Legal Compliance Guidance

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All information on this website, and all publications, articles, email 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 purpose of avoiding any penalties that may be imposed under the Internal Revenue Code. Council members may email legal@cof.org with inquiries and for more information.

Displaying 1 - 16 of 181 results

Summary of Ways and Means Chairman's Mark

Legal Compliance Guidance
On May 9, the House Ways and Means Committee released initial legislative text of the tax bill to be marked up this week. The Committee is expected to release a revised and more substantive bill Monday afternoon, so the provisions below could be modified and are subject to change. Individual…

Self-Defense Communications Regarding the Section 4940 Excise Tax on Net Investment Income

Legal Compliance Guidance
Self-Defense Exception: A legislative proposal to modify the private foundation excise tax on net investment income under IRC section 4940 would qualify as a self-defense issue, because it affects a private foundation’s duties. Private foundations may therefore communicate with the legislature, its…

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%. (…

Self-Defense Communication Rules for Public Charities

Legal Compliance Guidance
Community Foundations and other public charities may engage in an insubstantial amount of lobbying as part of normal operations. But what are the rules around engaging in self-defense?   Internal Revenue Code Section 4911(d)(2)(C) provides public charities with an exception to the…

Court Cases We Are Monitoring

Legal Compliance Guidance
Overview The Council is committed to helping our members stay informed about litigation that may have an impact on the philanthropic sector. This resource is designed to be a guide to cases that could impact the operations of foundations and other grantmaking organizations. For a more…

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…

FAQ: End of Year 2024

Legal Compliance Guidance
Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA) Gifts and Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) May a donor make a QCD from an IRA to their donor-advised fund (DAF) or someone else’s DAF? What happens if a donor chooses to transfer money from their IRA into a DAF? Do we have to tell them they have…

FAQ: AAER v. Fearless Fund Settlement

Legal Compliance Guidance
What is Section 1981? Does the outcome of this case set a new standard for grants that are race-based or race-conscious? If so, why? How will this settlement impact a foundation’s ongoing commitment to DEI within their grantmaking? Will the settlement impact foundations collection of…

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,…

Webinar Recording: Self-Dealing Concerns for Corporate and Private Foundations

Legal Compliance Guidance, Recording
In this webinar, the Council’s Legal Resources team took an in-depth look at the self-dealing rules applicable to private foundations under section 4941 of the Internal Revenue Code. This webinar provided an analysis of the relevant rules and regulations governing transactions between private…

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,…

FAQ: Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. Harvard

Legal Compliance Guidance
On June 29, 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). For more information, the Council has a full page…

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…

Accepting Cryptocurrency as Charitable Contributions

Legal Compliance Guidance
Accepting Cryptocurrency as Charitable Contributions will help community foundations navigate questions and concerns around receiving cryptocurrency as charitable contributions. Get comprehensive, state-by-state information from the Council's Legal Resources Team on how your foundation can…

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