We’re watching state-level developments of interest to the nonprofit sector, particularly in California. 
First, in CA Nonprofit Legislative Update (April 5, 2022), the focus is on several bills under consideration in the halls of the Capitol building in Sacramento. Some have been “sponsored” or “supported” by the California Association of Nonprofits. And at least one controversial measure is being closely…

 
“The annual state budget is – next to the State Constitution – the most important document in California government.” 
That’s how Senate writers in Sacramento open the helpful 20-page PDF booklet titled The Budget Process: A Citizens’ Guide to Participation. And next in the Introduction, they remind us that if “… California were a nation,” it would rank…

 
It’s been a few months since our last look at what’s happening for California nonprofits at the state level. See California Legislative Opportunities In 2022 For The Nonprofit Sector (January 19, 2022).  
There are several bills of interest meandering through the state Senate and Assembly. And, once again this fiscal year, there is a huge budget surplus that our…

 
Recently, in The Delicate Dance of the Nonprofit Board and Staff (February 25, 2022), we posed the question: Why do some nonprofits that appear to the outside world to be “worthy and promising” nevertheless eventually “collapse on themselves and fail”? 
In more than a few situations, we explained, the two sides do not “know or understand their legally distinct…

While “cash is king” for charitable contributions, other forms of financial support are popular as well with donors and appreciated by 501(c)(3) organizations. 
But the record-keeping and reporting requirements for these gifts of goods and services are more cumbersome than for cash-only donations. 
About 18 months ago, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) published new rules prescribing how…

It’s been about two weeks since the U.S. Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022. See New Spending Act Falls Short Of Nonprofits’ Needs (March 16, 2022). 
The National Council of Nonprofits (NCN), which took the lead for our sector in advocating for critical financial relief – see #Relief4Charities – posted initial reaction on March 10th, the day that the…

 
The federal government’s fiscal year begins each October 1st. Legislators are expected to approve the funding for the next twelve months by September 30th. 
In recent years, though, members of Congress have routinely failed to meet that appropriations deadline. Instead, they fall back on a dizzying series of short bursts of emergency funding authorized by “continuing resolutions.” 
It happened…