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 132 results

Accounting for Assets Held at Nonprofits

Legal Compliance Guidance
Download this information as a PDF Introduction Nonprofit entities place their investments with community foundations (the Foundation) for a variety of reasons, including investment expertise, efficiencies, and access to planned giving advice, and services. As nonprofit entities seek to place…

Accounting for Assets Held at Community Foundations

Legal Compliance Guidance
Download this information as a PDF Introduction Nonprofit entities place their investments with community foundations ("the Foundation") for a variety of reasons, including investment expertise, efficiencies, and access to planned giving advice and services. As nonprofit entities seek to place…

End of Year Legal Office Hour - 2025

Legal Compliance Guidance
As we approach the end of 2025, community foundations face a range of questions related to gift acceptance and donor stewardship. This is a recording of an open office hours session where the Council’s Legal Resources team discussed key year-end topics and answered audience questions.

​​Potential Implications of Funding Protest Activities​

Legal Compliance Guidance
Developed for the Council on Foundations by Christopher J. Armstrong, Partner at Holland & Knight The Current Environment Foundations are under increasing political scrutiny regarding their relationships with organizations that have engaged in protests, especially in situations where…

Actions Upon Potential Arrest of a Senior Leader at a Community Foundation 

Legal Compliance Guidance
Developed for the Council on Foundations by Christopher J. Armstrong, Partner at Holland & Knight  In the event that a senior leader of a community foundation or similar organization is arrested at a First Amendment protected protest, preparing for an immediate response is essential to…

Expanded Legal Support - Center for Community Foundations

Legal Compliance Guidance
After listening, research, and consultation with the field, the Council on Foundations is expanding legal support to help community foundations prepare for—and respond to—threats that could shape the future of the sector.  The resources presented on this page provide additional analysis,…

Responding to a Congressional Inquiry

Legal Compliance Guidance
Developed for the Council on Foundations by Christopher J. Armstrong, Partner at Holland & Knight Congress’s power to conduct inquiries, including information requests, the issuance of subpoenas, and public hearings has long been recognized by the courts as part of Congress’s power to…

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…

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…

FAQ: End of Year

Legal Compliance Guidance
Frequently Asked Questions about... 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?…

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,…

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,…

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…

Accepting Charitable Contributions from Cannabis Businesses

Legal Compliance Guidance
With the sale and use of cannabis still federally prohibited while more states legalize it to varying degrees, the industry is creating far-reaching financial implications for the philanthropic sector. “Accepting Charitable Contributions from Cannabis Businesses” will help community foundations…

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