Legal Compliance Guidance

Further reading for Comparing 501(c)3 and 501(c)4 Organizations, a Council on Foundations reference sheet. For questions, visit cof.org or contact the Council on Foundations' Government Affairs and Legal Resources Team at govt@cof.org. Download the full document: Comparing 501(c)3 and 501(c)4…

Led by the Council on Foundations Legal Team, this workshop is flexibly organized to ensure that your broad legal questions for administering funds, grants, and community foundation activities are addressed. The legal team will provide technical and practical understanding of complex rules and…

Led by the Council on Foundations Legal Team, this workshop is flexibly organized to ensure that your broad legal questions for administering funds, grants, and community foundation activities are addressed. The legal team will provide technical and practical understanding of complex rules and…

Led by the Council on Foundations Legal Team, this workshop is flexibly organized to ensure that your broad legal questions for administering funds, grants, and community foundation activities are addressed. The legal team will provide technical and practical understanding of complex rules and…

As part of our Member Week programming, Council staff counsel will host Legal Office Hours focused on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on two cases: Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. Harvard and SFFA v. University of North Carolina (UNC), which have the potential to impact philanthropic…

On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States announced their opinion in a pair of cases — Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina. The Court held that "Harvard’s and UNC’s admissions…

Led by the Council on Foundations Legal Team, this workshop is flexibly organized to ensure that your broad legal questions for administering funds, grants, and community foundation activities are addressed. The legal team will provide technical and practical understanding of complex rules and…

The Council's Legal team has created a collection of Frequently Asked Questions pages to help members navigate some of the most common legal questions that foundations encounter. Most of these resources are available only to Council members, except for the Scholarships FAQ page and pages about the…

Will the Supreme Court end affirmative action in June? It seems likely, and the legal consequences may ripple beyond college admissions to other sectors, including philanthropy and the wider charitable sector.    As you may know, the Court heard two cases – Students for Fair Admissions (…

If you are already registered for Leading Locally, email educate@cof.org to add this event to your conference registration.  Led by the Council on Foundations Legal Team, this workshop is flexibly organized to ensure that your broad legal questions for administering funds, grants, and…

Led by the Council on Foundations Legal Team, this workshop is flexibly organized to ensure that your broad legal questions for administering funds, grants, and community foundation activities are addressed. The legal team will provide technical and practical understanding of complex rules and…

Led by the Council on Foundations Legal Team, this workshop is flexibly organized to ensure that your broad legal questions for administering funds, grants, and community foundation activities are addressed. The legal team will provide technical and practical understanding of complex rules and…

Philanthropy has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years in terms of the sources of wealth underlying charitable gifts, the allocation of resources, and its decision-making processes. More than ever, those engaged in philanthropy need an ethical orientation to inform their work. Combining…

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…

  It is easy to get hung up on what you think you cannot do when engaging with policymakers. The good news is, you can do more than you may think! Though the law varies among different types of foundations, all foundation types can engage in advocacy! The Council on Foundations Legal…