‘Reverse Peace Corps’ Trains Nonprofit Leaders From Abroad
The Washington Post writes about the Atlas Service Corps, a D.C.-based organization that brings young nonprofit leaders from around the world to the United States for a year to network and develop new skills to apply in their work back home.
Justice Dept. Faults Auditing Firm on Big Brothers Big Sisters Assessment
The U.S. Justice Department’s internal watchdog is seeking an ethics review of PricewaterhouseCoopers over what the agency termed “extensive deficiencies” in the auditing firm’s assessment of grant compliance by Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, reports Reuters.
Wall Street Still Sees Promise in Social-Impact Bonds
Major banks remain interested in so-called “pay-for-performance” financing to test new social programs, despite the plug being pulled on the first such effort in the United States, Reuters writes.
Russia Bars National Endowment for Democracy as ‘Threat’
Russian law-enforcement officials, acting for the first time on new powers to ban foreign nonprofits, declared the congressionally funded organization “undesirable” on Tuesday and barred it from operating in the country, Bloomberg and The Guardian report.
GOP Senators Plan Vote to Bar Funding for Planned Parenthood
As an anti-abortion group released a third video on Tuesday of Planned Parenthood officials discussing the use of fetal tissue for medical research, Republican leaders said Tuesday that the Senate will vote before its August recess on ending federal funding for the women’s health organization, the Associated Press reports.
Foundations Get Behind Push for Higher Learning in Prisons
A number of prominent philanthropies are putting money into college courses behind bars as policy makers take a fresh look at links between education and reduced recidivism, The Wall Street Journal writes
Judge Rejects Citizens United Bid to Shield Donor Information
A federal court in Manhattan declined Monday to grant the conservative nonprofit an injunction against New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s demand that it give officials data on big donors before fundraising in the state, Reuters reports.
House Committee Head Calls for Ouster of IRS Commissioner
Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz asked President Obama to fire John Koskinen over the Internal Revenue Service chief’s handling of congressional inquiries into alleged IRS targeting of conservative groups, writes The Wall Street Journal.
Nonprofit Running Big U.S. Program for Disabled Faces Inquiries
Multiple federal agencies are investigating AbilityOne, the U.S. government’s major employment effort for people with severe disabilities, and SourceAmerica, a nonprofit that manages the multibillion-dollar program, according to CNN.
Calif. to Investigate Group Behind Planned Parenthood Videos
State Attorney General Kamala Harris said Friday that she will review the Center for Medical Progress’s undercover videos targeting Planned Parenthood to determine if the anti-abortion activist group has breached any laws or nonprofit regulations, the Associated Press reports.
Pressure on Donors to U.K. Muslim Group Under Court Review
Britain’s High Court has ordered a judicial review of whether the country’s charity regulator overstepped its authority by asking two foundations to stop funding a Muslim advocacy organization with past ties to a suspected Islamic State militant, The Guardian reports.
Some Nonprofits Misuse Contracts to Hide Activities, Say Experts
The American Red Cross has drawn fire from Sen. Charles Grassley for nondisclosure clauses in its contracts with its partners, but other groups do it, too.
By Rebecca Koenig
Contributor
Little Sisters Appeals to Supreme Court on Contraceptive Rule
After losing at the appellate level, Catholic charity Little Sisters of the Poor will ask the Roberts court to take up its claim that the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive-care mandate violates their religious liberty, reports the Associated Press.
Videos Spark New Drive to Cut Planned Parenthood Funding
Surreptitiously shot videos in which Planned Parenthood officials discuss how to perform abortions to retain fetal tissue for medical research are rekindling anti-abortion activists’ long-held hopes to end government funding of the women’s health organization, The Wall Street Journal writes.
Report: Lax Controls Raise Bias Risk in IRS Nonprofit Audits
The federal government’s watchdog agency is calling on the Internal Revenue Service to strengthen oversight of how nonprofit groups are selected for audits to ensure the choices do not reflect IRS staffers’ biases, Bloomberg and the Associated Press report.
Orphanage Head and Charity Win $14.5 Million Defamation Award
A Maine jury awarded $7 million Thursday to the founder of an orphanage in Haiti and $7.5 million to an affiliated North Carolina charity in a defamation case over claims of child sexual abuse, reports the Portland Press Herald.