Nonprofit Speech Rights

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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New Charities Get Expedited Process In Katrina's Wake

Sep 7, 2005 by Guest Blogger

The Internal Revenue Service will provide an expedited review and approval process for new organizations seeking tax-exempt status so they can provide relief for victims of Hurricane Katrina, it said Sept. 6 in a news release (IR-2005-93). While encouraging people to use existing organizations currently working on immediate aid efforts, IRS said it anticipates new charities will form to address the numerous and more specific needs of disaster victims.

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Appeals Court Tells BCRA Sponsors to File A Response to FEC

Sep 7, 2005 by Guest Blogger

A federal appeals court has ordered attorneys for the congressional sponsors of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act to file a response to the Federal Election Commission's petition for further review of court decisions striking down the FEC's controversial regulations implementing BCRA (Shays v. FEC, D.C. Cir., No. 04-5352, 9/2/05).

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Getting and Keeping Donors A Challenge as Accountabiliy Bill

Sep 7, 2005 by Guest Blogger

While the nonprofit industry as a whole confronts concerns about accountability, getting and keeping new donors remains the biggest challenge facing individual nonprofits, a new study says. Blackbaud, a Charleston, S.C.-based software company serving nonprofits, conducted an online survey of 1,000 U.S. nonprofit professionals to determine the challenges they face.

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Congressional Schedule

Sep 7, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Both the House and Senate are in session this week. The Senate will consider a resolution expressing sympathy for victims of Hurricane Katrina, a resolution recognizing the contributions of Chief Justice William Rehnquist and the FY06 Commerce, Justice, Science spending bill. The House will consider a Coast Guard authorization bill, legislation designed to aid manufacturers and a number of non-controversial bills, including bills aimed at helping small businesses deal with regulations and encouraging minority ownership.

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9/11 Turning into Day of Charity

Sep 7, 2005 by Guest Blogger

The campaign to turn 9/11 from a day of mourning into one of charity and cooperation has been gaining strength nationwide. Recently, the New York-based One Day's Pay organization launched a $500,000 regional campaign called "NYC Remembers." The nonprofit group, founded prior to the first anniversary of the 2001 attacks, hopes to bring together the region in a spirit of voluntary charitable service on Sept. 11.

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Gov't, Teen Challenge Reach Accord on Food Stamps

Sep 7, 2005 by Guest Blogger

federal government has cleared the way for clients of the faith-based Teen Challenge drug and alcohol recovery program to resume receiving Food Stamps. In several states, including Massachusetts and Vermont, officials halted benefits to Teen Challenge clients because the programs were not formally recognized by state officials, and because clients were turning their Food Stamps over to administrators of the treatment program. The coupons were pooled together to buy groceries for those who live in dormitory-style housing for 18 months during their treatment.

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Roberts Documents Show Troubling Disregard for Nonprofit Rights, Desire Not to 'Alienate' Industry

Recently released documents related to the nomination of John Roberts for chief justice of the Supreme Court reveal concerns he had over a 1983 proposal that would have prohibited recipients of federal grants or contracts from using their own money for lobbying and other forms of advocacy. The nonprofit community congratulated itself for beating back this "defund the left" proposal. The documents, however, suggest that what was heralded as a victory for nonprofits may have had more to do with the potential negative impact of the proposal on defense contactors such as TRW and Boeing.

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Debate Over Grants Rules Heats Up as Groups Lose Funds, Challenge Policy

DKT International, a Washington-based charitable organization, has filed suit against the U.S. government over a grant condition that dictates organizations adopt a specific policy statement, while a second organization has lost federal funding as a result of a suit brought for noncompliance with grants rules for faith-based organizations.

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FBI Documents Reveal Further Spying on Peace, Civil Rights Groups

Joint Terrorism Task Forces conducted surveillance of peace, civil rights and animal rights groups in Michigan and Colorado, according to documents released as part of a suit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) accusing the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of misuse of anti-terrorism funds. The ACLU is seeking documents for 16 organizations and ten individuals nationwide relating to the case, in which the ACLU alleges the FBI used state task forces to spy on domestic advocacy groups that oppose Bush administration policies.

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American League of Lobbyists Proposes Principles to Guide Congressional Reform

Responding to Democratic-sponsored lobbying and ethics reform bills recently introduced in the House and Senate, the American League of Lobbyists (ALL) recently adopted a set of principles to guide lobbying reform. Among its recommendations is an expansion of the definition of lobbying to cover all types of legislative advocacy efforts, include advertising, media campaigns and grassroots efforts that are currently exempt from filing and disclosure requirements forms.

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