Public policy news and updates for the philanthropic sector

July 10, 2026

What's Happening This Week...

• Happening at the Council
• What We're Tracking in DC
• Additional Updates

Happening at the Council

Advocacy Essentials for Community Foundations

August 25 and 27 | 1 – 5 p.m. ET

Join the Council on Foundations and CFLeads for our two-day virtual training, Advocacy Essentials for Community Foundations, on August 25 and 27. Whether you're just getting started or looking to advance your advocacy efforts, this training will equip you with practical tools and confidence to take action. For community foundations committed to building thriving communities, engaging in policy and advocacy is essential! Register now.

What Generosity Builds

We're excited to share our sector-wide storytelling campaign, Generosity Builds: 250 Years of Charitable Giving — a celebration of how philanthropy shows up in communities across the country, and an invitation to showcase your own impact as part of it. We have even more stories to share!

Pat and Kristin Duncanson from Mapleton, Minnesota have a family tradition of sharing their first harvest truckload with the community. A promise they’ve kept for years that makes a meaningful difference for their neighbors.

The Gulf Coast Community Foundation and St. Vincent de Paul CARES came together to build Heroes’ Village, a home and center dedicated to housing veterans. When Marine veteran Steven Mitchell lost his housing, The Salvation Army connected Mitchell to Heroes' Village where he now has a permanent home and community.

Check out even more stories on generositybuilds.org.

What We're Tracking in DC

Public Service Loan Forgiveness Update

On June 30, a U.S. district court vacated the Department of Education’s Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) regulations, ruling in favor of the plaintiffs in National Council of Nonprofits v. McMahon. PSLF is the program that allows public service employees, including employees of 501(c)(3) organizations, to receive forgiveness for their student loans after ten years of eligible employment. The regulations, which were finalized last year, would revoke eligibility for certain charitable organizations.

The Council submitted comments last September urging the Department of Education to reassess the draft regulations, arguing they would create redundant processes, open PSLF to politicization, and lead to confusion among applicants. The Council supports PSLF, a critical workforce development tool for the nonprofit sector. We continue to monitor this issue and will share updates in future editions of Snapshot.

Religious Liberty Commission Report

President Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission published its final draft report on strengthening religious liberty and the free expression of religion. The report lists 12 recommendations, including repealing the Johnson Amendment—the law that prohibits 501(c)(3) organizations, including churches, from engaging in political campaign intervention. The Commission argues that the Johnson Amendment gives the government authority to regulate religious leaders’ sermons and chills their First Amendment rights.

The Council strongly supports the Johnson Amendment, which protects the nonprofit sector from politicization and maintains public trust in civil society. We previously joined Independent Sector, National Council of Nonprofits, and United Philanthropy Forum in submitting testimony supporting the Johnson Amendment to the Commission and reshared this letter with the Commission this week. The draft report is open for comments until July 13.

Unified Regulatory Agenda

The Regulatory Information Service Center released the Unified Regulatory Agenda, a compilation of the regulatory and deregulatory activities in development within federal agencies and entities. The agenda is released semiannually, and the agency’s stated timetable for listed rules in development is subject to change. The newly released agenda features several items that are relevant to the philanthropic sector.

• Taxes on Taxable Distributions from Donor Advised Funds Under Section 4966: The proposed regulations are in the Final Rule Stage and are slated to be finalized July 2026.
• Form 990 Fiscal Sponsorship Reporting: A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is set to be released August 2026.
• Trump Accounts: Several regulations regarding Trump Accounts are forthcoming, including providing guidance on requirements for Trump Account contributions, distributions, and reporting and proposed regulations on eligible investments for Trump Accounts. Notices of Proposed Rulemaking on both are set to be released this month.

Our team tracks all regulatory activity that impacts tax-exempt organizations. We will provide updates in future editions of Snapshot as future information is shared.

Additional Updates

• The Department of the Treasury formally launched Trump Accounts on July 4. Before the launch, Treasury announced that it will accept philanthropic contributions of publicly traded stock to support the accounts, consistent with the donor’s instructions.
• The House Ways and Means Committee approved the Tax Exempt Hospital Transparency Act (H.R.9504), legislation that would require nonprofit hospitals to report additional information on their Form 990s. While this bill impacts hospitals and not foundations, it represents a continuation of the Committee’s interest in transparency in the tax-exempt space.
• Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) sent a letter to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) asking OMB to withdraw parts of its draft regulations on federal financial assistance and extend the comment period. As of Friday, the comment period will close on Monday, July 13. The Council plans to submit comments urging OMB to reconsider these proposed regulations. Read our summary of the draft rule.
• House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-MO) released a statement in support of a recent Fox News report that a grand jury issued subpoenas related to a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into Neville Roy Singham and nonprofit organizations he has funded. Chair Smith praised DOJ and highlighted the committee’s ongoing investigation into Singham and associated nonprofit organizations for alleged funding of violent protests and ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

Keep in Touch!

Please feel free to reach out to any of us on the Public Policy Team with comments or concerns, or to share an issue, article, event, or op-ed you would like to see covered in a future Washington Snapshot.

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