Free Republic

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution contains two clauses addressing religious liberty: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." It's a shame that in their modern misguided zeal to read the first clause as mandating a complete separation of church and state, liberals do great damage to the second clause and defeat the overarching purpose of both: ensuring religious liberty. Ever since the so-called Christian right began its organized activism during the 1980s, liberals (and some others) have become increasingly nervous about (and critical of) Christian influence in politics,...

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has unexpectedly and retroactively granted tax-exempt 501 (c)(3) status to the Barack H. Obama Foundation following our formal Complaint that the Foundation was soliciting tax-deductible contributions without such status. The Foundation is headed by Abon'go Malik Obama, President Obama's half-brother, and named for their common father. It came under scrutiny earlier this year when NLPC raised questions about its tax status and what has happened to the money it has raised. It normally takes at least six months, and usually longer, for the IRS to grant tax-exempt status to an organization following its application....

Media Matters for America is organized as a tax exempt 501(c)3 organization. Under IRS guidelines, they must abide by several rules to maintain this status. Specifically, 501(c)3 organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. You can read an interesting article on this subject “Is Media Matters Breaking the law in its ‘war’ on Fox News?” The article strongly suggests that Media Matters is violating its exemption as an educational foundation by actively participating in partisan political activities. Specifically...

Any remaining doubt that Media Matters reason-for-being is to take down FOX News? Check this out. Turns out the progressive, non-profit watch dog website has a FOX News "war room" that operates in four separate shifts from the hours of 5am to 1am. According to FishbowlDC, they employ specific teams that focus on Glenn Beck's radio and television show. Considering those folks will be out of a job come the end of the week -- Beck's last show is Friday -- and Media Matters

Darling Daughter is interested in founding a non-profit and has asked her ever resourceful, infinitely wise and all knowing father for guidance. Help. Does anyone know of a good source for information, perhaps a textbook, guide or recipe for success? What are the practical considerations, workable models, things to avoid, tax and regulatory requirements, etc. Assume we're starting from a point of near total ignorance...

JUPITER — Edward M. Ricci, an attorney who lives in Jupiter, has been named the new president of Jupiter's El Sol Neighborhood Resource Center. The position is voluntary. Ricci, an El Sol board member since 2009, is consumer justice counsel to Burman, Critton, Luttier & Coleman, LLP of West Palm Beach. He has served as volunteer counsel and member of the board of directors of Hope Rural School in Indiantown since 1980.

501c3 Cowards Oh, say can you see, in the rapidly decaying twilight, Today’s churches throughout America cowering in fright. So easily selling away what is their God given birthright! How can they surrender their proud American heritage? They once fueled the fires of freedom in patriots galore, Triumphing o’er tyranny establishing a nation to adore. Their leadership once shined as brightly as any sage of lore! How can they dishonor their God’s glorious heritage? His church built with martyrs’ blood their duty to preserve, What of their oaths of loyalty and all they pledged to observe? How easily they...

Media Matters, the George Soros-backed legion of liberal agit-prop shock troops based in the nation's capital, has declared war on Fox News, and in the process quite possibly stepped across the line of legality. David Brock, MM's founder, was quoted Saturday by Politico promising that his organization is mounting "guerrila warfare and sabotage" against Fox News, which he said "is not a news organization. It is the de facto leader of the GOP, and it is long past time that it is treated as such by the media, elected officials and the public.”

The liberal group Media Matters has quietly transformed itself in preparation for what its founder, David Brock, described in an interview as an all-out campaign of “guerrilla warfare and sabotage” aimed at the Fox News Channel. The group, launched as a more traditional media critic, has all but abandoned its monitoring of newspapers and other television networks and is narrowing its focus to Fox and a handful of conservative websites, which its leaders view as a political organizations and the “nerve center” of the conservative movement. The shift reflects the centrality of the cable channel to the contemporary conservative movement,...

I have been reading the facts about a free church and not requiring a 501c3 in many places, including this forum: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1702880/posts Just wondering if anybody knows any Lawyers or Accountants in the Dallas area that are very familiar in with this issue (free church, non-incorporation and no 501c3. Thanks

The first direct link above is to Soros' own web page. Many of you will choose not to click on it and well that's your choice. But some of you should actively look and see for yourself. Open the PDF, scroll down to the year 2008. Electronic Frontier Foundation got 300,000 dollars from Soros. Now scroll down to the year 2007. Another 100,000 dollars. So the total is 400k. And there is more. Let's take a look at who it is that sits on their various boards: http://www.eff.org/about/advisoryboard I am aware of Ethan Zuckerman being a Soros buddy because of...

