Nonprofit and Charitable Advisory Services

McGuireWoods' nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations team provides charitable and other nonprofit organizations with comprehensive advice on organizational, compliance, planning, governance and tax issues. Through our guidance, we help charities and other nonprofits operate successfully in the increasingly complicated, regulated and competitive environment facing such organizations today.

We serve clients in the following areas:

Governance

• Advice and guidance on best practices, accountability and transparency
• Assistance with revisions and updates to articles of incorporation and bylaws
• Advice and guidance on duties and responsibilities of directors and officers
• Assistance with board training and seminars
• Assistance with board disputes
• Preparation and review of Form 990 policies and procedures

Tax Advice and Compliance

• Establishment of nonprofit organizations and IRS recognition of exemption
• Advice and guidance on initial and annual compliance with federal and applicable state tax laws, including the preparation of annual returns required to be filed with federal and state governments
• Advice and guidance on Form 990 and Form 990-PF annual reporting
• Advice and guidance on tax classification issues, including publicly supported charities and supporting organizations
• Advice and guidance on private inurement and private benefit issues
• Advice and guidance on excess benefit transactions, including executive compensation
• Advice and guidance on unrelated business income tax issues
• Advice and guidance on political campaign activities and lobbying
• Advice and guidance on joint venture arrangements with both tax-exempt and taxable entities
• Advice and guidance on private foundation issues, such as self-dealing, taxable expenditures, excess business holdings, minimum distributions, tax on net investment income and jeopardy investments
• Advice and guidance on state and local tax issues

Compliance

• Management of legal compliance audits
• Advice regarding the impact of reforms and legislative changes
• Assistance with tax controversies, audits and litigation

Endowments and Investments

• Management of endowment funds under the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act or its predecessor
• Advice on investment, securities and tax law aspects of sophisticated investment vehicles
• Development of investment policies
• Advice and guidance on modification or release of restrictions
• Advice on securities law issues
• Review of the procedures for making investment decisions, to ensure that the governing body has not delegated more authority than appropriate
• Evaluation of the risks associated with alternative investments
• Review of the structure of alternative investments, to ensure the investments conform to applicable law
• Due diligence with respect to alternative investments
• Evaluation of the federal income tax risk of investments
• Advice on duties regarding restricted and unrestricted endowment funds
• Advice on joint public/private investments
• Advice on minimizing investment risk

Fundraising and Development

• Advice in connection with fundraising and development, planned giving techniques and forms, substantiation of charitable gifts, and income and transfer tax consequences of planned gifts
• Proposals for prospective donors involving complex planned giving transactions
• Implementation of specific planned giving techniques, such as charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, immediate, deferred and flexible gift annuities, pooled income funds, bargain sales, remainder interests in personal residences and farms, restricted and endowment gifts, and federal and state tax benefits of conservation easements
• Assistance with development of grant-making and scholarship procedures
• Assistance with development of planned giving forms for institutional clients and individuals
• Advice and guidance on administration and tax compliance for charitable lead and remainder trusts, gift annuities and pooled income funds

For more information, please see our Nonprofit and Tax-Exempt Organizations Group.