Last week, I had the honor and pleasure of presenting a session on Emerging Legal Questions in Today’s Boardroom at the BoardSource Leadership Forum, a national conference focused on nonprofit governance. This session addressed some of the trending legal issues for nonprofits in the areas of technology and social media, transparency, earned income and social […]
Author: Emily Chan
Legal Issues Facing Nonprofit Start-Up Organizations – Foundation Center, San Francisco
Yesterday, Gene and I presented at the Foundation Center in San Francisco on “Legal Issues Facing Nonprofit Start-Up Organizations.” Setting up and operating a successful nonprofit is challenging but possible under the right circumstances. Below we’ve highlighted some of the key steps and issues to consider prior to formation for determining whether a new nonprofit is […]
The L3C – 3 Years Later
It has been a little over three years since Vermont became the first state in the country to recognize the low-profit limited liability company (L3C) as an official legal structure on April 30, 2008. Since then, other legal forms such as the Benefit Corporation and the Flexible Purpose Corporation (proposed in California) have started to […]
Fiscal Sponsorship & Dormant Projects – Part II: Removing Dormant Projects from the Sponsor’s Books
As discussed in Part I, when to remove an inactive fiscally sponsored project from the books is a critical discussion for fiscal sponsors given the various liability risks they face by allowing defunct projects to fly under their radars. Here, we will address some key considerations for fiscal sponsors in exercising proper oversight of such […]
Fiscal Sponsorship & Dormant Projects – Part I: Liability Risks
At the recent “Understanding Fiscal Sponsorship in the Arts" workshop sponsored by the Creative Capacity Fund, an audience member in our legal issues workshop asked about the appropriate length of time to keep dormant projects on the fiscal sponsor’s books. While there is no legally mandated timeline, boards of fiscal sponsors should at a minimum discuss […]
Understanding Fiscal Sponsorship in the Arts – Creative Capacity Fund
On Monday, Gene and I had the pleasure of speaking at the “Understanding Fiscal Sponsorship in the Arts” workshop in San Francisco sponsored by the Creative Capacity Fund. There was an overwhelming attendance with over 150 registered participants comprised of current fiscal sponsors and fiscally sponsored projects as well as those considering becoming fiscal sponsors […]
Governing Boards – Craigslist Foundation Boot Camp 2011
At this year’s Craigslist Foundation Boot Camp, Vance Yoshida, Senior Manager at La Piana Consulting, and Lynn Luckow, CEO of Craigslist Foundation, presented an informative session on "Governing Boards: From Good to Great." Vance and Lynn provided useful tips on a common and difficult issue for many nonprofits: how to create and maintain a strong […]
Leadership Through Board Service – YNPNsfba
Last Tuesday, I had the pleasure of speaking on a panel at an event for the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network San Francisco Bay Area Chapter (YNPNsfba) on “Leadership Through Board Service” with Bruce Marcus, San Francisco State University Instructor of Volunteer and Board Management, Ann Lehman, Planning and Policy Specialist and Partner at Zimmerman Lehman, […]
The Profitable Side of Nonprofits – Part II: Different Legal Structures
What begins as a revenue generating idea for a nonprofit can sometimes develop into a larger endeavor, possibly requiring consideration of a subsidiary to house the planned activities. Many times, these are activities that mix social and business purposes, and the programs or entities that operate them are often referred to as social enterprises. The […]
The Profitable Side of Nonprofits – Part I: Earned Income
Recently, there has been much discussion about how business can take on a nonprofit flavor through social enterprise and new hybrid legal structures. Here, we would like to take a look at the profitable side of nonprofits in Part I and its relation to different legal structures in Part II. The idea of nonprofits earning […]