Apologies for not sending out my annual taxes email this year; time got away from me. But, I hope you take a minute to read these tips and cautions from Eric Schneiderman.
Happy Tax Season!
The Wall Street Journal clearly understands how America lives.
(Even if they’re just playing to who they think their readership is, this is an irksome infographic. Also, maybe the people look sad because of their outfits and not taxes.)
Interested in seeding your own nonprofit or do-gooder project, but don’t have a 501c3 status? Or, is your nonprofit interested in broadening its horizons without having the internal capacity or the vision to do so?
Fiscal sponsorship generally entails a nonprofit organization (the “fiscal sponsor”) agreeing to provide administrative services and oversight to, and assume some or all of the legal and financial responsibility for, the activities of groups or individuals engaged in work that relates to the fiscal sponsor’s mission. Sometimes, the project/grant grows into its own entity; other times it becomes a program of the fiscal sponsor.
This has always been a disorganized process. There are certainly tools through the Foundation Center, word of mouth, and otherwise, but I didn’t see a large hub that appears to be the proper connector between ideas and fiscal conduits. Now, there’s fiscalsponsors.org, which has appropriate background and tools for connection from both sides.
If you’re a grantwriter or might want to/need to be one, or if you work for a nonprofit entity, take a look and tune in.
Great example of smart, strategic, inflammatory activism and subsequent storytelling in a municipality.
Taxes. The recently released 2012 Food and Health Survey commissioned by the International Food Information Council Foundation uncovered that more than half of Americans are trying to lose weight, but that it’s pretty tough. Tougher than taxes.
A few findings I found of particular interest:
Juicy, tasty stuff.
Learn why people are #ProudToPay taxes today, and share some of your own reasons! At the end of the day, we should feel very lucky to live in a country where taxes support the public good and many freedoms that we take for granted, even if we do grumble while money leaves our bank accounts.
Tax Day is also (perhaps ironically?) the day that we are most supportive of eachother and our communities. People are making contributions to the public good, the working poor receive a little extra help, and some post offices even stay open late (moreso than before Christmas!). Warm fuzzies, am I right?
[Editor’s Note: Read Lauren’s awesome offshoot blog post! Great thoughts.]
This is sad but not all that surprising. Stress can really make people act less than perfectly, and a nation of (unnecessarily!) stressed out individuals definitely could cause crashes.
Deaths from traffic accidents around April 15, traditionally the last day to file individual income taxes in the U.S., rose 6 percent on average on each of the last 30 years of tax filing days compared with a day during the week prior and a week later, according to research published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Even allowing Americans to file their taxes electronically hasn’t negated the crash trend, lead researcher Donald Redelmeier said. The findings suggest stress, lack of sleep, alcohol use and less tolerance to other drivers on tax deadline day may contribute to an increase in deaths on the road, Redelmeier said.
One more reason to file early and relieve your stress, friends!
Source: bloomberg.com
Read more about the Fresh Start initiative, which helps to offer penalty relief and a higher likelihood of an installment agreement.
This is great, and part of why I sincerely respect the work of the IRS.
Atlantic Avenue Subway Station
I know graffiti is “just graffiti” and I shouldn’t read into it, but I did. I generally agree with the sentiment here (access to affordable, healthy food should be human right, especially according to the values on which our country was founded), but don’t think it accomplishes anything. Clearly, the intended audience is the government (unclear if it’s federal or state), and someone doesn’t like the inequity between rich people and poor people as status specifically relates to food. This just doesn’t sound productive though; it sounds spiteful and reminds me of an uninformed bumper sticker. Also, who’s even seeing this statement? Was it written out of sadness? Anger? Boredom? Does the door ironically lead to a hidden vault of unspent government money? (Ha!)
My only point with posting this is that even though I’m questioning its original intent and effectiveness, it still made me think, which it might make you do, too. And maybe just maybe, one of my readers, or your readers or friends, will find some use for it to change attitudes or policy, and therefore do what no other single statement catalyst has helped our country to do.
You just never know.
I like that there’s a Tumblr to give the American public straight up answers. I’m sad that the American public doesn’t do grammar or know how to Google when they do know how to find the small ‘Ask’ button on a Tumblr page*. I’m also sad that the answer is so matter-of-fact that it doesn’t provide any more information to readers other than the official title of the tax form; it just adds to the murkiness of ‘the system’ that I would imagine a blog is trying to combat.
We’re a step in the right direction of everything, America, but we’re not there yet.
*That might be a little harsh, but I stand by it.
Today’s problems come from yesterday’s solutions.
Yes, this is a cynical thought, but also a smart guiding tool. In a perfect world, there would be no problems, but in this perpetually imperfect world, we can hopefully recognize that problems result (often unintentionally) as a result of or in the context of solutions (good or bad) to past issues. Billionaires not paying enough tax is one example; receiving high numbers of grant proposals at a small foundation is another; failing test scores in inner city communities is yet another.
The tax issue is the result of solving a problem of establishing and formalizing a tax system in an effective way that was supported generally by the population.
The unmanageable influx of proposals could be the result of publicity of a foundation name through another grant and the establishment of a website solving a communications gap.
Falling academic records could be the result of tests (& therefore, often teaching) becoming more streamlined and rigorous or of re-instituting arts programs during the school day.
In each case, solving a big problem was not a bad thing, though a new problem clearly emerged. It’s everyone’s job to recognize this and do what we can to handle outcomes and problems as they surface. We can learn a lot from them and make smart decisions, but there are limits to how proactive we can be in eliminating problems; sometimes, being reactive is the best we can do, and hey, if we’re forging ahead, maybe that’s not so bad.
Higher! Higher!
[Yes, I know, slippery slope with taxing sugary food/beverage. But I still support it.]
Source: bridgingthegapresearch.org
Just taught my kids about taxes by eating 38% of their ice cream.
Posts to keep you entertained, thinking, sharing, and discussing. I blog across subject areas because there's a lot of interesting stuff out there; why limit our conversation?
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