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.
State Charitable Solicitation Compliance
External Resource, Legal Compliance Guidance
Most states have registration and/or reporting laws that apply to nonprofit organizations soliciting contributions within the state. Information about registration is available through individual states or the Multi-State Filer Project.
Conducting a Raffle Fundraiser
Legal Compliance Guidance
Community foundations occasionally consider conducting a raffle as a way to raise money for a particular fund. The plan may be to do a raffle as a standalone fundraiser or as part of another community foundation event. In many cases, donors approach community foundations asking to conduct the…
IRS Publication 1771: Charitable Contributions–Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements
External Resource
Explains the federal tax law for organizations such as charities and churches that receive tax-deductible charitable contributions, and for taxpayers who make contributions.
Rules Governing Non-Component Funds
Legal Compliance Guidance
Historical background of non-component and donor-directed funds.
Returning Contributions to Donors
Fundamentals
Community foundations occasionally receive a request for money back from donors of advised funds and organizations that have established designated funds or agency endowments. This article discusses why the proper answer is a firm "no"—and some polite ways to communicate the community foundation's…
Creating a Donor-Initiated Fundraising Policy
Sample Document
Community foundations are often faced with requests from donors or local volunteers who wish to express their support by raising money for the community foundation or for a particular fund. When volunteers engage in fundraising activities on behalf of the community foundation (a practice called…
IRS Publication 4302: A Charity's Guide to Car Donations
Legal Compliance Guidance, External Resource
Types of car donation programs and their impact on tax-exempt status, taxable income, and deductible contributions.
Gifts of Tangible Personal Property
Legal Compliance Guidance
A donor is considering starting a fund at the community foundation using a piece of jewelry instead of a cash gift. The jewelry cost her $1,000 (35 years ago) and is now worth $20,000. May the community foundation accept the gift? What documentation must the community foundation prepare? From the…
Gifts of Property: What to Know Before You Say Yes
Legal Compliance Guidance
There is always the temptation, particularly among newly established community foundations, to accept any type of contribution. When a contribution consists of property other than cash, however, it must be determined if it is in the community foundation’s best interests to accept such property. Are…
Accepting Non-Cash Gifts as Charitable Contributions
Legal Compliance Guidance
Accepting gifts of real estate, subchapter S corporations, and business interests (including general partnerships, limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships, and limited liability companies), as well as determining when or if they trigger unrelated business tax (UBIT).
Taxable Distributions for Donor Advised Funds
Fundamentals, Legal Compliance Guidance
Public charities that hold donor advised funds must comply with special rules regarding payments from such funds. Provisions under the Pension Protection Act of 2006 require certain payments from donor advised funds to be made using expenditure responsibility, while certain other payments are…
Grants to Organizations from Donor-Advised Funds: Is Expenditure Responsibility Required?
Legal Compliance Guidance
Use this flowchart to determine if grants from donor-advised funds require expenditure responsibility.
Providing Large Grants to Small Grantees
Legal Compliance Guidance
Lawyers rarely tell foundation managers, "Relax, don’t worry so much!" But in the case of "tipping," that’s been our advice for more than 10 years. What is the so-called "tipping problem" and why are so many foundations (still) so worried about it?
Tipping occurs when a private…
To Check or Not to Check: Complying With OFAC Regulations
Legal Compliance Guidance
After September 11, 2001, many grantmakers and other charitable organizations that were not previously familiar with the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), learned of its existence. As one of the key U.S. government agencies seeking to shut down terrorism funding…
The Debate Over Anti-Terrorism Certification
Legal Compliance Guidance
In an effort to ensure that charitable resources are used exclusively for charitable purposes and not used to support terrorist activity, organizations may choose to adopt practices in addition to those explicitly required by law. Among the practices that some charities choose to adopt is including…
Grants From Private Foundations to Supporting Organizations
Legal Compliance Guidance
Aligning private foundation grantmaking procedures with PPA requirements
The Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) brought many changes to the charitable sector. The most significant changes for private foundations are the rules for making grants to certain kinds of supporting organizations. While…