Consult your accountant, of course — your organization does have one, right? — but if you need an overview of the Internal Revenue Service’s new Form 990, you could do a lot worse than Larry Levy and Cathleen West’s piece currently running in onPhilanthropy. The two mix in explanations about new regulations with “practice tips” designed to get you going in the right direction. Wouldn’t want to get on Uncle Sam’s bad side, right? | 501(c)

Oh, boy, is this awkward: When Florida Attorneys Saving Homes, known as FLASH, was mentioned on Larry King Live last week, it was a boon for the group, a collection of nearly 10,000 Sunshine State lawyers doing pro bono work for homeowners faced with foreclosure.
Well, a boon except for one tiny detail: The organization’s number didn’t appear on screen, so the next day, when folks searched for it, they instead found the number of the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, known as — uh-oh — FLASH.
While the Alliance commends the attorneys for their efforts at homeowner assistance, “Unfortunately, the attorney-led …read more

One of the first instances to arouse public ire about nonprofit executives’ compensation came to an end yesterday when a New York appeals court dismissed the state’s case against Richard Grasso, the former chairman of the New York Stock Exchange.
Grasso had resigned his post after the news about his bloated 2003 compensation package became public:
According to court documents, Grasso’s base salary from 1995 through 2002 was roughly $1.4 million, with bonuses that escalated from $900,000 in 1995 to $10.6 million in 2002. His 2003 agreement provided a lump sum of $139.5 million, with an additional $48 million payable over four …read more

Philadelphia’s CBS affiliate, KYW-TV/Channel 3, is reeling from news that federal agents seized the computer of its lead anchor, Larry Mendte, who is suspected of reading the personal e-mails of his former coanchor, Alycia Lane. Lane, you may recall, was accused of hitting a New York cop late last year, and though the charges were dropped, KYW sacked her in the wake of a string of controversies that made her the news far too often. According to newspaper reports, Mendte and Lane had developed a frosty relationships toward the end of their tenure together, with each wanting credit for their …read more

An Indiana legislator’s proposal to, in effect, tax nonprofits gets the bum’s rush from Indianapolis Business Journal editorialists, who worry about the bureaucratic burden that would result. They also observe that while the state has its share of deep-pocketed 501(c) organizations, there are many, many more that would be hurt seriously by even the tiniest unanticipated minor expenditure:
Granted, the not-for-profit sector has its share of haves along with the have-nots — those with multimillion-dollar budgets that don’t rely on public support and operate much like for-profit businesses. Although we’re skeptical of their certain outcry over [the proposed] legislation, the potential …read more

The state of Indiana has joined Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, in considering legislation that would impose tax-like fees on nonprofits:

Nonprofit groups that want to avoid the “payment in lieu of tax,” or PILOT, would have to show the state they truly serve a charitable purpose, defined as providing “relief from human want.”
The new payment would be 1 percent of a property’s assessed value or $100, whichever is higher.
Churches and other religious groups would be exempt from the fee for their houses of worship, parsonages and land on which those buildings sit. But when churches get into ventures of a commercial nature …read more

Most nonprofits don’t pay property taxes to the municipalities in which they’re located, though they often negotiate so-called PILOTs — payments in lieu of taxes — to help defray the cost of municipal services they may consume. But keep an eye on Allegheny County in western Pennsylvania, where a new county councilman recently introduced legislation to assess fees on nonprofit property owners:
The fee — $50, plus $150 per 1,000 square feet of structures — would apply to groups that own the county’s roughly 25,000 tax-exempt properties, according to the proposal. The fee would be charged to certify tax-exempt status.
Governments are …read more

Stung by congressional criticism of practices that reflect poorly on its field, the Association of Fundraising Professionals is calling for legislation banning percentage-based fundraising, in which fundraisers receive a set percentage of every dollar successfully solicited. AFP’s Code of Ethics prohibits the practice and argues that nonprofits are mistaken if they think that consultants who engage in it are their only option:
Charities that pay for-profit fundraising firms through percentage-based fundraising often say that they do not have the resources to raise funds on their own and are receiving funds they otherwise would not normally receive. However, percentage-based fundraising is …read more

The Des Moines Register devoted major real estate on its editorial page yesterday and today calling for greater government oversight of nonprofits and the public release of penalties imposed on those found in noncompliance of laws, respectively. The knee-jerk answer is to decry such calls — using the phrase “witch hunt” liberally — and point out that government has far more pressing problems to address. Yet the fact is that nonprofit malfeasance — especially among tax-exempt nonprofits — puts an unfair strain on those in the private and for-profit sectors that are paying their fair share, it robs the public …read more

Governments are still trying to figure out whether and how to tax online sales, but in the meantime a trade group representing e-sellers has gained nonprofit status from the Internal Revenue Service:
An organization of eBay and online sellers announced it has received notification from the IRS of its approval of the organization as a 501(c)(6) Nonprofit/Tax-Exempt Organization. Steven Grossberg, President and founder of the Internet Merchants Association (IMA), said, “We are extremely proud of this accomplishment as it appears the IMA is the first and only trade association connected to e-commerce to be officially sanctioned by the IRS as a …read more