An Argument to End Tax Deductions for Church Gifts; Plus More: Tuesday’s Roundup
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
April 6, 2010 | Read Time: 1 minute
- The federal government should consider ending tax deductions for gifts to churches, says Perla Ni, the chief executive of Great Nonprofits, a Web site that allows donors to rate charities. On the Good Ideas blog, Ms. Ni suggests five ways to help the nonprofit world, including changing the tax benefits for religious gifts. She says people who make such gifts do so for the personal benefit, not the tax write off, and that the move would increase revenue for government social programs.
- While some nonprofit experts are concerned about the rise of “professional social entrepreneurs,” they should welcome and support them as long as they are familiar with the needs of the people and places they seek to serve, writes Dan Elitzer, a charity consultant, on the Full Contact Philanthropy blog.
- Sean Stannard-Stockton, an adviser to donors and a Chronicle contributor, announces the “Smart Money Award” for grant makers that recognize that sometimes it’s best to “follow what works.”
- Religious-based fitness programs have drawn controversy recently, as noted by American Public Media’s Marketplace. The report mentioned that across the country, courts have ruled that some religious nonprofit groups are directly competing with commercial health clubs at an unfair advantage, given their tax-exempt status.
- “It doesn’t matter how innovative a nonprofit video is if it’s not going to have a great impact,” writes Jeff Brooks, a fund-raising consultant, in response to entries for YouTube’s DoGooder Nonprofit Video Awards. On his Future Fundraising Now blog, Mr. Brooks says nonprofit videos need to focus on moving people to make donations, volunteer, and take other actions, rather than simply on using creative video technique.
- Is evaluation an “infection?” So asks Louisa Hackett, managing director of the Community Resource Exchange, in New York, on her organization’s blog.
