Nonprofit Organizations Law Commons^™

An Emerging International Norm For Non-Governmental Organizations, Stephanie Cotton-Betteridge

Brigham Young University International Law & Management Review

No abstract provided.

Video: Charities For Fun & Profit: Serving & Representing Them, Adam Scott Goldberg

NSU Law Seminar Series

Registration & Continental Breakfast:

7:30 to 7:55 am

Atrium & Lecture Room

Welcome & Introduction:

7:55 to 8:00 am

Elena Rose Minicucci, J.D., Director of Alumni Relations, NSU Shepard Broad Law Center

• Welcome
• Introduce Adam Scott Goldberg, J.D., LL.M. of Krause & Goldberg, PA Weston, Florida.

Seminar Presentation

8:00 am to 9:30 am

Adam Scott Goldberg, J.D., LL.M.

I. Introduction

1. What is the difference between Tax Exempt and Not-For-Profit?

2. Why is the difference between a Calendar Year and a Fiscal Year?

A. Many Charitable Organizations use July 1st to June 30th

B. Tax returns are due 4.5 months …

Reforming The Regulation Of Political Advocacy By Charities: From Charity Under Siege To Charity Under Rescue?, Adam Parachin

Chicago-Kent Law Review

A newly elected liberal federal government in Canada has pledged to reform the legal distinction between charity and politics. This paper provides context to this reform initiative, linking it to a controversial political activities audit program funded by the former conservative federal government. It identifies three distorting ideas about charity—that charity can be understood as a tax expenditure, economic or neutral concept—that should be eschewed in the reform process. It also identifies three characteristics of charity—the capacity of charities for thought leadership, the pervasiveness of messaging in charitable programming and the distinctiveness of charity and government—that should guide reformers.

Exile To Main Street: The I.R.S.'S Diminished Role In Overseeing Tax-Exempt Organizations, Evelyn Brody, Marcus Owens

Chicago-Kent Law Review

The Internal Revenue Service’s post-Citizens United approach to political activity by would-be tax-exempt organizations has threatened the financial health of the entire agency. Suffering from a siege mentality in the best of times, the IRS predictably and understandably responded to the asserted “scandal” by retreating into a shell of bureaucratic reshuffling, management mumbo-jumbo, and paper moving. A fresh cadre of senior management lacking relevant experience has overhauled the exempt-organization function and emphasized granting recognition of exemption now and (possibly) asking questions later. The new self-certification process of exemption for small charities could also be setting the agency up for the …

European Non-Profit Oversight: The Case For Regulating From The Outside In, Oonagh B. Breen

Chicago-Kent Law Review

When it comes to the regulation of non-profits, the European Commission experiences many of the same pressures and constraints faced by national charity regulators. It suffers, however, from an added disadvantage in that, arguably, it lacks jurisdictional competence to regulate non-profits qua non-profits. This article explores the consequences of the Commission’s unsuccessful attempt to secure the passage of its proposal for a European Foundation Statute (“EFS”). Notwithstanding the European Council’s inability to muster the necessary Member State unanimity required to pass the proposal and its subsequent demise, the Commission is still dogged by the problems it identified as giving rise …

Australia – Two Political Narratives And One Charity Regulator Caught In The Middle, Myles Mcgregor-Lowndes

Chicago-Kent Law Review

After two decades of debate about the regulation of the nonprofit sector, Australia established a national charity regulator in December 2012. The creation of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (“ACNC”) had as one of its objectives to reduce red tape, and to increase clarity by enacting a statutory definition of charity. Less than two years later, a new government proposed to abolish the ACNC, also in the name of reducing red tape. There appears to be a paradox—or at least diametrically opposed views about red tape reduction and how it can be achieved. With the government nearly two-thirds through …

The Charity Commission For England And Wales: A Fine Example Or Another Fine Mess?, Debra Morris

Chicago-Kent Law Review

The ability of the Charity Commission for England and Wales to regulate the charitable sector effectively has been repeatedly called into question in recent years. At the same time, public sector funding cuts have led to its budget being almost halved in real terms since 2007/08. Numerous official reviews and inquiries into its effectiveness have highlighted its weaknesses and raised concerns about it failing to take sufficient action to prevent abuses of charitable status. In response to the Commission’s claims that it lacks sufficient legal powers to deal with such abuse, new legislation has been passed which will fill some …

Politics, Disclosure, And State Law Solutions For 501(C)(4) Organizations, Linda Sugin

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Since the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. FEC, there has been an explosion in section 501(c)(4) organizations active in politics. Unable to effectively process applications, the IRS mishandled organizations with conservative political ties, producing a scandal from which the agency has yet to recover. It proposed regulations that would have helped it more easily determine eligibility for 501(c)(4) exemption, but after massive public outcry, the regulations were withdrawn. No new regulations will be proposed before the 2016 presidential election.

