NY AG Settles with For-Profit Over Alleged Charity Scam - WNYC

NY AG Settles with For-Profit Over Alleged Charity Scam - WNYC: "A for-profit company based in Yonkers has agreed to pay $650,000 to two Westchester County charities, to settle allegations from the New York attorney general's office that the company was operating a charity scam.

Assistant District Attorney Gary Brown said Thrift Land USA used the names of two other charities — Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rockland County and I Love Our Youth, Inc. — on its collection bins, without disclosing that donated items were not going to those organizations."



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I Am a Witness: Advocacy Through Emoji: Associations Now

I Am a Witness: Advocacy Through Emoji: Associations Now: "With its latest advocacy campaign, the Ad Council and its many partners have learned to speak emoji. The goal of the I Am a Witness campaign? To bring attention to and discourage bullying in all forms."



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What Makes a Charity Tax-Exempt? Issues for Government Oversight and Due Diligence | Nonprofit Quarterly

What Makes a Charity Tax-Exempt? Issues for Government Oversight and Due Diligence | Nonprofit Quarterly: "Assisted by Uncle Gene, Hana has composed a very competent review of the requirements for entities to receive 501(c)(3) designations and, as she puts it, “whether governmental authorities are appropriately enforcing those requirements.”

After very helpfully reviewing Treasury regulations what it means to be “charitable” or “educational,” two of the possible purposes for 501(c)(3) status, Hana and Gene perceptively note that some critics have suggested that “it’s too easy to pass the requirements for furthering a ‘charitable’ or ‘educational’ purpose” and that this “anything goes” approach “has only been made worse by the new Form 1023-EZ” that the IRS started using last year for “streamlined” 501(c)(3) applications. The 1023-EZ form, a three-page application that simplifies qualification for 501(c)(3) status down to answering 11 basic questions about proposed activities, makes the IRS review process of the past look like an insuperable obstacle course in comparison."



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Role of Donor-Advised Funds Prompts Heated Debate - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Role of Donor-Advised Funds Prompts Heated Debate - The Chronicle of Philanthropy: "Congressional calls to force people with donor-advised funds to distribute money to charity speedily have exposed fault lines among nonprofit leaders over what constitutes a charity and whether the federal government should draft tax policies that treat classes of nonprofits differently.

Proponents of increased regulation and fans of keeping the status quo squared off Friday at a forum held by the Boston College Law School Forum on Philanthropy and the Public Good. The event was organized by Ray Madoff, professor at Boston College Law School and a frequent critic of donor-advised funds."



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Do 9 out of 10 Nonprofits Fail as Ben Carson Asserts? No, Says Factcheck.org | Nonprofit Quarterly

Do 9 out of 10 Nonprofits Fail as Ben Carson Asserts? No, Says Factcheck.org | Nonprofit Quarterly:



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N.Y. State Shutters Pet Hospice Supported by Celebrities - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

N.Y. State Shutters Pet Hospice Supported by Celebrities - The Chronicle of Philanthropy:



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Swelling College Endowments Draw Scrutiny on Capitol Hill - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Swelling College Endowments Draw Scrutiny on Capitol Hill - The Chronicle of Philanthropy: "Swelling College Endowments Draw Scrutiny on Capitol Hill
A New York congressman is drafting legislation that would require institutions of higher learning to steer a portion of their investment earnings into tuition relief as a condition of maintaining their endowments' tax-free status, Bloomberg Business reports."



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White House-Backed Kickstarter Campaign Raises Refugee Aid - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

White House-Backed Kickstarter Campaign Raises Refugee Aid - The Chronicle of Philanthropy: "At the request of the Obama administration, crowdfunding site Kickstarter is hosting its first humanitarian campaign, aimed at raising money to help Syrian refugees, The New York Times reports. The weeklong fundraising event for the United Nations refugee agency was launched Tuesday, and by Wednesday morning had surpassed its initial $735,000 goal, an amount the agency said would provide immediate assistance to 3,000 people."



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Collateral Damage to Nonprofits Gets Serious as State Budget Impasses Continue | Nonprofit Quarterly

Collateral Damage to Nonprofits Gets Serious as State Budget Impasses Continue | Nonprofit Quarterly: "October 6, 2015; Champaign News-Gazette and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

October has begun, and we still can report on the governmental gridlock in Pennsylvania and Illinois. For political junkies, the battle between each state’s governor and legislative leaders over government priorities and taxation is a gripping story. But for the schools, social service agencies, and healthcare organizations funded by the states, and the people who depend on them, the lack of an approved budget threatens their health and welfare.

The situation in Illinois is particularly dire. Madeleine Doubek, writing for Reboot Illinois, describes the state’s woeful condition."



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Nonprofits Proliferate but Not the Staffs That Regulate Them, Says Report - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Nonprofits Proliferate but Not the Staffs That Regulate Them, Says Report - The Chronicle of Philanthropy: "Despite the growing number of nonprofits in recent years, states are doing little to hire new regulators to police charities, according to a new report’s preliminary findings.

The report, which was previewed Monday at a conference of state charity officials, showed that 53 percent of state charity offices have not increased staffing since 2008. Another 13 percent have thinned their ranks of lawyers, paralegals, investigators, and accountants."



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Institute of Fundraising surveys members' attitudes to Fundraising Preference Service proposal | Third Sector

Institute of Fundraising surveys members' attitudes to Fundraising Preference Service proposal | Third Sector: "The Institute of Fundraising has begun polling members on the proposal to set up a Fundraising Preference Service, which would allow people to opt out of receiving marketing calls and mail from charities.

The idea was put forward by Sir Stuart Etherington in his review of fundraising self-regulation, which also proposed that the Fundraising Standards Board should be replaced by a new body that would also take over stewardship of the Code of Fundraising Practice from the IoF."



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Opinion: Don't Let the States Trample on the Right to Donor Anonymity - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Opinion: Don't Let the States Trample on the Right to Donor Anonymity - The Chronicle of Philanthropy: "he possibility of self-dealing and conflict of interest on any nonprofit’s board is a classic reason for regulators to investigate. Whether such concerns surround Carnegie Hall or any other group, regulators should seek to learn more when there is reason for suspicion.

But two of the most prominent state regulators are taking a different and wrong-headed approach to transparency. They are demanding information about the donors of any and all nonprofits, whether there is reason for suspicion or not. Their approach should worry any organization that wants to protect the identities of donors. The attorneys general in California and New York, ostensibly concerned about the influence of political money on nonprofits, have set the groundwork for a battle over donor anonymity that may well be headed to the Supreme Court for consideration in the term that starts on Monday."



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