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

Attention Washington, DC Readers: Issue Forums on Philanthropy at Georgetown

Sep 23, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute will hold a series of issue forums on philanthropy. Each forum will examine the intersection of philanthropy and public policy through a specific issue: race, social justice for children, the global fight against HIV/AIDS, and local public education reform. The first one will take place next Friday Oct. 3 titled, Taking Account of Race: A Philanthropic Imperative. Gara LaMarche, the President and CEO of The Atlantic Philanthropies will be the keynote speaker.

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Attention Oregonians: Ballot Measure Could Silence the Voice of Charities

Aug 28, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

Defend Oregon reports that Measure 64 could lead to a loss in funding or severe penalties for Oregon charities. Measure 64 on the ballot in the November general election would prohibit public employees from using voluntary payroll deductions to donate to nonprofits, charities, unions, and other organizations of their choice.

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Convention Parties Unaltered by Ethics Rules?

Aug 26, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

Press coverage of the Democratic National Convention spotlights the convention parties in light of the new lobbying and ethics law, and it will likely be the same during the Republican convention. Many are quick to criticize and declare that in regards to the conventions, the new ethics rules were a failed attempt to weaken the connection between lawmakers and lobbyists, and were merely superficial changes.

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Controversial Rule on Abortion Moving Forward

Aug 21, 2008 by Matthew Madia

The Department of Health and Human Services is going forward with a controversial proposal that would require government grantees that provide health care services to certify they do not discriminate against providers who oppose abortion. From the Associated Press:

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Court Rules Anti-prostitution Pledge Requirement Unconsitutional

Aug 20, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

A federal judge ruled that requiring groups to pledge their opposition to prostitution in order to participate in the federal government's international HIV/AIDS program continues to violate the First Amendment. This lawsuit challenges the requirement that public health groups receiving U.S. funds under the U.S. Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Act pledge their opposition to prostitution in order to continue to receive funding.

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New Form 990 Instructions Available

Aug 19, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released the revised instructions for the redesigned Form 990, which must be filed starting with tax year 2008. The IRS released a draft version of the instructions in April and then asked for comments.

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IRS Directive Broadens Scope of Prohibited Web Links on Issues

On July 28, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sent a memo to revenue agents that contradicts earlier guidance relating to 501(c)(3) organizations' use of web links for issue advocacy. The memo indicated that web links may be considered prohibited intervention in elections, depending on their context, the number of clicks between a site and a partisan message on the linked site, and whether an organization has a position on an issue and links to candidates' positions.

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New Report on Nonprofit Advocacy

Jul 31, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The John Hopkins Listening Post Project released a report describing their findings from a 2007 survey of 872 nonprofit organizations nationwide in four fields (children and family services, elderly housing and services, community and economic development, and the arts). The survey meant to find out "how recent challenges are affecting nonprofit engagement in policy advocacy, and how this varies by field, size of agency, or other factors.

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The Importance of Funding Advocacy

Jul 30, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

Check out this blog that references the new Atlantic Philanthropies report, "Why Supporting Advocacy Makes Sense for Foundations." The post states;

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Very Troubling Proposed HHS Rule Places Restrictions on Funding

Jul 22, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

Last week, the New York Times reported that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has drafted regulations that would allow any federal grant recipient to obstruct a woman's access to contraception. All grant recipients would have to certify that they will not refuse to hire providers who object to abortion and even certain types of birth control. According to Senator Hilary Clinton (D-NY) the proposed regulation will be released next week.

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