It is difficult to recoup grant funds if your foundation did not have a signed grant agreement in place for the grant, with language that lays out what would happen if the grant is misused or not used according to plan. Even when funders have a signed grant agreement, it can be difficult to recoup... Read More
Supporting organizations are 501(c)(3) public charities with a subclassification of 509(a)(3), whose legal structure is formed with a certain relationship with one or more other public charities, the “supported” organization(s). Supporting organizations might be university or hospital foundations; foundations created to support libraries, elementary schools, or other governmental units; or trusts created by individuals to benefit... Read More
Occasionally, private foundations consider making investments in vehicles where one or more of its disqualified persons (e.g., officers, directors, substantial contributors) have also invested, or are considering an investment. See this article for considerations when making co-investments with disqualified persons >> Read More
In today’s litigious society, anyone—including your foundation and the individuals associated with it—may be the target of a lawsuit. Although state and federal laws may provide some protection for your board members and volunteers, this immunity will extend to your organization in only a few states. These laws often contain no protection for legal expenses,... Read More
Exponent Philanthropy Board Member and Foundation Consultant Jeff Glebocki of Strategy+Action Philanthropy recently assisted a small-staffed, private foundation in a planned leadership transition of its chief executive who had a tenure of 20-plus years. To get a sense of how other foundations approached creative retirement/transition packages for long-serving foundation chief executives, he posted a listserv... Read More
As a private foundation, you are required to make the following documents available to the public: Form 990-PF, the annual information return filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), for the 3 most recent years Form 1023, the application for federal tax-exempt status (and all related correspondence with the IRS) Form 990-T, the unrelated business... Read More