Our 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation changed its name last year. We filed the name change in four states in which we solicit contributions and notified the Internal Revenue Service. The states acknowledged the change right away. We have not heard from the IRS. When I called recently, I was told the case has not yet been assigned to a reviewer. How should we solicit and what should we do with the receipts we give to donors to our organization? —By email.
Among the benefits of the work of the Department of Government Efficiency (remember that?) and other administrative reforms at the IRS is that they don’t have enough personnel to do their ordinary tasks efficiently. (An attorney for the IRS recently asked a court for a two-month extension of time to respond to motions because the Service has lost 40% of its attorneys.). If you have merely changed your name and not your operations, it is a no-brainer to accept the change and confirm that it doesn’t change your exempt status but it has to be reviewed by an individual.
The IRS webpage “Where’s My Application for Tax-Exempt Status?”, as of January 26, 2026, says that they issue a determination for 80% of the Form 1023 applications for recognition of charitable exemption within 191 days. The same page says that if you submitted a 1023 application after April 7, 2025, it hasn’t even been given to an examiner yet for review. That’s almost 300 days ago. If you believe their website, they are going to have a lot of catching up to do.
I don’t know whether they characterized your notice as a new application for recognition of exemption, but it doesn’t really make a difference. You should solicit new contributions in your new name and use your new name on the receipts. If you want to be super solicitous of your donors, you can put your new name on the receipt with a notation of your former name right below it. That way, if anyone needs to show the receipt to an IRS auditor, the auditor has a name to confirm your exemption on the IRS list even if the new name has not yet been added. If you apply to private foundations for grants, you should definitely tell them you changed your name and notified the IRS because some private foundations check exempt status immediately before making a grant and might not find the new name on the list for a while.
If you want to try to jog your paperwork loose, you might ask a member of Congress to intervene on your behalf. I don’t like to recommend that because it helps perpetuate a who-you-know-makes-a-difference system of government service. In this case, however, you might rationalize the request on the ground that it is just notifying a member of Congress that the revised system at the IRS isn’t working well for the ordinary person.
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