On May 24, 2010, the California Attorney General filed a complaint against the Monterey County AIDS Project (MCAP) and several of its officers, directors, and key employees for, among other things, diversion and improper distribution of charitable assets, breach of fiduciary duty for failure to use assets for a...
CURRENT AFFAIRS & OPINION
Maryland’s Benefit Corporation
On April 13, 2010, Maryland became the first state to recognize a new corporate form called a “benefit corporation” (not to be confused with a “Certified B Corporation”) when Governor Martin O’Malley signed into law, Senate Bill 690, which allows corporations to pursue socially responsible purposes in addition to...
The End of Small Nonprofits That Have Not Filed Form 990
Today is the last day for up to 380,000 nonprofits to file some version of Form 990 or automatically lose their tax-exempt status. Many of these organizations have been abandoned, and it will be of value to get them off the books. But it is believed that a substantial...
U.S. Nonprofits: Top 10 Events of the Decade
We love reading end-of-the-year Top 10 lists. So, we thought it might be fun and hopefully thought-provoking to publish a Top 10 list of the events of the decade affecting the nonprofit sector. Please add your additions in the comments. And have a happy holiday season! Here's our list...
Electronic Communications – California Nonprofits
California law regarding electronic transmissions by a corporation will change on January 1, 2010 as a result of the passage of Assembly Bill 285. Corporations Code Section 20 currently provides that an electronic transmission by a corporation to an individual shareholder or member is not authorized unless, among other...
Philanthropedia
How do we give effectively and intelligently? Philanthropedia, formerly the Nonprofit Knowledge Network, suggests that you consider the recommendations of their "experts" and donate to one of their "Expert Mutual Funds," a group of top nonprofits selected by their experts. Currently, Philanthropedia offers Expert Mutual Funds in the following...
2009 Western Conference on Tax-Exempt Organizations – Day One
I attended the 2009 WCTEO in Los Angeles last Thursday and Friday. It’s always a great conference for professionals in the nonprofit and tax-exempt sector: impressive and knowledgeable speakers, interesting topics, and a chance to meet with peers and people you greatly admire. My only and very...
The NP-Myth
NP-Myth: the fatal assumption that any individual who has a passion about a charitable mission can successfully create and manage a sustainable nonprofit to further that mission. Best-selling author of the E-Myth Revisited, Michael E. Gerber, hypothesizes that the single most disastrous assumption anyone can make about going into...
California Attorney General Sues Charities, Directors & Fundraisers
From a May 29, 2009 news release from the Office of the Attorney General: As part of a nationwide crackdown on fraudulent charities, Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. is filing today eight lawsuits against 53 individuals, 17 telemarketers and 12 charities that "shamelessly exploited" people's generosity and squandered...
Charitable Trusts & The Financial Meltdown – Erik Dryburgh
Erik Dryburgh of Adler & Colvin presented a program for the San Francisco Foundation on April 28, 2009 titled "Charitable Trusts and the Financial Meltdown: What to do With Underwater CRTs and Foundations." Dryburgh opened the program describing the scenario as a "philanthropic train wreck." He noted that some...