Welcome to your daily briefing on nonprofit developments in California. Today we're covering 7 key stories including updates on california nonprofit headlines, background & context. Let's dive in.
4 stories
The foundation's newsroom features recent grant announcements, media coverage, and press contact information.
CA nonprofit professionals can track funding opportunities and partnership possibilities with a major statewide health foundation.
CalNonprofits developed a nonprofit compliance checklist in consultation with the California Attorney General's Office and the CA Franchise Tax Board, available as a downloadable PDF with an accompanying video.
This resource helps California nonprofit professionals navigate state-specific compliance requirements with guidance from key regulatory agencies.
The California Department of Justice Office of the Attorney General operates the Registry of Charitable Trusts, which supervises charities and commercial fundraisers by providing online searchable registration data, financial report access, and guidance on Form 990 interpretation.
Nonprofit professionals in CA can use this registry to confirm their organization's compliance status, research peer organizations, and ensure annual reporting obligations are met to maintain good standing.
California's Attorney General regulates charities, professional fundraisers who solicit on their behalf, and entities that hold charitable assets through the Registry of Charitable Trusts.
Nonprofit professionals in CA must understand this oversight framework to ensure proper registration and compliance with state charitable regulations.
Reach professionals in this market
3 stories
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.
Form 990 is required to be made public by the filing organization on request and is indexed by ProPublica and others within weeks of filing. Sections most boards underestimate: Schedule J (top-staff compensation), Schedule L (transactions with interested persons), and Schedule O (narrative explanations that "soften" other answers). Donors and reporters read these.
Items that read fine in management's narrative often read very differently in print. Pre-filing review by a non-finance board member catches optics issues that a CFO will not.
Most states require charities soliciting donations from their residents to register before solicitation, regardless of where the charity is based. "Solicitation" includes web fundraising pages accessible to residents, not just direct mail. Compliance gaps surface during state attorney-general inquiries or unrelated litigation discovery.
Penalties range from civil fines to suspension of solicitation rights in the state. Larger consequences include negative coverage in donor research databases that fund foundation grants.
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