On the heels of statements made earlier this year regarding the repeal of the Johnson Amendment, President Donald Trump today signed an executive order that allows churches and other religious organizations to become more active politically. It also provides regulatory relief for organizations that object, on religious grounds, to a provision of Affordable Care Act th [...]

It can be challenging for exempt organizations to keep track of all the requirements needed in order to maintain their tax exempt status. There are a vast number of topics that exempt organizations should be aware of such as annual filing requirements, unrelated business income, car donation reporting etc. Over my 9 years of experience in nonprofit tax practice, I hav [...]

By: Richard Ruvelson I am taking this opportunity to pass on information gleaned from the Nonprofit Law Prof blog dated July 13, 2015. It is reassuring to know that, even during contentious times at the beginning of a presidential-election campaign, bipartisanship still exists. This particular blog addressed the July report of the Senate Finance Committee’s Business [...]

It is a rare feat when two nonprofit organizations are able to come together and join resources to increase the collective impact they have in the community. It is just as rare to have enough donor contributions that allow them to do so. The amount of time, work, and of course, due diligence, that goes into making something this amazing happen is astronomical. I was a [...]

Many tax-exempt organizations invest frequently in foreign alternative investments (e.g., hedge, private equity, real estate and venture capital funds). When investing into such funds, these tax-exempt organizations’ primary tax concern is generally to mitigate their risk of Unrelated Business Taxable Income (“UBTI”). Funds commonly avoid this UBTI issue for their ta [...]

The Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB) Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2016-14 “Not-for-Profit Entities (Topic 958): Presentation of Financial Statement of Not-for-Profit Entities” is the biggest change to nonprofit financials in years. In our two-part series “How and Why Private Foundation Financial Statements are Changing Under ASU 2016-14,” GHJ [...]

Following the 2 part blogs “How and Why are Private Foundation Financial Statements Changing Under ASU 2016-14?” by Amy Eybsen, I decided to share certain frequently asked questions from our private foundation clients during their implementation of the ASU. Investment Expenses Q: The ASU states that investment return shall be displayed as net of external and direc [...]

Grants and contributions – rather than earned income from contracts with customers – make up the majority of income for many nonprofit organizations, so it is not surprising that the new clarifying standard for contributions received and made will have a wide-ranging impact. This blog is the second part of our blog series covering the implementation considerations of [...]

Originally published in Los Angeles Business Journal It might seem like most donors are big foundations or businesses, but according to CauseVox, 80 percent of donors are individuals. This is why it is important for nonprofits to develop strategies focused on building their individual donor base. Below are some tips that may seem simple but are too often overlooked o [...]

Originally published in Los Angeles Business Journal Without fundraising, most nonprofits would cease to exist. However, the BoardSource “Leading with Intent” Report consistently has fundraising performance as a top area needing improved board performance. Fundraising is often outside the comfort zone for board members, but some key strategies can help change that. [...]