Question

Yes, it needs to be written in essay format. During the final week of the course, you will submit a paper that will be written as if you were making recommendations to a member of Congress. Imagine that the United States Congress was considering sweeping legislation that would provide intensive regulation of nonprofit fundraising, including the imposition of more filing requirements to the Internal Revenue Service for nonprofits, as well as more active obligations on the part of nonprofit leaders to explain in detail their fundraising strategies, marketing, and fundraising efforts. Imagine also that such legislation would provide greater public oversight of the nonprofit fundraising process, but would also burden nonprofits with significant paperwork and accountability requirements. In your paper, discuss your views on whether or not the federal government should play a much larger role in regulating nonprofits and especially how nonprofits identify donors, collect funds, and spend fundraising dollars. Remember that there are only forty states that have state regulations while ten states have no state regulations at all. For example, there was a significant controversy after 9/11 regarding the American Red Cross because they collected fundraising monies and did not use those funds for the victims of 9/11 -- they instead diverted those funds to other projects of the Red Cross. Here are four questions to help frame your discussion. • Do you believe that government has a strong role to play in the regulation of nonprofit fundraising? • Do you think that states should play a role in regulating nonprofit fundraising? • Should there be a Sarbanes-Oxley-type legislation regarding nonprofit fundraising? • If so, what values should guide politicians as they attempt to set up regulatory systems to ensure that nonprofit fundraising is done in an ethical fashion? Would stronger regulation of nonprofits have a chilling effect by decreasing contributions to nonprofits and diminishing the willingness of individuals to create nonprofits to address serious public crises and controversies? It needs to be in essay-type format.

Answer 1

Fundraising is a good job aimed to address serious public crises but in order to make it sure that the money is only invested for public good and for the cause it has been raised for. So as to bring the conformity of the non-profit fundraising there is a great deal of role to be played by the government by introducing a balanced legislation. It will be a good way to introduce Sarbanes-Oxley-type legislation regarding non-profit fundraising so as to check frauds, scandals and misappropriation of the funds.

                 Taking into cognizance the imperative need for the legislation the government should keep in mind that regulations made must be aimed to end or to keep in check transparency and effectiveness of the fundraising without any bias but on the other hand the regulations should not hinder the process of non-profit fundraising which acts as a source to manage address the serious public disorders. Last but not the least strong regulation of non-profits should not have a chilling effect by decreasing contributions to non-profits and diminishing the willingness of individuals to create non-profits if the concern is for national interest or general good and if the regulations are not balanced and reasonable.