MEDIA ADVISORY: Just Added: Special Pre-Conference Session with Dean Zerbe, Tax Counsel for the U.S. Senate Finance Committee

(Washington, D.C., October 20, 2006) – In a special session immediately before the Independent Sector Annual Conference, Dean Zerbe, tax counsel for the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, will share insights into recent changes in the laws regulating charitable organizations and the Finance Committee's ongoing concerns about nonprofit hospitals, governance, executive compensation, and accountability.  Media are invited to attend this off-the-record conversation from 11 a.m. to 12 noon on Sunday, October 22.

Full-time journalists are welcome to attend this session and the Annual Conference.  To obtain a media pass, email Elizabeth Jenkins or call 202-467-6134 (office), 202-441-0042 (cell).

This session takes place just before the start of the Independent Sector Annual Conference, which will run from October 22 to 24 in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Under the theme, “Many Voices, Shared Purpose: Working Together to Improve Lives,” the conference will examine a range of issues focusing on two areas:

•  Strengthening democracy through fostering civic engagement, increasing advocacy, and reshaping the social compact; and

•  Building a more effective, more accountable sector by empowering leadership, improving transparency, and increasing public support for charities and foundations.

Please click here for more information on the conference.

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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 charitable community.