White House urges "creative destruction" of conventional social problem solutions 1/29/10

Sonal Shah, head of the White House's Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation, was in Los Angeles this week at a conference held by the University of Southern California's Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy and urged foundations to take greater risks, saying one of the lessons she learned in her first year is that the federal government is not easily able to finance experiments with new efforts to treat social problems. She said we need some "creative destruction" to figure out what ideas were worth government investment - whether it be to reduce child mortality, improve education, or solve other social problems. She also said that much of her work has been hobbled by a lack of detailed data and statistics about nonprofit groups and how public policies affect them and the people they serve. Without reliable data, she says, it is often hard for her and her colleagues to get support for ideas that might help nonprofit groups. Read more...

President Obama's New Budget: Impact on Nonprofits

Following up on tonight's State of the Union address, the President will release his 2010-11 budget proposal next week. Learn how the President's budget priorities may impact the work of your organization and communities that you serve on an Independent Sector webinar Friday, February 5, 2010 at 11 AM (PST). Details click here

Want to Know About State Budget Alternatives? 1/26/10

The statewide Health and Human Services Network is coordinating a webinar for all advocates --Sacramento and grassroots -- to go over the tax proposals included in "Low-Hanging Fruit in the Tax System: 10 Policies for $20 Billion" found at http://caltaxreform.org/?p=211. Meanwhile, Senate Budget Committee on Health holds its first hearing of the year today and more hearings on Human Services follow on 2/2 and on Alternatives, including Revenues, 2/4. For hearing information click here.

Court Decision Reshapes Political Landscape 1/21/10

The Supreme Court ruled this morning that corporations, labor unions and other groups can directly spend on campaigns, a sweeping change that would open the floodgate to political donations nationwide, both for direct contributions to candidates and to fund issue advocacy, much of which is carried on by nonprofits. Today's ruling could damped two California initiatives with nearly identical wording that would put restrictions on corporate donations. Details: Alliance for Justice Nonprofit and Foundation Advocacy Blog click here.

Encouraging Charitable Efficiencies: More Charitable Than Discouraging Nonprofits 1/19/10

If you're looking to fill a need in your community, look to fiscal sponsorship as a solution instead of creating a brand-new nonprofit, says Ellen Friedman, Executive Vice President of San Francisco-based Tides Foundation, writing in The Huffington Post. "The nonprofit sector and the IRS could be well-served by partnering to create a referral pipeline between those with passion, ideas and access to resources and those organizations able to manage and administer charitable activity most effectively...not enough people know about the alternatives to establishing nonprofit organizations; alternatives like fiscal sponsorship and donor advised funds that exist to create greater efficiencies and cost-effectiveness for charitable activities." Read More...

Health care reform bill adds charity reporting requirements 1/15/10

Two provisions in the health care reform bill passed by the Senate and currently under negotiation with the House would set new potentially precedent setting oversight standards for nonprofits. One Senate provision would require the Treasury Department to review information about each tax-exempt hospital's "community-benefit" activities (such as offering full-time emergency care to all patients regardless of ability to pay) every three years to determine whether the institution remains eligible for a tax exemption. The other Senate provision would require the Treasury Department to make an annual report to congress on the levels of charity care provided by nonprofit and other hospitals and on related topics. The American Hospital Association has particularly objected to two requirements in the Senate bill. "Such a review is unnecessary, expensive for the hospital, and would effectively empower the Internal Revenue Service to establish requirements for tax exemptions based on a flawed reporting mechanism and absent input from communities served by the hospital and those who represent them," the hospital association said. For more information click here.

Budget Advocates Launch New Website 1/14/10

A new website aims to be a clearinghouse for health and human services actions on the state budget. It includes first-hand stories and pictures of budget advocacy, media coverage and links to budget information, and news and analysis from budget advocacy organizations.

IRS Urged to Help Small Charities 1/8/10

The Internal Revenue Service should collect information from small nonprofit groups about the kind of hep they need to comply with tax-reporting requirements, then develop a plan to meet their needs, Nina E. Olson, the national taxpayer advocate, said in her annual report to Congress. Ms. Olson recommends the IRS design an "Exempt Organization Taxpayer Assistance Blueprint" - similar to one that was developed for individual taxpayers - to collect data and develop a plan to reach out to nonprofit groups. Only nine IRS employees are now primarily responsible for providing information and education to 1.8 million diverse tax-exempt organizations. For details click here

New Bill to Crack Down on University Nonprofits 1/7/10

SB 330, which is a reintroduction of last year's SB 218 (vetoed by the Governor), would update the California Public Records Act (CPRA) to include nonprofit auxiliary organizations that perform government functions at the UC and CSU. To address the Governor's veto message, the new bill will exempt from disclosure the names of volunteers and donors who wish to remain anonymous provided they do not receive something of value greater than $500 in exchange for their donation or service. CAN will be working to assure that the bill does have an adverse impact on nonprofits in general.

Governor Presents State-of-the State, Proposed Budget This Week 1/5/10

Governor Schwarzenegger is expected to give his State-of-the State address 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, followed by release of his proposed 2010-11 state budget on Friday. You can watch his address live on The California Channel and find out about his budget on his website.