For an increasing number of nonprofit organizations, the sale of naming rights have become a significant source of funding. The assets that can be named are limited only by a nonprofit’s imagination. Nonprofits commonly sell naming rights to programs, scholarship funds, endowed chairs, sections of a building, an entire facility, and even the name of the entity itself.
Remember that unpaid internship you were so lucky to snag in college? Well, according to both a federal judge in Manhattan and the US Department of Labor (DOL) that coffee-delivering-foot-in-the-door opportunity may have violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and entitle you to compensation. But what if you worked for a nonprofit?
To better coordinate their philanthropy, many companies choose to create corporate foundations to organize, focus, track, and publicize their philanthropic efforts.
A major advantage nonprofit corporations have over other forms of charitable entities is if a nonprofit corporation is properly managed and operated, it can provide a greater degree of personal liability protection to its directors and officers.
Many nonprofits outsource payroll processing as a cost effective way to handle their payroll compliance and human resource functions. We have seen several cases where unscrupulous payroll service organizations have taken advantage of nonprofits so the advice below is timely for our clients.
From time to time we see nonprofit clients adding employees in states in which they haven’t operated before. Often it is just one employee, perhaps a development person working from their home or a shared workspace. Although hiring an employee in another state may not seem like a significant event, many businesses don’t realize that it triggers several compliance obligations.
The major driving force behind becoming a tax-exempt nonprofit is the ability to solicit tax-deductible donations; yet, too many nonprofits planning to conduct any form of organized fundraising are unaware of their state’s registration laws.
An often overlooked aspect of corporate law is the concept of doing business in a particular jurisdiction. This determination comes into play when the corporation’s activities go beyond the borders of its home state or domicile.
Minimizing legal exposure is important because volunteers’ acts are generally imputed to the nonprofit organization. Specific, written volunteer policies and procedures are critical. Important components of a good volunteer program include clear and forward-thinking volunteer policies, thorough volunteer applications, screening, and management.
Sure, it takes a good deal more paperwork and money to maintain an employee versus using an independent contractor. But it’s more than worth it to make sure you are properly categorizing an employee. Independent Contractor does not have a finite definition under the law. Certain liabilities also don’t apply to independent contractors, such as worker’s compensation, FMLA, paid family leave benefits, unemployment insurance, and other various potential benefits. So, it can be tempting to try to wedge a person into an independent contractor position when they actually should be classified as an employee.
