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 17 - 32 of 192 results

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
OverviewThe 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. This page lists active…

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

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,…

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…

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…

Guidance for Making Grants to Support Ukraine

Legal Compliance Guidance
Over the last two weeks, we’ve received scores of questions from the field about how to help the Ukrainian people during the ongoing Russian invasion, including during our recent webinar with the State Department. The outpouring of support and willingness to make immediate relief funds available…

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…

Nonprofit Law in Tanzania

Legal Compliance Guidance
Current as of November 2025 | Download print version (PDF)This section describes the legal framework governing nonprofit organizations (also known as non-governmental organizations or NGOs) in Tanzania, and includes translations of legislative provisions relevant for a foundation or advisor…

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