TANO

Self Managed Teams

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:24:28 GMT

Self Managed Teams
Start Date: 13-Nov-09 9:00 AM
End Time: 13-Nov-09 11:30 AM
Location: Austin Community College Highland Business Center, Austin, TX 78752
Speaker: Wendy Biro Pollard

Event Details:

Strong board committees are the backbone of an organization, and yet, the reality is that in many nonprofits, committees are its weakest link. When committee members understand their role, have a clearly defined direction, an enabling staff, and organized and experienced leadership, the sky’s the limit.

Participants will:

Examine the ten-step process required to build committee strength and effectiveness
Learn techniques for recruiting committee members

Austin Community College Highland Business Center

5930 Middle Fiskville Road

Austin, TX USA 78752

Working with Grant Writiers to Get the Best Possible Result

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 20:16:12 GMT

Working with Grant Writiers to Get the Best Possible Result
Start Date: 11-Oct-09 10:30 AM
End Time: 11-Oct-09 12:30 PM
Location: Highland Business Center, Austin, TX 78752
Speaker: Karen Dale Wolman

Event Details:

Highland Business Center

5930 Middle Fiskville Road

Austin, TX United States 78752

Effective Grant Writing

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 14:14:52 GMT

Effective Grant Writing
Start Date: 14-Jul-09 9:00 AM
End Time: 14-Jul-09 4:00 PM
Location: Highland Business Center, Austin, TX 78752
Speaker: Jeff Cohen

Event Details:

7/14/09 (9:00a.m. - 4:00p.m.)
Effective Grant Writing
Presenter: Jeff Cohen, Cohen & Associates
Cost: $99

Brief Overview:

A one-day complete “nuts and bolts” guide to grant proposal development and management of critical proposal development processes. Participants will develop a detailed outline of a full grant proposal and develop logical and compelling narrative and spreadsheets in the challenging sections of needs assessments, objectives, evaluation and budget. Participants will also develop strategies for researching, cultivating, communicating, and building partnerships with foundation, corporation, and government funders.

Additionally, the workshop will cover “important yet rarely-discussed” topics such as writing and editing styles, expectations and measurement of a successful grant writing program, the relationship of grants to overall organizational fundraising, the role of management and volunteer leadership in grant-development initiatives, and organizational team-building to support grant proposal development. Comprehensive handouts and online resources are provided.

This workshop has been highly rated as effective for both the beginner and advanced grant-writer, because of the unique perspectives provided by the presenter.

Comments From Participants:

“I took your one-day Effective Grant Writing class last September, and I just recently submitted two Grant proposals and both were approved! I can't wait to submit more!!!! Thanks for a very informative and easy to understand class! Thanks again.”
-Valerie Young, After School Action Program (ASAP)

“I will look for more courses taught by Jeff Cohen.”

“It helped fine tune what I had a basic understanding of & I can now see I need a dedicated volunteer to work on the grants. Help w/narrative was very helpful.”

“Wow! A very informative course. Exceeded my expectations. Instructor very willing to help us, guide us. Got my money’s worth!

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Session Fees - Many Center services are available at low or no cost . Where there are fees, they must be paid in advance of the session and will not be reimbursed unless the registrant cancels their registration in keeping with the College's Refund Policy.

Highland Business Center

5930 Middle Fiskville Road

Austin, TX 78752

Starting a Nonprofit in Texas

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 17:01:52 GMT

Starting a Nonprofit in Texas
Start Date: 26-May-09 11:30 AM
End Time: 26-May-09 1:00 PM
Location: Highland Business Center, Austin, Texas 78752
Speaker: Barry Silverberg

Event Details:

5/26/2009 (11:30 -1:00pm)
Starting a Nonprofit in Texas
Presenter: Barry Silverberg
Cost: None

Brief Overview:

Nonprofit organizations are different than businesses and government; not better or worse, but different. These differences should not be glossed over as you explore whether the creation of a nonprofit is the best way to achieve the goals or purposes you seek to achieve. You should understand what it means to be a nonprofit and how that differs from being a for-profit before you start the paperwork process.

