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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more news

Obama and the Nonprofit Sector

Nov 6, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The Chronicle of Philanthropy has a special page dedicated to Barack Obama's (D-IL) positions on issues of importance to nonprofits, such as education, the arts, international aid, the estate tax, and much more. For example, Obama has "pledged to create a Social Investment Fund Network, which would distribute government and private money to charities working on innovative projects that focus on issues that have been identified by cities as priorities — crime prevention or education, for example — and help expand successful ones to other regions."

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State Ballot Measures and Charities

Nov 6, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The Chronicle of Philanthropy ($$) reports that numerous states had measures on the ballot that could have resulted in harmful cuts for charitable organizations that rely on state aid.

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AU Files IRS Complaint Against NC Religious Organization

Nov 6, 2008 by Lateefah Williams*

On Oct. 30, Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) filed an IRS complaint against the General Baptist State Convention of North Carolina for engaging in partisan electioneering. The Convention hosted Michelle Obama, wife of then Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, at an event on Oct. 29.

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CAIR Filed an IRS Complaint Against Clarion Fund for Anti-Muslim Film

Nov 6, 2008 by Lateefah Williams*

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) filed an IRS complaint on Sept. 30 against the Clarion Fund, a nonprofit organization that distributed an anti-Muslim film to 28 million households in swing states during the presidential election season. The DVD, "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West," was distributed in papers in at least 10 states.

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Will There Be New Campaign Finance Regulation in the Near Future?

Nov 6, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

BNA Money and Politics ($$) reports that, "analysts are looking ahead to see whether 2008 will produce the kinds of big changes in regulations and practices that followed the last presidential election year." After the 2004 election the Federal Election Commission (FEC) focused on enforcement cases involving the activities of 527 groups, and as a result fined many 527s. Now, some are wondering if similar action will occur this year, again with 527s and in addition with 501(c)(4) organizations.

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Using Technology to Monitor the Election

Nov 3, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

Numerous online resources have popped up lately that allow everyone to participate and protect the election process. Now, you can share your voting experiences with the world. Here are a few online tools;

VoterStory.org is a web widget to collect voter complaints across the web and feed them to a network of groups standing by to help individual voters and monitor trends.
Video the Vote is a network of citizens working to document voter suppression and disenfranchisement.

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Campaign Finance Institute Issues Report On Outside Groups Spending in 2008 Election

Oct 31, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

According to a Campaign Finance Institute (CFI) press release, "federally oriented 527 and 501(c) groups have already collected or spent around $350 million and are on course to top $400 million." The CFI report goes on;

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IRS Representative Discusses Important Issues for Public Charities

Oct 30, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

At an American Bar Association teleconference, Judy Kindell, senior technical adviser to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) director of exempt organizations, commented on some important issues for charities. BNA Money and Politics ($$) reported on Kindell's comments. 501(c)(3) organizations are "prohibited from engaging in campaign activity, defined as any activity that favors or opposes candidates for public office.

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Court Denies Preliminary Injunction in Challenge to FEC Rules

Oct 30, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

A federal judge in North Carolina has refused to grant an injunction blocking Federal Election Commission (FEC) rules for the Committee for Truth in Politics (CTP) in the case Koerber v. FEC. Earlier, the judge said he would not rule until after the election.

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Judge Blocks Enforcement of Florida Electioneering Law

Oct 30, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

A federal judge has blocked enforcement of a Florida "electioneering" law which according to the Associated Press, "requires groups to register with the state if they merely mention political issues or candidates in publications or other communications." We reported on the lawsuit filed earlier this month by the Broward Coalition of Condominiums, and a coalition of other groups. U.S. District Judge Stephan P. Mickle, in granting the preliminary injunction, wrote that "no court has ever upheld such a sweeping regulation of political speech."

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