CR should take a vacation, announcing that gratifying and rare activity like so many other online publications, but that somehow never happens here. Our substitute version is a “where’s Rick” round-up of our writings for other publications plus some notes regarding CR-topics getting coverage in the nonprofit and mainstream press.
Here are some small items:
In the 9/1/08 NonProfit Times web exclusive, we have a piece on the current Congressional debates over allowing volunteers who drive their own cars to deduct a reasonable mileage charge from their taxes: “So Much to Do, So Little Inclination.” This NPT article raises issues covered in the 8/25/08 Cohen Report, “Nickel-and-Diming Volunteer Drivers: Time for a Change,” except that it compares the vigorous nonprofit sector leadership fighting for the IRA charitable rollover (benefiting primarily, larger, well-heeled nonprofits like universities) and the lackluster response of the nonprofit infrastructure until recently around the charitable mileage deduction.
NCNA’s new leadership has impressively stepped up the pressure on the charitable mileage deduction, but Congress is heading in multiple directions, not necessarily leading to a pre-election decision. Let’s hope something happens—positively.
In the 9/1/08 print edition of the NonProfit Times, we have an op-ed titled, “History as a Teacher: What Obama Can Learn from the Bush Faith-Based Program.” We suggested that while the Bush Administration’s program was pretty horrendous, there were legitimate TA intermediaries in the mix that might have some lessons for the potentially incoming Obama administration.
In case you missed our contribution to the 8/1/08 NonProfit Times web exclusive, “Recession-Fighting Ideas for Philanthropy,” we suggest that the capital controlled by foundations might be usefully deployed to address the problems of the American economy—modeling programs, supporting organizing and advocacy, focusing on the economic issues and challenges of working people and the nonprofits that serve and represent them.
The London-based Alliance magazine is one of the nonprofit sector’s best reads. In the September issue, we published “Watchdog or Lapdog?” outlining the functions of a philanthropic watchdog organization, based on some of the history of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy.
And just a note: earlier this year, CR addressed the problems faced by whistleblowers in the nonprofit sector (“Whistle-blowing by the Numbers” and “Does the Law Protect Whistleblowers?”). Worth noting is an article in the September 4th Wall Street Journal, “Whistleblowers are Left Dangling” (WSJ subscription required), which noted that the Department of Labor, which under Sarbanes-Oxley has the responsibility of protecting corporate whistleblowers, “… has ruled in favor of whistleblowers 17 times out of 1,273 complaints filed since 2002, according to department records.” And CR thought its take on whistleblower protections was harsh!
