Troublesome Trust Topics

State Bar of Texas, Governance of Nonprofit Organizations Course, Austin, Texas, (co-presented with David Rosenberg)

What is a charitable trust and how does it operate?  Can you modify a charitable trust and with whose permission?  How can a charitable trust be converted to a nonprofit corporation, and vice versa?  Charitable trusts can serve useful purposes in the world of tax-exempt organizations, particularly as private foundations and endowments.  However, they are unique in many ways and that uniqueness can create troublesome situations.  Curious about charitable trusts?  This paper and presentation are for you!

Nonprofit Governance Policies and Procedures Revisited: Trends, Developments and More

2015 TSCPA Nonprofit Organizations Conference, Dallas, Texas, (co-presented with David Rosenberg)

153834794Your foundation is up and running, you are happily serving your niche, and you have suddenly realized that you need policies and procedures in place for all the new situations arising in your day-to-day activities.  What policies do you need?  What state and federal laws should you consider?  This talking points presentation and packet of sample policies will point you in the right direction when drafting and revising your foundation’s policies and procedures.

When Giving Money Isn’t Enough: Direct Charitable Activities of Private Foundations

2015 Tax Seminar (Salk Institute), La Jolla, California

92969426 - CopyYour foundation wants to go beyond its grant-making programs and increase its involvement, perhaps through leveraging your expertise, supplementing your grant-making dollars, and/or investing strategically and programmatically.  But how do you expand while still being subject to the prohibited transaction rules set out in the Internal Revenue Code?  This paper and presentation examine key issues of direct charitable activities, program-related investments, advantages and disadvantages of private operating foundations, and use of separate and subsidiary entities for related activities.