Nonprofit Leaders Push for a New Federal Agency

Instead of relying on the Internal Revenue Service to regulate charities, the federal government, according to some nonprofit leaders, should create a separate agency to encourage the growth of charitable organizations and monitor their behavior, reports The Federal Times.

Steve Gunderson, president of the Council on Foundations, said in a speech last month that he wondered if “we wouldn’t be wise to create a division within the Department of Commerce to promote the success of philanthropy the same way they promote the success of business.”

The idea also got traction at the Nonprofit Congress, a meeting last month of charity officials from around the country, the article notes.

But not everyone thinks the approach is wise. James Gattuso, a policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, told the newspaper he thought creating a new agency would lead to more regulations for nonprofit groups and could dampen charitable giving.