Nonprofit News From Elsewhere Online
A Goodwill organization is suing a small town in Connecticut for sending it a tax bill. Goodwill of Northern and Western Connecticut is suing the town of Avon, which is seeking taxes on personal property that it values at just under $100,000. The nonprofit’s lawyer said it “shouldn’t be receiving” a tax bill given its 501(c)(3) status and that the assessor has not formally explained why it did. The assessor did not respond to a request for comment. The court case comes after Goodwill unsuccessfully sought relief from the Board of Assessment Appeals. James Mohs, an associate professor of accounting and taxation at the University of New Haven, called the case “really weird.” He noted, “This opens up Pandora’s box for Big Brothers Big Sisters, Salvation Army, and all these other ones that are really nonprofits.” (Hartford Courant)
Mixing activism and support, groups for Black student athletes, many launched after George Floyd’s death, have helped their members weather a particularly fraught time. At Vanderbilt University, students were already thinking of a group to uplift and advise Black athletes on the predominantly white campus when Floyd’s death added “a commitment to social justice and expanded voting access” to its mission. For the 2020 election, the group worked on voter registration and getting students to the polls. A group at the University of California at Santa Barbara rallied student athletes around the country to a collective event that raised $80,000 for Black Lives Matter. The groups’ other successes include more input from students and getting Black psychiatrists hired in some athletics departments. Now, many of the organizers have graduated and others have grown weary of “redundant” conversations about police brutality and systemic racism. Many of the groups have turned their focus from activism back to mental health and support. (Washington Post)
Plus: How Has the Minnesota Freedom Fund’s Mission Changed Since an Uptick in Donations? (NPR)
And: Three Years After George Floyd’s Death, There’s Been a Lot of Promises but ‘Not Much Substance’ on Racial Equality, Nonprofit CEO Says (MarketWatch)
More News
- Domestic Violence Shelters Move Out of Hiding (Los Angeles Times, subscription)
- For Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Being a Drag Nun Transcends Dodgers Drama. It’s a Calling (Los Angeles Times, subscription)
- ‘A Day Without Human Services': Nonprofits to Protest Lack of New York City Funding (Gotham Gazette)
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