Given the federal government’s inability to address the problem of dark money politicking by 501(c)(4) organizations through …

Fragmented Oversight Of Nonprofits In The United States: Does It Work? Can It Work?, Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer

Chicago-Kent Law Review

The United States is well known for its distinctive, although not unique, division of political authority between the federal government and the various states. This division is particularly evident when it comes to oversight of nonprofit organizations. The historical focus of federal government oversight has been limited primarily to qualification for tax exemption and other tax benefits, with more plenary power resting with state authorities. Over time, however, the federal government’s role has come to overlap significantly with that of the states, and many nonprofits have become subject to regulation by multiple states as their operations and donor bases expand …

Copyright As Charity, Brian L. Frye

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Copyright and charity law are generally considered distinct and unrelated bodies of law. But they are actually quite similar and complement each other. Both copyright and charity law are intended to increase social welfare by solving market and government failures in public goods caused by free riding. Copyright solves market and government failures in works of authorship by providing an indirect subsidy to marginal authors, and charity law solves market and government failures in charitable goods by providing an indirect subsidy to marginal donors. Copyright and charity law complement each other by solving market and government failures in works of …

Nuts And Bolts Of Unrelated Business Income Tax, Terri Lynn Helge

Faculty Scholarship

This paper summarizes the unrelated business income tax rules as they apply to tax-exempt charitable organizations described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Code. Since the 1950s, the unrelated business income tax has been imposed on a charity’s net income from a regularly carried on trade or business that is unrelated to the charity’s tax-exempt purposes. Often times, the justification for imposing this tax on a charity’s net income from unrelated business activities is that such activities involve unfair competition with the charity’s for-profit counterparts.

The Legal Quagmire Of Irc § 501(C)(4) Organizations And The Consequential Rise Of Dark Money In Elections, Daniel C. Kirby

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Section 501(c)(4) organizations have recently become a hot topic with respect to campaign finance. Following the 2010 Supreme Court case, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the number of IRC § 501(c)(4) organizations ballooned in number, and the amount of money flowing through § 501(c)(4) groups increased 2390 percent from the 2008 election cycle to the 2012 election cycle. This essay explores the dangers to the campaign finance system of the substantial increase in spending by IRC § 501(c)(4) organizations. The foundational claim of this essay is that IRC § 501(c) is in need of a statutory and regulatory overhaul …

Commercializing And Protecting Intellectual Property In An Increasingly Open And Fluid World, Terri Lynn Helge, Deborah L. Lively

Faculty Scholarship

For all non-profit organizations, intellectual property is important whether it is intellectual property created by the organization or instead is intellectual property used by the organization in the operation of its business.

When Faith Falls Short: Bankruptcy Decisions Of Churches, Pamela Foohey

Scholarly Works

What does a church do when it is about to go bust? Religious organizations, like any business, can experience financial distress. Leaders could try to solve their churches’ financial problems on their own. Perhaps leaders do not view the problems as addressable with law. Or perhaps they do not think, as a moral or spiritual matter, that they should resort to the legal system, such as bankruptcy, to deal with their churches’ inability to pay its debts. Yet about ninety religious organizations seek to reorganize under the Bankruptcy Code every year. This Article relies on interviews with forty-five of these …

The Compliance Case For Social Enterprise, Joseph W. Yockey

Michigan Business & Entrepreneurial Law Review

Social enterprises generate revenue to solve social, humanitarian, and ecological problems. Their products are not a means to the end of profits, but rather profits are a means to the end of their production. This dynamic presents many of the same corporate governance issues facing other forprofit firms, including legal compliance. The author contends, however, that traditional strategies for corporate compliance are incongruent to the social enterprise’s unique normative framework. Specifically, traditional compliance theory, with its prioritization of shareholder interests, stands at odds with the social enterprise’s mission-driven purpose. Attention to this distinction is essential for developing effective compliance and …

Is Federalization Of Charity Law All Bad? What States Can Learn From The Internal Revenue Code, Melanie B. Leslie

Articles

No abstract provided.

