Pittsburgh’s approach to tax-exempt nonprofits could be model for others in state | TribLIVE

Pittsburgh’s approach to tax-exempt nonprofits could be model for others in state | TribLIVE: Pittsburgh could serve as a model for the rest of the state in determining how much money tax-exempt nonprofits should pay for city services each year, one of the city’s financial overseers said Monday.

Pittsburgh ordered to renew nonprofit talks - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pittsburgh ordered to renew nonprofit talks - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: State overseers ordered Pittsburgh on Tuesday to begin a new dialogue with nonprofit groups on payments in lieu of taxes and to develop a new, public formula for determining how much those payments should be.

The Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority approved the city's 2013 budget and five-year plan with the condition that Mayor Luke Ravenstahl form a task force on nonprofits by Dec. 31 and submit a report by June 30.

Fed govt cuts red tape for charities | The Australian

Fed govt cuts red tape for charities | The Australian: CHARITIES will have their paperwork reduced after the federal government announced changes to the commonwealth grant guidelines.

Assistant treasurer David Bradbury announced the measures, that will build on moves to set up a national regulator of charities, at a not-for-profit sector conference in Sydney on Wednesday.

Legislation to formally set up the regulator is before the Senate and it is expected to start operating from December.

HMRC takes the stand over gift aid small donations Bill

HMRC takes the stand over gift aid small donations Bill: The cost to the Exchequer of unlinking the gift aid small donations scheme from gift aid would be around �30m, said the HMRC at a public committee meeting yesterday.

Representatives from HMRC joined Sajid Javid, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, in addressing the 19-member committee which will decide on amendments to the Small Charitable Donations Bill before it is read in Parliament, which is expected to take place by Christmas.

Charity Commission expected to start registering CIOs next January

Charity Commission expected to start registering CIOs next January: The Charity Commission hopes to start registering charitable incorporated organisations from January 2013.

It follows years of delays in the launch of the charitable incorporated organisations (CIO) since it was first mooted in the Charities Act 2006.

Parliament is expected to lay the necessary statutory instruments to bring charitable incorporated organisations into effect next week.

Should Nonprofits Aim to Overturn the Prohibition on Charities Promoting Candidates? - NPQ – Nonprofit Quarterly - Promoting an active and engaged democracy.

Should Nonprofits Aim to Overturn the Prohibition on Charities Promoting Candidates? - NPQ – Nonprofit Quarterly - Promoting an active and engaged democracy.: Nonprofits are led by ideals and values for changing the world. Vote with the ideals and values that lead you.” So reads the campaign tagline of the California Association of Nonprofits (CalNonprofits), which is asking its nonprofit members to mobilize their staff and board members, as well as volunteers, to vote with their mission. Last month, the new nonprofit PAC CForward (which is also a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization, and so not a charitable nonprofit) actually endorsed eight politicians, all Democrats except for one candidate for state senator in Tennessee, as pro-nonprofit candidates for public office.[i] The PAC of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) has been making donations to political candidates for some years, leaning somewhat toward Republican incumbent politicians with oversight responsibilities of the nonprofit sector at the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee.[ii]

Pa. rules nonprofits' payments to Pittsburgh are public record - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pa. rules nonprofits' payments to Pittsburgh are public record - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Because of a ruling Tuesday from the state Office of Open Records, the public is a step closer to finding out which nonprofits make payments in lieu of taxes to financially strapped Pittsburgh.

Watchdog Plans Review of Charity Fundraising Appeals - Prospecting - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Watchdog Plans Review of Charity Fundraising Appeals - Prospecting - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: A prominent charity watchdog is stepping up its efforts to protect donors from fundraising appeals that include misleading or false statements.

The BBB Wise Giving Alliance said this week it will begin to review direct-mail solicitations, commercials, and telemarketing scripts from randomly selected charities beginning in January. The group will also review materials from nonprofits that have been the subject of complaints to its local chapters or that have been singled out in media reports.

Watching the Charity Watchdogs: Vignettes from the NAASCO Annual Meeting - NPQ – Nonprofit Quarterly - Promoting an active and engaged democracy.