Rick Cohen, a knowledgeable and well-qualified liberal writer for The Nonprofit Quarterly, wrote his first installment of what he says is a series about the legal structure (or lack thereof) of the Tea Party movement, entitled "The Starfish and the Tea Party." Mr. Cohen's article poses the question, "What is the organizational structure of the Tea Party?" He goes on to discuss how the book, The Starfish and the Spider, which is about the success of leaderless organizations, purportedly plays a seminal role in the approach taken by Tea Partiers to their mission and movement. From its inception, the mission...

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court says a law school can legally deny recognition to a Christian student group that won't let gays join. The court on Monday turned away an appeal from the Christian Legal Society, which sued to get funding and recognition from the University of California's Hastings College of the Law.

After creating a huge post regarding all the different ways that the left shuffles funding around towards NPR, I realized it was probably a bit too long and I thought there might be a better way. So here is a visual which should help make it easier:

Did you know that 1 in 5 American children—nearly 17 million—struggle with hunger? Peter Pan® believes no child in the United States should grow up hungry, so we're donating more than 1 million meals to Feeding America®. We want to help, but your family can help, too. How? Simply enter your child's first name below and read a story that helps teach children the importance of helping others. Then find out specific ways that you and your family can spread magic to make a difference in the lives of hungry children. Kids: This website contains advertisements and/or promotions for ConAgra...

As you start to read all this, you'll laugh at how incestuous it all gets. Let's start with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which as I've noted in the past is tied in with the Soros foundation. Together, the two worked on something called The Project on Death in America.(PDIA) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2341083/posts And speaking of Mr Soros, he himself(his foundations) have given directly to NPR. Compared to some of the other numbers I'm seeing, it's a small amount of $250,000. But it doesn't matter. Soros money is soros money in my book. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2396058/posts Additional information about RWJF can be found here....

Hi Friends and Family, As many of you know, in addition to starting Trend Funnel... I have been working on starting a non-profit organization called the Serventrepreneur Foundation (Serving Entrepreneurs and Developing Servant Entrepreneurs). This fall we were finally approved for a 501c3 public charity status (meaning any donations made to our organization are tax-deductible). Until just recently I had made a cheep looking (because it was free) GoDaddy make-shift website to get the organization legally established and approved by the IRS... and to help recruit people for our first mission trip that recently sent 15 women to Mexico to...

CHICAGO Newspapers perform a public service for democracy and should be allowed to operate as tax-exempt non-profits, U.S. Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D.-Md., proposed Tuesday. Cardin introduced a bill that would explicitly include newspapers among organizations eligible for 501(c)(3) status. The non-profit status is the same that public radio and television have now. The legislation would give a national green light for newspapers to adopt the so-called Low Profit Limited Liability Company business model, often shortened to L3C. The L3C model, which the Newspaper Guild supports as an alternative newspaper ownership model, is the subject of a feature story in the...

Re: Many environmental groups are using their tax-exempt IRS registered 501(c)(3) charitable organizations as fraudulent front operations for the Democrats-Soros Shadow Party~FlA. Environmental groups are simply Democrat political machines with millions of dollars in contributions and expenditures each year for the purpose of raising more money to pursue their agenda. ~ Sen. James Inhofe Mr./Madam President, I rise today to shed some light on a subject that is very important to me in my oversight duties as Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee. Earlier this year, the Environment and Public Works Committee held an oversight hearing where the...

In view of the 2008 election, the Christian churches have been noticeably silent. Is this reluctance due to their fear of losing the tax exempt status?The recent election highlights this issue quite well. Candidates held moral positions that were in direct opposition to known biblical teachings. Despite the candidates support for issues like abortion, religious leaders allowed these candidates to go unchallenged from their pulpits.Religious leaders are fearful of losing the tax-exempt status if they speak out strongly regarding moral positions that candidates hold. Religious leaders are not directing their comments from their pulpits to influence decisions about candidates based...

Americans United for Separation of Church and State has asked the IRS to investigate the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson, N.J. and Rock Christian Fellowship in Espanola, New Mexico. According to AU's letter to the IRS, Roman Catholic Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli has published a letter on Catholic Diocese of Paterson, N.J.'s website and newspaper attacking Barack Obama." The letter criticizes Obama for his pro-choice stance and encourages parishioners not to vote for Obama. AU also wants the IRS to investigate Rock Christian Fellowship in Espanola, New Mexico for posting a large display that encourages voters to support republican candidates...

