Charitable solicitation refers to the act of requesting donations or contributions for charitable causes and endeavors. As a 501(c)(3), you probably engage in charitable solicitation almost daily.  In most jurisdictions, it is a legal requirement to register with the state before soliciting donations.  But registering for charitable solicitation can get confusing, especially if you have donors in multiple states.  In this episode for the PBPA Podcast, Justine Cowan, Senior Corporate Counsel with PBPA, will help guide us …

The IRS’ Tax Exempt Organization Search (“TEOS”) is an excellent resource to find certain IRS-related nonprofit records, such as 990s since 2017 or exemption letters filed since 2014.  The IRS website has a new electronic form to request additional information related to tax-exempt organizations.  Submit the electronic Form 4506-B to obtain copies of a nonprofit’s exemption letter, affirmation letter, or Form 1023 application filed prior to 2014. The IRS will no longer accept written letters requesting this …

Special Kneads & Treats began its journey in 2008 when co-founders Tempa and Michael Kohler started thinking about plans for their son who has Fragile X Syndrome. They soon realized that there were few options available for adults with special needs as they aged out of county-supported programs.   To address this need, Tempa and Michael created their own nonprofit bakery in Lawrenceville, GA, serving specialty goods while providing special needs adults a place to learn a …

Your volunteers work hard to fulfill your organization’s mission and serve the community. But with many activities, there can be risks involved. Nonprofits should consider requiring volunteers to sign valid waivers of liability to protect the organization and to continue providing a structured opportunity for volunteers to serve the community. Prepare your organization and volunteers for success (and safety) with the guidelines in this article, including a sample waiver. Sample Waiver

A nonprofit’s website is often the first impression donors, participants and the community may get of the organization.  So, you want to make sure it is informative and engaging and makes a positive impression.  But in this era of copy-paste culture and easy sharing, how can you protect your nonprofit’s website’s content and design code from unauthorized use? That’s where copyright law comes into play. Copyrighting a website is a crucial step to safeguard your intellectual property, …

Nonprofit directors generally join the board because they are passionate about the mission of the organization. That’s a great place to start, but enthusiasm and passion must be paired with strong governance to enhance the growth of the mission. In this talk we will discuss governance generally and the policies boards should have in place to facilitate their support of the missions around which they are passionate. We will discuss: • The fiduciary obligations of the board …