What Is A Dollar Worth?
Five months ago, three-year-old Raelee Parris passed away. I never had the pleasure of meeting Raelee, but I know people who did. It’s very clear from the stories I’ve heard, I’m the one who missed out! He was a Super…
Proposed State Laws Hurt Nonprofits and Violate Constitution
In a fantastic piece today in the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Tim Delaney, chief executive of the National Council of Nonprofits, exposes multiple examples of currently proposed state legislation aimed at the nonprofit community. Mr. Delaney explains how, in each example,…
Fewer Nonprofits Got 501(c)(3) Status in 2015
The Internal Revenue Service issued its annual compilation of agency data yesterday. In what was a surprise to many, the number of approved applications for 501(c)(3) status actually dropped in 2015 from 2014’s numbers. The 2015 fiscal year, which ended September…
Charitable Giving and the Fabric of America
By Karl Zinmeister, The Philanthropy Roundtable This article is adapted from a talk delivered on January 29, 2016, at Hillsdale College’s Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship in Washington, D.C. It is a long piece, but…
IRS Pulls Plug On Donor Social Security Number Proposal
Well, that was fast. At least the IRS made the right decision on this. Just to update you, the IRS recently proposed allowing charities to (optionally) collect the Social Security numbers of donors and report the detailed donor/donation information to…
Lois Lerner Avoids Prosecution
It looks like Lois Lerner, the scandal-scarred former head of the IRS Tax Exemption Unit, can finally relax and enjoy her forced retirement. Last week, the Obama Justice Department announced that they were declining to prosecute her for misusing her…
Vilifying Donor Advised Funds – ProPublica Gets It Wrong
An article published yesterday by the online newspaper, ProPublica (which claims to focus on stories with “moral force”), is getting a lot of attention. In the essay entitled, The Wall Street Takeover of Charity, writer Jesse Eisinger goes to great…
Lois Lerner Breaks Her Silence
Well, it looks like Lois Lerner has found her voice! You may remember the former head of the IRS Exempt Organizations Division who famously pleaded the 5th amendment when called to testify to the House of Representatives regarding her role…
Charitable Deduction Is Again Under Assault
Ever since Barack Obama became President in 2009, we have had to endure his annual budget proposal to limit the tax deductibility of charitable contributions. And each year, we, along with almost the entire nonprofit sector, scream in frustration, knowing…
Atheist Groups Sue Over Church Form 990 Exclusion
All 501(c)(3) organizations are required by law to file some version of IRS Form 990 annually, with the notable exception of churches. Since the establishment of Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3), churches have been exempt from this annual reporting requirement. …