I had the honor of delivering the opening plenary address at the Contra Costa Nonprofit Partnership Fair on March 28. Prior to the Fair, I published a post with information and resources on nonprofit legal compliance and boards and board members. In this post, I provide some additional information and resources for attendees and others.
Transcript of My Introduction
Good morning!
It’s an honor to be with all of you leaders—and future leaders—of nonprofits in Contra Costa and beyond.
As a lawyer, writer, and occasional professor focused specifically on nonprofit tax-exempt, and charitable organizations law for the past 21 years and someone who has also been a manager in the nonprofit sector prior to my legal career, I spend much of my time thinking about legal compliance, risk management, and enforcement trends, and nonprofits can remain true to their missions and values. And I know many of you are thinking about how to keep the doors open. And you’re dealing with all of this while feeling the weight of a polarized society, threats to democracy, political rhetoric and nonsense, mental health challenges, and very real concerns about climate change and AI.
In these times, how we frame this moment can make a difference. So before we dig in on the compliance issues and political and legal trends, I’d like to share a broader perspective.
Despite everything going on that’s truly horrible, we can see that the long-term trajectory of human well-being has been very positive. Since 1990, extreme poverty has dropped from about 40% of the world to under 10%. Global life expectancy has increased by more than six years. Child mortality has fallen dramatically. As is the case with climate change, these gains didn’t just happen naturally—they happened because communities, often led or organized by, nonprofits, stayed engaged and mission-driven, often over very long periods of time.
Progress is uneven, and in some areas very fragile—but I do believe that the arc of the moral universe bends towards justice; it’s just a rocky arc. And it relies on an engaged community. The work you do matters.
Nonprofits don’t just deliver services—they champion values, provide the vehicles for collaborative efforts, and lead change. And for those of you serving, or considering serving, on boards, your role isn’t simply to oversee compliance. It is to provide steadiness, judgment, and direction to the organization, looking not only short-term but with a long-term lens, especially during uncertain, turbulent times. And it may be to push the organization to think less about a return to the past, and more about new ways forward.
That is, at its core, fiduciary leadership. And it reminds us:
We are not operating on the margins of a horrible era.
We are operating at the center of a consequential one.
And your role is not just to react—but to lead with purpose.
Nonprofit Compliance in Turbulent Times
Additional Resources
Compliance
Nonprofit Compliance Checklist (CalNonprofits)
Nonprofit Legal Compliance in an Unfriendly Political Environment (NPQ)
New Threats/Rhetoric and Rights
Evolving Threats to the Tax-Exempt Status of 501(c)(3) Nonprofits (ICNL)
Anti-Discrimination Laws – Section 1981
Navigating the Practical Implications of the Illegality and Public Policy Doctrine – ABA Tax
Nonprofits, First Amendment, and Jimmy Kimmel
Section 501(c)(3)
Starting a Nonprofit: What is “Charitable” under 501(c)(3)?
Charitable: Eliminating Prejudice and Discrimination; Defending Human and Civil Rights
Public Charity Status
Comparison of 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Classifications: Public Charity, Private Non-Operating Foundation, and Private Operating Foundation (Karen Wu, Perlman+Perlman)
Public Charity: Public Support Tests Part I: 509(a)(1); Public Support Tests Part II: 509(a)(2)
Advocacy and Lobbying
Take Action (National Council of Nonprofits)
Public Charities Can Lobby: Guidelines for 501(c)(3) Public Charities (AFJ Bolder Advocacy)
Taking the 501(h) Election (National Council of Nonprofits)
Board Governance
Purpose-Driven Board Leadership (BoardSource)
What Issues Should a Nonprofit Board Consider Annually?
Legally Compliant Bylaws – Good Enough?
Employment-Related Laws
10 Things California Non-Profit Employers Need to Know (Meyers Nave)
Independent contractor versus employee (State of California Department of Industrial Relations)
Other Risks
A Violation of Trust: Fraud Risk in Nonprofit Organizations (Jonathan T. MArks and Pete A. Ugo, Nonprofit Risk Management Center)
Cybersecurity for Nonprofits (National Council of Nonprofits)
The Top AI Risks in the Nonprofit Sector (BDO)
Purpose-Driven Board Leadership and Climate Change
General Resources
[California] Attorney General’s Guide for Charities; Forms (AG, State of California)
Charities and Nonprofits (IRS)