You can complete the entire process yourself if you are prepared to go through the learning curve or engage the services of someone with expertise in forming, leading, managing and governing nonprofits. While it may be useful to engage the services of a lawyer for complicated situations, the average experience may not require a lawyer - just someone with solid experience in the nonprofit sector.(more)

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Session Times & Location - All programs are held at ACC's Highland Business Center (address & map) unless otherwise noted. Details on room and any special instructions are e-mailed to participants a day or so before each session. Area hotels

Session Fees - Many Center services are available at low or no cost . Where there are fees, they must be paid in advance of the session and will not be reimbursed unless the registrant cancels their registration in keeping with the College's Refund Policy.

Note: Where known, market value of learning opportunity is noted to highlight the value received by participants in ACC CCBNO learning opportunities. Any fees we charge are set as low as possible in order to keep our services as accessible to all who seek to strengthen their understanding and competencies within the Nonprofit Sector.

Highland Business Center

5930 Middle Fiskville Road

Austin, Texas 78752

National Nonprofit Congress

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:05:50 GMT

National Nonprofit Congress
Start Date: 14-May-09 8:30 AM
End Time: 16-May-09 5:30 PM
Location: New Orleans Marriott, New Orleans, LA
Speaker:

Event Details:

Join TANO as we attend the Nonprofit Congress National Meeting
in New Orleans.

May 14 - 16, 2009

New Orleans Marriott

555 Canal Street

New Orleans, LA

http://www.nonprofitcongress.org

New Orleans Marriott

555 Canal Street

New Orleans, LA

Make Your Own PSA

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 15:26:20 GMT

Make Your Own PSA
Start Date: 23-Apr-09 9:00 AM
End Time: 23-Apr-09 12:00 PM
Location: Austin Community College - Highland Business Center, Austin, Texas 78752
Speaker: Jeff Cohen

Event Details:

Workshop participants will receive a packet of “how-to” sheets with outlines of key steps in each of the core processes. A sheet with links to hardware and software discussed in the course will be included.

Organizations are always looking for creative ways to market themselves to new leaders and donors. With the ease of digital cameras and digital editing programs, nonprofits can efficiently produce their own PSA’s “in-house.”

In this workshop, organizations will learn how to conceptualize and produce a Public Service Announcement (PSA) in length ranging from 28 seconds to 5 minutes. The workshop will offer an orientation to:

Outlining concepts of the piece onto “storyboards”

Using digital still and video cameras

Using free or low-cost software to edit picture, voice, sound, and text

Using software to prepare the PSA for distribution via webcast, or, onto CD-ROM disks

Gaining consents and permissions for use of media and people

Using web-based media such as YouTube as a presentation platforms

Other ideas for producing media such as capturing life histories and outcome testimonies for citizens served

The workshop will be facilitated by Jeff Cohen, local consultant, educator, and educational video producer.

Austin Community College - Highland Business Center

5930 Middle Fiskville Road

Austin, Texas 78752

Developing Effective Grant Budgets

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 20:29:51 GMT

Developing Effective Grant Budgets
Start Date: 8-Apr-09 10:30 AM
End Time: 8-Apr-09 12:30 PM
Location: Highland Business Center, Austin, TX 78752
Speaker: Karen Dale Wolman

Event Details:

Highland Business Center

5930 Middle Fiskville Road

Austin, TX United States 78752

Effective Grant Writing

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 14:13:05 GMT

Effective Grant Writing
Start Date: 6-Apr-09 9:00 AM
End Time: 6-Apr-09 4:00 PM
Location: Highland Business Center, Austin, TX 78752
Speaker: Jeff Cohen

Event Details:

4/6/09 (9:00a.m. - 4:00p.m.)
Effective Grant Writing
Presenter: Jeff Cohen, Cohen & Associates
Cost: $99

Brief Overview:

A one-day complete “nuts and bolts” guide to grant proposal development and management of critical proposal development processes. Participants will develop a detailed outline of a full grant proposal and develop logical and compelling narrative and spreadsheets in the challenging sections of needs assessments, objectives, evaluation and budget. Participants will also develop strategies for researching, cultivating, communicating, and building partnerships with foundation, corporation, and government funders.

This workshop has been highly rated as effective for both the beginner and advanced grant-writer, because of the unique perspectives provided by the presenter.

Comments From Participants:

“I will look for more courses taught by Jeff Cohen.”

