Welcome to your daily briefing on nonprofit developments in California. Today we're covering 14 key stories including updates on california nonprofit headlines, california nonprofit updates, background & context. Let's dive in.
5 stories
The nonprofit digital preservation organization CLOCKSS appears on the State of California's official Registry of Charities and Fundraisers.
California nonprofit professionals can verify CLOCKSS's registration status when evaluating partnership or funding opportunities with the organization.
Check out the latest Foundation news, grant announcements, and media coverage. Press inquiries are welcome; contact information can be found here.
Relevant to nonprofit professionals operating in CA.
Blue Shield of California Foundation prioritizes grants for nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations whose mission aligns with its own.
California nonprofit professionals can assess whether their organization's mission and tax status match this funder's criteria before applying.
This checklist was developed by CalNonprofits in consultation with the California Attorney General’s Office and the CA Franchise Tax Board. Although we make every effort to identify errors and fix broken links, please help us keep….
Relevant to nonprofit professionals operating in CA.
The California Attorney General's Registry publishes downloadable CSV lists of charitable organizations and their registration compliance status, updated on the first and third Wednesday of each month.
Nonprofit professionals can verify their organization's Registry Status and monitor compliance requirements to maintain good standing in California.
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6 stories
The California Attorney General regulates charities and professional fundraisers to safeguard charitable assets and prevent misuse of donations.
Nonprofit professionals in CA operate under this regulatory framework, which directly affects compliance obligations and fundraising practices.
The California State Library's California Grants Portal serves as a single destination to find all competitive and first-come grants and loans offered by California state agencies.
Nonprofit professionals in CA can save time searching for funding by using this centralized resource rather than navigating multiple agency websites.
The California Department of Justice Office of the Attorney General operates the Registry of Charitable Trusts, which provides public access to files on active charitable organizations, supervises charities and commercial fundraisers, and offers online searchable registration and financial reporting information.
Nonprofit professionals in CA can use this registry to verify their organization's compliance status, access Form 990 filings, and ensure proper registration—critical for maintaining legal standing and public trust.
The Blue Shield of California Foundation lists the California Community Foundation as one of its grantees on its website.
For CA nonprofit professionals, this highlights a potential funding relationship worth noting between two major philanthropic entities in the state.
California's Attorney General regulates charities, professional fundraisers, and entities that hold charitable assets through the Registry of Charitable Trusts.
Nonprofit professionals in CA must understand this oversight framework to ensure compliance with state registration and reporting requirements.
The CA Attorney General's Office has published definitions of searchable fields and Registry-specific terms for using the Registry Search Tool or downloading lists from the Registry Reports page, including guidance on searching by State Charity Registration Numbers.
For CA nonprofit professionals, accurate Registry searches are essential to verify registration status, maintain compliance, and access correct filing information—particularly given the specific formatting requirements for older six-digit numbers and newer 'CT'-prefixed IDs.
3 stories
The streamlined Form 1023-EZ is available only to organizations meeting specific limits on projected revenue, assets, and activity types. Filing 1023-EZ when ineligible produces a determination that is technically valid but vulnerable to retroactive revocation if discovered. The full 1023 is harder to file but harder to challenge.
Loss of exemption is retroactive to the original determination, exposing the organization to back-tax liability. The eligibility checklist is the only protection.
Donor-restricted gifts must be tracked separately and used only for the restricted purpose; using them for general operations — even with intent to "pay back" later — is a fiduciary breach and an audit finding. The most-common fact pattern: cash-flow shortage in operations, restricted-grant balance available, transfer "borrowed" with no formal repayment plan.
State attorneys general have authority over restricted-gift compliance and have pursued individual board members and executives. Auditors are required to disclose restricted-fund violations in the management letter.
The IRS-recommended COI policy requires (1) annual disclosure by all directors and key employees, (2) a process for review of any disclosed conflict, (3) recusal procedures, and (4) documentation in board minutes. Policies that have only the disclosure form without the review and recusal process do not satisfy the recommendation.
A weak COI policy is a Schedule L disclosure waiting to happen, and Schedule L disclosures correlate with future IRS examination selection.
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