good governance

The IRS has been prolific lately... take a look at this interesting release (PDF) outlining good governance suggestions for nonprofits.

527 reform

527s are on the mind of Sens. McCain and Feingold once again. The 527 Reform Act of 2007 would regulate a 527 under the FECA if it spends more than $1,000 on public communications that promote, support, attack, or oppose a candidate, or on voter registration and GOTV. Sen. Feingold stated on the Senate floor that no 501(c) organizations are targeted... only 527s. Observers will recall that the last time this was attempted, many interpreted the reach to include some 501(c)s, which prompted pushback and the ultimate demise of the bill. Read more about the bill here.

Nonprofits are big business

A new report released by the Urban Institute (PDF) details just how big the nonprofit sector has become. Philanthropy Journal reports:

Over 1.4 million nonprofits, including public charities, foundations and other tax-exempt groups like trade associations and labor unions, were registered with the IRS in 2004 and accounted for 5.2 percent of gross domestic product and 8.3 percent of wages and salaries paid in the U.S., says The Nonprofit Sector in Brief.

Nonprofits overall accounted for $1.4 trillion in revenue and $3 trillion in assets in 2004, says the report, which features highlights from the Nonprofit Almanac 2007 that will be published soon by the National Center for Charitable Statistics at the Urban Institute.

shameless self promotion

I rarely bring up what I do for the day job, but I'll make an exception when a quote of mine makes it into the VoteLaw blog (via the Tulsa World). My Google rank just went up a notch... look out other Tim Mooney's... you're about to be passed!

(Thankfully, I'm really not lame enough to be serious on the last point.)

Changes for small 501(c)(3)s

Not sure if this has been on anyone's radar in the 501(c)(3) community, but it popped up for me recently in my role as a director for the Tranquil Space Foundation. It's a very new public charity that will not likely have more than $25,000 in gross receipts for this tax year. Previously, that meant the charity did not have to file a Form 990 return with the IRS. However, the Pension Protection Act of 2006 made some changes starting in 2008. The IRS says:

Beginning in 2008, exempt organizations with gross receipts under $25,000 must file an annual notice.*

*Information on how to comply with these provisions will be available on this site soon.

First, define "soon" and second, what kind of annual notice will that be? A 990? Some kind of a "990-EZ"?

This is a pretty big deal since small charities previously avoided the paperwork hassles (and they can only be described that way) of filling out a Form 990. Now, we at the Tranquil Space Foundation fully expected to be pulling in gross receipts larger than $25,000 by then, so this doesn't really change our plans. However, for small community groups and other 501(c)(3)s that benefitted from this exception... sharpen your pencils... you'll be filling out a 990 of some kind for FY2008.

More on 527s

The judge in Shays v. FEC has ordered both parties to brief whether or not the latest E & J (that's "explanation and justification" for those of you playing the home edition) from the FEC was enough to avoid having to draft new 527/political committee rules. Shays and the gang want new rules, while the FEC thinks the E & J should be enough. Briefing is to be completed by May 31, so expect a decision sometime in... let's see... two, carry the one... sometime in 2012. (Just kidding, Judge Sullivan.) The judge is actually quite committed to resolve this sooner rather than later so the campaign finance community will have a clearer idea on how 527s will be treated for '08. If you're a lucky BNA Money & Politics subscriber, check out the details here.

McCain and soft money

Sen. McCain has called today's Washington Post article a "hit job." The revelations that the finance co-chair of his campaign has raised millions of additional dollars for an independent 527 effort seems to fly in the face of the "evasion" arguments we hear so much from the dedicated campaign finance reform movement in DC. Should a person who has been dedicated to eradicating soft money be this closely aligned with a financer of soft money that will almost assuredly aid his presidential ambitions? (rehtorical question... blogger's privilege) It's too soon to tell if this will be a big deal or not. Needless to say, there is nothing illegal about this activity, but we shall see if there is additional political fallout. The straight talk express is hitting some early potholes, it seems...

WRTL press release

Check out Jim Bopp's statements regarding his client, WRTL here. As I posted earlier, he'll be arguing before the Court on April 25th.

Oral arguments set

I couldn't resist checking the blogs before I got on my plane back to frigid DC (Puerto Rico was 80s all week, than you very much!). SCOTUS has set the WRTL oral argument for April 25th according to the Court's website. (Hat tip... Rick Hassen's election law blog)