Advisory Committee Principles – Facilitating Legal Compliance

Here are the 6 draft principles falling within the category of "Facilitating Legal Compliance" developed by the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector’s Advisory Committee on Self-Regulation of the Charitable Sector: A charitable organization should be knowledgeable about and must comply with all applicable laws and regulations and international conventions....

Independent Sector: Draft Principles for Self-Regulation

The Panel on the Nonprofit Sector’s Advisory Committee on Self-Regulation of the Charitable Sector has developed a set of 29 principles of effective practice for charitable organizations.  The Committee recommends that all charitable organizations aspire to follow these principles and that all larger public charities (annual revenues of at...

Charitable Class

IRS Publication 3833 (Rev. 9-2005) provides the following description of a charitable class: The group of individuals that may properly receive assistance from a charitable organization is called a charitable class.  A charitable class must be large or indefinite enough that providing aid to members of the class benefits...

The Pursuit of Happyness

I went to see The Pursuit of Happyness, starring Will Smith, on New Year’s Day.  The movie is about Chris Gardner, a father raising his son while struggling to overcome tremendous hardships, including periods of homelessness. Rotten Tomatoes rates the movie a 68 and provides the following critical consensus: ...

Executive Compensation

Section 4958(c)(1)(A) of the IRC defines an excess benefit transaction as “any transaction in which an economic benefit is provided by an applicable tax-exempt organization directly or indirectly to or for the use of any disqualified person if the value of the economic benefit provided exceeds the value of...

Fiscal Sponsorship Basics

Updated January 25, 2015 Fiscal sponsorship is an increasingly common alternative to starting a nonprofit organization. In its most common forms, it allows a group or individual to create a project that can receive grants and deductible charitable contributions without forming a nonprofit entity and/or obtaining tax-exemption. Accordingly, it’s not surprising to see...

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...