Lobbying act guidance 'will hinder charities collaborating on political campaigns' | Third Sector

Lobbying act guidance 'will hinder charities collaborating on political campaigns' | Third Sector: Liz Hutchins of Friends of the Earth says the new spending caps and the broader range of activities covered by the legislation will make collaborative work 'all but impossible'

The lobbying act guidance on campaigning in coalitions, published this week by the Electoral Commission, could make it "all but impossible" in many cases for ch

Tax News - Washington News

Tax News - Washington News: The House Ways and Means staff recently shared a projected list of tax extenders for a May 29th hearing. The Ways and Means Committee has been working through the 60 tax extender provisions. Six business-related extenders were permanently passed in a prior hearing. They were then sent on for a vote by the full House of Representatives.

The next six extenders to be considered are expected to be reviewed for markup at the May 29 hearing. These include five charitable bills and one additional business-related bill.

The projected list of tax extenders for the hearing are as follows:

I.R.S. Delays New Rules on Taxation for Activists - NYTimes.com

I.R.S. Delays New Rules on Taxation for Activists - NYTimes.com: The Internal Revenue Service said Thursday that it has delayed and is revamping new rules intended to curb political activity by tax-exempt groups and that were proposed after the agency was accused last year of targeting Tea Party groups.

The I.R.S. said it made the decision after receiving 150,000 comments — both positive and negative — about the proposal, the biggest public response to any proposed rule in its history. The decision postpones public hearings originally expected for this summer.

FRSB calls for new rules on doorstep fundraising and cold calling stickers

FRSB calls for new rules on doorstep fundraising and cold calling stickers: The Fundraising Standards Board has recommended that the Institute of Fundraising issues a policy on whether fundraisers should visit houses displaying ‘no cold calling’ stickers.

The regulator made the recommendation in its latest adjudication, published today, about a complaint filed against Marie Curie Cancer Care and the agency Home Fundraising.

Today's News - Washington News

Today's News - Washington News: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is expected to offer the Expire Act (S. 2260) for a vote the week of May 12th. The tax extenders bill passed unanimously in the Senate Finance Committee and is expected to receive a vote of approval by the full Senate.

House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) has chosen a distinctly different path. Each of the six tax extenders passed by the House Committee has been a separate bill. The first tax extender was a simplified version of the research credit and it would be extended permanently. The bill passed in the full House on May 9th by a 274-131 vote.

Corporate gift aid would be worth more than �230m to charities

Corporate gift aid would be worth more than �230m to charities: Gift aid on corporate donations would be worth more than �230m a year to charities, a new report by the research consultancy nfpSynergy shows.

The sum is based on figures from the NCVO’s Civil Society Almanac 2014 showing that �933m was given in corporate donations and gifts in kind in 2011/12. If charities had been able to claim gift aid on this, it would have been worth an extra �233m to the sector, making corporate donations worth a total of �1.7bn.

Charity Commission needs powers to refuse registration, says ICAEW

Charity Commission needs powers to refuse registration, says ICAEW: The ICAEW has called for a change in the law to allow the Charity Commission to refuse a charity registration when a similar charity already exists.

The recommendation forms part of ICAEW’s study, on behalf of the Charity Commission, into charities’ use of strategy. Some 26 charities of varying income sizes were interviewed.

Fla. Passes Bill to Limit Solicitations by Nonprofits and Telemarketers – Philanthropy Today - Blogs - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Fla. Passes Bill to Limit Solicitations by Nonprofits and Telemarketers – Philanthropy Today - Blogs - The Chronicle of Philanthropy: Fla. Passes Bill to Limit Solicitations by Nonprofits and Telemarketers

A year after the illegal-gambling scandal involving the lieutenant governor and a purported veterans charity, the Florida legislature has passed a bill to expand oversight of charities and telemarketers soliciting donations in the state, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Michigan Senate OKs legislation to kill stricter charity gaming rules | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

Michigan Senate OKs legislation to kill stricter charity gaming rules | Detroit Free Press | freep.com: LANSING — The Michigan Gaming Control Board intends to put new rules in place in the next week or two that will have a distinct impact on charity gaming by tightening rules for the charities putting on the events.

