2014 was another year full of events affecting the nonprofit sector in the United States.  Nonprofits were at the forefront of movements issuing demands for reform and played a critical role in achieving successes in areas such as marriage equality and immigration.  They also helped to increase awareness of inequalities and injustices that still exist and to highlight areas in which significant progress still needs to be made, including domestic violence, civil rights, and global wealth disparities.  Nonprofit workers showed, and continue to show, tremendous courage and leadership in fighting the tragic Ebola outbreak and in providing assistance to those affected by it.  On the administrative and legislative front, the IRS eased the process of obtaining tax-exemption for many small nonprofits through the introduction of the Form 1023-EZ and the nonprofit landscape was potentially subject to significant changes due to tax reform and the midterm elections—with the full impact of each of these changes on the nonprofit sector remaining to be seen.   Here’s our list of the top ten events that had the largest impact and a sampling of a few links discussing each:

1.  The shooting of Michael Brown, the following protests, and Black Lives Matter

• Seven Challenges for Philanthropy in the Wake of Ferguson, Nonprofit Quarterly
• Black Lives Matter
• My Brother’s Keeper, The White House

2.  The Ebola outbreak

• Nonprofits Should Consider the Implications of Ebola Fighters as Time’s “Person of the Year”, The Nonprofit Quarterly
• This May Be The Largest Private Donation To Fight Ebola, NPRmidterm

3.  Ray Rice and increased attention to intimate violence in the NFL

• Ray Rice and His Rage, The New York Times
• Two Senators Craft Bills to Yank NFL’s Nonprofit Status, The Chronicle of Philanthropy

4.  Immigration reform

• Your complete guide to Obama’s immigration executive action, The Washington Post Wonkblog
• President’s Changes on Immigration Mobilize Nonprofits, Foundations, The Chronicle of Philanthropy

5.  Midterm elections

• Results from the 2014 Midterm Election, The Wall Street Journal
• Donor Names Remain Secret as Rules Shift, The New York Times

6.  IRS released new, streamlined Form 1023-EZ

• Form 1023-EZ, Streamlined Application for Recognition of Exemption Under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, The Internal Revenue Service
• Is the 1023-EZ a Step Backward for Regulators and Nonprofits? The Nonprofit Quarterly

7.  The Tax Reform Act of 2014

• Draft Tax Reform Act of 2014 Proposes Profound Impact on Tax-Exempt Organizations, The Nonprofit Quarterly
• Tax Reform, Independent Sector

8.  Developments in same-sex marriage laws

• Activists Call 2014 ‘A Super Banner Year’ For Same-Sex Marriage, NPR
• Same-Sex Marriage Fast Facts, CNN U.S.

9.  The advance of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the CIA Torture Report

• 7 Key Points From the C.I.A. Torture Report, The New York Times
• ISIS Fast Facts, CNN World

10. Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century and increased attention to global wealth inequality

• Thomas Piketty’s “Capital”, summarised in four paragraphs, The Economist
• Piketty’s Inequality Story in Six Charts, The New Yorker