Welcome!

I'm using this space to think about how nonprofits need to reinvent themselves going forward. Why? Because it's too hard to do all the good work that they are doing now within the current "paradigm" of how a nonprofit is defined, how it is "supposed" to be done.



If you care about the fate of nonprofits - if you donate, if you are a member, if you work for one, or if you need their services - I hope that you'll let me know what you think. Share some of your own ideas, too.



Some of what you read may be quite different. But I think that it's time we all thought a little differently.



Thanks so much for stopping by!



Janet



Monday, June 20, 2011

De-listed as a Nonprofit by the IRS? No great loss...


It’s official – 275,000 organizations have been listed by the Internal Revenue Service as no longer tax-exempt because they did not file the required documents.  You can search on this list, thanks to the Chronicle of Philanthropy link.
I took a look at my hometown just to get a sense of the injustice.  To be honest, I can’t say I’m too appalled.  Of the 50 entities listed, the majority appear to have been set up in someone’s apartment or house for a cause they felt was worthy and then left relatively dormant over time. 
Don’t get me wrong - I have nothing against worthy causes set up by individuals.  I did so myself years ago.  However, if they aren’t going to be ongoing – if they aren’t aware enough to “keep up” with regulations like this – my feeling is they can’t be too concerned with their nonprofit status, so why should I be?
It appears that the larger, more “ongoing” concerns are NOT listed and still ok with the IRS.  So I'm not worried losing programs for children getting daycare or homeless shelters or food pantries. 
How can I be so callous and make such a blanket, value-laden statement?  Here are some of the names I came across:
  • Blue Knights Motorcycle Club
  • Boon Family Foundation Inc.
  • Independent Order of Odd Fellows
  • John & Mildred Wright Foundation
  • Quidditch Foundation, Inc.  
Now, I have nothing against motorcycle clubs, fans of Harry Potter, odd fellows who associate with one another, or family foundations.  I just think that if you set up one of these entities you have a responsibility to either keep it up or let it go.  The IRS has stated that they haven’t kept these up so - so now they have to re-do their efforts or let it go (with regard to their nonprofit status). 
Believe me, I’ve ranted about issues with the IRS changes previously – I have no love for their changes to the 990 (which I think have done nothing at all with regard to changing behavior).  However, in this case, I don’t think they’ve done much harm at all, except maybe to wake some sleepy people up.
What do you think?  
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