By NEO Law Group
It’s not easy to remove a board member. It often is accompanied by bad feelings, ongoing grudges, lost support, and reputational harm. But sometimes, a board has to do what it has to do. Board members (directors, in legal parlance) have fiduciary duties to act with reasonable care, in...
What happens when a nonprofit board voting on an action is deadlocked with the same number of votes in favor of an action as the number of votes opposed to it? Nothing. In effect, the nays have it since the proposed action has not been approved. Sometimes, that’s enough....
A California nonprofit public benefit corporation must state in its articles of incorporation that it is organized for one of the following purposes, as defined by state law: Unfortunately, the California Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law (NPBC Law) doesn’t spell out the differences between a charitable purpose and a...
The following are just some of the many highlights from the 2026 Western Conference on Tax Exempt Organizations (WCTEO). As with all of our posts capturing highlights of events, my interpretations, opinions, and selection of additional resources may be sprinkled with the information provided by the presenters. Tribute to Doug Mancino...
Most startup charitable organizations and foreign organizations starting to operate or fundraise in California are required to register with the California Attorney General’s Registry of Charities and Fundraisers. Until very recently, registrations were completed on paper and mailed to the Registry. A link near the top of the Initial...
The California Attorney General recently issued modifications to the proposed regulations governing the dissolution of charitable entities. As part of the rulemaking process, stakeholders were invited to submit written comments on the revised provisions. Below is the comment we submitted, focusing on practical implications for nonprofits navigating the dissolution...
California Assembly Bill 1318 was signed into law by the Governor on October 7, 2025 and immediately made effective. AB 1318 was designed to protect state funding of charitable nonprofits from potentially unfair and unlawful revocation of such nonprofits’ federal tax-exempt status by a federal government hostile to their...
Last month, the California Lawyers Association Nonprofit Organizations Committee hosted Audrey Rowe from the State of California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) to discuss updates to the FTB’s system and processes affecting tax-exempt organizations. This post captures some of the highlights. Beginning in 2024 the FTB began a major systems...
Many nonprofits do not distinguish between the two types of legal committees under the California Nonprofit Corporation Law: board committees and committees that are not board committees (“other committees”). Sometimes, there may be no issues raised by conflating these two different bodies within a nonprofit corporation. But other times,...
The California Secretary of State is holding a free virtual nonprofit workshop on Wednesday, August 14, 2024 from 10 am to 11:30 am. You can register for the workshop here. Join the California Secretary of State’s Business Programs Division as we kick off recognizing National Nonprofit Day with a virtual...