Expenditure Responsibility
When a private foundation makes a grant to an organization that is not classified by the IRS as tax-exempt, it is required by law to ensure that the funds are spent for charitable purposes and not for private or political activities. Find FAQs, rules and sample policies to ensure your grants to "non-charities" are for charitable purposes.
Equivalency Determination or Expenditure Responsibility
Legal Compliance Guidance
Private foundations wishing to make a cross-border grant must ensure that:
The grant is clearly for a charitable purpose, and
The grant counts as a qualifying distribution for the purpose of meeting the foundation’s annual distribution requirement.
The easiest way for a private foundation to…
ER Causing You Trauma? Diagnosing the Rules and Regulations for Expenditure Responsibility
Recording
View the Slides
The steps of expenditure responsibility are the federally-mandated procedures a private foundation (and DAFs) must follow for any grant made to a non-charity. While the rules for exercising expenditure responsibility are relatively straightforward, many issues and concerns can…
Expenditure Responsibility: Step by Step
Legal Compliance Guidance, Publication
A Chapter in Mastering Foundation Law:
The Council on Foundations Compendium of Legal Resources
Expenditure responsibility is the federally mandated procedure that a private foundation—and some public charities—must follow for any grant made to an organization that is not a public charity.
This…
What is Expenditure Responsibility?
Legal Compliance Guidance
Expenditure responsibility is a five step procedure that is designed to ensure that foundation funds are used for exclusively charitable purposes.
The five basic steps that are required for completing expenditure responsibility include:
Conducting a pre-grant inquiry including a reasonable…
Expenditure Responsibility Chart for Private Foundations
Legal Compliance Guidance
This document is a tool to help you as a private foundation determine when to use expenditure responsibility for grants to public charities.
Sample Foreign Grant Expenditure Responsibility Letter
Sample Document
Sample foreign grant expenditure responsibility letter.
This sample document is being provided for informational purposes and is not to be shared without the permission of the Council on Foundations. Use of the sample document does not create an attorney-client relationship, and the information…
Sample Expenditure Responsibility Grant Agreement
Sample Document
Editable grant agreement for grants requiring expenditure responsibility.
This sample document is being provided for informational purposes and is not to be shared without the permission of the Council on Foundations. Use of the sample document does not create an attorney-client relationship…
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.