Tax Policy and Advocacy Experts Symposium
April 14-15, 2011
Read the Meeting Summary (PDF)
(Members Only)
On April 14 and 15, 2011 Independent Sector convened a meeting of expert advisors to examine two serious policy issues: the tax status of public benefit enterprises engaged in profit-making activities; and obstacles to engagement in effective advocacy efforts by the nonprofit and philanthropic community.
Building on successful gatherings on these issues held at
the Aspen Institute, the National Center on Philanthropy and the Law, the Urban
Institute, and the Hauser Center, the group of experts were asked help
us review the current research on these issues, identify gaps where further
research is necessary, and advise Independent Sector on possible solutions and
alternatives to address issues raised by the new “hybrid” enterprises and to facilitate
greater support for and engagement in nonpartisan advocacy efforts by public charities
and private foundations.
Defining the Landscape of the Emergence of the Hybrid Organization:
Read about what the experts had to say regarding:
a. The “blurring of the lines” between nonprofit and for-profit organizations.
b. Appropriate standards for COOPs formed pursuant to health care reform
c. Proposals to create a new “for-benefit” or similar corporate form in the federal tax code.
Read about what the experts had to say regarding:
a. The legal and cultural barriers to nonprofit lobbying and what might be done to remove or diminish these.
b. The ways in which the lobbying definitions could be improved through better clarity, predictability, and consistency.
c. Whether private foundations should be able to engage in the same kind of lobbying as charitable nonprofits.
