Public Policy
Legal Compliance Guidance
The election season, particularly in presidential election years, brings with it both opportunities and challenges for private foundations and public charities. Grantmakers can use this opportunity to increase civic involvement, provide nonpartisan information about candidates and educate…
Rules of Advocacy & Lobbying: Community & Public Foundations
Legal Compliance Guidance
The rules of advocacy and lobbying for community and public foundations differ somewhat from private foundations.
As a community or public foundation, the law allows the following:
Advocacy
Lobbying
Funding Lobbying
Advocacy
Yes, community and public foundations may engage in advocacy…
Legal Compliance Guidance
The rules of advocacy and lobbying for private foundations differ somewhat from community and public foundations.
As a private foundation, the law allows the following:
Advocacy
Lobbying
Funding Lobbying
Advocacy
Yes, private foundations may engage in advocacy activities as described under…
Toolkit
This toolkit is designed for private foundations that want to support grantee involvement in civic and policy activities to increase organizational capacity and impact. While its primary focus is on the grantmaking activity of foundations, the toolkit also addresses rules and guidance for policy…
Toolkit
This toolkit is designed for community and public foundations that want to support grantee involvement in civic and policy activities to increase organizational capacity and impact. While its primary focus is on the grantmaking activity of these foundations, the toolkit also addresses rules and…
Publication
The Tax Reform Act of 1969 contains major provisions that affect the way private foundations do business. In this paper, Thomas A. Troyer, an attorney who collaborated with the Council as Congress developed the law, recalls what motivated Congress to place severe restrictions on private foundations…
Last week, I predicted that the itemized deduction could soon be back on the table as Congress looks for ways to raise revenue. It may not have been a great leap to predict that, but my crystal ball is working: Yesterday, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) announced a…
Living inside the Washington beltway must be a profoundly disorienting experience. Maybe there’s something in the Potomac River, maybe it’s just too much time in the world’s most self-absorbed echo chamber, or maybe it’s just the pressure of too much traffic. Honestly, I don’t know.
To continue…
Right now the debate on the fiscal cliff is consuming mainstream media and all conversations in Washington, D.C. Deficit reduction, the cliff, and tax reform all have major implications for philanthropy. Here are the three issues the Council on Foundations is watching and will continue to monitor…
The timing of the November 12 session, “A Look Forward on Tax Reform,” during the Public Policy Action Institute at Independent Sector’s annual conference could not have been more critical. It provided an important opportunity for attendees to get a clear sense of the urgency and potential impact…
Yesterday, Americans cast their vote for the future course of our nation. Many of our fellow citizens affected by Hurricane Sandy endured much more difficulty than normal in voting, some using flashlights to see their ballots. Their resolve and resiliency is a tribute to the American spirit and…
America’s charities face a brewing crisis with the upcoming comprehensive tax reform debate that is almost certain to envelop our nation. As Congress searches for ways to close the growing national debt, the charitable tax deduction is included in the “everything” often mentioned in the phrase “…
Sharpening Our Pencils, Sharpening Our Impact
Though the scalding heat of summer is likely to last for at least another month in Arkansas, the summer season is ending for many students as they prepare to return to school. As these students soon will do, funders and government staff recently gathered with sharpened pencils to learn together at…
It’s the time of year when we begin to think about the new Congress and our legislative agenda at the Council on Foundations. To help us get started, I am asking for your support by filling out the Philanthropic Policy Priorities Survey. The responses to the survey will allow the Public Policy…
Every year at the Fall Conference for Community Foundations, members of the Council’s government relations and legal team provide a legislative and regulatory update, including implications for the philanthropic sector. In addition, they offer tips on how to navigate the sometimes muddy political…
Consider Hosting Foundations 101 in Your State!
Following the success of Kentucky’s inaugural Foundations 101 meeting, I was part of a group of several funders in Alabama who joined together earlier this month to reach out to the local staffs of our elected officials for our own 101 session.
Unlike the barnstorming meetings some of us attend…