Free Republic

Independent Sector, a coalition of liberal charities and foundations, wants to cash in on Washington's bailout fever, the Chronicle of Philanthropy reports. “There’s simply not enough cash to respond to the amount of the needs,” said Diana Aviv, president of the group. “The demand is much greater and the dollars that are secured from traditional sources are shrinking.” Call it charity welfare. If you don't dig deeply enough into your pockets for charity, the government will force you to, or at least that's what Aviv wants.

Why would someone involved in keeping nonprofits ethical give the appearance of being involved in political partisanship? When Ricky Ricardo caught Lucy in some very compromising position he said she had some "‘splaining to do."That's how I feel about Diana Aviv, head of Independent Sector, an organization which assists almost 600 nonprofit organizations around the country and the world to establish and maintain appropriate ethical standards and practices of transparency.

Americans worked a median of 52 hours last year without pay. They’re called volunteers. Many organizations can’t survive without unpaid labor, and many people are glad to provide it. Sadly, though, data released Wednesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that both the number of volunteers and the volunteer rate — the percentage of the population that volunteers — declined in 2007 from 2006. Volunteering also had fallen in 2006 from 2005. About 60.8 million Americans, age 16 and up, volunteered in 2007, compared with a high of 65.3 million in 2005. The proportion of that population that...

It's about time these people were investigated: Sen. Grassley probes "possible misuse of donations" to Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer, and others. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, is investigating several major church-based ministries known for their leaders' lavish lifestyles and prosperity teachings. "Recent articles and news reports regarding possible misuse of donations made to religious organizations have caused some concern for the Finance Committee," Grassley wrote to the ministries in letters asking for detailed financial records. None of the ministries targeted—those led by Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, Benny Hinn, Eddie Long, Joyce Meyer, and...

What makes The Heritage Foundation one of the most famous and widely quoted nonprofit companies worldwide? Having a top-notch staff to promote public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values and a strong national defense helps, no question. But as the new book Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits shows, it’s more than that. Heritage succeeds because its leaders follow certain “high-impact” practices that have elevated the 34-year-old institution to the forefront of the nonprofit world. Figuring out what those high-impact practices are matters, because success in the nonprofit...

Congressional committees, state attorneys general and now the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are placing nonprofit organizations under scrutiny and sending them scrambling for legal advice on sound governance practices. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 heightened awareness about governance at all kinds of organizations, from the public companies at which it was directed, to private firms and nonprofit groups. Subsequent scandals involving financial practices at nonprofits prompted government agencies increasingly to view such organizations with skepticism. A 2003 media expose of the Nature Conservancy's governance, executive compensation and land sale practices ... The finance committee also catalyzed change at the American...

FORT WORTH -- It has taken nearly a decade to build two houses in a southeast Fort Worth neighborhood where planners and community leaders envisioned more than 100 new homes to revitalize the area. And those two model homes may be all that neighbors see of the New Rolling Hills development. The nonprofit group Texas Housing and Economic Resources, which spearheaded development of affordable homes in the New Rolling Hills subdivision, has filed for bankruptcy, listing more than $2.8 million in debts that include $273,500 to the city of Fort Worth, $70,000 in delinquent property taxes and a $2 million...

The tool donors use to learn about nonprofits is getting a makeover.The Internal Revenue Service on Thursday released a newly redesigned Form 990 and asked for comments from the public and from nonprofits. The form is filed annually by more than a million nonprofits, including such prominent local institutions as Chapman University, Hoag Hospital and the Orange County Performing Arts Center. By law, nonprofits must make their last three years' 990s available to anyone who asks.Since its last remodel in 1979, Form 990 has been repeatedly tweaked, with many new line items squeezed in like new appliances in an old...

Sacramento -- Some of the same corporate interests that dominate the Capitol through high-priced lobbyists and campaign donations also bankroll nonprofit organizations that in turn spend tens of thousands of dollars a year entertaining state lawmakers and administration officials far from home -- gifts that otherwise would exceed state limits. Since 2002, the largesse has included a weekend at a fashionable beachfront golf resort south of Rio de Janeiro for 14 state officials, including Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, D-Los Angeles, and the governor's chief of staff, Susan Kennedy. There was also a luncheon cruise on New Zealand's Hauraki Gulf for...

The Washington Times www.washingtontimes.com How secular donors move church agenda By Eric Pfeiffer THE WASHINGTON TIMES Published January 11, 2007 The National Council of Churches is becoming financially beholden to secular groups with liberal political leanings, according to a report by a religious watchdog organization. The Institute on Religion and Democracy, a group formed by members of the NCC, says the group accepted the majority of its charitable donations last year from nonreligious organizations and has been pursuing an agenda that does not mesh with the majority of its church members, including support for abortion and homosexual "marriage." "We found...

