As a benefit of membership, the Council on Foundations attorneys and legal staff provide information and education to Council members regarding a variety of topics related to foundation operations and legal compliance. All information on this website, and all publications, articles, e-mail correspondence and telephone consultations provided by Council attorneys and legal staff are intended for informational purposes only and not as part of an attorney-client relationship. Council attorneys are not licensed in every state and cannot provide legal representation. The information is not a substitute for expert legal, tax or other professional advice tailored to your specific circumstances, and may not be relied upon for the purposes of avoiding any penalties that may be imposed under the Internal Revenue Code.
What to Require of Grantees
Fundamentals, Legal Compliance Guidance
Good relationships between grantmakers and grantees promote more effective philanthropy. But there's nothing that can mess up a good partnership faster than an overzealous lawyer. In seeking to protect their foundation clients, lawyers can sometimes impose excessive requirements on grantees,…
FAQ: Disaster Grantmaking for Corporate Grantmakers
Legal Compliance Guidance, Fundamentals
In the aftermath of a natural disaster, corporate grantmakers often wish to address the needs of employees and the community at large. Grantmakers must understand the legal rules that govern disaster grantmaking. Below are the answers to many common questions on providing disaster relief.
Although…
Equivalency Determination or Expenditure Responsibility
Legal Compliance Guidance
Private foundations wishing to make a cross-border grant must ensure that:
The grant is clearly for a charitable purpose, and
The grant counts as a qualifying distribution for the purpose of meeting the foundation’s annual distribution requirement.
The easiest way for a private foundation to…
Sample Conflict of Interest Policy
Legal Compliance Guidance
Editable conflict of interest policies for staff and board members.
This sample document is being provided for informational purposes and is not to be shared without the permission of the Council on Foundations. Use of the sample document does not create an attorney-client relationship, and the…
Public Disclosure Requirements for Foundations
Legal Compliance Guidance
Every organization exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code is required to disclose certain information to the public:
The organization’s exemption application, Form 1023, is subject to public disclosure, along with any documents supporting the application and any letters from…
IRS Search Tool: Select Check
External Resource
Grantmakers searching for more detailed information about the charitable status of their potential grantees may find the answers they need in the IRS Select Check tool.
This IRS online search tool allows the user to:
(1) search the IRS public charity list, known as IRS Publication 78, for…
Losing Tax-Exempt Status
Legal Compliance Guidance
It is extremely rare for an organization to lose its tax-exempt status. When it happens, it's typically the end result of a three-step process: (1) The IRS conducts an examination of the tax-exempt organization; (2) the IRS issues a letter to the organization proposing revocation; then (3) the…
Risk Management Resources
Legal Compliance Guidance
Internal Risk Management for Foundations
In response to the ongoing changes to the legal and policy landscape, it has become increasingly important for foundations and charitable nonprofits to engage best practices for mitigating their potential legal and operational risks. We worked with outside…
What Counts as a Qualifying Distribution?
Legal Compliance Guidance
What counts as a qualifying distribution?
A foundation can meet the minimum-payout requirement with any expenditure that meets the definition of a “qualifying distribution.” In short, the law states a foundation must have qualifying distributions equal to approximately 5%, not a “payout” of 5%. (…
Navigating Disasters and Crises: A Practitioner Playbook for Corporate Responsibility and Philanthropy
Publication, Toolkit
Navigating Disasters and Crises: A Practitioner Playbook for Corporate Responsibility and Philanthropy is a free resource designed to guide corporate leaders through navigating disasters and crises at a time when disaster response has grown more comprehensive and complex. It provides a new…
Self-Defense Communications Exception for Private Foundations
Legal Compliance Guidance
Internal Revenue Code § 4945(e) allows private foundations to appear or communicate with a legislative body concerning a decision of that body that might affect the existence of the foundation, its powers and duties, its tax-exempt status, or the deductibility of contributions to it.
What…
Considerations for Working With 501(c)(3) NIL Collectives
Legal Compliance Guidance
More than 120 “NIL collectives” have been established in the U.S., many of them as tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, to raise funds and enter into agreements that compensate student-athletes at specific higher-education institutions in exchange for using the student-athlete's name,…
Scholarships
Legal Compliance Guidance, Publication
Part of Mastering Foundation Law
Providing scholarships to individuals is a popular method of charitable giving in the U.S. But following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and the ongoing Alliance for Equal Rights v. Fearless Fund case,…
SFFA Case Summary and Ruling
Legal Compliance Guidance
On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling on two cases involving the use of race-conscious admissions practices by colleges and universities: Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. Harvard and SFFA v. University of North Carolina (UNC).
The majority opinion held that the…
Legal FAQs
The Council's Legal team has created a collection of Frequently Asked Questions pages to help members navigate some of the most common legal questions that foundations encounter.
Most of these resources are available only to Council members, except for the Scholarships FAQ page and pages about the…
How to Calculate the Public Support Test
Legal Compliance Guidance, Publication
A Chapter in Mastering Foundation Law:
The Council on Foundations Compendium of Legal Resources
In the United States, organizations that qualify to receive charitable tax-deductible contributions are described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Tax Code. These organizations are divided into two main…