Blog - Page 21 of 46 - Charity Lawyer Blog

Nonprofit Tax

It’s Not Too Late to Claim 2020 State Tax Credits

State charitable tax credits are a win for everyone; qualified charities receive the support they need at no extra expense to the taxpayer beyond what they would already owe to the state in taxes. Note that while credits are non-refundable (i.e. if you don’t end up owing enough in taxes to fully benefit from the credits, you will not get a refund from the state), unused credits can be carried forward for 5 years.

January 4, 2021 No Comments

News and Avoiding Scams

Charity Scams (and How to Avoid Them)

Thoroughly research a charity before giving. What are they doing to serve the community, and do they actually do what they say they will do? How much of their costs go to overhead and administration versus providing actual services to the community they serve? The following organizations provide reputable information on how charities do business and spend their donations.

December 21, 2020 No Comments

Fundraising Regulation

Boost Your Nonprofit’s Year End Giving

As the pandemic continues to dominate the daily dialogue, giving trends have kept apace with the rise in awareness surrounding public health issues. Likewise, racial justice and politics have taken their share of the stage and giving to both causes has increased from previous years. But can we expect giving to be reduced in other sectors as a result? Not necessarily, say survey respondents. Still, it’s helpful to examine your nonprofit’s mission vis-a-vis pandemic relief and other salient issues; strive to ensure that your messaging effectively ties in your mission to those issues that are top of mind for donors.

December 14, 2020 No Comments

Starting a nonprofit

Tips for Managing Volunteers

While many nonprofits may be enjoying the surge in volunteerism, relying on volunteers can come with its share of risks. Still, abiding by a few key practices can ensure that both the nonprofit organization and its volunteers get the most out of the experience.

November 30, 2020 No Comments

Grantmaking and Gift Planning

What Donors Need to Know About Donor Advised Funds

A virtual bench trial that began on October 19 may soon further define the contours of control issues surrounding donor-advised funds. The case, Fairbairn et al. v. Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, centers on a feud between donors Emily and Malcolm Fairbairn and Fidelity Investment’s Charitable Branch.

November 23, 2020 No Comments

Contracts, Waivers, and Releases

Negotiating and Drafting Contracts

A well drafted contract accurately represents what both parties expect from the agreement. Your nonprofit organization could end up in court or out of pocket large sums of money if you don’t get it right. It is, therefore, important to have the contract represent all parties’ expectations.

November 1, 2020 No Comments

IRS

IRS Prematurely Issues Auto-Revocation Notices To Exempt Organizations

The IRS released a statement admitting that they sent certain tax-exempt organizations premature auto-revocation notices in error.

October 26, 2020 No Comments

Starting a nonprofit

Data Privacy and Nonprofits

Blackbaud is familiar to many nonprofits and universities as one of the world’s leading cloud software companies for fundraising, relationship, and financial management. Now they are in the limelight after a highly publicized ransomware attack in which perpetrators obtained a copy of a subset of data from its Raiser’s Edge and NetCommunity products that track clients’ donors and fundraising activities. Although Blackbaud maintains that no personal information (such as credit card numbers, banking information, or social security numbers) was compromised in the attack, Blackbaud users impacted by the breach have since filed a class-action lawsuit for negligence, breach of contract, and other allegations.

October 19, 2020 No Comments

Grantmaking and Gift Planning

The Tainted Donor Dilemma

The tainted donor dilemma is nothing new; nonprofits have long wrestled with the ethical and reputational implications of receiving questionable characters’ gifts. But with the explosion of real-time mass communication and social media, stories of wrongdoing are quickly amplified and can quickly sink a person–and everything and everyone with whom they are associated.

October 11, 2020 No Comments

Nonprofit Mergers, Acquisitions, and Affiliations

Nonprofit Affiliates: Common Issues and Best Practices

To reap the tax-advantaged and protective benefits of conducting business through multiple entities, organizations must take care to respect the formalities of the arrangement. This includes remaining independent and dealing with each other at arm’s length, having separate board meetings, implementing conflict of interest policies, documenting transactions between the entities, and ensuring fair market value payment for any benefits received by affiliates.

October 6, 2020 No Comments