Last Thursday and Friday, I attended one of my favorite annual events, the Western Conference on Tax Exempt Organizations (WCTEO), co-sponsored by Loyola Law School and the Internal Revenue Service. As always, the event was attended by many prominent attorneys, accountants, and executives who practice in the nonprofit and...
DONOR-ADVISED FUNDS
Donor Advised Funds – An Uncertain Future
Donor advised funds enable people to claim a charitable tax deduction on donated cash, stock, and other assets to these special accounts offered primarily by financial companies and community foundations while also allowing them to recommend how, when, and to which charities their money should be distributed. Donor advised...
IRS Releases New Guidelines for Form 1023
On July 31, 2008, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released a memorandum to explain the new guidelines for processing Form 1023 applications for exemption under IRC Section 501(c)(3) submitted by sponsoring organizations that maintain donor advised funds. These organizations must now refer to the Donor Advised Funds Guide Sheet...
Study of Donor Advised Funds and Supporting Organizations
In Notice 2007-21, Treasury and the IRS requested comments on issues relating to the organization and operation of donor advised funds and supporting organizations as part of a study required by the Pension Protection Act. The Notice identified the following issues for public comment: Whether charitable contribution deductions are...
Notice 2006-109 – Interim Guidance Regarding Supporting Organizations and Donor-Advised Funds
On December 4, 2006, the IRS released Notice 2006-109, which provides interim guidance on provisions of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 that affect supporting organizations and donor-advised funds. I expect to update this post to show the nonprofit sector’s responses to the interim guidance. Click here for the...
Donor-Advised Funds in 2005
The Chronicle of Philanthropy (May 4, 2006) reported that assets of the nation’s largest donor-advised funds grew by a median of more than 20 percent from 2004 to 2005. Likewise, the amount granted to charities from these donor-advised funds increased by 20.8 percent from 2004 to 2005. Officials at...
Donor-Advised Funds
The term "donor-advised fund" is not statutorily defined; yet the donor-advised fund (DAF) is an increasingly popular vehicle of charitable giving that has had a particularly substantial impact on philanthropy over the past several years. The Chronicle of Philanthropy reported that the 88 organizations that provided figures for both...
Donor-Advised Funds – Bay Area
From "Donor-Advised Funds: Assets, Awards, and Accounts at a Sampling of Big Providers," The Chronicle of Philanthropy (April 28, 2005) (reporting 2004 figures and comparisons to 2003): Peninsula Community Foundation (San Mateo): Assets: $370,575,777 (+7.7%) Amount distributed to charities: $75,240,090 (+88.4%) Number of funds: 414 (+3.2%) Amount contributed to...
Contemplated Legislation May Hurt Donor-Advised Funds
The Chronicle of Philanthropy (April 28, 2005) reported the results of its sixth annual survey of gift funds and suggested that proposed rules could reduce the popularity of donor-advised funds. 88 organizations, collectively holding more than 80,000 donor-advised funds, participated in the survey. Currently, no legal definition of "donor-advised...