Tax, Legal & Compliance

FBI Probing New York Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Campaign, Foundation Fundraising Activities
April 14, 2016 at 9:57 am

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara now has New York Mayor Bill de Blasio in his crosshairs—investigating de Blasio's campaign fundraising activities as part of a widening probe into New York Police Department corruption, sources said last week. The feds are looking at how the mayor solicits campaign cash from members of the real-estate industry—and the fundraising…

Best Practices for Hiring People With Disabilities at Your Nonprofit
April 13, 2016 at 12:06 pm

Title I of the Americans with 
Disabilities Act (ADA) as amended prohibits employment discrimination by all employers—
including local government employers—with 15 or more employees. The following sections—the application, the interview and landing the job—will provide you with information about the details of Title I and how it may apply to hiring practices at your organization or agency...

Officials: Nonprofit Executive Attacked With Drain Cleaner in $750K Theft Cover-Up
April 6, 2016 at 9:46 am

The executive director of a New York nonprofit was attacked with caustic liquid in an attempt to cover up a $750,000 embezzlement scheme, a newly unsealed indictment revealed. Rev. D. Alexandra Dyer, head of Healing Arts Initiative, was walking to her car after work when a man holding a cup of drain cleaner allegedly approached her and flung the liquid at her. The attack left serious burns on Dyer's face and eyes. Authorities this week announced they made three arrests in connection with the crime...

Who Watches the Charity Watchdogs?
April 5, 2016 at 9:56 am

It is Friday, Feb. 19, and Michael Thatcher sits before hundreds of nonprofit leaders, fundraisers and marketers at the DMANF Washington Nonprofit Conference, ready for questioning. To say that the former Microsoft official and current president and CEO of Charity Navigator has entered the lion’s den would be inaccurate. He has thrown himself in, walked up to the biggest lion he could find, and jumped into its open jaws. The head of the nonprofit sector’s most controversial organization facing his harshest critics...

Governor Invites Yale to Move to Florida; Yale Politely Declines
April 5, 2016 at 9:43 am

It’s not every day that Yale University gets an offer like this: Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) invited the 315-year-old Ivy League institution to move to the Sunshine State. The Connecticut legislature has a proposal to impose a tax on some investment profits from the university’s $26.5 billion endowment, and Scott seized on the opportunity…

Officials Praise GE's $50M Philanthropic Plans, Others Protest Its Tax Breaks
April 5, 2016 at 9:36 am

General Electric Co. (GE) plans to donate $50 million over the next five years to Boston and the surrounding area. The money comes as GE gets set to move its global headquarters and 800 employees to the South Boston Seaport. But there are critics. And they charge the city and state are giving GE a…

Co-Founder of Charity for Sandy Hook Victims Pleads Guilty to Fraud
April 4, 2016 at 8:43 am

In February 2015, Robert Bruce, a 34-year-old from Tennessee, was indicted by a grand jury on six federal wire fraud charges related to the charity he created to honor the victims of December 2012’s Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy in Newtown, Conn. Now, Bruce has agreed to plead guilty, having reached a plea deal with the U.S. attorney’s office, The Associated Press reported...

Private Equity Vet Accused of Stealing $25M in Charity Rip-off Scheme
March 29, 2016 at 10:08 am

Andrew Caspersen, a senior private equity executive with PJT Partners, has been arrested and charged with attempting to defraud investors out of around $95 million. In addition to the criminal charges filed by Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Caspersen is the subject of a parallel civil complaint filed…