(Washington, D.C., September 22, 2005) -- The Panel on the Nonprofit Sector invites the nonprofit community to comment on the draft recommendations it is considering for inclusion in a special supplement to the Final Report it submitted to Congress in June 2005. In that report, the Panel presented more than 120 recommendations for strengthening the governance, transparency, and ethical conduct of charitable organizations.

The Panel's five Work Groups and its Expert Advisory Group deliberated throughout the summer on such key issues as proposed federal regulation of charitable solicitations, international grantmaking, consumer credit counseling agencies, and prudent investor rules.

The draft recommendations and an on-line comment form are posted on the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector website, www.NonprofitPanel.org. The comment period will end Friday, September 30. The Panel will consider comments as it prepares the additional recommendations it will submit to the leaders of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee in October.

“As it has throughout the entire process of drafting recommendations, the Panel encourages as many comments as possible from the charitable community,” said Diana Aviv, executive director of the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector and president and CEO of Independent Sector, the convener of the Panel. “The Panel has benefited enormously from previous comment periods and we hope that once again the charitable community will share its expertise to help improve the sector.”

The Panel is also continuing to study recommendations for self-regulation by the charitable sector and for uniform financial standards and reports through the end of the year.

See the draft recommendations.

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The Panel on the Nonprofit Sector is an independent panel of 24 leaders from a wide range of the country's public charities and private foundations. Convened by Independent Sector at the encouragement of the leadership of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, the Panel has developed recommendations to improve the governance, ethical conduct, and oversight of nonprofit organizations. A Citizens Advisory Group, an Expert Advisory Group, and five specialized Work Groups and two subgroups have been assisting the Panel, which also invites input from charities and foundations of all sizes serving diverse missions and geographic locations.

Independent Sector is a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition of approximately 600 charities, foundations, and corporate philanthropy programs, collectively representing tens of thousands of charitable groups in every state across the nation. Its mission is to advance the common good by leading, strengthening, and mobilizing the nonprofit community.