Patti's Blog - Advocate for Elders, People with Disabilities and Their Families

Mayer: Nonprofits, Politics, and Privacy

Excerpt from TaxProf Blog: (click for entire article)

With the rapidly increasing flows of money into politics and accompanying calls for greater disclosure of the sources of those funds, the time is ripe for a deeper consideration of the policy concerns that underlie disclosure requirements and the related issue of privacy. One important aspect of this deeper consideration is recognizing that this particular area is at the intersection of three significantly different disclosure regimes. Those three regimes are (1) federal tax law generally, (2) federal tax law as it applies to tax-exempt nonprofit organizations, and (3) federal election law. These regimes are a study in contrasts. Federal tax law strongly protects taxpayer information from public disclosure. Federal tax exemption law strongly favors public disclosure of institutional information, but it is more ambivalent about public disclosure of information relating to individuals. Federal election law strongly favors public disclosure of all relevant financial information, including information relating to individuals. Understanding the reasons for these differences is important when determining whether disclosures at the intersection of the three regimes are appropriate and desirable. The other, related aspect of this deeper consideration is privacy. The concept of privacy is one that is instantly recognizable and yet theoretically, much less legally, hard to define. This difficulty stems in part from the many possible applications of the privacy concept. Fortunately for the purposes of this Article, the context here is fairly clear and narrow: the public disclosure of information relating to nonprofit organizations involved in politics and their supporters. Even in this narrow context, however, there are at least two competing approaches with respect to privacy. One approach takes a cost-benefit approach. It judges disclosure requirements based on their quantifiable costs and benefits, including among those costs the harm to privacy, however measured. The other, less frequently used approach is a right-to-privacy approach that considers privacy a fundamental right that can only be abridged if there is a relatively strong interest for doing so and then only to the extent required to further that interest.

Enjoy a meal with us & we'll GiveBack to UCP Detroit

Excerpt from UCP Detroit: (click for entire article)

Ruby Tuesday is extremely proud to be part of your hometown and believes in giving back.  As a fellow member of the community, we invite you to participate in...

Ruby Tuesday's Community GiveBack Program

Grab your family and friends and join us at the 31066 Twelve Mile Road location on May 3, 2012.

Annual Golf Outing & Silent Auction 18 Hole Scramble

May 12, 2012:

Annual Golf Outing & Silent Auction 18 Hole Scramble

ARC Services of Macomb, Inc.
Held at the beautiful Sycamore Hills Golf Club at 48787 North Avenue Macomb, MI. This course has 27 scenic and challenging holes. To register for the event, secure a tee sponsorship or make a donation please contact Luanne DeGueisippe at (586) 469-1600.

Deducting Charitable Contributions: Eight Essentials

Excerpt from IRS.gov: (click for entire article)

Donations made to qualified organizations may help reduce the amount of tax you pay.
The IRS has eight essential tips to help ensure your contributions pay off on your tax return.

1. If your goal is a legitimate tax deduction, then you must be giving to a qualified organization. Also, you cannot deduct contributions made to specific individuals, political organizations or candidates. See IRS Publication 526, Charitable Contributions, for rules on what constitutes a qualified organization.

2. To deduct a charitable contribution, you must file Form 1040 and itemize deductions on Schedule A. If your total deduction for all noncash contributions for the year is more than $500, you must complete and attach IRS Form 8283, Noncash Charitable Contributions, to your return.

3. If you receive a benefit because of your contribution such as merchandise, tickets to a ball game or other goods and services, then you can deduct only the amount that exceeds the fair market value of the benefit received.

From Young Adult Book Fans to Wizards of Change

Excerpt from The Opinion Pages: (click for entire article)

This week, Suzanne Collins’s “The Hunger Games” hits the big screen. As the latest wildly popular young adult (Y.A.) novel becomes a film franchise, it’s not just box office dollars that will be captured, but potentially nascent citizens.  At least that’s the goal of the social campaign called “Hunger Is Not a Game” which aims to connect fans to the global food justice movement.

“The Hunger Games” devotees have long congregated on sites like Mockingjay.net, Down with the Capitol, and the “Hunger Games” Fireside Chat podcast. Now Oxfam, with its long history focused on famine relief, has joined forces with a small, fan-focused group called Imagine Better to encourage the mostly young people who gather on these sites to sign Oxfam’s GROW pledge. Representatives will also circulate at midnight theatrical release parties on March 23 to ask people to sign, and encouraging them to tweet with the hashtag #notagame, in order to build a sense of global community.