“It helped fine tune what I had a basic understanding of & I can now see I need a dedicated volunteer to work on the grants. Help w/narrative was very helpful.”

“Wow! A very informative course. Exceeded my expectations. Instructor very willing to help us, guide us. Got my money’s worth!

Highland Business Center

5930 Middle Fiskville Road

Austin, TX 78752

Working with Grant Writers to Get the Best Possible Results

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:05:29 GMT

Working with Grant Writers to Get the Best Possible Results
Start Date: 12-Feb-09 10:30 AM
End Time: 12-Feb-09 12:30 PM
Location: Highland Business Center, Austin, TX 78752
Speaker: Karen Dale Wolman

Highland Business Center

5930 Middle Fiskville Road

Austin, TX 78752

Starting a Nonprofit in Texas

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 17:00:37 GMT

Starting a Nonprofit in Texas
Start Date: 10-Feb-09 11:30 AM
End Time: 10-Feb-09 1:00 PM
Location: Highland Business Center, Austin, Texas 78752
Speaker: Barry Silverberg

Event Details:

02/10/2008 (11:30 -1:00pm)
Starting a Nonprofit in Texas
Presenter: Barry Silverberg
Cost: None

Brief Overview:

====

Highland Business Center

5930 Middle Fiskville Road

Austin, Texas 78752

Nonprofit Congress

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:59:11 GMT

Start Date: 16-May-09 8:30 AM
End Time: 16-May-09 5:30 PM

New Orleans Marriott

555 Canal Street

New Orleans, LA

Nonprofit Congress

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:59:11 GMT

Start Date: 15-May-09 8:30 AM
End Time: 15-May-09 5:30 PM

New Orleans Marriott

555 Canal Street

New Orleans, LA

Convio On IPO: Not Just Yet

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 19:15:00 GMT

Citing unfavorable market conditions, Convio Inc. is withdrawing its bid to go public.

The Austin provider of software and Web services for nonprofits filed its IPO request with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Aug. 30, 2007. The company said at the time it hoped to raise $86 million through the offering. But yesterday Convio asked the SEC to withdraw its registration statement.

CEO Gene Austin says going public is still in Convio's future, but he says it's a matter of timing.

"We strongly believe in the philosophy that good companies don't go public in bad markets," says Austin. "Bottom line, it wasn't the right business decision for us to go public at this time given the state of the financial markets. With our record quarter, cash flow and having reached profitability we do not need to be public."

Convio logged revenue of $14.7 million in the second quarter, up 35 percent from the year-ago quarter. The company lost $893,000, compared with a loss of $2.1 million in the second quarter of 2007. Excluding compensation charges and costs associated with its acquisition of GetActive Software Inc., Convio made $114,000 in the second quarter compared with a loss of $1.4 million a year ago.

Convio says it had nearly $13.2 million in cash and equivalents at the end of the second quarter.

The company's products are being used by 26 of the top 50 nonprofits, ranked by funds raised. Convio employs about 225 people in the Austin area and 340 altogether.

6-Aug-08 2:15 PM

Charities Ask Congress to Ease Gas Price Burden

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 19:00:00 GMT

High gasoline costs have put a crimp into volunteer activity at charities across the country.

Organizations, including the American Red Cross and Catholic Charities, have complained that the current tax deduction for use of a personal car while performing volunteer services for charities was too low at 14 cents a mile. That is compared with 58.5 cents a mile for corporate employees who use their cars for business purposes.

More than 100 charitable groups have signed a letter asking Congress to address the problem. And on Wednesday, four senators plan to announce a proposal to reset the charitable mileage deduction to 70 percent of the corporate deduction.

“This is typical of how grass-roots politics works,” said Senator John Ensign, Republican of Nevada, who is co-sponsoring the bill with Senators Charles E. Schumer of New York, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin and Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut, all Democrats.

Mr. Ensign added, “You hear from people out there who are affected by something, they make a case for a change, and you go, ‘Gee, that makes a lot of sense, why wasn’t it done a long time ago?’ ”

The Internal Revenue Service recently reset the mileage deduction offered to corporate employees to 58.5 cents a mile from 50.5 cents a mile in response to soaring gasoline prices, but it cannot do the same for charities without an act of Congress.

The charitable mileage deduction was last raised a decade ago. “It’s really absurd,” Mr. Schumer said.

