Important Information - Charities & Charitable Gift Planning

Charity Advisor Resource

Newsletter

Volume 3.1 -

2012

The Law Office of Jonathan Ackerman, LLC
is proud to announce:
GetGoodGovernance (G3) for Nonprofits

The Law Office of Jonathan Ackerman, LLC has created a successful governance policy production and implementation process, which helps charities and other nonprofit organizations help themselves.

GetGoodGovernance

GetGoodGovernance currently has 4 reasonably priced

G3 Policy Packages, which are easily and efficiently customizable through a secure online portal, to meet the needs of small, mid-sized and large nonprofit organizations.

We have waded through the myriad of sample policy forms and relevant law, and drafted a set of policy forms that are inclusive. A streamlined process for the simple production of customizable policies has also been created, which provides the opportunity to produce the G3 Policy Packages at a reasonably priced, flat fee.

Implementation could not be easier - a series of educational videos are provided to outline the character of the different policies and to describe certain provisions that could be removed or modified to meet the nonprofit's particular needs. In addition, nonprofits are given a series of powerpoint slides for 3 successive Board meetings to shepherd the Board through the analysis, development and approval process for each G3 Policy Package. Lastly, for those nonprofits located in Maryland and the District of Columbia, one (1) hour of consultation time will be provided as a part of the flat fee.

To learn more, please visit www.GetGoodGovernance.com and watch these videos:

For nonprofit organizations located in Maryland, go to www.MDCharityLaw.com to view these videos.

For nonprofit organizations located in the District of Columbia, go to www.DCCharityLaw.com to view these videos.

Featured Article -
Charitable Lead Trust in 2012 - Same As It Ever Was ... But Better! (Part 1)

As a result of the reunification of the estate and gift tax regimes under the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 ("TRA"), donors have the option to exhaust their entire exclusion amount through lifetime gifting without incurring a gift tax liability. However, the timing of the gift is very important - the gift tax exclusion in 2010 was $1 Million; in 2011, it was $5 Million; in 2012, it is $5.12 Million; and for 2013 and beyond, it returns to $1 Million. Herein lies one of the most significant philanthropic planning opportunities for charitable gifts made in 2012. [more...]

Fundamentals - Nonprofit Governance
(Part 1)

There are at least 5 important constituencies that care about good nonprofit governance -

Congress - Though the nonprofit community has actively moved to self-regulation since at least 1918, Congress has, over the years, altered the federal tax exemption qualification for certain nonprofits, and has, through the enactment of a series of excise taxes and penalties, affected the way in which nonprofits operate and report.

IRS - The IRS has become increasingly active in insuring that nonprofits exercise good governance - at the time of granting of tax exemption, when they file the annual information return - Form 990, and at the time of audit. The IRS has also adopted its own set of good governance practices for nonprofits in order to improve tax compliance, to safeguard charitable assets and to assure that charitable interests are served.

Read more about the other constituencies that care about nonprofit governance.

Also, please visit www.GetGoodGovernance.com and watch the video "Why Nonprofits Need Good Governance".

For nonprofit organizations located in Maryland, go to www.MDCharityLaw.com to view the video.

For nonprofit organizations located in the District of Columbia, go to www.DCCharityLaw.com to view the video.

We hope you find the CAR Newsletter of value. If you want to forward this CAR Newsletter, please click on "Forward the CAR Newsletter to your friend!" link below - your friend can then click on the "Sign Up for the CAR Newsletter" link on the side panel to receive future issues. You are already signed up to receive the CAR Newsletter; however, you may unsubscribe at any time by clicking on the "SafeUnsubscribe" link below. Thank you.

Jonathan Ackerman, Esquire
Law Office of Jonathan Ackerman, LLC

Terri Ackerman, President

Charitable Registry, LLC

Disclaimer - The material in this CAR Newsletter is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice on any matter. Law Office of Jonathan Ackerman, LLC assumes no responsibility for the accuracy or timeliness of any information provided herein. This information is not a substitute for obtaining legal or tax advice from the reader's own counsel, given their own particular set of circumstances. Charitable Registry, LLC is not a law firm and does not render legal advice of any kind.

Note - Nothing in this publication is intended or written to be used and cannot be used by any person for the purpose of (i) avoiding tax penalties, or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matters addressed herein.

Meet Jonathan Ackerman

Some Happenings

Tax provisions in Obama 2013 Budget - In the "General Explanations of the Administration's Fiscal Year 2013 Revenue Proposals" (February 13, 2012), the Treasury Department explained several important changes in the estate, gift, GST, income tax and to the nonprofit sector. These changes include: [more...]

April 26, 2012 Hearing on Expiring Tax Provisions - Partnership for Philanthropic Planning strongly supported extension of the IRA Charitable Rollover provision that expired at the end of 2011 and supported the Public Good IRA Rollover Act of 2011 (H.R. 2502), which is co-sponsored by Reps. Wally Herger (R-CA) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) - To view the entire letter of support which includes a report on the favorable impact of the IRA Charitable Rollover based on a limited survey

[more...]

Nonprofit Governance - Lois Lerner, IRS Director, Exempt Organizations, Speaks Out - Ms. Lerner presented at the Georgetown Law Annual Conference - Representing and Managing Tax-Exempt Organizations. She affirmed the IRS' belief that there is a direct relationship between exempt organizations adopting and following good governance practices and their compliance with the tax code. Since October 2009, agents have filled out a governance checksheet (which is made available on the IRS website) at the end of every public charity exam. This effort generated a lot of data, based upon at least 1300 cases. Some of the basic findings of this non-statistically valid sampling, were (i) charities that have a written mission statement, use comparability data when determining executive compensation, and review their Form 990 with their Board of Directors are more likely to be tax compliant, and (ii) organizations, in which control is concentrated in a small number of people, are less likely to be compliant. The IRS does intend on conducting a statistically valid study across the entire nonprofit sector. To view the entire transcript from her presentation [more...]

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