National Network of Fiscal Sponsors Annual Gathering 2015

The National Network of Fiscal Sponsors held its Annual Gathering in Brooklyn on November 7. Approximately 100 leaders of fiscal sponsors from across the country came to learn about common issues, best practices, and new developments, and to share experiences. Fiscal sponsorship refers to a contractual relationship that allows a person, group, or taxable entity to […]

Highlights from CalNonprofits Annual Policy Convention 2015

Our team had the pleasure of attending the CalNonprofits Annual Policy Convention in Oakland yesterday. It was a nonprofit conference full of practical substance with a strong emphasis on attendees actively engaging their stakeholders and getting them to vote. Keynote The morning keynote address by Dr. Raphael Sonenshein was outstanding. He noted that anger and fear motivated people […]

IRS Issues TE/GE Priorities for 2016

The IRS Tax Exempt and Government Entities (TE/GE) division recently issued its priorities list for 2016. Here is a list of the five strategic areas of focus for exempt organizations for the upcoming year: Exemption: Issues include non-exempt purpose activity and private inurement, enforced primarily through field examination; See Exempt Purposes – Internal Revenue Code […]

Why Are Charities Tax-Exempt?

Charitable organizations are eligible to be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. This is based on a common belief that giving to charities is good for society. However, with ever increasing reports of corruption and fraud, very large amounts of monies tied up in endowment funds of universities and foundations, and cries of unfair […]

Nonprofit Law: Hot Topics – CEB / CLE

On February 26, 2015, Erin and I recorded a webinar for Continuing Education of the Bar – California on Nonprofit Law: Hot Topics. It’s an intermediate-level one-hour CLE program available here. Providing counsel to nonprofits requires knowledge and understanding of corporate and tax laws that are often not intuitive or easy to research, and that often […]

Recent News from IRS Exempt Organizations Division

IRS Exempt Organizations (EO) Division Director Tamera Ripperda has been speaking at conferences and to a few select groups over the past several weeks, providing us with a glimpse with what is currently happening within the EO Division. Ripperda commented that: the IRS will shift its approach in examinations to focus on data-driven analysis of specific compliance […]

Nonprofit Tweets of the Week – 3/20/15

  This week I had the pleasure of attending the Wharton Social Impact Conference (see Storify). Have a listen to Ramy Essam‘s Irhal (anthem of the Egyptian protests in Tahrir Square) while perusing our curated nonprofit tweets of the week: La Piana Consulting: 6 assumptions + 3 critical uncertainties = 9 key trends affecting the charitable sector http://ow.ly/KgyiA from @IndSector […]

CEB: Nonprofit Law: Hot Topics – Livecast on Thu, 2/26, at noon

Erin and I will be presenting a program on Nonprofit Law: Hot Topics for Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB) – State Bar of California livecast on Thursday, February 26 from noon to 1 p.m. The following description of our program is on the CEB website. Providing counsel to nonprofits requires knowledge and understanding of corporate […]

Top 10 Events in 2014

2014 was another year full of events affecting the nonprofit sector in the United States.  Nonprofits were at the forefront of movements issuing demands for reform and played a critical role in achieving successes in areas such as marriage equality and immigration.  They also helped to increase awareness of inequalities and injustices that still exist […]

2014 Western Conference on Tax-Exempt Organizations (WCTEO)

Erin and I attended the 18th Annual Western Conference on Tax-Exempt Organizations (WCTEO) co-sponsored by Loyola Law School and the UCLA School of Law, Lowell Milken Institute for Business Law and Policy on November 20 and 21. Here are highlights of some of the great sessions: Washington Update. Ruth Madrigal, U.S. Treasury, walked us through […]