The due diligence process in considering a merger or affiliation is serious, but don’t let the lawyers use it to tell you why it shouldn’t be done. Lawyers are trained to tell you the risks. They will seldom provide the vision.
A charity that does not spend at least a portion of its time in advocacy work is probably not doing its job as well as it should.
Therefore, charities must understand the tax law definitions of "lobbying" and "legislation." There is a vast amount of advocacy that can be carried on without approaching tax limitations. Private foundations can support most of it, and preparing an application with foundation rules in mind can make it easier to get funded.
Tax law is not the only issue, however. Beware of federal and state lobbying registration requirements, with different definitions, and different reporting.
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Despite the political grandstanding that erupted after the disclosure that IRS determinations staff and attorneys had asked some improper questions of Tea Party and other potentially political organizations applying for 501(c)(4) social welfare exempt status, there has been no evidence that the IRS or the Obama Administration was targeting political foes.
When one reads the Treasury Inspector General’s Report, press reports of staff statements to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and comments of former IRS officials, one comes away with a vision of front line staff struggling to try to determine who can qualify as a (c)(4) organization when there is no clear definition to work with.
It isn’t as easy as it once was to claim a charitable contribution deduction for a gift to charity.
Because of perceived abuses by taxpayers claiming inflated deductions without adequate justification, Congress and the Internal Revenue Service have tightened the rules over the last several decades.
The rules apply to the taxpayers seeking the deduction. In most cases, they do not directly apply to the charities receiving the gifts and do not impose penalties on charities, but charities that want to assist their donors and receive additional gifts will want to be sure that the donors are in position to claim their deductions properly.
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“Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell has done it again!!! He is TOO LATE, and actually, TOO ANGRY, TOO STUPID, & TOO POLITICAL, to have the job of Fed Chair. He is costing our Country TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS …. Put another way, ‘Too Late’ is a TOTAL LOSER, and our Country is paying the price!” That post by President Trump is one of “at least 100 statements that the President or his deputies have made attacking the Chair of the Federal Reserve and pressuring him to lower interest rates” that the federal District Court for the District of Columbia (James E.
An association of parents of Little League baseball players lacks standing to sue the local league and national organization for failure to follow league rules concerning the training and compliance with safety precautions, a state trial court in Connecticut has ruled. It has dismissed the claims against the local league, the national and all of the individual directors of the local league.
Newly formed nonprofits intending to operate as 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations will now be required to file their Form 8976 Notice of Intent electronically through Pay.gov. A user fee of $50 must also be paid through Pay.gov directly from a bank account, credit or debit card. The switch occurred on March 9, 2026.
The chair of the board and founder of a nonprofit camp for kids with cancer has been found liable for breach of fiduciary duty when she failed to disclose the appraised value of camp buildings sold in a package with real estate owned by the founder and her husband. The Supreme Court of Idaho has affirmed a trial court finding that the founder acted in bad faith in failing to disclose the appraisal and reducing the payment to the camp.
