NON-PROFITS BENEFITING FROM CUTTING OF RED TAPE
By Harvey Lipman/The Record
February 13, 2012
About two dozen times a year, officials of Children’s Aid and Family Services fill out the forms they must submit as part of their contracts with the state.
Even though many of those contracts are with the state department – and even with the same division within that department – the non-profit must file duplicate copies of |the same documents over and over again.
“Every time we renew a contract, the state wants a list of our board of trustees, our tax-exempt organization certificate, our proof of certification with the Department of the Treasury, our audited financial statements, the certification of our accountant, our conflict-of-interest policy and on and on,” said Elizabeth Mason, the chief operating officer of the Paramus-based human-services organization.
“It would certainly be a significant benefit if all this material could be stored by the state in a central location,” Mason said.
The governor’s Red Tape Review Commission agrees. The commission’s report, issued last week, points to a number of regulatory and legislative actions taken last year by New Jersey government that reduce bureaucratic requirements for non-profits. It also recommends additional steps to make life easier for them.
