Corporate Grantmakers

Written by the Council’s expert lawyers, the Corporate Legal Corner answers your questions to thorny issues and provides legislative updates. New columns are included as part of the members-only monthly Corporate Update newsletter.

Can’t find what you need? Council members can ask the expert: legal@cof.org.

Current Issue: Council Clarifies Impact of Form 990-N on Due Diligence Procedures (June 2010)

Philanthropy-Wide Practices

• Guidelines for Responding to Disasters in Burma and China
• Disaster Relief Q & A: Responding to Hurricane Katrina
• Tsunami Relief
• Public Recognition
• Virtual Recognition

Structure and Start-Up Practices

• Charitable Contribution or Business Expense?
• Filing Form 990 (March 2008)
• Mandatory Electronic Filing for Form 990 and 990-PF
• Public Disclosure - Form 990-PF
• New Resources from the IRS (November 2007)
• Understanding Private Operating Foundations
• Private Foundation Excise Tax Rates

Legal and Compliance Practices

• Calculating the Five Percent Payout
• Sharing Employees
• Sharing Office Space
• Sharing Office Equipment & Supplies
• Tickets to Fundraisers
• Membership Dues and Self-dealing (March 2008)
• Supporting Public Charities that Lobby
• Grants to Government
• Grants to New Charities
• Grants to Non-Charities
• Establishing a Scholarship Fund
• Funding a Dissolving Non Profit
• Scholarships for Employees' Children
• Elimination of Advance Ruling Period for Public Charities
• Reporting Direct Charitable Activities
• How to Avoid Commingling

Grantmaking Practices

• Honoring Grant Commitments Amid Difficult Corporate Finances (May 2009)
• Economic Development - An Excerpt From a New Book By Jane C. Nober
• Legal Considerations for Administering a Matching Gift Program
• Matching Gifts and Benefits
• Discretionary Grants
• Grantmaking Review
• Grants from Private Foundations to Supporting Organizations after the Pension Protection Act of 2006
• Fiscal Sponsors Can Be Your Friend
• Tipping (July 2008)
• Substantiation

Employee Engagement Practices

• Supporting Employee Volunteerism

Legislation

• Treasury Dept.'s Proposed Regulations on Foreign Tax Credit Treatment of Charitable Contributions by Multinational Corporations 
• Senate Finance Hearing and Corporate Disclosure 
• Corporate Director Independence Rules 
• U.S. Dept. of Treasury Anti-Terrorist Financing Guidelines