Weekly Must-Reads: April 26

A list of the essential articles that I posted to Twitter from April 11 – April 24, 2010.  This week’s topics include: Strategy & Governance; IRS Trends; Social Media & Fundraising; Jewish Nonprofits; Israel Economy & Finance; and Potpourri.

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Are “American Friends of” Organizations a Thing of the Past?

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, allowing donations to these essentially foreign organizations to be tax-deductible.

As you can imagine, many charities registered outside of the United States consider an “American Friends of” organization as a vital part of their fundraising strategy.

Jewish causes, especially those based in Israel, are no exception to this rule. A recent report compiled by Dr. Nissan Limor estimated that foreign donations to Israeli charities from sources outside of Israel stood at 2.165 billion dollars in 2007, with much of that coming from the United States (although, he didn’t stipulate how much). There are about 1,000 new Israeli charities [amutot] created every year and it would hold that many of these organizations will seek to create an “American Friends of” supporting charity.

Hence, recent conversations I have had are causing me to worry.

Weekly Must-Reads: April 11

A list of the essential articles I posted to Twitter from March 14 – April 10, 2010.  This week’s topics include: Nonprofit Strategy & Governance; Social Media & Fundraising; Jewish Nonprofit World; Economy & Finance; and Potpourri.