Dean Zerbe, senior counsel to Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-IA), announced on January 23 that he will be resigning from his position at the end of February. In his position with Sen. Grassley, current Ranking Member and former Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Zerbe was a leading figure...
Retailers’ Embedded Giving Legislation
On December 19, 2007, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced legislation to regulate embedded giving, a practice whereby retailers promise to donate a portion of the purchase price to one or more charities. The problem with embedded giving as highlighted by an article by Stephanie Strom in The New York...
Form CT-1 is Back!
California Form CT-1 has returned after being replaced by an Initial Checklist which followed passage of the Nonprofit Integrity Act of 2004. If your organization must register with the California Attorney General’s Registry of Charitable Trusts, Form CT-1 is the initial registration form. Click here for Form CT-1. Here...
IRA Charitable Rollover
The IRA Charitable Rollover, which provided individuals 70-1/2 years old and older with an annual exclusion of up to $100,000 from their gross income for qualified charitable distributions from IRAs, expired on December 31, 2007. Despite efforts by some legislators to get either a temporary or permanent extension of...
GreatNonprofits (and GiveWell)
GreatNonprofits is a charity and a website (still in beta) that provides "a place to find, review, and talk about great — and perhaps not yet great — nonprofits." The Chronicle of Philanthropy (December 13, 2007) featured GreatNonprofits on its front page and titled its article using founder and...
Washington Update – NCPGC Program – January 10, 2008
Janne Gallagher, Vice President and General Counsel of Council on Foundations, gave a fascinating presentation on the developments in Washington D.C. over the past year at a luncheon meeting of the Northern California Planned Giving Council on January 10. Among the topics she discussed: IRA Charitable Rollover (no extenders...
Schedule F of Redesigned Form 990 – Statement of Activities Outside the U.S.
The Redesigned Form 990, which goes into effect for tax years ending after December 31, 2008, contains a new Schedule F, Statement of Activities Outside the United States. Schedule F, Part I, General Information on Activities Outside the United States, must be completed by organizations that have had aggregate...
Study of Donor Advised Funds and Supporting Organizations
In Notice 2007-21, Treasury and the IRS requested comments on issues relating to the organization and operation of donor advised funds and supporting organizations as part of a study required by the Pension Protection Act. The Notice identified the following issues for public comment: Whether charitable contribution deductions are...
IRS Exempt Organizations Division 2008 Plans
I. Enhancing Enforcement of the Tax Law A. New Compliance Tools National Research Program EO Research and Compliance Initiative (Colleges and Universities) Voluntary Compliance Program B. Donor Control and Non-cash Contributions Section 509(a)(3) Supporting Organizations Charitable Trusts Deconstruction Conservation Easements Successor Member Interests C. Form 990 Redesign D. Other...
IRS Exempt Organizations Division 2007 Accomplishments
I. Enhancing Enforcement of the Tax Law A. Implementation of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 Announcement 2006-93: procedures by which 509(a)(3) organizations may request a change in their public charity status to 509(a)(1) or 509(a)(2). Notice 2006-109: discusses new provisions affecting supporting organizations (SOs), donor-advised funds, and private...