Additionally, if charities elect to give their volunteers the difference between the corporate mileage rate and their own, volunteers must count that amount as taxable income.

The proposal by the four senators would eliminate taxes on such reimbursement.

Steven Tregerman, a real estate agent in Syosset, N.Y., volunteers with Jewish Association Services for the Aged Plainview-Old Bethpage Cares, a nonprofit group that works to enable elderly people to stay in their homes and neighborhoods. He drives recipients to medical appointments, the grocery store, the library and other destinations.

“I had enlisted other people, or really, shamed them, into doing it as well, but many of them have given it up,” Mr. Tregerman said. “A lot of them are on fixed incomes, and they said they couldn’t afford it.”

As a result, the number of trips he makes has doubled to an average of 10 or 12 a week, he said. “I had my first double ride today, where I picked up two people from the same physical therapist’s office,” Mr. Tregerman said.

6-Aug-08 2:00 PM

Nonprofits See Challenge In Getting Message Out

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 18:00:00 GMT

The biggest hurdle facing nonprofits is building awareness, a new study says.

The study, by Lipman Hearne and the American Marketing Association, says the top marketing priorities among nonprofits, regardless of size, are gaining visibility, generating revenue, branding, and acquiring and retaining members and customers.

"Being mentioned in the media is priceless, because it gains nonprofit organizations attention as well as third-party endorsement of their work," says Rodney Ferguson, managing director and principal of Lipman Hearne, a national marketing firm serving nonprofits.

"In a world of literally millions of commercial marketing messages," he says, "getting in the news is where nonprofits can prevail."

For the study, marketing and organizational leaders were asked what they consider top marketing priorities, successful marketing tools and challenges ahead.

Responses were received from more than 1,000 organizations, including universities, museums, associations, health-care organizations and social-service agencies.

"The survey shows us [nonprofits] marketing with creativity and focus, but always juggling to identify what marketing strategies and tools can make them even more effective with the limited budgets they have," says Tom Abrahamson, managing director and principal of Lipman Hearne.

Marketing departments for nearly half of the nonprofits that responded are small, reflecting the size of most nonprofit organizations.

Fifty-six percent had less than $100,000 to spend and were overseen by one person.

And they say they aren't sure they are spending money wisely.

While marketing staffs track event participation, overall revenue, and member recruitment results, they are less satisfied with their ability to measure the impact of advertising, search engine optimization, earned media, and web traffic.

Even though they feel challenged to raise money, marketers say they usually lack responsibility over areas where funds are generated -- development, membership, sponsorships and product innovation.

6-Aug-08 1:00 PM

Nonprofits Face Constraints on Public Policy Involvement, Report Finds

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 18:00:00 GMT

Although U.S. nonprofits are widely involved in efforts to influence public policies that affect them and the people they serve, they are often constrained by tight budgets, limited staff resources, and confusing legal restrictions, a new report from the Johns Hopkins University Nonprofit Listening Post Project finds.

Based on a survey conducted by the Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest and the university's Center for Civil Society Studies, the report, Nonprofit America: A Force for Democracy? (27 pages, PDF), found that 73 percent of responding nonprofits said they had engaged in some type of advocacy or lobbying in the year prior to the survey, with three out of five of those organizations engaging in public policy efforts at least once a month. The depth of organizational involvement, however, was often limited to the executive director, and those activities rarely engaged the general public or even the organization's clients or patrons.

Limited resources may be a major reason for this lack of engagement, the report suggests. Fewer than 15 percent of organizations engaged in lobbying or advocacy activities reported devoting as much as 2 percent of their overall budget to advocacy, while lack of time and resources were the principal reasons cited by organizations that reported no engagement in advocacy or lobbying activity.

The report also found that large organizations and those involved in family, children, and elderly services are the most engaged in policy advocacy, while arts organizations are the least involved; and that state and local governments are the principal focus of advocacy activity for two out of three organizations.

"Nonprofit advocacy is a critical strategy for solving our society's most challenging problems," said Larry Ottinger, president of the Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest. "This important survey should serve as a clarion call to the nonprofit and philanthropy sector to boost the resources and training devoted to this crucial function."

“Nonprofits Face Serious Constraints on Policy Involvement.” Johns Hopkins University Press Release 7/30/08.

