Planned Giving Council of Houston, 2017 Annual Conference, Houston, Texas, 04/27/2017

Serving as an officer or director of a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, or serving as a trustee of a charitable trust, involves acting in a fiduciary capacity.  Likewise, when counsel is representing the organization, he or she does so in a fiduciary capacity.  While fiduciary duties are often considered in the context of governance generally, this presentation considers how the fiduciary duties play out in the context of fundraising along with ethical considerations—those considerations which may not implicate a fiduciary obligation but nevertheless should be understood for ethical practice.  The presentation provides an overview of legal duties of decision makers of Texas nonprofit corporations with a specific focus on fundraising, gift acceptance, and ancillary issues.  Additional information may be found in the related reference outline, Governance of Nonprofits.