Tax-Exempt Organizations Registered With the IRS
From the issue dated Thursday, March 11, 1999 Nearly 700,000 charities and private foundations were registered with the Internal Revenue Service in 1997, according to the agency. The number of organizations classified under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code rose by 38,338, or 5.9 per…
New IRS Charity Division to Be Based in Washington
The I.R.S. has announced that the headquarters of its new Tax Exempt Operating Division will be set up in the Washington metropolitan area by the middle of the year. Commissioner of Internal Revenue Charles O. Rossotti announced a year ago that he would consolidate the service’s bureaucracy into…
By Jennifer Moore and GRANT WILLIAMS
Tax Agency to Hold Hearing on New Penalties
The I.R.S. is inviting charity officials and others to attend a public hearing on March 16 to discuss the tax agency’s proposed regulations that are designed to punish people who receive overly generous financial benefits through their involvement with non-profit groups (The Chronicle, January 28).…
By Jennifer Moore and GRANT WILLIAMS
IRS Outlines Steps for Fixing Non-Profit Retirement Plans
The I.R.S. has published guidelines for non-profit groups that have problems with their tax-sheltered annuities -- known as “403(b)” retirement plans, after the section of the tax code that governs them. Non-profit organizations that have made mistakes because of misunderstandings of the laws that…
By Jennifer Moore and GRANT WILLIAMS
‘Split-Dollar’ Legislation Proposed in the House
Key Republican and Democratic leaders on the House Ways and Means Committee have introduced legislation aimed at abolishing a controversial giving technique in which charities and donors divide the proceeds of life-insurance policies purchased with tax-deductible dollars. The bill, HR 630, was…
By Jennifer Moore and GRANT WILLIAMS
Appointments and Promotions in the Non-Profit World
All Faiths Receiving Home (Albuquerque, N.M.): Appointed Steven C. Johnson, director of family services, to be executive director, and Mary K. Bailey, executive director of Ballet Metropolitan of Columbus (Ohio), to be director of development. Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Association…
Salvation Army Seeks Change in Grief-Counseling Measure
The 2000 Presidential race has brought attention to an effort by the Salvation Army to change a federal law that gives the American Red Cross control over providing grief counseling to people involved in airplane disasters. The Salvation Army, like the Red Cross, has long provided disaster relief…
By DOMENICA MARCHETTI
Contributor
Proposal Seeks Disclosures by Federal-Grant Recipients
Many universities, hospitals, and other non-profit institutions that receive federal grant money for research are balking at a requirement that would impose new public-disclosure obligations on them. And some observers fear the requirement could open the door to additional regulation of all federal…
By Jennifer Moore
Contributor
Canadian Charities Urged to Adopt Codes of Conduct
All non-profit organizations in Canada should adopt codes of governance and ethical fund raising as a way to reinforce public confidence in their activities, a prominent independent panel has recommended. The Canadian government, for its part, should establish a new commission to promote and…
By Stephen G. Greene
Contributor
Watchdog Organization Recommends 15 Standards for Local Charities
The Council of Better Business Bureaus’ Philanthropic Advisory Service is recommending that its local affiliates use the following 15 standards to evaluate local non-profit organizations. The standards, from a list of 23 that the advisory service uses for its evaluations of national charities, are…
Ohio United Way Requires Charities to Pass Review by Outside Group
Each year, the Children’s Medical Center in Dayton, Ohio, receives $50,000 or more in donations from the local United Way. ALSO SEE:Charity Watchdog Shifts Its GazeWatchdog Organization Recommends 15 Standards for Local Charities But this year, the pediatric hospital won’t receive a penny unless it…
By Anthony Giorgianni
Contributor
Charity Watchdog Shifts Its Gaze
A longtime monitor of national organizations is now also evaluating whether local groups meet its standards A growing number of charities may soon face increased scrutiny now that a major charity-watchdog group is turning more attention to local non-profit groups. ALSO SEE:Ohio United Way Requires…
By Anthony Giorgianni
Contributor
Following are summaries of recent reports by the National Charities Information Bureau. That private organization reports on whether charities meet standards for fund raising, governance, financial management, and public information. The organization does not approve or disapprove of charities, and…
The following awards have been presented for work in philanthropy, fund raising, volunteerism, and non-profit management: Humanitarianism. The Caring Institute (Washington) has presented its National Caring Awards, which honor 10 individuals annually who “ennoble the human race by transcending self…
IRS Clears Think Tank With Ties to Newt Gingrich
The I.R.S. has ruled that the Progress & Freedom Foundation, a Washington think tank, did nothing wrong when it sponsored former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s controversial college course, “Renewing American Civilization.” The charity did not improperly “serve the private interests of Mr. Gingrich”…
By Jennifer Moore and GRANT WILLIAMS
Ruling Could Put Crimp on Charitable Trusts
A ruling by the I.R.S. could make it less attractive for wealthy people to leave assets from an individual retirement account to a charitable remainder unitrust, some experts say. The ruling, which lays out in complex fashion how the service may treat various types of income derived from retirement…
By Jennifer Moore and GRANT WILLIAMS