Civil rights advocates are urging Americans to pressure members of the House of Representatives to vote against legislation enabling the incoming Trump administration to selectively target nonprofit organizations it considers ideological and political enemies. “In a clear reaction to pro-Palestine…
What good is a law that’s not enforced?
If your pastor were to stand in the pulpit this Sunday and explicitly tell you to vote for either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris for president, would your church be in legal jeopardy? Technically, yes. Realistically, no. The potential peril…
The ripple effect of giving
When I was little, there was a tiny creek in our neighborhood. My sister and I would sometimes sneak away to toss rocks into the water, captivated by how big or small of a splash we could make. What I…
CitySquare: An emerging case study in how to wind down a nonprofit and keep its work alive
It’s not every day a successful, well-known and respected nonprofit saves itself by winding down operations, but that is exactly what CitySquare is doing in Dallas. Faced with lagging donations and substantial debt, the nonprofit that serves the city’s homeless…
ECFA study finds pandemic hit church finances harder than for other nonprofit ministries
Individual evangelical churches struggled financially much more during the COVID-19 pandemic than other kinds of ministries and nonprofits, leaders of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability revealed in a webinar hosted to unpack ECFA’s “2022 State of Giving” report. “Unfortunately,…
Can you guess the largest Christian ministries in America by annual revenue?
What would you guess are the largest Christian ministries in America by total annual revenue? If you guessed an institution of higher education, you might be right. The No. 1, 2 and 3 spots on the list are occupied by…
40 Congressmen urge IRS to reconsider classification of Family Research Council as a ‘church’
Congressional Democrats are challenging the Internal Revenue Service’s recent ruling that the Family Research Council — a far-right advocacy group labeled a “hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center — may be classified as a “church” and therefore not…
Does the Johnson Amendment have any teeth left?
Donald Trump failed to “totally destroy” the Johnson Amendment as he promised evangelical Christian supporters, but a current case may demonstrate whether the no-politicking policy for tax-exempt organizations has any teeth left. The Johnson Amendment is a 1954 law that…
’Tis the season for Advent devotionals and nonprofit fundraising
Advent devotionals are proliferating as ministries and faith-based nonprofits seek to connect the dots between the spirit of the season and their organizations’ missions and the plight of those in need. Many churches produce their own Advent devotional guides, but…