I just returned from the 19th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Luncheon hosted by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area. I’ve always found this to be an amazing event, and this year was no different. I was particularly honored to be sitting...
“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...
Evans & Rosen on Unrelated Business Income Tax
On February 3, 2006, I attended a CompassPoint program on unrelated business income tax (UBIT) presented by Cherie Evans and Barbara Rosen of Evans & Rosen. Cherie and Barbara are colleagues of mine in the practice area of exempt organizations or nonprofit law. Both spent part of their legal...
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...
Public Support Tests- Unusual Grants
An organization exempt under IRC 501(c)(3) may qualify as a public charity if (1) it normally receives one-third of its TOTAL SUPPORT from sources that qualify as PUBLIC SUPPORT (One-Third Support Test); or (2) it meets the Facts and Circumstances Test, including the Ten-Percent-of-Support Requirement. PUBLIC SUPPORT includes: Direct...
Senator Grassley States He Will Propose More Reforms in 2006
OMB Watch, citing BNA, reports: Senate Finance Committe Chairman Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) said on Jan. 12 that he will propose new reforms for charitable and tax-exempt organizations later in 2006 beyond those in a pending tax reconciliation bill (S. 2020). However, reform likely will no be accomplished in a...
Martin Luther King, Jr.
I thought it might be appropriate today to post some quotes by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King’s impact certainly extends to laws that affect nonprofit organizations, and the right, if not the responsibility, of nonprofit charitable organizations to lobby in furtherance of their respective missions. “Now, I...
Public Support Tests – Public Charities
You'll find a discussion of the general advantages of classification as a public charity rather than a private foundation in a January 1, 2005 post. This post will discuss how charitable organizations receive recognition as a public charity under IRC Section 509(a)(1). Background: All 501(c)(3) organizations are categorized as...
Volunteers and Liability
Does your organization have a volunteer selection policy in place? PND News, in the January 4, 2006 article, Nonprofits Need to Do More to Vet Volunteers, citing an earlier article in the San Diego Union-Tribune, discusses some typical problems faced by nonprofits, including very large and established organizations, that...
IRS Commissioner Everson Speaks to Greater Washington Society of CPAs – December 14, 2005
The transcript of IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson’s speech to the Greater Washington Society of CPAs can be found here. Commissioner Everson identified as one of the four key objectives of the IRS the deterrence of abuse within the tax-exempt and governmental entities sector and misuse of such entities...