But the state Senate hopes to short-circuit those rules with a bill that will let the charities continue to operate as they have for the last decade. They passed a bill unanimously Thursday, basically killing many of the Gaming Control Board’s proposed rules, moving the bill to the House of Representatives for consideration.

FRSB calls for new rules on asking elderly and vulnerable for donations

FRSB calls for new rules on asking elderly and vulnerable for donations: The Fundraising Standards Board has recommended the Institute of Fundraising develops additional guidance for fundraisers asking elderly and vulnerable people for donations.

It made the recommendation following a complaint against the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals, which provides free vet care, by the family of an elderly woman with schizophrenia, who has since died.

IRA Rollover Provision Included in Senate’s EXPIRE Act - Press - AFP

IRA Rollover Provision Included in Senate’s EXPIRE Act - Press - AFP: ome
IRA Rollover Provision Included in Senate’s EXPIRE Act

The IRA Charitable Rollover provision, which allows donors age 70� and older to exclude from their taxable income any IRA funds up to $100,000 that have been withdrawn and transferred to a charity when filing a tax return, is one step closer to being reinstated back into law.

Read AFP's Written Comments House Committee on Ways and Means Hearing on the Benefits of Permanent Tax Policy for America’s Job Creators (April 21, 2014)

State Charity Regulators Offer Tips on Internet and Social Media Fundraising | Social Enterprise and Nonprofit Law Blog

State Charity Regulators Offer Tips on Internet and Social Media Fundraising | Social Enterprise and Nonprofit Law Blog: The National Association of State Charity Officials (NASCO) recently posted tips on internet and social media fundraising to help charities and fundraising platforms understand their rights and obligations, and to help donors make informed giving decisions. The tips highlight four key concerns that state charity regulators have regarding the use of the internet, email, social media, and mobile phones in charitable fundraising: (1) fraudulent and deceptive solicitations, (2) charities’ control over the use of their names on fundraising platforms, (3) transparency in fundraising platform policies, and (4) compliance with fundraising regulatory requirements.

Controversial CFC Regs Approved by OPM; Both Parties Protest - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

Controversial CFC Regs Approved by OPM; Both Parties Protest - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: After the reports on this year’s campaign, with donations plummeting a record 19 percent, it was only a matter of time before Congress got involved to question exactly what might be going on with the Office of Personnel Management’s oversight of the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) and with OPM’s proposed regulations to make things better.

Last week, in a very rare demonstration of bipartisan action, especially one involving Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Elijah Cummings (D-MD), the two—along with Blake Farenthold (R-TX), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), and David Reichert (R-WA)—wrote to the Office of Management and Budget, which now has to approve the OPM rules, suggesting that parts of OPM’s proposed regulations could actually make the CFC worse. It might be hard to imagine that the CFC might get worse, or to believe that Issa and Cummings, last seen in a very public

United Way May Urge Congress to Reverse Federal Charity-Drive Rules - News - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

United Way May Urge Congress to Reverse Federal Charity-Drive Rules - News - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: United Way Worldwide may ask Congress to overturn new rules announced this month to modernize the government’s annual charity drive, saying the changes will hasten the continuing decline in donations from federal workers.

New IRS Commisioner Grapples With Tumult And Tax Code | WSIU

New IRS Commisioner Grapples With Tumult And Tax Code | WSIU: UDIE CORNISH, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Audie Cornish.

The last year has been rough for the IRS. Here are some numbers that helped tell the story. Three high-profile resignations of IRS officials, six ongoing investigations into the agency, and 150,000 public comments on a proposed IRS rule. That's a record. And all this goes back to a particular section of the tax code.