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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more news

Senator Grassley Will Continue to Monitor Nonprofit Activity

Mar 1, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

Reported comments by Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) indicate his plans to continue increased oversight of the nonprofit sector. In a BNA Money and Politics ($$) article covering Fannie Mae's decision to end its charitable foundation and create an Office of Community and Charitable Giving, Grassley was quoted several times with concern of nonprofit practices. Last year's Senate Finance Committee investigation into whether nonprofit groups deserve tax-exempt status was noted. Grassley was quoted as saying, "I'm not done looking into non-profits and political activity."

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Group Denied Grant Money Over Antiprostitution Pledge

Feb 28, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the U.S. government can deny grant funds to a nonprofit AIDS group that will not sign a pledge rejecting prostitution and sex trafficking. The group, DKT International Inc., provides family planning and HIV/AIDS prevention programs in foreign countries. This decision overturns the lower court ruling that the groups' free speech rights would be violated in linking the funding to a pledge upholding a government policy.

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Will High Speed Internet be Available for Your Group?

Feb 12, 2007 by Kay Guinane

The Communications Workers of America have launched a program advocating for a national strategy to make high speed Internet service universally available. Here's what they say about why this issue is important: We are falling behind because the United States is the only industrialized country without a national policy to promote high speed broadband. Instead, we have relied on a hodge-podge of fragmented government programs and uneven private sector responses to changing markets.

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Bush's Proposed Budget And Charities

Feb 7, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

The Chronicle on Philanthropy ($$) outlines how President Bush's budget request will affect nonprofits, charities, and foundations. While it proposes a permanent extension of the law that encourages older Americans to give money in their retirement accounts to charity, it would also cut many of the federal programs charities rely on. Encouraging giving to charity from a retirement account is no guarantee replacement for some of the federal programs that could be cut, almost nullifying the retirement account incentive.

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CRS Report Says Grassroots Lobbying Disclosure Constitutional

Jan 29, 2007 by Kay Guinane

A Jan. 12, 2007 report from the Congressional Research Service (crs) says courts have upheld the constitutionality of disclosure requirements aimed at "preventing corruption and limiting the undue influence of monied and powerful interests..." The report, Grassroots Lobbying: Constitutionality of Disclosure Requirements by CRS legislative attorney Jack Maskell, provides a detailed history of legal protections for grassroots advocacy and the government's interest in disclosure. The summary says:

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No Pensions for Convicted Lawmakers

Jan 23, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

The House has passed a bill today that would strip pensions from any member of Congress "who is convicted of any of certain offenses committed by that individual while serving as a member of Congress, and for other purposes." No one voted against HR 476, especially after the scandals of the previous Congress. A similar measure is included in the Senate ethics and lobbying reform bill that passed late last week.

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OMB Watch Proposal: Revise Grassroots Disclosure Amendment to the LDA

OMB Watch has proposed a revised version of the grassroots lobbying disclosure provision that was dropped from S. 1, the Senate's ethics and lobbying reform bill. The text of the proposed amendment to the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) follows a short explanation.

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2006 Form 990 Instructions

Jan 23, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

According to BNA Money and Politics ($$), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will post on its website instructions for the 2006 Form 990 used by exempt organizations to report their revenues.

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Stay Exempt

Jan 22, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that it has launched a new website offering tax-exempt organizations free online training workshops covering tax compliance issues geared towards small and mid-sized exempt organizations. The website, "Stay Exempt - Tax Basics for 501(c)(3)s," has five interactive tutorials. These topics include keeping your tax-exempt status, employment issues, unrelated business income, form 990, and required disclosures.

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Action Alert: Urge Your Senator to Vote NO on the Bennett Amendment

Jan 18, 2007 by Kay Guinane

A proposal to make big money grassroots lobbying campaigns on federal legislation more transparent is under fire from opponents that have exaggerated the impact it will have on nonprofits. Sen. Bennett has proposed an amendment to strip the provision (Sec. 220) from S. 1, the Senate ethics and lobby reform bill. THE VOTE ON THE BENNETT AMENDMENT IS LIKELY TO TAKE PLACE IN THE NEXT FEW HOURS. To support transparency and expose "Astroturf" campaigns please contact your Senators and ask them to VOTE NO on the Bennett Amendment. To take action click here

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