Charity Governance

JACK SIEGEL SUBMITS COMMENTS TO NEW JERSEY REGULATOR

DATELINE: July 26, 2011, Chicago

Jack Siegel submitted comments today to the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs Charities Registration Unit on a proposal designed to encourage those contributing funds to charity to restrict them to particular programs.  Although the Division has shown some willingness to cut back the rule, as written, the rule would preclude a charity from using any funds earmarked for specific programs to cover fundraising and administrative expenses.  As Jack points out in his comment, the proposal is counterproductive.  Regulators should not be showing a preference for restricted gifts over unrestricted ones, nor should regulators make it difficult for charities to recover legitimate administrative or fundraising expenses.

For a copy of Jack's comment letter, click here.

FUZZY THINKING IN NEW JERSEY: THE LATEST ROUND OF PROPOSED FUNDRAISING LEGISLATION

DATELINE: July 15, 2011, Chicago

The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs Charitable Registration Unit has offered a proposal that demonstrates the problem with the law: Too many proposed laws and regulations address problems that either don't exist or don't need to be solved through another rule.

Under the New Jersey proposal, a charity that solicits funds for two or more programs would be required to tell donors that they have the option to designate how the funds are allocated among the programs.  As currently written and as described in explanatory comments, the proposed regulation would prevent the charity from using any portion of an earmarked contribution for...

DID LANCE ARMSTRONG DRINK MORE THAN THREE CUPS OF TEA?

DATELINE: May 23, 2011, Chicago

We are not regular viewers of 60 Minutes, but we just so happened to catch last night's broadcast, which raised serious questions as to whether Lance Armstrong, the winner of seven Tour de France races, broke the rules against the use of performance-enhancing  substances and treatments.   His former teammate, Tyler Hamilton, certainly indicated so in what was a gripping interview.  Armstrong has previously denied use of prohibited substances and treatments.  He has denied the allegations leveled against him by Hamilton and another former teammate, Floyd Landis.  As usual, we will give Armstrong the presumption of innocence until there is a final adjudication to the contrary. 

Although Armstrong undoubtedly hopes that these allegations will go away, that is unlikely.  There are reports of a...

UNDOUBTEDLY

DATELINE: May 1, 2011, Chicago

"Changing the tax treatment of charitable gifts in ways that make it more costly to give those gifts will undoubtedly cause many higher-income Americans to reconsider the amount of their gifts."

So writes Robert F. Sharpe Jr. in an April 29, 2011 opinion piece in the Chronicle of Philanthropy.  Changing the Charitable Deduction Could Discourage the Most-Generous Donors.  Mr. Sharpe is the president of the Sharpe Group, a fund-raising consulting company with offices in Memphis and Washington.

One thing that I have learned over the years is that I need to reconsider my thinking whenever the words "clearly," "undoubtedly," or "obviously" appear in the sentence I just wrote.  What is obvious or irrefutable rarely is.  Mr. Sharpe's article is a well-written piece of advocacy, but it suffers from the lack of a reference to a statistical or empirical studies supporting his assertions. 

I will be upfront about it:  As a tax lawyer with some 30 years mucking around in the tax code, I am in favor of...

THE NONPROFIT SCANDAL OF THE YEAR: THE FIESTA BOWL, PART I

DATELINE: March 31, 2011, Chicago

The likely winner of the coveted "Nonprofit Scandal of the Year" annual award is the Fiesta Bowl, which is the alter ego of four Section 501(c)(3) organizations--the Arizona College Football Champion, the Arizona Sports Foundation, Fiesta Events, and the Valley of the Sun Bowl Foundation-- acting in concert.  Pretty good feat given that it isn't even April. 

No doubt you've read the headlines.  The New York Times summed it up...

A TEXTBOOK CASE FOR EVERY DEVELOPMENT OFFICER AND FUNDRAISER IN THE COUNTRY

DATELINE: January 27, 2011, 2011, Chicago

Robert G. Burton, a major donor to the University of Connecticut, has demanded the return of $3 million that was used to build the Burton Family Football Complex.  After reading a letter from Mr. Burton to Jeffrey Hathaway, the UConn Athletic Director, that was posted on the Connecticut Day’s website and marked “PERSONAL & CONFIDENTIAL,” we can only ask one question:  What would it be like to...

WHY THE SPORTS LEAGUES SHOULD CREATE A DONOR-ADVISED FUND FOR THEIR CHARITABLY-INCLINDED ATHLETES

DATELINE:  January 19, 2011, Chicago

Dallas Morning News reporter Scott Farwell has an excellent article in yesterday’s newspaper on athlete-sponsored charities.  Some Dallas Sports Stars’ Charities Waste Money, Inefficient.  The storyline, however, is...

SENATOR GRASSLEY’S LATEST PROPOSAL IS A CLUNKER: KEEP THE PROHIBITION ON CAMPAIGN INTERVENTIONS

DEADLINE: January 13, 2011, Chicago

Buried deep in the staff memo accompanying Senator Grassley’s January 6, 2011 press release is one of the...

SENATOR GRASSLEY HUFFS AND PUFFS, BUT THE HOUSES OF WORSHIP ARE STILL STANDING

DATELINE: January 10, 2011, Chicago

In November 2007, Senator Charles Grassley stood at the door of six well-known ministries, demanding that they reveal their inner workings.  Unlike other charities that Senator Grassley has investigated, these were churches, protected by the imprimatur of the Constitution.  The question we and many others asked at the time was whether...

ARE THE FOLKS RUNNING SUSAN G. KOMEN FOR THE CURE A BUNCH OF JERKS?

DATELINE: January 5, 2011, Chicago

Like many Americans, we get much of our news from Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.  This past Monday, Colbert came back from his extended holiday break.  He certainly caught our attention during his Tip of the Hat, Wag of the Finger segment, reporting that the Susan G. Komen For the Cure (SGK),  a well-known charity that funds breast cancer research and provides assistance to those diagnosed with breast cancer, was suing other charities that had incorporated “the Cure” into their names or promotional efforts. 

In following up on Colbert’s crack reporting, we found that while Colbert had awarded SGK a...