501(c)(4) Social Welfare Organizations

501(c)(4) is the second most common basis of tax-exemption after 501(c)(3). 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations include several well-known advocacy organizations including the Sierra Club, the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, the NRA, and AARP. However, the majority of 501(c)(4) organizations – an estimated 85 percent – do not engage in  issue...

501(c)(3) Operational Test

To be or stay exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, an organization must be operated exclusively for one or more of the exempt purposes described in section 501(c)(3) (“exempt purposes”). The first part of a compliance analysis with respect to this requirement referred to as the...

WCTEO 2022 Highlights

The following are some of the highlights from the 2022 Western Conference on Tax Exempt Organizations (WCTEO). After a two-year hiatus from in-person meetings, It was great seeing and speaking with new and old friends and colleagues practicing, teaching, and writing in the area of nonprofit and exempt organizations...

2022 Exempt Organizations Symposium – Part 1

The American Bar Association Tax Section’s Exempt Organizations Committee held an Exempt Organizations Symposium virtually on September 8, 2022. We’ll publish some highlights in multiple posts starting with this one. Subcommittees on Political and Lobbying Activities of Exempt Organizations and Religious Organizations Family Research Council (FRC) obtained recognition of...