In launching this little effort nearly a year ago, I wrote that “I’ve seen firsthand the sweat and effort that go into making [nonprofits] run well.” Extraordinarily dedicated people doing amazing work have helped the sector not merely survive during these tough times, but thrive. I know — the client base for my freelance writing and editing business is largely nonprofit, and I remain a very busy contract worker. So busy, in fact, that I need to hand off the 501(c) Files to someone who has the time and energy to give it the attention it deserves. This was not a decision made lightly: I’ve had tremendous fun exploring the intersection of nonprofits and business, and my eyes have been opened to a host of initiatives —... [Read more]

Tell Uncle Sam not to bail out credit unions, please. | The Wall Street Journal The link between communication and funding. | NetSquared Delegates to this week’s Democratic National Convention will lend Denver nonprofits a helping hand. | The Rocky Mountain News It’s wicked easy to subscribe to 501(c) Files feeds: Just click here and follow the simple instructions. As always, thanks for reading! | 501(c) [Read more]

News item: Social entrepreneurs are clamoring for a realignment of the way the federal government and nonprofit groups work together to maximize the impact of American generosity. –The Washington Post What a colossally bad idea. For all of the flaws the nonprofit sector has, in most cases the organizations comprising it have a clear idea of whom they wish to help and how. When was the last time the federal government could make such a statement? Could it ever? The whims of politics, the inevitable ethical vagaries, the inability to get anything worthwhile done — is this really what nonprofits seek to get in bed with? Such a partnership would hamper, not enhance, the sector’s ability to fulfill its mission. | 501(c) [Read more]

Remember the Albuquerque nonprofit accused of partisan political advocacy by a trio of state legislators who lost their primary elections? Turns out the New Mexican government agrees with the ousted lawmakers: An Albuquerque nonprofit group, accused by three legislators of skirting the state campaign finance law, must register as a political action committee, the secretary of state says.New Mexico Youth Organized, a division of the Center for Civic Policy, also must file campaign finance reports, Mary Herrera said Monday. The Center for Civic Policy pledged to fight the directive, saying that mailers about the trio’s voting records were educational, not political, in nature, meant “to make sure New Mexicans knew what actions have... [Read more]

Connections and friends in the right places matter as much in the nonprofit sector as they do in corporate America and the government. Witness two recent instances of nonprofits running into serious trouble — and the very different results that happened to them. In the first instance, reported by the New York Times, a friend of the founder of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (Acorn) ponied up almost a million bucks to cover the debt incurred when the founder’s brother embezzled scratch from Acorn. Talk about it’s not what you know, it’s who you know: [Drummond] Pike[,the founder and chief executive of the Tides Foundation,] is a friend of Wade Rathke, the founder of Acorn and its leader until... [Read more]