L3C Development and Resources

NCRP Criteria for Philanthropy at its Best

2009 Western Conference on Tax-Exempt Organizations - Day One
I attended the 2009 WCTEO in Los Angeles last Thursday and Friday. It’s always a great conference for professionals in the nonprofit and tax-exempt sector:   impressive and knowledgeable speakers, interesting topics, and a chance to meet with peers and people you greatly admire.   My only and very minor criticism is that the scope of some of the programs is geared more toward people with little familiarity with the topics than those who are hoping to drill deeper.   As a result, for regular attendees of these EO (exempt organizations) conferences, a couple of the programs felt a little repetitive. As is customary with EO conferences, the opening programs were presented by th

More on Charity Boards and Tough Times
Yesterday's post, Are Charity Boards Ready for Tough Times Ahead?, covered in broad terms a board member's duties to lead an organization during challenging periods.  Here are some specific matters demanding a board's attention:Insolvency.  Boards must pay proper attention to ensure that the organization remains solvent and able to pay its obligations as they become due.  If the organization enters the "zone of insolvency," a board member's responsibilities expand from a fiduciary responsibility to protect the assets of th

Are Charity Boards Ready for Tough Times Ahead?
The headline of the November 12, 2009 edition of The Chronicle of Philanthropy ("The Chronicle") asks "Are Charities Ready for Tough Times Ahead?"  The article answers the question as follows:While opinions are mixed, many philanthropy experts say the short answer is no; charities and foundations are too complacent in the face of the economic upheaval and only a few have embraced the radical thinking that is needed to maintain, and potentially strengthen the nonprofit world.While nonprofit groups may be considering new ideas to generate revenues or looking for ways to do more with less, there seem to be few signs of

Increasing Payment Charitable Lead Annuity Trust
A charitable lead annuity trust (CLAT) is an irrevocable split-interest trust in which the income interest is to be paid over to one or more charitable organizations, in the form of an annuity, and the remainder interest is to be paid over to one or more noncharitable beneficiaries.  Typically, CLATs are designed to provide an annual payment that is level throughout the trust term - either a stated amount or percentage of the value of the initial trust corpus.  But according to attorney Jerry McCoy, an expert on charitable tax planning, unlike the case with a charitable r

Charitable Planning Today: Legislative Update Plus - Jerry McCoy
On October 21, 2009, I attended a program of the Northern California Planned Giving Council titled Charitable Planning Today: Recent Developments, Pending and Proposed Legislation, and Other Things You Should Keep in Mind presented by Jerry J. McCoy.  Here are some of the highlights: Treasury's report to Congress regarding donor-advised funds (DAFs) and supporting organizations (SOs) remains past due.  Among the items to be covered by this report: Whether deductions are appropriate for contributions to DAFs and SOs. Whether a minimum distribution requirement should be imposed on DAFs.