Nonprofits by the Numbers

I must be desperate for a laugh if I chuckled at this:  last month, the Urban Institute, owner of the National Center on Charitable Statistics, came out with its annual report entitled, “The Nonprofit Sector in Brief 2014:  Public Charities, Giving and Volunteering.”  (This report on the sector is based on data from 2012.)  But it really isn’t about the nonprofit sector, as most of it focuses on public charities[1]—which, according to its own data, are two-thirds of all nonprofits.  So, the real title should Read more

Passing the Smell Test

 

What makes a nonprofit a nonprofit?  There are so many ways that people answer this question, most of which are incorrect.  There is, however, little argument that for many, it is the IRS 501(c)(3)designation is the determinant. Technically speaking, I’d agree:  IRS approval  is essential in  announcing yourself as a nonprofit.  But does that really make a nonprofit a nonprofit? I’d have to say no.  All it means is that you have passed the paper review by the IRS.  Theoretically, in Read more