Muslim beliefs are barely understood in the United States, if not intentionally distorted. It can also be hard for outsiders to know who speaks for Muslims, a diverse and complex group still finding its footing in America. **snip** Leaders hope that someday they will create a statewide body, a coalition for what may be the largest Muslim population in the nation.

Few Americans would invite an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, but that's exactly what Minnesota pastor Gus Booth wanted when he stood behind his pulpit and told his congregation God wanted them to vote Republican. In an election where candidates openly discuss their faith and are regularly seen in churches, and a time when pastors' sermons lead the politics sections of newspapers, one might be excused for not knowing that it is illegal for a church to endorse or oppose a candidate for president. But when Booth addressed the members of his Warroad Community Church one Sunday in May...

St. Sabina's website continues to go after political opponents: Criminalizing gun ownership encouraged, State Reps. and Senators who support Second Amendment are targeted 6/2/2008 12:00:00 PM -CCI In spite of the so-called "agreement" between Cardinal George and Rev. Pfleger, stating that the embattled pastor of St. Sabina's would refrain from all political activism, the web site for St. Sabina's continues to be engaged in politics. A long time opponent of the Second Amendment to the Constitution, Rev. Pfleger attracted national attention last year (which was his goal) when he and Jesse Jackson were arrested after invading a gun shop and...

More information has come to light about the reason for the Internal Revenue Service's investigation of the United Church of Christ. On the basis of "IRS Investigation: A Test Of Church's Faith?" by Davida Foy Crabtree, we must conclude that Barack Obama (1) gave his word to the United Church of Christ that no campaign-related activity would take place during the United Church of Christ's General Synod in June 2007, and then (2) he promptly broke his word by using the 501(c)(3) tax exempt event to promote his Presidential candidacy. If this is how Barack Obama keeps his word to...

COLUMBIA, S.C. –For over a year, largely out of the media glare, Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign has been fighting a determined, low-intensity conflict against the viral e-mail that forwards the myth that Obama is a crypto-Muslim Manchurian candidate. ...The e-mails aren’t a well-funded, faux-grassroots smear like the attacks on John Kerry's war record. Instead, most observers believe, it's a largely organic expression of a dark place in the American consciousness. And the campaign is aware it is operating in a changed media landscape in which a powerful, false idea can spread deep into the American psyche, almost entirely under...

But there are already indications that both campaigns may be skirting campaign and tax laws in their efforts to win the Buckeye State. The Columbus Dispatch reported just a few weeks ago how both the Hillary and Obama camps are targeting pastors in the area seeking their endorsements (yes, the same thing that World Harvest pastor Rod Parsley and his church were accused of) in anticipation of the Ohio primary next Tuesday. So it's going to be interesting to see if the "We Believe" group of local ministers and rabbis who previously protested the supposed violation of church and state,...

Duquesne University has ordered WDUQ-FM to stop airing underwriter support messages from the reproductive rights and health-care education group Planned Parenthood. The National Public Radio affiliate and jazz station, which is based on the Duquesne University campus and operates under the university's 501(c)3 tax-exempt status, pulled the underwriting acknowledgement messages Thursday. "Planned Parenthood is not aligned with the university's Catholic mission and identity and legally, stations are not required to accept underwriting support," said Bridget Fare, Duquesne University spokeswoman

Caesar Calls in the Chips By Dr. Greg Dixon Pastor Mark Holick and Evangelist Bill Keller are bold as lions, more than most Baptist preachers we know, even though their actions may fall into the “zeal without knowledge” category. Both find themselves in a running battle with the Internal Revenue Service over the content of their sermons and the direction that they believe God is leading them to conduct their ministries. Holick (31) is the Senior Pastor of the Spirit One Christian Center of Wichita, Kansas and Keller (40) conducts a non-profit TV and internet ministry in Tampa, Florida. As...

Our good friends at The American Thinker and Israpundit have uncovered a fascinating limitation upon 501c3s like Cindy Sheehan's Gold Star Families For Peace and Medea Benjamin's Code Pink and Global Exchange.To wit, it is a violation of their tax exempt status for such "charities" to plan and engage in illegal activities. From the guidelines of the Internal Revenue Service: J. ACTIVITIES THAT ARE ILLEGAL OR CONTRARY TO PUBLIC POLICY1. IntroductionExempt purposes may generally be equated with the public good, and violations of law are the antithesis of the public good. Therefore, the conduct of such activities may be a...

