Collaborative and Virtual Office Tools

The following information is drawn from May 9 and December 28, 1999; January 29 and March 26. 2000 postings on the NPTalk discussion list. Nonprofit work often involves collaboration among staff and partners, sometimes spread across large distances. Sometimes the nature of that work entails the markup or comment on documents, or brainstorming ideas, which is not always easily done via a conference call or e-mail, or for which an in-person meeting is not cost-effective. There are, however, different flavors of office-level collaborative technology for nonprofits to consider. Digital

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Campaign Finance Reform Nearing Goal In House

OMB Watch has urged Reps. Christopher Shays (R-CT) and Marty Meehan (D-MA) to strengthen the portion of their bill dealing with exceptions to the ban on broadcast "issue advocacy" during an election cycle.

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Anti-Terrorism Bill Could Impact Nonprofits

The "USA PATRIOT Act" (PL 107-56) could pose big problems for nonprofits, especially those that advocate changes in US foreign policy or provide social services to individuals that become targets of government investigations.

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FEC Won't Appeal Ruling Against Its Express Advocacy Definition

On December 11 the FEC decided not to seek Supreme Court review of a Virginia case finding their regulation, 11 CFR 100.22, unconstitutional. The vote was a 3-3 tie, and a majority is needed to request the Solicitor General to take up the case.

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State And Local PACs Seek Exemption From IRS Disclosure Law

The difficulty for state and local PACs arises because of the way soft money is often spent. Only "hard money" is subject to FEC regulation and soft money spent on federal elections is often mixed with soft money spent on state and local elections. The law's purpose is to force disclosure of soft money spent on federal elections.

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State Update: Michigan

Michigan House passes bill after dropping language that would have prohibited Michigan nonprofits from using any resources that are "from a public body or a person acting on behalf of a public body" for advocacy around a state ballot initiative.

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House Passes H.R. 7, The Community Solutions Act

The House has passed HR 7, the "Community Solutions Act" by a vote of 233-198. 15 Democrats voted for the bill, and 4 Republicans voted against it. A Democratic alternative that addressed some of the civil rights and discrimination problems in the bill was defeated 261-168. This alternative would also have prohibited religious organizations who provide federally funded programs from engaging in sectarian activities at the same time. A motion to recommit the bill to the Judiciary Committee with instructions to remove language that allows discrimination also failed on a vote of 234-195.

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Faith-Based Initiative Moves to House Floor

The President's faith-based initiative, the Community Solutions Act (H.R. 7), will be going to the House floor Wednesday, July 18. This is a bad bill that should never become law. Even if you have no position on "charitable choice" – the notion of giving religious congregations federal funds and relaxing federal rules – the major charitable giving provisions have become so watered down and extract such a huge fiscal limitation that they are not worth it. This analysis provides a summary of the bill as it goes to the House floor and the political outlook for the bill.

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NPTalk: Community Technology Centers Policy Overview

Existing federal programs emphasize collaboration among important community-based and community-focused actors and institutions. Though popular among grant recipients and vital to program beneficiaries, the supporter base has not been effective in sustaining widespread support and visibility on the Hill around broader community technology policy goals and objectives.

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Faith-Based Initiatives Working Group Report Released

Court Rules Unconstitutional Direct Grant to Faith Works Recommendations are, for the most part, in agreement with the positions of OMB Watch on faith-based issues.

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