The U.S. Senate is moving to curtail the influence of non-profit interest groups that routinely contact citizens and urge them to petition their congressmen or senators on issues of concern. The so-called Lieberman-Levin Amendment would impose "unconstitutional and unfair" restraints on non-profit grassroots lobbying activity, the Family Research Council warned. The amendment passed the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Reform Committee by a 10-6 vote on Thursday, and it's heading for the Senate floor next week. Groups such as the Family Research Council say it targets the wrong people. "Folks have a right to petition their government, and it's unfortunate...

The I.R.S. said yesterday that it saw a sharp increase in prohibited political activity by charities and churches in the last election cycle, a trend that it aims to reverse as the country heads into the midterm elections. The tax agency found problems at three-quarters of the 82 organizations it examined after having received complaints about their political activities, according to a report the Internal Revenue Service released. The infractions included distributing materials that encouraged people to vote for particular candidates and giving cash to campaigns. The agency said it was seeking to revoke the exemptions of three organizations but...

- PORTLAND, Ore. - Oregon's attorney general's office says an audit shows the president of Portland's Goodwill made an "unreasonable" amount of money in 2004. Michael Miller earned more than $830,000 in pay and benefits last year. This makes him the highest-paid executive at Oregon's social service nonprofits. The audit was obtained yesterday by a Portland newspaper. Miller also made more than executives at the other 172 Goodwill branches in North America. Goodwill's chairman of the board says Miller, who has been president of the charity for 20 years, has agreed to accept a 24 percent cut in his salary...

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is benefiting from millions of dollars raised by a network of tax-exempt groups without revealing that the money comes from major corporations with business before his office. The groups are run by Schwarzenegger's closest political allies, who also represent some of California's biggest interest groups. Unlike the governor's many campaign funds, the nonprofits are not required to disclose their contributors and can accept unlimited amounts. One group controlled by a powerful corporate consultant pays the $6,000-a-month rent on a Sacramento hotel suite used by the governor, who is a multimillionaire. Others have funded media events...

WASHINGTON (AP) - After two years dissecting The Nature Conservancy, the Senate Finance Committee reported Tuesday that large charities may need stricter laws to prevent insider deals, regulate moneymaking ventures and open more activities to public scrutiny. Committee Chairman Charles Grassley said the panel's report, to be examined in a Wednesday hearing, shows The Nature Conservancy engaged in aggressive planning to maximize tax advantages. It acted no differently than many large corporations, and such planning is probably widespread among large charities, Grassley said. "Current law has not kept up with the sophistication and complexity of many of today's charities," the...

The news media's treatment of foundation involvement in public policy may have changed forever on March 17. That was the day the New York Post published "Buying 'Reform': Media Missed Millionaires' Scam," an account by one of its columnists, Ryan Sager, of the massive spending by several mainstream foundations to secure passage of the 2002 overhaul of campaign-finance laws and to keep the issue alive. Mr. Sager told his readers he had discovered "an immense scam perpetrated on the American people by a cadre of left-wing foundations and disguised as a 'mass movement.'" Foundations like Ford, Open Society, Carnegie, Joyce,...

WASHINGTON -- What are the biggest charity abuses in America? The answers coming from witnesses testifying at a Senate hearing last Tuesday pointed to practices by nonprofit, tax-exempt groups that are technically legal but violate the spirit of private charity. Those answers are wrong. The biggest abuse is nonprofits that deliberately and habitually break the law. The Senate Finance Committee is currently investigating practices of groups that enjoy exemption from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS Code. In the past few years, more and more news stories have detailed the questionable practices of nonprofits, from huge CEO compensation packages...

The way State Rep. Marty Seifert figures it, taxpayer money effectively pays the $374,341 yearly compensation for the Walker Art Center director, and there's $59 left over for arts programming. He bases the calculation on the $375,000 the state gave the Walker last year. The Walker is among dozens of nonprofit groups that get state appropriations or grants and pay outrageously high salaries, Seifert, R-Marshall, said Thursday. He proposed legislation to cut off state funding to nonprofits that pay salaries higher than the cap for most state executives, $114,506. "Unfortunately, many nonprofits beg for donations from the public and the...

Want to help the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami? Search the GuideStar database with keywords "disaster relief" and category "International Development and Relief Services" to find more than 100 organizations.

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Despite promises to open up government and even his own calendar for public review, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's efforts to reshape California benefit from millions of dollars in spending by nonprofit groups that are not required to disclose where they get or how they spend their money. These groups have supported some of Schwarzenegger's most memorable events, including trade missions to Tokyo and Tel Aviv, bus tours up and down the state and even the wild July appearance at a shopping mall in Ontario where he called Democrats "girlie men" during the budget impasse. But quirks in state...