MacArthur Fellows Include 5 Nonprofit Geniuses

September 30, 2014 Posted by Jessica Shofler in News, Nonprofits

There are geniuses among us in the nonprofit sector. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation recently named five of them as it doled out its much-coveted fellowships, popularly known as “genius grants.” And the nonprofit geniuses are: Mary Bonauto, a lawyer and civil rights project director at Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, …

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Lerner Plays Victim in Exclusive Politico Interview

September 25, 2014 Posted by Jessica Shofler in IRS, News, Nonprofits

After refusing for the last 16 months to speak to Congress about the IRS targeting scandal, Lois Lerner, former head of the IRS Tax-Exempt and Government Entities Division, had a two hour interview with news organization Politico. In the article, Lerner denies wrongdoing and expresses pride in her career, telling Politico she is not sorry …

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REJECTED! IRS Derails Hundreds of Forms 1023-EZ

September 24, 2014 Posted by Jessica Shofler in IRS, News, Nonprofits

Late last week the IRS announced that hundreds of streamlined applications for recognition of exemption (Forms 1023-EZ) were rejected. Most were rejected because of the same mistake: the applicant’s name and employer identification number (EIN) on the form did not match IRS records. This mismatch results in automatic rejection of an application. In order to …

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Twitter Experiments with "Buy" Button

September 17, 2014 Posted by Jessica Shofler in Donations, Fundraising, News, Nonprofits

Would you donate money through a “buy” button on Twitter? The social-media platform recently announced that it is starting to test the waters. The aim is to create a Twitter-based “convenient and easy, hopefully even fun” shopping experience. Seven nonprofits are among the “buy” button guinea pigs. The nonprofits are 9/11 Day of Service, The …

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Prostate Cancer Foundation Rejects Donations Linked to Hacked Photos

The Prostate Cancer Foundation, which funds prostate cancer research globally, recently returned donations totaling $8,000. The donations were raised in connection with a post that was set up on Reddit to disseminate and view hacked nude celebrity photos. Viewers were called to donate to the Foundation to atone for having viewed the photos. In a …

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501(c)(4) Scandal Focuses In on IRS's Political Bias

September 12, 2014 Posted by Jessica Shofler in Congressional ax, IRS, News, Nonprofits

Democrats and Republicans on a Senate investigative panel reviewing the so-called tea party scandal agree that the IRS used improper methods to scrutinize the exemption applications of social welfare organizations. But the agreement stops there. The Democrat-led Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations found that there was “no evidence of IRS political bias” in the agency’s actions. …

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