I probably don't agree with much of what the pastors of the All Saints Episcopal Church in Los Angeles preach. I probably don't agree with much of what the congregation believes. But on this we agree: The Internal Revenue Service is attacking them unjustly because of the content of the messages expressed from the pulpit. That is wrong. That is immoral. That is despicable. That is unconstitutional. That is deplorable. And it should be illegal. The story begins on the even of the 2004 presidential election. The church offered a guest sermon by the Rev. George F. Regas, the retired...

"On Church and State", by Lores Rizkalla, Freeper 'JustaWoman' Billy Graham said that "bad politicians are elected by good people who don't vote." I think the same is true of "bad propositions" passing because good people decide to stay home on election day. This Tuesday, California (among many other states) has a special election. Statistics say that an average of 5% of registered voters get out to vote in an off-year election. What's worse is the truth so beautifully, yet sadly, written by William Butler Yeats': "The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity." Where...

The article in the following thread, posted only a short time ago, http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1491423/posts, contains a link to a remarkable website, guidestar.org. In return for free registration Guidestar provides links to the last IRS Form 990s filed by each 501(c)(3) public charity in the United States. The Form 990 is a public report roughly equivalent to an individual's Form 1040. This information can be used for many purposes, including challenging the tax exemption of a 501(c)(3) that engages in blatantly political activity, as so many 501(c)(3) organizations on the left do. Happy hunting!

From Cindy Sheehan's site: Donate to Gold Star Families for Peace GSFP is a 501C3 non-profit organizationhttp://www.gsfp.org/   From the IRS: Home  |  Accessibility  |  Tax Stats  |  About IRS  |  Careers  |  FOIA  |  The Newsroom  |  Site Political and Lobbying Activities   (Adapted from IRS Publication 1828, Tax Guide for Churches and Religious Organizations - February 2004) Lobbying Activity In general, no organization may qualify for section 501(c)(3) status if a substantial part of its activities is attempting to influence legislation (commonly known as lobbying). A 501(c)(3) organization may engage in some lobbying, but too much lobbying activity risks loss of tax-exempt status.  Legislation includes action by Congress, any state legislature, any...

Go to their donations page and you will see that it claims 501(c)(3) status. This is reserved for charitable organizations, not political organizations. This should be a PAC or a 501(c)(4) at the very least. Is anyone investigating this? They should not be tax deductible.

I'm interested in starting a 501(c)(3) in Massachusetts. I have incorporated before, but never as a 501(c)(3). I will be starting the research on how to do this tomorrow. In the meantime, does anyone have any helpful advice regarding the process? Is it just a matter of filing a coporate form at the state level and then applying for a 501(c)(3) designation from the IRS? What are the conditions needed to qualify as a 501(c)(3)? I would really appreciate insights or explanations from knowledgable and (it is to be hoped) experienced fellow freepers. Thanks.

Federal 501c3 IRS law places tax-exempt status of churches contingent on the church not performing a "substantial" amount of legislative lobbying, and on the church or church official's not making endorsements of a political party or candidate. So, does a pastor's placement of partisan stickers on his personal vehicle, coupled with declarations of his status as clergy in a denomination, pass this 501c3 test? See the photo. Is this an individual who happens to be clergy making a political endorsement? Or is this a clergy official making a political endorsement? http://www.geocities.com/barker_mike/back_of_pastor_car_501c3.png Mike B.

March 28, 2005 Today marks the beginning of a new era. Townhall.com has officially split off from The Heritage Foundation. Townhall.com is going independent, so we are now free to expand our news and opinion resources and to go after the liberals with everything we have. You have been there for us during this incredible journey. We hope you’ll stand with us and support us as we grow into a major force in the political world. This morning, Editor-in-Chief, Jonathan Garthwaite sent this email to our nearly 300,000 email subscribers.

The 2004 presidential election may be in the history books, but the left-wing protests and incendiary rhetoric that targeted President Bush in last year's campaign have not died down. As attacks on the administration's policies continue, so does scrutiny of the finances of such groups, which some say pose significant questions as to whether their activities comply with tax law. Anti-Bush groups like the International Action Center boast of their support for the "courageous Iraqi resistance that has derailed the U.S. Empire." The IAC, which plans an anti-war demonstration in New York City Saturday, has also conducted mock trials and...

