Tax, Legal & Compliance

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation now requires all its grant recipients to make their published, peer-reviewed work immediately available to the public, the latest development in a larger push to make research more accessible. The foundation rolled out the new policy in 2015, but allowed for a two-year transition period during which grant recipients…

A seabird sanctuary founder is continuing to seek donations for his nonprofit, even after being fired and replaced by his son. Now the two generations are heading to court. Ralph Heath, 71, founded Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary in 1972 as a not-for-profit corporation. Located in Indian Shores, Fla., Suncoast hit some turbulence recently when Heath’s children…

Growth in charities in Colorado has the state’s top prosecutor seeking more funds to create a new unit to ferret out nonprofit fundraising fraud. Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman wants to spend about $350,000 annually on a new charities oversight unit. The money would finance two full-time attorneys, an investigator, office equipment and operating costs. The…

West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said Monday that state officials have been assured that a woman who made a controversial Facebook post about first lady Michelle Obama has been removed as director of the Clay County Development Corp. Tomblin said in a news release that Pamela Ramsey Taylor is no longer head of the…

After months of uncertainty for foreign nonprofits, China released a list of activities the groups will be allowed to pursue under a controversial new law, with a surprising number of activities falling in potentially sensitive areas such as legal services. Chinese President Xi Jinping has waged a fierce campaign against foreign influences in the country,…

West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin announced Tuesday that state officials may reconsider contracts with Clay County Development Corporation, the nonprofit group that the Gazette-Mail reported on Sunday would allow a director who made a racist Facebook post about first lady Michelle Obama to return to her job. The governor also announced that the state…

Your nonprofit provides critically needed services for individuals and our communities. Funding your programs requires building the trust necessary to ensure an ongoing stream of grants and donations. Take some time to rigorously evaluate whether you are taking the necessary measures to protect the trust you’ve earned and strengthen the trust required for ongoing sustainability...

Shurat HaDin (the Israel Law Center) has launched a social media campaign to gain support for a $1 billion lawsuit against the king of social media, Facebook. The Tel Aviv-based nonprofit organization specializes in fighting terrorists in court. Its successes have included a $655 million jury award in New York in 2015 against the Palestinian…

The Obama administration said that it will challenge a federal court's decision to block President Barack Obama's rule to amend overtime regulations. The Department of Labor filed a notice of appeal to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on Thursday, the same day the new rule was set to take effect...

Concerns raised about some processes and practices employed by the Goodwill Omaha board of trustees provide valuable object lessons for members of every nonprofit board. Such board members play an important role as stewards of not only their donors’ money but also of their organization’s reputation. As such, they must be wary of even the…