NPAction Update
Vol 2, Issue 2
1/20/2004

Welcome to this week's edition of the NPAction Update.

You are receiving this newsletter as requested during your registration with NPAction.org. To change subscription options, see the end of this message.


In this issue:

*What's New*
*Current Poll*
*Featured Article*
*Featured Resource Links*
*Featured Forums*



*What's New*

The National Council of Nonprofit Associations and their state association members invite you to participate in a survey on nonprofit issues. The responses to the survey will be used to develop "Nonprofit Agenda: A Blueprint for Action" which will be presented to decision makers at the national and state level.

"Creating a National Nonprofit Agenda"
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=19617317137


IRS Issues Guidelines for Tax-Exempt Groups Engaged in Public Advocacy

The IRS has issued guidelines on advocacy in an election year. The guidance, in Revenue Ruling 2004-6, focuses on those nonprofits permitted to take sides in an election and lists the facts and circumstances the IRS believes distinguish genuine issue advocacy from partisan electioneering.

IRS Guidelines
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=118896,00.html


From now until February 4, 2004, OMB Watch is hosting an online survey for nonprofits around the consequences of federal and state budget cuts as part of a long-term campaign to articulate what the sector is for, an not simply what it is against. Survey findings will be summarized and circulated widely after the closing date. For questions or comments, contact OMB Watch's Ellen Taylor or John Irons.

"What We Stand For on Tax and Budget Issues"
http://www.ombwatch.org/survey/index.phtml


*Current Poll*

Take a moment to participate in the biweekly NPAction Poll, continuously displayed on the right side of the website. The current poll concerns whether organizations provide advocacy trainings to other groups, so stop by and vote today (but don't try to vote twice!).

Maybe you have a question you've wanted to ask other nonprofits, but couldn't figure out how. Now here's your chance. Send your idea for a poll to npaction@npaction.org .

Past Poll Results
http://www.npaction.org/article/archive/207



*Featured Article*

Sure you know the US Supreme Court, but what about the Circuit Courts, or the Judicial Conference of the United States? And what's the difference between all of them anyways? This issue's featured article is a tutorial on the federal judiciary system.

"U.S. Federal Courts System"
http://www.npaction.org/article/articleview/106/1/159/

Remember that you can rate and comment on most NPAction articles by clicking the "New Comment" button at the end of an article.



*Featured Resource Links*

The NPAction Resource Links Directory is a human-edited compendium of tools and references, contributed by nonprofits for nonprofits.

This issue's links can be found in the Nonprofit Reference section of NPAction's resource links. The first comes to us from the American Bar Association and is a downloadable book designed to give those associated with smaller nonprofits a basic overview of the various laws and financial responsibilities that they are confronted with.

"The Tax Exempt Tool Kit"
http://www.abanet.org/tax/pubs/tetk.html


The second resource link comes to us from the Utica chapter of United Cerebral Palsy. This link is a good set of internet resources on various topics of interest to nonprofits, covering areas from boards and leadership to planned giving and donor research.

"Internet Resources for Nonprofits"
http://www.ucp-utica.org/uwlinks/directory.html


More Nonprofit Reference Links
http://www.npaction.org/link/category/268/

Suggest a Resource Link
http://www.npaction.org/link/suggestlink



*Featured Forums*

In this issue, we'd like to invite you to participate in two forums. The first is the User Forum, where NPAction's members can post questions, ideas, or opinions, and see what others in the nonprofit community think.

User Forum
http://www.npaction.org/forum/messagelist/230/


The second is our "Hey, You Asked" forum, where users can post questions on advocacy-related topics, and get answers from a group of experts in the field. Responses are posted in the forum, and are also featured in the Update.

"Hey, You Asked"
http://www.npaction.org/forum/forumlist/10/


NPAction Forums
http://www.npaction.org/forum/categorylist



*"Steal This Code": Put NPAction on Your Site*

NPAction invites organizations to share our tools on their websites. Choose a logo that best meets your needs, whether you want to link to our site, incorporate our search engine with results from a range of nonprofit sources, add the ability to connect to federal lawmakers and national media, or state-level policymakers and media. Just copy the HTML code from our site, and you're ready to go (but when you steal the code, just let us know!).

"Steal the Code" today
http://www.npaction.org/article/archive/208


*NPAction Update Archives*
http://www.npaction.org/article/archive/210/


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If you do not wish to receive this notice, please login to your subscription at:
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NPAction, an online resource hosted by OMB Watch, provides access to tools and information for nonprofit advocacy from a wide range of organizational partners and sources in order to encourage greater participation by nonprofits in the policy arena. Funding for this project was provided by Atlantic Philanthropies, the Ford Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and the Surdna Foundation.


For more information, contact:

NPAction
1742 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.,
Washington DC 20009
(202) 234-8494
E-mail: npaction@npaction.org
Web: www.npaction.org

(c) 2004 NPAction