Legal Compliance Guidance
New Safe Harbor Procedures for Equivalency Determinations
Tax practitioners love “safe harbors” or specific guidelines that can be followed to ensure a taxpayer or exempt organization is in compliance with applicable tax law. For charitable organizations making grants internationally, September 14, 2017 was a good day because the IRS issued Revenue…
Webinar Recording: Transforming Community Foundation Scholarship Programs from Administrative Burdens to Strategic Assets
Legal Compliance Guidance, Recording
Download the Presentation Slides
With the Stanislaus Community Foundation, National College Access Network (NCAN), and the Council on Foundations' Legal Team and Director of Community Philanthropy, this webinar explores key findings from a recent white paper published by NCAN on the topic…
Expenditure Responsibility vs. Equivalency Determination: How to Choose
Recording
Are you a corporate foundation that makes grants internationally? Do you make grants to organizations that are not 501(c)(3) public charities? If so, you will want to learn more about expenditure responsibility and equivalency determinations, and understand when each may apply.
Private Foundations Lunch with Legal Counsel: Self-Dealing
Members Access the Recording
Which of the following transactions are generally considered acts of self-dealing between a private foundation and a disqualified person?
Sales, exchanges, or leasing of property
Providing goods, services or facilities
Lending money or other extensions of credit…
Transforming Community Foundation Scholarship Programs from Administrative Burdens to Strategic Assets
Member Access to Recording
With our partners, National College Access Network (NCAN), and the Council on Foundation's Legal Team and Director of Community Philanthropy, this webinar explores key findings from a recent white paper published by NCAN on the topic of scholarships, discusses in-…
Supporting Organizations
Legal Compliance Guidance, Publication
A Chapter in Mastering Foundation Law:
The Council on Foundations Compendium of Legal Resources
This chapter discusses the federal tax laws governing supporting organizations. As a result of the Tax Reform Act of 1969, private foundations receive considerably less favorable treatment under tax law…
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…
Starting a Foundation: Formation and Considerations
Legal Compliance Guidance, Publication
Many people want to start foundations, but few start out knowing exactly what sort of organization they are going to create. The purpose of this e-book is to help potential donors understand the many different entities that are commonly referred to as foundations and to provide an understanding of…
An Overview of the Law Governing Community Foundations
Legal Compliance Guidance, Publication
A Chapter in Mastering Foundation Law:
The Council on Foundations Compendium of Legal Resources
This chapter is intended to examine and explain those common legal characteristics shared by community foundations and to provide a comprehensive legal overview of the rules and regulations that govern…
What Happens When the U.S. Sanctions U.S. Charities?
Do you know what happens when the U.S. sanctions U.S. charities? If you answered no, you wouldn’t be alone. It can lead to funds being frozen indefinitely, despite tax rules requiring that they be distributed for charitable purposes when a charity shuts down.
Cherie L. Evans of Evans & Rosen…
Here’s the IRS’s Dirty Dozen List of Tax Scams
It’s officially tax season when the IRS releases its Dirty Dozen List of Tax Scams. We know Council members work hard to be on the right side of the law, but the below info from the IRS can be useful to review with board and staff. Don’t forget, if you ever have a question, the Council’s legal team…
Does Trump's Immigration Executive Order Impact My Foundation?
Basic Rights and Rules for Foundations working with Non-US Citizens
Disclaimer: The information in this message and any attachments is being provided for informational purposes only and not as part of an attorney-client relationship. The information is not a substitute for expert legal, tax,or…
Trending in Legal Affairs: Foundation Events, Elections and Political Campaign Activity
On Tuesday, November 8, Americans will go to the polls to elect the forty-fifth president of the United States, 34 Senators, and the entire House of Representatives, as well as hundreds of state and local officials. And while interested parties may urge constituents to get involved and participate…
Trending in Legal Affairs - Halloween Edition: Exorcising Expenditure Responsibility
An inexperienced grants manager was nervous, dreadfully nervous.
One dark evening, a spirited major donor appeared at the community foundation. The donor, wanting to assist with local community improvements, recommended a grant from his donor advised fund (DAF) to the chamber of commerce, a 501(c)(…
Self-Dealing & Family Foundations: What If the Brady Bunch had a Foundation?
Here’s a story—a hypothetical one—what if Mike and Carol Brady established a foundation for their philanthropic giving? As of late, Legal Affairs has seen an increase in inquiries both relating to and from family foundations. As such, we thought it would be ‘groovy’ to highlight some…