LLCs in the World of Nonprofit and Mission-Minded Organizations

LLCs in the World of Nonprofit and Mission-Minded Organizations26th Annual LLCs, LPs and Partnerships Conference and Primer, Austin, Texas, 07/13/2017

The opportunity to use the LLC form for nonprofit and mission-minded purposes is rarely considered by practitioners not working in the tax-exempt organization space, but this popular entity choice proves to be advantageous when utilized in this capacity as well and has become more discussed following the creation of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.  This paper and presentation look at various ways the LLC may be used in the nonprofit and mission-minded area, including use of the single member LLC for liability protection and ancillary joint venture participation, use of the LLC for social enterprise businesses, and use of the LLC by entrepreneurs engaged in philanthropy.

Liability and Ethical Considerations of Board Members and Counsel in Fundraising

83826983-2Planned 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.

Inspecting the Mouth of a Gift Horse: Acceptance of Unusual Gifts

gift-horseOklahoma Nonprofit Law & Finance Conference, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 03/24/2017

This presentation focuses on how to best handle donations of unusual assets, such as tangible personal property, real estate and mineral interests, and closely held business interests.  The elements of a gift acceptance policy and structures for limiting liability associated with these assets once contributed will also be explored.  Additional information may be found in the paper authored by Megan C. Sanders, Gifts from Cousin Eddie: Acceptance, Ownership & Management of Bizarre Assets.