We write to share with you a letter from Chairman Grassley that expresses appreciation to the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector and the thousands of organizations that it convened for their work to improve the transparency, governance, and accountability of the charitable sector. It is indeed an honor for Independent Sector to receive this letter. We share our thanks with so many around the country who have labored long and hard with us to pass the Pension Protection Act of 2006 that provides charitable giving incentives and safeguard measures intended to strengthen the charitable sector.

But there is much more to do. Independent Sector is committed and working assiduously to pursue regulations and corrections to the new law where the provisions are incongruent with the recommendations made by the Panel. We are asking Chairman Grassley and the Treasury Department for immediate relief for private foundations, sponsors of donor-advised funds and supporting organizations that are experiencing difficulty in complying with some of the new law’s provisions, and we are urging that the restrictions placed on supporting organizations be focused only on those that are formed as Type III supporting organizations. We are sending a letter to the Treasury Department, following up with Congressional and IRS staff to address the provisions that are causing concern, and pursuing the option of officially delaying enforcement of these troublesome provisions.

We are hopeful that our work to clarify and modify the onerous unintended consequences of the law will produce even stronger outcomes for our field.

###

The Panel on the Nonprofit Sector is an independent panel of 24 leaders from a wide range of the country's public charities and private foundations. Convened by Independent Sector at the encouragement of the leadership of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, the Panel has worked since October 2004 to develop recommendations to improve the governance, ethical conduct, and oversight of nonprofit organizations. A Citizens Advisory Group, an Expert Advisory Group, and five specialized Work Groups assisted the Panel, which also invited input from charities and foundations of all sizes serving diverse missions and geographic locations. The Panel released a major report in June 2005 and plans to make further recommendations on self-regulation and financial reporting. Its current work is being assisted by an Advisory Committee on Self-Regulation of the Charitable Sector and advisory committees on financial reports.