In a speech at the White House last week, the President noted that contributions to many charities have declined, and urged Congress to pass the CARE Act (S. 1924), the faith-based compromise bill sponsored by Sens. Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) and Rick Santorum (R-PA) as one way to address the problem. The bill has incentives for charitable giving, including a deduction for contributions by nonitemizers, and provisions for equal treatment of faith-based and other organizations in the federal grantmaking process.

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has approved a schedule for six rulemaking proceedings to conform federal election regulations to the new Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act (BCRA). In what FEC Chair David Mason said will be "a very open process," announcements of proposed rules will be released beginning in early May, followed by short public comment periods, public hearings and decisions on final rules to meet deadlines set in the law.

An often overlooked realm of nonprofit use of technology for advocacy involves access to information, not only with respect to government, but also financial information from corporations and nonprofits themselves. One way such information is used is to demonstrate the influence of special interests on public policy formulation, discourse, and decision-making, under the veneer of nonprofit public interest work and/or grassroots activity. Are there special interests hidden behind the online philanthropic policy watchdogs? The following was originally posted to the NPTalk online forum.

State and Local PACs May Get Exemption From Reporting.