Income generated from activities outside a nonprofits’ exempt purpose is taxable as unrelated business income (“UBI”). One option to conduct taxable activity is to form a new company wholly owned by the nonprofit called a taxable subsidiary.
Boards are entitled to delegate tasks to committees, officers, staff, or in certain cases, professionals, but only if they perform sufficient oversight. Oversight is commonly exercised through policies and procedures so long as the board ensures that the policies and procedures are actually followed. Common oversight mechanisms include review of financial statements and the annual Form 990 as well as the implementation of various governance policies.
It is important to take a thoughtful approach when drafting or revising bylaws. Boards and board committees sometimes spend months or even years trying to draft the perfect set of bylaws . Too often, they look to bylaws of other nonprofit organizations or samples gleaned from the Internet with no regard to whether the bylaws match the structure and style of the organization or comply with state and federal law. Unfortunately, this approach usually leads to confusion, delay, and conflict on the board. The better practice is to work with a knowledgeable attorney from the beginning, starting with a compliant template, and tailoring it to the needs of your organization.
Cryptocurrency is emerging as a mainstream form of currency, which opens the door to new fundraising opportunities for nonprofits. Some organizations have already begun accepting donations in
A plain language explanation of the difference between a nonprofit organization and one that is tax-exempt.
Let’s be clear about one thing. No one owns a nonprofit corporation.[1]
While there is no outright ownership, there is control. One of the fundamental questions I ask when forming a new nonprofit corporation is how board members will be selected. This is a key question because those who hold the power to select board members retain the ultimate authority over the corporation.
The possibilities are limited by the nonprofit corporation statute in the state where the corporation is domiciled.
A trademark is a protection of a good or service that is unique to your nonprofit. It can be a word, phrase, slogan, symbol, design,
Before 1996, the only option the IRS had when faced with a tax-exempt organization that had violated the private inurement rules was to do nothing or to revoke the organization’s tax-exempt status, a penalty that often punished the organization’s beneficiaries more than the insiders who benefited from the inurement. To cure this problem, Code Section 4958 was added to the Internal Revenue Code in 1996 to provide the IRS with an “intermediate” tool between the extremes of either ignoring the problem or revoking the nonprofit’s tax-exempt status.
Black’s Law Dictionary, 9th ed., defines an endowment as: A gift of money or property to an institution (such as a university) for a specific
We have blogged about the phenomenon of nonprofit hostile takeovers and the fact that no one owns a nonprofit. However, there is always control. Although nonprofits generally lack shares that can be owned and transferred, there are many ways to ensure a level of control or influence over a nonprofit entity. Those seeking to control a nonprofit or balance governance rights among different stakeholders need to understand the available options.
Most states require you to register your organization if you solicit donations from their residents. Many states also require registration if your organization collects substantial or ongoing donations from their residents, even if you aren’t specifically targeting donors in that state. Download our comprehensive list of each state’s requirements.
Download our free guide to learn about the many elements needed to run a successful nonprofit organization, as well as how to avoid common pitfalls and mistakes.