A.G. Schneiderman Picks Binghamton Leader for Nonprofit Reform Committee

Binghamton, N.Y. WBNG Binghamton
-- Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman on Wednesday announced the appointment of Sharon Ball to serve on his Leadership Committee for Nonprofit Revitalization.

Ball, the Executive Director of the Broome County Arts Council in Binghamton, is one of 29 leaders Schneiderman has charged with providing recommendations to improve nonprofit regulation and enforcement in New York.
"I am pleased Sharon will serve with her colleagues across the state to reform the rules of the road so the nonprofit sector can thrive,” Schneiderman said. “Nonprofits provide critical services to their communities and as the second largest employment sector in the state, their success is crucial to our economy. We can be tough on policing fraud without imposing needless burdens and costs on this vital sector, and the Leadership Committee is a central part of achieving those goals.”

The Attorney General oversees nonprofits operating in New York State, and Schneiderman has made the improvement of nonprofit regulation a priority for his office.
Earlier this year, he announced he would convene a group of leaders from New York’s nonprofit, business and labor communities to help eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy that has long plagued nonprofits, such as redundant audits and overlapping reporting requirements, and delays in processing and payment of contracts. The nonprofit sector is the second largest employment sector in the state, providing work for between 17 and 18 percent of New York’s labor force.
“The current regulations can be confusing and burdensome, forcing nonprofits to commit resources they would otherwise spend serving their communities,” Ball said. “Attorney General Schneiderman is taking a much-needed step in the direction of reform by bringing together leaders to modernize the system so nonprofits can thrive.”

Ball has been the Executive Director of the Broome County Arts Council since 2004, where she has overseen the organization’s fundraising and grant making activities, member services, advocacy and programs. She is the primary fundraiser for and manager of the Arts Council’s United Cultural Fund, one of only about 60 active campaigns for the arts in the United States.
As a radio journalist for more than 20 years, Ball established NPR's first cultural news desk to cover the arts, religion, media, and race relations in Washington, D.C. Ball’s notable honors include a Case Media Fellowship at Harvard University and appointment as Senior Scholar by the Fetzer Institute of Kalamazoo, Michigan.
The Leadership Committee’s activities will focus on the following:

• Making recommendations on how to reduce regulatory burdens and more effectively address regulatory concerns;

• Developing legislative proposals to modernize New York's nonprofit laws that would eliminate outdated requirements and unnecessary burdens; and

• Proposing measures to enhance board governance and effectiveness, including through new programs to recruit and train nonprofit board members.