Nonprofit Tweets of the Week – 9/16/22 – Nonprofit Law Blog

Stay informed of the week’s notable events and shared resources with this curated list of Nonprofit Tweets of the Week.

Notable Events of the Week:

• “A Ukrainian counteroffensive that has sent Russian forces into a hasty retreat could mark a turning point in the war and raise pressure on Moscow to call up additional forces if it hopes to prevent further Ukrainian advances, U.S. and Western officials said Monday.” Washington Post
• ” Freight rail companies and unions representing tens of thousands of workers reached a tentative agreement to avoid what would have been an economically damaging strike, a relief for businesses and consumers and a win for President Biden, whose administration helped broker the deal.” NY Times
• “After one of the worst weeks for the stock market this year, investors are losing their nerve as the burst of optimism that accompanied a summer rally fades away.” NY Times

Top 10 Nonprofit Tweets:

• David Gelles: 🚨EXCLUSIVE: Yvon Chouinard, who founded the outdoor apparel maker Patagonia and became a reluctant billionaire with his unconventional spin on capitalism, has given away the company. All Patagonia’s profits will now be used to fight climate change.🧵 Billionaire No More: Patagonia Founder Gives Away the Company [Ed. An amazing gift from a man and company for which I have great respect, but there are tax costs, policy and equity issues, and problematic reporting as are partly noted in the next few tweets.]
• Ellen April: “Philanthropic” broader than “charitable,” but note that gift [by Chouinard] wasn’t to a 501(c)(3) charity but to a (c)(4) social welfare org. No income tax deduction. But the super rich with wealth far greater than income often do not care about income tax deduction. But estate tax risk here.
• Karl Mill: Huge hole here. Article [referenced in the two tweets above] says the donor did not receive a tax benefit. There’s no income tax deduction. BUT there’s prob $1B in estate tax savings because of gift tax exemption for gifts to c4. Not to mention no tax on future income received by c4.
• Philip Hacknet: Phillip Hackney: Blogged a little on Patagonia Billionaire Commits Company Stock to Trust/Nonprofit – I am bothered by the uncritical treatment provided by @nytimes in this situation.
• Karl Mill: If we don’t tax billionaires’ income during their life… And we don’t tax their assets when they move them to lobbying organizations… And if they plan right and there’s nothing in estate left to tax… When exactly are we collecting taxes from the people w/ all the money?
• BoardSource: Today’s nonprofits are making little progress in diversifying their boards, but are doing little to prioritize it in our board recruitment practices. In an effort to spark action, we present five questions for your board to contemplate.
• Eliza Shapiro: NEW: An NYT investigation has found that scores of Hasidic Jewish schools in New York are purposely denying some 50,000 students a basic secular education – and have received $1 billion in taxpayer dollars over the last 4 years. w/ @brianmrosenthal In Hasidic Enclaves, Failing Private Schools Flush With Public Money
• Linda Rosenthal: Nonprofits’ “What Not To Do” (1.4): The Gilgamesh Goof
• Gene: This East Bay city [Oakland, California] will be first to allow an Indigenous group the exclusive right to use city land SF Chronicle
• NY Times: The popular cryptocurrency platform Ethereum completed a long-awaited software upgrade known as the Merge, shifting to a more environmentally sustainable framework. Crypto’s Long-Awaited ‘Merge’ Reaches the Finish Line [Ed. This is a big deal: “By some estimates, Ethereum’s shift to proof of stake will reduce its energy consumption by more than 99 percent.”]

Racial Equity and Justice:

What’s Causing Black Flight? (Jerusalem Demsas, The Atlantic)

Opinion Breaking through the Rings of (White) Power (Karen Attain, Washington Post)

Asian American workers: Diverse outcomes and hidden challenges (McKinsey)

A Brief But Spectacular take on Indigenous cultures and struggles (PBS News Hour)

This East Bay city will be first to allow an Indigenous group the exclusive right to use city land (Sarah Ravani, San Francisco Chronicle)

If there are any attorneys or law students who identify as Black, Native Americans, or Pacific Islanders who are interested in nonprofit corporate and tax-exemption laws and who’d like to pursue this area of practice, I’m committing one hour each week to being a resource. Please contact me if I can be of service. 🙏

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