In 2023, the World Health Organization declared an end to COVID-19 as a global health emergency, artificial intelligence dominated the news, and the nonprofit sector received some long-awaited regulations. Here is our list of 10 significant news events affecting nonprofits in the United States in 2023, and a few links discussing each:

1. Post-Pandemic World – How did nonprofits change because of COVID-19? (Independent Sector) Nonprofits, foundations adjust to the post-pandemic era (Philanthropy News Digest)
2. California AB 488 – New Year, New California Regulations? California Issues, for the Third Time, Proposed Regulations to Implement AB 488 (JD Supra); Understanding how California AB 488 impacts online charitable fundraising (Philanthropy News Digest)
3. Hollywood Strikes – Hollywood’s working class turns to nonprofit funds to make ends meet during the strike (AP news); ‘How Do We Never Do This Again?’: Hollywood Grapples With the Consequences of a 148-Day WGA Strike (Variety)
4. Final Supporting Organization Regulations – Supporting Organizations – Requirements and Types (IRS); Type III Supporting Organizations – Functionally Integrated (Nonprofit Law Blog)
5. OpenAI CEO Controversy– Few ways to force OpenAI governance changes, legal experts say (Reuters); How OpenAI’s Nonprofit-Corporate Structure Fueled the Tumult Around CEO Sam Altman’s Short-Lived Ouster (Chronicle of Philanthropy); Our Structure (OpenAI Website)
6. Israel-Hamas War – The Israel-Hamas War: A Time for Open Hands, Not Clenched Fists (Chronicle of Philanthropy); Philanthropy’s Response to the Israel-Hamas War 2023 (Council on Foundations); In Wake of Donor Revolt, Nonprofits Are Rethinking Political Statements (Chronicle of Philanthropy)
7. Maui Wildfire – Rethinking Tourism: Maui’s Climate Vulnerability and Its Future (Nonprofit Quarterly); Hawaii Community Foundation’s Maui Strong Fund Receives Nearly $60 Million in Donations (Chronicle of Philanthropy)
8. Developments in Affirmative Action – Supreme Court Affirmative Action Decision (Nonprofit Law Blog); Ban on Affirmative Action: Implications, Risks, and Strategies for the Charitable Sector (Davis Wright Tremaine LLP)
9. DAF Proposed Regulations – Proposed Donor Advised Fund Regulations: What is a Donor Advised Fund? (Nonprofit Law Blog); Text of Proposed Regs (IRS)
10. Growth of Artificial Intelligence – AI And Nonprofits: Not If Or When, But How (Forbes); 8 Steps Nonprofits Can Take to Adopt AI Responsibly (Stanford Social Innovation Review)

Ed. One addition I’d like to make to this list touches on other events listed above, particularly the Israel-Hamas War: Big Donor Influence of Nonprofit Management and Governance – What do universities owe their big donors? Less than you might think, explain 2 nonprofit law experts (Ellen P. Aprill & Jill Horwitz); What Do Universities Owe Their Donors? (Josh Moody, Inside Higher Ed)