According to a new study by Professor Paul Light of New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, public confidence in charitable organizations remains low and has yet to rebound from the decline experienced after September 11, 2001. Of the 1,820 Americans polled: 15% said they...
Nonprofit Boot Camp – October 8, 2005
I attended the Craigslist Foundation Second Annual Nonprofit Boot Camp at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco yesterday. It was quite an amazing event with over 1,300 attendees, 32 workshops organized in eight separate tracks, the inspiring Rev. Cecil Williams as one of the keynote speakers, and...
Draft Form 990 Available for Comment
Click here to view the new draft form.
Nonprofit Integrity Act – Audit Committee
QUESTION: Can a charitable organization subject to the Nonprofit Integrity Act’s requirement of an audit committee include on such committee its CEO or CFO? ANSWER: It depends (sorry about this standard lawyer’s response, but read on). California Government Code section 12586(e)(2) provides that “the member or members of the...
Charity, Aid, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act Reintroduced in U.S. Senate – September 27, 2005
Click here for a press release of the reintroduction of the CARE Act form Sen. Rick Santorum. * UPDATE: Click here for Sen. Santorum’s article, It’s Time to Pass CARE (October 7, 2005). Click here for an article about the planned reintroduction of the CARE Act from OMB...
Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act
On September 23, 2005, President Bush signed into law the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act (KETRA), which includes the following tax breaks to encourage donors to give to hurricane-relief efforts: * Individuals will be allowed to deduct up to 100 percent of their adjusted gross income for any charitable...
Donor Standing to Sue to Enforce Terms of Donation – L.B. Research and Education Foundation v. The UCLA Foundation
In L.B. Research and Eduction Foundation v. The UCLA Foundation, 130 Cal.App. 4th 171 (June 14, 2005), the Court of Appeal held that an agreement between L.B. Research and Education Foundation ("Donor") and The UCLA Foundation ("Charity") created a contract subject to a condition subsequent (rather than a charitable...
Proposed Regulations – Intermediate Sanctions and Recognition of Tax-Exempt Status
The proposed regulations issued by the IRS on September 9, 2005, clarify (1) that a tax-exempt organization under IRC section 501(c)(3) must serve a public rather than a private interest, and (2) that that the imposition of intermediate sanctions for excess benefit transactions under IRC section 4958 does not...
2005 Joint Fall CLE Meeting, ABA Exempt Organizations Committee – September 16, 2005
I attended the ABA Exempt Organizations (EO) Committee Meeting in San Francisco on Friday, September 16, and a mixer the evening before the meeting organized by the New and Young Members Sub-Committee. It was a nice opportunity for me to meet many attorneys from across the country whose practices...
Hurricane Katrina – IRS Expedites Charity Applications, Urges Use of Existing Charities
The IRS will provide an expedited review and approval process for new organizations seeking tax-exempt status in order to provide relief for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Click here for the details. Click here for Publ. 3833, Disaster Relief: Providing Assistance Through Charitable Organizations. Click here for the IRS website...