The Community Benefits Of Arts And Culture Nonprofit Organizations, Elise Middleton

University Honors Program

The main goal of this thesis is to identify and analyze some of the community benefits of arts and culture nonprofit organizations. Oftentimes, people view these organizations as entertaining but frivolous. In reality, these organizations are vital for a community, and they deserve more support. In this thesis, I will specifically focus on the economic, social, and therapeutic benefits of these organizations. In order to analyze this subject, I read and analyzed a variety of scholarly resources. After conducting research, it is evident that supporting and investing in the arts is a smart economic decision for any community. They generate …

Collaboration In The Nonprofit Sector, Dana M. Malkus

All Faculty Scholarship

A practitioner who has had even casual contact with the nonprofit sector has undoubtedly noticed that both internal and external forces exert pressure on nonprofits to collaborate and to accomplish more with fewer resources. There are, of course, many factors driving this pressure, including the economic downturn, funder preferences, government policy changes, and the reality that many nonprofits focus on complicated issues that often require a multi-faceted approach.

In my work with the St. Louis nonprofit community, I see nonprofits grappling with this reality in a variety of ways. As practitioners, we can provide real value to our nonprofit clients …

Joint Ventures Of Nonprofits And For-Profits, Terri Lynn Helge

Faculty Scholarship

This article summarizes special tax considerations that should be taken into account when for-profit parties seek to engage in joint ventures with charitable organizations. In particular, there are two areas of concern unique to charitable organizations with respect to joint ventures with for-profit parties. First, certain rules restrict or prohibit a charitable organization's ability to enter into transactions with insiders. Second, a charitable organizations' participation in a joint venture with a taxable party may cause the charitable organization to incur unrelated business taxable income or lose its tax-exempt status. Underlying both of these areas of concern is the overriding concern …

Enhancing The Legal And Regulatory Environment For Investment In Social Enterprise, Dilpreet K. Minhas

Michigan Business & Entrepreneurial Law Review

The objectives of this Note are: 1) to provide readers interested in social enterprise and entrepreneurship an introduction to these endeavors and the growing trend toward using them; 2) to present the challenges stemming from the legal and financial frameworks surrounding social investment activity, which can inhibit the survival and growth of social enterprises; and 3) to propose suggestions for addressing such challenges and limitations in order to better support the survival of social enterprise. Part II and Part III provide a broad perspective of the types of investment in and nurturing of social entrepreneurship in the U.S. Part IV …

Clinical Collaborations: Going Global To Advance Social Entrepreneurship, Deborah Burand, Susan R. Jones, Jonathan Ng, Alicia E. Plerhoples

Articles

In the summer of 2012, transactional law clinics from three U.S. law schools: George Washington University; Georgetown University; and the University of Michigan launched a collaboration to serve a common client — Ashoka, a global nonprofit organization that supports close to 3,000 social entrepreneurs across 76 countries. While clinic collaborations within universities happen occasionally, clinic collaborations across universities are unusual. This essay focuses on the motivations, operations, lessons, and next steps of this cross-university, clinical collaboration aimed at advancing social entrepreneurship globally. Specifically, this essay examines why the collaboration was launched, how the collaboration is structured, what the collaboration offers …

Nonprofits, Speech, And Unconstitutional Conditions, Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer

Journal Articles

This Article proposes a new constitutional framework for approaching the issue of speech-related conditions on government funding received by nonprofits and demonstrates the application of this framework by applying it to the disputes that have reached the Supreme Court in this area. It argues that speech rights are generally inalienable as against the government under the First Amendment, and therefore any abridgement of such rights by the government – whether direct or indirect – is subject to strict scrutiny. As a result, the government is not permitted to buy an organization’s speech (or silence) absent a compelling governmental interest in …

Taxing Social Enterprise, Lloyd Histoshi Mayer, Joseph Ganahl

Journal Articles

The fairly strict divide in the United States between for-profit and nonprofit forms presents a quandary for many entrepreneurs who want to combine doing good with doing well. On the one hand, for-profits offer great flexibility and access to capital and so attract entrepreneurs who would like to take advantage of the ability of for-profits to scale up rapidly to meet growing demand. At the same time, however, for-profit forms also limit entrepreneurs’ ability to engage in philanthropy, due to the fiduciary duties managers owe to the equity holders. On the other hand, nonprofits offer their founders the freedom to …

