The Senate Finance Committee has sent a letter to Independent Sector (IS), a coalition of 600 member organizations and foundations, asking IS to convene a national panel of nonprofit representatives to recommend legislative options to increase nonprofit accountability. The Sept. 22 letter follows Finance Committee hearings on nonprofit practices held in July that examined allegations of excessive compensation, tax shelters, and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) noncompliance. Committee staff released draft proposals for reform during the summer, and nonprofit groups provided input and responses. Based on the hearings and the comments, the committee is now considering various types of reforms. The committee has been concerned with this issue after scandals surfaced last year involving a small number of large nonprofits, including the Nature Conservancy. Independent Sector plans to convene representatives from two dozen charity and foundation organizations and create working groups to discuss various issues that the Senate has proposed. IS and other participants at the Senate hearings championed increased transparency and enforcement through extensive changes to nonprofit tax reports (IRS Form 990). Lawmakers are considering extensive oversight of nonprofits, including the size of an organization's board of directors and the amount of employee compensation allowed. Although the committee asked IS for input from nonprofits, organizations that disagree with the Senate's proposed course of action may not be asked to participate. The committee wrote in a letter to IS, "We encourage you to work with those committed to reform and not let a potential minority prevent substantive improvements by requiring unanimity on proposals." Increased oversight and enforcement, if not carefully crafted, could lead to unnecessary administrative burdens for small nonprofits. Seventy percent of charities have annual budgets under $500,000, and tougher regulations and enforcement could be overly burdensome to them. Nonprofits of all types are urged to give input to the committee, because any new regulations will affect the entire sector.