IRS Official Outlines Efforts to Curb Abuses
Kevin Brown, the Internal Revenue Service’s outgoing acting commissioner, says the agency is facing “difficult and fact-intensive administrative challenges” as it attempts to keep up with the constant changes in the structure and behavior of the nonprofit world. Mr. Brown, in a letter to Sen.…
By PETER PANEPENTO
Contributor
Hospitals Challenge Charity-Care Conclusions
An Internal Revenue Service survey has found that more than half of nonprofit hospitals are spending less than 4 percent of their annual revenues on charity care. The IRS survey, which will be used to help gauge whether nonprofit hospitals are meeting current requirements for tax-exempt status,…
By PETER PANEPENTO
Contributor
Charities Owe $1-Billion in Taxes, Congress Told
Nonprofit groups are costing the federal government more than $1-billion through unpaid payroll and other taxes, according to a government watchdog unit. At a recent Congressional hearing, the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight pressed officials of the U.S. Department of the Treasury…
By PETER PANEPENTO
Contributor
Charities Urged to Do More to Attract Young Workers
Charities will lose young people to other professions unless they start doing a better job of preparing early- and midcareer employees for leadership positions, said participants at “Nonprofit 2020: Issues and Answers From the Next Generation.” The conference, held at Grand Valley State University…
By Caroline Preston
Contributor
Nonprofit Groups Face New Rules on Providing Retirement Benefits
The Internal Revenue Service has approved big changes in the rules that govern 403(b) retirement plans — a move experts say will soon mean more paperwork for many nonprofit organizations and clearer options for many employees who invest in the plans. The overhaul eliminates previous rules that had…
By PETER PANEPENTO
Contributor
Proving that a small charity’s programs are working
Q: I am a graduate student working on a project with a charity that helps young fathers who don’t have custody of their children learn parenting skills and get more involved in their children’s lives. We depend on grants, but because of the charity’s shortage of staff members, it has been hard for…
By Sandy Asirvatham
Contributor
Coping With the Fund-Raiser Shortage: Tips From Experts
With a severe shortage of experienced fund raisers nationwide, professional recruiters and senior development officers offer ALSO SEE:LIVE DISCUSSION: Read a transcript of a live discussion with Lynda McKay, executive recruiter, and Scott Nichols, a Boston University fund raiser, about fund-raising…
By Holly Hall
Contributor
The race is on to hire workers who can solicit big gifts Kay Malone started her new job as director of major gifts at the American Farmland Trust, in Washington, just last month. ALSO SEE:LIVE DISCUSSION: Read the transcript of an online discussion with Lynda McKay, executive recruiter, and Scott…
By Holly Hall
Contributor
American Farmland Trust (Washington): Appointed Jennifer Small, senior development officer at Williams College (Williamstown, Mass.), to be associate director for major gifts, based in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. American Humane Association (Denver): Appointed David C. Hall, senior director of planned…
Should I set a limit on the amount of fundraising I do at a given time?
Don’t make assumptions about donors’ ability or desire to give.
Where can I find a training program that will teach me how to run a charity?
Q: I’m in Cincinnati and looking for training that will help me learn about running a charitable foundation, covering such topics as the criteria other grant makers use when granting money to individuals. Any advice? A: Since you are looking to become a grant maker, your most direct source for…
The following awards have been presented for work in advocacy, fund raising, nonprofit leadership, philanthropy, and other areas: Leadership. The Rockefeller Foundation (New York) has announced the recipients of the inaugural Jane Jacobs Medal, which recognizes activists in New York City. The 2007…
A Television Producer Turns to a New Challenge: Promoting Peace
ALSO SEE: BIOGRAPHY: About Nicolla Hewitt, president of Seeds of Peace Nicolla Hewitt spent the last 18 years traveling the globe in her job as a television producer, covering major events including the fall of the Berlin Wall, the crash of the space shuttle Columbia, and the wars in Afghanistan…
By nicole lewis
Contributor
Churches Seek to Keep Finances Private
The Church Alliance, which represents a group of executives and leaders from more than 35 national church organizations, has asked the Internal Revenue Service to allow religious groups to keep confidential the federal tax forms they file to show how much income they receive from activities not…
By PETER PANEPENTO
Contributor
Big Changes Urged in Rules for Charity Hospitals
Nonprofit hospitals would be required to allocate at least 5 percent of their annual budgets to providing charity care or lose their tax-exempt status, under a proposal released last week by Republican staff members of the Senate Finance Committee. The proposal is the latest in a series of efforts…
By PETER PANEPENTO
Contributor
Charity Programs Fare Better in Congress Than Under White House Plan, Study Finds
Charities seem to have a good chance of getting more money from Congress over the next five years than President Bush wanted them to receive, a new study finds. The study by the Aspen Institute, a Washington think tank, shows that in its early stages of making spending decisions, Congress has…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor