Erik Dryburgh of Adler & Colvin presented a program for the San Francisco Foundation on April 28, 2009 titled "Charitable Trusts and the Financial Meltdown: What to do With Underwater CRTs and Foundations." Dryburgh opened the program describing the scenario as a "philanthropic train wreck." He noted that some...
IRS Form 990 Filing Tips – Part One
The IRS recently released the first in a series of filing tips for tax-exempt organizations and tax practitioners as they prepare to file the redesigned 2008 Form 990. Preparation Checklist Determine whether you are eligible to file the Form 990-EZ for 2008 Review the redesigned 2008 Form 990 Review...
Hey There Director
At the nonprofit governance seminar I presented with fellow EO attorney Cherie Evans at the Bar Association of San Francisco, we had the treat of hearing Sheila Warren, another EO attorney and lead singer of Stimulus Package, sing my parody Hey There Director, summarizing our seminar. Due to popular...
Coalitions and a Director’s Loyalties
Here's a request I received from a reader regarding an issue that has become increasingly important with the proliferation of collaborative efforts among nonprofits: Q: We are starting up a new organization and my board members are all leaders in other organizations that have an interest in the issues this...
Nonprofit Governance Seminars – April 23 (SF) and May 8 (Modesto)
Cherie Evans and I will be presenting a program on the Duties and Responsibilities of Serving on a Nonprofit Board at the Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF) on Thursday, April 23, from noon to 1:30 p.m. The focus will be on the corporate governance of California nonprofit public benefit...
Nonprofit Finance Fund Survey: America’s Nonprofits in Danger
On March 26, 2009, the Nonprofit Finance Fund released its survey of 986 nonprofit professionals designed to assess the real-time challenges faced by nonprofits. The findings exposed a startling degree of financial vulnerability by a large majority of respondents: Only 12% expect to operate above break-even this year. Just 16% anticipate...
Donation Policy – Controversial Donations
Nonprofit organizations should not feel obligated or compelled to accept every donation offered; there are donations that may not benefit the organization. A “controversial category” of donations can come in many forms and will often be specific to the organization. Therefore, every nonprofit should have a donation policy in...
2009 Georgetown Exempt Organizations Conference – Day Two
Here are my tweets from day two of the Georgetown Representing & Managing Tax-Exempt Organizations Conference: Nonprofit lawyers James Hansen, Peter Holiat (IRS), and Virginia Richardson (IRS) speak on current UBIT issues at Georgetown EO Conf 2008 PLR: Community foundation sells unique grantmaking consulting svcs (related income) and admin...
2009 Georgetown Exempt Organizations Conference – Day One
I tweeted day one of the 2009 Georgetown Representing & Managing Tax-Exempt Organizations Conference today. The absence of wireless access in the Hyatt conference rooms prevented live tweeting, but I posted the following tweets during breaks and in the evening: IRS Director, Exempt Organizations, Lois Lerner, noted an increase...
NCRP Criteria for Philanthropy at Its Best
In March 2009, the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy ("NCRP"), an independent watchdog of foundations and institutional grantmakers, released the Criteria for Philanthropy at Its Best: Benchmarks to Assess and Enhance Grantmaker Impact. NCRP claims that the Criteria is "the first ever set of measurable guidelines that will help foundations...