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Ten (10) Ways Fractional General Counsel Can Help Your Nonprofit with the Legal Aspects of Raising Money

 

In a previous blogs, I detailed ‘What is Fractional General Counsel?’  ; ‘Ten (10) Ways Fractional General Counsel Can Help Your Nonprofit with Corporate Law and the Requirements of Tax Exemption.’  and ‘Ten (10) Ways Fractional General Counsel (FGC) Can Help Your Nonprofit with Contracts and Intellectual Property.’

In this blog, I spell out Ten (10) Ways Fractional General Counsel (FGC) Can Help Your Nonprofit with the Legal Aspects of Raising Money:

  1. Research fundraising laws in all states where your nonprofit raises money and review the organization’s compliance with applicable laws.
  2. Review agreements with outside fundraisers to ensure they comply with applicable state registration and disclosure requirements.
  3. Gather restricted gift documents and review the organization’s procedure for complying with donors’ restrictions.
  4. Review the handling of endowment funds, including proper recordkeeping and expenditures of investment income and growth incompliance with the organization’s spending policy and law.
  5. Determine how the nonprofit handles and secures donors’ personal information and financial information, such as checks, credit card numbers and bank account numbers and provide advice regarding risk management.
  6. Review the nonprofit’s practices for providing receipts for donations- Your FGC will review the form of receipt for donations over $250, ascertain that receipts subtract the value of return benefits, such as gala meals and entertainment, ensure that membership dues, services rendered and other non-contribution payments are not included in charitable receipts, understand and (when necessary), develop procedures for issuing receipts for in-kind gifts and review/develop gift acceptance policies for large non-liquid gifts.
  7. Review and counsel nonprofit regarding procedures for applying for and certifying compliance with government and private grants and contracts.
  8. Review the nonprofit’s compliance with state and federal laws governing gaming and raffles.
  9. Review any joint fundraising relationships and fiscal sponsorships to assess compliance with applicable tax laws and contractual obligations.
  10. Review all corporate sponsorship relationships and ascertain compliance with applicable regulations, including rules regarding taxable advertisements and acceptance of corporate privileges.