We received an e-mail today from Independent Sector requesting that we post the following press release on the CharityGovernance blog. Because the Independent Sector's activities relate so directly to many of the issues we discuss on a regular basis, we are posting the press release as a public service.
Panel on the Nonprofit Sector Solicits Comments on Compensation, Donor-Advised Funds, and Other Issues in Preparation for June Report
(Washington, D.C.) - The Panel on the Nonprofit Sector invites the nonprofit community to comment on the draft recommendations it will review for its June report to the Senate Finance Committee. The recommendations concentrate on practices, policies and procedures deemed important to ensuring good governance, transparency, and ethical conduct of charitable organizations.
Since the release of the Panel's Interim Report on March 1, the more than 100 members of five specialized Work Groups and the Expert Advisory Group have held discussions resulting in a set of draft recommendations for consideration by the Panel. Additionally, fifteen field meetings across the country were convened by the Panel to invite additional input, and organizations have been encouraged throughout the process to send in comments on those issues outlined at the back of the Interim
Report.
The initial recommendations of the Work Groups are posted on the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector website, www.NonprofitPanel.org, and additional recommendations will be posted within the next 24 hours. However organizations are encouraged to begin responding as soon as possible to the posted recommendations to facilitate the process of sharing feedback with the Panel.
These recommendations will be part of the deliberations by the Panel as it prepares the report it will present to the leaders of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee in June.
"Throughout the short time frame the Panel has had in crafting its recommendations, it has attempted to balance its obligations to formulate responsible recommendations on good conduct, while at same time encouraging as much input as possible from the charitable community," said Diana Aviv, executive director of the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector and president and CEO of INDEPENDENT SECTOR. "The field hearings and the comments we have received so far were extremely helpful to the Panel and have added to the outstanding work done by the many volunteers serving on our Work Groups. I am heartened by the willingness of the people to set aside differences in order to come together to find ways to improve our sector."
The comment period will end Thursday, May 19.
The Panel on the Nonprofit Sector is an independent panel of 24 leaders from a wide range of the country's public charities and private foundations. Convened by INDEPENDENT SECTOR at the encouragement of the leadership of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, the Panel is developing recommendations to improve the governance, ethical conduct, and oversight of nonprofit organizations. A Citizens Advisory Group, an Expert Advisory Group, and five specialized Work Groups and two subgroups are assisting the Panel, which also invites input from charities and foundations of all sizes serving diverse missions and geographic locations. The Panel presented its interim report to the Senate Finance Committee on March 1, and will present its next report in June with further observations in the fall.
Learn more about the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector at www.NonprofitPanel.org.
