News from the Hill Tax Reform Work Still Ongoing, McConnell Says This week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) expressed his doubts that comprehensive tax reform will occur in the next two years. However, McConnell emphasized that even without comprehensive reform, Congress will still…

Leading Together to Advance Philanthropy Joint Letter Published in The New York Times On Sunday, a New York Times opinion piece offered a troubling take on the state of the charitable sector. David Callahan, who writes for Inside Philanthropy, expressed his view that the sector is the “wild…

Global Policy Update This past Wednesday, the Council on Foundations and the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) hosted a conference call on China's Draft Law on Management of Overseas NGOs and its potential impact on U.S. funders and other organizations working in and with China.…

We’re coming to you a day early as we prepare for the holiday weekend. Memorial Day provides a special time to honor the service and sacrifice of our military men and women. We want to thank those who have served and are serving in our Nation’s military. Join Us: Global Policy Call China's Draft…

News from the Hill America Gives More Act Setback Yesterday, the Senate passed two trade bills by replacing the language of H.R. 644, the America Gives More Act, with trade provisions. This legislative practice of taking a bill that has passed one chamber, gutting the language and replacing with a…

News from the Hill Senate Passes Budget Resolution On Tuesday, the Senate passed the first House-Senate Budget Resolution in six years, which passed the House last week. This is significant because it lays out Congress' agreed-upon policy and spending priorities for the coming year, in every…

Call to Action! We need you — foundation leaders on the ground in your communities — to reach out to your Senators today and encourage them to support community investments now. As a constituent, your voice is invaluable! You can send an email to your Senators to urge the Senate Finance Committee…

@_____ #Act4Good by supporting the work of nonprofits; support the America Gives More Act #HR644 @_____ Help our communities and the nonprofits that serve them: pass the America Gives More Act #Act4Good #HR644 @_____ Communities served by #nonprofits deserve better; #Act4Good and pass the America…

News from the Hill Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would exempt donations to 501(c)(4)s, (5)s, and (6)s from the gift tax. As POLITICO points out, this would exempt a broad category of political organizations from the gift tax. Current law is ambiguous on whether donors…

The Council’s legal team advised that a donor advised fund may make a distribution to another donor advised fund, without limitation and without the need to exercise expenditure responsibility. The technical explanation for the Pension Protection Act explicitly states: “A taxable distribution does…

The Council’s public policy team is drafting Council comments for the working groups. We will share these with our readers once they are finalized. If your organization submits comments and is willing to share them with the Council, we would like to highlight excerpts in future editions of…

News from the Hill As a reminder, the issues that impact charitable organizations and individual donors fall within the “business” and “individual” working groups. The business working group, which will address tax provisions that impact the business and operations of charitable organizations, is…

Philanthropy Week in Washington 2015 - It's a Wrap Empowering Communities. Together. This year’s Philanthropy Week in Washington was a tremendous success. Thank you to all of you who came or added your voice by connecting with your lawmakers back in your districts. If you have not yet sent a letter…

Philanthropy Week in Washington is Here! Empowering Communities. Together. Mark your calendars: the second annual Philanthropy Week in Washington 2015 kicks off this upcoming Monday, March 16th! As our readers know, Philanthropy Week in Washington is a week-long series of events and activities…

Philanthropy Week in Washington is 2 Weeks Away! Empowering Communities. Together. Mark your calendars: the second annual Philanthropy Week in Washington kicks off on Monday, March 16th! As our readers know, Philanthropy Week in Washington is a week-long series of events and activities hosted…

A Vital Pipeline: How Donor Advised Funds Engage New Donors and Boost Communities Once again, commentator Alan Cantor has written a commentary on donor advised funds, this time for Inside Philanthropy. In the piece he reiterated comments he has made before, stating, “The surge in donor-advised…