Essays on Civic Affairs and Service
United We Serve: National Service and the Future of Citizenship
By Jessica Kronstadt
Contributor
How Charities Can Expand Their Reach
The Nonprofit Membership Toolkit
By Jessica Kronstadt
Contributor
D.C. United Way Is Suing Past Leader for $1.6-Million
Washington One of the nation’s largest United Ways is suing a former executive to recover $1.6-million in questionable payments he received from the charity during his 27-year tenure. The United Way of the National Capital Area, in Washington, has filed two lawsuits against Oral Suer, a former…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
Federal Law on Charity Searches Is Challenged
The American Civil Liberties Union, on behalf of six nonprofit community and advocacy organizations, has filed a legal challenge to the controversial USA Patriot Act, an antiterrorism law enacted after the September 11 attacks. The ACLU said that the law wrongly permits FBI officials to order…
By GRANT WILLIAMS
Contributor
Group Urges Donations of Federal Tax Refunds
As the Treasury Department mails millions of tax-rebate checks to families with children this month, a nonprofit group that opposes the $330-billion in federal tax cuts enacted this year is urging people to donate their rebates to charity and petition the government to stop what it calls…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Court Reduces Value of Charitable Deductions
A new tax-court decision suggests that the Internal Revenue Service continues to keep a sharp watch on taxpayers who claim large charitable deductions on their income-tax returns. In the case, the U.S. Tax Court reduced by thousands of dollars a couple’s charitable deductions for gifts of land and…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Human-Rights Activists Have Source on Internet
A new Web site offers practical information for human-rights activists in English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish. The Human Rights Connection provides advice and case studies on how to work with the news media, plan an advocacy campaign, and use technology. The site is operated by three New York…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Newspapers Read on Public Television
The Reading Service of the Redwoods, an all-volunteer organization in Eureka, Calif., that uses television to make local newspapers accessible to area residents with vision problems or other disabilities that make reading difficult, has started broadcasting live. Since 1998, Eureka’s public…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Online Donation Site Starts Charging Fees
Network for Good -- an Internet site that allows donors to contribute to any charity in the United States -- has made a significant change in its operation: Instead of passing the entire donation to the nonprofit group, it has started to deduct a 3-percent processing fee from contributions it…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Key Senator Introduces Foundation-Payout Proposal
Washington An influential Republican senator has introduced a bill that would require grant makers to exclude some -- but not all -- administrative expenses when they calculate whether they have met the federal requirement that they give away at least 5 percent of their assets to charity each year.…
By Brad Wolverton
Contributor