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The New York City Law Review is planning a symposium focusing on current legal issues affecting non-profit organizations. Topics of interest include an exploration of the relationship between the government and non-profit organizations, their overlapping activities, and the consequent "privatization" of the delivery of social services. For example, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina the government is already looking to non-profit organizations to bear the brunt of both the relief efforts and re-building efforts in devastated areas of the Gulf Coast. The question is whether the government's definition of its own role in this context adequately serves the public good. Other topics include, but are not limited to, the blurring line between for-profit and non-profit activities, accountability and governance issues, and regulations that impose limits on the political activities of non-profits. Articles concerning non-profit organizations within a specific sector, such as, for example, the health care sector, will also be given consideration.
Non-profit organizations are fast becoming an economic force to be reckoned with. In 2004 alone, an estimated $240 billion was donated to charities across the United States. This money was given by individuals and corporations to non-profit entities engaged in the business of improving the public welfare by providing medical care, education, cultural activities, and services for the underprivileged-essentially filling the gap in the government's provision of services. Because such vast sums of money are being poured into non-profits every year, and because non-profits are only required to distribute 5% of such donations per annum, the notion of the small, under-funded charity has been replaced with large-scale entities that count hundreds of employees and have corporate cultures and operations that mirror their for-profit counterparts. Non-profits, in fact, currently generate revenues in excess of 15% of the national gross domestic product.
Compared with for-profit corporations, non-profits are regulated only sparsely by the state and the federal governments and are instead generally considered self-regulating. However, because endowment funds are growing exponentially, issues of accountability and internal governance are becoming prominent. Furthermore, non-profit organizations are increasingly engaged in for-profit activities and vice versa, which substantially blurs the line between the for-profit and non-profit sectors, although each is subject to markedly different regulations and enjoys different tax benefits.
The New York City Law Review is now accepting 2-4 page proposals for full-length articles on any of the outlined topics before October 15, 2005, with completed articles for accepted proposals due on January 15, 2005. Abstracts should be sent to the New York City Law Review either in Word format via e-mail at nyclr@mail.law.cuny.edu, or by mail to New York City Law Review, Attn: Symposium Editor, CUNY School of Law, 65-21 Main Street, Flushing, NY 11367. Please contact Louise Bohmann, Symposium Editor, at nyclr@mail.law.cuny.edu, with any questions.
The New York City Law Review is edited by students of the City University of New York School of Law, which has as its educational mission training its graduates to practice law in the service of human needs.
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