Catholic League may be violating IRS rules

Kos blogger Jeffrey Feldman has an excellent post questioning the legality actions by William Donohue of the Catholic League.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/2/8/95321/56338

Is This Legal?

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Buffalo congressman Brian Higgins walked out of a Catholic church service Sunday after a deacon berated him during a sermon for the lawmaker's recent vote supporting stem cell research. http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--higgins-stemcells0124jan24,0,5467237.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork


How long can thess churches maintain their nonprofit status?

Democrats Will Investigate Faith-Based Programs

Jewish Week reports Democrats will investigate potential abuses of the faith based program.

Equal Time?

Will Two Rivers Baptist Church be providing equal time to other points of view at it's tax free facilities? Just askin'.

DLC in court over 501c4 status

Via Correntewire we learn that Forbes magazine discovered recently that the Democratic Leadership Council lost its nonprofit 501c4 status and owes more than $20,000 in back taxes for the years 1997, 1998 and 1999.

Today I spoke with Debbie Cox, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for the DLC who assured me that their 501c4 status is still intact and that the 501c4 status was only "selectively revoked for those three years." She will not provide me with a copy of the IRS 990 tax returns for those years because nonprofit organizations are only legally required to provide returns from the last three years. I've requested those and other information from the IRS and will follow up with more information as it is received.

IRS issues guidelines

The IRS has issued a great new set of guidelines for churches and other nonprofits to help them avoid illegal political activity and lobbying.

Just Say No To The Gift Horse

Today’s Houston Chronicle http://chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/3742329.html reports that “Barbara Bush donated an undisclosed amount of money to the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund with specific instructions that the money be spent with an educational software company owned by her son Neil.”

Bush assistant, Jean Becker, said that “nationally, some other donors also specified how they wanted their donations spent. For example, one man wanted his money to go to Habitat for Humanity but via the former presidents’ fund.”

This is patently OUTRAGEOUS!

It is perfectly fine for someone to earmark funds for Habitat for Humanity. Their board of directors will determine the best use of these funds. This is very different than someone donating to a charity but requiring the nonprofit to hire a specific vendor to carry out a charitable program. Not only is this highly unethical, but it is sickening that a donor would pressure a nonprofit organization in this manner.

The article also shares another bombshell: “Two years ago, the school district raised eyebrows when it expanded the program by relying heavily on private donations. In February, 2004, the Houston school board unanimously agreed to accept $115,000 in charitable donations from businesses and individuals who insisted the money be spent on Ignite. The money covered half the bill for the software, which cost $10,000 per school.”

Completely amazing! It is clear that these donors were trying to subsidize the Neil Bush business by forcing the school district to match the gift by digging into its own coffers!

Too often, third sector organizations “chase the money”. Rather than sticking to their mission and proven program offerings, they will find donors who are willing to support some new program. Many nonprofits make the fatal mistake of chasing this money and changing their programs to fit the goals of willing funders.

Gather your courage.
Tell these funders, no thanks.