Tax, Legal & Compliance

In the recent article “9 Fundraising Myths Shattered,” published here on NonProfit PRO, one of the myths the author sought to debunk was that you need an outside consultant for your capital campaign. It’s true that not every nonprofit needs to have an outside consultant in order to conduct a successful capital campaign. But many clearly do—and even those who don’t might have good reason to consider using outside counsel...

Charity Navigator earlier this year promised that an overhaul of its ratings system and an update to its advisory system were on the way. In May, the watchdog debuted the former. Now, it's delivered on the latter. The new CN Advisory System, launched last week, replaces Charity Navigator's Donor Advisory and Watch List, two separate but similar lists whose functions led to some confusion for the public and consternation for nonprofits...

Just days after Wounded Warrior Project announced layoffs and a $100 million revenue drop, a comprehensive report found fault with the media, the charity's board of directors and virtually everyone else involved in the investigations into the organization's spending. Doug White, former director of the masters of nonprofit management program at Columbia University, spent months writing and researching the 79-page report independently and without compensation. And he found flaws across the board...

At what point will the charity watchdogs and, more 
importantly, the general population, understand that “not for profit” does not equate to “for free?” What can we all be doing to help people understand that, like any job, nonprofit organizations want to pay their staff a fair wage with benefits and provide a decent place to work. That good work deserves to be 
rewarded...

Wounded Warrior Project, the embattled veterans charity, last month announced it expected staff cuts as part of its restructuring process following its very public spending controversy. At the time, CEO Michael Linnington was unsure of the extent of the cuts. Now, we have a better idea. Linnington told Stars and Stripes the charity cut 50 percent of its executives and laid off 15 percent of its 600-person staff...

Last month, the Department of Education denied nonprofit status to a chain of for-profit career colleges, accusing the schools’ operators of trying to avoid accountability with the switch. This week, the Center for Excellence in Higher Education (CEHE) fired back, suing the department, alleging the government has a political agenda of putting career schools out…

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article entitled “It’s Not Too Soon to Plan Year-End Fundraising.” While Dec. 31 seems far away (especially if you’ve used up your vacation time for 2016) in fundraising time, it’s just a blink of an eye. To help all of us prepare, I recently chatted with Bill Sayre, president of Merkle Response Group, about the back-end processes for year-end donations—making sure your donations are processed accurately and quickly so you can mail out your thank-you receipts in a timely manner...

A nonprofit conservative organization advocating for less government must reveal information about major donors to the state's attorney general if it wants to solicit money in the state, a judge ruled Monday as he rejected First Amendment claims. U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein said that states have a strong interest to ensure that charities…

Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance (BBBWGA) released a list of the top 10 charities, based on fiscal year 2014 contributions, that did not verify their transparency by completing the watchdog's evaluation. BBBWGA dubbed the charities on its list "transparency dodgers."...

Sen. Bernie Sanders wants to assure his supporters that his bid for president—and the ensuing shake up and movement within the Democratic party—was not for naught. On Wednesday, the Vermont senator announced the creation of Our Revolution, a 501(c)(4) political organization, The New York Times reported. But things haven’t exactly gotten off to a smooth start...