A Failed Political Run Leads to a Role Advocating for Museums
By Nicole LewisA lifelong Minnesotan, Ford W. Bell hoped to come to Washington this year as his state’s newly elected U.S. senator. He lost out on that job but ALSO SEE: AT A GLANCE: About Ford W. Bell, president of the American Association of Museums won another in the nation’s capital: He became…
By nicole lewis
Contributor
Watchdog Watch: Alliance Defense Fund and More
Following are summaries of recent reports by the BBB Wise Giving Alliance. This private group reports on whether charities meet standards for fund raising, governance, financial management, and public information. The alliance does not approve or disapprove of charities, and urges potential donors…
Tax Agency Investigates Land-Donation Deals
By Peter PanepentoThe Internal Revenue Service is trying to crack down on a possible scam involving real estate and charities. The tax agency has started contacting charities it believes have taken part in so-called successor member interest real-estate transactions — transactions the IRS thinks…
By PETER PANEPENTO
Contributor
Bill Would Loosen Rules for Gifts of Art
By Peter PanepentoMuseum leaders’ efforts to persuade Congress to change a new law that limits tax deductions for donations of art might soon pay off. Rep. Tom Udall, Democrat of New Mexico, and Rep. Phil English, Republican of Pennsylvania, have introduced a bill aimed at making it easier for…
By PETER PANEPENTO
Contributor
IRS Officials Seeks to Excuse Small Groups From Rule
By Peter PanepentoAn Internal Revenue Service official is urging the tax agency to increase the threshold that determines which nonprofit groups must file the Form 990 informational tax return. Nina E. Olson — who serves as the national taxpayer advocate at the IRS — has told the tax agency that…
By PETER PANEPENTO
Contributor
Report Offers Tips on Artist-Space Development Efforts
NEW BOOKS Artist Space Development: Financing, by Chris Walker, culls key lessons about advocating for and developing residential and professional spaces for artists, drawing from projects in seven U.S. cities. Examining how the projects were planned, promoted, financed, regulated, and supported,…
By Anne W. Howard
Contributor
A Survey Finds Infrequent Lobbying Efforts From Nonprofit Groups
NEW BOOKS Seen but Not Heard: Strengthening Nonprofit Advocacy
By Anne W. Howard
Contributor
Court Orders San Francisco United Way to Repay $4.7-Million
The San Francisco Superior Court has awarded Network for Good — an organization that collects online gifts for charities nationwide — more than $4.7-million in damages in its lawsuit against the United Way of the Bay Area that stemmed from the 2003 collapse of PipeVine, a donation-processing…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
A Charity Leader Helps People Who Fought the Holocaust
When I explain my job at the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, people always ask the same question: “What? Why would a Jewish organization collect money for the gentiles?” The only people who don’t react that way are the ones who mishear me. They assume I said “the gentle.” I’ve been executive…
Mistrial in Holy Land Case Produces Mixed Bag for Charities
The declaration of a mistrial last week in the federal case against the Holy Land Foundation, which was one of the biggest Muslim charities in the country until the government shut it down on charges of terrorism, was seen as a partial victory by many nonprofit officials. Leaders of other Muslim…
By BRENNEN JENSEN
Contributor
Governance Issues Are a Top Priority for IRS, Official Tells Regulators
A top official of the Internal Revenue Service says the tax agency is sticking with its plan to ask charities a series of questions about their management and governance policies and practices on the IRS’s new version of its Form 990 informational tax return. The Form 990 is the primary tax…
By GRANT WILLIAMS
Contributor
Nonprofit Leaders Debate ‘Whether or Not All Philanthropy Is Equal’
The charitable world bears a much greater responsibility for fighting income inequality than it is currently assuming, speakers said at last week’s annual meeting here of Independent Sector, which drew roughly 1,000 people from some of the country’s largest charities and foundations. The three-day…
By Caroline Preston
Contributor
Good Governance Guidelines for Nonprofit Organizations
Following are the 33 standards that charities and foundations should use as benchmarks for good ALSO SEE:ARTICLE: Committee of Nonprofit Leaders Issues Set of Accountability Guidelines governance, fund-raising, and compensation practices in the nonprofit world, according to a committee appointed by…
Committee of Nonprofit Leaders Issues Set of Accountability Guidelines
A committee of experts on nonprofit governance and management has issued guidelines designed to help ALSO SEE:ARTICLE: Good Governance Guidelines for Nonprofit Organizations nonprofit groups avoid ethical and legal improprieties. The report, issued by a committee appointed by Independent Sector,…
By MARTY MICHAELS
Contributor
Environmental Groups Battle Over Coal’s Future
Coal River Mountain Watch, a grass-roots environmental group in Whitesville, W.Va., has worked since ALSO SEE:ARTICLE: Fighting an Uphill Battle its founding in 1998 to curb mountaintop removal, a practice used to extract coal by blowing up a mountain peak that contains it. The process, say…
By Michael Anft
Contributor
On a crisp morning, inside an old post-office building emblazoned with an exterior mural ALSO SEE: ARTICLE: About Judy Bonds ARTICLE: Environmental Groups Battle Over Coal’s Future that mirrors its rugged mountain surroundings, Judy Bonds starts another day of fighting to retain the scenery — and…
By Michael Anft
Contributor