By Shelley Harms

Since 2010, the Internal Revenue Service has notified more than 550,000 nonprofit organizations that they have lost their tax-exempt status as a result of a new law imposing revocation if an organization fails to file a tax return or annual notice for three consecutive years.

Many small nonprofits were caught up in the mass revocations, including Norfolk Now and the Battell Arts Foundation. Both turned to Norfolk’s Coalition for Sound Growth to be their interim fiscal sponsor while they worked on being reinstated. Routing donations through CSG allowed donors to continue to deduct the donations from their taxes.

Happily, it is no longer necessary to put “dba CSG” on your donation checks to Norfolk Now and the Battell Arts Foundation. Both organizations have re-applied for tax-exempt status, and their status has been renewed.