Finance & Accounting
Is your organization in compliance with filing its Form 990 and the public disclosure rules that apply to charities?
990 Filing for Corporate Grantmakers
Legal Compliance Guidance
Electronic Filing: While the requirements regarding electronic filing of Forms 990 and 990-PF have not changed, the electronic filing requirement for some organizations is still relatively new. For that reason, you may want to revisit the mandatory electronic filing rules to determine whether your…
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…
CF Insights Interactive Strategy Model Toolkit
Toolkit
Building on the Activity-Based Costing methodology, the Interactive Strategy Model (ISM) helps community foundations model the impact of strategic changes on their economics.
Consulting services are available for any of our CF Insights operating model analysis tools. Email cfinsights@cof.org to…
CF Insights Economic Scenario Planning Toolkit
Toolkit
The Economic Scenario Planning (ESP) Model, or “Stress Test,” allows community foundations to create five-year forecasts to answer questions about the potential effects of investment market performance and donor behavior.
Consulting services are available for any of our CF Insights operating model…
Making Informed Decisions in Uncertain Times: Helping Community Foundations during Economic Volatility
Publication, Research
To help community foundations address twin challenges of fewer resources and greater need, CF Insights conducted research by interviewing and collecting survey responses from a cross section of 73 community foundations during the month of October 2008.
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…
Extension of Tax Filing Deadlines for Tax-Exempt Organizations in 2020
Legal Compliance Guidance
IRS Notice 2020-23, issued on April 9, 2020, clarifies that tax-exempt organizations are fully included in COVID-19 relief. Specifically, the filing and tax payment deadlines for IRS Form 990 series (990, 990-EZ, 990-PF, and 990-T) normally due between April 1, 2020 and July 15, 2020 are…
Don't Be Caught Off-Guard This Tax Season: A Guide for Navigating the New UBIT Rules
Recording
Does your organization provide parking/transportation benefits to employees or do you already file the Form 990-T? If you answered yes to either of those questions, your organization will owe taxes for 2018 and the filing process is going to be different than it was last year. The Council’s…
Community Foundation Legal Webinar
Recording
View the Webinar Slides
Community Foundations: Gearing up for Year-End
Spend 90 minutes with the Council's legal staff to explore topics associated with year-end. As well, take a moment out to celebrate #CFWeek and gear up for #GivingTuesday!
Topics Include:
Year-end gift…
What to Expect from an Audit
Legal Compliance Guidance, Publication
A Chapter in Mastering Foundation Law:
The Council on Foundations Compendium of Legal Resources
This chapter addresses what foundations should expect from an audit. Nonprofits, including private foundations, are bracing for an uptick in audit activity from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as it…
Foundation Finance and Investment Management
Legal Compliance Guidance, Publication
A Chapter in Mastering Foundation Law:
The Council on Foundations Compendium of Legal Resources
This chapter examines Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA) and other laws that govern the management and investment of endowments and other foundation financial assets. It also…
2016 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Report: Administrative and Program Expense Tables
Publication, Research
The 2016 Administrative and Program Expense Tables provide foundations with tools to benchmark their expenses – charitable administrative, program service, and qualifying distributions – against peers in the field. Containing data collected through the Council’s 2016 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits…
Governance and Compliance Issues for Foundation Financial Management
Legal Compliance Guidance
This white paper provides a review of critical governance issues that foundations must consider to remain in compliance with prevailing and emerging laws and regulations. Readers can expect content focused on trustee fiduciary responsibilities as relates to duties of care, loyalty, and…
Administrative Fees
Fundamentals
Community foundations have one thing in common: When it comes to administrative fee structures, no two are alike. While there's no one right answer, it's important to review and compare your foundation’s fee structure to other foundations of comparable size. Many community foundations are doing…
A Compliance Checklist for Private Foundations
Legal Compliance Guidance
The persistent scrutiny of nonprofit governance has prompted leaders at many types of organizations to take steps to assure that their own houses are in good legal and financial order. This checklist is a good place for you as a private foundation to start.
Thinking about an Audit? Read this First
Legal Compliance Guidance
Audits are everywhere these days. Consider:
In the wake of corporate accounting scandals, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was enacted in 2002, imposing corporate governance reforms on public, for-profit companies, including provisions on how financial audits are managed and carried out by auditors.…