6-Aug-08 1:00 PM

Request To Readers

noemail@tano.org — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:00:00 GMT

The TANO website and TANOgram E-Newsletter are for YOU! What have you found helpful? What is not? What would you like to see? We want your ideas! Email mbharrington@tano.org with your feedback on these sections: Calendar, Job Bank, Breaking News, TANO News, News From The Nonprofit World, Membership Has Its Benefits (information on TANO member benefits), Where On The Website? (information found on TANO website), Tech Tip Of The Month (technology reviews by Idealware), Risk Tip Of The Month (risk issues from Nonprofit Risk Management Center). What more can we do? Would you like more Public Policy and Advocacy information or more information on available grants? The more we know, the better TANO can serve you. Thanks for reading!

6-Aug-08 12:00 PM

Federal Nonprofit Policy Updates

noemail@tano.org — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 21:00:00 GMT

Nonprofits Coalesce Around New Charitable Volunteer Mileage Bill
Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and John Ensign (R-NV) have just introduced the GIVE Act of 2008, “Giving Incentives to Volunteers Everywhere” (S 3429). Of the ten bills introduced on this issue, NCNA, Independent Sector, AARP, Catholic Charities USA, the American Red Cross, and the United Way of America are all endorsing this bill. NCNA actively lobbied for this bill and it offers the best combination of passage (because of the bipartisan sponsorship by key members of the Senate Finance Committee) and overall package of benefits for the sector and the communities we serve: 1) the bill would raise the charitable mileage deduction from 14 cents to almost 41 cents immediately; 2) it would make future adjustments to the rate tied to 70% of the standard business mileage rate so we would not have to try to fight this issue every year that gas prices increase; and 3) it would exclude from any income tax consequence actual mileage reimbursements made to volunteers. These features not only address economic pain being felt in America’s communities, but also recognize the vital role the nonprofit sector plays in coordinating volunteer efforts to meet human needs. Read NCNA’s endorsement letter.

Midwestern Disaster Relief Measures Also Include Charitable Incentives
The Midwestern Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2008 (S 3322) was introduced by Senate Finance ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-IA), along with ten cosponsors from Midwestern states. The bill would provide $3.96 billion in federal tax relief to natural disaster victims in the Midwest. The temporary measure would suspend the limits on charitable giving for individuals and corporations for contributions, raise the volunteer mileage deduction to 70 percent of the standard business rate, and exempt from income reimbursements from charities of volunteer mileage - all provided the contributions and activities are for flood relief efforts. A companion bill was introduced in the House by all members of the Iowa delegation. Both measures are similar to legislation passed in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina. CQ.com Billtrack

Proposed Regulations to Implement College Loan Forgiveness Provisions for Nonprofit Employees
Comments are due by August 15 to the Department of Education regarding proposed regulations implementing the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 (CCRAA). This Act provides for loan forgiveness for full time employees of “public service organizations” which NCNA successfully lobbied to expand to include all 501(c)(3) nonprofits. Nonprofit full-time employees (at least 30 hours a week) making monthly college loan repayments, can count each month of nonprofit employment towards the 120 months of payments needed to qualify for forgiveness of the remaining loan balance, beginning with payments after October 1, 2007. The effective date applies to payments, and thus existing nonprofit employees with outstanding student loans of more than 10 years future duration can benefit from this provision. For more information on the issues, see the website of the Project on Student Debt.

No Vote on IRA Charitable Rollover Until After August Recess
Despite steady efforts to break months of stalemate, the latest version of the tax "extenders" bill still has not passed. Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) recently released a new version of the bill, including the IRA Charitable Rollover provision. The new bill (S 3335), the “Jobs, Energy, Families and Disaster Relief Act of 2008", is similar to previous measures (S 3125 and HR 6049), which included extensions of charitable giving incentives, such as the IRA rollover, other expired and expiring tax incentives, renewable energy provisions, and a temporary fix to the alternative minimum tax (AMT), but which have stalled over the PAYGO dispute. This dispute continues with most Senate Republicans resisting pairing revenue-raising offsets with extensions of existing tax law while House Democrats have been insisting on paying for tax extenders.

