As donors and Democratic activists meet with President Obama surrogates today and tomorrow to discuss the launch of a political nonprofit group that will help advance president's agenda, new details have emerged about it. But not the list of high rollers who have been asked to pay $50,000 to dine tonight with the president.
Continue readingControversial Arizona nonprofit drops $1 million against Obama
In the past week, a GOP-led dark money group from Arizona that had barely spent any money on federal races has dropped more than $1.2 million to oppose President Barack Obama, as well as $60,000 to oppose Utah’s only House Democrat, Jim Matheson.
The nonprofit group, Americans for Responsible Leadership (ARL), organized as a 501(c)4 under the tax code, does not have to disclose its donors under federal law. However, it may be compelled to do so because of a strikingly large $11 million donation to a political organization in California. The state’s Fair ...
Continue readingTools for Transparency: Setting up AdWords, Analytics & Webmaster Toolkit
Google’s nonprofit program offers a variety of services your organization can leverage to the benefit of your community. If you... View Article
Continue readingLobbyists pay millions to honor Congress, executive branch
Last year, four of the country’s biggest military contractors paid $100,000 or more to become top sponsors of a black tie charity gala that honored the influential former chair of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo.
In exchange for that gift, some of the company's top executives were placed at Skelton's table and all were given the chance to address the V.I.P. crowd that included many top military officials. The event benefited a charity for families of fallen soldiers.
This kind of lavish corporate spending on galas bestowing awards on executive ...
Continue readingSome lobbyists’ gifts to lawmakers’ pet causes remain in the dark
In the past two years, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America have donated tens of thousands of dollars to a Florida nonprofit where congresswoman Corrine Brown, D-Fla., serves on the board of directors. Yet JPMorgan disclosed this contribution in a lobbying report while Bank of America did not.
There is nothing illegal about the bank’s non-reporting, experts and the megabank say. That’s because disclosure of Bank of America’s gifts—since they came from the bank’s charitable foundation—are not mandated under a law that requires all lobbying entities to report their honorary contributions to the secretary ...
Continue readingGraphic: Lobbyists’ Honorary Gifts to Federal Officials
Companies and organizations can donate an unlimited amount of money to honor officials, sponsor their conferences, and donate to their pet charities, so long as these donations are reported to the Senate. The Sunlight Foundation analyzed these filings from 2009 and 2010 and found about $50 million in honorary gifts and meeting costs. These donations can all be viewed in the interactive display below by company making the donation or by official being honored.
Viewers can filter the data by the type of honoree (executive branch officials and members of Congress, for example) and can further narrow the display to ...
Continue readingLawmakers neglect to report ties to nonprofits
Two members of Congress left some information in the dark when filling out their personal financial disclosure forms, which were made public last week.
According to ethics rules, if a member of Congress sits on the board of directors at a nonprofit, he or she is supposed to disclose the position. But at least two representatives—Corrine Brown, D-Fla., and Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla.—have failed to do so. The lawmakers' positions were discovered while researching lobbying reports, where lobbyists report honorary gifts to charities tied to members of Congress. There could be many more members of Congress making the same ...
Continue readingWhy don’t lawmakers disclose nonprofits and charities they are affiliated with?
Last year the New York Times ran an article on the corporate donations to charities associated with members of Congress.... View Article
Continue readingSearch new Subsidyscope database on federal aid to nonprofits
In fiscal year 2008, the federal government gave $38 billion in grants to nonprofit entities and spent $10 billion on non-competed contracts with nonprofits. Billions were also taken in tax expenditures benefiting nonprofits, representing foregone revenues of $50 billion in 2008.
Excluding contracts, that means that the average U.S. household spent $430 a year on programs to nonprofit entities such as universities, hospitals and charities in 2008.
Loans and loan guarantees made by the government, known as risk transfers, also represent a subsidy. In 2008, the federal government lent at more than $7 billion to ... Continue reading
Another Politician Abusing a Nonprofit:
Nonprofits have become a new vehicle for corporations and lobbyists to influence politicians and for politicians to skirt transparency in the election system. Florida Governor Jeb Bush (R) is revving up his nonprofit to do both:(Read More...)
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