The headlines in 2012 were all about looking to the future.
While there were some stories with immediate consequences, the effects of most of the headlines will only rear their heads in 2013 (at the earliest). Change in the wind? Yes. On the ground, not so much.
So what’s in store for Israel’s global nonprofit sector? The following are nine of the top news stories of 2012 and their significance:
I was dismayed when I heard that some American (and European) Foundations are requiring amutot [Israeli nonprofit organizations] to have the Se’if [Paragraph] 46a status, which declares donations to a charity to be tax-deductible.
This latest phenomenon demonstrates a lack of understanding of the intricacies of international nonprofit regulations and makes it harder for worthy Israeli charities to raise money abroad.
Online donations are rising every year, becoming an increasingly important fundraising tool for nonprofit organizations. To facilitate the growing demand and varied needs of charities, the number of online donation processors has been expanding accordingly.
As a result, charities have expressed their difficulty in sorting through the nuances and assorted extras to find the online solution(s) that’s right for them.
Which was why I was thrilled to co-produce an event early in July that hosted representatives from the leading Online Donation Processors here in Israel (and the world); including Paypal Israel, IsraelGives, Taramta, Give2Gether, and Tranzilla.
So which donation processor is right for you? Well, naturally, it depends on the particular fundraising-priorities for your organization.
The Hebrew word amutah, referring to a charity in Israel, is used both correctly and incorrectly to describe just about any nonprofit organization registered in the country. But wait, it get’s more confusing. Not all charities are charities, sometimes they’re companies. And sometimes a charity isn’t tax-exempt while a company might be.
Confused? Don’t worry. In this post I’ll cover the various terms and statuses available to Israeli charities — along with links to government websites — that will help you find the answer to the bottom-line question burning in your mind: Is this organization worthy of my donation?
A recent New York Times’ article attacked American charities that help build communities in Israel’s West Bank and IRS policy that enables donations to these organizations to be tax-deductable. As with any piece about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, many people have been quick to attack or defend the veracity of the article.
To nonprofit organizations, the value of the article is not the accuracy of the authors’ claims, but rather the article’s insight into current concerns and trends influencing the nonprofit sector. These can serve as warnings and guidelines to US charities that operate internationally.
International organizations have been highly successful in raising funds from the United States through U.S. based charities commonly referred to as “Friends of” organizations. These charities are registered in the States and have 501(c)3 tax-exempt status and, thus, allowing these donations to these essentially foreign organizations to be tax-deductible.
As you can imagine, many international causes consider a “Friends of” organization as a crucial step in their fundraising strategy.
Hence, recent conversations I have had are causing me to worry.