Legal Compliance Guidance
Provisions Affecting Supporting Organizations
Legal Compliance Guidance
This chart outlines all provisions that affect the operations of supporting organizations.
Scholarship Funds and PPA Compliance
Legal Compliance Guidance
Bringing Funds Into Compliance
The Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) includes the first comprehensive regulation of donor-advised funds. For the first time, donor-advised funds are legally defined. The legal definition is important for grantmakers that operate various kinds of component funds,…
Tax Reporting for Organizations that Hold Donor-Advised Funds
Legal Compliance Guidance
If our organization holds donor-advised funds, what information must we provide on Form 990?
A sponsoring organization, such as a community foundation, must disclose on Schedule D, Part I of its 990 the following information:
Number of donor-advised funds owned;
Aggregate value of assets held in…
Conducting a Raffle Fundraiser
Legal Compliance Guidance
Community foundations occasionally consider conducting a raffle as a way to raise money for a particular fund. The plan may be to do a raffle as a standalone fundraiser or as part of another community foundation event. In many cases, donors approach community foundations asking to conduct the…
Rules Governing Non-Component Funds
Legal Compliance Guidance
Historical background of non-component and donor-directed funds.
Providing Large Grants to Small Grantees
Legal Compliance Guidance
Lawyers rarely tell foundation managers, "Relax, don’t worry so much!" But in the case of "tipping," that’s been our advice for more than 10 years. What is the so-called "tipping problem" and why are so many foundations (still) so worried about it?
Tipping occurs when a private foundation’s…
Faith-based Grantmaking: A Basic Guide for the Perplexed
Legal Compliance Guidance
Generally, there is no legal restriction against making grants to churches, synagogues, mosques or other religious institutions. But there are some things foundations interested in such grantmaking should know.
For years, private foundations and public charities have recognized religious…
Increasing the Number and Size of Awards
Legal Compliance Guidance
When donors to scholarship funds see the impact that their money can have on the life of a student, they are often inspired to contribute more. Sometimes they will add more to the principal of the fund so that future awardees can receive bigger scholarships or more scholarships can be awarded.…
Sample Conflict of Interest Policies from Council Members
Sample Document
Sample conflict of interest policies from the Community Foundation of Switzerland County and Triangle Community Foundation.
Conflicts of Interest and Form 1023
Legal Compliance Guidance
Ordinarily, established private foundations and public charity grantmakers would ignore the IRS's revision of Form 1023, Application for Recognition of Exemption from Federal Income Tax. After all, these groups have already received their determination letters. But the revised Form 1023 and the…
Can a Foundation Lawyer Serve as a Foundation Trustee?
Legal Compliance Guidance
This article explores one of the more common questions about conflicts of interest: May the foundation's lawyer serve as a trustee?
Foundation Lawyer/Trustee
Often, the lawyer who drafted a foundation's organizing documents stays on as counsel to the organization. He or she may be asked to serve…
Nonprofit Mergers
Legal Compliance Guidance
A look at some of the legal and non-legal aspects of merging one charitable program or organization with another.
Ray S. Munney, executive director of the Zenith County Community Foundation, had three meetings scheduled Tuesday morning. The first was with the new manager of a local corporation's…
Guidance on Closing a Private Foundation
Legal Compliance Guidance
There's more to closing down a private foundation than packing up and turning off the utilities. Here are some questions, considerations, and IRS directions.
Sometimes it is time for a private foundation to disappear—assets may have dwindled significantly or family members no longer share a…
Component Funds: The Absence of Material Restrictions
Legal Compliance Guidance
This document outlines the basics of component funds, field of interest funds, donor-advised funds, and restrictions around these funds.
Intermediate Sanctions Regulations Checklist
Legal Compliance Guidance
The intermediate sanctions rules prohibit tax-exempt organizations from providing more than fair market value economic benefits to their “disqualified persons.”
The intermediate sanctions rules apply to all section 501(c)(3) and section 501(c)(4) organizations except for private foundations, which…
Covering Travel Expenses of Family Members
Legal Compliance Guidance
The Stewardship Principles for Family Foundations encourage foundations to provide orientation and training for new board members and professional development for existing board members and staff. They also encourage planning for leadership continuity through activities that identify, educate and…