Foraker Group Blog  |  Government  

When Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) proposed the creation of a new nonprofit foundation to raise private sector philanthropic funds for FEMA, few, if any, nonprofits commented - or even noticed. Inouye’s bill to create the Preparedness and Resilience Foundation follows the lead of other federal agencies that have created their own off-budget 501(c)(3)s.

Did you know? Should nonprofits be concerned that they might find themselves competing against government foundations for scarce philanthropic dollars? Let us know what you think of the new Cohen report. Read more…

Add Tacoma, Wash. to the list of cities eyeing nonprofit coffers to address municipal budget difficulties. Tacoma city officials are looking at nonprofit health care providers that are currently totally exempt from the city’s business tax. The new idea would knock the 100 percent exemption down to 75 percent, with big impacts on two particular hospitals: MultiCare, which would have to pay $591,645 annually, and the Franciscan Health System, which would be hit with a business tax bill of $375,000 annually. Read more…

If your organization has been discussing a potential capital project with lawmakers in Juneau, the deadline is near for submitting that project. Legislators are finalizing their “wish lists” right now. Consider giving the legislator who's working with you a call.

Imagine a future when government support of the charitable sector is cut in half. Even though some 35 percent of nonprofits indicated that government funding had increased this past year, 38 percent spoke of a decrease while 91 percent agreed with the statement, “federal cuts will cause significant problems for our organization as we seek to fund our mission.” These are among the results of a survey by the Bridgespan Group called “The View from the Cliff: Government-Funded Nonprofits Are Looking Out on Steep Cuts and an Uncertain Future.” Read more…

Mayor Pat Menna thinks that the tax exempt status of a quarter of his city's tax base is way too much. He'd like to see the New Jersey legislature allow municipalities like his to tax nonprofits that purchase any additional property above and beyond what they currently own-regardless of what they intend to do with the property. Read more…