Food prices in recent years have hit record highs, leading to riots worldwide. Oxfam’s pledge calls for simple reforms: create policies that encourage crops for food, not fuel, reform food aid procedures and support small farmers.

Fundraiser for Disability Rights, Supports and Services

From Bob Liston:

Dear Friends and Family,

It is once again Spring and time for the disability community to take to Washington, D.C. to fight for the rights of persons with disabilities and older persons to ensure that we are allowed to receive the supports and services we need to continue to live in our own home and not be forced into nursing homes. The older I get, the more real this issue is to me--and for those of you who know me, know that I went through rehab after my spinal cord injury in a nursing home and this was not a good experience (I swore I would never go back).

Congress continues to bicker about balancing the budget and it always seems to come down to where they can steal money from persons who are more vulnerable--poor, disabled, young and old. ADAPT continues its fight to make sure Congress and the Administration know how important these services are. We have made some progress, but the fight continues.

In order for ADAPT to continue to be a presence in Washington, D. C. we need to raise a lot of money. Once again, Marsha and I will be headed and will be taking part in the Fun Run Fundraiser on April 22 and I am asking for your support. If you click on the following link: http://adaptfunrun.org/runner.php?id=12 you can make a donation on my Fun Run Home Page. You can make the tax deductible donation right at that moment, or you will be billed later.

We are lucky this year to have Noah Wiley, actor from ER, The Librarian Series, Falling Skies, etc. to be our "celebrity runner" and hope this not only raises more money for the cause, but brings more attention to it.

In addition to making a donation yourself, please feel free to forward this to others who you may know that believe people have a right to live where they want and not be forced into institutions for lack of support. Thank you in advance for your support and if you happen to be in DC on April 22, please come by Upper Senate Park across from the Capitol.

Sincerely,

Bob Liston

ps  Again, go to http://adaptfunrun.org/runner.php?id=12 to make a tax deductible donation to ADAPT Montana and National ADAPT. If you can't click on the link, cut and paste into your browser and you should be able to get there.

Michigan Campaign for Quality Care raffle tickets

From Alison E. Hirschel:

Hi, all.  The Michigan Campaign for Quality Care is holding our annual raffle.  Tickets are $20.  First prize is $500 and second prize is $250 and only 100 tickets are sold.  The drawing will be May 19.   If you
would like to purchase tickets, please let me know!  The Campaign appreciates your support.

Thanks so much,
Alison

--
Alison E. Hirschel
Director, Michigan Elder Justice Initiative Elder Law Attorney, Michigan
hirschel@lsscm.org

Students Spend Spring Break Helping Others

Excerpt from NBC 10: (click for entire article)

Several students from the University of Georgia skipped the beach and decided to spend their Spring Break in the City of Brotherly Love for a worthy cause.

18 students from the school arrived on Sunday in the Hunting Park section of the city to spend a week as volunteers for the Arc of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Developmental Disabilities Corporation. The students will be working with local residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It’s the fourth year in a row that the University is sending students to Philadelphia. The Hunting Park group is one of 19 teams from the school spending their Spring Break helping others across the country.

“I love it, I work with special needs students at home,” said student Victoria Brickenden. “You’ve got to throw yourself into it and roll with everything.”

Meryl Streep Has Been Giving Away Millions in Secret for Years

Excerpt from Forbes: (click for entire article)

Yesterday’s big news: Meryl Streep and artist husband Don Gummer donated $20,000 to two schools, and fellow actor Viola Davis has been involved. It sounded very nice, and it was done before the Oscars. But a closer look reveals that the Gummers have quietly been giving away millions for the last several years without any fanfare. Their Silver Mountain Arts Foundation has donated close to $2 million to Vassar College alone in the last three years.

According to the foundation’s tax filing, Silver Mountain pays no salaries. It just gives and gives- t0 arts projects, health organizations, etc. The donations are in a range from $1000 to $1 million. It’s quite extraordinary and it’s been going on for years.  The Gummers are annual donors to the Opus School in Harlem, the setting of Meryl’s Oscar nominated performance in “Music of the Heart.”

2012 United Cerebral Palsy/Red Wing Alumni Charity Hockey Game

Excerpt from UCP of Detroit: (click for entire article)

Saturday, March 3rd Viking Arena, Hazel Park (view map)
Doors Open: 3:30pm
Silent Auction bidding opens 3:30pm
Sled Hockey: 4pm
Alumni Pre-Game: 5:45pm
Puck drops at 6pm