Year-End Nonprofit News Roundup

Here’s an update on some key nonprofit issues I have written about in the past year. 

There’s bad news…

Child Detention Centers: New government data shows that an unprecedented 69,550 migrant children were held in government custody over the past year. That's more than in any other country, despite the U.S. government's acknowledgement this puts children at risk of long-term physical and emotional damage. And even after Congress approved a $4.5 billion border aid package, many children continue to sleep in cold cells without proper clothing or food.

Abortion Rights: The Trump Administration established new rules stipulating that recipients of federal funding cannot refer patients to abortion providers. This effectively defunded Planned Parenthood, while making a huge pot of $60 million a year suddenly available to the anti-abortion movement's so-called crisis pregnancy centers. These centers mislead women, provide limited services, and essentially exist to coerce pregnant women into carrying pregnancies to term. In addition, most are supported by religious institutions that also oppose the use of contraceptives as a matter of “staying true to the standards set forth in the Bible for sexual behavior.”

And this...

National Rifle Association: So many scandals have emerged in regard to the NRA that it’s hard to know where to start. First there were revelations that CEO Wayne LaPierre spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on clothing and travel, and that the organization considered buying him a multimillion-dollar estate. Marion Hammer, a past NRA Board  president and current ED of an NRA affiliate, took out below-market value loans to refinance and purchase homes, which likely violate IRS guidelines. And eighteen board members received thousands of dollars from the NRA in the past three years for various services. According to nonprofit tax attorney Daniel Kurtz, "Most groups lean on board members to give money, not for board members to get money." The NRA currently faces several investigations including one into its finances by New York’s attorney general, and a congressional probe into its potential ties to Russia. 

And my absolutely favorite good news...

Trump Foundation: I am thrilled to report that The Trump Foundation is no more, per final decisions in the New York court case. The Foundation was ordered to pay $2 million in damages for misuse of funds - a remarkable and unprecedented rebuke to a sitting president. This money, along with the remaining $1.8 million left in foundation funds, has been split between eight charities: Army Emergency Fund, Children’s Aid Society, Citymeals-on-Wheels, Martha’s Table, United Negro College Fund, United Way of National Capital Area, U.S. Holocaust Museum, and Give An Hour. And Trump has agreed to special supervision if he ever returns to charity work in New York. According to Attorney General Letitia James, “My office will continue to fight for accountability because no one is above the law – not a businessman, not a candidate for office, and not even the president of the United States.”

Wishing you all a happy holiday season, and hoping for a better year for the country in 2020.