Building Nonprofit Advocacy Capacity

Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

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Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

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Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

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Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

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Grassley Revenue Proposal Dims Chances for New CARE Act

On Jan. 24, Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) introduced S. 6, The Family and Community Protection Act of 2005, a tax and welfare reform bill that includes the Charity, Aid, Recovery and Empowerment Act (CARE). Although the bill was included in Majority Leader Sen. Bill FristÕs (R-TN) Republican Top Ten Agenda for 2005, recent moves by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) dim the ActÕs chances of success.

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New E-Filing Available to Nonprofits!

Feb 3, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Tax-exempt organizations can file their information returns for tax year 2004 electronically via a new free web service launched by the National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS). Last year, more than 450,000 organizations sent the Internal Revenue Service paper copies of Form 990, the annual information return for tax-exempt entities. With 990 Online -- available at http://efile.form990.org/ -- these organizations can file returns with the same ease and accuracy enjoyed by individual taxpayers who e-file.

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Frist Names CARE Act on Top Ten Legislative Agenda

Jan 25, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Sen. Bill Frist released his "Top Ten" Legislative Goals for the 108th Congress. Looks like the CARE Act is in the spotlight again. Click here for Frist's Top Ten list. You can get the .pdf with the decription of the proposed language on Sen. Frist's site.

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NGOs: Knight in Shining Armor or Pickpocket?

Jan 25, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Is the philanthropic community bracing for a tough year due to alleged lack of accountability, as an article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy states, or are charities the world's most trusted institutions? A recent article by the Financial Times, based on a poll of university graduates in the US and Europe.

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Nonprofit Panel Asks for Recommendations

Jan 25, 2005 by Amanda Adams*

Independent Sector's Nonprofit Panel on Accountability posted a draft of their recommendations on their website. In general, the recommendations:

improving transparency and financial management through federal reporting (certification of Internal Revenue Service information returns, Form 990 filing deadlines and extension, penalties for inaccurate or incomplete returns, electronic filing, notification requirements) and other requirements (financial audits and reviews and public disclosure of financial statements)

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ACLU and CFC

Jan 21, 2005 by Guest Blogger

A recent article by Rick Cohen of NCRP discusses the history of the CFC and the recent moves by OPM to require charities to check watch lists. Also check out the ACLU's page on the CFC requirement and the legal battle to change it.

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"War on Terror" Impacts Tsunami Aid

Jan 20, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Aid going to the tsunami relief efforts in South-east Asia is under close scruntiny by the US government, especially in the case of the Tamil Tigers - a seperatist movement in Sri Lanka. The Tigers were designated by the US government as a terrorist organization in 2001, hampering foreign aid to the area. US government officals have been reluctant to discuss whether nonprofits giving assistance to the region that the Tamil Tigers occupy in Sri Lanka would constitute as aiding and abetting terrorism. The article below contains the offical Treasury Department stance. Check it out.

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Rise in the Number of Charities

Jan 12, 2005 by Guest Blogger

An interesting article on Chronicle of Philanthropy's website details the explosion of charitable organizations over the last 10-15 years. Take a look.

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First Watcher of 2005!

Jan 11, 2005 by Guest Blogger

The First Watcher of 2005 was released yesterday. Click here to read the Watcher!

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Tsunami Relief Raises Earmarking Issues for Charities

The enormous outpouring of giving for victims of the tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia is bringing the role of nonprofits in international disaster relief into the public eye once again. Many donors are earmarking their contributions for tsunami relief, raising some concern that disaster relief needs in other areas of the world may suffer.

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