Tax, Legal & Compliance

With the recent spate of natural disasters devastating communities both in the U.S. and abroad, many people turn to charities to see what they can do to help those affected by these tragic events. Over the past two decades, charitable giving has grown considerably in the U.S. The number of public charities is up almost 60 percent, from about 643,000 in 2000 to more than 1 million today... 

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation filed a lawsuit against a California-based software company today, alleging that the company failed to deliver on its promise to build a new software platform despite billing the Gates Foundation $2.8 million for the work. The Gates Foundation is suing Saama Technologies on claims of fraud, breach of contract, violations…

Millions of pounds in administration costs were deducted from the charitable donations made by Tesco using funds generated from the plastic bag tax, government data has revealed. No other major supermarket made any such deductions, leading senior MPs to urge Tesco to follow their lead. The 5p charge for plastic bags was introduced in England…

I had a math teacher in high school who, when asked questions about the basic rules of algebra, would answer, “It’s algebra. You don’t question why, you just do it according to the rules laid out.” A similar process is used when assessing and reporting Fair-Market Value—if a donor receives something from a nonprofit in exchange for their charitable donation...

A group of dentists at odds with the Massachusetts' largest dental insurer are accusing the company of violating nonprofit rules and engaging in anticompetitive behavior, and they’re asking Attorney General Maura Healey’s office to investigate. The dentists detailed their complaints against Delta Dental of Massachusetts in an 11-page letter to Healey, penned by their lawyer, James…

June to-do lists of most nonprofits are always focused on the financial preparations for the upcoming fiscal year. Yet, many still remain unprepared for the possibility of a future audit. To prevent being blindsided in the future, it would be beneficial for nonprofits to move some of their attention from this fiscal year to re-evaluating their organization’s workflow and infrastructure...

For the first time on record, the nonprofit that received the most in donations in the country is not what you typically think of as a nonprofit—and that has some in the nonprofit sector worried that the new model is upending traditional philanthropy. Giving accounts allow donors to get an immediate tax benefit when they…

J.C. Watts, former U.S. Congressman and former CEO of the Oklahoma City-based Feed the Children, is suing the organization for allegedly firing him for reporting issues and irregularities to the state attorney’s general office...

Eleven of Britain’s best-known charities have been fined for breaching data protection rules. Some were secretly subjecting millions of their donors to “wealth-screening” operations to target them for additional fundraising. The Royal British Legion, Oxfam, Cancer Research UK and the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association are among those found by the Information Commissioner’s Office…

I spend a great deal of time thinking about potential donors. I believe research is one of the keys to success in fundraising. My excitement comes when I engage with people and ask for a gift. The greatest percentage of a fundraising person’s time, unfortunately, is not exciting...