The Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (ACT) released its Fifth Annual Report of Recommendations to the IRS. The first section of the Report focuses on "Policies and Guidelines for Form 990 Revision." OMB Watch reports that ACT Chair Robert E. Donovan stated that as has been...
Duty of Loyalty – Part 1
Meeting a director’s duty of loyalty generally requires acting in good faith and in the best interests of the corporation. The key to meeting this duty is to place the interests of the corporation before the director’s own interests or the interests of another person or entity. This post...
14th Annual Planned Giving Conference – May 15, 2006
I attended the 14th Annual Planned Giving Conference today presented by the Northern California Planned Giving Council. After attending last year’s Conference, I made it one of my few must attend events. Currently, I advise charities on limited issues involving development of their planned giving programs. However, for the...
Delegation & Duty of Care
Section 5210 of the California Corporations Code (the "Code") permits the board to delegate management of corporate activities. Indeed, boards generally delegate management of the day-to-day operations of a corporation to the corporate officers and management staff. However, while the board may delegate management of the corporation, it may...
Reliance & Duty of Care
Section 5231(b) of the California Corporations Code generally provides that directors may rely upon information, opinions, reports, financial statements and other financial data prepared or presented by (1) corporate officers or employees; (2) counsel, independent accountants and others with professional or expert competence; or (3) board committees on which...
Duty of Care
Meeting a director’s duty of care generally requires acting in a reasonable and informed manner under the given circumstances. The standard of care is that which "an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would use under similar circumstances." A "like position" may certainly include the position of being...
Fiduciary Duties of a Director
Section 5210 of the California Corporations Code (the "Code") provides that subject to certain limitations relating to action required to be approved by members: he activities and affairs of a corporation shall be conducted and corporate powers shall be exercised by or under the direction...
Tax Reconciliation Bill Drops Charitable Provisions
The New York Times (May 11, 2006) reported that the proposals of charitable giving incentives and charitable reforms were dropped from the $69 billion tax-cut bill passed on May 9, 2006. The proposals are likely to be placed in a secondary piece of legislation, possibly the pension reform bill...
Form 990 – IRS Resources
The IRS has the following resources available with respect to Form 990: FAQs for TY2005 Form 990 Returns (NEW!) Instructions for Form 990 and Form 990-EZ Instructions for Schedule A (Form 990 or 990-EZ) Tips and Tricks for Completing Form 990 Information Return phone forum script (NEW!) Common Errors...
Merger between the Community Foundation Silicon Valley and the Peninsula Community Foundation
The Associated Press reported on May 4, 2006 that the Community Foundation Silicon Valley and the Peninsula Community Foundation have announced that they are considering a merger to create a combined endowment of $1.36 billion. The merger would result in the nation’s third largest community foundation, behind only the...