Does your favorite charity have a written conflict of interest policy?
IRS Form 990 asks charities whether they have such a policy. While having one isn’t required by the Internal Revenue Code, the Form 990 question is a pretty strong suggestion that a charity have such a policy in place. We agree wholeheartedly with the suggestion.
The IRS has gone so far as to include a sample policy in Appendix A to Form 1023 (application for tax exemption). IRS Sample Conflicts Policy
We’ve also attached a sample policy we created Continue reading “Charity conflict of interest policy sample”
Is your charity or other nonprofit about to lose its tax-exemption? If it hasn’t been keeping up on filing its annual returns with the IRS, its tax-exemption is in jeopardy. Being “tax-exempt” basically means that a nonprofit doesn’t pay federal income taxes on income related to its core purpose.
The New York Times yesterday [...]
The IRS issued Tax Tip 2010-59 today, providing good reminders for donors about charities and other tax-exempt organizations. The reminders include public availability of IRS information returns and donor lists, finding organizations, sorting out where donations are deductible (or not deductible) as charitable contributions, and reporting of inappropriate activities by organizations.
Read the full [...]
A wealth of information is available from an charity’s most recent IRS information return (Form 990 or Form 990-EZ).
See the SeriousGivers.org Find a 990 page for a quick route to charity 990s and 990-EZs.
Happy searching!
The Internal Revenue Service has posted the 2009 Form 990 and Form 990-EZ (plus instructions and related schedules) on the IRS website. The instructions list changes from the 2008 forms. See our quick links below. In general, an organization must file Continue reading “IRS posts 2009 Form 990 and Form 990-EZ”
Answer: Few organizations provide ratings of charities, and their coverage is very limited (especially when you consider that there are more than 1 million charities operating in the U.S.). The two most prominent are:
CharityNavigator.org describes itself as “America’s Largest Charity Evaluator” and provides “star” ratings (0 to 4 stars) on roughly 5,400 larger [...]
2012 UPDATE: All versions of The Smarter Giving Guide are now out of print. The core concepts of the Guide have been incorporated into the free www.SeriousGivers.org website.
Charities publish an immense amount of data in their IRS Form 990 returns each year. The giver’s challenge has been to find and evaluate the key information tucked away in those returns. We’ve created a new guide to help givers meet that challenge.
The Smarter Giving Guide to Finding Key Charity Information helps you Continue reading “The Smarter Giving Guide to Finding Key Charity Information”
An IRS “990″ is an annual return to be filed by a charity or other organization that is exempt from Federal income taxes. There are four different IRS forms bearing a “990″ designation. Here’s a short guide to help you sort it out:
Form 990
In general, organizations exempt under Internal Revenue Code section 501, 527, and 4947, other than private foundations, must file their annual information return on Form 990 or Form 990-EZ.
Form 990-N
Organizations that normally have annual gross receipts of less than $25,000 are not required to file Form 990 or 990-EZ. These small organizations Continue reading “Sorting Out the IRS 990s”
Don’t donate to an organization that refuses to provide its Form 990 — it either doesn’t want your support or has something to hide. And in either case, it is likely breaking the law.
A wealth of information is available from an organization’s most recent IRS tax return (Form 990, for example). In addition to telling you a lot about how the organization spends the moneys entrusted to them, it will tell you about programs, people involved, cash reserves and debts.
Federal law requires tax-exempt organizations to make their Federal information (tax) returns publicly available. Continue reading “Red Light: They Won’t Give Me Their Form 990″
Use our free Charity Scout Report form to track your charity scouting work. A few tips about using the form: