Grantmaking by Public Charities

Despite many people’s belief that grantmaking is restricted to entities known as foundations, public charities can and many do engage in grantmaking. This post focuses on grantmaking by public charities and generally does not address the more restrictive rules applicable to private foundations. Terminology Part of the confusion lies with how we colloquially refer to […]

The Electioneering Prohibition: A Closer Look

With the election year in full swing, many nonprofits have questions regarding the scope of permissible election-related and lobbying or advocacy activities organizations recognized as exempt under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) can engage in.  This post will be the first in a series discussing these issues. *** As most 501(c)(3) organizations are well aware, […]

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 private foundations unless they fall into […]