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Council of Nonprofits in the News

IRS Tea Party Scandal Could Deter Advocacy and Limit Charity Oversight

Posted: 
May 19, 2013

“All nonprofits are being smeared as though we are engaging in political activity,” said Tim Delaney, president of the National Council of Nonprofits.

Furthermore, if the IRS is distracted, both charitable and advocacy groups could operate outside of regulations with less oversight, Mr. Delaney added. “We depend on the IRS. We need a tough cop on the beat.”

Some nonprofits concerned that IRS scandal will stain their good work

Posted: 
May 15, 2013

"Charitable nonprofits are justifiably outraged by reports that the Internal Revenue Service targeted applicants for tax-exempt status based on their apparent political beliefs," says Tim Delaney, president and CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits, in a written statement. "As more facts emerge on the developing story, the National Council of Nonprofits calls on policymakers and the news media to strengthen public respect for, and not exacerbate ignorance of, the laws governing and distinguishing the nonpartisan work of charitable nonprofits in communities across the country."

Delaney expresses the frustration of many nonprofit leaders about coverage of the controversy that generically lump all nonprofits into the same category, when in fact federal tax code assigns different rules and responsibilities.

North Carolina Center for Nonprofits"It's important for 501(c)(3) nonprofits to communicate with their stakeholders about the differences between these nonprofits and 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations to lessen any confusion that may exist," says Trisha Lester, vice president of the N.C. Center for Nonprofits.  "The former group may not engage in any political activity as that is strictly prohibited by the IRS. "

Political Pressures Harden as IRS Management Issues Grow Clearer

Posted: 
May 15, 2013

“Charitable nonprofits are justifiably outraged by reports that the Internal Revenue Service targeted applicants for tax-exempt status based on their apparent political beliefs,” Tim Delaney, president and CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits, said in a statement. ”As more facts emerge on the developing story, the National Council of Nonprofits calls on policymakers and the news media to strengthen public respect for, and not exacerbate ignorance of, the laws governing and distinguishing the nonpartisan work of charitable nonprofits in communities across the country. We are concerned that the IRS scandal is causing collateral damage to the work of innocent charitable nonprofits.”

IRS Now Targeted After Stalling Tax-Exempts

Posted: 
May 14, 2013

“The primary concern is that this generates a lot of confusion about nonprofits in general,” Tim Delaney, president and CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits. People are reading media reports about political activity and not distinguishing between 501(c)(3)s (charities), which are not allowed to engage in political activity, and 501(c)(4)s (social welfare organizations), which are allowed. “The bulk of what we understand the concerns are 501(c)(4) organizations,” said Delaney. “The real problem initially and broadly is the mass confusion, lumping in all nonprofits,” he said.

Another concern is that an underfunded and under-resourced IRS will have to divert staff to address hearings and investigations at a time when nonprofits already are dealing with massive backlogs in the application process, said Delaney.

IRS Tea Party Scandal Could Cause Charity Fallout

Posted: 
May 13, 2013

Nonprofit leaders worry that the dispute will further confuse the public, which has trouble distinguishing between 501(c)(3) charities, which are not allowed to engage in any kind of partisan activities, and 501(c)(4) advocacy groups, which can do so, as long as it is not their primary activity. The latter tend to run into more controversy because they sometimes face accusations that they are arms of political candidates or parties.

“All nonprofits are being smeared as though we are engaging in political activity,” said Tim Delaney, president of the National Council of Nonprofits.

He worries that tens of thousands of charities that are navigating the slow process of getting their tax-exempt status approved could now face delays as Congress reviews how the IRS handled applications from the much smaller universe of 501(c)(4) groups. Charities make up the vast majority of the 60,000 applications for tax-exempt status the IRS manages each year, with about 3,500 applications coming from advocacy groups in 2012.

If the IRS is distracted, both charitable and advocacy groups could also operate outside of regulations with less oversight, Mr. Delaney added. “We depend on the IRS. We need a tough cop on the beat.”

Federal grant & contract news for nonprofits

Posted: 
April 30, 2013

On April 4, 2013, the National Council of Nonprofits issued a report – Partnering for Impact: Government-Nonprofit Contracting Reform Task Forces Produce Results for Taxpayers– that provides recommendations to streamline the government-nonprofit contracting process. The report focuses on recent efforts in nine states (Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and Texas) where joint task forces are making progress in fixing inefficient systems in their states and saving taxpayers money by eliminating redundant processes, promoting online document repositories, and initiating other solutions. The report is the third in a series offering state and local governments solutions to improve nonprofit contracting processes. While the report focuses on taxpayer savings at the state and local levels, it would seem that some of the recommendations and processes could apply at the federal level as well.

Hawaii nonprofits hold out hope for funding in state budget

Posted: 
April 26, 2013

Hawai'i Alliance of Nonprofits OrganizationsLisa Maruyama, President and CEO of the Hawaii Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations, said the budget bill is good news.

“Certainly we encourage and we welcome any other infusion of money coming in from any source of the state or federal government for nonprofit services,” she said.

HANO and Aloha United Way have been leading efforts to bridge communication between Hawaii’s nonprofits and the National Council of Nonprofits about sequestration. Since their last meeting that I covered in March, they’ve been encouraging nonprofits to contact them to report data and anecdotal stories about sequestration’s trickle-down effect.

Sequestration forces nonprofits to cut services

Posted: 
April 12, 2013

David L. Thompson, the vice president of public policy for the National Council of Nonprofits, says even if the exact effects of sequestration are difficult to quantify, it’s clear that needs for basic services are growing while resources are shrinking. He thinks sequestration is sure to exacerbate this problem.  And non-profits which get government funding are also seeing other sources of support dry up.

“Arbitrary cuts in government programs (whether run out of government offices or run under contracts with charitable nonprofits) . . . will continue to force individuals to turn to nonprofits for services that the government is no longer funding," Thompson told GIMBY in an e-mail.

Ironically, he points out, many of those same nonprofits will be suffering from budget cuts as federal grants and other sources shrink and go away.

And while service cuts may currently be happening in isolated instances, Robert Reich reminds Americans that the sequester has only just begun.

"The sheer scale of it is guaranteed to make it far more apparent in coming months," he writes.

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