Posts Categorized: Accountability

Beware the Attorney General: Scrutiny of Director Compensation on the Rise

Recent California Attorney General (“AG”) audits should make every nonprofit board beware the Attorney General. This charity regulator appears to be doubling down on its scrutiny of director compensation. Under the California Nonprofit Corporation Law (the “Nonprofit Law”), the AG has the authority  to look into virtually every aspect of a charity’s operations. This broad …

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Are Nonprofits "Follow the Money" Obsessed?

Have the leaders of nonprofits been overly incentivized to “follow the money,” resulting in a troubling shift in the composition of boards? The answer is yes according to a recent article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review. The trend may be “distort[ing] organization priorities” and may “dilute charitable values.” According to the author, Garry W. …

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Does Your Nonprofit Pay Its Payroll Taxes?

August 20, 2014 Posted by Jessica Shofler in Accountability, IRS, News, Nonprofits, Taxes

According to a recently released report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), although most exempt organizations pay their federal taxes, more than 64,200 of the nearly 1.7 million organizations recognized as exempt (or 3.8%) had nearly $875 million of federal tax debt as of June, 2012. This included payroll taxes, unrelated business …

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A New Charity Reporting Option

August 7, 2014 Posted by Jessica Shofler in Accountability, Donations, News, Nonprofits

There are many resources for finding out information about a nonprofit. The best option is to review an organization’s documents yourself. But if you don’t have time for that, where should you go for reliable reporting on nonprofits? The Direct Marketing Association Nonprofit Federation (DMA) is hoping you will turn to their new Nonprofit Dashboard. …

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Another Win for NY AG Schneiderman

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman is following his big win earlier this month with a $522,000 pay out from a Brooklyn rabbi who collected hundreds of thousands of dollars for fake charities. Rabbi Yaakov Weingarten pled guilty in NY State Supreme Court to felony tax fraud for soliciting donations from thousands of donors …

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Florida Enacts Tighter Regulations on Charities and Fundraisers

July 10, 2014 Posted by Jessica Shofler in Accountability, Conflict of Interest, Fundraising, News, Nonprofits

Do you remember when, in April, we told you that Florida’s lawmakers were concerned that 11 of the 50 worst charities were based in Florida. Now they are following through on their promise to do something about it. Last month Florida Governor Rick Scott signed into law a comprehensive revision of the state’s charitable solicitation …

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