Doing Well & Doing Good: Hybrid Models for Social Impact

On March 20, 2012, I attended "Doing Well & Doing Good: Hybrid Models for Social Impact," an event co-sponsored by the Foundation Center – San Francisco, UpStart Bay Area,the Hub Bay Area, the Social Enterprise Alliance San Francisco Bay Area Chapter, and the Stanford Social Innovation Review. Here is the introduction to the webcast event provided […]

2010 Western Conference on Tax Exempt Organizations

Last Thursday and Friday, I attended one of my favorite annual events, the Western Conference on Tax Exempt Organizations (WCTEO), co-sponsored by Loyola Law School and the Internal Revenue Service.  As always, the event was attended by many prominent attorneys, accountants, and executives who practice in the nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations area. After brief introductions, […]

Emerging Leaders Program: Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership

The Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) of the Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership "addresses the core competencies needed to effectively manage organizations and complex programs as well as the leadership skills one needs to be successful within our quickly changing sector."  Last week, Emily Chan and I spoke to the ELP group on various legal […]

Finding the Right Transparency

Today, more than ever, the public and government agencies are demanding nonprofits to be transparent. But concerns about having a realistic picture of internal operations, where money is going, and the effectiveness of the programs are countered by concerns of overburdened staff, increased administrative costs, and an invitation to singled-out and damaging criticism. Transparency is […]

2009 Western Conference on Tax-Exempt Organizations – Day One

I attended the 2009 WCTEO in Los Angeles last Thursday and Friday. It’s always a great conference for professionals in the nonprofit and tax-exempt sector:   impressive and knowledgeable speakers, interesting topics, and a chance to meet with peers and people you greatly admire.   My only and very minor criticism is that the scope […]

2009 Georgetown Exempt Organizations Conference – Day One

I tweeted day one of the 2009 Georgetown Representing & Managing Tax-Exempt Organizations Conference today. The absence of wireless access in the Hyatt conference rooms prevented live tweeting, but I posted the following tweets during breaks and in the evening: IRS Director, Exempt Organizations, Lois Lerner, noted an increase in EO applications this year – […]

Nonprofit Executive Compensation

While charitable organizations are permitted to arrange executive compensation agreements, "unreasonable" compensation to a disqualified person will be considered an excess benefit, subjecting the disqualified person and members of management who approved the transaction to penalties under section 4958 of the Internal Revenue Code known as "intermediate sanctions." The IRS uses the term "disqualified person" […]

IRS Releases Notice on Charitable Contributions of Inventory

On October 3, 2008, the IRS released Notice 2008-90, announcing that the IRS and the Treasury Department are studying the computation of the deductible amount and adjustment to cost of goods sold for charitable contributions of inventory property that constitute qualified contributions as defined in § 170(e)(3)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Notice provides: […]