Private foundations play an important role in communities across the country—filling the shelves of food pantries, employing directors of youth centers, advocating for human rights, and much more. Opportunities abound for you to make a difference through private foundation giving. How do you determine if a private foundation is right for you? Know the field... Read More
The Northwest Area Foundation (NWAF) of Minnesota was sued in November 2002 by a potential grantee located in the Yakima Valley of Washington State. NWAF, a grantmaking foundation established in 1934, was organized to help communities throughout an eight-state region reduce poverty. It makes grants totaling approximately $18 million per year. Under its Community Ventures... Read More
With self-dealing rules that are sometimes confusing, can a small foundation determine whether a potential transaction constitutes self-dealing? It can! Apply these three straightforward questions to any situation. Does the transaction involve a disqualified person? The Internal Revenue Service defines a disqualified person as one of the following: Officers, directors, trustees, and others with similar... Read More
Private foundations must follow more stringent rules than public charities, pay an excise tax on net investment income, and pay out an amount equal to 5% of their assets annually. Public charities that are tipped into private foundation status also may lose funding. Many foundations will not give grants to other private foundations, and individual... Read More
Generally, a worker may be classified as an independent contractor if the employer has the right to control or direct the result of the work but not the means or methods of accomplishing the result. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) uses a 20-factor test to determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent... Read More
Funders can engage in advocacy, can fund advocacy, and can encourage grantees to engage in advocacy, with exceptions involving lobbying and electioneering. The two types of lobbying are direct lobbying, communicating with legislators to express a view about specific legislation, and grassroots lobbying, asking the public to communicate with legislators to express a view about... Read More