Disruptive Innovation And The Global Emergence Of Hybrid Corporate Legal Structures, Carol Liao

All Faculty Publications

There is considerable legal scholarship focused on reforming the shareholder primacy model of governance embodied within the modern day corporation. While these efforts are worthwhile and must continue, there are certain ideological and practical limitations that make true reformation of this model difficult. It is important, therefore, that in the midst of ongoing efforts, one does not lose sight of available alternatives.

This article promotes a novel perspective that does not spring from traditional-style efforts of corporate reform, but rather, on how a growing trend in corporate law may create 'disruptive innovations' in the marketplace and foster an environment where …

Revolution Imagined: Cause Advocacy, Consumer Rights, And The Evolving Role Of Ngos In Thailand, Frank W. Munger

Articles & Chapters

This article describes the founding and evolution of a “Thai-style” NGO dedicated to consumer protection. Through a description of the NGO and the career of its founder, the article brings to light features of the evolution of NGO based advocacy in Thailand from the student uprising in 1973 to the present. The legacy of the 1973 October Generation of activists continues to influence development of NGOs but new emphasis on rights has emerged since the era of constitutional reform in the 1990s. Many NGOs now make use of litigation to attempt to achieve social change, but litigation, like other long-standing …

Development And Initial Findings Of An Implementation Process Measure For Child Welfare System Change, Mary I. Armstrong, Julie S. Mccrae, Michelle Graef, Tammy Richards, David Lambert, Charlotte Lyn Bright, Cathy Sowell

Center on Children, Families, and the Law: Faculty Publications

This article describes a new measure designed to examine the process of implementation of child welfare systems change. The measure was developed to document the status of the interventions and strategies that are being implemented and the drivers that are being installed to achieve sustainable changes in systems. The measure was used in a Children’s Bureau-supported national effort to assess the ongoing implementation of 24 systems-change projects in child welfare jurisdictions across the country. The article describes the process for measure development, method of administration and data collection, and quantitative and qualitative findings.

When Churches Reorganize, Pamela Foohey

Scholarly Works

This Article combines an analysis of documents submitted in connection with Chapter 11 cases filed by religious organizations with the results of in-depth interviews with these organizations’ leaders and their bankruptcy attorneys to assess whether reorganization has the potential to offer an effective solution to these debtors’ financial distress. In doing, it makes three contributions. First, it identifies a subset of organizations that seemed more likely to turn to bankruptcy: small congregationalist and non-denominational churches, often with predominately African-American membership. The Article pinpoints salient questions about these churches’ access to credit and use of bankruptcy for future study. Second, it …

Sunshine, Stakeholders, And Executive Pay: A Regression-Discontinuity Approach, Brian D. Galle, David I. Walker

Faculty Scholarship

We evaluate the effect of highly salient disclosure of private college and university president compensation on subsequent donations using a quasi-experimental research design. Using a differences-in-discontinuities approach to compare institutions that are highlighted in the Chronicle of Higher Education’s annual "top 10" list of most highly-compensated presidents against similar others, we find that appearing on a top 10 list is associated with reduced average donations of approximately 4.5 million dollars in the first full fiscal year following disclosure, despite greater fundraising efforts at "top 10" schools. We also find some evidence that top 10 appearances slow the growth of compensation, …

Legality, Criminality And Agency Beyond The State: Forest Governance, Illegal Logging And Associated Trade, Lorraine Elliott

Transnational Business Governance Interactions Working Papers

This paper examines the disconnect between the literature on and practice of legality verification (LV) in the forest sector and what would seem to be a logical extension into the literature on and responses to forest crime and, more specifically, transnational criminality associated with trade in illegally logged timber. The apparently logical overlap between these two areas of endeavour arises because both are dealing with aspects of supply chains or chains of custody involving raw timber, forest products or timber products more generally. The disconnect, I suggest here, arises because of a lack of 'joined up thinking' between the two …

A Decent Proposal: How Animal Welfare Organizations Have Utilized Shareholder Proposals To Achieve Greater Protection For Animals,47 J. Marshall L. Rev. 795 (2013), Summer Hallaj

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.