International Giving – NCPGC Presentation 3/9/06

On March 9, 2006, I attended a Northern California Planned Giving Council luncheon meeting featuring Jane Peebles and a discussion of International Giving.  Ms. Peebles, a partner in Bingam McCutchen’s estate planning group, is a leading legal expert in the area of international philanthropy.  Here are some of the...

Wealth in Families: Asking the Essential Questions – March 7, 2006

I attended the Peninsula Community Foundation’s program entitled "Wealth in Families:  Asking the Essential Questions" on March 7, 2006.  The keynote speaker was Charles Collier, Senior Philanthropic Advisor at Harvard University and a nationally recognized expert in family philanthropy.  Although his program was directed at advisors to wealthy families,...

Council on Foundations Leads Call for Treasury Department to Withdraw Antiterrorism Guidelines

A coalition of more than 40 nonprofit organizations led by The Council on Foundations has called on the U.S. Department of Treasury to withdraw its "Anti-Terrorist Financing Guidelines:  Voluntary Best Practices for U.S.-based Charities" (rev. Nov. 2005).  In response to the Treasury Department’s invitation for public comments to propose...

IRS Investigation – Illegal Political Activity

The Internal Revenue released a report on February 24, 2006 summarizing its 2004 Political Activity Compliance Initiative ("PACI") project which focused on the political activity by charitable tax-exempt organizations during the 2004 election cycle.  The press release issued in connection with the Report stated that "early three-quarters of 82...

“What’s Happening with Charity Reform” – A Presentation by Jane Gallagher of the Council on Foundations

At a January 26, 2006 meeting hosted by the Northern California Planned Giving Council, Janne Gallagher, Vice President and General Counsel of the Council on Foundations, spoke about current legislation affecting the nonprofit sector.  Here are some of the highlights: S 2020:  Senate Tax Reconciliation Bill Proposals to Increase...

Boys and Girls Club Turns Down Donation From Hooters: Breach of Fiduciary Duties?

Charity Governance, in a January 22, 2006 post, examined the intriguing question of whether board members of the Boys and Girls Club of Burlington, Vermont breached their fiduciary duties by turning down an apparently unrestricted $2,250 donation from Hooters, the popular, racy restaurant chain.  In its analysis, Charity Governance...