City to ask more from nonprofits http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/12/22/city_to_ask_more_from_nonprofits/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Local+news Princeton: University will provide township a $500K gift http://www.centraljersey.com/articles/2011/01/03/the_princeton_packet/news/doc4d2270475d056711196808.txt Nonprofits shouldn't be a revenue source http://www.journaltimes.com/news/opinion/editorial/article_b52dc2e6-1793-11e0-859c-001cc4c03286.html Balancing Budgets http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20101228/OPINION01/312289981 Commentary: The Burden of Tax-Exempt Property http://www.njpp.org/com_dkoped.html Over the holidays, cheer and goodwill reigned supreme in most quarters. In the New Year, it is back to business, and for many nonprofit organizations this could mean another difficult challenge. A movement has been afoot to garner property tax payments from a wide range of nonprofits across the United States as of late, and a number of nonprofits have voiced strong concerns about such a trend. Nonprofits, such as universities and churches, are largely exempt from property taxes, and cash-strapped local governments are seeking a wide range of voluntary contributions from these institutions. In Princeton, New Jersey, the well-endowed Princeton University recently made a voluntary payment to the township of Princeton, but such an offering is much more difficult for other organizations. Tim Delaney, the chief executive of the National Council of Nonprofits, recently remarked, "Governments are taking their public burdens and putting them on the backs of nonprofits, at a time when the demand for our services is skyrocketing." Other taxes instituted as of late on nonprofits include drainage feeds, street-light fees, and a catchall type of voluntary offering known as "payment in lieu of taxes", or PILOT. The first link will take visitors to a recent piece from the Wall Street Journal which talks about this recent trend. The second link leads to a piece from the Boston Globe which describes how the city of Boston is revamping its formula for determining how much nonprofits should contribute to the city coffers. Moving along, the third link leads to a piece from this Monday's Princeton Packet about the voluntary payment given by Princeton University to Princeton Township. The fourth piece leads to an editorial from the Racine Journal Times on this controversial issue. The fifth link leads to another editorial, this time from the Watertown Daily Times which remarks, "Rather than reach into the pockets of schools, churches and community groups, municipalities need to bring their costs under control." Finally, the last link leads to a thoughtful piece from Donald A. Krueckeberg of the Bloustein School of Rutgers University-New Brunswick on the potential burden of tax-exempt property.