Kweisi Mfume recently announced his departure as NAACP President, and not a moment too soon. His tenure has been a disaster for the storied civil rights organization, driving it deeper into liberal irrelevance. But that doesn't mean it still shouldn't be defended against the current IRS probe of its tax-exempt status. Back in October the NAACP was informed that it may have violated a law that prohibits charities, churches and other nonprofits from engaging in partisan activities. Under Mr. Mfume and chairman Julian Bond, the group has accused President Bush of being at war with black America; compared Republicans to...

NOVEMBER 30--A New York woman who briefly worked as a nanny for Don Imus has sued the radio host for wrongful termination, claiming she was canned for bringing a harmless cap gun and pocketknife with her during a trip last Thanksgiving to the family's sprawling New Mexico ranch. Nichole Mallette, 24, also claimed in her New York State Supreme Court lawsuit, a copy of which you'll find below, that she was defamed when Imus later announced on his program that he had been forced to "disarm" his nanny, whom he labeled as dangerous and a "terrorist." In her complaint, filed...

My DUmmie Ant Farm is all astir! A venomous scorpion in the form of Bev Harris of BBV fame is stinging my DUmmie Ants left and right lefter with her lethal stinger. So how did this scorpion entered the hallowed confines of the Dummie Ant Farm? Did she boldly invade? No. She was actually invited in by the DUmmies as a conquering heroine who would lead the DUmmie ants to overturn the election results and establish John Kerry as president in January. Not only did the Dummies hail the Bev Harris scorpion but they also fed her copious quantities of...

MAYBE SOME enterprising soul with an appreciation of irony should post a sign outside the NAACP national headquarters on Mount Hope Drive: "Chickens come home to roost here." And come home to roost they have. Start building the chicken coops. In July, NAACP board Chairman Julian Bond -- whose mouth should have been retired when his old organization, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, drifted into irrelevance back in the late '60s -- served up one of his patented anti-President Bush, anti-Republican salvos. He reiterated his comparison of Republicans to the Taliban and, for good measure, hinted that Bush really wanted...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 29 - With a newly robust endowment burning holes in its not-for-profit pockets, National Public Radio is in the midst of a major expansion. But NPR's ambition has stirred anxiety within the public radio system over how to preserve the character and financial viability of local stations in the ever larger shadow of the national production service they created more than 30 years ago as a modest support operation. NPR, a member organization governed in part by local stations, is pumping $15 million into its news division over the next three years, using interest from a recent bequest...

Music is the soundtrack of our lives, so it only stands to reason that songs have become the subtext to our political campaigns. At the FleetCenter they ranged from the obvious --... ...and U2 singer Bono told a group of young City Year volunteers that when he was their age he joined a band because he wanted to do two things: change the world and have fun. "I'm a fan of America, one of those annoying fans that follows the singer into the bathroom and asks what happened on the last album," Bono said to explosive applause, hardly needing to...

<p>OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- A recent Sunday found Tina Kolm changing her morning routine. Instead of attending a Unitarian Universalist service, she was at the Lenexa Christian Center, paying close attention to a conservative minister's sermon about the importance of amending the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex "marriage."</p>

(CNSNews.com) - National Public Radio has decided to use a philanthropist's generous donation for a "major expansion" of its news operation. NPR announced on Tuesday that it would spend $15 million over the next three years on additional reporters, editors, producers and managers; as well as new domestic and international bureaus. The 2004-2007 expansion will be funded in part by interest from the $225 million in bequests that NPR received from the late philanthropist Joan Kroc, the widow of the man who founded McDonald's. Joan Kroc died in October 2003. NPR has described her bequest as "the largest monetary gift...

Documentary film-maker Michael Moore won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for Fahrenheit 911, not because the awards jury wanted to endorse his politics, but because it was "the best film at the festival" according to festival jurist Quentin Tarantino. Never mind that Moore immediately said he hoped his film "would affect the outcome of the 2004 election." We are still supposed to believe that the film was judged on its artistic merits, and nothing else. Add this to some other remarkable facts that we are supposed to believe about the "non-partisan" nature of other efforts to enlighten...

SPARTANBURG, SC (Talon News) -- Liberal anti-Bush online political activist group MoveOn.org sent a warning message to its members this week regarding the upcoming ruling by the Federal Election Commission about the legality of so-called 527 groups accepting soft campaign contributions to run political ads."The Republican National Committee is pressing the Federal Election Commission to issue new rules that would cripple groups that dare to communicate with the public in any way critical of President Bush or members of Congress," MoveOn.org charged in an e-mail to supporters.In the e-mail, MoveOn.org attempts to scare "conservative, progressive, labor, religious, secular, social...