Blog - Page 21 of 48 - Charity Lawyer Blog

Employment

What You Need to Know To Manage Remote Employees

Employees (and employers) may have a very different understanding of what working from home entails. That’s why it’s essential to set clear expectations concerning the job and telecommuting practices. A telecommuting policy can help to ensure that everyone is on the same page. It might include topics such as; hours of availability and documentation, expected response times, dress, behavior, and work setting requirements; and data privacy and security expectations.

November 16, 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

Nonprofit Mergers, Acquisitions, and Affiliations

When the Going Gets Tough – Collaborate

We all know that 2020 has been a brutal year for nonprofits. Unfortunately, we are starting to see more nonprofits struggle with sustainability. We have helped many organizations wind-down their operations over the years, and in most cases, there have been one or more core programs that could be salvaged. In many cases, a joint partner allowed the charity to continue its most viable programs in one form or another.

September 14, 2020 No Comments

Fundraising Regulation

Fundraising in the New Normal

If your annual gala, donor breakfast, or poker night benefit is responsible for more than 30% of your annual operating costs, it may be time to overhaul your organization’s fundraising plan. COVID-19 has taught us many lessons, one of which is that the unexpected can and does happen. Limitations on in-person gatherings have shuttered many key fundraising events heavily relied on by nonprofits. In the aftermath, some are now struggling to keep their doors open.

September 8, 2020 No Comments

Governance

How to Ensure the Legality of Virtual Board Meetings

Today, many charities are unable or unwilling to hold board meetings or membership meetings in person due to the pandemic and social distancing requirements and are considering, perhaps for the first time, holding their meetings electronically. In between the complexity of mastering Zoom and figuring out the most flattering lighting, many may not realize that their organization’s articles or bylaws do not permit virtual meetings.

September 1, 2020 No Comments

Fundraising Regulation

What You Need to Know About Endowment Restrictions

How you can use a gift is generally controlled by donor restrictions written into a gift instrument; the instrument can be as simple as an email or a memo line in a check. If there is no restricting language in the gift instrument, the terms of the solicitation (i.e. whatever the charity advertises as the purpose of their solicitation) will govern what you can or cannot do. As to the length of the restriction, any donor restrictions that use the word endowment are considered to create a fund of permanent duration unless other language in the gift instrument limits the duration of the fund.

August 10, 2020 No Comments