The IRS Tax Exempt and Government Entities (TE/GE) division recently issued its priorities list for 2016. Here is a list of the five strategic areas of focus for exempt organizations for the upcoming year: Exemption: Issues include non-exempt purpose activity and private inurement, enforced primarily through field examination; See Exempt Purposes – Internal Revenue Code […]
Author: Michele Berger
Final Regulations: Reliance Standards for Equivalency Determinations
Last week, the IRS issued final regulations regarding the standards by which a private foundation may make a “good faith determination” of whether a potential foreign grantee is the equivalent to a U.S. public charity– a process known as an equivalency determination. An equivalency determination is required so that grants made to the foreign organization […]
Executive Compensation – The Legal Issues
Determining the appropriate amount of compensation to pay an executive is one of the most important decisions a board is asked to make. Board members must balance budgetary concerns with the need to find a qualified candidate. Traditionally, it was not uncommon for nonprofits to expect executives to work for significantly less than they might […]
Public Charity: Public Support Tests Part II: 509(a)(2)
A 501(c)(3) organization is presumed to be a private foundation unless it qualifies as a public charity. Part I of this post discussed how an organization can qualify as a public charity under one of two 509(a)(1) tests, either the one-third support test or the facts and circumstances test. Alternatively, an organization can qualify as […]
Public Charity: Public Support Tests Part I: 509(a)(1)
A 501(c)(3) organization is presumed to be a private foundation unless it qualifies as a public charity. As discussed in a previous post and on our short YouTube clip, public charity classification is generally far more advantageous due to the burdensome rules and restrictions applicable to private foundations. Most 501(c)(3) organizations qualify as public charities under Section […]
NEO Law Group’s Video on Tips for Nonprofits: Private Foundation or Public Charity?
Yesterday, NEO Law Group released a new short video in its series of videos on tips for nonprofits, available on YouTube. This video focuses on the differences between private foundations and public charities. We hope that you enjoy it and please stay tuned for additional videos from NEO Law Group on tips for nonprofits.
Private Foundation Rules
A Section 501(c)(3) exempt organization is presumed to be a private foundation unless it qualifies as a public charity. The distinction between the private foundation and public charity classification may be critical for organizational leaders to understand, as public charity status is generally far more advantageous when there is a choice. Since private foundations are […]
Expedited Determination Process for 501(c)(4) Organizations
The Internal Revenue Service recently released a memorandum modifying and clarifying procedures for Section 501(c)(4) applicants seeking exemption after December 23, 2014, which may potentially be engaged in political campaign intervention or providing private benefit to a political party, but that otherwise do not present any issues regarding their exempt status. The memo directs the […]
Important OMB Guidance on Reimbursement of Indirect Costs
In 2013, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued historic guidance regarding the policies and procedures of federal grants. Applicable to all new written agreements (contracts and grants) signed after December 26, 2014, government agencies and departments that hire a nonprofit using federal funds must reimburse the organization for its reasonable […]
Emergency Powers for California Nonprofit Corporations
Under California law, specifically after the approval of Assembly Bill 491 in 2013, corporations including nonprofit public benefit, mutual benefit, and religious corporations are permitted to conduct certain corporate activities during an emergency. Types of emergencies include a natural catastrophe, an enemy attack, an act of terrorism, or a state of emergency declared by the […]