Tax, Legal & Compliance

Charities Worried About 'Dangerous' IRS Proposal
December 14, 2015 at 11:27 am

In late September, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) proposed a new substantiation rule that would allow charities to self-report donations of more than $250. Under current rules, donors wishing to claim a charitable income tax deduction are required to obtain and submit a contemporaneous written acknowledgement (CWA) from the nonprofit receiving the donation. The new proposal would require the reporting charity to collect donors' names, addresses and Social Security numbers. That last item has U.S. nonprofits worried...

Michigan Charity Can't Get 'Missing' Shipment Back
December 11, 2015 at 9:28 am

Months after a missing shipment of Haiti-bound relief supplies was discovered in South Florida, the shipyard where it still sits is refusing to release it. That’s despite pleas from the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based charity that shipped the container, which included $150,000 worth of medical and other supplies donated by more than a dozen West Michigan…

Former Board Chairman Sues Museum, Claims Misuse of $1.4M Donation
December 11, 2015 at 9:24 am

A former chairman of the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) board of directors is suing the museum, alleging misuse of his $1.4 million donation. In 2004, Robert Lang made a donation to name a wing of MOSI after his wife, Whitney Lang, who died the year before. Under the agreed-upon terms, the wing was…

Nonprofit Agency's Board Members Resign Over Way Agency Governed
December 9, 2015 at 10:40 am

The Hancock County Board of Supervisors wants a state audit of a nonprofit agency that receives federal funding to assist the underprivileged because four board members have resigned, saying they fear they will be liable because of mismanagement by other key board members. The four board members who resigned from the Gulf Coast Community Action…

Charity Suspects Employee Stole 'Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars'
December 9, 2015 at 10:34 am

Hunger Free Vermont, a nonprofit advocacy and education group that works to reduce malnutrition across Vermont, said it suspects a former employee stole significant sums of money from the charity. "We never thought it would be us," said Marissa Parisi, the organization's executive director. "I think this is one of the hardest things Hunger Free…

Philanthropy Should Be Controversial
December 8, 2015 at 10:18 am

When steel magnate Andrew Carnegie tried to get Pennsylvania towns to build public libraries in the 1890s by offering them matching funds, 20 of the 46 local governments he approached turned him down. When John D. Rockefeller Sr. asked Congress to grant a federal charter for his proposed Rockefeller Foundation in 1910, then Attorney General…

Texas Threatens Legal Action Against Nonprofit Aiding Syrian Refugees
December 1, 2015 at 9:48 am

The Texas health and human services commissioner said the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Dallas is ignoring a directive to relocate Syrians somewhere other than Texas. The state wanted assurances Monday from the agency that it will not accept Syrian refugees and threatened legal action if Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s orders are defied. The IRC,…

Utah Nonprofits File Suit Challenging Donor-Disclosure Law
November 24, 2015 at 10:08 am

Three Utah nonprofits are challenging a state law that forces organizations to report donors who give more than $750 to influence campaigns or voters. In a lawsuit filed in federal court this week, the groups said the law unconstitutionally forces them to forgo their free speech rights to speak on political issues, or risk losing…

New IRS Gift-Substantiation Guidelines Opposed by National Council of Nonprofits
November 24, 2015 at 9:55 am

A new voluntary gift-substantiation regime proposed by the IRS is being opposed by the National Council of Nonprofits (NCN), as well as a number of individual state associations of nonprofits. The system would provide an alternative to the “contemporaneous written acknowledgements” now in use by providing 501(c)(3) nonprofits with the option to report gifts more…

Texas Attorney General Shuts Down Veterans Charity
November 20, 2015 at 10:24 am

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has closed down the Veterans Support Organization (VSO) as a settlement from legal action. According to a news release from Paxton's office, VSO collected more than $2.5 million in Texas between 2010 and 2012. But an investigation found 70 percent of the money went to VSO's Florida headquarters and to…