Nonprofit News From Elsewhere
Opinion: Relief workers across the country are seeing unprecedented, and rising, levels of misery and privation in communities hit especially hard by the pandemic recession. Their clients are going to food banks so they can afford their prescriptions, staying in abusive households to avoid homelessness, or sometimes losing their homes after losing their jobs. One New York charity has more than doubled the number of free meals it serves, while an Arizona education charity has started giving out emergency funds to families that are not receiving federal aid. Other organizations are struggling to reach the neediest, some of whom do not even have telephones, as application processes and other outreach have gone online to minimize contact. Some nonprofit leaders say the repercussions of this crisis will last for years. (New York Times)
Senate Democrats want a closer look at how the Internal Revenue Service oversees tax-exempt organizations given the involvement of advocacy groups in the Capitol Hill rampage. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island wants the Treasury Department to review the IRS’s policing of such groups. Whitehouse said the agency has been “bludgeoned by the right-wing forces” and that its enforcement had become lax. The IRS can revoke the tax-exempt status of a nonprofit that exceeds the agency’s limits on acceptable political activity. Whitehouse is pushing legislation to force organizations exempt under Section 501(c)(4) of the IRS code to disclose their major donors. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the presumptive chairman of the Finance Committee, has already asked the IRS to review the tax-exempt status of the groups that helped organize the rally that led to the riots. (CNBC)
Plus: Shell companies and ‘dark money’ may hide details of Trump ties to DC protests (OpenSecrets)
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has poured almost $18 million into efforts to get billionaires to open their wallets wider. That money includes $5 million each to Lever for Change and the TED Foundation’s Audacious Project, which help put charities and other nonprofits in a better position to pitch to the ultra rich and then essentially do the introductions. The efforts aim to vet, support, and give a higher profile to smaller causes that often escape the notice of donors while giving guidance to donors who might be new to philanthropy. Even though more than 210 super-rich donors have signed the Giving Pledge, ultrawealthy American families gave only 1.2 percent of their incomes to charity in 2017. (GeekWire)
More News
- Justice Department Weighs Amnesty for Academics to Disclose Foreign Funding (Wall Street Journal — subscription)
- Former Make-a-Wish Iowa CEO Charged With Embezzling Funds (Associated Press)
- Advocacy Groups Take Vaccine to Migrant Laborers in Calif. (Associated Press)
About Giving and Fundraising
- Scowling Bernie Sanders Happy His Mittened Meme May Raise Millions for Charity (Reuters). Plus: ‘Bernie Meme’ Provides Boost to National Museum of American Jewish History Revenue (KYW Newsradio)
- Lions Fans Flood Quarterback Matthew Stafford’s Charity of Choice With Donations (Pride of Detroit)
Appreciations