Watching the Charity Watchdogs: Vignettes from the NAASCO Annual Meeting - NPQ – Nonprofit Quarterly - Promoting an active and engaged democracy.: Regardless of which candidate wins on November 6th and no matter what Congress and the President decide to do or not do regarding sequestration, the unresolved question of how to bolster nonprofit accountability through sector self-regulation and governmental oversight will persist. Neither party has a bead on the issue. In fact, neither party nor their bevy of candidates for office seems to have anything to utter on the topic.

Whatever conversation there is on this topic occurs in meetings of the state charity officers located in attorney generals offices. These are the government officials for whom charity accountability is their bread and butter. The one-day public session of the National Association of State Charity Officials (NASCO) on October 1st didn’t include much commentary from the state charity officials themselves, who were relatively close-mouthed about their work (for fear of getting into specifics about ongoing investigations). But the various presentations and Q&As revealed much about the current debates in nonprofit accountability—and some issues that should be debated thoroughly in the sector. What follows is a series of vignettes documenting what we heard at the NASCO gathering.

Paul Clolery: Red Cross, United Way, Other Charities Tell Candidates What They Want

Paul Clolery: Red Cross, United Way, Other Charities Tell Candidates What They Want: With the presidential election just weeks away and the two major candidates starting the debate cycle, 22 of the leading executives of the nonprofit sector have a message for both President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney.

The message: Tell us what the government plans to do, to abandon, to fund and then get out of the way.

OpEdNews - Article: Endorsed by the CForward PAC, How Progressive Are the Nonprofit Eight?

OpEdNews - Article: Endorsed by the CForward PAC, How Progressive Are the Nonprofit Eight?: The First PAC for the Nonprofit Sector--CForward

In September, eight nonprofit leaders running for elective office received the endorsement of CForward, the 501(c)(4) organization and PAC founded by Robert Egger, a nationally known nonprofit advocate, with a mission "To support candidates who provide detailed plans for how they would partner with nonprofits, social enterprise businesses and micro-credit programs to create jobs and strengthen the economy". The eight CForward candidates all met the minimum threshold criteria of having worked for a nonprofit, served on a nonprofit board, included mentions of nonprofits in their campaign materials and platforms, and committed to appointing nonprofit liaisons.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 28, 2012: Report Details Use of Payments in Lieu of Taxes by Nonprofits | PRNewswire | Rock Hill Herald Online

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 28, 2012: Report Details Use of Payments in Lieu of Taxes by Nonprofits | PRNewswire | Rock Hill Herald Online: The great majority of PILOT revenue comes from universities and hospitals, most PILOT activity occurs in the Northeast, and a small number of multi-million dollar PILOTs account for the majority of all revenue received nationwide, according to Payments in Lieu of Taxes by Nonprofits: Which Nonprofits Make PILOTs and Which Localities Receive Them, authored by Daphne A. Kenyon, Adam H. Langley and Patricia C. Bailin.

Treasury Issues Proposed Regs Regarding Qualifying Grants to Foreign Organizations | Planned Giving Design Center

Treasury Issues Proposed Regs Regarding Qualifying Grants to Foreign Organizations | Planned Giving Design Center: Treasury has issued proposed regulations regarding the standards for making a good faith determination that a foreign organization is a charitable organization, grants to which may be qualifying distributions and not taxable expenditures. The regulations will affect private foundations seeking to make such good faith determinations.

Ten questions every director should ask about the T3010 - Resource Center - AFP

Ten questions every director should ask about the T3010 - Resource Center - AFP: Board members are responsible for ensuring that the organization they represent complies with Canada Revenue Agency legislation. Blogger Lisa Hartford lists questions that every board member should be asking of their organization’s CFO.

Regulator's statutory duty to raise public trust is 'barmy', says charity CEO

Regulator's statutory duty to raise public trust is 'barmy', says charity CEO: The idea that the Charity Commission has a statutory duty to raise public trust and confidence in charities is “barmy”, the chief executive of the Royal Television Society said yesterday.

Simon Albury told the regulator’s public meeting that the whole question of ‘reputation of charities’ is nonsense: