The Philippines Charitable Giving Assistance Act, enacted March 25, 2014, allows taxpayers who make cash contributions on or before April 14, 2014 for Philippines typhoon relief to claim charitable deductions for the contributions on their 2013 returns. Eligible contributions may be claimed on either a 2013 or 2014 return, but not both. “Cash” contributions include …
Blog
Florida Considering Tightening the Reigns on Charities and Fundraisers
Remember when we told you about the nation’s 50 worst charities? Florida’s lawmakers noticed that 11 of those worst offenders were based in Florida. In an effort to clean up Florida’s charities, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam has proposed a plan to tighten regulations on Florida’s charities and for-profit fundraisers. (The state charity registrar in Florida …
Data Breaches Aren't Just for For-Profits
What does the data breach that happened at Target last year have to do with your nonprofit? You may remember that the breach enabled access to the credit and debit accounts of 40 million Target shoppers. This reportedly caused Target to incur $61 million in expenses. But Target’s insurance is expected to cover $44 million …
Effectiveness of Small Family Foundations
You have probably heard of behemoth family foundations, like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, taking on huge causes, like fighting AIDS and malaria. Is it possible for smaller family foundations to also make an impact? YES, according to the Wall Street Journal. In a recent article, the WSJ reported that small family foundations are …
IRS Fixes Retroactive Automatic Revocation Catch-22
You probably know that it can take a very long time for the IRS to review your organization’s exemption application. What you may not know is that a new nonprofit is required to file its Form 990, 990EZ, or 990N-ePostcard even while its application is pending. This means that it is possible that by the …
Contempt Charges Against Lerner Green Lighted
Lawyers for the House of Representatives have concluded that the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has legal standing to pursue contempt charges against Lois Lerner. Lerner is the former head of the exempt organizations division of the IRS. The contempt charge comes from Lerner’s refusal to testify before the Committee earlier this month. The …