The Internal Revenue Service is sponsoring a Webcast on November 4 to explain important changes in the revised Form 990 for the 2008 tax year for people who prepare the form. The presentation will include tax experts, including IRS officials Ronald J. Schultz, a senior adviser to the commissioner…
By Eric Kelderman
Contributor
Chief Executives Who Received $100,000 or More in Fringe Benefits in 2007
Related article: Executive Pay Outpaces Inflation
The following awards have been presented for work in advocacy, fund raising, nonprofit leadership, philanthropy, and other areas: Health. The Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation (New York) has announced the winners of the 2008 Albert Lasker Medical Research Awards, which honor basic and clinical…
A Government Lawyer Turns to Charity Advocacy
By Suzanne PerryTim Delaney, chief executive of the National Council of Nonprofit Associations, jokes that his new job will give him a chance to “atone for my past sins.” As a young lawyer, he says, he sometimes advised charities to avoid trying to influence legislation because he thought it could…
By SUZANNE PERRY
Contributor
Agency Prepares to Grill Colleges About Finances
The Internal Revenue Service has announced that it will soon be sending a questionnaire to roughly 400 colleges and universities to collect information on their executive compensation, endowments, and income from unrelated businesses. The survey results will be used to identify how higher-education…
By Eric Kelderman
Contributor
Bidens Gave $995 to Charity Last Year
Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his wife, Jill Biden, have given an average of $369 per year to charities during the past decade, according to tax returns they released last month. Senator Biden, the Democratic nominee for vice president, claimed $995 in charitable gifts in 2007 on the joint return…
By PETER PANEPENTO
Contributor
Compromise Bill Would Raise Vehicle Rates
Two groups of senators with competing bills have agreed to compromise and combine efforts to better their chances of passing legislation that would increase the tax deduction for people who use their vehicles as part of their volunteer work. Under federal law, volunteers who drive their cars for…
By GRANT WILLIAMS
Contributor
Senate Passes Bill to Extend Tax Breaks
By a vote of 93-2, the Senate has passed legislation that would renew and extend several provisions affecting charitable giving. One key provision would allow older donors to get a tax break when they give charities money from their individual retirement accounts. Until December 31 of last year,…
By GRANT WILLIAMS
Contributor
Judge Expected to Rule in Case Against Va. Charity
A Texas court is poised to rule on a lawsuit against the National Heritage Foundation, a Virginia charity that was one of the leading promoters of a controversial giving technique that was effectively abolished by a 1999 law. The lawsuit charges that the National Heritage Foundation misled a Texas…
By Debra E. Blum
Contributor
Report Suggests Strategies for Web 2.0 Technology Use
A new report looks at how foundations are using interactive Web 2.0 technology, such as blogs, podcasts, and social networks, in their communications — and urges philanthropies to do more. Some foundations are already embracing technology tools that allow for two-way communications, write the…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Credit-Card Company Waives Fee on Donations
The Capital One Financial Corporation will cover the transaction costs for charitable gifts that its credit-card holders make through the company’s new giving site, allowing the total amount donated to go to the donor’s chosen charity. Typically, when contributors use credit cards to make their…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
World Wide Web Creator Plans New Charity
The inventor of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, has announced plans for a new organization to help promote the use of the Web for scientific research and to ease the digital divide in developing nations. The organization, which is scheduled to begin operations early next year, received…
By Jeffrey R. Young
Contributor
Google Seeks Ideas for Spending $10-Million
To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Google has asked people to submit their ideas for changing the world and helping as many people as possible — and it will put up $10-million to bring the best ideas to life. One idea the company highlights as the kind of creative solution it’s looking for: the…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Presidential Contenders Weigh In on Volunteerism and National Service
Following are excerpts from interviews conducted with Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama at a forum held in New York by ServiceNation, a coalition of organizations seeking to promote expansion of volunteer efforts. The interviews were conducted by Richard Stengel, editor of Time magazine, and…
Coalition to Push Ahead on National Service After High-Profile Event
By Suzanne PerryA coalition of groups pushing Americans to use their time and energy to help solve the nation’s social problems is hoping to build on the momentum generated by a national-service conference here that drew the presidential nominees John McCain and Barack Obama and a host of other…
By SUZANNE PERRY
Contributor
Hospital Endowments Grew by 8% Last Year, New Study Finds
Even before the stock-market gyrations of recent weeks, nonprofit health-care institutions were seeing the signs of a weaker economy, according to a report released last month. Nonprofit health-care organizations generated 8 percent on their investment assets last year, down from an average return…
By Debra E. Blum
Contributor