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| Council of Nonprofits | |
|---|---|
| Name | Council of Nonprofits |
| Type | Nonprofit association |
| Founded | 2000s |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Region served | United States |
Council of Nonprofits
The Council of Nonprofits is a national association that provides support to charitable organizations, collaboratives, and philanthropic intermediaries across the United States. It operates as an umbrella organization offering training, research, and advocacy for nonprofits, nonprofit leaders, and nonprofit boards. The organization engages with a wide range of partners, members, and policy actors to influence public policy, build capacity, and disseminate best practices.
The organization was established amid a wave of sector-focused consolidation and service expansion in the early 21st century, contemporaneous with initiatives by AmeriCorps, Independent Sector, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and regional associations such as National Council of Nonprofits (state association network). Its development paralleled major nonprofit-sector debates involving Internal Revenue Service, United States Congress, Charitable Solicitation Regulation, Tax Reform Act, and litigation contexts like cases brought before the United States Supreme Court and federal appellate courts. Early programmatic growth coincided with philanthropic responses to events such as the Hurricane Katrina recovery, the Great Recession, and pandemic-era relief efforts coordinated with agencies such as the Small Business Administration and foundations like the Gates Foundation.
Governance draws on models used by national associations including the American Civil Liberties Union, American Red Cross, United Way, and the National Council of Nonprofits (state association network), with a board of directors, executive leadership, and advisory committees. The organization adopts bylaws and governance practices informed by standards promoted by Council on Foundations, Independent Sector, National Council of Nonprofits (state association network), and legal opinions from the Internal Revenue Service and state charity regulators. It interacts with state attorney general offices, state charitable registration divisions, and national accreditation organizations that influence fiduciary oversight and nonprofit corporate governance, comparable to frameworks employed by National Association of State Charity Officials and the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance.
Programs include professional development, technical assistance, legal helplines, and research reports similar to offerings by the Urban Institute, Brookings Institution, and Nonprofit Quarterly. Services target nonprofit executives, boards, and staff and include webinars, toolkits, and resources modeled after curricula from Harvard Kennedy School, Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, and Yale School of Management. The organization produces guidance on compliance with statutes such as the Internal Revenue Code provisions for 501(c)(3) status, filings like Form 990, and practices addressing disaster response coordination exemplified by partnerships with FEMA and local response networks. Capacity-building initiatives mirror collaborations seen between Foundation Center and state-level consortia.
Advocacy activities encompass federal and state-level engagement with lawmakers, regulatory agencies, and coalitions including Independent Sector, Council on Foundations, and state association networks. Policy priorities often involve tax policy affecting charitable deductions, regulatory relief during emergencies (as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic), and protections for civic space that intersect with cases before the United States Supreme Court and actions by the Internal Revenue Service. The organization contributes to amicus briefs, comment letters to agencies like the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Labor, and participates in coalitions alongside organizations such as AARP, American Civil Liberties Union, and civil society networks.
Membership comprises a mix of local community foundations, national service providers, social welfare organizations, and grantmaking entities akin to members of the Council on Foundations, Community Foundations USA, and state nonprofit associations. Affiliations extend to research institutions like the Urban Institute, advocacy groups such as Independent Sector, and international actors including the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies insofar as cross-border disaster philanthropy is concerned. The membership model includes dues-paying affiliates, pro bono partners from law firms, and collaborative arrangements with networks like United Way Worldwide and state-level nonprofit associations.
Revenue streams reflect a combination of membership dues, grants from foundations such as the Ford Foundation and Gates Foundation, fee-for-service contracts, and philanthropic contributions modeled after typical nonprofit funding mixes described by the Charity Commission and research from the Urban Institute. Financial oversight employs accounting practices consistent with standards from the Financial Accounting Standards Board and nonprofit audit requirements familiar to entities regulated by state attorneys general and the Internal Revenue Service. Public financial disclosures align with practices for organizations filing Form 990 and subject to donor reporting norms championed by the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance.
Evaluations and impact studies reference methodologies used by the Urban Institute, Brookings Institution, Nonprofit Quarterly, and academic centers such as Harvard Kennedy School and Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society. Peer assessments and sector reviews have examined effectiveness in capacity-building, policy influence, and service delivery comparably to evaluations of Independent Sector and Council on Foundations activities. Critiques from stakeholders have invoked debates common in nonprofit governance literature, including transparency, resource allocation, and advocacy boundaries that have been explored in journals and reports from institutions like The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Philanthropy Roundtable, and academic publications at Yale University and Columbia University.
Category:Nonprofit organizations based in the United States