Proposal for a New (and Risky) Way to Substantiate Charitable Contributions

UPDATE 1/7/16:  The proposed regulations have wisely been withdrawn. The Treasury Department and IRS are soliciting comments through December 16 regarding the recently proposed rule that would provide donors with another way to substantiate their contributions of $250 or more but at the cost of imposing significant new risks on charities and donors. The new way to substantiate […]

Embark: 2015 Independent Sector Annual Conference

Miami is the site for Embark, the 2015 Independent Sector Annual Conference and Public Policy Action Institute. The Conference is a critical one for Independent Sector coming shortly after its former and long-time President and CEO Diana Aviv departed to head Feeding America and during a time when Independent Sector is attempting to define its leadership role […]

SOCAP15

Many key players in the social enterprise / impact investing space throughout the world converged in San Francisco this week for SOCAP15 (yup, that’s John Legend). I’ve been writing and tweeting about SOCAP since 2010, and I am thrilled to be attending this year. Also, a quick disclosure that some of the entities represented are our clients who are all doing […]

Nonprofit Tweets of the Week – 8/7/15

This week, President Obama announced the Clean Power Plan – a historic and important step in reducing carbon pollution from power plants that takes real action on climate change. Have a listen to Sam Phillips’ Black Sky while perusing our curated nonprofit tweets of the week: Rolling Stone: The worst impacts of climate change are starting […]

Expenditure Responsibility, including for PF International Grantmaking

Private foundations in the United States are often interested in funding promising organizations and projects that are based outside of the country. When doing so, these foundations are required to follow certain rules and procedures promulgated by the IRS to help ensure that the foreign grantees are properly using those funds for charitable purposes. Currently, […]

Nonprofit Law 101 for Journalists

Prompted by a conversation among nonprofit leaders about the public’s and media’s general lack of knowledge about nonprofits, this article targeted at journalists briefly discusses some basics of federal tax laws applicable to 501(c)(3) organizations and common state corporate and charitable trust laws applicable to nonprofits. Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) Exempt Purposes A 501(c)(3) organization […]

The Avengers, a Nonprofit Corporation

  In Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America made reference to bylaws in stating that there were no restrictions against relationships between members. This of course proves that The Avengers are not only a superhero team that saves the world on a regular basis but also a nonprofit corporation. Here is the way the startup process must have […]

Social Impact Bonds: National Summit on Quality in Home-Visiting Programs

I’ll be at the Fifth National Summit on Quality in Home Visiting Programs in Washington DC on May 7, 2015 participating on a panel discussing social impact bonds and pay-for-success financing. I’ll be joined on the panel, moderated by Lauren Schumer, The Pew Charitable Trusts, by: David Juppe, Department of Legislative Services/Maryland General Assembly Elizabeth Lower-Basch, Center […]

Nonprofit Tweets of the Week – 5/1/15

The past week was highlighted by protests in Baltimore, valid criticisms of the media characterization of the situation, and a devastating earthquake in Nepal. And the Council on Foundations Annual Meeting in our hometown of San Francisco (Erin was there). Have a listen to Baltimore native David Byrne‘s Life During Wartime while perusing our curated nonprofit […]

Nonprofit Collaborations: The Structural Options

A recent article in The Nonprofit Quarterly titled “Collaborations: The Nonprofit Trend” discussed the movement towards collaborations and linkages of many kinds among nonprofits to combat a growing need for services with fewer resources. While there is no denying the importance of collaborations for many organizations, and particularly to tackle larger social problems, leaders of […]