduced this morning, the Global HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008, that will expand upon the law passed in 2003. The United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Act (PL 108-25) prohibits grants to any group that "does not have a policy explicitly opposing prostitution and sex trafficking."

CQ ($$) reports that a "Democratic draft that had been circulating for nearly a month threatened to raise a longstanding social-policy feud, with Bush's global AIDS plan — one of his few overseas initiatives to win broad bipartisan support — hanging in the balance. It pitted Democrats pushing to get rid of the abstinence-only requirements and family planning restrictions against Republicans who say the changes would funnel money to abortionists overseas." The draft bill eliminated the anti-prostitution requirement.

Unfortunately, the compromise HR 5501, that passed out of committee maintains the requirement that groups receiving grant money have a specific policy opposing prostitution and sex trafficking. Such a pledge gives the government the right to dictate the speech and activities it does not fund.

Posted by Amanda Adams, 03:54:54 PM

Friday, February 15, 2008

New IRS Fact Sheets

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released two important fact sheets for tax exempt organizations. One is on the IRS complaint process, and the other is on the examination and compliance checks process. The referral form to make a complaint against a tax exempt organization can be found here.

Posted by Amanda Adams, 04:58:39 PM

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

OMB Watch up for Online Advocacy Award

Do you like OMB Watch? Would you like to boost our fragile self-esteem? Then please vote for us in the Golden Dot Awards, presented annually for excellence in online campaigning by the Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet at George Washington University.

OMB Watch has been nominated for Best Issue Advocacy Blog. The nomination is for all three of our blogs: Advocacy Blog, Budget Blog, and Reg•Watch.

Vote here: polc.ipdi.org/GoldenDots/voting.htm

(OMB Watch has the utmost respect for the other candidates and has vowed to run a clean campaign.)

Posted by Matt Madia, 05:23:53 PM

Monday, February 11, 2008

Check out This Great Tutorial to Be Ready for the Election

An online tutorial has been created on how to engage with congressional level politics, leading a step by step tour through web sites. For example, the tutorial starts with the fundamentals; "Can I Vote?" directs the visitor to their state's Secretary of State's web site, and then if they need to register, another site is also provided. Subsequently the next web sites include biographical information on the candidates and members of Congress, candidate platforms, incumbent voting records, and campaign contributions.

This is a very valuable resource that exemplifies how the Internet can increase civic engagement. The companion article to the tutorial, "Tech Tools for the American Voter and the 2008 Congressional Elections", clearly states the purpose of such a tool; "All Americans have a civic responsibility to vote for the national, state, and local leaders who will make the decisions that affect us, our families, our community, and our nation now and well into the future. To vote responsibly requires that we learn about the candidates." The article points out resources and tools that can be used to make informed decisions on whom to elect to office. One resource mentioned is Fedspending.org launched in 2006 by OMB Watch. "OMBWatch.org believes that it is essential to know how the 'government spends money so that citizens can hold elected officials accountable for the national priorities they set."

Check out the tutorial here.

Posted by Amanda Adams, 04:06:23 PM

Friday, February 08, 2008

How are the Candidates Going to Help the Nonprofit Sector?

A blog posting titled "Bird-Dogging and Blogging the Primaries" observes that "until now, it would have seemed implausible that nonprofits and presidential politics would go hand-in hand. Activism is ubiquitous in communities; yet, on the whole the organizations that facilitate and conduct it are ignored by policy makers and politicians." The blog is promoting the new V3 campaign which shows candidates' responses to questions regarding the nonprofit sector created by Robert Egger. The campaign encourages nonprofit advocates around the country to ask candidates for local, state and federal office what their plans are to work with and support the nonprofit community. According to the V3 website; "The V3 Campaign will give you the tools you need to legally engage candidates in your city and state to determine their plans for the nonprofit sector. Learn how the candidates plan to support the causes and strengthen the organizations that are important to you."

Posted by Amanda Adams, 12:56:12 PM

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Join the 2008 Election Discussion

The Chronicle of Philanthropy will be hosting an online discussion next Tuesday February 12, at noon, Eastern time on the election and what it means for nonprofits. Experts on philanthropy and politics will be answering questions and if a question is submitted in advance, there is a better chance that it will be answered during the discussion. To submit a question, click here. The discussion is open to everyone, not just subscribers, so go ahead and ask a question!

Posted by Amanda Adams, 05:44:47 PM

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

California Bill Would Require Foundations to Disclose Detailed Information in the name of Diversity

Last week the California Assembly passed a bill that would require big foundations ($250 million in assets and more) to disclose the race, gender and sexual orientation of their board, staff, and even grantees and business contracts. The bill is now headed to the State Senate. The Chronicle of Philanthropy ($$) outlines what is included in the bill.

The number of grants and percentage of dollars going to organizations where at least 50 percent of the board, of staff members, are members of ethnic minorities, or are lesbians, gays, bisexuals, or transgender people.
A breakdown of the number of grants and percentage of dollars that go to organizations that serve different ethnic groups or sexual orientations, as well as the percentage of contracts awarded to businesses owned by members of those groups.

Reportedly, the measure was put forth by the Greenlining Institute, a public-policy organization in Berkeley that says foundations are too secretive about their giving and not enough awards go to organizations led by minorities. Many have come out in opposition, arguing that it would result in burdensome reporting requirements, and violate privacy rights.

For example this LA Times opinion piece claimed that if the Bush administration were to propose such a measure; "The criticism would be swift and unambiguous: This is absurdly intrusive and a violation of privacy. Foundations would organize to oppose any such legislation. . . . Imagine being the employee who has to ask each co-worker about his or her sexual identity and history. Many of these foundations have relatively small staffs; there won't be many secrets if this bill becomes law."

An editorial in the Wall Street Journal reports that the Greenlining Institute has already begun lobbying House Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-NY) for Congressional hearings. Orson Aguilar, associate director of the Greenlining Institute, was quoted in the Chronicle of Philanthropy article to say this "is just the first step in the group's plans to get lawmakers involved. 'We're definitely going to be putting pressure on Congress and the new [president] to look at this,' he said."

Posted by Amanda Adams, 12:15:25 PM

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