The latest attempt at compromise includes “sweeteners” for Republican Senators to attract the 60 votes needed to overcome procedural blockages in the Senate. The 60 votes have yet to materialize however.
The bill has two parts. The $57 billion extenders section, which has budgetary offsets, would extend dozens of expiring and expired breaks, generally for one year; provide an optional deduction for state sales taxes to help individuals; include a research and development tax credit favored by business; and provide a package of renewable-energy incentives. The second major section of the bill (with a projected price of $68.9 billion) which does not have offsets, includes a disaster-relief package which has been championed by Senator Grassley (R-IA) and is the subject of a stand-alone bill (see "Midwester Disaster Relief" above) and a one-year “patch” to the alternative minimum tax.

Meanwhile, the Governors of all 50 states and Puerto Rico sent a July 23 letter to Congress urging congressional leaders to act on renewable energy and efficiency incentives.The Governors took the extra step of urging Congress to extend the tax incentives for at least five years. CQ Today Online News 7/30/08; CQ TODAY PRINT EDITION 7/24/08

Landmark Housing Bill Provides Some Direct Relief to Borrowers
The President has signed a landmark housing bill (HR 3221) that enables the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to help borrowers refinance mortgages. The bill also includes a new regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; an overhaul of the Federal Housing Administration, an agency that insures mortgages; and $15.1 billion in housing-focused tax breaks. The bill’s provisions aimed at helping homeowners who are struggling with mortgage payment increases allow the FHA to insure up to $300 billion worth of new, refinanced loans for these borrowers. CQ Today Online News – 7/30/08, 7/25/08

Congress Avoids Cutting Physicians’ Medicare Pay by Overriding Veto
Once again, Congress has stopped cuts in physician reimbursements. A Medicare bill is now law due to the successful partnering of physicians and seniors against private health insurers which involved using cuts to the private plans as a way to fund the reversal of a scheduled 10.6 percent cut to Medicare’s physician payment rates. Doctors had threatened to stop seeing new Medicare patients if the payment cuts went through.

The override of President Bush’s veto was a victory for congressional Democrats who believe the private plans, Medicare Advantage, are too expensive, and who disagree with the President who believes they should be the future of Medicare because they offer patient choice and private sector solutions. The measure buys 18 months of stable payments for physicians but will require congressional action in 2010 again. Neither side made a serious effort to overhaul the payment system this time around. “We are just kicking the can down the road,” said Rep. Pete Stark (D- CA). “But the truth is, none of us . . . have any idea how we are going to solve the physician reimbursement issue.” The cuts are required as part of Medicare’s cost control formula, written in 1997 as part of the Balanced Budget Act (PL 105-33). CQ TODAY PRINT EDITION - 7/15/08

IRS Updates

990-EZ. The IRS is requesting comments by September 8, on a modified Form 990-EZ for 2008 filings beginning in 2009. This Short Form Return will be used by many more small and medium nonprofits than for 2007 fiscal years because the dollar filing ranges for years ending in 2008 will increase substantially. Form 990-EZ was modified to allow the use of new Schedules A, C, E, G, L and N of the new 2008 Form 990 but the information is what was formerly required on the Form 990-EZ itself.

Nonprofits may file the 990-EZ for:    If gross receipts are:             If assets are:
2008 tax year (filed in 2009)               > $25,000 and < $1 million      < $2.5 million
2009 tax year (filed in 2010)               > $25,000 and < $500,000      < $1.25 million
2010 and later tax years                    > $50,000 and < $200,000      < $500,000

Stay Exempt. Visit the IRS website for virtual workshops and web-based mini-courses on tax basics for nonprofits. Two new mini-courses include “Navigating IRS Resources for Tax-Exempt Organizations” (7 minutes) and “Political Campaigns and Charities: The Ban on Political Campaign Intervention” (16 minutes).

Political Activity Involving Nonprofit Websites. In a Memorandum for all EO Revenue Agents, the IRS says it will look closely at a nonprofit’s website links to other organizations to determine whether the 501(c)(3) organization has participated or intervened in a political campaign by way of its Internet activities. According to Revenue Ruling 2007-41, (June 18, 2007), considerations include the context for the link on the website and the "electronic proximity" of the links (number of clicks) between the 501(c)(3)’s website and a website favoring or opposing a candidate.

4-Aug-08 4:00 PM