Protecting Nonprofit Rights

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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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IRS Revises Application for Tax-Exempt Status for Charities, 501(c)(3) Groups

The IRS has released an updated version of the application for tax-exempt status for charitable, education, religious and scientific organizations. The new Form 1023 and instructions are available on the Web, and the IRS will require their use after April, 2005. Page ten of the instructions describes the prohibition on partisan electioneering and the allowable legislative lobbying limits. A copy of Form 5768, the notice that a group will measure its lobbying by expenditures only, is included in the package.

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Muslim Charity Seeks Release of Frozen Assets

Last month, the Department of Treasury froze the assets of the Islamic American Relief Agency (IARA-USA) after a raid on its office in Columbia, MO, and the home of its executive director. Last week, Shereef Akeel, a lawyer for the Muslim charity, applied for a license from the U.S. Treasury Department to free its frozen assets for the purpose of paying rent and utility bills.

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Nonprofits Came Out in Force This Election Season

Nonprofits across the spectrum came out this election season to help voters have a voice. As a result, the United States had a voter turnout of almost 60 percent, the highest since 1968. This election proved nonprofits can "help America vote."

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Nonprofits' Suit Opposes CFC Terrorist Watch List Policy

OMB Watch and 12 other nonprofits filed suit against the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) on Nov. 10, challenging their policy that requires participating charities to check their employees' names against government terrorist watch lists. The complaint, filed in the federal district court for the District of Columbia, charges the policy violates the First Amendment rights of participating charities and was made illegally in secret.

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OMB Watch Press Statement on Lawsuit Against the Combined Federal Campaign

Statement of Kay Guinane, Counsel and Manager of OMB Watch Nonprofit Advocacy Project, Nov. 10, 2004 OMB Watch has been promoting government accountability and civic participation for over 20 years. We believe nonprofits, like groups that receive donations from federal employees through the Combined Federal Campaign, have a vital place in communities and play a powerful role in reinforcing our democratic principles. We believe CFC's list checking policy is unreasonable and will not make America safer.

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TAKE ACTION: Stop the punitive audit of the NAACP

Nov 12, 2004 by Guest Blogger

IRS 'Examination' of NAACP Exempt Status Based on Criticism of Bush Policies

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OMB Watch's Thousand Cuts II Detailed in Chronicle

Nov 10, 2004 by Guest Blogger

OMB Watch's latest report, Death by a Thousand Cuts II, was the subject of an article today in the Chronicle of Philanthropy. For the full article, click here. To read Death by a Thousand Cuts II, click here.

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ACLU and Diverse Coalition of National Nonprofits Challenge Misguided Government Watch List Policy

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10, 2004 -- The American Civil Liberties Union today joined forces with 12 national nonprofit organizations in challenging the Office of Personnel Management's Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) requirement that all participating charities check their employees and expenditures against several government watch lists for "terrorist activities."

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Islamic charity seeks release of some frozen assets

Nov 10, 2004 by Guest Blogger

An Islamic charity, shut down by the Treasury Department earlier last month, is requesting the release of frozen assets to pay their mounting legal bills. The charity, IARA-USA, is claiming innocence - and no formal charges have been filed. Unfortunately, it seems to be another instance of the Treasury Department shutting down a Muslim charity and providing no formal charges or ability to examine the search warrant. For more, check out the Columbia Tribune article

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Tax codes help nonprofits get political

Nov 9, 2004 by Guest Blogger

McCain-Feingold can't plug all the leaks... Anchorage Daily News article discusses the various types of 501(c) organizations. Tax exempt organizations that are non-partisan generally file under 501(c)3. However, for nonprofits linked to an agenda, the tax code provides a way to get political. And with the Congress sure to increase scrutiny on 527 groups such as Moveon.org in the next session, the nonprofit sector might see an increase in 501(c)4 groups.

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Resources & Research

Living in the Shadow of Danger: Poverty, Race, and Unequal Chemical Facility Hazards

People of color and people living in poverty, especially poor children of color, are significantly more likely...

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A Tale of Two Retirements: One for CEOs and One for the Rest of Us

The 100 largest CEO retirement funds are worth a combined $4.9 billion, equal to the entire retirement account savings of 41 percent of American fam...

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Blowing Smoke: Chemical Companies Say “Trust Us,” But Environmental and Workplace Safety Violations Belie Their Rhetoric

Large chemical companies a...

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Gasping for Support: Implementation of Tougher Air Quality Standards Will Require New Funds for State Agencies

New scientific research shows that the current levels of...

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