Council Releases August Advocacy Toolkit This Tuesday, the Council hosted our Washington Update LIVE! webinar to discuss the importance of building relationships with your lawmakers so that they understand the value of philanthropy in their districts and states. Featured speakers: Maggie Gunther…

News from the Hill Senate Tax Reform Working Groups Release Reports The Senate Tax Reform Working Groups released their reports this week. The five groups were organized by Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) to assess needs and priorities for future tax code reform.…

Leaders in the Field Speak Out Philanthropic Sector Unites to Challenge Skeptic The Council and other sector leaders have been responding to a New York Times opinion piece written by David Callahan, who offers some misguided views of the charitable sector. In a response published by the New York…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Ways & Means Committee Passes Charitable Bills The House Ways and Means Committee met Wednesday to markup several important bills focused on the charitable sector. The actions included making permanent charitable “tax extenders,” such as the IRA charitable rollover and simplifying the private…

House to Take Up Charitable Bills McCarthy's Memo Gives Signals According to a memo that House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-23) circulated this week, the House is anitcipated to introduce and markup bills on the three charitable tax extenders: the IRA charitable rollover, enhanced…

Senate Finance Committee Looks to Tax Reform Hatch and Wyden Launch Bipartisan Tax Reform Working Groups On Thursday the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), announced five new bipartisan tax reform working groups. The groups…

Tell Congress: Pass America Gives More Act with Lame Duck Extenders Bill! Congress is back in D.C.! However, they only have three work weeks remaining in the year, so now is the time to speak out on the America Gives More Act (H.R. 4719). The America Gives More Act is the most significant bill for…

Recap: 2014 Fall Conference for Community Foundations It was a pleasure to see many of our readers this week at the 2014 Fall Conference for Community Foundations. Over 1,500 people from across the country – and around the globe – gathered in Cleveland. We hope those of you who joined us had as…

We look forward to seeing many of our readers next week at the 2014 Fall Conference for Community Foundations in Cleveland, Ohio! Below is a small sampling of the many Public Policy and Legal sessions you’ll find on the full conference schedule. 2014 Fall Conference: Policy & Legal Sessions…